Dušanka Mitrović

School Bullying in Adolescence and Personality Traits: A Person-Centered Approach

This study examined the differences in personality traits between the clusters reflecting the roles in violent interactions among high school students. The sample included 397 students (51.1% male) of Serbian nationality from the first to the fourth grades of different high schools. Based on scores of five dimensions related to peer violence (Physical Aggression, Psychological Aggression, Victimization, Adapted Behavior, and Risky Behavior), three clusters were extracted: Adapted Adolescents, Victims, and Bullies. These three clusters were compared with respect to lexical Big Seven personality traits, and the results indicate that the clusters differ significantly on Aggressiveness, Neuroticism, and Negative Valence. The Adapted Adolescents have the lowest scores on all three dimensions, while the Victims score highest on Neuroticism, and the Bullies on Aggressiveness. The potential importance of certain Extraversion facets for the roles in violent interaction was discussed.

Problems of the defining the dimensions of the Gray's reinforcement sensitivity theory

Jeffrey Gray has modified Eysencks system by rotating the dimensions of extraversion and neuroticism by 45 degrees, which resulted in two new dimensions: impulsivity (behavioral approach system) and anxiety (behavioral inhibition system). The main purpose of this study was to examine psychometric properties of the BIS/BAS scale, inventory for assessment of dimensions included in Grays theory, in order to, also, test the foundation of the Grays constructs themselves. 476 participants were included, age 17 to 77. All subjects completed The BIS/BAS scale (Carver & White, 1994) and The Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue & Kentle, 1991, according to: John & Srivastava, 1999). Analysis of the BIS/BAS scale failed to replicate the original four-factor solution. Three factors were extracted, named Behavioral inhibition system (BIS), BAS-Striving for excitement and BAS-Drive. Psychometric characteristics of the BIS/BAS scale are not satisfactory. Result of the joint factor analysis of dimensions of the BIS/BAS scale and dimensions of the BFI questionnaire are three factors named active striving for reward, sensation seeking and anxiety. In general results can be considered supportive rather to Eysenck than to Gray, but they could also be ascribed to the failure in questionnaire operationalisation of the constructs of Reinforcement sensitivity theory.

Evaluation of Big Five model in Serbian culture by FIBI questionnaire

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate personality dimensions, proposed by Big Five model, in our culture, by the use of the questionnaire FIBI, developed on the basis of the psycho lexical study of personality descriptions in Serbian language (Smederevac, 2000). There were 627 subjects in the study (407 females and 220 males), aged 17 to 77, and the inventory UKL7 (Smederevac, 2000) and the Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue, Kentle, 1991; John, Srivastava, 1999) were applied. The FIBI inventory was created from UKL7 by exclusion of evaluative items, items of probable artificial factor Emotional control and items with poor psychometric properties were excluded. Final solution with 69 items demonstrated solid psychometric properties. The construct validity of the FIBI has been assessed by examination of its relationship to the Big Five Inventory and results showed that scales Conventionality and Extraversion in those two inventories differ in content. Subscale Conventionality in FIBI was highly related to subscale Consciousness in BFI and showed no significant correlation to Openness to Experience of the BFI. The content of the FIBIs Extraversion scale includes positive self-evaluation, assertiveness and activity. Indicators of sociability, usually considered as dominant (or at least very important) markers of extraverted behavior, were omitted from the FIBI Extraversion scale. These content differences justify application of the emic approach in the personality psychology research. Although there are some other available instruments based on Big Five, FIBI represents product of our cultural background and seems to be worth of further examination and improvement.

Academic Integrity "Captured" by a Personality-Based Test

The main goal of this study was to develop and validate a personality-based academic integrity test which could serve as a predictor of students’ academic dishonesty. A new Academic Integrity Test (AIT), based on methodological principles accepted in the field of work integrity, was created during this study. The test was developed on one student sample (N=350), and then validated on another (N=471). Validation of the AIT confirmed its relations with three dimensions previously found to be consistent correlates of work integrity measures - Conscientiousness, Aggressiveness and Neuroticism, with the addition of Negative Valence. The correlation between the AIT and a cognitive ability measure was not significant, which is in accordance with previous research. The test retained significant relations with the aforementioned personality measures in simulated applicant condition (except with Neuroticism), leading to the conclusion that the AIT maintains construct validity in situations susceptible to self-presentation.

A Short Measure of the Revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory – RSQ17

ABSTRACT The need for a research and practical tool, such as a short, reliable, and valid personality assessment test, suggests researchers to create shortened versions of original instruments. Reinforcement sensitivity questionnaire (RSQ) was created in line with some basic premises of revised Reinforcement sensitivity theory, which proposes three motivational and emotional systems: Behavioral inhibition system (BIS), responsible for scanning environment for potential threats, Behavioral activation system (BAS), responsible for aproaching behavior, and the Fight/Flight/Freeze system (FFFS), responsible for behavior in the present threat. RSQ comprises five scales: BIS, BAS, Fight, Flight, and Freeze. The aim of this study was to develop a short version of RSQ, which would be beneficial to both research and practical purposes. Item response theory analyses were used for item selection. The study comprised two samples of participants, whereby Sample 1 (N = 837, 34.6% male, aged 18 – 82, M = 31.63, SD = 13.54) served as the derivation sample, while Sample 2 (818 participants, 43.6% male, 18−75 years, M = 29.65, SD = 12.52) served as validation sample. Factorial validity of the short RSQ was examined on both Sample 1 and Sample 2. Convergent and divergent validity of the short RSQ was examined using RST-PQ, Jackson-5, BIS/BAS scales, and Big Five Inventory. The results point to satisfactory internal consistency, factorial validity, and construct validity of the short RSQ, suggesting that it is an adequate measure for research settings or other contexts which require the use of short personality questionnaires.

MOTIVATION AND EMPATHY AS CORRELATES OF HELPING BEHAVIOR DURING FLOODS IN SERBIA IN 2014

Helping behavior is a type of prosocial behaviors. Researchers are mainly interested in motivation behind helping. Hence, this paper examines helping behaviors during floods in Serbia, with motivation and empathy as correlates of the level of helping behaviors. The sample consisted of 204 individuals who helped during the flood (61.3% females), average age of 29.7 years. In June and August of 2014th, the participants completed questionnaires about the ways and the level of helping behaviors, a modified Volunteer Functions Inventory and the Assessment of Readiness for Empathy. Guided by the Functional Theory of Motivation, which distinguishes six motives for helping, we conducted a univariate analysis of covariance with all of the six motives and four subtypes of empathy as continues predictors and gender as a categorical predictor of the level of helping behaviors. The results show that this predictive model explains 30% of helping behaviors. Significant predictors were Understanding motive, Social motive, and Empathy with negative emotional states, while gender did not have a significant contribution. Motivation to help people in order to get to know the world and one’s abilities, to better understand the people and to enhance one’s social interaction, indicates the existence of both egoistic and altruistic motivation for helping during floods. During this crisis a relevant role in helping had an empathic paradox. Our results indicate simultaneous existence of a large number of motives as well as the role of empathy in helping behaviors. Practical implications of the results, as related to a better selection of people willing to help in time of crisis, were discussed.

Validacija simulirane verzije upitnika 16PF

The paper presents three studies which are aimed at assessment of psychometric properties of the IPIP 16PF questionnaire. Study 1 was conducted on a sample of 447 participants. The results suggest acceptable reliability coefficients for most scales. Five higher-order factors were extracted, which are congruent, to a certain extent, with Cattells factors. The largest differences occur in the field of interpersonal dimensions. In Study 2 correlations between the IPIP16PF scales and school grades (average grades and grades for several particular classes) were examined. The study was conducted on a sample of 222 secondary school graduates. The correlations were modest in general. Dutifulness (G), Sensitivity (I), Intellect (B), and Complexity (Q1) emerged as the strongest correlates of grades in several subjects. The results of Study 3 (conducted on a sample of 115 secondary school graduates) show that the IPIP16PF scales are significant predictors of emotional states (moods) in neutral and preexam situations. Emotional states were assessed using the STCI-S questionnaire. Predictive power of the IPIP16PF scales was greater in neutral than in pre-exam situation. Significant predictors of mood in neutral situation were Emotional Stability (C), Anxiety (O), Emotionality (Q4), and Complexity (Q1). In the pre-exam situation, the predictive power of these scales diminished, while Intellect (B), Introversion (Q2), and Assertiveness (E) appeared as significant predictors. The results of all three studies are in favour of the IPIP16PF’s applicability in psychological research, but also point to several flaws of the questionnaire.

Personality traits, age and sex as predictors for self-handicapping tendency

Self-handicapping is one of the strategies people use when facing potential failure. Paper presents new scale for assessing self-handicapping tendency as relatively stable trait, as well as its relations with personality traits, sex and age. Self-handicapping questionnaire and shortened form of Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire were administered to 230 participants of both sexes, age 18 to 59. Confirmatory factor analysis shows that model with four latent dimensions, encompassed by a higher-order latent dimension, fits the data well. Those lower order dimensions correspond to originally created scales: External handicaps in interpersonal area, Internal handicaps in interpersonal area, Internal handicaps in achievement area and External handicaps in achievement area. Results of MANCOVA shows that Neuroticism is predictor of all dimensions of self- handicapping. Impulsive sensation seeking predicts choice of external handicaps in interpersonal area, as well as internal handicaps in achievement area. Latter is predicted also by low Activity. Younger subjects show significantly higher tendency to use internal handicaps, and men in general show more self-handicapping tendency than women, except in choosing internal handicaps in achievement area, where sex shows no significant effect.