Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of Toledo, 2010 / Typescript. "Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Psychology." "A dissertation entitled"--at head of title. Title from title page of PDF document. Bibliography: p. 78-93.

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This study described how principal leadership, consisting of both capacities and practices, advanced a climate of academic optimism among faculty to improve the achievement of all students including those from low-income family households within two public elementary schools in southern Arizona. Participants in the multiple embedded replication case study included one principal, five teachers, and one parent from each school. Semi-structured interviews, school observations, and document analysis were incorporated within the study. Findings revealed that peer observations helped build collective efficacy among teachers and required principal leadership to occur in a systemic manner. Interpretive analysis further demonstrated that principal leadership was valuable in developing academic emphasis within the school. Moreover, the principal was a powerful role model for cultivating trust between teachers and parents. An unexpected finding was that the leadership capacities and practices were not as precisely divided or separated as indicated by the conceptual framework. Rather, the capacities and practices were highly interrelated and mutually reinforcing. Based upon the analysis of patterns across cases, it was determined that the principals’ leadership capacities and practices influenced the climate of academic optimism. As a specific example, the principals studied utilized the bureaucracies within their schools to enable the work of teachers. Furthermore, the principals’ capacities of self-awareness and internalized moral perspective guided their vision of schooling. Compelling evidence was found for each capacity and practice detailed within the conceptual framework, and they were demonstrated in unique ways based on the specific circumstances of the site as well as the principal’s individual leadership style. The conceptual generalization from this interpretative qualitative case study suggests that, in terms of principal leadership, both “Who you are, and what you do, matter.”

Social intelligens och optimism har visat sig ha goda effekter på många områden, däribland på upplevd arbetstillfredsställelse. Däremot verkar det inte finnas studier som undersökt hur både social intelligens och optimism påverkar arbetstillfredsställelse på svenska arbetsplatser. Föreliggande studie hade därför i syfte att undersöka hur social intelligens och optimism påverkar arbetstillfredsställelse, i en svensk kontext. En nätbaserad enkät distribuerades ut på sociala medier där yrkesverksamma personer över 18 år fick skatta sin upplevda optimism, sociala intelligens och arbetstillfredsställelse. Deltagarna i studien bestod av 132 individer i åldrarna 20 till 64 år. Resultatet visade att optimism hade ett signifikant samband med arbetstillfredsställelse, men social intelligens hade inte ett signifikant samband med arbetstillfredsställelse. Vidare visade resultatet att optimism var den starkaste prediktorn för arbetstillfredsställelse i studien och att variabeln kön även var en signifikant prediktor. Slutsatsen är att optimism och kön har betydelse för att individer ska uppleva högre arbetstillfredsställelse. Detta innebär att högre nivåer av optimism kan leda till högre arbetstillfredsställelse och att män upplever högre arbetstillfredsställelse än kvinnor. Faktorer som kan ha påverkat resultatet för studien diskuteras och vidare studier där variablerna undersöks tillsammans och där hänsyn tas till fler bakgrundsvariabler föreslås.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / While research links the presence of meaning in life to better psychological well-being, the relationship between the search for meaning and psychological well-being is less clear. The search for meaning is generally thought to be psychologically distressing, but there is evidence that this process is moderated by the presence of meaning in life. Because the search for meaning in life can be considered a goal pursuit, goal-related personality traits may also moderate the relationship between the search for meaning and psychological well-being. The first aim of this cross-sectional study was to replicate the moderating effect of the presence of meaning on the relationship between the search for meaning and psychological well-being in a sample of undergraduates (N = 246). The second aim was to examine the potential moderating effects of hope and optimism on these relationships. As an exploratory third aim, this study examined whether there was a unique combination of the presence of meaning, the search for meaning, and hope or optimism that differentially predicted psychological well-being. Results suggest that optimism and the presence of meaning, but not hope, are significant moderators of the relationship between the search for meaning and psychological well-being. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Expectations are a key aspect of human success and behavior that predict outcomes in a variety of settings, including academics. Trait expectations (e.g., hope and optimism) and previous experiences appear relevant to the formation of specific expectations. Specific expectations predict outcomes, with positive expectations predicting better outcomes. In academics, positive specific expectations predict improved academic performance; however, there are aspects of this relationship that are unclear. This study sought to examine the formation of specific academic expectations and the relationship between these expectations and academic performance. The current study aimed to replicate previous research about the unique influences of academic expectations, expand this knowledge by examining possible mechanisms of the relationship between academic expectations and academic performance, and test how previous academic experience affected this relationship. Results of this study showed that previous GPA and optimism, but not hope, predicted academic expectations. Academic expectations predicted academic performance, but this relationship was not mediated by study time or stress. Finally, previous GPA moderated the relationship between academic expectations and academic performance, such that the positive association between academic expectations and academic performance was stronger for those with poorer prior performance.

Using coded data from parent-child interaction tasks and questionnaires, this longitudinal study examined the relationship between observed mother and father optimism and self-reported and observed optimism of their adolescent child one year later with mother and father involvement as mediators. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that while there was not a direct association between maternal optimism and child optimism, that father involvement mediated that relationship, and that father involvement further mediated the relationship between father involvement and child optimism.

Research on cognitive ability measures consistently concludes that they are predictive of employee performance. While accounting for only about 9% of the variance in performance, however, cognitive ability measures are not sufficient. Alternative measures, such as measures of personality constructs, must be included to fully predict employee performance. The research on personality measures suggests that they are marginally predictive of employee performance. Research also suggests that predicative accuracy of personality measures can be enhanced when the measure is specific to the situation (i.e., stress measure are more predictive of performance in high stress situations compared to moderate or low stress situations). The current study compares a specific measure of a personality construct, the Seligman Attributional Style Questionnaire (a measure of optimism), with a broad, general measure of personality, the Gordon Personal Profile-Inventory, comparing jobs specifically requiring higher levels of optimism versus jobs that do not require high levels of optimism. The results suggest that the use of the SASQ under situationally specific conditions does not result in greater predictive accuracy that the more generic GPPI. In addition, neither measure resulted in significant correlations with employee performance. The study generally confirmed the literature on the limited utility of personality measures in predicting performance. It also raised questions about how situational specificity is operationized.

This study explored the effect of restricting participants’ agentic choice on their levels of optimism. This study used the pre-test, post-test design to investigate the impact of non-agentic choice in meaningful scenarios on feelings of optimism. 147 participants completed a measure of optimism, were assigned to conditions of simulated choice, and were instructed to freely write about their decisions. The association between personality traits and optimism was also explored. Study findings showed that assigning participants to restrictive and agentic conditions had no effect on optimism. However, a significant negative correlation trait neuroticism and optimism was found. Content analyses run on the responses found that the most common themes, in order, were seeking change in employment, seeking support from family and friends, and public assistance. Additional research, with a larger sample, should be completed to more fully determine the nature of the relationship among these variables.