Jean M. Edwards

An assessment of appraisal, anxiety, coping, and procrastination during an examination period

High School students responded to an inventory which included dispositional measures of procrastination and social evaluation trait anxiety. Subsequently, and 7 days prior to their first examination (Stage 1), each of the 40 female and 23 male students completed measures of state anxiety, perception of the stressor situation, and ways of coping, all with regard to their approaching exam period. These judgments were repeated 1 day prior to their first examination (Stage 2), and again 5 days after their last examination (Stage 3). Correlational analyses indicated that threat and harm perceptions were highly positively related to state anxiety, whereas challenge and gain were moderately and negatively related. State anxiety was linked to emotion‐focused coping, but was independent of problem‐focused coping. In an analysis of variance, high procrastination, high trait anxious subjects felt the least challenged at Stage 1. In a ‘maverick’, post hoc analysis, high procrastinators were more likely than low procrastinators at each stage to promise themselves ‘that things will be different next time’. Discussion included an assessment of the need for specificity when using the Ways of Coping (Folkman and Lazarus, 1985) scale.

Assessment of state and trait anxiety: Endler multidimensional anxiety scales

The Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales (EMAS) are self-report measures of multidimensional trait anxiety, state anxiety and perception of situations. The scales were administered to samples of students, adults, and clinical patients. Normative data and reliabilities of the EMAS are reported. Concurrent and construct validity studies are discussed. In general, the data support the conclusion that the EMAS are reliable and valid measures of multidimensional trait and state anxiety. Theoretical and practical uses of the scales are discussed, including their relationship to the interaction model of personality and their uses in clinical and other applied settings.

Student Burnout and Engagement: A Test of the Conservation of Resources Theory

ABSTRACT The current study explored predictors of burnout and engagement in 1st-year college students. The theory of conservation of resources was used to create a path model for burnout and engagement. Specifically, the theory suggests that perceptions of demands mediate the relationship between resources and coping strategies. In turn, coping mediates the relationship of demands on the outcomes of burnout and engagement. Results indicate demands partially mediated the relationship between resources and coping strategies. Similarly, coping partially mediated the relationship between demands and burnout and engagement. Results suggest that teaching students adaptive ways of coping and extinguishing maladaptive ways of coping with the academic environment can increase engagement and decrease burnout. Implications for research, theory, and practice are discussed.

Anxiety, coping and academic performance.

Abstract Anxiety is a frequent response to stressful evaluation situations and may be correlated with the performance being evaluated. The present study investigated individual differences in social evaluation trait anxiety and coping dimensions as predictors of state anxiety and performance on a university examination. Separate multiple regressions were computed for coping assessed as a style, an individual difference measure, and as situational specific responses. Emotion-oriented coping predicted state anxiety in the evaluation situation. Social evaluation trait anxiety and task-oriented and emotionoriented coping responses predicted exam performance. The regression models predicted approximately a quarter of the variance in course grades. When coping was measured as a response, task-oriented coping response was a significant predictor of course grade. When coping was measured as a style or individual difference, avoidance-oriented coping style predicted aggregated course grade. It was suggested that d...

Interactionism in personality in the twentieth century

Abstract This paper examines the historical development of the interaction model of personality in the twentieth century. The philosophical roots of interactionism can be traced to the writings of Aristotle and Descartes. One of the earliest interactionist positions in psychology can be found in the works of Kantor (1924, 1926). Although theoretical interest in interactionism continued with Lewin (1935), Murray (1938) and Rotter (1954), early empirical research examining interactionism developed independently. The social, political, historical and methodological factors that have influenced the research and theorizing on interactionism in personality are examined. Finally, the development of theinteraction model of personality is traced to the evolution of major personality issues, including: (1) the consistency-specifying controversy; (2) reformulation of definitions of consistency; (3) the distinction between mechanistic and dynamic interaction; and (4) the analysis of situations.

Appraisal of stressful situations

Abstract The purposes of this study were to (1) sample representative stressful situations experienced by normal, employed adults in their daily lives; (2) to examine the correlations between situation appraisals and degree of state anxiety both inter- and intra-individually; and (3) to assess the degree of consistency of appraisals and responses across situations. Twenty-one male and twenty-one female employed adults participated in a study of stressful situations encountered over a 6 week period. The intersubject analyses revealed significant correlations between state anxiety and appraisals (perceptions) of social evaluation, physical danger, ambiguity, importance and control. Intrasubject analyses indicated that only the correlations between state anxiety and appraisals of physical danger and perceived control accounted for more than 10% of the variance. Consistency across occasions, in general, was higher for state anxiety responses than for situation appraisals.

Person by Treatment Interactions in Personality Research

Historically, one of the recurring issues in personality theorizing and research concerns the determinants of actual behavior. Is behavior determined primarily by situations (external factors) or by dynamic sources within individuals (internal factors)? The type, trait, and psychodynamic models have assumed that actual behavior is determined by latent, stable dispositions, whereas situationists and many social learning theorists have assumed that behavior is determined by situational factors (see Endler and Magnusson, 1976a, 1976b).

Coping with Job Transitions over the Work Life

A job transition is a process involving a number of steps, including thinking about goals and skills, evaluating the potential job market, conducting the job search, managing personal reactions, and negotiating entry into the new organization. As both a common and impactful transition of modern life, it is important to examine the factors associated with coping with job transitions. Specifically, we would like to consider the societal changes in the current work context, and the research evidence indicating job transitions can be significant life stressors. We then examine the role that coping plays in the transition process, and outline our mediation model of antecedents, coping and outcomes. Case studies of job transitions at four points in the work-life are presented to illustrate the model. We search for common themes and issues in the process of job transitions across the work-life, and raise questions regarding how these may be uniquely played out at different points in an individual’s life. The implications for the professional’s role in helping individuals and organizations facilitate transitions are discussed. Finally, we present directions for future research.

Variations on a theme

Epstein (1986) has demonstrated that aggregation leads to high correlations which are not spurious but which reflect only stability. He claims that there is no distinction between a demonstration of test‐retest reliability and behavioral stability. It is suggested that Epstein has confused personality theory and measurement models and has made the logical fallacy of claiming that high correlation coefficients uniquely reflect stability. Epstein has failed to distinguish clearly between reaction variables and mediating variables and between temporal stability and cross‐situational consistency. While high correlation coefficients may reflect stability there is no necessary one‐to‐one relationship between personality theories and their measurement models nor between reaction variables and mediating variables. The interaction model recognizes that behavior is consistent in the sense of coherence, i.e. a lawful idiographically predictable pattern of behavior. This pattern involves personsituation interactions, and changes over time. Aggregation may obscure these patterns.