Willibald Ruch

Strengths of character, orientations to happiness, and life satisfaction

Why are certain character strengths more associated with life satisfaction than others? A sample of US adults (N = 12,439) completed online surveys in English measuring character strengths, orientations to happiness (engagement, pleasure, and meaning), and life satisfaction, and a sample of Swiss adults (N = 445) completed paper-and-pencil versions of the same surveys in German. In both samples, the character strengths most highly linked to life satisfaction included love, hope, curiosity, and zest. Gratitude was among the most robust predictors of life satisfaction in the US sample, whereas perseverance was among the most robust predictors in the Swiss sample. In both samples, the strengths of character most associated with life satisfaction were associated with orientations to pleasure, to engagement, and to meaning, implying that the most fulfilling character strengths are those that make possible a full life.

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.

Assessing the „humorous temperament“: Construction of the facet and standard trait forms of the State-Trait-Cheerfulness-Inventory — STCI

The present paper outlines the relevance of cheerfulness, seriousness, and bad mood for humor research. A state-trait model of exhtiaratability is presented which incorporates the three concepts as both states and traits. Definitions of the concepts are undertaken utilizing a facet approach and the relationships among the three concepts are outlined. The construction strategy for the various forms of the German Version of the State-Trait- Cheerfulness-Inventory (STCI) is outlined and the following versions of the trait form will be elaborated: (a) the pilot form with 122 items (STCI-T ); (b) a component (or long) form with 106 items (STCI-T ); (c) the Standard form with 60 items (STCI-T ) and (d) the international form with 106 items (STCI-T ). The development ofthe twoforms, the replication ofthepsychometric character- istics, and the evaluation of the facet model utilized samples of German and American adults comprising more that 1,300 subjects altogether. The hypothesized facet structure emerged and appeared to be highly generaliz- able across the samples. The psychometric characteristics ofthe facets and scales appeared to be satisfactory. While there were no sex differences in any of the scales, seriousness increased steadily ofter age 40. Correspondence between seif· and peer-evaluation was examinedand turned out to be sufficiently high. The construction seemed to have been successful in promding a reliable Instrument for the assessment ofthe temperamental basis ofthe sense of humor.

The fear of being laughed at: Individual and group differences in Gelotophobia*

Abstract Single case studies led to the discovery and phenomenological description of Gelotophobia and its definition as the pathological fear of appearing to social partners as a ridiculous object (Titze 1995, 1996, 1997). The aim of the present study is to empirically examine the core assumptions about the fear of being laughed at in a sample comprising a total of 863 clinical and non-clinical participants. Discriminant function analysis yielded that gelotophobes can be separated from other shame-based neurotics, non-shame-based neurotics, and controls. Separation was best for statements specifically describing the gelotophobic symptomatology and less potent for more general questions describing socially avoidant behaviors. Factor analysis demonstrates that while Gelotophobia is composed of a set of correlated elements in homogenous samples, overall the concept is best conceptualized as unidimensional. Predicted and actual group membership converged well in a cross-classification (approximately 69% of correctly classified cases). Overall, it can be concluded that the fear of being laughed at varies tremendously among adults and might hold a key to understanding certain forms of humorlessness.

Orientations to happiness and life satisfaction in twenty-seven nations

Adults from 27 different nations (total N = 24,836) completed on-line surveys in English measuring orientations to the seeking of happiness (through pleasure, through engagement, and through meaning) and life satisfaction. Nations differed in their orientations and clustered into three interpretable groups in terms of them. One cluster was defined by relatively high endorsement of seeking pleasure and seeking engagement; the second cluster by relatively high endorsement of seeking engagement and seeking meaning; and the third cluster by relatively low endorsement of all three ways of seeking happiness. Across all nations, each of the three orientations predicted life satisfaction, although orientations to engagement and to meaning were more robustly associated with life satisfaction than was an orientation to pleasure, replicating and extending previous findings. Limitations and implications of the research were discussed.

Who is Gelotophobic? Assessment Criteria for the Fear of Being Laughed at

Ruch and Proyer (2008) provided preliminary evidence for the validity of gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) by showing that a group of individuals diagnosed as gelotophobic could be discriminated from groups of shame-based neurotics, non shame-based neurotics, and normal controls by means of a self-report measure. The present study reanalyzes data aimed at identifying the set of items best suited for measuring gelotophobia and estimates the prevalence of gelotophobia in the four groups (N = 863). The application of several criteria led to a final list of 15 statements. Cut-off points for a slight, pronounced, and extreme expression of gelotophobia were defined. In the group of those clinically assessed as having gelotophobia, the cut-off points were exceeded by approximately 31%, 39%, and 22%, respectively. Only 7.1% did not exceed the cut-off point, suggesting that the self-report measure validly determines the presence of and measures the intensity of gelotophobia. Close to 12% of the normal controls exceeded the cut-off points, suggesting that gelotophobia can be studied as an individual differences variable among normal individuals.

Die revidierte Fassung des Eysenck Personality Questionnaire und die Konstruktion des deutschen EPQ-R bzw. EPQ-RK

Zusammenfassung: Der Bericht beschreibt die Konstruktion der deutschen Standard- und Kurzfassung des Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-revised (EPQ-R) von Eysenck und Eysenck (1991). Eine Pilotform des EPQ mit 140 Items wurde 2914 Probanden vorgelegt. Eine Faktorenanalyse der 100 Items der englischen Fassung erbringt in zwei nach Geschlecht getrennten Analysestichproben (N ≅ 800) jeweils die Eysenckschen Superfaktoren. Die Ladungen der P-Skala erweisen sich jedoch durch Unterschiede in der Itemschwierigkeit verzerrt, so das eine Analyse mit maximumskorrigierten Koeffizienten durchgefuhrt wird. Aufgrund der Ergebnisse von Faktoren- und Itemanalysen werden die 102 bzw. 50 Items der deutschen Fassung bzw. deutschen Kurzfassung EPQ-RK ermittelt. Die Kennwerte werden in einer Replikationsstichprobe abgesichert. Die Skalen erweisen sich als reliabel; wahrend die innere Konsistenz der P-Skala geringer ausfallt, sind die Retest- und Testhalbierungsreliabilitaten der Kurz- und Standardskala gut. Die Alters- und G...

Multivariate Methods for the Comparison of Factor Structures in Cross-Cultural Research An Illustration with the Big Five Questionnaire

The goal of the present study was to demonstrate the value of a multiple data analytic approach for testing the cross-cultural generalizability of a personality measure. Data were collected in four different countries (Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United States) on the Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ), which is a measure of the Five Factor Model of personality traits. Different analytical strategies were conducted. Item-level analyses were carried out to study item bias and to select (by means of simultaneous component analysis) the BFQ items that showed better functioning in all countries simultaneously. Scale-level analyses were conducted on item aggregates and were focused on the examination of structural or construct equivalence (i.e., comparability of latent structures). Three analytic approaches were compared (exploratory factor analysis, simultaneous component analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis), and converged in corroborating the basic five factor structure across the four country samples. However, these methods also yielded some noteworthy differences in the conclusions that could be drawn from the analyses. Both the methodological and conceptual implications of this multiple analytic approach are discussed.

When the job is a calling: The role of applying one's signature strengths at work

This study investigates the role of applying the individual signature strengths at work for positive experiences at work (i.e. job satisfaction, pleasure, engagement, and meaning) and calling. A sample of 111 employees from various occupations completed measures on character strengths, positive experiences at work, and calling. Co-workers (N = 111) rated the applicability of character strengths at work. Correlations between the applicability of character strengths and positive experiences at work decreased with intraindividual centrality of strengths (ranked strengths from the highest to the lowest). The level of positive experiences and calling were higher when four to seven signature strengths were applied at work compared to less than four. Positive experiences partially mediated the effect of the number of applied signature strengths on calling. Implications for further research and practice will be discussed.

Extending the study of gelotophobia: On gelotophiles and katagelasticists

Abstract In Ruch and Proyer (Humor: International Journal of Humor Research 21:47–67, 2008a), the fear of being laughed at (gelotophobia) was introduced as a new individual differences phenomenon. In this article, two new laughter-related concepts are presented: gelotophilia (the joy of being laughed at) and katagelasticism (the joy of laughing at others). The main aim of the present article was an empirical verification of these three concepts. Data analyses from a construction (N = 390) and a replication sample (N = 157) led to a three factor solution for the data comprising the three concepts. Intercorrelations among the three groups suggest that there is a negative correlation between gelotophiles and gelotophobes and a positive relation between gelotophiles and katagelasticists. The correlation coefficients, however, indicate that there is a relation but that the concepts are not interchangeable. A reliable and stable standard 45-item questionnaire (PhoPhiKat-45) and an economic short form of 30 items (PhoPhiKat-30) for the assessment of the three concepts are presented. Additionally, it was shown that, contrary to what had to be expected from early literature on gelotophobia, remembered experiences of having been laughed at by parents and peers in childhood and youth cannot be considered as major contributors to the development of gelotophobic symptoms as an adult (the same is true for gelotophilia and katagelasticism). However, gelotophobes tended to remember more events of having been ridiculed by their father. Suggestions for future research and conceptual developments are given.