Paola Magnano

Resilience and Emotional Intelligence: which role in achievement motivation

In the framework of Positive Organizational Behavior, the construct of Psychological Capital identifies four psychological capacities that affect motivation and performance in the workplace: self-efficacy, hope, optimism and resilience. Emotional Intelligence, then, addresses self-regulatory processes of emotions and motivation that enable people to make adjustments to achieve individual, group, and organizational goals; Emotional Intelligence is strongly correlated with individual advancement and success in an organizational setting and with individual performance. Moreover, Emotional Intelligence is considered an antecedent to resilience. The present study aims to investigate the role of resilience and emotional intelligence in achievement motivation, verifying if emotional intelligence mediates the relationship among resilience and achievement motivation. Participants are 488 Italian workers, aged between 18 and 55 years. The findings confirm the significant role played by emotional intelligence on resilience and on motivation to achievement.

Dispositional Optimism as a Correlate of Decision-Making Styles in Adolescence

Despite the numerous psychological areas in which optimism has been studied, including career planning, only a small amount of research has been done to investigate the relationship between optimism and decision-making styles. Consequently, we have investigated the role of dispositional optimism as a correlate of different decision-making styles, in particular, positive for effective styles and negative for ineffective ones (doubtfulness, procrastination, and delegation). Data were gathered through questionnaires administered to 803 Italian adolescents in their last 2 years of high schools with different fields of study, each at the beginning stages of planning for their professional future. A paper questionnaire was completed containing measures of dispositional optimism and career-related decision styles, during a vocational guidance intervention conducted at school. Data were analyzed using stepwise multiple regression. Results supported the proposed model by showing optimism to be a strong correlate of decision-making styles, thereby offering important intervention guidelines aimed at modifying unrealistically negative expectations regarding their future and helping students learn adaptive decision-making skills.

Iconographic Professional Interests Inventory (3IP): A New Validation Study.

Interests have been a central focus of counselling psychology (and vocational psychology in particular) for over 100 years. The awareness of professional interests increases self-knowledge and provides occupational information. In career counselling, vocational interests are assessed more frequently than any other vocational construct, though early evaluations (before 13 years old) of professional interests are very rare. The aim of this research is to examine the 3IP construct (Iconographic Professional Interests Inventory; an inventory composed of 65 stylised pictures that represent people in the act of performing a job) in depth, testing more models in addition to the 19 vocational areas proposed in the 3IP manual. Results show that most of the vocational areas can be grouped into 4 second-level areas (“things”, “people”, “leisure”, and “culture”). Moreover, Holland’s RIASEC model is tested; an accurate selection of items reveals that this model works well using 24 specific jobs. The research concludes that the inventory has good psychometric qualities which can grow further by mean of the increasing, in a targeted way, of the number of jobs.

Psychological resources, satisfaction, and career identity in the work transition: an outlook on Sicilian college students

Background The phases of career building today bring out a more complex process than in previous decades. Starting from the literature review, the university-to-work transition is considered a very important step in the future career of the graduates, and it involves some psychological resources and requires specific abilities. Methods Research has examined the psychological resources that students at the end of a degree course can use in the university-to-work transition. The aim of the study is to verify the relationship between academic satisfaction and career identity, and the mediational role of readiness and confidence on this relationship. A group of 438 students were assigned to complete a questionnaire in order to examine the relationship between academic satisfaction and career identity and the role of core components of psychological resources: readiness and confidence as mediator. Results The results indicated both a direct relationship between academic satisfaction and career identity and a mediated relationship with the influence of readiness and confidence for a transition. Adding to our results, we assert that academic satisfaction has a directed effect on confidence during the transition and is a predictor of career identity, both directly and by the mediation of readiness in career transitions. Conclusion Career identity has implication for exploratory behavior, thus increasing the motivation and mindfulness that create a virtuous circle, influencing the development of knowledge and skills, which are the base of proactivity and confidence in construction of one’s future career.

Coping, attachment style and resilience: the mediating role of alexithymia

Literature show that the presence of an insecure attachment is at the root of a difficulty in affect regulation and of the implementation of dysfunctional coping and resilience strategies. Adult attachment perspective posits that individuals with secure attachment are engaged in adaptive coping strategies, because their internal working models support a self-efficacy in achieving goals through their behavior. The aim of the study is to evaluate the relationships between alexithymia, adult attachment styles, coping and resilience strategies, in a group of 488 subjects (M = 248; F = 240) with ages ranging from 18 to 55 years (M = 34.9, SD = 12.52). The following instruments were used: the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20); the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE); the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ); and the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA). The data show that the secure adult attachment is positively associated with the ability to modulate affects, the correct use of coping strategies is correlated with resilience. The study underlines that the type of attachment styles (secure or insecure) and the ability to modulate feelings are closely associated.