This study investigated the self-efficacy (also often referred to as self-confidence) of principals as determined by school administrator certification credentials and teaching endorsements at low performing middle schools in Mississippi. In educational literature, the term “self-confidence” is often referred to under the nomenclature of self-efficacy. In the context of an educational environment, self-efficacy pertains to a principal’s capability to organize and execute courses of action required in leading and managing a school. Successful school management requires a leader who is task oriented, consistently stays focused, employs effective strategies, and utilizes managerial skills. The investigation focused on the self-efficacy, as determined by credentials and endorsements, of the principals charged with leading and managing the 24 Mississippi middle schools that received Mississippi Department of Education accountability ratings of “D” or “F” in relation to student academic performance. The overall research question that guided the investigation asked: Did the self-efficacy of the principals charged with leading and managing the 24 Mississippi middle schools that received low accountability scores suggest any connection to the ratings? Based on the findings of the investigation, it may be concluded that the self efficacy of the principals charged with leading and managing the middle schools that received low accountability scores didn’t appear to have any connection to the ratings. Also, neither the principals’ certification credential levels nor teaching endorsements appeared to be factors.

En fotbollskarriär kan innebära en stor påverkan på identiteten och de som utövat fotboll en längre period av sitt liv kan utveckla en fotbollsidentitet. Den starka känsla av samhörighet och socialt stöd som fotbollslaget bidrar med kan skapa svårigheter hos individen när fotbollstiden sedan är över. Studiens syfte är att undersöka upplevelsen av rollövergången hos före detta fotbollsspelare och hur det kan påverka identiteten i relation till självförtroende och självkänsla. Studien utgick från en socialpsykologisk ansats som analyserades med hjälp av teorier om Social jämförelse, Social- och Personlig identitet, Roller och Rollkonflikter. Studien tog grund i en kvalitativ metod där semistrukturerade intervjuer användes som instrument för insamling av data. Urvalet var tio respondenter som var över tjugo år, hade spelat fotboll i minst tio år, hade avslutat sin fotbollskarriär och spelat i minst division två för kvinnor och fyra för män. Efter datainsamlingen genomfördes en tematisk analys där teman och subteman formulerades. Resultatet visade att de respondenter som hade en positiv upplevelse under och efter rollövergången hade bekräftelse och en tydlig roll utanför fotbollen. De respondenter som upplevde negativa känslor vid rollövergången upplevde ofrivillig avgång, brist på socialt stöd och sociala identiteter. / A football career can have a major impact on identity and those who have played football for a longer period of their lives can develop a football identity. The strong sense of belonging and social support that the football team contributes can create difficulties for the individual when the football time is over. The purpose of this study is to investigate the experience of role transition in former football players and how it can affect identity in relation to selfconfidence and self-esteem. The study was based on a social psychological approach that was analyzed using theories of Social comparison, Social and Personal Identity, Roles and Role Conflicts. The study was based on a qualitative method where semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. The sample consisted of ten respondents who were over twenty years old, had played football for at least ten years, had finished their football career and played in at least division two for women and four for men. After the data collection, a thematic analysis was carried out in which themes and subthemes were formulated. The results showed that the respondents who had a positive experience during and after the role transition had confirmation and a clear role outside football. Those respondents who experienced negative emotions at the time of the role transition experienced involuntary departure, lack of social support, and social identities.

This paper will cover the correlation between emotions, game graphics and their effect on player performance in competitive video games. In order to analyze and measure player performance, a game demo was made for the purpose of this study. This is a qualitative study with 10 participants that were split into pairs of two. The outcome shows that while game graphics do not have a notable impact on players performance, it does affect feelings of presence and how enjoyable a game is. Whereas emotions on the other hand play a huge role in performance. Positive emotions such as confidence and excitement, show an increase in player performance while negative emotions such as anxiety and frustration have the opposite effect. / Denna uppsats kommer att diskutera korrelationen mellan känslor, spelgrafik, samt deras påverkan på spelarens prestation inom tävlingsspel. För att analysera och mäta spelarens prestation gjordes en speldemo för denna studie. Detta är en kvalitativ studie med 10 deltagare som delades in i par. Resultaten av denna studie är baserade på deltagarnas egna åsikter och deras uppfattning om hur de presterat, med hänsyn till tidigare spelerfarenhet. Resultatet visar att även om spelgrafiken inte har någon nämnvärd inverkan på spelarnas prestanda, så påverkar det känslan av närvaro och hur roligt ett spel är. Medan känslor å andra sidan har en stor påverkan på prestation. Positiva känslor som självförtroende och spänning har en positiv påverkan på spelarens prestation, medan negativa känslor som ångest och frustration har motsatt effekt.

Den växande digitaliseringen har resulterat i att distansarbete har blivit en allt vanligare arbetsform. I samband med den globala pandemi som drabbade världen 2019 ökade distansarbete allt mer. I takt med detta har även e-ledarskap blivit vanligare. Allt flera organisationer rör sig också mot en mer flexibel organisationsstruktur och olika former av delat ledarskap, såsom självledarskap, blir således allt mer betydelsefullt. Denna uppsats undersöker om och hur medarbetares självledarskap påverkas av distansarbete. Utöver detta undersöks vad de behöver av sin ledare för att utöva samt utveckla sitt eget självledarskap. Syftet med uppsatsen är att från medarbetares perspektiv undersöka om och hur självledarskap påverkas av distansarbete och vad de behöver av sin ledare för att lyckas med samt utveckla sitt självledarskap. Studien är kvalitativ och baseras på tidigare forskning samt sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med medarbetare som arbetat på distans under pandemin. Studiens resultat visar att medarbetarnas självledarskap påverkas positivt av distansarbete och att detta beror på en ökad ansvarskänsla. Vidare visar studien att ledare kan skapa förutsättningar för ökat självledarskap hos medarbetare i form av ökad kommunikation och feedback. Studien indikerar även på en dissonans mellan det teoretiska ramverket och studiens empiri gällande ledarens roll för medarbetares självledarskap i och med att externt ledarskap inte visade sig vara en nödvändighet för medarbetarens självledarskap. / As a result of the increasing digitalization, organizational structures have changed and working remotely has become an increasingly common form of work. In the context of the global pandemic that appeared in 2019, teleworking received an even larger increase. In line with this, the e-leadership also increases. More and more organizations are also moving towards a more flexible organizational structure and various forms of shared leadership, such as self-leadership is becoming more important. This study examines if and how the self-leadership of employees is affected by working remotely and also what they need from their leaders to succeed and develop their own self-leadership. The purpose of the study is to, from the employee point of view, examine if and how self-leadership is affected by remote work and what the employee needs from their leader to succeed and develop their self-leadership. The study has a qualitative approach and is based on previous research along with six semi-structured interviews with employees that have been working remotely during the pandemic. The results of the study suggest that the employees’ self-leadership is positively affected by teleworking, as a result of increased responsibility. Furthermore, the study suggests that leaders can create conditions for increased selfleadership in employees, in the form of increased communication and feedback. However, the study indicates a certain dissonance between the theoretical framework and the empirical studies regarding the role of the leader when it comes to the employee’s self-leadership, since it turned out that external leadership showed to not be a vital component.

Although much research has been conducted on the association between poverty and happiness, little is known about its mediators and moderators. Thus, our understanding of how – and the conditions under which -- poverty affects happiness is imprecise. This study assessed stress as a mediator of the negative association between poverty and happiness using a sample of 345 farmers and fish farmers living in Ghana. Further, Psychological Capital (PsyCap, consisting of hope, optimism, resilience, and self-confidence) was examined as a two-stage moderator of the poverty-happiness relationship, as mediated by stress. There was no support for the stage 1 moderation, and while there was support for stage 2 moderation, it was in a direction opposite from what was hypothesized (for overall PsyCap and PsyCapF2). The negative moderation at stage 2 suggests that PsyCap (overall and PsyCap2) is associated with a weakening of an unexpected positive association between stress and happiness. PsyCapF2, appears to reflect agency or general self-efficacy. Although the hypothesized model was not supported this study has provided insights into how future research of Ghanaians might be better designed. It also has shown that the positive PsyCap-happiness relationship found in several Western samples is replicable among Ghanaian farmers, a collectivist and highly religious community. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Bakgrund. Närvaron på sociala medier är hög bland Sveriges befolkning och tidigare forskning tyder på att intensiv användning kan ha en negativ effekt på välbefinnandet, samtidigt har självförtroende visat sig vara en viktig faktor för individens välbefinnande. Vidare finns det begränsad forskning om hur självförtroende samvarierar med användningen av sociala medier, detta pekar på att det finns mycket att utforska inom detta område. Material och metod. För att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställning om hur användningen av sociala medier samverkar med upplevt självförtroende hos den svenska befolkningen, användes den nationella SOM-undersökningen från 2015. 3400 personer i åldrarna 16 till 85 blev slumpmässigt utvalda från befolkningsregistret. Totalt var det 1685 respondenter som svarade på samtliga frågor, inklusive kontrollvariablerna. För att undersöka sambandet mellan sociala medier och självförtroende med hänsyn till bakgrundsvariablerna, användes multipel regressionsanalys. Resultat. Resultatet visade på ett svagt negativt samband mellan sociala medier och självförtroende, däremot kvarstod inte sambandet under kontroll för kön, utbildning och ålder.Slutsats. Graden av sociala medieanvändning är en av flera faktorer som kan ha en negativ påverkan på självförtroendet. Dessutom påverkas användningen av sociala medier och självförtroendet av faktorer som kön, utbildning och ålder. / Background: The presence on social media is high among the Swedish population, and previous research suggests that intensive use can have a negative effect on well-being. At the same time, self-confidence has been shown to be an important factor for individual well-being. Furthermore, there is limited research on how self-confidence correlates with social media use, indicating that there is much to explore in this area. Materials and Methods. To adress the aim and research question of how social media usage interacts with perceived self-confidence among the Swedish population, the national SOM survey from 2015 was utilized. 3400 individuals aged 16 to 85 were randomly selected from the population register. A total of 1685 respondents answered all questions, including control variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between social media and self-confidence, taking into account background variables. Results. The results showed a weak negative correlation between social media and self-confidence, but this correlation did not persist when controlling for gender, education, and age. Conclusion. The degree of social media usage is one of the several factors that can have a negative impact on self-confidence. Additionally, the influence of gender, education, and age should be considered when examining the relationship between social media and self-confidence.

Thesis (MEdPsych)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Identity formation is a multifaceted process that has implications for how one feels about oneself and the decisions one makes about one's future. Developmental theorists have therefore become increasingly interested in the impact of contextual factors on the development of identity formation, especially the school context. The aim of this research was to explore how adolescents who have attended a school of skills perceive their identity. In order to do this, this research made use of a basic qualitative research design that is embedded within the interpretive paradigm. Participants were purposively selected and invited to take part in the study, after which four participants and their parents willingly participated. Interviews were used as the primary method of data collection along with the researcher's reflexive notes and an inductive process of qualitative thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. The results revealed variability in responses, as individuals made meaning according to their own construction of past experiences within and outside the school context. The study showed that the participants entered the school of skills with a poor sense of self due to the lack of support and guidance and the effects of being labelled and excluded in the mainstream primary school. The results further indicate that schools of skills face severe negative public evaluation, which had a negative impact on how the participants felt about being referred to and having to attend a school of skills. However, most of the participants felt that their attendance at a school of skills had shaped their sense of identity in a positive way, as public forms of evaluation were mitigated by significant relations with teachers and a sense of belonging among their peers. Finally, although the participants feel more positive about themselves, they are concerned about their future vocational opportunities, as they feel that the school has not offered a contribution for a viable identity. The findings of this study will inform counsellors, school personnel and parents regarding identity-related issues in the school context. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Identiteitsvorming is 'n proses met baie fasette en het baie implikasies vir hoe 'n mens oor jouself voel en hoe jy besluite oor die toekoms neem. Ontwikkelingsteoretici het dus toenemend begin belangstel in die impak van kontekstuele faktore op die ontwikkeling van identiteitsvorming, veral in die skoolkonteks. Die doel van hierdie navorsing was om ondersoek in te stel na hoe adolessente wat 'n vaardigheidskool bygewoon het hul identiteit sien. Ten einde dit te doen, is gebruik gemaak van 'n basiese kwantitatiewe ontwerp, wat interpretasie-paradigma insluit. Deelnemers is doelbewus gekies en uitgenooi om aan die studie deel te neem, en vier deelnemers en hul ouers het ingewillig om deel te neem. Onderhoude is gebruik as die primêre metode van data-insameling tesame met die navorser se besinnende aantekeninge. 'n Induktiewe proses van kwalitatiewe tema-ontleding is gebruik om die data te ontleed. 'n Verskeidenheid resultate is gevind as gevolg van individue se interpretasie van ervarings in die verlede binne en buite die skoolkonteks. Die studie toon dat deelnemers wat by 'n vaardigheidskool skoolgaan 'n swak selfbeeld het. Die studie dui verder aan dat die gebrek aan ondersteuning, leiding, etikettering en uitsluiting in die hoofstroom-laerskool 'n impak gehad het op deelnemers se lae selfbeeld. Die studie wys verder ook dat die negatiewe publieke persepsie 'n negatiewe invloed het op hoe deelnemers voel oor die verwysing na en bywoning van 'n vaardigheidskool. Tog het die meeste van die deelnemers gevoel dat hul bywoning van 'n vaardigheidskool hul sin van identiteit op 'n positiewe manier beïnvloed het. Goeie verhoudings met onderwysers en 'n gevoel van behoort onder hul eweknieë het die impak van die negatiewe persepsie versag. Hoewel die deelnemers positiewer oor hulself voel, is hulle bekommerd oor hul toekomstige beroepsgeleenthede, aangesien hulle voel dat 'n vaardigheidskool nie 'n bydrae tot 'n lewensvatbare identiteit bied nie. Die bevindinge van hierdie studie sal beraders, skoolpersoneel en ouers bewus maak van identiteitskwessies in die skoolkonteks.

It seems as if there is a continued problem with mathematical performances nationally. The rate, at which FET (Further Education and Training) phase learner s discontinue Mathematics as a result of poor mathematical performances, is of great concern. This research study determined how academic self-confidence could have an influence on learners’ abilities to perform in Mathematics. The literature review confirmed that there could be a link between academic self-confidence and mathematical performance. Consequently, the researcher wanted to establish if the same could be found at a school where the emphasis is very much on mathematical achievement. The school is based in Northern Johannesburg (D10) in Gauteng, South Africa. By applying an explanatory mixed method approach (quantitative, followed by qualitative methods), the researcher identified a clear link between this school’s learners’ abilities to perform in Mathematics and their academic self-confidence. Amongst others, positive links were also identified between the learner s’ comprehension of Mathematics, their problem- solving skills as well as educator assistance, which in turn influence their academic self - confidence and consequently al so their performance s. A cycle of mathematical influences was identified that demonstrated that the influence i s not only working one way, but that a cycle forms; academic self-confidence influences the learner’s ability to perform in mathematics and mathematical performance s al so influence academic self - confidence, causing a continuous cycle of influence. / MEd (Learner Support), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

Ce manuscrit comporte trois essais qui partagent l’objectif commun d’évaluer l’impact de la confiance en soi sur les décisions des agents économiques à l’aide de la méthode expérimentale. Ce travail se concentre sur trois thèmes relatifs à l’économie comportementale du travail : le travail au noir, la recherche d’emploi et le travail en équipe. Le premier chapitre analyse les biais d’optimisme dans le contexte du travail irrégulier. Ce travail fournit une mesure des biais d’optimisme à travers un processus de décision. Les résultats montrent que les modalités d’annonce du contrôle altèrent la perception du risque : la désignation du nombre d’agents aléatoirement contrôlés tend à encourager l’optimisme des fraudeurs. Le second chapitre étudie comment l’incertitude quant à l’habileté et l’estime que les demandeurs d’emploi ont d’eux-mêmes affectent leurs décisions de recherche. Les résultats montrent qu’en moyenne les agents peu habiles ne modifient pas leur salaire de réserve, alors que les sujets très habiles tendent à diminuer leurs exigences salariales et donc à stopper plus rapidement leur recherche. Cependant, les décisions des agents peu habiles ne sont pas homogènes : les agents peu compétents ont des exigences salariales d’autant plus élevées qu’ils ont une haute estime d’eux-mêmes. Le troisième chapitre vise à évaluer dans quelle mesure l’image que les travailleurs ont d’eux-mêmes conditionne leur choix d’effort lorsqu’ils travaillent en groupe. Les résultats montrent que les agents qui sur évaluent (sous-évaluent) leur habileté exercent plus (moins) d’effort que les sujets qui ont une perception correcte de leurs compétences. Les résultats révèlent également que les individus bénéficient de la sur-confiance de leur partenaire, mais pas de leur propre biais, alors que la sous-confiance détériore le bien-être de tous les membres de l’équipe. / This dissertation contains three essays that estimate the effects of self-confidence on economic agents’ decisions. An experimental approach is used for those contributions. This work is interested in three topics concerning behavioral labor economics: moonlighting, job search and teamwork. The first chapter investigates the existence of optimism biases in the context of irregular work. This essay proposes a measure of optimism biases through a decision process. The results show that the way the monitoring policy is announced deeply affects the perception of the risk at stake: the designation of the number of randomly controlled agents tends to foster the cheats’ optimism. The second chapter studies how the uncertainty on ability and self-esteem of job-seekers affect their search behaviors. The results show that on average the low ability agents’ decisions are not affected by the uncertainty about their ability, whereas the high ability agents tend to decrease their reservation wage and thus to stop their search faster. However, the low ability agents’ decisions are not homogeneous: the higher the worker’s self-esteem is, the higher his reservation wage is. The third chapter aims at estimating how workers’ self-image biases affect effort choices and team production. The results show that the workers who overestimate (underestimate) their ability provide higher (lower) effort levels than the unbiased. The results also reveal that the agents benefit from their partner’s confidence, but not from their own bias. Conversely, the presence of underconfident agents in the team damages the welfare of both teammates.

M.A. / The search for identity is an important developmental task during adolescence. During this period teenagers also evaluate their physical identity against existing external standards. Evaluation of the body is often done in comparison with the Western norms of beauty. These norms are however not universally attainable and can lead to negative evaluations of the body’s attractiveness, resulting in both negative evaluations of the body and body dissatisfaction, which creates concern due to the link that exists between body dissatisfaction and dieting. Diet behaviour has also been established as an etiological factor in the development of certain eating disorders. On the other hand positive evaluations of the body’s appearance and abilities are associated with higher levels of life-satisfaction. It is therefore necessary to develop interventions that could enhance female adolescents’ body evaluations, body-esteem and possibly also life-satisfaction albeit indirectly. Interventions that focused on more realistic evaluations of the self and attempted to enhance teenage girls’ self-esteem have already been implemented in the USA and Australia, but with mixed results. Existing research within the South African context that focus on female adolescents’ body evaluations, body-esteem and life-satisfaction are also limited and no studies could be found that investigated all three facets. The aims of this study were to develop and evaluate a psychosocial training programme (PTP), to enhance female adolescents’ body evaluations, body-esteem and life-satisfaction. A group of adolesscent girls (experimental group)(n = 39) participated in the PTP, while the control group (n = 33) looked at magazine photos and then answered questions about these photos. Both groups completed the following measurement scales before and after the completion of the PTP: Body evaluations (Body-Image Self-evaluation Colouring Lens, BISCL) (Gusella, Clark & van Roosmalen, 2003), body-esteem (Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults, BES) vi (Mendelson, White & Mendelson, 1996) and life-sattisfaction (Satisfaction with Life Scale,SWLS) (Diener, Emmons, Larson & Griffen, 1985). Firstly the experimental group’s mean averages on all measuring instruments were calculated before and after the completion of the PTP then compared to get an indication of the significance of differences in mean scores within the group. The programme resulted in statistically meaningful changes on al three the measured fascets. After the PTP the body evaluations of participants in the experimental group were less negative towards the form and function of their bodies (BISCL-v (p= .00) and BISCL-f (p= .00). The change in mean scores on the BES full scale (p= .003) and the subscales appearance (p= .01), attribution (p= .03) and weight (p= .00) indicated that evaluation of body- esteem was also more positive. Participants’ life-satisfaction was significantly higher after they participated in the PTP (p= .03). Effects sizes for the significance of difference in mean scores were also calculated, yielding a large effect on effect body evaluation (0.19 tot 0.20), a medium to large effect on body-esteem (0.12 tot 0.20) and medium effect on life satisfaction (0.11). These effect sizes suggest that the results also have practical significance. Secondly the mean scores of the experimental and control groups prior to and after the PTP were compared. No statistically meaningful difference was noted between the mean values of these two groups in terms of body evaluations, body-esteem or life- satisfaction. This is possibly due to the small sample size and variables such as age and ethnicity. In conclusion the psychosocial training programme shows promise as an intervention to enhance female adolescents’ body evaluations, body-esteem and life-satisfaction.