Markku Verkasalo

The Attractive Female Body Weight and Female Body Dissatisfaction in 26 Countries Across 10 World Regions: Results of the International Body Project I

This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.

Conformism Moderates the Relations Between Values, Anticipated Regret, and Behavior

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the moderating effect of Conformism values on the relations between other values and behavior. The authors expected people low, but not high, in Conformism to behave in a manner that is consistent with their personal values related to self-transcendence versus self-enhancement. In Study 1 (N = 199), such values predicted actual altruistic behavior, as estimated by other-reports, but only if Conformism values were low. In Study 2 (N = 189), only people who considered Conformism values to be relatively unimportant showed expected connections between self-transcendence values and anticipated regret in hypothetical scenarios having negative consequences. The data are interpreted as supporting the view that (a) anticipated regret motivates value-consistent behavior, (b) self-transcendence values in particular are connected to altruistic behavior and to anticipated regret, but (c) conformity to social norms moderates these connections.

Premorbid Personality Factors in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: Results From a Large Cohort Study of Male Conscripts

The present study explored the premorbid personality traits Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Disinhibition in individuals later diagnosed with psychotic disorders. Results on personality questionnaires and intellectual performance tests were obtained for 213,443 apparently healthy male subjects (mean age: 20.1 years) conscripted into the Finnish Defence Forces during the period 1982-1987. Linkage with the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register (mean follow-up time: 14.1 years, SD = 1.7) identified conscripts later diagnosed with schizophrenia (N = 1,328), bipolar disorder (N = 98), or other psychoses (N = 456). Both before and after controlling for intellectual performance, high Neuroticism predicted future onset of schizophrenia and other psychoses, and high Extraversion predicted future onset of bipolar disorder. The data of the present research showed for the 1st time that premorbid personality traits predict heightened risk for psychotic disorders beyond intellectual performance and also showed for the 1st time an association between premorbid Extraversion and bipolar disorder.

Mechanisms of the national character stereotype: How people in six neighbouring countries of Russia describe themselves and the typical Russian

Altogether, 1448 individuals from six neighbouring countries of Russia in the Baltic Sea region (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Belarus) described a ‘typical’ member of their own nation and a ‘typical’ Russian, as well as rated their own personality, using the National Character Survey (NCS). Results suggest that national character stereotypes are widely shared, temporally stable and moderately related to assessed personality traits, if all assessments are made using the same measurement instrument. In all studied countries, agreement between national auto‐stereotypes and assessed personality was positive and in half of the samples statistically significant. Although members of the six nations studied had a relatively similar view of the Russian national character, this view was not related with self‐rated personality traits of Russians but moderately with the Russian auto‐stereotype. Copyright

Personal Values Before and After Migration A Longitudinal Case Study on Value Change in Ingrian–Finnish Migrants

We investigated the process of value change in a migration context. Specifically, in a longitudinal panel design with around 19 months between measurement points, 145 Ingrian–Finnish migrants from Russia to Finland completed the same measures of personal values both before and after migration. As expected, the importance of both Universalism and Security values increased after migration, whereas the importance of Power and Achievement values decreased. Although this pattern of value change was reliable at the level of the group, any two migrant’s value change profiles shared only 2% of their variance, suggesting divergent patterns of value change across migrants. At the level of the individual, the structure of value change was similar to the typical between-subjects structure of values.

Personality characteristics of research volunteers

We evaluated Big Five personality factor differences between research volunteers and nonvolunteers. In the first study, 158 military officers were asked to participate in a mail survey. The personality scores of the officers were available from an archival data set. In our second study, adult siblings from large families were invited to participate in extensive clinical epidemiological evaluations. The personality scores of volunteers (N = 55) and nonvolunteers from the same families (N = 29) were estimated from sibling ratings made by those who participated in the study. In both studies, respondents, compared to nonrespondents, were found to be significantly lower in Neuroticism and higher in Conscientiousness. The second study further indicated respondents as being higher in Extraversion and Agreeableness. Copyright

15-year-old pupils' and their teachers' values, and their beliefs about the values of an ideal pupil

Abstract The paper reports a study on the values of 15‐year‐old pupils and their teachers, and also their beliefs about the values of an ideal pupil. The sample included Finnish comprehensive school pupils (n = 406, mean age 15.3 years) and their teachers (n = 124). The study centred on two questions concerning: (1) what values are important to pupils and teachers; and (2) what pupils and teachers imagine an ideal pupil in their school values. Values were measured according to Schwartzs value questionnaire, which includes 57 single values grouped into 11 general value types. The subjects were asked to fill in the questionnaire twice. Firstly they were asked to consider what values were important to them as guiding principles in their life. Then they were asked to answer the questions as they imagined an ideal pupil in their own school would. The results showed that the most important value types were similar for pupils and teachers; for example, both groups valued benevolence and universalism. The differ...

Personality, situation, and positive–negative asymmetry in socially desirable responding

Based on previous research on socially desirable responding and positive—negative asymmetry, we hypothesized that (i) impression management is higher in public than in private settings, (ii) personal ideals linked to exemplification, ingratiation, and intimidation are related to an impression management tendency, (iii) negatively keyed social desirability items receive more extreme responses than positively keyed items, and (iv) self‐esteem is correlated higher with negatively than with positively keyed self‐deception items. Based on Jones and Pittmans (1982) model, exemplification, ingratiation, and intimidation are defined as impression management strategies that aim at presenting oneself as worthy, likable, or dangerous, respectively. Principally, the results obtained in a public setting (N=177) and a private setting (N= 165) support these hypotheses. The overall pattern of findings suggests that both context and personal ideals exert an influence on impression management scores, and that the keying direction of an item may be an important psychological determinant of a test response.

Personal Values and Political Activism: A Cross-National Study

Using data from 28 countries in four continents, the present research addresses the question of how basic values may account for political activism. Study 1 (N = 35,116) analyses data from representative samples in 20 countries that responded to the 21-item version of the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ-21) in the European Social Survey. Study 2 (N = 7,773) analyses data from adult samples in six of the same countries (Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Poland, and United Kingdom) and eight other countries (Australia, Brazil, Chile, Italy, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, and United States) that completed the full 40-item PVQ. Across both studies, political activism relates positively to self-transcendence and openness to change values, especially to universalism and autonomy of thought, a subtype of self-direction. Political activism relates negatively to conservation values, especially to conformity and personal security. National differences in the strength of the associations between individual values and political activism are linked to level of democratization.

The moderating effect of conformism values on the relations between other personal values, social norms, moral obligation, and single altruistic behaviours

Three studies predicted and found that the individuals conformism values are one determinant of whether behaviour is guided by other personal values or by social norms. In Study 1 (N=50), pro-gay law reform participants were told they were either in a minority or a majority in terms of their attitude towards the law reform. Only participants who were high in conformism values conformed to the group norm on public behaviour intentions. In studies 2 (N=42) and 3 (N=734), participants played multiple choice prisoners dilemma games with monetary incentives. Only participants who considered conformism values to be relatively unimportant showed the expected connections between universalism values and altruistic behaviour. Study 3 also established that the moderating effect of conformism values on the relation between universalism values and altruistic behaviour was mediated through experienced sense of moral obligation.