Personal Construct Research Articles

Exploring the intersectionality of ethnicity, gender and entrepreneurship: a case study of Nepali women in the United Kingdom

PurposeEntrepreneurs belonging to ethnic minority groups have emerged as a significant and more powerful element within the private sector, having considerable economic and social impact. Nevertheless, prior empirical research has indicated that each geographical area has distinct social and cultural obstacles that impact entrepreneurs in varying ways. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine the difficulties and barriers faced by women entrepreneurs from diverse ethnic origins in the United Kingdom, a developed region, while managing their firms.Design/methodology/approachIn this research, the cross-concepts of intersectional theory were used as the study’s analytical framework. The research methodology involved conducting semi-structured face-to-face interviews with a group of 30 Nepali women entrepreneurs residing in the United Kingdom. A qualitative approach was employed, and thematic analysis was used to extract meaningful findings.FindingsThe study’s outcomes underscore the emergence of social stereotypes as a salient factor affecting Nepali female entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the research identifies challenges and barriers, which fall into several cross-concept categories: those related to self-efficacy; family; social and cultural factors; business-related issues; access to financial resources; and ethnicity and work-based categorization. The findings might also have broader implications, benefiting ethnic female entrepreneurs in general, as well as ethnic communities and governmental and non-governmental organizations. Insights gained from the study can inform the development of tailored training and educational programs aimed at supporting and nurturing the entrepreneurial aspirations of ethnic women.Originality/valueTo the best of the researchers’ knowledge, there is a dearth of empirical investigations that probe the challenges and barriers faced by Nepali women who have embarked on entrepreneurial endeavours in the UK. This study contributes to the limited literature knowledge on ethnic women entrepreneurs, by linking ethnicity, class and gender/sexual orientation, as well as business, family, personal and financial constructs. By adopting the cross-concept of intersectional theory, this study further contributes to the knowledge of the discriminatory realities of Nepali women entrepreneurs as they grapple with the complex experiences of running a business. By doing this, our study can contribute further to the knowledge of gender and entrepreneurship from the ethnic background of UK enterprises.

How survey scoring decisions can influence your study's results: A trip through the IRT looking glass.

Though much effort is often put into designing psychological studies, the measurement model and scoring approach employed are often an afterthought, especially when short survey scales are used (Flake & Fried, 2020). One possible reason that measurement gets downplayed is that there is generally little understanding of how calibration/scoring approaches could impact common estimands of interest, including treatment effect estimates, beyond random noise due to measurement error. Another possible reason is that the process of scoring is complicated, involving selecting a suitable measurement model, calibrating its parameters, then deciding how to generate a score, all steps that occur before the score is even used to examine the desired psychological phenomenon. In this study, we provide three motivating examples where surveys are used to understand individuals' underlying social emotional and/or personality constructs to demonstrate the potential consequences of measurement/scoring decisions. These examples also mean we can walk through the different measurement decision stages and, hopefully, begin to demystify them. As we show in our analyses, the decisions researchers make about how to calibrate and score the survey used has consequences that are often overlooked, with likely implications both for conclusions drawn from individual psychological studies and replications of studies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Robert (Bob) Anthony Altemeyer (1940-2024).

Robert (Bob) Anthony Altemeyer (June 6, 1940-February 7, 2024) was an influential social psychologist who also shaped personality and political psychology. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Bob was educated at Yale (undergraduate) and Carnegie-Mellon (graduate). Following a 2-year stint at Doane College in Nebraska, he established his career at the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Canada) from 1968 to 2008. In 1986, Bob was awarded the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science Prize for Behavioral Science Research, largely for his development of the right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) construct. Whereas the authoritarian personality construct developed by Adorno and colleagues in the 1950s was rooted in psychodynamics, Bob drew on social learning principles and conceptualized authoritarianism as both an attitudinal orientation and trait. Not all of Bob's ideas held true, such as the social learning underpinnings that he proposed for RWA. But true to his inquisitive nature, he wrote that he would be excited to learn of RWA's strong heritable components if uncovered (as they later were). An anticonformist to the core, Bob published almost exclusively in books despite the field prioritizing journal articles, typically as sole author and working with few collaborators, and writing about complex ideas with rather informal and unconventional language. His legacy is proof that fighting the odds and remaining authentic, rather than chasing conventions and norms, can leave an indelible mark on science. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Hope longitudinally predicts achievement: Mediation of cognitive engagement, teacher, and peer support

Hope is a malleable cognitive-motivational skill that helps students identify personal goals and construct routes to achieve them. Hope is sustained through engaging contexts and supportive relationships. We examined cognitive school engagement, teacher support, and peer support during high school (297 students; 9th–11th grade; 45% female; 52% White, 45% Latinx, 3% other) as potential mechanisms in the process of sustaining hope over time, and predicting academic achievement. We hypothesized high school students’ hope (time 1; T1) would be indirectly related to subsequent hope (time 2; T2) and achievement (time 3; T3) via cognitive school engagement and supports (T2). Significant longitudinal indirect effects emerged from T1 hope to T2 hope via T2 cognitive school engagement and peer support, and between T1 hope and T3 achievement via T2 cognitive school engagement. Findings highlight the processes that link student hope with achievement and greater hope in the high school context.

Sensory processing sensitivity, transliminality, and boundary-thinness as predictors of anomalous experiences, beliefs, and abilities

Individual differences are among the most studied correlates of anomalous experiences and beliefs (AEs), but few have focussed on personality measures specifically defined by sensitivity. Of interest in this study is the personality trait of Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS), characterised by aesthetic sensitivity, being easily overwhelmed by internal and external stimuli, emotional reactivity and empathy, and deeper processing. An online survey investigated the relationship between SPS, and other personality constructs, in part, defined by sensitivity (transliminality and boundary-thinness) with anomalous experiences, beliefs, and abilities. Two hundred participants (mean age = 32.23; 151 females, 41 males, 6 non-binary and 2 preferred not to say) completed the Revised Transliminality Scale, the Boundary Questionnaire Short-Form, the Highly Sensitive Person Scale - Brief Version (measuring SPS), the Anomalous Experiences Inventory, and open-ended questions on SPS and AEs. There were significant and positive correlations between all four variables. Both transliminality and boundary thinness positively predicted anomalous beliefs with transliminality being the stronger, however, only transliminality predicted anomalous experiences and abilities. The findings suggest a relationship between SPS and anomalous experience and belief, but this is mediated by transliminality and boundary thinness.

Investigating the network ties between affect, attachment, and psychopathology

ObjectivesRecent years have seen an increased interest regarding theoretical and empirical associations of adult attachment security and primary affective traits concerning psychiatric disorders. In this study, network analysis technique is applied to dissect the links between both psychodynamic personality constructs and an array of psychopathological symptoms. MethodsA total sample of 921 (69.9 % female) participants from the general population was investigated. A regularized cross-sectional partial correlation network between attachment (Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised [ECR-RD8]), primary affective traits (Brief Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales [BANPS-GL]) and psychopathological symptoms (ICD-10-Symptom-Rating Questionnaire [ISR]) was estimated via the EBICglasso algorithm. Node centrality, predictability and bridge centrality were analyzed. To evaluate the stability of the network and evaluate the significance of differences, we employed bootstrap techniques. ResultsThe network was found to be stable, allowing reliable interpretations. We observed SADNESS, as well as depressive, PTSD and anxiety symptoms as the most influential nodes within the investigated network. Attachment AV and SADNESS were observed as nodes with the highest bridge centrality. ConclusionsThe results provide a data-driven in-depth look into the complex dynamics between psychopathological symptoms, attachment security and basic affective traits. Results underscore the critical interconnections between affect, attachment, and psychopathology, advocating for a psychodynamically informed systems approach in psychological research that considers the affective dimensions underlying human mental health.

Nurse educators’ guilt during the Covid-19 pandemic response

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted nurse educators, creating a dichotomy between their professional duties and a desire for direct patient care involvement. AimTo explore the emotional effects, particularly guilt, experienced by nurse educators due to their reduced role in frontline patient care during the pandemic, using personal construct theory to frame guilt as a reaction to role deviation. MethodsA cross-sectional survey involving 124 nurse educators from across the United States was conducted from March to May 2023. The survey investigated three attributes: Professional Responsibility, Emotional Impact, and Offsetting Activities. ResultsThe majority of respondents reported significant stress and guilt, exacerbated by the transition to online education, mandated pandemic safety measures, and their inability to contribute directly to patient care. ConclusionsFindings underscore the need for targeted support systems to help nurse educators navigate the professional and emotional challenges posed by the pandemic, highlighting the profound impact of their altered roles on their well-being.

Responses to Killing in State-Sanctioned and Unsanctioned Killers: Pathways of Construing

Examples of responses to killing are provided from three groups of state-sanctioned killers: executioners, perpetrators of genocide, and members of the armed forces; as well as violent offenders. The extent to which such individuals experience guilt and shame is related, from a personal construct theory perspective, to the degree to which their actions are consistent with their core roles as construed by themselves and others. Drawing upon examples from situations of warfare, it is argued that one mechanism for the avoidance of guilt and shame may be hostile extortion of evidence that the individual’s actions are ultimately the responsibility of another, and that cycles of hostility may foment and perpetuate the conflicts concerned. Other such mechanisms that are discussed are reduction of permeability of moral constructs, depersonalization of killing, and dehumanization of victims. By contrast, guilt and shame are likely to be more fully experienced, and possibly to lead to reconstruction, when the individual’s encounter with their victim is one that engenders both commonality and sociality.

Формирование психолого-педагогической готовности будущих учителей к профессиональной деятельности в инклюзивном пространстве

<p style="text-align: justify;">Research by domestic and foreign scientists, as well as preliminary diagnostics of school teachers in the Tula region, showed that over 80% of teachers are not ready for professional work in an inclusive environment. Teachers do not know the specifics of conflicts in a situation of inclusion; do not know how to identify indicators of school violence and bullying; do not have the necessary competencies (diagnostic, conflict management, design, psychotherapeutic); are not ready to design a safe environment, have a negative attitude towards students with physical and mental problems, and do not take into account the peculiarities of the national and religious culture of migrant students. We consider a graduate’s readiness for professional activity in an inclusive space as a holistic, integrative professional and personal construct, including cognitive, emotional-value, operational-activity and conative components. The actualization of the problem of developing students’ readiness is associated with an unfavorable prognosis for the mental and physical health of children and adolescents, with an increase in the number of schoolchildren from migrant and refugee families.</p>

Living with and living by tattoos – discursive analysis of a bodily practice

ABSTRACT In this case study, we present a discursive analysis of tattoos related to significant autobiographical events, examining their pictorial, interpretative, embodied and discursive characteristics in a remembering process. Tattoos are pictorial motifs of a culturally defined system, while tattooed persons as active agents endow them with personal meanings connected to their motives. This study presents the connection between motif choosing and individual motives, as well as the embodied positions of tattoos with their discursive consequences. Our paper underscores that not only new or reinterpreted meanings are created in this practice, but persons also construct their own positions, their own situated selves and identity in a positioning process. Through these discursive identity positions, that are assigned both in everyday conversations and in wider social-cultural discourses, persons construct more positive self-images, thus creating a device for coping with crisis situations.

Dimensions of Alexithymia and Identification of Emotions in Masked and Unmasked Faces.

Alexithymia, a multifaceted personality construct, is known to be related to difficulties in the decoding of emotional facial expressions, especially in case of suboptimal stimuli. The present study investigated whether and which facets of alexithymia are related to impairments in the recognition of emotions in faces with face masks. Accuracy and speed of emotion recognition were examined in a block of faces with and a block of faces without face masks in a sample of 102 healthy individuals. The order of blocks varied between participants. Emotions were recognized better and faster in unmasked than in masked faces. Recognition performance was worst and slowest for participants starting the task with masked faces. In the whole sample, there were no correlations of alexithymia facets with accuracy and speed of emotion recognition for masked and unmasked faces. In participants starting the task with masked faces, the facet externally oriented thinking was positively correlated with reaction latencies of correct responses for masked faces. Our findings indicate that an externally oriented thinking style could be linked to a less efficient identification of emotions from faces wearing masks when task difficulty is high and support the utility of a facet approach in alexithymia research.

R. Shmuel Mohiliver and R. Yitzhak Yaakov Reines: Two Types of Religious Zionism

A typology presents ideal concrete types, and probing their personality and character enables the creation of general patterns. The study of the personality thus grants access to the depth of an idea not only in abstract terms but also in its function as a guide to, and a source of, an ethos. Furthermore, the personality construct plays a significant role in the understanding of historical processes because many events are ascribed or tied to the centrality of a specific individual. The study of typology is especially linked to Eduard Spranger (1882–1963), who claimed that ideal types convey conscious structures. In his view, we can impart significance to actions and behaviors only in relation to the agent’s set of values. In his writings, Spranger presented six ideal types. What is the meaning of a typology when discussing a movement such as religious Zionism? In this article, I attempt to trace an ideological portrait of two types that, in my estimate, created through their personality and their endeavor the ideological pattern that has accompanied religious Zionism and the religious-Zionist idea throughout this movement’s existence. I set up these two thinkers and entrepreneurs as pure types, even though no such types exist in reality. I present the pure types as founded on dominant features although, again, well aware that there are no pure features in the concrete world. Besides describing the characteristic features of the two types, I will argue that the interaction between the patterns they established facilitates understanding of several historical events. These patterns at times continue one another but, mainly, they confront one another. To illustrate their course, I will relate to two historical episodes where these personality patterns come forth, one that took place a few years after R. Reines’ death and the other about fifty years later or more, whose implications are felt up to this day.

The ‘Shakespearean’ roots of Stendhal’s forests

The ecopoetic approach examines the suggestive power of the forest as a major setting in Stendhal's last completed fictions, written in 1838 and 1839. By identifying the progressive layers in the construction of such an object, this analysis will reveal the intimate relationship between the author and the image of the forest, and how this personal construction intertwines with his own Shakespearean imagination. What particular suggestive power does the forest possess under the novelist's pen? How can we understand the use of this natural space in fiction, and where do we draw the line between the possible referential function of the place and its poetic power, which paradoxically only becomes apparent to the reader of the novel when the author's own imagination is taken into account?

“It shouldn’t be something you have to create on your own.” Personal practical knowledge construction and professional learning for teachers in Swedish school-age educare.

Teachers who work in school-age educare (SAEC) in Sweden possess a variety of educational qualifications. They hold a dual role working as teachers both within the compulsory program and school-age educare. This dual competence requirement means that their professional needs are unique and often different from that of their colleagues who only work in the compulsory school system (Berglund, Lager, Lundkvist and Gustavsson Nyckel, 2019). They reside in a complex context when it comes to opportunities for constructing their personal professional knowledge. Considering that already in 2021, the government announced the creation of a national professional learning program (Regeringen 2021), it is essential to understand what type of professional learning is deemed needed by the SAEC teachers themselves. Through narrative interviews with SAEC teachers, this study aims to map an understanding of how the teachers construct their personal professional knowledge as SAEC teachers. The main research question in this study is: How do SAEC teachers describe the role of professional learning as part of creating and developing their personal professional knowledge? The findings indicate a need for a systematic approach to recognize the qualification of experienced teachers and create a framework for professional learning opportunities for all teachers in SAEC.

Elements of Historical Personal Identity Construction of Finnish-Speaking Students

In this paper, the constructions of historical personal identity of Finnish-speaking students are analysed. The students participated in a larger study of historical narratives and identities, carried out in 2020 in two schools in Finland and in one European School outside Finland. In the mixed-method study, sixty-one students were interviewed and given writing and drawing assignments on historical identity. In this paper, the students’ visual representations of their personal historical identity and its relationship with wider official history are analysed. The aim is to increase understanding of how 14–16-year-old students visualise and articulate their historical personal identity constructions and the historical elements they use in negotiating this identity. The findings suggest that the students integrate personal and historical social narratives in diverse ways but that the majority of them find it challenging to connect their personal family history with the wider official history. Only twelve students made the connection. In addition to presenting the results for the whole group of students, the visual representations of two selected students are discussed in more detail so as to highlight the difference in the approaches to historical personal identity construction among the students.

Self-Help Movement and the Change Process of Recovery

The path of recovery from both addiction and trauma to resilience and transformation is rooted in the concept that all life is a balance between spirit and matter. Caring for the spiritual and physical selves requires self-reflection regarding life experiences and personal constructs. The central issue to positive mental health and the resolution of life problems, such as alcohol or drug addiction, gambling, abuse, etc., is partly vested in a robust management system that impacts an individual’s cultural and social support system. The demise of supportive communities is one of the significant losses of modern life. The self-help movement of Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs have always provided social support and encouragement to reflect on behaviors, motivations, and patterns that support healthy lifestyle changes. While it is not necessary for a recovering person to be religious, the movement may draw parallels to various spiritual and religious doctrines that recovering persons subscribe to; therefore, drawing these parallels only strengthens a person’s chances for long-term recovery

Item Response Theory Models for Polytomous Multidimensional Forced‐Choice Items to Measure Construct Differentiation

AbstractMultidimensional forced‐choice (MFC) items have been found to be useful to reduce response biases in personality assessments. However, conventional scoring methods for the MFC items result in ipsative data, hindering the wider applications of the MFC format. In the last decade, a number of item response theory (IRT) models have been developed, majority of which are for MFC items with binary responses. However, MFC items with polytomous responses are more informative and have many applications. This paper develops a polytomous Rasch ipsative model (pRIM) that can deal with ipsative data and yield estimates that measure construct differentiation—a latent trait that describes the degree to which the personality constructs (e.g., interests) distinguish between each other. The pRIM and its simpler form are applied to a career interests assessment containing four‐category MFC items and the measures of interests differentiation are used for both intra‐ and interpersonal comparisons. Simulations are conducted to examine the recovery of the parameters under various conditions. The results show that the parameters of the pRIM can be well recovered, particularly when a complete linking design and a large sample are used. The implications and application of the pRIM in the personality assessment using MFC items are discussed.

Examining the construct validity of the MIDUS version of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ)

The Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) measures a wide range of personality traits associated with affect and temperament. However, the lengthy administration time may have hindered its widespread use in personality research. The National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) has adapted a short version of the MPQ that consists of only 35 items. However, the psychometric properties of this abbreviated version have not been thoroughly examined beyond what is presented in the survey’s documentation. This study aimed to investigate the construct validity of the MPQ-35 at both the item and scale levels using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), measurement invariance by gender and age, and external correlates with several personality and psychological constructs. The results show that the MPQ-35 exhibits promising properties, performing well and accurately recapturing the original MPQ structure, with ten lower-order traits and three higher-order broad factors.

Map Cards: Creative Mapping for Place Dialogue

Creative mapping is a type of critical observational drawing that uses cartographic art to negotiate personal visions, social constructions, and objective representations of the world. Geographers have been experimenting with this method to produce their own creative maps and in the process have begun to explore the effects and implications of these works for engaging with the places and relationships of research in professional and personal life. This essay puts theoretical work on researcher vulnerability into conversation with scholarship on place dialogue to explore how creative mapping facilitates relationship accountability in research. The transformation in the author’s creative-mapping practice illustrates the agency of place to communicate the realities and responsibilities of relationship through art, and suggests how creative mapping enhances our capacity for place dialogue through artistic methods that negotiate the more-than-human entanglements of research.

Can the dark core of personality be measured briefly, multidimensionally, and invariantly? The D25 measure

The dark core of personality is a recent construct that encompasses the malevolent, antagonistic, and aversive side of human nature that represents the common inner core of dark personality traits. The aim of the present study is to develop a short, multidimensional, and invariant version of the dark core of personality D70 measure. Two samples of participants were used in the current study (N = 570, M = 35.42 years, SD = 11.41, range = 18–69; N = 242, M = 30.19 years, SD = 12.78, range = 16–77). The new D25 measure was developed, consisting of five factors – Callousness, Deceitfulness, Vindictiveness, Narcissistic Entitlement, and Sadism. All the structural models examined obtained adequate fits (1-factor, 5-factor, 5-factor bifactor, 5-factor 2nd order), but the 5-factor 2nd order model was considered the best option. Internal consistency/reliability, as measured by the alpha and omega coefficients and more traditional indicators, was mainly good. Construct validity (e.g., with moral disengagement, low self-control, and empathy measures) and criterion-related validity (e.g., with justice-involvement variables) were demonstrated. Scalar measurement invariance across gender and age was established, with male participants and younger participants scoring significantly higher than female participants and older participants. The findings provide support for the use of the D25 as a valid and reliable short multidimensional measure of the dark core of personality construct.