Vladimir Takšić

Development of a Japanese Version of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire

The present study described development of a Japanese version of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire and examined the relations of scores with those on Big Five scales of personality and self-esteem scales. The participants were 615 undergraduates. Factor analysis led to the shortened version of 24 items in three subscales. Although Cronbach alphas were low for the subscale, Manage and Regulate Emotion, values were satisfactory for the other two subscales, Express and Label Emotion and Perceive and Understand Emotion. Total scores of this version were positively correlated with score for self-esteem, Extraversion, and Openness but negatively correlated with scores on Neuroticism. This shorter Japanese versions shows suitable internal consistency and content validity, but other reliabilities and validities must be examined precisely.

Nine, seven, five, or three : How many figures do we need for assessing body image?

320 Croatian female students (M = 20.4 yr.) were recruited to examine the validity and reliability of figural scales using different numbers of stimuli (3, 5, 7, and 9) and different serial presentation (serial and nonserial order). A two-way analysis of variance (4 numbers × 2 orders of stimuli) was performed on ratings of current self-size and ideal size as dependent variables. Analysis indicated a significant main effect of number of stimuli. This, together with post hoc tests indicated that ratings were significantly different for a scale of three figures from scales of more figures, which in turn did not differ among themselves. Main effects of order of stimuli, as well as the interaction, were not significant. The results support the hypothesis that the optimal number of figures on a scale is seven plus (or minus) two.

Intergenerational transmission of historical memories and social-distance attitudes in post-war second-generation Croatians

Intergenerational transmission of memory is a process by which biographical knowledge contributes to the construction of collective memory (representation of a shared past). We investigated the intergenerational transmission of war-related memories and social-distance attitudes in second-generation post-war Croatians. We compared 2 groups of young adults from (1) Eastern Croatia (extensively affected by the war) and (2) Western Croatia (affected relatively less by the war). Participants were asked to (a) recall the 10 most important events that occurred in one of their parents’ lives, (b) estimate the calendar years of each, and (c) provide scale ratings on them. Additionally, (d) all participants completed a modified Bogardus Social Distance scale, as well as an (e) War Events Checklist for their parents’ lives. There were several findings. First, approximately two-thirds of Eastern Croatians and one-half of Western Croatians reported war-related events from their parents’ lives. Second, war-related memories impacted the second-generation’s identity to a greater extent than did non–war-related memories; this effect was significantly greater in Eastern Croatians than in Western Croatians. Third, war-related events displayed markedly different mnemonic characteristics than non–war-related events. Fourth, the temporal distribution of events surrounding the war produced an upheaval bump, suggesting major transitions (e.g., war) contribute to the way collective memory is formed. And, finally, outright social ostracism and aggression toward out-groups were rarely expressed, independent of region. Nonetheless, social-distance scores were notably higher in Eastern Croatia than in Western Croatia.

When we feel good and bad about ourselves: Self-esteem memories across cultures

Young adults in the United States, Croatia, and China described personal episodes of times when they felt especially good or bad about themselves. These self-esteem memories were either recent (episodes that occurred during the previous 4 weeks) or remote (episodes that occurred between the ages of 10 and 15). Systematic content differences between memories of positive and negative self-worth were apparent primarily for remote rather than for recent memories. Across cultures, long-lasting positive memories frequently represented achievement themes, whereas negative memories frequently represented social themes. Links between achievement success and positive self-regard, and between social distress and negative self-regard, are explained using theories of self-esteem and autobiographical memory.

Provjera Endlerovih skala i modela anksioznosti

Originalne Endlerove multidimenzionalne skale anksioznosti (E MAS) su na samoiskazu temeljene mjere multidimenzionalne crte anksioznosti, stanja anksioznosti i percepcije situacije. Skale su razvijene u skladu s interakcijskim modelom anksioznosti, koji pretpostavlja da multidimenzionalna crta anksioznosti uvjetuje individualne razlike u intenzitetu stanja anksioznosti u specifičnim tipovima prijetećih situacija. Situacijske dimenzije crte anksioznosti, koje se procjenjuju EMAS-T dijelom Eudlerovih skala, jesu dimenzije: situacija socijalne evaluacije, situacija fizičke opasnosti, nejasnih situacija i svakodnevnih situacija. Stanje anksioznosti, mjereno EMAS-S dijelom skala, obuhvaća autonomno-emocionalnu dimenziju (A-E) i dimenziju kognitivne zabrinutosti (C-W). Skale su prevedene i primjenjene na I28 ispitanika, neposredno prije i nakon klasifikacijskog ispita za upis na studij engleskog jezika na Filozofskom fakultetu u Zadru (ljeto, 1993). Pokazala se zadovoljavajuća faktorska strukture i visoka unutarnja pouzdanost skala, kako kod mjerenja crte, tako i kod mjerenja stanja anksioznosti. Provjera diferencijalne hipoteze interakcijskog modela anksioznosti o stanju anksioznosti kao funkciji interakcije između specifične dimenzije crte anksioznosti i kongruentne prijeteće situacije, pokazala je očekivanu, značajnu povezanost stanja anksioznosti i, ovoj ispitnoj situaciji kongruentne dimenzije crte anksioznosti, dimenzije socijalne evaluacije. Ostale dimenzije crte anksioznosti nisu bile značajno povezane sa stanjem anksioznosti. Ono što se u potpunosti ne uklapa u Endlerov model jesu dobivene značajne korelacije međ u različitim (prema tom modelu pretpostavljeno nezavisnim) dimenzijama crte anksioznosti.

Potential prejudice against Mobile Learning Games in Croatian University Teachers and Students

With mobile phones growing ever more powerful in their scope, availability, power, applications, usability and pure enjoyment, and with the popularity of mobile games applications, mobile game-based learning is an emerging field. Some research findings state that mobile games offer considerable potential for supporting social-constructivist learning (e.g. Mitchell 2003, Mitchell and Savill-Smith 2004). This is in line with a body of research that acknowledges the pedagogical role of fun in learning (e.g. Randel et al. 1992, Doolittle 1995, Dempsey et al. 1996, Fabricatore 2000, Prensky 2001, Wu et al. 2004). Moreover, strategic use of games can contribute a ‘flow’ experience that is a characteristic of successful learning processes (Csikszentmihalyi 1990).