Differences In Individual Characteristics Research Articles

Judging What Others Enjoy: Desirability and Observability of Interests

Interests guide major life decisions such as choosing a career path, yet little is known about the subjective characteristics of individual differences in interests. Prior research on personality traits has demonstrated that subjective trait perceptions influence the validity and reliability of personality assessments. The current work expands the study of these subjective characteristics to individual differences in interests. Desirability and observability were assessed among 13 constructs: person orientation, thing orientation, RIASEC career interests, and Big Five traits. Judgments of interest dimensions varied considerably, with socially-related interests rated more desirable than thing-related interests. Some career-related interests were low in observability, and thus may be susceptible to being overlooked or categorized inaccurately. The patterns observed in interest characteristics were comparable to patterns in career choice hit rates, occupational prestige, and self-other convergence. The findings advance knowledge of differences between interest dimensions and suggest that subjective perceptions should be considered in interest assessment.

Overview of Human HtrA Family Proteases and Their Distinctive Physiological Roles and Unique Involvement in Diseases, Especially Cancer and Pregnancy Complications.

The mammalian high temperature requirement A (HtrA) proteins are a family of evolutionarily conserved serine proteases, consisting of four homologs (HtrA1-4) that are involved in many cellular processes such as growth, unfolded protein stress response and programmed cell death. In humans, while HtrA1, 2 and 3 are widely expressed in multiple tissues with variable levels, HtrA4 expression is largely restricted to the placenta with the protein released into maternal circulation during pregnancy. This limited expression sets HtrA4 apart from the rest of the family. All four HtrAs are active proteases, and their specific cellular and physiological roles depend on tissue type. The dysregulation of HtrAs has been implicated in many human diseases such as cancer, arthritis, neurogenerative ailments and reproductive disorders. This review first discusses HtrAs broadly and then focuses on the current knowledge of key molecular characteristics of individual human HtrAs, their similarities and differences and their reported physiological functions. HtrAs in other species are also briefly mentioned in the context of understanding the human HtrAs. It then reviews the distinctive involvement of each HtrA in various human diseases, especially cancer and pregnancy complications. It is noteworthy that HtrA4 expression has not yet been reported in any primary tumour samples, suggesting an unlikely involvement of this HtrA in cancer. Collectively, we accentuate that a better understanding of tissue-specific regulation and distinctive physiological and pathological roles of each HtrA will improve our knowledge of many processes that are critical for human health.

Thinking about the best possible self: A unique individual difference characteristic

Thinking about the best possible self: A unique individual difference characteristic

Integrating state dynamics and trait change: A tutorial using the example of stress reactivity and change in well-being

Recent theoretical accounts on the causes of trait change emphasize the potential relevance of states. In the same vein, reactions to daily stress have been shown to prospectively predict change in well-being, speaking for the proposition that state dynamics can be a precursor to long-term change in more stable individual-differences characteristics. A common analysis approach towards linking state dynamics such as stress reactivity and change in some more stable individual differences characteristic has been a two-step approach, modeling state dynamics and trait change separately. In this paper, we elaborate on one-step procedures to simultaneously model state dynamics and trait change, realized in the multilevel structural equation modeling framework. We highlight three distinct advantages over the two-step approach which pre-exists in the methodological literature, and we disseminate these advantages to a larger audience. We target a readership of substantive researchers interested in the relationships between state dynamics and traits or trait change, and we provide them with a tutorial style paper on state-of-the-art methods on these topics.

Analysis of Differences in Individual Characteristics, Lifestyle, Nutritional Status and Dieting Patterns in Pregnant Women with Preeclampsian History

Preeclampsia is a multisystem complication that occurs after 20 weeks of gestation. In recent years there has been no significant decrease in the incidence of preeclampsia, even in developed countries it is still the main cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. This study aims to analyze differences in individual characteristics, lifestyle (physical activity), nutritional status and diet in pregnant women with a history of preeclampsia. This research design is descriptive analytic with cross sectional approach. Samples were obtained from 55 pregnant women with consecutive sampling who met the inclusion criteria. Data analysis used chi-square test and spearman correlation test. The results showed a relationship between physical activity with systolic blood pressure (p value 0.001, r = 0.449) and diastolic (p value 0.43, r = 0.273), there was also a relationship between diet and risk factors for preeclampsia through blood pressure measurements as evidenced by increase in blood pressure (p value 0.000) in pregnant women in the working area of Puskesmas Kedungkandang Malang. The results of this study are expected to be used as a reference in intervening pregnant women at risk of preeclampsia, so that the disease does not develop more severely so that it does not endanger the lives of the mother and the fetus she is carrying.

Individual differences in motor skill learning: Past, present and future.

Humans vary considerably in their ability to perform and learn new motor skills. In addition, they respond to different performance and practice conditions in varying ways. Historically, experimental psychologists have characterized these differences as 'experimental noise', yet for those who embrace differential psychology, the study of individual differences promises to deepen insights into the processes that mediate motor control and learning. In this paper, we highlight what we know about predicting motor learning based on individual difference characteristics and renew a call made by Lee Cronbach several decades ago to combine the methodologies used by experimental and differential psychologists to further our understanding of how to promote motor learning. The paper provides a brief historical overview of research on individual differences and motor learning followed by a systematic review of the last 20years of research on this issue. The paper ends by highlighting some of the methodological challenges associated with conducting research on individual differences, as well as providing suggestions for future research. The study of individual differences has important implications for furthering our understanding of motor learning and when tailoring interventions for diverse learners at different stages of practice.

The stability of visual perspective and vividness during mental time travel

When remembering or imagining, people can experience an event from their own eyes, or as an outside observer, with differing levels of vividness. The perspective from, and vividness with, which a person remembers or imagines has been related to numerous individual difference characteristics. These findings require that phenomenology during mental time travel be trait-like—that people consistently experience similar perspectives and levels of vividness. This assumption remains untested. Across two studies (combined N = 295), we examined the stability of visual perspective and vividness across multiple trials and timepoints. Perspective and vividness showed weak within-session stability when reported across just a few trials but showed strong within-session stability when sufficient trials were collected. Importantly, both visual perspective and vividness demonstrated good-to-excellent across-session stability across different delay intervals (two days to six weeks). Overall, our results suggest that people dependably experience similar visual phenomenology across occurrences of mental time travel.

A Novel Smart Motor Imagery Intention Human-Computer Interaction Model Using Extreme Learning Machine and EEG Signals.

The brain is the central nervous system that governs human activities. However, in modern society, more and more diseases threaten the health of the brain and nerves and spinal cord, making the human brain unable to conduct normal information interaction with the outside world. The rehabilitation training of the brain-computer interface can promote the nerve repair of the sensorimotor cortex in patients with brain diseases. Therefore, the research of brain-computer interface for motor imaging is of great significance for patients with brain diseases to restore motor function. Due to the characteristics of non-stationary, nonlinear, and individual differences of EEG signals, there are still many difficulties in the analysis and classification of EEG signals at this stage. In this study, the Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) model was used to classify motor-imaging EEG signals, identify the user’s intention, and control external devices. Considering that single-modal features cannot represent the core information, this study uses a fusion feature that combines temporal and spatial features as the final feature data. The fusion features are input to the trained ELM classifier, and the final classification result is obtained. Two sets of BCI competition data in the BCI competition public database are used to verify the validity of the model. The experimental results show that the ELM model has achieved a classification accuracy of 0.7832 in the classification task of Data Sets IIb, which is higher than other comparison algorithms, and shows universal applicability among different subjects. In addition, the average recognition rate of this model in the Data Sets IIIa classification task reaches 0.8347, which has obvious advantages compared with the comparative classification algorithm. The classification effect is smaller than the classification effect obtained by the champion algorithm of the same project, which has certain reference value.

Awareness of age-related change, future time perspective, and implications for goal adjustment in older adulthood

Objectives How people adjust their goals is central to adaptation across the lifespan. However, little is known about individual difference characteristics that predict how and why people use different self-regulatory strategies. The present study investigated associations of perceived age-related gains and losses, and their interaction, as predictors of goal adjustment in older adulthood. Furthermore, we examined whether future time perspective (FTP) mediated relationships between awareness of age-related change (AARC) and goal adjustment. Method A community-based sample of 408 adults (aged 60–88 years) was recruited via an internet-based research platform. Participants completed questionnaire measures of AARC, FTP, goal disengagement, and goal re-engagement. A flexibility index reflecting tendencies toward use of both goal disengagement and goal re-engagement strategies was also analyzed. Results Although AARC-losses was associated with lower goal re-engagement and goal flexibility, this association was weaker among those with higher AARC-gains, indicating AARC-gains may be protective in the relationship between AARC-losses and goal adjustment. The association between AARC and goal adjustment was also shown to be mediated by FTP. Higher AARC-gains was associated with more expansive FTP, which was associated with lower goal disengagement and higher goal re-engagement. On the other hand, higher AARC-losses was associated with more restricted FTP, which was associated with higher goal disengagement and lower goal re-engagement. Discussion Results have implications for how we conceptualize the combined effects of age-related gains and losses on developmental outcomes relevant to adaptive aging. Furthermore, perceptions of future time with advancing age may be implicated in processes linking AARC with goal adjustment.

Combining Public Opinion Dissemination with Polarization Process Considering Individual Heterogeneity.

The wide dissemination of false information and the frequent occurrence of extreme speeches on online social platforms have become increasingly prominent, which impact on the harmony and stability of society. In order to solve the problems in the dissemination and polarization of public opinion over online social platforms, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research on the formation mechanism of the dissemination and polarization of public opinion. This article appends individual communicating willingness and forgetting effects to the Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR) model to describe individual state transitions; secondly, it introduces three heterogeneous factors describing the characteristics of individual differences in the Jager-Amblard (J-A) model, namely: Individual conformity, individual conservative degree, and inter-individual relationship strength in order to reflect the different roles of individual heterogeneity in the opinions interaction; thirdly, it integrates the improved SEIR model and J-A model to construct the SEIR-JA model to study the formation mechanism of public opinion dissemination and polarization. Transmission parameters and polarization parameters are simulated and analyzed. Finally, a public opinion event from the pricing of China’s self-developed COVID-19 vaccine are used, and related Weibo comment data about this event are also collected so as to verify the rationality and effectiveness of the proposed model.

(Un)happiness and voting in U.S. presidential elections.

A rapidly growing literature has attempted to explain Donald Trump's success in the 2016 U.S. presidential election as a result of a wide variety of differences in individual characteristics, attitudes, and social processes. We propose that the economic and psychological processes previously established have in common that they generated or electorally capitalized on unhappiness in the electorate, which emerges as a powerful high-level predictor of the 2016 electoral outcome. Drawing on a large dataset covering over 2 million individual surveys, which we aggregated to the county level, we find that low levels of evaluative, experienced, and eudaemonic subjective well-being (SWB) are strongly predictive of Trump's victory, accounting for an extensive list of demographic, ideological, and socioeconomic covariates and robustness checks. County-level future life evaluation alone correlates with the Trump vote share over Republican baselines at r = -.78 in the raw data, a magnitude rarely seen in the social sciences. We show similar findings when examining the association between individual-level life satisfaction and Trump voting. Low levels of SWB also predict anti-incumbent voting at the 2012 election, both at the county and individual level. The findings suggest that SWB is a powerful high-level marker of (dis)content and that SWB should be routinely considered alongside economic explanations of electoral choice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The effectiveness of role autonomy in influencing job pursuit intentions of customer‐oriented frontline job seekers

AbstractAttracting customer‐oriented frontline employee (FLE) job seekers is important for many service organisations, particularly in competitive environments. It is widely accepted that FLEs' customer‐focused behaviours are instrumental in organisational success. Numerous studies demonstrate that autonomy plays an important role in supporting FLEs' self‐efficacy and in helping to reduce stress attributed to job demands. While autonomy is recognised as a key resource for FLEs, its influence over job pursuit intentions of tertiary‐educated FLE job seekers has received little empirical attention. Based on a sample of 120 undergraduates in their final year and postgraduate students in an Irish university we address this question and the possible impact of perceived job complexity on job pursuit intentions of this particular cohort. In addition, we investigate whether the individual difference characteristic of customer orientation (CO) affects the extent to which autonomy influences job pursuit intentions. Results support the importance of autonomy however, the findings suggest that autonomy's effect on job pursuit intentions is influenced by job seekers' individual CO. The results indicate that autonomy has a stronger effect on job pursuit intentions of FLE job seekers (educated to undergraduate level and beyond) with high versus low CO.

Mediators of the Relationship Between Cognition and Subjective Well-Being

Cognitive functioning has consistently found to predict subjective well-being (SWB), but it remains unclear why this relationship exists. Several potential explanations for this relationship have been offered in the literature, one of which is that a third variable accounts for this relationship. The current study examines this hypothesis by testing need for cognition (NfC), self-rated health, physical activity, cognitive activity, emotional stability, and conscientiousness as mediators of the relationship between cognitive ability (g) and indices of well-being. Data were drawn from the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project, a study of community-dwelling adults aged 18–99 (N = 4354). A composite variable representing cognition was created using measures of episodic memory, perceptual speed, reasoning ability, and spatial visualization. SWB was conceptualized as life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect; the three facets of SWB were treated as separate outcomes. Results indicate that NfC, self-rated health, emotional stability, and conscientiousness partially mediate the relationship between cognition and all facets of SWB. Neither physical activity nor cognitive activity mediated the relationship between cognition and SWB. The results of this study support the hypothesis that the cognition-SWB relationship can partially be explained by third variables and provide insight into the personality and individual difference characteristics that underlie this relationship.

Heterogeneity in DSM-5 Symptom Criteria: Phenotypes of Alcohol Use Disorder in a Sample Seeking Alcohol Treatment.

This study sought to identify phenotypic variations among individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) that may, in part, help improve the effectiveness of existing AUD interventions. Latent class analysis was conducted to examine the potential heterogeneity of AUD in a sample (N=220; Mage=51.19years, standard deviation=9.94; 37.7% female) of treatment-seeking participants diagnosed with AUD using DSM-5 criteria. Three distinct patterns of responses to the 11 DSM-5 AUD symptoms emerged: Class 1 (n=114, 51.8%), Class 2 (n=78, 35.5%) and Class 3 (n=28, 12.7%). The identified profiles were further differentiated by demographics, alcohol-related constructs, individual difference characteristics and diagnostic and treatment variables. The findings have implications for refining AUD assessment as well as optimizing personalized treatment.

Axiological Aspects of the State Policy of Students' Physical Culture Formation

The article is devoted to the study of various value aspects related to the state policy of the formation of students' physical culture. The author demonstrates the widespread prevalence of the institute of physical education of students in different countries of the world, as well as the long period of its existence. With examples from different countries and different historical periods, the similarities and differences of individual characteristics of this institute are shown. Determination of the institute of physical education of students by the interests of state policy is emphasized. It is concluded that there is a value potential in it, which can be implemented by the state, depending on the urgent national tasks.The question is raised about the value of physical education of students at the present time, which is considered binocularly: from the standpoint of the role of physical education of students in economic development and its role in saving the person himself, which is an absolute national priority. The study of these issues is built within the framework of the “knowledge economy” paradigm, as well as the existential-humanistic approach to human health.Models of formation of physical culture of youth in the USSR and modern Russia are considered. Their example demonstrates the fundamental and decisive importance of the values of society for the formation of physical culture of the individual, which is relevant to the national priorities of the state. The reasons for which the model of the USSR could not be transferred to modern Russia, as well as the value features of the attitude of students of modern Russia to physical education are revealed. The necessary value orientations of students have been determined, which are the key to the effective implementation of the state policy of the formation of students' physical culture.

The Study of Antecedents and Boundary Conditions of Cooperation: The Role of Equity Sensitivity, Participative Leadership, and Power Distance

비대면 방식의 효과적인 조직 운영이 요구되는 경영 환경에서 조직 내 구성원 간 협력의 중요성이 더욱 강조되고 있다. 이에 본 연구는 특성 활성화 이론을 토대로 구성원 개인 수준에서협력의 선행요인과 경계조건을 밝히고자 하였다. 협력의 선행요인은 호혜 규범의 개인 차이에 관한 특성으로서 형평 민감성을 설정하고, 경계조건은 사회적 요인으로서 참여적 리더십과 조직적요인으로서 권력거리를 검토하였다. 연구 가설의 검증을 위하여 종업원 규모가 300인 이상인 국내 기업에 근무하는 직장인들로부터 수집한 294부의 설문지를 활용하였다. 분석 결과, 첫째, 형평 민감성과 협력 간 주효과는유의하였다. 둘째, 참여적 리더십의 조절효과는 유의하지 않았다. 셋째, 참여적 리더십과 권력거리의 조절된 조절효과는 유의하였다. 특히 조절된 조절효과의 분석 결과에서는 구성원의 참여 기대 수준(권력거리)과 실제 참여 수준(참여적 리더십)의 차이에 관한 선행연구들의 함의가 확인되었고, 이에 더하여 보다 심층적인 결과가 밝혀졌다. 즉 형평 민감성과 협력의 관계에서 ‘결정균형’ 의 긍정적인 영향력이 검증되었고, 결정균형의 두 유형(높은 결정균형, 낮은 결정균형)에 관한 차별적 효과가 새롭게 발견되었다. 본 연구는 형평 민감성 이론을 적용하여 형평성에 대한 선호도의 개인 차이가 협력에 미치는영향을 실증적으로 규명하였고, 형평 민감성과 협력의 관계에서 사회적 원천(참여적 리더십)과 조직적 원천(권력거리)에 의한 복합적 효과를 밝힘으로써 협력의 선행요인과 경계조건에 관한 기존연구를 확장하였다. 연구 결과와 관련하여 이론적⋅실무적 시사점과 향후 연구 방안을 제시하였다.The importance of cooperation among members of the organization is further emphasized in a management environment where effective non-face-to-face organizational operations are required. Based on trait activation theory, this study sought to identify the antecedents and boundary conditions of cooperation at individual level. Equity sensitivity, which means the characteristics of individual differences in reciprocity norms, was set as the antecedents of cooperation, and the boundary condition was reviewed for participative leadership as a social factor and power distance as an organizational factor. To verify the research hypothesis, 294 copies of the questionnaire were used collected from office workers at domestic companies with 300 or more employees. As a result of the analysis, the main effect between equity sensitivity and cooperation was significant. Second, the moderating effect of participative leadership was not significant. Third, moderated moderation effect of participative leadership and power distance was significant. In particular, the analysis of moderated moderation effects confirmed the implications of prior studies on the difference between the expected level of participation (power distance) of members and the actual level of participation (participative leadership). In addition, more in-depth results have been revealed. In other words, the positive influence of ‘decisional equilibrium’ in the relationship of equity sensitivity and cooperation has been verified, and the discriminatory effect on the two types of decisional equilibrium (high decisional equilibrium, low decisional equilibrium) has been newly discovered. This study empirically identified the effect of individual differences in preferences for equity on cooperation by applying equity sensitivity theory. And this study expanded the existing research on antecedents and boundary conditions of cooperation by revealing the complex effects by social sources (participative leadership) and organizational sources (power distance) in the relationship of equity sensitivity and cooperation. The theoretical and practical implications and future research suggestions were presented.

Married or Partnered Adults’ Self-Perceptions of Aging in Later Life: The Context of Gender

Marriage or other types of partnerships are consequential for health in later life, but its association to self-perceptions of aging remains a relatively unexplored area of research. This study used three waves of panel data from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 4,315) to examine how changes in the health status and relationship quality over time contribute to self-perceptions of aging for married/partnered men and women. Multilevel models showed that women demonstrated more positive self-perceptions of aging than men, but there was no gender difference in how self-perceptions of aging became more negative over time. The findings on the main and moderating effects of health and relationship quality give evidence that changes across time, as well as average differences in individual characteristics, may affect self-perceptions of married/partnered men and women differently. The context in which gender shapes key aspects of life contributes to self-perceptions of aging in later life.

Social Contexts of Subjective Aging Perceptions

The way adults perceive their aging process is an important predictor of later life outcomes, including mental and physical health. Despite the importance of living a socially active life in old age, the inter-connections of individuals’ perceptions of aging with their social lives and behaviors are not well-understood. This symposium addresses questions of how the social environment and social behaviors are related to subjective aging perceptions, including subjective age and self-perceptions of aging. Two papers examine self-perceptions of aging in the context of couple relations. Mejía and colleagues focus on married older adults’ shared beliefs about aging, showing that within older couples, beliefs about aging are shaped in part through partners’ co-experience of each other’s biological aging. Kim and colleagues also examine couples, finding evidence that changes across time, as well as average differences in individual characteristics, may affect self-perceptions of married/partnered men and women differently. The final two papers examine the interplay between chronological age and perceptions of aging. Weiss and Weiss examine the social conditions and consequences of subjective age across the life span in the work domain, demonstrating that feeling relatively older among young adults and younger among older adults predicts proactive behaviors such as speaking up. Cohn-Schwartz and colleagues investigate the bi-directional temporal associations of adults’ self-perceptions of aging and the age composition of their social networks. The symposium concludes with summarizing remarks from the discussant who will suggest possible directions for future research on the social contexts of the perceived experience of aging.

Awareness of Age-Related Change, Future Time Perspective, and Implications for Goal Management in Older Adulthood

How people manage their goals is central to adaptation across the lifespan. However, little is known about the individual difference characteristics that predict how and why people use different self-regulatory strategies. The present study aimed to investigate associations of perceived age-related gains and losses, and their interaction, as predictors of flexibility in goal management in older adulthood. We also examined whether future time perspective (FTP) mediated the relationship between AARC and goal flexibility, such that awareness of aging impacts perceptions of time remaining, impacting how individuals evaluate and manage their goals. A community-based sample of 408 adults aged between 60 and 88 years was recruited via an internet-based research platform. Participants completed questionnaire measures of AARC-gains, AARC-losses, FTP, goal disengagement, and goal re-engagement. A flexibility index reflecting tendencies toward use of both goal disengagement and re-engagement strategies was also analyzed. Although AARC-losses was associated with lower goal re-engagement and goal flexibility, this association was weaker among those with higher AARC-gains, indicating that AARC-gains may be protective in the relationship between AARC-losses and goal management. Furthermore, the association between AARC and goal management was mediated by FTP. Higher AARC-gains were associated with more open-ended FTP, which was associated with higher goal re-engagement and lower goal disengagement. On the other hand, higher AARC-losses was associated with more restricted FTP, which was associated with lower goal re-engagement, and higher goal disengagement. Results suggest that subjective awareness of aging (particularly awareness of gains), has important implications for goal management in older adulthood.

Findings From the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project: Individual Differences, Well-Being, and Cognition

The Virginia Cognitive Aging Project (VCAP) is a cross-sectional and longitudinal study of cognitive functioning in a large sample of healthy community-dwelling adults between the ages of18-99 years (Salthouse,2009). Data are collected on several domains of cognitive functioning and subjective ratings of cognition, as well as a myriad of individual difference characteristics including self-reports of physical activity, cognitive activity, social support, personality, well-being, and affective measures. This symposium focuses on findings from VCAP that examine cross-sectional and longitudinal links between individual difference characteristics, indicators of well-being, and objective and subjective cognition. These topics include the cross-sectional assessment of >5,000 participants on the mediating role of Need for Cognition on the relationship between cognition and well-being (Yazdani & Siedlecki) and the relationship between social support and ratings of subjective cognition (Mueller & Minahan). Jung uses cross-lagged analyses to assess temporal relationships between physical and cognitive activity and cognition. Falzarano et al. present findings regarding the longitudinal relationship between subjective and objective measures of cognition. Finally, Minahan and Siedlecki present findings examining the temporal relationship between ratings of loneliness and depression over time. The symposium provides insights into the complex role of individual differences characteristics and cognitive functioning across the adult lifespan.