Petar Čolović

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.

The HEXACO Personality Inventory: Validation and Psychometric Properties in the Serbian Language

Abstract The aim of this research is to validate the HEXACO model of personality in the Serbian language through psychometric validation of the 100–item version of the HEXACO–PI–R. The research was conducted on 2 independent samples, the first comprising 1,217 participants from a community sample (55.5% females; average age = 31.77 years), and the second 345 undergraduate students (65% females; average age = 21 years). Besides the HEXACO–PI–R, 2 questionnaires were applied for the purposes of convergent validation: the Big Five Plus Two (BF+2), measuring 7 lexical personality dimensions (applied in Sample 1), and the Big Five Inventory (BFI; applied in Sample 2). Factor structure of the HEXACO–PI–R is in line with model assumptions. Convergent validity is good, whereby Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness are highly correlated to their BFI and BF+2 counterparts. Honesty–Humility is most closely related to Negative Valence (BF+2), Emotionality to BFI Neuroticism, and Agreeableness to BF+2 Aggressiveness and BFI Agreeableness. The results point to the satisfactory validity of the HEXACO model and its measure in the Serbian language.

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.

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.

Fear and Anxiety in Social Setting An Experimental Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of dispositional and situational factors on cognitive biases. The theoretical background was based on Kimbrel’s Mediated Model of Social Anxiety and the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory by Gray and McNaughton. Two experiments were conducted. Study 1 (78 participants [85.9% females, aged 19–21 years]) included the induction of potential social threat, while in Study 2 (121 participants [85.1% females, aged 19–23 years]) real threat was used. The Reinforcement Sensitivity Questionnaire was employed as a measure of personality traits (Behavioral Inhibition System [BIS], Behavioral Approach System [BAS], Fight, Flight, and Freeze). Cognitive biases were assessed with the Dot Probe Task (attentional bias), Incidental Free Recall Task (memory bias), and Social Probability Cost Questionnaire (judgmental bias). The probability of occurrence of negative events was higher in the experimental group. BIS contributed positively to the prediction of probability of occurrence of negative events; and Freeze was positively related to attention bias toward pleasant stimuli. The results of the second study showed that experimentally induced circumstances of social threats did not affect cognitive biases. BIS and Freeze contributed positively to prediction of probability and distress in social context, while BIS was positively related with probability of occurrence of negative social events.

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.

Latent structure and convergent validity of a new authoritarianism scale

Two studies, aimed at the assessment of internal psychometric properties and construct validity of the new authoritarianism scale, UPA-S, are presented in the paper. The UPA-S scale contains 47 items originating from two earlier authoritarianism scales- ADO (regarding authoritarianism as a personality trait) and AUT-NS (considering authoritarianism as an attitude syndrome). The main aim of the Study 1 was the assessment of internal psychometric properties of the UPA-S scale. Applying the principal component analysis with Promax rotation, three latent dimensions were extracted and interpreted as authoritarian submissiveness, authoritarian aggressiveness and stoicism. The reliability, homogeneity and representativeness indices of the three resulting scales of the UPA-S were satisfactory. Convergent validity of the UPAS was examined in Study 2. By means of confirmatory factor analysis, three models (involving UPA-S scales, Altemeyers RWA, Revised F scale, Social Dominance Scale and Modern Racism Scale) were tested. The best- fitting model consisted of two correlated latent dimensions, the first one including authoritarianism scales, and the second one including the measures of related constructs. The results suggest that the psychometric properties of the UPA-S are satisfactory, and at the same time support the views which regard authoritarianism as a multi-dimensional construct which consists of both specific attitudes and personality characteristics.