Psychology Movement Research Articles

Adlerian Identity Development From a Classical Adlerian Perspective

This article describes the influences of the author’s Adlerian identity by introducing how she became acquainted with Alfred Adler’s work and how she decided to pursue a training in classical Adlerian depth psychotherapy. She includes the people, reading, and experiences that have guided her development as an Adlerian. The author concludes by elaborating on what she perceives as the most valuable features of Individual Psychology—movement, unity of the personality, and an Adlerian spirit.

Качественная методология и доказательные практики в психологии и образовании

The article is dedicated to the relationship of qualitative research and evidence-based movement in psychology and education. We analyze the ways in which they enrich and reshape each other. The qualitative research methods open up additional opportunities for evaluating the social validity of practices, ways of their implementation, and allow taking into account contextual factors in studying the efficacy of practices. To meet the demand to increase evidence, qualitative researchers are developing the principles and procedures of meta-synthesis (as an equivalent of meta-analysis in quantitative research) aimed at integrating the results of many qualitative studies on a specific topic. The article focuses on the role of the qualitative research methods in the development of causal explanation. We follow the realist approach to causality and accept the view that qualitative research is a particular way of identifying causal processes. The explanatory possibilities of the qualitative research methods for the studies of practice efficacy are discussed.

Increasing the total tonnage of human happiness through digital positive psychological interventions: The legacies of MEPS in digital health

ABSTRACT The impact of the positive psychology movement on digital health has been an underemphasized contribution on the field. Marty Seligman was an early figure in developing and evaluating interventions using the Internet and some of the earliest studies of positive psychological interventions used online recruitment and dissemination. We discuss some aspects of Seligman’s legacy through his contribution in the digital health space and borrow from lessons in Seligman’s teaching to provide guidance to the field. Both authors were graduate students of Seligman in the mid-2000s and provide these lessons through the lens of working in the Seligman lab during this period. These lessons include the importance of collaborative and interdisciplinary work, focusing on the future rather than looking to the past, communicating simply and clearly, and opening the doors for others whenever possible. Through widespread dissemination, digital health is one tool to help increase the total tonnage of human happiness.

A Conceptual Review of Positive Teacher Interpersonal Communication Behaviors in the Instructional Context

Following the recent special issue in Frontiers in Psychology, entitled “The Role of Teacher Interpersonal Variables in Students’ Academic Engagement, Success, and Motivation,” calling educational researchers worldwide to examine different teacher interpersonal communication behaviors that contribute to student-related academic outcomes, this conceptual review article is written to familiarize educational researchers, teachers, and students with main concepts in instructional communication and their role as the main pillar of successful teaching and learning processes. To this aim, by drawing on the positive psychology movement and the rhetorical and relational goal theory in instructional communication, we argue that positive teacher interpersonal communication behaviors are facilitators of a wide range of desirable student-related academic outcomes. Then, to support our argument, we provide empirical evidence. In doing so, we introduce and define seven instances of positive teacher interpersonal communication behaviors, namely teacher care, clarity, credibility, rapport with students, stroke, immediacy, and confirmation, and expound how they positively predict academic outcomes such as motivation, learning, engagement, involvement, class attendance, willingness to communicate, performance, and success in students. Subsequently, we highlight the critical role of teacher interpersonal variables in the foreign/second language classroom context. Next, we suggest some pedagogical implications with the potential to enlighten the practice of key educational stakeholders (i.e., teachers, students, teacher educators, materials developers, administrators, and teacher recruiters). At the end, the limitations in this line of research are identified, and avenues for future research on teacher interpersonal communication in both general education and language education domains are put forward for interested researchers.

The mediating role of hotel employees’ job satisfaction and performance in the relationship between authentic leadership and organizational performance

Authentic leadership is a positive leadership theory, conceptualized under the influence of positive psychology and positive organizational behaviour movement. Although it has become a recognized leadership theory, it is still somewhat neglected in the hospitality literature. To address this gap, the paper seeks to develop and test a conceptual model linking authentic leadership to organizational performance in the hospitality context. Hypotheses were tested using hierarchical multiple regression analysis on a sample of 226 employees from 24 hotels in Croatia. The research results confirmed the positive impact of authentic leadership on hotels’ operational performance, which was mediated by followers’ job satisfaction and performance. There was no empirical support for the hypothesized impact of authentic leadership on hotels’ financial performance. The findings suggest that authentic leadership behaviours, together with positive organisational settings, characterized by flexible organizational structure, are more likely to enhance desirable employees’ attitudes and behaviours, resulting in improved organizational performance.

COVID-19 and the future of work and organisational psychology

OrientationThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a ‘coronafication’ of research and academia, including the instrumentalisation of academic research towards the demands of society and governments. Whilst an enormous number of special issues and articles are devoted on the topic, there are few fundamental reflections on how the current pandemic will affect science and work and organisational psychology in the long run.Research purposeThe current overview, written by a group of members of the Future of Work and Organisational Psychology (FOWOP) Movement, focuses on the central issues relating to work and organisational psychology that have emerged as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.Motivation for the studyThe study discusses the inability of dominant theories in work and organisational psychology to understand contemporary problems and the need to advance the theoretical realm of work psychology. We also discuss the need for pluralism in methodologies to understand the post-COVID-19 workplace, the urgency of attending to neglected voices and populations during the COVID-19 crisis and teaching during COVID-19.Research approach/design and methodThis article uses conceptual argumentation.Main findingsThe COVID-19 crisis forces work psychology to address at least its theorising, methods, unheard voices and teaching in the COVID-19 crisis.Practical/managerial implicationsOn the basis of this article, researchers and practitioners may be better aware of the neglected perspectives in the current pandemic.Contribution/value-addThis article adds to the understanding of the future directions for a sustainable Work and Organisational Psychology as an applied scientific discipline during and beyond the COVID-19 crisis.

Humanistic and Positive Psychologies: The Continuing Narrative After Two Decades

Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi launched the “positive” psychology movement with a conspicuously negative strategy: the seemingly deliberate character assassination of humanistic psychology. Their critical remarks, not at all original, appeared designed to distance positive psychology from humanistic psychology and (ironically) to paint a portrait of positive psychology as being more original than it really was. Seligman has since apologized for disparaging humanistic psychology, and this article assesses both the content of that apology and its value in the ongoing discussion concerning the relationship between humanistic and positive psychologies. The apology was found to be superficial and laced with more extensive explicit and implicit negative assessments of humanistic psychology. These assessments were found to range from theoretically biased partial truths to completely unfounded claims, all unworthy of scientific discourse and in need of fact checking. The unabated dissemination of these arguably damning and unsubstantiated views is framed in terms of van Kaam’s observations concerning the collectivist leanings of postindustrial psychological science, which fly in the face of the humanistic revolution.

Development and Psychometric Validation of a Semantic Differential Measure of Character Strengths in a Sample of Singaporean University Students

Positive psychology emerged as a movement in professional psychology that emphasizes the positive psychological aspects of the individual instead of focusing on diagnosis and psychopathology. Peterson and Seligman (2004) developed and validated the 240-item Virtues in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) to assess character strengths and virtues that enable optimal human thriving. However, VIA-IS is often considered too long for use by clinicians in their private practices, as well as for researchers interested in conducting positive psychology research. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a 24-item Values in Action Semantic Differential Scale (VIA-SDS) in a sample of 231 Singaporean university students. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a 4-factor measurement structure (Humanity, Optimism, Leadership, and Creativity) with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from .67 to .88. Three of the four latent variables were positively associated with happiness and negatively related to perceived stress and depression. These findings support the validity of the VIA-SDS for use as a brief clinical assessment instrument by clinicians and researchers to assess character strengths.

Classroom enjoyment and anxiety among Saudi undergraduate EFL students: does gender matter?


 
 
 The current study was motivated by recent interest in the effect of positive and negative emotions in the context of foreign language learning resulting from the rise of the positive psychology movement (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2016; MacIntyre & Mercer, 2014). It examines the construct of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and its relationship with foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) among a group of 487 English as a foreign language (EFL) students (340 females, 147 males) enrolled in public universities in Saudi Arabia. A measure of FLE based on Likert scale ratings of ten items (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014), and a measure of FLCA based on eight items extracted from the FLCAS (Horwitz et al., 1986) were used. Male and female students had the same levels of FLE and FLCA. Correlation analysis showed that the relationship between students’ FLE and FLCA was significantly negative. Qualitative analysis of the participants’ learning experiences revealed the causes of FLCA and FLE among Saudi EFL learners.
 
 

Rethinking Pan-Africanism: The Quest for Supra-State Formation and Authentic Development in Africa

Pan-African ideology assisted African people to realise political independence and achieve national sovereignty in the time of colonialism. From 1900 to 1960, Pan-African ideology brought a dramatic change in the social, political, and cultural lives of African people and black diasporans who were living in Europe and North America. Pan-African ideology resolved the cultural and political questions of black people at the time of slavery and colonialism. However, since the 1960s the cultural, political, psychological, social, and scientific movements of Pan-Africanism have ceased and become stagnant, without the ability to properly address the economic and governance problems of the continent. And today, neo-colonial tendencies, from both the West and the East, continue to challenge the continent. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is three-fold: first, to suggest the possibility and potential of the neo-Pan-African movement for realising supra-national sovereignty in Africa; second, to show how rethinking Pan-African ideology can help to overcome the apparent economic crisis of Africa; and third, to capitalise on the significance of Pan-Africanism as a panacea to block neo-colonial tendencies in contemporary Africa. The study used interviews with key informants, books, and published articles as sources from which to draw important inferences.

Recent movements in theoretical psychology in Japan

The purpose of this article is to report on the status quo in Japanese theoretical psychology and introduce some of the recent theoretical debates relating to psychology and related fields in Japan. Theoretical psychology has not been very active in Japanese psychology so far. However, despite that, very important studies on theoretical issues in psychology have been conducted in the last 20 years, such as theoretical debate concerning “new forms of psychology”; methodological arguments about qualitative approaches, narrative psychology, and clinical psychology; detailed studies on the history of Japanese modern psychology; and the creation of new interdisciplinary fields of research. At present, Japanese psychology seems to be a collection of small diverse paradigms. I conclude that more theoretical and philosophical arguments are needed in order to avoid narrowing psychologists’ view on humanity and to pursue the true and comprehensive understanding of the object.

Conceptualising and addressing mental disorders amongst Muslim communities: Approaches from the Islamic Golden Age.

Although Islam is the world’s second-largest religion, there continues to be misconceptions and an overall lack of awareness regarding the religious and social worlds that make up the global Muslim community. This is particularly concerning when examining notions of mental ill-health, where a lack of cultural awareness, understanding, and sensitivity can impede adequate treatment. As a global religion, Islam is practiced within various cultural milieus, and, given the centrality of faith amongst Muslim communities, a conflation of religion and culture can occur when attempting to understand mental health paradigms. Whilst much of the discourse regarding Muslim mental health centres on cultural formulations, this article discusses how, historically, conceptualisations relating to medicine and mental health were ensconced within the particular medical paradigm of the day. Specifically, it considers the frameworks within which mental health and illness were understood within the medieval Muslim medical tradition and their relevance to contemporary debates in psychology and psychiatry. In sum, this paper seeks to demonstrate that cultural formulations of mental illness, often viewed as “Islamic”, are distinct from historical Islamic approaches to mental health which employed contemporaneous medical discourse and which act as the reference marker for the emergent revivalist Islamic psychology movement seen today.

A Brief History and Overview of Existential-Phenomenological Psychology

This article surveys the background and theory of the existential-phenomenological approach to psychology, with a particular focus on its reception in the United States. The article begins with a discussion of what exactly existential-phenomenological psychology is, including the theories underlying this approach and its basic practices. The article then discusses how the approach developed, including its roots in the philosophies of existentialism and phenomenology, its first appearances in Europe, its globalization, and finally its arrival in the U.S. The article then discusses struggles that the existential-phenomenological movement in psychology is currently facing and the concerns of those involved in the movement for its future. Finally, the article closes on a summary of all the information presented as well as of the contributions to the field of psychology that it and the existential-phenomenological movement can make. KEYWORDS: Existentialism; Phenomenology; Psychology; United States; Existential Psychology; Phenomenological Psychology; Existential Psychotherapy; Philosophy of Psychology

From the Radical Psychology Movement to STS: A Journey From the 1960s in Multiple Parts

ABSTRACT Activism in the late-1960s through the early 1970s in the radical psychology movement created the foundation for an intellectual critique and political practice that was part of a group of overall radical science movements that would become important components of STS in practice. The radical psychology movement emphasized lay perspectives in science and medicine, public participation in science, alternative care, and citizen-science alliances. The anti-psychiatry movement among professionals complemented this phenomenon. Groups such as Psychologists for a Democratic Society and numerous mental patients' rights groups, publications like The Radical Therapist, radical caucuses in professional organizations, and a burgeoning feminist therapy approach helped create a major challenge to normal science in the mental health sector. Participants in these movements were connected to broader health activism and to radical science efforts. Lessons from these challenges to the status quo were useful in developing critical environmental health and justice movements later on, resulting in civic science and community-based participatory research projects which would become central elements of STS. These traditions also nourished a strong co-existence of scholarship and activism in many arenas of science and medicine.

Economic Impact Of Covid-19 And Change In Value System

Mankind has observed various pandemics throughout history where some of were more disastrous than the others to the humans. We are observing a very tough time once again fighting an invisible enemy; the novel COVID-19 coronavirus. Initially identified in the Wuhan province of China, and then rapidly spread across the world. The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has created a shock, putting all global population under lockdown. The worldwide spread of the pandemic resulted in unfathomable economic fallouts; zero economic activity, disruption of supply chain networks, falling global demands. The COVID-19 global crisis continues to disrupt social chains. Although there is no vaccine available and in order to prevent and avoid COVID-19, World Health Organization recommended avoiding large events and mass gatherings. The effects of COVID-19 on education, businesses, laborers’ and families have been adverse. The main objective of the study is to assess the disruptions caused by Covid-19 on supply chain both in rural and urban areas and further analyze the effect of Covid-19 on inter and intra district mobility movement of labour and consequent human psychology and value system.

Positive transformation towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution: empirical evidence from a technology company

This article explores the question of how organizations can transform constructively and positively towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). It presents insights into the state of the art on 4IR, positive psychology movements PP1.0 and PP2.0 and particularly on German organizations in the 4IR within the South African context. The study uses a qualitative research approach and presents findings from a study conducted with 16 managers across top, middle and lower management levels in a German engineering organization, based in South Africa, operating in Southern Africa. Findings, discussion, conclusions and recommendations provide insights into emerging themes on the 4IR from perspectives that take the context of discourses on the 4IR in developed and developing countries into account. Findings show the importance of five main themes when transforming into the 4IR: (1) Employee management; (2) Innovative technological and systemic change; (3) Work organization; (4) Environment and (5) Network and cooperation. Human communication and connectivity and a balanced human–machine interaction seem to build the core framework for constructive socio-technological change and a meaningful work environment. Thereby, a focus on the positive transformation requires working through the challenges and dark sides of the 4IR as well as a contextual and culture-specific approach to finally create a meaningful, healthy and optimal functioning work environment for the employees.

Academic networks of critical social psychology in Brazil. An analysis of the impact and the intellectual roots

This study aims to reconstruct the landscape of critical social psychology in Brazil and discuss the academic production networks that are developing in this field. Therefore, it analyzed a sample of 384 articles in the field of critical social psychology published by 18 journals indexed in QUALIS (Categories A1 and A2 in psychology area). The publication and citation information were obtained from ISI Web of Science database. Bibliometric analyses were performed using VOSviewer 1.6.9 software to identify indicators such as reference publication year spectroscopy (RPYS) of historical works, consumption, semantic maps and coauthorship. The results indicate that the academic production of Brazilian critical social psychology represents a socially significant and important impact on the country. The journals in which these studies were published have helped consolidate a strong and representative local academic community of the critical social psychology movement in Brazil, and their progressive and ascendant influence has also contributed to other countries of the region.

The sociocultural movement in psychology, the role of theories in sociocultural inquiries, and the theory of sociocultural models

This special issue presents the theory of sociocultural models (TSCM) and its applications in diverse areas of psychology, including education, health care, clinical practice, gender relations, and general research. As many theories already exist in the social sciences, some readers may ask: “Why do cross‐cultural, cultural, and indigenous psychologists need another theory?” This question is comprised of two aspects: culture/cultural and theory/theoretical. Therefore, to answer it, it is important to clarify both issues. The first relates to cultural and its relation to psychological. The second, theory, considers its relation to cultural and psychological. These issues have long‐range implications for all culture and psychology disciplines as they pose many questions: What role does culture play in the mental functioning of people? How is culture constituted? Is cultural related to social? Does people’s mental functioning exert reciprocal influences on their cultural and social functioning? While working toward answering these questions, researchers quickly determine that more questions arise: What role should theories play in answering these questions? What constitutes theory in culture and psychology disciplines? How should such a theory (or such theories) address the triad of cultural, social, and mental? Consequently, in an effort to provide an overview of the TSCM and to begin to answer these questions, this introduction consists of two parts. The first part addresses the sociocultural turn in modern psychology; this part discusses its implications for research in culture and psychology disciplines. The second segment examines the topic of the theoretical backgrounds of cultural and cross‐cultural research and connects the philosophical paradigms of interpretivism and realism with the theory of sociocultural models. This introduction concludes with a brief overview of the articles included in this issue.

Don’t Forget to Say “Thank You”: Toward a Modern History of Gratitude

Abstract Gratitude is much discussed these days as an area of research in the positive psychology movement. But the quality has not been given much historical attention—despite the surge of historical attention to other types of emotional response. This article lays out the evidence for extensive reliance on gratitude in the nineteenth-century United States and its measurable decline in the twentieth century—at least until the recent revival. From childrearing materials to comments on etiquette, both references and conventions shifted measurably. The essay goes on to establish the context for these changes, relating gratitude to developments in gender relations and, particularly, to a heightened sense of self and, arguably, of self-entitlement. Current efforts to promote gratitude operate against the contemporary historical dynamic, and the resulting tensions deserve attention from historians and psychologists alike.

Positive Education: A Way to Foster and Promote Psychological Flourishing in Schools

Abstract Introduction: The increasing importance of the movement of positive psychology and consequently positive education has led scientific study to foster and promote human psychological flourishing. This research aimed to provide an educational-interventional protocol to foster and promote flourishing and evaluate its effectiveness. Method: With a pretest and posttest design and a control group, this study was performed on 34 teachers from two schools in Tehran, selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. After randomly allocating teachers to the test and control groups, they complete the Human Psychological Flourishing Scale and Flourishing Questionnaire. Then, the educational-interventional flourishing protocol was only presented to the test group during 14 sessions. The questionnaires were filled again by all the subjects at the end of the course. Results: According to the results of the univariate and multivariate covariance analyses, flourishing training significantly increased all the components of flourishing in the test group, compared to the control group. Conclusion: According to the results, the application of educational-interventional flourishing protocol increased all the components of flourishing among teachers (e.g., positive emotion, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment, sense of satisfaction/happiness, individual competency and social contribution). Therefore, this protocol can be applied to promote the flourishing of teachers.