The overall aim of this doctoral thesis was to explore an assessment of participation according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in people with a mild intellectual disability. Study I used secondary data and explored how participation can be assessed. Study II-IV explored participation empirically regarding 68 everyday activities from all nine life domains according to the ICF. Study II explored assessment of self-rated participation by investigating to what extent perceived ability, actual performance and perceived importance correlated. Study III-IV explored the contribution of perceived importance to an assessment of participation; study III by investigating frequencies of everyday activities regarding performance and importance separately as well as regarding combined measures of performance and perceived importance, and study IV by comparing proxy ratings with self-rated measures regarding ability and measures of participation. Study III also correlated measures of participation with a single-item measure of subjective general well-being and study II and IV investigated internal consistency in terms of Cronbach’s alpha. Study II and III included 55 and 69 individuals with intellectual disability respectively. Study IV included 40 individuals with intellectual disability and 40 proxy persons. The informants from the target group were partly the same. Study II and IV supported the suggestions from study I that participation should be assessed by self-ratings and study II found that this is an appropriate method also to people with a mild intellectual disability. Study III showed that participation is related to subjective well-being. Study III-IV found somewhat different results if measuring participation as performance solely or as a combination of performance and perceived importance. Overall, the results of the thesis suggest that performance solely might be sufficient to assess participation at a group level but in a clinical context, when the knowledge of a certain individual is of interest, the perceived aspect of involvement is necessary to include in an assessment of participation.

The purpose of this study was to examine older adults' perceptions of health by exploring life course factors perceived as shaping the meanings of health in their daily lives. Using life course and life span perspectives as the theoretical framework to guide this mixed method study, I identified the contextual factors that influence older adults' health perceptions and behaviors. Through self-report questionnaires from 111 individuals (M age = 74 yrs., S.D. = 5.64) and in-depth interviews with 30 of the older adults from the larger sample (11 women and 19 men), I gained an understanding of how individual experiences and societal expectations influence the meanings older adults attach to health. Results indicated that being female and having more years of formal education were associated with higher health ratings. Findings from the qualitative inquiry enhanced the quantitative results by highlighting the contextual factors that influenced older adults' health ratings. Examination of how the older adults came to their health rating provided definitions of health based on physical status, activity level, and social comparisons. Life course influences emerged as the older adults described what their health means to them. Activity level, independence, and age prescriptions were reflections of childhood health experiences that the older adults used to relate their present meaning of health in their everyday lives. / Master of Science

Self-ratings of work performance have been investigated by researchers for a number of years. Previous research has shown that self-ratings are often lenient, inaccurate, and lack convergence with other performance measures. However, self-ratings are less likely to produce a halo effect when compared to other performance appraisal measures. Further, it has been suggested that the inclusion of self-ratings may decrease an employee's defensiveness in the appraisal system. The current study investigated boundary conditions (Type A / B personality type, social comparison information, and public / private rating settings) that might facilitate more accurate, and less lenient self-ratings. Limited support was found for the research hypotheses. A number of theoretical and empirical explanations can be offered to interpret the findings. / Master of Science

The goals of the current study were to examine the antecedents and boundary conditions of a new construct called unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) defined as behaviors that are unethical but at the same time helping the organizations (e.g., giving a low performing employee a letter of recommendation to help him/her find a job in another organization). Drawing from social exchange theory, antecedents such as leader-member exchange, perceived organizational support, idiosyncratic deals, and leader-member exchange were hypothesized to be positively related to UPB Three moderators of the impact of the social exchange variables on UPB: were also investigated: moral identity, psychological entitlement, and supervisor's embodiment of the organization. Data was collected in a cross-sectional survey from 269 employees and 144 supervisors. The hypotheses were tested using correlations and moderated multiple regressions. The results indicate that none of the hypotheses were supported. However, there were some interesting unexpected findings as some social exchange variables were found to correlate negatively with UPB. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Sammanfattning Bakgrund: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) i nucleus ventralis intermedius i thalamus (VIM) eller caudala zona incerta (cZi) ger goda effekter på tremorsymptomen för patienter med essentiell tremor. Patienterna som behandlats med DBS kan få bieffekter som i vissa fall leder till talpåverkan, så kallad stimuleringsinducerad dysartri. Huruvida det finns risk för bieffekter som drabbar röstens funktion hos patienter med essentiell tremor saknas studier kring men man vet att grundsjukdomen kan påverka rösten akustiskt samt att vissa patienter utvecklar rösttremor. Att drabbas av en bieffekt efter DBS kan ha en inverkan på hur patienten subjektivt upplever resultatet av behandlingen.     Mål: Att undersöka om patienter med essentiell tremor som genomgått DBS subjektivt upplever någon form av röst- eller talbesvär jämfört med en frisk, ålders- och könsmatchad kontrollgrupp.   Metod: I studien deltog sammanlagt 42 deltagare varav 21 tillhörde en patientgrupp med essentiell tremor som genomgått DBS i cZi och de övriga 21 tillhörde en frisk, ålders- och könsmatchad kontrollgrupp. Deltagarna i de båda grupperna fick fylla i två formulär, RHI som berör röstens funktion och SOFT som berör talets funktion. Deltagarna som tillhörde patientgruppen fick också svara på fem fördjupande frågor om deras subjektiva upplevelse. Den statistiska signifikanstestningen genomfördes med avseende på om det fanns en skillnad i självskattningen mellan de båda grupperna.   Resultat: Resultaten i denna studie visade att patienterna med essentiell tremor s0m är behandlade med DBS skattar en signifikant större del subjektiva svårigheter av sin egen röst- och talfunktion jämfört med den friska kontrollgruppen.   Slutsats: Resultaten visade att det på gruppnivå finns signifikant större andel upplevda svårigheter relaterade till tal- och röstfunktionen hos patienter med essentiell tremor behandlade med DBS jämfört med en frisk kontrollgrupp. Resultaten visar även en stor individuell variation av den subjektiva upplevelsen av tal och röstpåverkan vilket är viktig information att delge patienter som ska genomgå DBS. Ett preoperativt samtal med logoped för information om möjliga bieffekter vid DBS och hur detta kan påverka patienten subjektivt är nödvändigt. De patienter som subjektivt upplever besvär med talet eller rösten bör erbjudas kontakt med logoped. / Abstract Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of ventralis intermedius nucleus of thalamus (VIM) or caudala zona incerta (cZi) have been shown to be efficient in supressing tremor symptoms in patients with essential tremor. Patients who has been treated with DBS may acquire certain side effects of which in some cases results in an impact on the patients speech, known as stimulation- induced dysarthria. There is a lack of studies that investigate if there is a risk of side effects that is affecting voice functioning in patients with essential tremor. Previous studies have claimed that the disease itself may have an effect on the voice acoustics and that some patients develop voice tremor. The occurrence of a side effect caused by DBS may have an impact on the patients subjective experience of the treatment result.   Aim: To investigate whether patients with essential tremor treated with DBS are subjectively experiencing any form of voice or speech disability compared to a healthy, age and sex matched control group.   Method: The study included 42 participants all together whereof 21 was part of a patient group with essential tremor treated with DBS in cZi and the other 21 participants was part of a healthy, age and sex matched control group. The participants of both groups filled out two different forms, VHI (RHI) which affects voice function and SOFT which affects speech function. The participants in the patient group also answered five profound questions about their subjective experience. The test of statistical significance was performed with regard of if a difference was to be found in the self-ratings between the two groups.   Results: The results of the study show that patients with essential tremor whom have been treated with DBS rates a significantly greater amount of subjective difficulties related to the voice and speech functioning compared to the healthy control group.   Conclusion: The results show that the DBS-treated patients with essential tremor experience a significantly greater amount of subjective difficulties related to voice and speech functioning compared to a healthy control group. The results also show a great individual variety in the subjective experience of speech and voice function which is important information to notify patients who are due to undergo DBS-treatment. A preoperative meeting with a speech and language pathologist to be informed of possible side effects caused by the DBS and in what ways this can effect the patient subjectively is required. Patients who postoperatively experience a negative effect on speech or voice functioning should be offered contact with a speech and language pathologist. / Tal- och rösteffekter av djup hjärnstimulering hos patienter med ärftlig tremor

One of the most persistent issues in contemporary organizations has been how to evaluate individual performance. Basically, the problem is who should evaluate whom and against what productivity criterion. Educational institutions have been the organizations most concerned with this dilemma in recent years. As recently as September, 1973, teachers went on strike over accountability procedures. This study was conducted to identify which mode of teacher evaluation was most efficient, based on fairly objective performance criterion, and to establish a basis for viewing teaching style as leadership style. In existing research, superior ratings were the most used evaluation measure, student ratings were a rapidly growing mode of evaluation, self-ratings were considered biased, and peer ratings were used very little. Hence, who should do the evaluating was an unsolved problem. All four evaluation modes were employed in the present study for comparison.

Since a deficit in empathy is not only characteristic among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but categorically used in defining ASD, it is of utmost importance to explore educational avenues to build prosocial skills among this group. This study sought to explore the primary research question: What impact does the implementation of an empathy-focused video modeling intervention have on frequency of empathic behaviour among adolescents with ASD? The secondary research questions examined were: In what ways does employing a video modeling simulation intervention using the Model Me Kids Friendship program impact the ability of adolescents with ASD to demonstrate empathic behaviour? How do adolescents with ASD express or speak about their empathic behaviour following participation in a simulation intervention using Model Me Kids Friendship? How do the Educational Resource Facilitators (teaching assistants) perceive the same individuals’ empathic behaviour following participation in a simulation intervention using Model Me Kids Friendship (MMF)? This mixed methods study explores 1 particular video modeling simulation program as a focused approach to building empathic behaviour among adolescents with ASD. The theoretical framework presented blends theory of mind, simulation theory, and psychological theories of empathic behaviour including the inherent motor, cognitive, and emotional components. Individuals with ASD may not learn empathic behaviours solely through observation as typically developing children do, but findings suggest that through video simulation, practice may, in fact, lead to increased empathic behaviour. The quantitative findings were not significant but did show increase in motor empathy behaviour ratings among intervention group participants. Support for video modeling as a vehicle to teach empathic behaviour was provided by qualitative data collected over the course of 4 months contextualizing specific examples of empathic behaviour exhibited by participating teens with ASD. There is a link made between high levels of systematizing among teens on the spectrum (the drive to analyze and build a system) and video modeling as a means to foster empathic behaviour, thereby supporting an increased use of video simulation strategies to teach social skills among this group.

Since a deficit in empathy is not only characteristic among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but categorically used in defining ASD, it is of utmost importance to explore educational avenues to build prosocial skills among this group. This study sought to explore the primary research question: What impact does the implementation of an empathy-focused video modeling intervention have on frequency of empathic behaviour among adolescents with ASD? The secondary research questions examined were: In what ways does employing a video modeling simulation intervention using the Model Me Kids Friendship program impact the ability of adolescents with ASD to demonstrate empathic behaviour? How do adolescents with ASD express or speak about their empathic behaviour following participation in a simulation intervention using Model Me Kids Friendship? How do the Educational Resource Facilitators (teaching assistants) perceive the same individuals’ empathic behaviour following participation in a simulation intervention using Model Me Kids Friendship (MMF)? This mixed methods study explores 1 particular video modeling simulation program as a focused approach to building empathic behaviour among adolescents with ASD. The theoretical framework presented blends theory of mind, simulation theory, and psychological theories of empathic behaviour including the inherent motor, cognitive, and emotional components. Individuals with ASD may not learn empathic behaviours solely through observation as typically developing children do, but findings suggest that through video simulation, practice may, in fact, lead to increased empathic behaviour. The quantitative findings were not significant but did show increase in motor empathy behaviour ratings among intervention group participants. Support for video modeling as a vehicle to teach empathic behaviour was provided by qualitative data collected over the course of 4 months contextualizing specific examples of empathic behaviour exhibited by participating teens with ASD. There is a link made between high levels of systematizing among teens on the spectrum (the drive to analyze and build a system) and video modeling as a means to foster empathic behaviour, thereby supporting an increased use of video simulation strategies to teach social skills among this group.

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Präsentiert werden drei Studien zum Thema Prädiktion von Leistung. In Studie 1 wurde die Prädiktion von Studienerfolg nicht nur mit Persönlichkeitsmaßen auf Facettenebene sowohl von Fremd- als auch Selbst-Ratings untersucht, sondern auch der Einfluss von faking auf die Kriteriumsvalidität. Ergebnisse zeigten, dass Fremd- über Selbst-Ratings und Intelligenz hinaus Studienerfolg prädizieren. Auch wurde gezeigt, dass Faking die Kriteriumsvaliditäten auf Facettenebene in unterschiedlicher Weise beeinflusst. Studie 2 untersuchte den Einfluss der unterschiedlichen Abstraktionsebene von Prädiktor und Kriterium auf die Kriteriumsvalidität. Dazu wurden Leistungsmotivationsskalen sowohl in einer Mathe-spezifischen Formulierung als auch in einer globalen Formulierung Schülern vorgegeben. Diese Skalen dienten dann als Prädiktoren für Noten in Mathe, Physik und Deutsch. Ergebnisse einer Varianzzerlegung mit MTMM zeigten, dass die Mathe-spezifischen Skalen durchgehend ein Plus an Varianz enthalten, welches unabhängig ist von der Varianz aufgrund der einzelnen Motivationskonstrukte. Folglich messen domänen-spezifische Skalen entweder ein engeres Konstrukt von Leistungsmotivation oder, eher, ein zusätzliches Konstrukt. Das Korrelationsmuster der domänen-spezifischen Varianz mit den drei untersuchten Noten legt nahe, dass es sich bei diesem zusätzlichen Konstrukt um Selbstkonzept handelt. Studie 3 untersuchte die Konstruktvalidität der Big 5 und möglicher higher-order factors nach Kontrolle von möglichen Biases innerhalb des CTCM-1 Ansatzes mit Selbst- und Fremdratings. Ergebnisse zeigten, dass bias-bereinigte Big 5 Maße die Annahme eines higher-order factors wenig plausibel machen. Darüber hinaus konnte ein solcher potentieller Faktor nicht theoriekonform die positive Eigenschaft Intelligenz prädizieren. Insgesamt verdeutlicht dies die Problematik des Einflusses von unterschiedlichen Quellen und Verzerrungen auf die Kriteriumsvalidität von häufig eingesetzten Persönlichkeitsmaßen. / Presented are 3 studies about the prediction of performance. Study 1 analyzes the prediction of academic performance by use of self-ratings, other-ratings and faked-ratings of personality measures not only on domain level but also on facet level. Result showed that other-ratings yield incremental validity above and beyond self-ratings and intelligence. Moreover, against prior findings for domain-level, faking does influence criterion validity on facet-level, with the influence not being uniform in direction. Study 2 analyzed the influence of different levels of abstraction of predictor and criterion in the realm of achievement motivation. For that, various achievement motivation scales were administered both in a global and a math-specific wording. These scales later on served as predictor for grades in math, physics and German. By modeling this data in a MTMM model different sources of variance could be disentangled. Results showed that math-specific scales are the better predictors. More so, these domain-specific scales have uniformly an increase in variance regardless of the positive or negative valence of the various achievement motivation scales. This leads to the conclusion that math-domain-specific scales either measure a narrower construct or, more probable, they tap an additional construct. This is backed by the uniform positive additional variance. Moreover, test-criterion correlation-pattern between the math-domain-specific variance and the three different grades makes it plausible that the additional construct tapped in these scales is self-concept. Study 3 analyzed the construct-validity of personality’s Big 5 and their possible higher order factor after controlling for singular rater biases using a newly developed CTCM-1 approach. Results showed that these bias free Big 5 make the assumption of one higher order factor implausible. Moreover, such a factor would not uniformly predict intelligence as is claimed by advocates of this factor.