PAPERS
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PAPERS CONTENTS CONTENTS PAPERS PS 1. Well-being across countries CHAIR: Timothy T.C. So PS 1.1. Hope and Happiness in German speaking Switzerland Andreas M. Krafft, Andreas M. Walker PS 1.2. Materialism scale, affective states, and life satisfaction – representative sample in Croatia Ljiljana Kaliterna, Zvjezdana Prizmic Larsen, Maja Tadic PS 1.3. The course of the GDP and trends in quality of life in Hungary 1990-2010 Tamás Martos, Mária Kopp PS 1.4. Are Russians flourishing? Using data from the European Social Survey to compare profiles of flourishing across Europe Felicia Huppert, Timothy T.C. So PS 1.5. Authenticity, social context, and wellbeing in England, Russia, and the USA: A comparative cross-cultural analysis Oliver Robinson, Frederick G. Lopez, Sofya Nartova-Bochaver, Katherine Ramos PS 1.6. Students’ well-being: A comparison research among students between Europe and Asia Timothy So, Jennifer Tan PS 2. Mindfulness and Meditation CHAIR: Gorjana Brkic PS 2.1. Investigating mindfulness at the individual and organisational level: A review of literature and future directions (1248) Gorjana Brkic, P. Caputi, G. Spence PS 2.2. Brief Mindfulness Based Program for Psychiatric Patients: Positive Mind: Bringing Better Coping through Awareness and Attention Andy Fok Kwok Keung, Tang Wai Kit, Kwok Sai Ting PS 2.3. The effects of Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar’s program on happiness and mindfulness Asdis Olsen, Thorlakur Karlsson PS 2.4. A study of Mindfulness and wellbeing on New Zealand managers: A three way interaction study Maree Roche, J. M. Haar PS 2.5. The effects of mindfulness, biofeedback, and healing music in individual versus group settings: A pilot study Irina Khramtsova, Patricia Glascock, Jonathan Owen CONTENTS PAPERS PS 3. Life of Emotions CHAIR: Veronika Nourkova PS 3.1. Positive emotions and psychological well-being Anastassios Stalikas, Seryianni Christina, Karakasidou Irini, Lakioti Agathi PS 3.3. Can positive emotions broaden cognition always? A pilot study on the role of positive emotions in the expansion of irrational cognitive repertoires Alina Vulpe, Ion Dafinoiu PS 3.4. The object of nostalgia: is it about «good old days» or about «good old selves»? Veronika Nourkova, Olga Karpysheva PS 3.5. Think about what you do: the relationship between quality of experience and thoughtaction congruence Marta Bassi, Antonella Delle Fave PS 3.6. Positive Psychology and the experience of ‘luck’ Matthew Smith, Piers Worth PS 3.6. Positive Psychology and the experience of ‘luck’ Matthew Smith, Piers Worth PS 4. Positive Interventions 1 CHAIR: Chiara Ruini PS 4.1. Initiating positive psychology exercises in everyday life: Predicting intentions and behavior Lukasz Dominik Kaczmarek, Todd. B. Kashdan, Blażej Baczkowski, Jolanta Enko, Adrianna Siebert, Agata Schaefer, Marek Król, Barbara Baran PS 4.1. Initiating positive psychology exercises in everyday life: Predicting intentions and behavior Lukasz Dominik Kaczmarek, Todd. B. Kashdan, Blażej Baczkowski, Jolanta Enko, Adrianna Siebert, Agata Schaefer, Marek Król, Barbara Baran PS 4.2. The use of narrative strategies for improving psychological well-being and growth Lukasz Dominik Kaczmarek, Todd. B. Kashdan, Blażej Baczkowski, Jolanta Enko, Adrianna Siebert, Agata Schaefer, Marek Król, Barbara Baran PS 4.4. Cultivating Gratitude Thinking Habit and Exploring Its Effects on Psychological Wellbeing: An Exploratory Study Freedom Leung, Edmund Tak Tsun Lo PS 4.5. Being resilient: Creating personal resources through gratitude interventions Itai Ivtzan, Kate Hefferon, Jin-Kai Chng CONTENTS PAPERS PS 5. Positive Psychology in political and ethical contexts CHAIR: Dora Gudmundsdottir PS 5.1. Good politics for a positive participation Marco Boffi, Paolo Inghilleri PS 5.2. Materialism and Planetary Well-being: Associations between Values, Life Goals, Environmental Identity, Environmental Concern and Pro-Environmental Behaviours in the UK and Chile Wenceslao Unanue, Helga Dittmar PS 5.3. Respect for human dignity and gratefulness as a factors of pro-social perspective and altruistic behavior Julia Zaitseva PS 5.4. Unobtrusively Measuring the Well-Being of Large Populations: the World Well-Being Project J.C. Eichstaedt, H.A. Schwartz, M.L. Kern, L. Dziurzynski, S.M. Ramones, M. Kosinski, D.J. Stillwell, M.E.P. Seligman, L.H. Ungar PS 5.5. The Impact of economic crisis on well-being Dora Gudmundsdottir PS 5.6. Negativity, Socio-Economic Status, Education and Health Behaviours Kaisla Joutsenniemi, Heimo Langinvainio, Antti S. Mattila, Maiju Pankakoski, Jouko Lönnqvist, Pekka Mustonen PS 6. Well-being at the workplace CHAIR: Willibald Ruch PS 6.1. Purpose and meaning in life and employee outcomes: the mediating role of psychological need satisfaction Sebastiaan Rothmann, J. P. Swart PS 6.2. Work-Family Conflict versus Work-Family Facilitation: The Role of Loss and Gain of Resources Lior Oren PS 6.3. Profiles of coping with multiple roles and their impact on the work-family enrichment and conflict Marisa Matias, Anne Marie Fontaine PS 6.4. Being good = doing well at work? The relationships between character strengths and different dimensions of job performance Claudia Harzer, Willibald Ruch PS 6.5. The character strengths-related person-job fit – Theoretical background, operationalization, and first results on the role of strengths-related person-job fit Claudia Harzer, Willibald Ruch CONTENTS PAPERS PS 6.6. Positive workplace image as the predictor to the wellbeing at the workplace Tatyana Ivanova PS 7. Parenting CHAIR: Fu-mei Chen PS 7.1. Joyful experiences of being parents- Parenting daily uplifts for fathers and mothers with young children Fu-mei Chen PS 7.2. Personal Growth and Subjective Happiness among Mothers of Children with Various Disabilities Liora Findler, Ayelet Klein – Yaacoby PS 7.3. The Examination of the Psychometric Properties of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) on Parents of Children with Autism in Turkey Bekir Fatih Meral PS 7.4. Family Quality of Life of Parents of Children With Disabilities Who Live in Rural Part of Turkey Bekir Fatih Meral, Atilla Cavkaytar PS 7.5. Female advantage in the recognition of positive emotions in babies Armindo Freitas-Magalhães, Erico Castro PS 8. Post-Traumatic Growth CHAIR: Hester Gertrude (Gertie) Pretorius PS 8.1. Sexual Violence in the South African Context: Trauma and the Potential for Posttraumatic Growth Hester Gertrude (Gertie) Pretorius PS 8.2. Posttraumatic growth after 3/11 earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disaster: its relationship with attribution style, sense of coherence, and attachment style Manami Ozaki, Tetsuo Onodera, Takehiko Ito PS 8.3. Comprehensive Growth Ability: Thriving through positive and negative life events Judith Mangelsdorf, Johannes Eichstaedt, Margaret L. Kern PS 8.4. The Will to Meaning in the Face of Adversity: Toward Integrating Existentialism and Positive Psychology in the Context of Posttraumatic Growth Hester Gertrude (Gertie) Pretorius CONTENTS PAPERS PS 9. Positive Education 1 CHAIR: Ilona Boniwell PS 9.1. Developing School Leader’s using Positive Psychology Lea Waters PS 9.2. Positive psychology in the classroom – developing students’ action competence Soren Breitingъ PS 9.3. Positive Educational Intervention: effects of the “CONCILIATION IN YOUR LIFE” programme on the well-being of young people and their level of satisfaction with life Juana Mª Maganto Mateo, Juan Etxeberría Murgiondo, Carmen Maganto Mateo, Amaia Etxeberría Maganto, Rodríguez María Reiriz, Peris Hernández PS 9.4. Authentic leadership and empowerment Heather Laschinger, Carol Wong, Ashley Grau PS 9.5. Teaching practices and happiness in nations Gaël Brulé, Ruut Veenhoven PS 10. Positive Relationships CHAIR: MARTIN LYNCH PS 10.1. The relative contributions of autonomy and attachment security in the willingness to seek support Martin Lynch PS 10.2. Character Strengths and Partner Selection in Young People (823) Marco Weber, Willibald Ruch PS 10.3. The Interpersonal Styles as Predictors of Subjective Well-Being Tayfun Doğan, Tarık Totan, Fatma Sapmaz PS 10.4. Interpersonal status, flourishing, and satisfaction with life (1641) Lukasz Dominik Kaczmarek, Maja Stańko-Kaczmarek, Piotr Haładziński, Barbara Baran PS 10.5. The Effects of Altruism on Subjective Well-Being: Can altruism predict happiness? Tayfun Doğan, Fatma Sapmaz, Tarık Totan PS 10.6. Helping Behaviors and allostatic overload Emanuela Offidani, F. Vescovelli, E. Albieri, D. Visani, C. Ruini PS 11. Flow in Achievement CHAIR: Orin Davis PS 11.1. Microflow Experiences at Work Orin C. Davis CONTENTS PAPERS PS 11.2. Using the Team Flow Monitor Jef van den Hout, Orin Davis PS 11.3. Measuring Flow is difficult, but the Flow Simplex seems to do a better job than the Experience Fluctuation Model Lisa Vivoll Straume, Karoline Kopperud, Joar Vittersø PS 11.4. Flow as a tool of navigation between burnout and boreout Frans Andersen, Nina Hanssen PS 11.5. Intuition and Flow Lauri Jarvilehto PS 11.6. Flow and Addiction: Does passion matter? Vivian Hsuehhua Chen, Saifuddin Ahmed, Angeline Khoo, Henry Been-Lirn Duh PS 12. Personal Resources 1 CHAIR: Iva Solcova PS 12.1. The motivational antecedents of perseverance Tamara Gordeeva, Oleg Sychev PS 12.2. Changes in resilience, locus of control and proactive coping after 520 days of space flight to Mars simulation Iva Solcova, Alla Vinokhodova PS 12.3. Optimistic and Hopeful Coping vs. Coping with Hope and Optimism. Examination of structural relations Tatjana Avramov, Nevena Berat, Dragana Jelić, Dragan Žuljević PS 12.4. Mediating Effect of Self-Efficacy and Perceived Control on the Relationship between Life Orientation and Persistence Afsheen Anwar, Zenab Tariq and Sana Anwar PS 12.5. Gratitude as Strong, Unique, Causal, and Changeable Precursor of Well-Being Alex Wood, Stephen Joseph, John Maltby, Alex Linley, Gordon Brown PS 12.6. Flow in studying as a function of adaptive and maladaptive metacognitive traits Giovanni B Moneta PS 13. Happiness CHAIR: Joar Vittersø PS 13.1. Towards a comprehensive model of eudaimonia: development of the Integrated WellBeing Scale Evgeny Osin, Ilona Boniwell CONTENTS PAPERS PS 13.2. Four Ways to a Good Life: Kahneman Meets Eudaimonic Well-Being Joar Vittersø, Cathrine Wangberg, Espen Røysamb PS 13.3. Eudaimonic during work, but hedonic at night: The perception of motives for activities changes with context Aleksandra Iga Bujacz, Joar Vittersø PS 13.4. How important is a peak experience? Eudaimonic feelings are transformed differently from real time to remembered experience Helga S. Lovoll, Joar Vittersø PS 13.5. Happiness Intelligence: A Practical New Approach to Building Mental Fitness and Wellbeing Bill Gee, Malik Jaffer, Memory Matanda PS 14. Workplace Interventions 1 CHAIR: Marianne van Woerkom PS 14.1. Strengths Interventions in the Work Place: Employees’ Character Strengths, Subjective Well Being and Performance Hilla Rahamim Engel, Mina Westman, Daniel Heller PS 14.2. The Happy Worker: Exercise and Thoughts about Performance leading to Positive Emotions Danilo Garcia, Trevor Archer, Patricia Rosenberg, Saleh Moradi PS 14.3. Happy@ConocoPhillips – Applied Positive Psychology in an energy company in Norway Inger Mette Staalesen, Hanne Toendel, Paal Navestad, Øyvind L. Martinsen PS 14.4. Strengths development support as an additional job resource: Its relations with work engagement and turnover intention Marianne van Woerkom, Christine Meyers, Brigitte Kroon PS 14.5. Preventing work-stress: common beliefs of preventive factors among Estonian employees Kaidi Kiis, Taimi Elenrum PS 14.6. Job Satisfaction or Work Balance? A Multi-level Analysis Chaoming Liu, Sy-Feng Wang PS 15. Health CHAIR: Patrizia Steca PS 15.1. The Model of Personal Growth in Chronic Illness (MPGCI) Marlena Kossakowska PS 15.2. Exploring goal adjustment strategies in a sample of adolescents with cancer Moniek Janse, Esther Sulkers, Mirjam A. G. Sprangers, Adelita V. Ranchor, Joke Fleer CONTENTS PAPERS PS 15.3. Illness perceptions and self-efficacy beliefs in contrasting depression and promoting life satisfaction in patients affected by cardiovascular diseases Patrizia Steca, A. Greco, M. D’Addario, R. Pozzi, D. Monzani PS 15.4. Positive clinical psychiatry, positive diagnosis, and positive interventions Timothy So, Carol Kauffman, Winifred Mark PS 15.5. Effect of positive interventions on quality of life in patients with borderline personality disorder Hamid Nasiri Dehsorkhi, Sedigheh Sadrameli, Amrollah Ebrahimi-Mostafa Arab PS 15.6. Sense Making of Illness in Patients with Myocardial Infarction Rajbala Singh PS 16. Self-Determination CHAIR: Sofya Nartova-Bochaver PS 16.1. The impact of affect and emotion regulation on autonomous and controlled motivation Leen Vandercammen, Joeri Hofmans, Peter Theuns PS 16.2. The impact of intrinsic motivation and volition on resource management Peter Gröpel PS 16.3. Team Level Perceived Autonomy Support and Wellbeing Outcomes of New Zealand Employees Maree Roche, J. M. Haar PS 16.4. The Personal Sovereignty: A Theoretical Conceptualization and Development of the Instrument for its Measurement Sofya Nartova-Bochaver PS 16.5. What kinds of decisions make us truly happy? On connecting everyday decision making and well-being Dina Nir PS 16.6. Autonomous regulation mode moderates the effect of actual physical activity on affective states: An interactive ambulatory assessment study with a randomized sample in advanced age Martina Kanning, Thomas Bossmann, U. Ebner-Priemer PS 17. Positive Interventions 2 CHAIR: Charles Martin Krumm PS 17.1. Coaching and Yoga Justine Lutterodt, Angela Curtis PS 17.2. What psychologists should know about massage therapy Grant Rich CONTENTS PAPERS PS 17.3. Feeling the power: Reviewing the physical and psychological benefits of Boxercise for individuals with mental health difficulties Kate Hefferon, Rebecca Mallery, Chloe Gay, Simeon Elliot PS 17.4. Healing with Happiness: A Powerful New Positive Psychology Group Program using Aerobic Laughter Therapy to Improve Mental Fitness and Wellbeing in Highly Stressed Groups (1412) Bill Gee, Malik Jaffer, Memory Matanda PS 17.5. Exploring the Scope for Considering Laughter Yoga as a Component of the Positive Psychology Tool-Kit Siobhan Kavanagh, Padraig MacNeela PS 17.6. Is it possible to have a better integration of positive psychology by E.M.D.R.? Regourd Laizeau, Charles Martin Krumm, Cyril Tarquinio PS 18. Positive Education 2 CHAIR: Giovanni B. Moneta PS 18.1. Character strengths and life satisfaction of Slovenian teachers and student teachers Polona Gradisek PS 18.2. Empowerment of Teachers to Lead Resilience-Enhancement Interventions: The Impact on Self-Efficacy and Role Identity Daniel Hamiel, Leo Wolmer, Tali Versano, Michelle Slone, Yael Findler, Nathaniel Laor PS 18.3. A trait state model of strategic approach to studying in university students Jekaterina Rogaten, Giovanni B. Moneta, Marcantonio M. Spada PS 18.4. Making strengths work! Using positive psychology to boost students’ career identity Maria Christina Meyers, Marianne van Woerkom, Renée de Reuver PS 18.5. Positive Psychology at School: The Role of Character Strengths in the Classroom Marco Weber, Willibald Ruch PS 18.6. What’s good about your students? Teachers’ perceptions about their students’ character strengths Ruth Hadas PS 19. Positive Development CHAIR: Helena Slobodskaya PS 19.1. More than Resilience: Positive Child Development Michael Pluess PS 19.2. Interactions between personality and family factors: implications for child well-being Helena R. Slobodskaya, O.A. Akhmetova PS 19.3. Hopeful Youths: Benefits of Very High Hope Among Adolescents Susana C. Marques, Shane J. Lopez, Anne Marie Fontaine, Susana Coimbra CONTENTS PAPERS PS 19.4. Constructing Competent Selves: A Three Year Study on Children’s Representation of Selves in Portraits and Narratives Min-Ling Tsai PS 19.5. Resisting Everything Except Temptation: A Longitudinal Study of Domain Specificity in Self-Control Eli Tsukayama PS 20. Creativity CHAIR: Suzanne Einöther PS 20.1. A cup of creativity? Positive affect and insights after tea consumption Suzanne Einöther¹, Matthijs Baas², Matthew Rowson³, Timo Giesbrecht¹ PS 20.2. Creativity and Adversity: Creative Growth Constitutes a Manifestation of Posttraumatic Growth Marie Forgeard PS 20.3. Enhancing Creativity: The Role of Self- and Other-Oriented Motivation Marie Forgeard PS 20.4. The positive role of personality in group creative process Yulia Stepanova PS 20.5. Creating a better future: Nurturing pupils’ future imagination Weiwen Lin, Mei-Chen Lai, Meng-Hung Chiang, Yin Huang PS 20.6. Exploring the Link Between Time Perspective and Global Motivation Antanas Kairys, A. Liniauskaite, I. Urbanaviciute PS 21. Theory and metatheory CHAIR: Aydan Gülerce PS 21.1. Conceptualisations in the literature: flourishing, thriving, and optimal functioning Arabella Ashfield, Jim McKenna, Sue Backhouse PS 21.2. Positing the ‘positive’ in metatheory and social praxis Aydan Gülerce PS 21.3. The positive psychology evidence for the Big One as a substantive personality Dimension (1090) Eleonora Nosenko, Iryna Arshava, Liliia Ponomarova, Ludmila Baysara. Yana Amineva PS 21.4. The development of a research-instrument to assess the components of Seligman’s (2011) PERMA-theory of well-being Fabian Gander, René T. Proyer, Sara Wellenzohn, Willbald Ruch PS 21.5. Motivational Dialogue: The Way To Self-Determination Catherine Patyayeva CONTENTS PAPERS PS 21.6. Cultural Models of the Russian Orthodoxy with Regard to Psychological Autonomy, Human Flourishing and Happiness: A Critical Cultural-Psychological Analysis Valery Chirkov, Boris Knorre PS 22. Workplace Interventions 2 CHAIR: Andreas Krafft PS 22.1. Toolkit for leaders – practical positive psychology Gudrun Snorradottir PS 22.2. The Practice of Positive Psychology in Hong Kong Police Force Edmond Kam Lun Lau PS 22.3. The Added Value of the Positive: A Literature Review of Positive Psychology Interventions in Organizations Maria Christina Meyers, Marianne van Woerkom, Arnold B. Bakker PS 22.4. Organizational Development and Personal Well-Being Andreas Krafft PS 22.5. Inspiring impression non- management: The effect of authentic leadership on employees’ authenticity and positive emotions Dana Yagil, Hana Medler-Liraz PS 23. Aging CHAIR: Lea Pulkkinen PS 23.1. Well-Being and Big Five Personality Traits in Mid-Adulthood: Continuity, Mutual Associations, and Predictors Katja Kokko, Lea Pulkkinen PS 23.2. Perceived Social Support from Friends as a Mediator in the Relationship between Social Independence and Positive Affect in the Sample of Middle-Old and Oldest-Old Mithat Durak, Emre Senol-Durak PS 23.3. Materialism and Psychological Well-being among Older People in Hong Kong (837) Yau-tsang Chan, David R. Phillips, Oi-ling Siu PS 23.4. The Well-Elderly: The Role of Character Strengths in Ageing Well Emma Kirkby-Geddes, Ann Macaskill PS 23.5. The Predictive Role of Self-Esteem beyond Environmental and Personal Resources on Late-Life Depression Mithat Durak, Emre Senol-Durak PS 23.6. Aspirations and the Search for Meaning across Adulthood: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Jess Morgan, Oliver Robinson CONTENTS PAPERS PS 24. Positive Psychology in virtual reality CHAIR: Fabian Gander PS 24.1. Adolescent computer use and important life outcomes Tatiana Rippinen, E. R. Slobodskaya PS 24.2. Optimal Experience in Virtual Environments: A Decade of Studies Alexander Voiskounsky PS 24.3. Web-based Story Editing Interventions to Support Students at Risk and to Address Possible Stereotype Threat Alten Du Plessis PS 24.4. Further evidence on the effects of online Positive Psychology Interventions Fabian Gander, René T. Proyer, Sara Wellenzohn, Willibald Ruch PS 24.5. Wellness Research and Development to Enhance Academic Performance: Identifying Predictors and Building Web-based Tools (1103) Alten Du Plessis, H. L. Botha, H. Menkveld PS 25. School Climate CHAIR: Tamara Gordeeva PS 25.1. Profiles of School Anxiety: Differences in Social Climate and Peer Violence (1033) Jose Manuel Garcia-Fernandez, Cándido José Inglés, María del Carmen Martínez-Monteagudo, María Soledad Torregrosa, Beatriz Delgado PS 25.2. Flow experience of Japanese junior high school students while attending classes and its effects on their attitude toward learning and social skills Kiyoshi Asakawa, Kazuhiro Akita, Makoto Aiba, Kazuhiro Ikuma, Takeshi Kameyama PS 25.3. Appreciative Inquiry as a process for leading positive school change: A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of appreciative inquiry in a whole-staff appreciative inquiry school summit Lea Waters, Mathew White, Simon Murray PS 25.4. The experiences of working in an academic environment: a positive psychology Molebogeng (Lebo) Makobe-Rabothata PS 25.5. Two pathways to academic achievement: along with well-being and away from it Tamara Gordeeva, Dmitry Leontiev, Eugene Osin PS 25.6. Characteristics of families with academically gifted adolescent Jasmina Pekic CONTENTS PAPERS PS 26. June 28, 14.00-15.30 Amur room Values and virtues CHAIR: Rolv Mikkel Blakar PS 26.1. Basic human values and virtues - similarities, differences and relationships Małgorzata Najderska, Justyna Harasimczuk, Dominika Karaś, Maria Kłym, Jan Cieciuch PS 26.2. Virtuous States and Virtuous Traits: How Personality Saves the Study of Character Eranda Jayawickreme, R. Michael Furr, William Fleeson PS 26.3. Meaning systems and representations of a good life Erik Carlquist, Hilde Eileen Nafstad, Rolv Mikkel Blakar PS 26.4. Conversion experiences and positive psychology Alice Y. Y. Chan, Chi Chuen Chan PS 26.5. Does social inclusion policy improve happiness? Yoshiaki Takahashi PS 26.6. The Role of Integrative Self Knowledge in Organizational Citizenship and Oneness Behaviors Duysal Askun Celik PS 27. June 29, 9.00-10.30 Amphitheatre hall Emotion and compassion CHAIR: Antonella Delle Fave PS 27.1. The everyday experience of people with neurodegenerative diseases and their caregivers Raffaela D.G. Sartori, Tiziana Maero, Pasquale Masala, Marina Zapparoli-Manzoni, Antonella Delle Fave PS 27.2. From acts of caregiving to caring connections – Compassionate mutuality in human interaction Frank Martela PS 27.3. Interventions to enhance happiness: comparison of Loving Kindness Meditation practice with an Integrative Positive Emotion Regulation program in a randomized controlled trial Fanny Weytens, Moïra Mikolajczak, Olivier Luminet PS 27.4. A positive psychological perspective: Optimizing the transition process towards independent living for care-leavers Katrina Simpson, Genevieve Eckstein PS 27.5. The effects of emotional intensity and emotional clarity on the binge eating Gop Je Park, Sang-hee Jun, Sung-mun Lim CONTENTS PAPERS PS 28. June 29, 9.00-10.30 Dvina room Personal resources 2 CHAIR: Danilo Garcia PS 28.1. A will (Persistence) and a proper way (Self-Directedness) might lead to happiness Danilo Garcia, Trevor Archer, Saleh Moradi PS 28.2. Surrender to Win: Acceptance, Control, and the Paradox of Powerlessness Genevieve Baijan PS 28.3. The impact of trait emotionality on ability test performance Katharina Lochner, Achim Preuss, Maike Wehrmaker PS 28.4. Psychological and environmental correlates and antecedents of Sense of coherence Alena Slezáčková, Iva Šolcová, Marek Blatný, Katarína Millová, Martin Jelínek PS 28.5. Need satisfaction leads to positive mood and interest/enjoyment. But does this count for everyone? Jemima Bidee, Tim Vantilborgh, Roland Pepermans, Gert Huybrechts, Jurgen Willems, Marc Jegers PS 28.6. Mental Fitness: From conceptualization to measurement Paula Robinson, Lindsay Oades JUNE 26-29 2012 WORLD TRADE CENTER MOSCOW POSTERS CONTENTS CONTENTS POSTERS PS 1.1 Health and Wellness PS 11-01. Do individuals with eating disorders experience resilience? Carlota Las Hayas, M. Agirre, J.A. Padierna, E. Calvete PS 11-02. Happiness and self-esteem: Gender differences changes with age, and relation with sexism Carmen Maganto, Maite Garaigordobil PS 11-03. How hard it can be: The negative influence of modesty on well-being Lung Hung Chen, Jui-Yun Liao PS 11-04. Knowing in order to prevent: Standardization and normative data of the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory Maite Garaigordobil, Carmen Maganto, José Ignacio Pérez PS 11-05. Reconnecting with the body: an exploratory analysis of Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) following Cancer Diagnosis Deirdre Walsh, Kate Hefferon PS 11-06. Sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction: Are they related to optimism, positive affect, disease length and disease severity perception in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes? Isabel Silva, J. Pais-Ribeiro, R. Meneses, L. Pedro, H. Cardoso, D. Mendonça, E.Vilhena, M. Abreu, V. Melo, A. Martins, A. Martins-da-Silva PS 11-07. Treatment adherence in epilepsy: A place for positive interventions focusing on coping strategies? Isabel Silva, Vânia Linhares, Rute F. Meneses, José Pais-Ribeiro, Isabel Silva, Luísa Pedro, Estela Vilhena, Denisa Mendonça, Helena Cardoso, Ana Martins, António Martins-da-Silva PS 11-08. Social support, coping, well-being and disease severity perception in women with thyroid cancer I. Silva, J. Pais-Ribeiro, R. Meneses, L. Pedro, H. Cardoso, D. Mendonça, E. Vilhena, M. Abreu, V. Melo, A. Martins, A. Martins-da-Silva. PS 11-09. Well-being, coping and treatment adherence in women with obesity undergoing weight loss programs I. Silva, J. Pais-Ribeiro, R. Meneses, L. Pedro, H. Cardoso, D. Mendonça, E. Vilhena, M. Abreu, V. Melo, A. Martins, A. Martins-da-Silva. PS 11-10. Differential impact of coping styles on quality of life among Hemodialysis patients Ahmad Heidari Pahlavian, Zohreh Rahimi PS 11-11. Do nursing home residents live longer when they enjoy getting up in the morning? R. Leontjevas, D.L. Gerritsen, S. Teerenstra, N. Jacobs, M. Smalbrugge, R.T.C.M. Koopmans PS 11-12. Challenging the challenge: Dispositions and cognitive processes that promote positive personality change in the face of risk situations Janne Fengler, Thomas Eberle CONTENTS POSTERS PS 11-13. Beyond the action and state orientation: reflective orientation in self-regulation and self-control Elena Rasskazova, Olga Mitina PS 11-14 The Experiences and Process of Self-Healing Produced from Psychological Displacement Paradigm in Diary-Writing Su-Fen Lee PS 11-15. The positive role of the goal refusal and goal change in the structure of self-regulation Elena Rasskazova PS 1.2. Meaning, Values, and Spiritual Accomplishments PS 12-01. Affiliation and power-related imageries in children books and crime rates Stefan Engeser PS 12-02. Positive psychology in viewpoint of Mysticism Abdolazim Karimi PS 12-03. The role of culture in creating a different human behavior and its impact on the use of space Amene Bakhtiar Nasrabadi, Hasan Ali Bakhtiar Nasrabadi, Aliakbar Taghvaei, Maryam Kamyar PS 12-04. Basic Religious Beliefs and Positive Psychological States Alireza Rajaei PS 12-05. Consequential outcomes of the individual religiosity: the values-in-action perspective Eleonora Nosenko, Iryna Arshava, Darya Ternovska PS 12-06. Parent-child value similarity and family relations Małgorzata Najderska, Ilona Skoczeń, Jan Cieciuch PS 12-07. Psychosocial Development and Meaning in Life Somaye Ahmadi, Shahla Pakdaman PS 12-08. Qualitative study of grief experience of body donors’ spouses in Taiwan Chun-Kuan Shi, Wan-Lan Chen, Guo-FangTseng, Hwei-Ling Lai PS 12-09. Sociability and solitude in youth Zoya Perlova PS 1.3. Positive Interventions PS 13-01. A positive psychology workshop increases positive affect, psychological wellbeing, happiness, and life satisfaction in preschool educators enrolled in a master degree program on neuroscience and education Nitsche Pia, Pedrals Nuria, Rigotti Attilio, Donoso Claudia, Bitran Marcela CONTENTS POSTERS PS 13-02. Act Well to Be Well: The Promise of Changing Personality States to Promote WellBeing Eranda Jayawickreme, Laura E.R. Blackie, Marie J.C. Forgeard, William Fleeson PS 13-03. Character strengths as mediators in Christian mindfulness-based intervention for recovery from addictive behaviour: an exploratory case study Sahaya G. Selvam PS 13-04. Effectiveness of early intervention for panic symptoms: randomized controlled trial Peter Meulenbeek, Godelief Willemse, Filip Smit, Pim Cuijpers PS 13-05. Effects of the self-affirmative task for self-compassion on self feelings, multiple mood states, and interpersonal relationships Ikuo Ishimura, Kenji Hatori, Naoki Kawasaki, Masahiro Kodama PS 13-06. Emotional effects of remembering self-supportive words written mindfully as Japanese Sho calligraphy Naoki Kawasaki, Masahiro Kodama, Ikuo Ishimura PS 13-07. Evaluating psycho-educational books for college students Diletta Marabini, Jane E. Gillham, Kaori Uno PS 13-08. Features of a French cognitive-behavioral chronic pain including the precepts of positive psychology C. Aguerre, M. Bridou, I. Vannier PS 13-09. Longitudinal Results of an Intervention Program for Individuals with Cerebral Palsy Diana Brandão & José Luís Pais-Ribeiro PS 13-10. Positive Psychology Intervention Program for Personal Development: A Japanese Approach Masahiro Kodama, Naoki Kawasaki, Ikuo Ishimura PS 13-11. Stress, Resilience and Reasons for Living between Suicide Ideators and Non-Ideators of Kashmir Valley Ulfat Jaan, Sheema Aleem PS 13-12. The Effect of Positive Psychological Interventions on Depression Atefeh Nekuii, Fatemeh Fathi, Hengameh Nazemroaya PS 13-13. The effectiveness of goal achievement training (GAT) Michał Szulawski PS 13-14. The efficacy of mood induction on psychological well-being in daughters of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder Maryam Esmaeili, Zohreh Latifi, Saeideh Mahdavi, Leila Esmaeili, Ali Reza Mahdavi, Ali Reza Mohammad Naderi CONTENTS POSTERS PS 13-15. The Inverse Relationship between Depression, Stress and Thai Happiness indicators of Thai Youth Terdsak Detkong, Radtada Kornprasi PS 13-16. The role of eudaimonic well-being in psychotherapy for children with emotional and behavioral disorders Elisa Albieri, Francesca Vescovelli, Dalila Visani, Chiara Ruini PS 13-17. “I can’t do magic”: Development of an online well-being intervention for parents M. Haverman, L. Bolier, D. van der Linden, E. Fischer, I. Rosier, K. Martin Abello, I. Schulten PS 1.4. Positive Personality Development PS 14-01. A person of principles Nina Nizovskikh PS 14-02. Adolescents’ positive self-concept: Is parental behavior important for all its aspects? Marija Lebedina Manzoni, Martina Lotar PS 14-03. Altruism and eudaimonic well-being Francesca Vescovelli, Emanuela Offidani, Chiara Ruini PS 14-04. An investigation of ego-resilience of university students A. Aykut Ceyhan PS 14-05. Is there something positive about perfectionism? Martina Lotar, Zrinka Greblo, Marija Lebedina Manzoni PS 14-06. Making Creative mind and personality; new model of mental health promotion in children and adolescents Alireza Pirkhaefi, Mahnaz Ghezelbash Milad PS 14-07. Perception of imaginative Social Representations in context to transform life situations Maria Shiryak PS 14-08. Personality and Word Use: Positive and Negative Expressions of the Self Through Social Media Margaret Kern, H.A. Schwartz, J.C. Eichstaedt, S.M. Ramones, L. Dziurzynski, M. Kosinsk, D.J. Stillwell, M.E.P. Seligman, L.H. Ungar PS 14-09. Semantic «roles» of loneliness Yaroslav Zalomov, Olga V. Mitina, Nina A. Nizovskikh PS 14-10. Structure and ontogenetic dynamics of human social abilities Olena Vlasova PS 14-11. The role of personality, family factors and their interactions in straight and devious pathways in adolescence Semen Muhametkulov, Helena R. Slobodskaya CONTENTS POSTERS PS 14-12. Challenge: To Be. A group intervention program for the positive development of adolescents Teresa Freire, Ana Teixeira, Isabel Lima, Marta Araújo PS 14-13. Relationships among Family of Origin, Teaching Styles and Creative Behaviors – The Complexity Approach Chia-Yu Liu, Wei-Wen, Lin PS 14-14. The assessment of psychological well-being in adolescence: Self-rated vs observer-rated measures Francesca Vescovelli, Emanuela Offidani, Elisa Albieri, Chiara Ruini PS 14-15. Youth moral self-determination factors Anastasia Vorobieva PS 14-16. Taiwanese adolescents’ strivings for autonomy in relation to parental connectedness in the context of hypothetical interpersonal dilemmas Sheh-Wei Sun PS 1.5. Positive Psychology in Society, Communities, and Human Relationships PS 15-01. Gandhi’s sarvodaya and its socio-psychological aspect Bijay Gyawali, S. Sakuma PS 15-02. Personal security and subjective well-being Ljiljana Kaliterna, Renata Franc, Vlado Sakic, Zvjezdana Prizmic Larsen PS 15-03. Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Life Satisfaction and Role of These Two Constructs and Demographic Variables in Predicting Academic Achievement among Undergraduate Students Azam Moradi, Sahar Pazuhesh PS 15-04. Rich Women Vote: The Impact of Wealthiness on Political Participation Yen-Hsuan Huang, Yi-June Lin, Han-Wen Chen, Shin-Hua Lin, Wen-Chun Sun, Wei-Ting Jain, Dee Wu PS 15-06. The good character and football: First evidence on the possible impact of a nationwide positive event on character strengths Fabian Gander, René T. Proyer, Sara Wellenzohn, & Willibald Ruch PS 15-07. Biological correlates of allostatic overload in a healthy sample Emanuela Offidani, Ruini Chiara PS 15-08. Connection between experience of romantic relationships, representations about the partner, and optimism in Russian students Konstantin Bochaver PS 15-09. First impression and attraction in transient communication Alexey Ulanovsky, Michael Yang CONTENTS POSTERS PS 15-10. Positive Display Regulation of Emotion Improves Goal Attainment and Well-Being in Social Interactions Elena Suen-Fei Wong, Franziska Tschan, Norbert Semmer PS 15-11. Relation between relatedness and life satisfaction: What’s love got to do with it? Dragana Brdaric, Veljko Jovanović, Nikolina Tepić, Dajana Damjanović PS 15-12. Machiavellian orientation in terms of positive psychology Olga Mitina, Elena Rasskazova PS 15-13. The Effect of a Manualized Group Psychoeducational Program for Emotional Intelligence: How to Build Core Positive Psychology Competencies Laura Delizonna, Ted Anstedt, Bianca Davoodian, Matthew Williams, Andrew Davoodian PS 15-14. The relationship between gratitude and mental health in students Mahnaz Shirani Bidabadi, Amir Ghamarani, Azimeh Alsadat Fatemi PS 15-15. The experience of use of vignettes in the research of romantic relationships Konstantin Bochaver, Igor Vachkov PS 15-16. Can being listened to make you happier? Dotan Castro, A.N. Kluger PS 1.6. Positive Psychology at Work & Organizations PS 16-01. A two-wave longitudinal analysis of the effects of workplace positive psychology intervention on positive affect, negative affect, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment Therese Joyce, Lea Waters PS 16-02. And they lived happily ever after: The relationship between happiness and performance at work Shany Hadar, Oren Kaplan PS 16-03. Applying the framework of challenge vs. hindrance stressors to self-employed and organization-employed workers Lior Oren PS 16-04. Best practices of mental health promotion at workplaces of Estonian public and private sector organizations Taimi Elenurm, Kaidi Kiis PS 16-05. Burnout among Serbian preschool teachers: relationships with optimism, self-efficacy, and empathy Nevena Stankovic, Ivan Panic, Jasmina Vuletic PS 16-06. Can listening make employees happier? Dotan Castro, A. Dolev, A.N. Kluger CONTENTS POSTERS PS 16-07. Career stages and Self-efficacy, and Its Impact on Teacher Job Satisfaction Rituparna Basak, Anjali Ghosh PS 16-08. Corporate Social Responsibility as a Tool to Increase Happiness among the Workers in the Company Ruth Wolf PS 16-09. Emotional and cognitive factors to explain work engagement in health volunteers E. Garrosa, L.M. Blanco, B. Moreno-Jiménez, A. González, M. Fraca, M.J. Meniz PS 16-10. How does Core Self-Evaluations Enhance Creativity? The Mediating Effect of Intrinsic Motivation and the Moderating Effect of Transformational Leadership Tsung-Yu Wu, Xing-Wei Huang PS 16-11. Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Employee Well-being Elena Mandrikova, Tatyana Ivanova, Anna Gorbunova PS 16-12. Job satisfaction: structure and associations with work engagement and organizational loyalty Elena Rasskazova, Tatyana Ivanova, Evgeny Osin PS 16-13. People’s Relations to Their Work and Job Satisfaction Elżbieta Katarzyna Kasprzak PS 16-14. Personal resources as a factor of work motivation Evgeny Osin, Tatyana Ivanova, Elena Rasskazova PS 16-15. Meaning at work: The German adaptation of the Work and Meaning Inventory Claudia Harzer, Michael F. Steger PS 16-16. Teachers’ conceptualization of teacher-student relationships as a resource for their competence and well-being development Alexandra Bochaver, Vladimir Kasatkin PS 16-17. The effects of service worker emotional labour on service performance and sabotage: The moderating effects of service worker personality and the mediating effect of customer moods Nai-Wen Chi PS 16-18. The meaning in life and the recovery experience as protective resources of the workplace aggression: a diary study E. Garrosa, L.M. Blanco, I. Carmona, B. Moreno-Jiménez PS 16-19. The Roles of Mentor Humor and Protégé Core Self-evaluations in Supervisory Mentoring Chun-Chi Yang, Changya Hu PS 16-20. Wealth and Employee Well-Being: A Cross-Cultural Study of the World Value Survey 1990/2007 Haiyin Chen, Ulrikke Johansen CONTENTS POSTERS PS 16-21. Work engagement, organizational commitment, job resources and job demands of teachers working within two former model c high schools in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa Joey Buitendach, Ruwanda Petrus, L.K. Field PS 16-22. The German adaptation of the Calling Scale Claudia Harzer PS 2.1. Human Strengths, Psychological Capital, and Personal Potential PS 21-01. An Explorative Study of Personal Strengths and Weaknesses among Japanese College Students – On a Perspective of Using Strengths for Other People Asami Komazawa, Ikuo Ishimura PS 21-02. Character strengths and life goals Fabian Gander, Sara Wellenzohn, René T. Proyer PS 21-03. Exploring cognitive and emotional correlates of self-control in sport contexts: A study with young Portuguese soccer athletes Jose Fernando Cruz, Joana Osorio, Rui Sofia PS 21-04. Exploring the role of social comparison in moral elevation Dorin Nastas, Ioana Tcaciuc, Carmen Poalelungi, Octavian Onici, Claudia Gherghel PS 21-05. Hope as mediator between curiosity and subjective well-being Veljko Jovanović, Dragana Brdarić PS 21-06. Hope, gratitude, meaningfulness and well-being in Czech students Alena Slezackova PS 21-07. Joining optimism and pessimism in predicting employees’ creativity Arménio Rego, Miguel Pina e Cunha PS 21-08. Optimism – A Literature Review Micheline Bastianello, J.P. Pacico, C.S. Hutz PS 21-09. Optimism/pessimism ratio as predictor of job performance Arménio Rego, Susana Leal; Miguel Pina e Cunha PS 21-10. Orientations to happiness, life satisfaction, and character strengths; A correlation among Irish college students Helen Tobin PS 21-11. Polish adaptation of the International Personality Item Pool – Values in Action (IPIP-VIA) Scales Małgorzata Najderska, Jan Cieciuch PS 21-12. Psychological Capital, Personal Potential, and Job Satisfaction of Russian Employees Elena Mandrikova, Evgeniya Chaika, Stanislav Skokov CONTENTS POSTERS PS 21-13. Subjective vitality as reflection of subjective well-being and a positive individual resource Lada Alexandrova, Anna Lebedeva PS 21-14. The sense of Humor as an Emotional Character strength of a Virtuous Personality Eleonora Nosenko, Iryna Arshava, Olga Kharchenko PS 21-15. Underestimating gelotophobes, overestimating gelotophiles, and realistic katagelasticists? Testing self- and peer-rated character strengths in their relation with dispositions towards ridicule and being laughed at Fabian Gander, Sara Wellenzohn, René Proyer, Willibald Ruc PS 21-16. Validation of a French version of the Future Scale - preliminary analysis Charles Martin-Krumm, Y. Delas, C. Martin-Krumm, P. Fontayne, H. Lebars PS 21-17. Psychometric Properties and Correlates of the German Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth (German VIA-Youth) Marco Weber, Willibald Ruch, Nansook Park, Christopher Peterson PS 21-18. The Applicability of Character Strengths Rating Scales (ACS-RS) Claudia Harzer, Willibald Ruch PS 21-19. The Development of Adaptive and Maladaptive Perfectionism and Their Effects on Intrinsic Motivation After Success-vs.-Failure Feedback Thuy-vy Nguyen PS 21-20. Adaptation and validation of the Hope Index for Brazilian adolescents Juliana P. Pacico, Micheline Bastianello, C.S. Hutz PS 2.2. Positive Resources and Life Challenges PS 22-01. Exploring gratitude in breast cancer patients Chiara Ruini, Francesca Vescovelli PS 22-02. Perfectionism as a personal resource and its measurement Alena Zolotareva PS 22-03. Hope of Success among Polish Youth: The Polish National Panel Study of Adolescents Marek Smulczyk, Kamila Dobrenko, Tomasz Zoltak PS 22-04. Personal optimism – Resource or consequence in coping with stress Nevena Berat, Tatjana Avramov, Dragana Jelić, Dragan Žuljević PS 22-05. Post traumatic growth: different predictors for different traumatic events Chiara Ruini, Francesca Vescovelli, Elisa Albieri, Emanuela Offidani PS 22-06. Posttraumatic Growth and Psychological Well-being among the Caregivers of HIVinfected, Cancer and Heart Patients Naved Iqbal, Sheema Aleem, Machiano CONTENTS POSTERS PS 22-07. Stability and change in well-being and psychological distress Ragnhild Bang Nes, Lars Johan Hauge, Espen Røysamb, Tom Kornstad, Markus Landholt, Lorentz Irgens, Leif Eskedal, Petter Krsitensen, Margarete Vollrath PS 22-08. The subjective quality of choice in real life situations of different scale and its personality correlates Anna Fam PS 22-09. Tolerance to ambiguity as a coping resource Elena Lvova, Elena I. Shliagina PS 22-10. Social support for disabled students in inclusive education as personal positive resource Tatyana Silantieva, Anna Lebedeva PS 2.3. PP in Family and Education PS 23-01. «The more you hope the more you know, the more you fear the less you know». Hope of success and anxiety as differentiators of academic skills in secondary school students Marek Smulczyk, Kamila Dobrenko PS 23-03. Gratitude emotion, gratitude expression, and marital satisfaction Tsui-Shan Li, Yin-Ling Hsiao PS 23-04. Making positive: the expert teaching in gifted education Chin-Hsieh Lu, Yu-Yun Lin PS 23-05. Measuring whole-school student wellbeing: The St Peter’s College Student Well-being Survey Mathew White, S. Murray PS 23-06. Parenting stress in economic disadvantaged families effect of social support and parental resilience Chih Yun Liao, Tsui-Shan Li PS 23-07. Personality traits and social anxiety in students of Secondary Education Jose Manuel Garcia-Fernandez, Beatriz Delgado, Cándido José Inglés, María del Carmen Martínez-Monteagudo, María Soledad Torregrosa PS 23-08. Quality of family interaction: Assessment and intervention Lidia Dobrianskyj-Weber, Ana Paula Salvador, Claudia Ton PS 23-09. Relationship between forgiveness and family function in couple referred to Family Therapy Centers in Iran Amrollah Ebrahimi, Ensie Haghighipoor, Mohamad Reza Merasi, Batoul Aminolsarbian, Hamid Nasiri, Mostafa Arab PS 23-10. Social self-concept and self-esteem in Spanish students with social anxiety Jose Manuel Garcia-Fernandez, Beatriz Delgado; Cándido José Inglés; María Soledad Torregrosa; María del Carmen Martínez-Monteagudo CONTENTS POSTERS PS 23-11. Soft Skills Development as Positive Education for University Students Elena Mandrikova PS 23-12. The effectiveness of life skills training on the happiness of spouses of veterans (war wounded) Kamal Solati PS 23-13. The Examination of the Psychometric Properties of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) on Parents of Children with Autism in Turkey Bekir Fatih Meral PS 23-14. Validation of a Portuguese Version of the Gallup Student Pool on Engagement Susana Marques Marques, Shane J. Lopez, Anne Marie Fontaine, Susana Coimbra PS 23-15. Students’ adjustment to higher education: What is the role of self-efficacy in this process? Isabel Silva, Verónica Fernandes, Rute F. Meneses PS 2.4. Quality of Life, Flourishing, and Well-being PS 24-01. Adaptation to University life: stress and well-being Laimute Bulotaite, Birute Pociute, Remigijus Bliumas PS 24-02. Adolescents’ Happiness-Increasing Strategies and Well-Being Danilo Garcia PS 24-03. Basic trust and narrative processes in the positive self-transformation after experience of organ transplantation Mariusz Zieba PS 24-04. Best practices of mental health promotion at workplaces Taimi Elenurm PS 24-05. Cross-lagged relations between dispositional gratitude and adolescent athlete burnout Lung Hung Chen PS 24-06. Development of Emotional Intelligence: experimental study Tatiana Kiseleva, Elena Khlevnaya PS 24-07. Development of the Lithuanian Psychological Well-Being Scale: Theoretical and Empirical Considerations Ieva Urbanaviciute, A. Bagdonas, Antanas Kairys, Audrone Liniauskaite PS 24-08. Drumming to De-Stress: The effects of Mindfulness HealthRhythms® on Psychological Well-being Patricia Glascock, Irina Khramtsova, Alicia Halfacre, Jonathan Owen PS 24-09. Effect of cognitive behavioral therapy with problem-solving skills training on reduction of symptoms of test anxiety in high school girls Fereshteh Baezzat, Mohsen Sadinam CONTENTS POSTERS PS 24-10. Emotional intelligence as a potential predictor of well-being of employed and unemployed Katarzyna Knopp PS 24-11. Flow experiences, well being and loneliness in older age Maria José Ferreira, Teresa Freire PS 24-12. Happiness and Personal Growth Initiative among University Students in the UAE Amber Haque PS 24-13. How does life stress affect life satisfaction? Short- and long-term effects Gunvor Marie Dyrdal, Espen Røysamb, Ragnhild Bang-Nes, Joar Vittersø PS 24-15. How Self-Concept Clarity Relates to a Better Work Satisfaction: Mediation Effect of Internal Entrapment Lung Hung Chen, I An Su PS 24-16. Life satisfaction and adjustment to illness as predictors of anxiety and depressive symptoms in male patients post-infarcted Angeles Ruiz, Pilar Sanjuán, Ana Pérez-García PS 24-17. Manage your loneliness: Time management as a predictor of loneliness Lung Hung Chen, Hao-Jan Luh PS 24-18. Political Participation, Civil liberty, and Quality of Democracy as predictors of Life Satisfaction Bagus Takwin, Alfindra Primaldhi, Sahat K. Panggabean PS 24-19. Prevalence of Depressive Disorders in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiary Province of Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Palahang, F.Safian PS 24-20. Primary school pupils’ character strengths as predictors of their quality of life Eugenia Volchegorskaya PS 24-21. Psychological Capital and Well-being as predictors of job satisfaction of government and private sector employees Samina Bano, Sheema Aleem, N.Hasnain, Avneet Kaur PS 24-22. Psychological predictors of survival after heart transplantation: A 6-year follow-up, prospective study Silvana Grandi, Luciano Potena, Marco Masetti, Laura Sirri PS 24-23. Psychological well-being in orphanage wards Elena Belonogova, E. Lobanina PS 24-24. Relationships between Quality of Life and Internet Use Esra Ceyhan PS 24-25. Religious and Secular Well-Being and Hardiness: The Common Factors Illya Yagiyayev, Nadiia Kozhar CONTENTS POSTERS PS 24-26. Resilience among children and adults from disadvantaged section of society Mrinalini Purandare PS 24-29. Share of Demographic Variables in Predicting Quality of Life of Young Physically Disabled Persons in Shahrekord Azam Moradi, Soghra Taheri PS 24-30. Styles of affective regulation as predictors of positive expectations and positive and negative affect Vesna Gavrilov-Jerkovic, Darja Radovic, Stanislava Porobic PS 24-31. Comparison of perceived competence and stress in shahed and normal students in Tehran and the effect of life skills training Mohammad Hatami, Jevad Kavosyan PS 24-32. The effect of quality of life therapy on happiness of patients referred to a counselling centre Mohammad Reza Abedi, Zahra Padash, Salar Faramarzi PS 24-33. The Fallacy of Misplaced Concreteness: How the reification of Western cultural ideals, constructs, and conventions affects aspirations, materialism, and psychological well-being Brad Elphinstone PS 24-34. The relationship between psychological well-being and perceived social support in long-term heart transplantation survivors Silvana Grandi, Laura Sirri PS 24-35. The Russian version of the Authenticity Scale Sofya Nartova-Bochaver, Vasilij Bardadymov PS 24-36. The study of the effect of optimism trainig on psychological and physical health among dormitоry female students at Isfahan Medical Students Fatane Alibake, Morteza Alibake, Ahmad Abedi PS 24-37. The Underlying Mechanism of Integration and Influence on Psychological Adjustment Weifang Lin, Yicheng Lin, Chinlan Huang PS 24-38. Utilization of the Competence Scale for Counselling Shinichi Sakuma, T. Kimura, B. Gyawali, T. Katsumata PS 24-39. Validation of a Portuguese Version of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale Susana Marques Marques, Shane J. Lopez, Anne Marie Fontaine, Susana Coimbra PS 24-40. FlourishWell4Life: Personalised Conditioning e-Programmes to Enhance and Track Wellness, Success and Flourishing Alten Du Plessis, C.D. Ciliiers, H.L. Botha PS 24-41. Well-being of students studying abroad Monika Bilas-Henne SYMPOSIA CONTENTS CONTENTS SYMPOSIA SY 1. An exploration of the impact of graduate research and application-based projects on the field of positive psychology SY 1 An exploration of the impact of graduate research and application-based projects on the field of positive psychology Chair: Lea Waters SY 1.1. Using graduate research to create positive change in schools’ Lea Waters SY 1.2. Evidence of Positive psychology outcomes from Claremont graduate programs Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi SY 1.3. MAPP at Penn: Advancing the Application of Positive Psychology James Pawelski SY 1.4. From hip-hop to homelessness: A review of MAPP’s (UEL) holistic approach to research and consultancy Kate Hefferon SY 1.5. The students’ contribution to positive psychology: The initiatives of the students international positive psychology association (sippa) Raffaela Sartori Sy 2. Advances in Flow Research SY 2. Advances in Flow Research Chair: Stefan Engeser SY 2.1. The concept of flow and its central aspect of optimal challenge Stefan Engeser SY 2.2. Psychophysiological Correlates of Flow-Experience Corinna Peifer SY 2.3. Flow as a way of coping: A qualitative study of the metacognitions of flow Edith Wilson & Giovanni B. Moneta SY 2.4. Flow in Non-Achievement Situations - The Effect of the Power Motive on Flow Experience Anja Schiepe-Tiska Sy 3. Happiness at the workplace: The case of South Africa SY 3. Happiness at the workplace: the case of South Africa Chair: Johanna Hendrina Buitendach CONTENTS SYMPOSIA SY 3.1. Gender and happiness in the workplace Thandekile Sylvia Magojo SY 3.2. The relationship between psychological capital, work engagement and organizational commitment amongst call centre employees in South Africa Janet Simons SY 3.3. The psychometric properties of the Orientation to Happiness Scale in selected organizations in South Africa Anna Meyer-Weitz SY 3.4. Orientation to happiness and subjective wellbeing among teachers in Swaziland Rwanda Petrus SY 3.5. Psychological Capital and its relationship with Well-being and job satisfaction. Kreshona Pillay SY 3.6. Happiness amongst church ministers in South Africa Anna Meyer-Weitz, Joey Buitendach Sy 4. Mental Quotient test: Level of optimism in business environment and its influence on organizational performance SY 4. Mental Quotient test: Level of optimism in business environment and its influ¬ence on organizational performance Chair: Ekaterina Timokhina SY 4.1. Why and how to translate Positive Psychology into daily business routine? Eszter Kovacs SY 4.2. Development and validation of the MQ test Martos Tamas SY 4.3. The MQ developmental program – positive transformation of inner dialogue Ekaterina Timokhina SY 4.4. Business application of the MQ test. Olga Mukhina Sy 5. Positive psychology studies in the cyberspace Sy 5. Positive psychology studies in the cyberspace Chair: Alexander Voiskounsky SY 5.1. Persistent Re-engagement in Immersion: Essential Game Design Techni-ques for Serious Games Maja Pivec, Paul Pivec FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences (Austria) & CranberryBlue R & D CONTENTS SYMPOSIA SY 5.2. Virtual Need Satisfaction: Motivational Elements and Gamification Richard M. Ryan, C. Scott Rigby, Andrew K. Przybylski SY 5.3. Flow experience in online video gaming: Empirical study Shi Lu Wang, Alexander E. Voiskounsky, Olga V. Mitina SY 5.4. Is ‘Flow’ a Positive State? Kyle W. Van Ittersum, Clive J. Fullagar Sy 6. Positive psychology for vulnerable groups – a focus on resilience SY 6. Positive psychology for vulnerable groups – a focus on resilience Chair: Linda Bolier (Trimbos-instituut, the Netherlands) SY 6.1. Effect «Recognition of acquired competences» for vulnerable volunteers: A randomized controlled trial. Manja van Wezep SY 6.2. Happyles. A positive online stepped care program for young people with a low socioeconomic status. Debbie van der Linden, Rianne van der Zanden, Geke Romijn, Simone van Oorspronk SY 6.3. Evaluation study ‘Happiness route’. A practice-based multi-site RCT about a happiness based intervention aimed at the socially isolated to increase positive mental health and decrease health care consumption. Laura Weiss Sy 7. Interventions to Improve Flourishing in the Population SY 7. Interventions to Improve Flourishing in the Population Felicia A. Huppert SY 7.1. Delivering Happiness at Work Nic Marks SY 7.2. 21st Century Positive Education Programs: Improving flourishing through the strategic use of Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology in Schools Suzy Green SY 7.3. The mindful way to flourishing Felicia A. Huppert CONTENTS SYMPOSIA Sy 8. Science, culture, and the humanities: Rethinking the question of well-being SY 8. Science, culture, and the humanities: Rethinking the question of well-being Chair: James Pawelski SY 8.1. Culture, well-being, and the eudaimonic turn in literary studies James O. Pawelski SY 8.2. What is positive in culture, and what is not? Dmitry Leontiev SY 8.3. Well-being as key measure in education: Objective outcome or personal income? Hans Henrik Knoop SY 8.4. Positive humanities: The integration of positive psychology and the teaching of English literature. Mathew White ROUND TABLES SE 2. Round table: Positive Psychology in Indian Cultural Context Roshni Sachar and Kamlesh Singh W 01 FLOW IN EVERYDAY LIFE. W 01 Flow in everyday life. ”Flow as a tool for navigation between burnout and boreout” Nina Hanssen, Frans Ørsted Andersen W 03 Meaning at Work: Using Group Facilitation at Organizational Meetings to Enhance Work Meaningfulness Ib Ravn, Nina Tange W 04 The HERO’s Quest – Implementing Psychological Capital through Applied Storytelling Yvonne Karsten Virgo Karp W05 Cultivating disabled People’s Psychological capital in order to develop business entrepreneurship Rivka Sigal W 06 The Challenges of Ethical Leadership Justine Lutterodt W 07 Positive Psychology Goes to School. Helping Children & Young PeopleBe Resilient& ‘bounce back’! Toni Noble CONTENTS SYMPOSIA W 08 Learning to Flourish: Applying Positive Interventions to Your Life Dan Tomasulo W 10 Using Positive Psychology in Innovating Danish High Schools Nina Tange, Marianne Boye & Bo Krüger W 11 Minding the Gap: Integrating Positive Psychology into Focused-Dynamic Psychotherapy Irit Bluvstein W 12 Self-regulation in the education of business leaders Alberto Ribera, Ruben Moreno Comellas W 13 Happiness at work Nic Marks W 14 Inclusive positivity as a culturally mindful approach: how to effectively conduct positive psychology interventions for negative-minded people Tatsuya Hirai, Manami Ozaki W 15 Exercises and Effectiveness of a Leader Development Program based on Comprehensive Positive Psychology Makoto Watanabe, Tetsuya Hirai W 16 A positive outlook on inner conflict: Creating win-win decisions that promote happiness and well-being Dina Nir W17 ‘Channelling’ – Facilitating a Paradigm Shift through Coaching Justine Lutterodt PreW 1 The Development of Hope, Growth and Flouishing in Individuals, Couples and Family. Integration of Positive Psychotherapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Jacinto Inbar W17 ‘Channelling’ – Facilitating a Paradigm Shift through Coaching Justine Lutterodt PreW 1 The Development of Hope, Growth and Flouishing in Individuals, Couples and Family. Integration of Positive Psychotherapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Jacinto Inbar PreW 2 Positive Education Research & Best Practice Applications Paula Robinson & Lindsay Oades PostW 4 Aerobic Laughter Therapy – A Powerful Evidence Based Positive Psychology Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Bill Gee, Malik Jaffer, Memory Matanda W 11 Minding the Gap: Integrating Positive Psychology into Focused-Dynamic Psychotherapy Irit Bluvstein CONTENTS SYMPOSIA W 12 Self-regulation in the education of business leaders Alberto Ribera, Ruben Moreno Comellas PAPERS PS 1. Well-being across countries Chair: Timothy T.C. So PS 1.1. Hope and Happiness in German speaking Switzerland Andreas M. Krafft, Andreas M. Walker University of St. Gallen, Switzerland BACKGROUND For the past 35 years, Credit Suisse has conducted an annual Worry Barometer survey asking the Swiss population about their biggest worries and how much confidence they have in political, business, and society decision-makers. In 2011 the results showed that the Swiss were more worried about the state of the economy than ever before. Anxiety about issues relating to foreigners seems to be also at a high level. Confidence in most political, business, and society decision-makers has fallen. However, interestingly, Switzerland ranks number 4 in the international quality of life index. That means there should be something more powerful than worries and anxieties in people’s life. We argue that hope is a basic orientation which fosters happiness and a sense of well-being in life. But where does hope come from? AIMS OF THE STUDY In November 2011 Swissfuture and the University of St. Gall conducted an explorative hope and happiness internet survey among 3383 people in German speaking Switzerland. We asked the Swiss population about general vand concrete perceptions regarding their hopes, their main hope spending “personalities” or “role models”, usual practices to make individual hopes happen, the main roots of personal hopes as well as the self-reported happiness perceptions. Furthermore, we related these results to the dispositional hope scale of Snyder (1995) and selected items of eudaimonic social and psychological well-being of the Mental Health Continuum (Short Form) of Keyes (2007). METHODS USED The data was analyzed with SPSS in three iterative steps: 1. Explorative factor analysis and reliability tests; 2. Classification and Regression Trees (CRT) and Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) to explore dependencies between variables; 3. Post-hoc analysis to identify relevant demographic sub-groups. SELECTED RESULTS Happiness in life has two kinds of predictors. For people with high happiness scores the main predictor was their positive perceptions regarding the role and importance of hope in their life, which also was the strongest predictor for the personal hope perception towards 2012. For those with a low happiness score the main predictor was the dispositional hope scale with (lower) personal goals and alternative pathways. The eudaimonic social and psychological factor was both, the strongest predictor for a positive perception regarding the role and importance of hope in one’s life as well as for the dispositional hope scale of Snyder. OTHER SELECTED FINDINGS. The main predictors for happiness were: 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Role model for hope: “The own partner”. Places of hope: “Where my friends are”, “Where my partner is” Activities to fulfill hope: “Take responsibility and personal engagement” Main personal engagement: “For a happy marriage/partnership” Experiences that strengths hope: “Good relationship to my family” CONCLUSIONS Despite their worries and anxieties the Swiss population reports a high level of quality of life.Hope plays a central role in the perception of people’s happiness and satisfaction. The main sources of hope are eudaimonic social and psychological factors, primarily the relationships to one’s partner, to friends and to family members. PS 1.2. Materialism scale, affective states, and life satisfaction – representative sample in Croatia Ljiljana Kaliterna, Zvjezdana Prizmic Larsen, Maja Tadic 1, 3 – Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences, Croatia, 2 – Washington University in St. Louis, USA Materialism is defined as a value which emphasis importance of possessions and material goods in person’s life toward achieving life goals or desired states (Richins & Dawson, 1992). Research suggests that people with high materialistic values experience lower levels of well-being. However, economic and cultural environment are likely to influence meanings of materialism and values toward possessions and consumption within the society. The aims of our study were to analyze the structure of materialism scale, to examine its relationships with demographic variables, and to explore the relationships between materialism and well-being on the nationally representative sample in Croatia. The study was part of public opinion survey and it was carried out by in-person interviews in the respondents’ home. Subjects were a representative sample of 1129 Croatian citizens (56% women). They reported life satisfaction, feeling of positive (happy, satisfied) and negative (depressed, stressed, sad, angry) affective states in the last month and short form of Richins’s (2004) materialism scale. The original factor structure of materialism scale with three factors, i.e., acquisition centrality (labeled as “centrality”), possession-defined success (labeled as “success”), and acquisition to achieve happiness (labeled as “happiness”) were not confirmed in Croatian sample. Instead two factors emerged, first one as “happiness” factor while success and centrality items combined into second factor. High score on “happiness” factor describes the belief that material possessions are essential for life happiness (e.g., “My life would be better if I owned certain things I don’t have”; α= .75). High score on “success/centrality” factor describes belief in the central role of possession of material goods and its importance for life success (e.g., “I like a lot of luxury in my life”; α= .74). Women scored higher on “success/centrality” factor than men, while gender differences were not found in “happiness” factor. Low income was associated with belief that possession was essential for life happiness, while being younger was associated with higher score on success/centrality factor. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that, when controlled for gender, age and income, acquisition to achieve happiness was the strongest predictor of life satisfaction, and both affective states, People who considered that consumption lead to happiness tended to have lower life satisfaction, higher levels of negative and lower levels of positive affective states than their counterparts. Success/centrality factor was predictor only of positive affective states. People to whom possessions had central role for personal gratification and who believed that material goods are important for their life success tended to report higher levels of positive affective states than their counterparts. Differential associations between materialism factors and well-being in Croatian society are discussed in the view of cultural and economic determinants. PS 1.3. The course of the GDP and trends in quality of life in Hungary 1990-2010 Tamás Martos, Mária Kopp Semmelweis University, Institute of Mental Health, Hungary BACKGROUND AND THE AIMS OF THE STUDY In this study we make an attempt to describe the long term trend of well-being of the Hungarian population from the political changes in 1990 to the present days. Moreover, we connect these trends to the change of gross domestic product (GDP) of Hungary in the same time period. METHODS We analyze data from twelve surveys (Hungarostudy, European Values Study, European Social Survey, International Social Survey Program, total N = 42086 respondents) that assessed several important characteristics of well-being in Hungary in the last 20 years. We analyzed the following variables: self-rated health, happiness, satisfaction with life, general trust in others, social support and severity of depressive symptoms. THE RESULTS OBTAINED On the whole results indicate two important associations: 1. The years after political changes in 1990 proved to be a nadir regarding well-being in the Hungarian society. In the following years a significant increase may be hypothesized while this was followed by signs of stagnation and decrease up to the present. 2. The association with the GDP is not unambiguous: while in the period between 1991 and 2000 well-being ran parallel with the increase in GDP, the data from the last decade indicated that well-being indicators (happiness, satisfaction, trust) may get worse even in times of economic growth (as represented in the increase of the GDP). CONCLUSIONS Results reinforce the need for the monitoring of well-being on the societal level, that is, for the evolvement and regular assessment of a National Well-being Index. PS 1.4. Are Russians flourishing? Using data from the European Social Survey to compare profiles of flourishing across Europe Felicia Huppert, Timothy T.C. So University of Cambridge, UK Materialism is defined as a value which emphasis importance of possessions and material goods in person’s life toward achieving life goals or desired states (Richins & Dawson, 1992). Research suggests that people with high materialistic values experience lower levels of well-being. However, economic and cultural environment are likely to influence meanings of materialism and values toward possessions and consumption within the society. The aims of our study were to analyze the structure of materialism scale, to examine its relationships with demographic variables, and to explore the relationships between materialism and well-being on the nationally representative sample in Croatia. The study was part of public opinion survey and it was carried out by in-person interviews in the respondents’ home. Subjects were a representative sample of 1129 Croatian citizens (56% women). They reported life satisfaction, feeling of positive (happy, satisfied) and negative (depressed, stressed, sad, angry) affective states in the last month and short form of Richins’s (2004) materialism scale. The original factor structure of materialism scale with three factors, i.e., acquisition centrality (labeled as “centrality”), possession-defined success (labeled as “success”), and acquisition to achieve happiness (labeled as “happiness”) were not confirmed in Croatian sample. Instead two factors emerged, first one as “happiness” factor while success and centrality items combined into second factor. High score on “happiness” factor describes the belief that material possessions are essential for life happiness (e.g., “My life would be better if I owned certain things I don’t have”; α= .75). High score on “success/centrality” factor describes belief in the central role of possession of material goods and its importance for life success (e.g., “I like a lot of luxury in my life”; α= .74). Women scored higher on “success/centrality” factor than men, while gender differences were not found in “happiness” factor. Low income was associated with belief that possession was essential for life happiness, while being younger was associated with higher score on success/centrality factor. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that, when controlled for gender, age and income, acquisition to achieve happiness was the strongest predictor of life satisfaction, and both affective states, People who considered that consumption lead to happiness tended to have lower life satisfaction, higher levels of negative and lower levels of positive affective states than their counterparts. Success/centrality factor was predictor only of positive affective states. People to whom possessions had central role for personal gratification and who believed that material goods are important for their life success tended to report higher levels of positive affective states than their counterparts. Differential associations between materialism factors and well-being in Croatian society are discussed in the view of cultural and economic determinants. PS 1.5. Authenticity, social context, and wellbeing in England, Russia, and the USA: A comparative cross-cultural analysis Oliver Robinson, Frederick G. Lopez, Sofya Nartova-Bochaver, Katherine Ramos 1 – University of Greenwich, UK, 2 – University of Houston, USA, 3 – Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Russia, 4 – University of Houston, USA BACKGROUND Authenticity is widely viewed as a defining characteristic of both a healthy, mature personality and of well-functioning adult relationships (Jourard, 1971; Kernis & Goldman, 2006; Rogers, 1961; Wood et al., 2008). In support of this position, recent research shows authenticity to be positively related to wellbeing and life satisfaction, both at the level of dispositional tendency toward authenticity (Wood et al., 2008), and at the level of authenticity in romantic relationships (Lopez & Rice, 2006). To date, however, there have been no cross-cultural studies of authenticity. AIMS The aim of the current study was to examine cross-cultural differences and invariant features in the extent of experienced authenticity, the effect of social context on the expression of authenticity and the degree to which trait authenticity and context-specific authenticity are predictive of wellbeing. METHOD Participants: 240 students (Mage = 23) from the University of Houston (USA); 313 young adult professionals (Mage = 32) from London]; and 192 students (Mage = 25) from the University of Moscow (Russia) participated in the study. Measures: Wellbeing was assessed using the 14-item Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Inventory, which measures positive functioning over the preceding two weeks. Authenticity was assessed using a) the 12-item Authenticity Scale, and b) the Authenticity in Relationships Scale – Multiple Contexts (AIRS-MC). The AIRS-MC obtains authenticity ratings in four social contexts: with partner, friends, parents, and work colleagues. Questionnaires were translated into Russian by a translation panel at Moscow State University of Psychology and Education. RESULTS A Mixed ANOVA, with nationality as between-subjects factor and context as within-subjects factor, was conducted. It was found that the three national samples differed in mean authenticity level on all measures used. Trait authenticity was highest in the UK, as was authenticity with partner. Authenticity with friends, parents and work colleagues was highest in the USA. In all three countries, the four context-specific measures of authenticity showed the same significant cross-context variability pattern; highest mean in partner context, followed by friends, parents, and work context, with the difference between highest and lowest contexts being approximately 1/3 of the score range. A significant country by context interaction was found, which stemmed primarily from national differences in the partner measure. Both context-specific and trait measures of authenticity were significant predictors of wellbeing in all three national samples. In the UK, the partner measure and trait measure were significant predictors of wellbeing in a regression model, while in the USA parents and friends measures were additional significant predictors, as were parents and work colleague measures in Russia. CONCLUSIONS Authenticity is predictive of wellbeing in English, American, and Russian samples. Social context exerts similar effects on self-reported authentic expression in all three countries, with the highest level in partner context, and the lowest level in work context. Although the study found differences between national samples in mean authenticity levels, further research is needed to establish whether this finding is due to systematic cultural differences or to other differences between the three samples. PS 1.6. Students’ well-being: A comparison research among students between Europe and Asia Timothy So, Jennifer Tan 1 - Univeristy of Cambridge, UK, 2- Richard Chandler Corporation This study aims to examine and answer 3 core questions on student wellbeing. First, we offer new empirical data on the prevalence of psychological wellbeing (both hedonic and eudaimonic) and depression among students from 22 European countries and 3 cities in People’s Republic of China (PRC). Second, by using new flourishing (wellbeing) operational definition and measures (Huppert and So, 2011), a students’ wellbeing profile (consisting of competence, emotional stability, engagement, meaning, optimism, positive emotion, positive relationships, resilience, self esteem, and vitality) is constructed and analyzed. Third, we investigated factors that correlates with student wellbeing, such as social demographics (Snider, 2011), health (Gifford, Bakopanos, Kaplan & Correa-Velez, 2007), social capital (Ignacio, 2010), value (Maehr, 1999) and cultural difference between the West and the East (Kitayama, Karasawa, Curhan, Ryff & Markus, 2010). Data from 1806 students from 22 European countries and 930 students from 3 cities in PRC were collected. The response rate was about 55%. To compare results cross-culturally, our data set is divided into countries level and geographical regions level (eg. Northern Europe, Southern/Western Europe, Eastern Europe,). We analysed the data by regression analysis, in an attempt to compare the wellbeing profiles of the student population (16-18 years old) in relation to the general population (all ages) on overall flourishing. Other correlates, such as gender, health, social capital and values are also analysed with respect to flourishing. Our study adds to the student wellbeing literature in several ways. First, by using newly developed wellbeing measures (in both feeling and functioning perspectives), we contributed to the pool of literature on flourishing that comprised predominantly of happiness and life satisfaction indices. Second, by compiling a profile of wellbeing for the student population, our data set provides many insights on student wellbeing, which is a research area that is comparatively under development. Third, the correlates of wellbeing established from our study may be conducive to developing interventions and educational reforms. Fourth, our cross-cultural data allows us to tap cultural differences in student wellbeing profiles. Cross-cultural studies in wellbeing are important in shedding light on the cultural variables that may explain differences in student wellbeing profiles in different nations. These may be tangible, such as wealth and education system, or intangible, such as attachment style and value. PAPERS PS 2. Mindfulness and Meditation Chair: Gorjana Brkic PS 2.1. Investigating mindfulness at the individual and organisational level: A review of literature and future directions (1248) Gorjana Brkic, P. Caputi, G. Spence South Australian Health Department, University of Wollongong, Australia BACKGROUND The study of well-being is a particularly relevant topic in the modern workplace, which is characterised by continuous technological advances, increasing demands and an ongoing need to adapt to changes. Individuals are faced with a continuous stream of new information and access to numerous communication mediums where multi-tasking may seem like the only way to manage. Recent UK data suggesting that around 30 million days are lost each year to workrelated ill-health (Marianetti and Passmore, 2010), highlights the need for further research to enable more effective management of workplace stressors and to understand how to create workplaces that foster employee well-being. Over the past ten years, the concept of mindfulness has started to receive increased attention as one of the mechanisms for enhancing individual well-being in the context of the workplace (e.g. Cavanagh & Spence, in press; Atkins & Parker, in press; Dane, 2011; Marianetti and Passmore, 2010). Current definitions of mindfulness suggest that, at its core, it involves an ability to focus the attention and bring awareness to the present moment (Langer, 1989; Kabat-Zinn, 1994; Brown & Ryan, 2003). This kind of attentional and contextual sensitivity may be an avenue for the working individual to take a step back from their fast paced environment, regain focus and return to work with a more conscious awareness of their environment and the task at hand. AIMS A literature review was conducted to synthesise the findings of past research on effectiveness of mindfulness-based workplace interventions in enhancing individual and organisational outcomes. Specifically, the paper explores the link between well-being and mindfulness based on the current conceptualisations of these concepts, suggesting mechanisms through which mindfulness may impact well-being. Further it outlines and discusses the findings of the literature review on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based workplace interventions in enhancing individual well-being and organisational outcomes and makes recommendations for future research. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Based on the reviewed studies between 2005 and 2011, the data suggest that mindfulness-based workplace interventions are moderately to highly effective at an individual level across a range of individual outcomes, including better mental health, enhanced emotional and psychological well-being and decreased general psychological distress, increase in number of positive coping strategies, decreased levels of perceived stress, improvements in sleep quality and others. Improvements in organisational outcomes included enhanced perceived job control and a reduction in the number of days absent from work. The review revealed there is not only a dominance of individually-focused interventions in the workplace, but they also predominantly fail to measure organisational outcomes, alongside the individual variables. Further, more research is needed on organisation-focused interventions to understand how to create environments that foster employee well-being. Evidence also suggests that methodological issues previously noted in intervention research are being addressed, although a number of areas for improvement remain open. PS 2.2. Brief Mindfulness Based Program for Psychiatric Patients: Positive Mind: Bringing Better Coping through Awareness and Attention Andy Fok Kwok Keung, Tang Wai Kit, Kwok Sai Ting Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong INTRODUCTION High levels of stress increased risk of worsened symptoms in psychiatric disorders (Lee & Schepp, 2009). Stress is one of the factors affecting the ability to maintain remission of symptoms (Muller, 2004). Mindfulness techniques can be employed to reduce psychological distress (Singh et al, 2007). Mindfulness has been shown to enable individuals to engage in new coping responses, thus lowering the likelihood of relapse and re-admission to hospital in psychiatric patients (York, 2007; Ma & Teasdale, 2004). A mindfulness group within psychiatric admission ward in general adult psychiatric team in Castle Peak Hospital was established in May, 2011. The length of stay of majority patient is about 2-4 weeks, to support the utility of our settings and facilitate greater participation, the session time was shorter than traditional mindfulness-based intervention session time. AIMS • To develop stress coping technique through mindfulness-based activities; • To enhance patient stress coping efficacy; • To improve patient’s well-being. METHOD This program consists of four session of 1.5 hours session time. The group met on a weekly basis, consisting of two facilitators and an average of eight to ten participants who were inpatient. In-patients with satisfactory cognitive functioning and in stable phase would be invited to join this mindfulness group. This program was held in forms of continuous cycle. Throughout the program, the body-mind interaction on distress and psychiatric illness was introduced. Mindfulness eating and drinking, mindfulness walking, breathing exercises and body scan would be a core technique. To facilitate the participant can master the skill to the point of automaticity; participants were encouraged to practice and revise the techniques in ward. A booklet on mindfulness relaxation exercise, postcards in promoting livingness would be distributed to all participants. Individual training would be provided if necessary. RESULT Nearly 94 people access to the sixteen sessions since May, 2011. Within one month on the last session attended, neither violent nor aggressive incident was recorded, and no restraint was applied for patient who participated. The mean scores ranged from 4.6- 4.9 over 6 in the satisfaction survey questionnaire. For participants (N=15) completed the program, they indicated their coping efficacy on psychotic symptoms and distress were benefited. After the program; and a more flexible and opened-minded thinking can be employed. For participants partially completed the program, they also experienced a reduction in muscle tension after finishing mindfulness activities. CONCLUSION & IMPLICATIONS Although the program duration is relatively short (i.e. 4 sessions), the program evaluation suggests that participants’ perceptions on their coping efficacy was matched with the intended purpose of mindfulness activities. No detrimental effect, including exacerbation on psychotic symptoms, was reported. In conclusion, program evaluation provided support on the effectiveness of mindfulness activity on enhancing coping efficacy over stress and psychotic symptoms. PS 2.3. The effects of Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar’s program on happiness and mindfulness Asdis Olsen, Thorlakur Karlsson University of Iceland, Iceland The basis of the study was Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar’s happiness program, as put forward in his book Happier. The program is grounded in academic research in the field of Positive Psychology. It provides practical tools and methods for building self-awareness and attaining better living. Ben-Shahar’s theory is that by making a few simple changes to their lives, people can considerably raise their level of happiness, increase their well-being, self-awareness and overall contentment. Among the spurs of increased happiness, according to him, are mindfulness, expressing gratitude, setting goals, accepting one’s emotions and allowing oneself to be human. The AIM of this study is to show whether a program based on the work of Ben-Shahar would increase happiness and mindfulness of those who participated in an eight-week TV-program, where each week was devoted to specific exercise and to evaluate whether the effects would last for at least six months. METHOD The participants were eight people, four males and four females, 23-57 years old. They were selected on the basis of diversity in age and background. 1. Five measure employed: 2. Ed Diener‘s Happiness Index (DHI), 8-items; 3. Well-being self-assessment questionnair, composed of several established happiness and well-being tests (WBSA), 40-items; 4. Cortisol stress-hormone clinical test; 5. Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), 15 items; 6. Cold water pain tolerance test (CWPTT). The intervention constituted of a daily guided Mindfulness meditations with the aid of a CD and weekly exercises of a) good habits, b) expressing gratitude, c) “map their life” (meaning, pleasure, strengths), d) positive emotions, e) go outside the comfort zone, f) painful emotions an experiences, g) integrity and values, and h) good deeds. SUMMARY OF RESULTS Before the experiment the average DHI (range 8-56) for the 8 people was 41, after the experiment it was 50 and 6 months later 52. All subjects received higher score after the experiment compared to before. Little change was observed in each case between after the experiment until 6 months later. Subjects’ average on MAAS before the experiment was 60.3 (range 15-90), 68.1 after the experiment and 74.1 6 months later. The average for the pain tolerance test in minutes was 142s, 213s and 261s, before, after and at 6 months respectively. For WBSA (range 20-100) little change was observed between the first two measures prior to the experiment (68 and 69 respectively), and then it gradually increased until it reached about 95 after the experiment and then 936 months later. All subjects increased their scores markedly. All but one maintained roughly their score in 6 months. Finally, the cortisol stress measure showed no change between before the experiment and after. CONCLUSIONS This relatively complex intervention based on the work of Tal Ben-Shahar showed that his methods can indeed affect people’s lives, i.e. make them happier and increase their mindfulness, that lasts at least a few months. PS 2.4. A study of Mindfulness and wellbeing on New Zealand managers: A three way interaction study Maree Roche, J. M. Haar Waikato Institute of Technology, New Zealand Depression, anxiety and stress are antithetical to wellbeing and flourishing. Currently, organisation leaders are under ever increasing pressure due to the complexity of the business environment and resultant organisational dynamics. Positive leadership scholars advocate investigation into leader wellbeing suggesting enhancing leaders’ wellbeing will manifest in greater employee and organisational outcomes. The bourgeoning research in positive psychology facilitates the exploration of greater positive personal wellbeing resources for leaders to call on, for themselves, during complex times. Indeed, identifying personal wellbeing resources that could buffer the impact of stressful environments on leaders’ mental health is crucial for positive leader development, and this study seeks to extend this literature through investigating the role of mindfulness, in reducing job burnout in organisational managers. The concept of mindfulness originates from Eastern principles and a surge of research attests to its beneficial psychological properties, garnering evidence of its positive relationship with wellbeing and stress reduction. Recently, the psychological concept of mindfulness, based on eastern principles, has found its way into management literature. However this research remains nascent, even though mindfulness has been theorised to be as a potential valuable wellbeing resource for employees, hence a potential resource for leading in complex times. Given the rise in research and findings regarding mindfulness’s beneficial wellbeing outcomes, we test for the beneficial role of mindfulness on the job burnout of New Zealand leaders. Data were collected from 200 managers covering a broad range of industries and sectors within a wide regional location in New Zealand. Out of 200 surveys distributed, a total of 115 managers completed the survey for a 57.5% response rate. This survey consisted of two parts, separated by a week gap to reduce issues of common method variance. Survey one included the measure of mindfulness and demographic variables, and survey two had the job burnout dimensions. Moderated regression analysis was conducted with mindfulness predicting the job burnout dimensions of emotional exhaustion and cynicism, moderated by age and education to determine whether the benefits of mindfulness are heightened for older and/or more educated managers. Findings showed that mindfulness was negatively related to emotional exhaustion and cynicism, supporting the beneficial nature of mindfulness towards job burnout. Furthermore, significant two- and three-way interactions were found towards both job burnout dimensions. At high levels of mindfulness, older managers experienced significantly lower levels of emotional exhaustion than younger managers, and higher educated managers experienced significantly lower levels of emotional exhaustion than lower educated managers. There were no significant two-way interactions towards cynicism. Similar significant three-way interactions were found towards emotional exhaustion and cynicism. Managers with higher mindfulness, who were highly educated and older, reported the lowest levels of job burnout. These findings suggest that complex thinking processes through higher education and age aid the positive influence of mindfulness towards job burnout. Overall the findings support the beneficial role of mindfulness towards manager’s wellbeing, while age and education also played an important moderating role. PS 2.5. The effects of mindfulness, biofeedback, and healing music in individual versus group settings: A pilot study Irina Khramtsova, Patricia Glascock, Jonathan Owen Arkansas State University, USA The current pilot study compared the effects of mindfulness activities on psychological wellbeing in individual versus group settings. The format of individual and group sessions was exactly the same: 15 minutes of listening to a recorded metta-meditation script, followed by 15 minutes of listening to relaxing music by Janalea Hoffman while being connected to an emWave biofeedback device which measures coherence between breathing and heart rhythms. The study was conducted over a period of 10 weeks during the fall semester of 2011 with the four participants being engaged in two sessions every week: once as a group and once by themselves. At the beginning and at the end of the 10-week study the participants filled out the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (Brown & Ryan, 2003), a 15-item scale designed to assess awareness of and attention to what is taking place in the present. Every group and individual session started and ended with the participants’ filling out a short questionnaire consisting of two parts: the first one was filled out before the session and the second part – after the session. Both pre- and post-questions evaluated their levels of focus, relaxation and energy. Additional questions in the second part included perceptions of connectedness and overall enjoyment of the session as well as the percentage of time spent in coherence according to the data from emWave device. The results reflected higher gains in relaxation, as well as coherence, enjoyment and connectedness for the group condition compared to individual sessions. Whereas differences were small and based on only four participants, the data indicate a possible advantage of group environment over individual sessions. Future studies should explore this dynamic in greater detail. Survey data revealed modest improvements in pre- and post-mindfulness results as measured by MAAS. Qualitative data allowed for the more in-depth analysis of the effects of mindfulness activities and revealed some of the reasons for the inconsistent results. PAPERS PS 3. Life of Emotions Chair: Veronika Nourkova PS 3.1. Positive emotions and psychological well-being Anastassios Stalikas, Seryianni Christina, Karakasidou Irini, Lakioti Agathi Panteion University, Greece There has been an accumulation of research evidence which underlines the beneficial role of positive emotions in building psychological resilience, boosting a sense of subjective happiness and protecting psychological health. It has been suggested that experiencing positive emotions has a beneficial effect in the development of psychological resilience and the protection of psychological health. In this study we examine the role of experiencing positive emotions in relation to psychological health, resilience and overall well-being. For the last five years Greece experiences a major economic recession, a significant decline of economic and social well-being, rising unemployment, and a decline of social services. As a result depression, anxiety and psychological distress in on a rise. In this talk we present comparative data collected in three different time points over the last five years and study the relation of experiencing positive emotions to depression, anxiety and stress. Applying a survey methodology with a sample of over 2000 participants, we examined the levels of depression, anxiety and stress in relation to the experiencing of positive and negative emotions, meaning making, psychological resilience, life satisfaction, and subjective happiness while controlling for demographic characteristics. We collected data at three different times before, in the first year and in third year of the economic crisis. The results indicated that experiencing positive emotions is related to better psychological health and is implicated in the process of developing psychological resilience along with having meaning in life and an optimistic attitude. These results support the proposed beneficial role of experiencing positive emotions and provide a preliminary theoretical model describing the manner in which positive emotions contribute to psychological health. PS 3.3. Can positive emotions broaden cognition always? A pilot study on the role of positive emotions in the expansion of irrational cognitive repertoires Alina Vulpe, Ion Dafinoiu Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Romania The Broaden and Build Model of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 1998, 2001) states that positive emotions are responsible with the expansion of people’s cognitive and behavioral repertoires. This means that people should experience first positive emotions in order to be able to find new ways to think about themselves or about the world and to feel better. The cognitive-behavioral paradigm states that negativity and maladaptive negative emotions are the result of negative automatic thoughts and therefore, in order to feel good and to be mentally healthy, people should learn to think more adaptive and rationally by changing their maladaptive patterns of thinking. To our knowledge, no studies approached the following reseach question: do positive emotions broaden cognition even in the case of maladaptive and distorted patterns of thinking? Taking into consideration the Broaden and Build theory (Fredrickson, 1998, 2001), we advanced the hypothesis that induced positive emotions could help participants to expand their maladaptive cognitive repertoires and to be able to find more easily different ways to think instead of thinking in terms of demandigness - a distorted and irational thinking. We conducted an experiment to which participated 121 adolescents (age 1419 years, M=16.02, SD=1.27) who were asked to list three demanding thoughts. Then they were randomly assigned in four experimental groups, as follows: 1) the control group, 2) positive-emotions group in which positive emotions were induced, 3) the group receiving explanations about demandigness and 4) to the participants from the fourth group were induced positive emotions and then they received explanations about demandingness. Then all participants had to complete a task which required them to propose new thoughts in order to replace those expressing demandingness. Results indicated that participants from group 4 obtained better and significant results to the experimental task than group 3 and 1. We didn’t find other significant differences between the four groups. Interestingly, results indicated that positive emotions expanded people’s demanding thoughts only when participants were informed about the reasons for which demandigness represents a distorted thinking that could bring them suffering. Therefore our findings suggest that positive emotions expand cognition in the case of irrational thinking only when people acknowledge about the type of the logic error that they are doing. If individuals don’t acknowledge that their thinking is distorted, positive emotions don’t have a significant power to change or broaden, by themselves, the old irational patterns of thinking. We conclude that the cognitive broadening effect of positive emotions could be limited dependent on the type of thinking – rational or irational. Also, we propose that for people with mental health issues fostered by irational thinking it would be better to use both positive emotions experiencing and cognitive restructuring activities. We outline the implications of these findings for the area of psychotherapy and we propose future research questions. PS 3.4. The object of nostalgia: is it about «good old days» or about «good old selves»? Veronika Nourkova, Olga Karpysheva Moscow State University, Russia People are generally familiar with bittersweet nostalgia. Despite the often-heard advice to live in the moment, studies suggest that nostalgic people have higher self-esteem and are less prone to depression (Routledge et al., 2011). But do we know enough? Where does nostalgia come from? Is it really about past events and how positive they were then? In the presented study we took an alternative possibility. We examined the hypothesis that the object of nostalgia is past self in comparison with present self. Individual self is not the same across a life span. From time to time people realize that they became significantly different by losing or achieving certain personal characteristics. We termed these points of personal history “transitional points”. Bordering these transitional points of their lives, people get new complex identities instead of old ones. But old identities do not disappear completely. They exist for a life long time in personal autobiographical memory. Therefore, the personal self is split not only between the variety of cultural and communicative synchronic domains, but it is also distributed diachronically and preserved in memory as mental images of past selves. We hypothesized that the process of comparison of past self and present self in regard to valuable personal characteristics may lead to strong emotional experience. Namely, nostalgia experience occurs when a person considers his/ her transformation across time as negative (decreasing personally valuable characteristics), but s/he still is able to find “traces’’of his/her past identity in the present identity. To examine the hypothesis we carried out the following research. 50 adult subjects participated in the study. They were asked to complete 10 times a statement “I am…”. Then they rated all mentioned characteristics in relation to their personal significance and scored the level of presence of five most important characteristics in their present identities (from 1 to 10). Then they were instructed to find transitional points in their past when each of characteristics mentioned above increased or decreased dramatically. After that they had to imagine as vividly as possible an episode that preceded the transformation and then they were asked to rate the extent of nostalgia they experienced during recollection. In addition, participants filled a Nostalgic Feeling Scale (adopted from Takigawa, 2010). As an outcome of conducting two ways ANOVA we found a statistically significant impact of two factors on the extent of nostalgia experience. First, the more subjectively important was the aspect of past self that decreased after transitional point of autobiography, the stronger was nostalgia experience. Second, the discrepancy of the decreased aspect of self between past and present self also indicated nostalgia experience. Subjects who scored higher on NFS have shown more nostalgic feeling. We conclude that nostalgia experience is an emotion resulted from the comparison of past and present self, when present self is considered to be (at least in some aspects) poorer than past one. In contrast with song, to experience nostalgia it is necessary to «let the past remind us of what we are not now». PS 3.5. Think about what you do: the relationship between quality of experience and thoughtaction congruence Marta Bassi, Antonella Delle Fave Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy Background: The quality of daily experience plays a crucial role in steering behavior, affecting well-being, and supporting long-term goals pursuit. Research has shown that this is strongly related to individuals’ perceived levels of challenges and skills in everyday activities and situations, giving rise to a gamut of positive experiences including arousal, flow, relaxation, as well as negative experiences, such as boredom, apathy, and anxiety. Theories have also postulated that focused attention, in terms of congruence between content of thought and activity performed, could promote deep involvement and concentration in the task at hand, wich are features of optimal experience. However, no empirical study has been devoted to the joint analysis of challenges-skills relation and thought-action congruence with regard to the different experiential states. Aims: We addressed this issue by a) assessing thought-action congruence in high-challenges experiences (anxiety, arousal, flow) and low-challenges experiences (relaxation, boredom, apathy), and by b) investigating the effect of both challenges and skills and thought-action congruence on the cognitive, motivational, affective and volitional components of experience. Methods: A group of 268 Italian adolescents aged 15-19 was administered Experience Sampling Method for one week, providing 10,326 questionnaires on their daily activities and associated experience. Data were analyzed through the Experience Fluctuation Model based on the relationship between perceived challenges and skills. Hierarchical linear models were applied to investigate the effect of thought-action congruence and challenges/skills on the components of experience. Results: Findings revealed that thought-action congruence was primarily associated with high-challenges experiences. While high challenges - compared to low challenges - pervasively had a positive effect on all components of experience, thought-action congruence proved to have a positive impact on the cognitive and volitional components, a negative one on the motivational components and no effect on the affective components. The same effects of thoughtaction congruence were observed on the components of experience in each of the high-challenges conditions of anxiety, arousal and flow. However, all experiential components were assigned higher values when a match was reported between high challenges and high skills (flow), compared to low or moderate skills (anxiety and arousal, respectively). Conclusions: Results are discussed based on the differential contribution of thought-action congruence to the quality of daily experience versus the pervasive effect of perceived levels of both challenges and skills. In particular, thoughtaction congruence can benefit cognitive and volitional engagement whereas incongruence seems to benefit individuals’ motivation, possibly by releasing the strain of focused attention. Future studies will have to delve deeper into these initial findings by taking into account type of daily activity and personal meaning-making. PS 3.6. Positive Psychology and the experience of ‘luck’ Matthew Smith, Piers Worth Buckinghamshire New University, UK To what extent can positive psychology help in the understanding of experiences of ‘luck’? In particular, can positive psychology help people to, (a) increase their experiences that are typically labelled as ‘good luck’ and, (b) make the best use of their experiences that are typically labelled as ‘bad luck’? The term ‘luck’ may be used to refer to any personal experience that is deemed to be caused by factors that appear to be largely outside the individual’s personal control. To date, there has been relatively little research on the relationship between concepts that are central to positive psychology (e.g., positive emotions, positive beliefs, resilience, etc.) and experiences of ‘luck’. In this paper, previous psychological research on the concept of luck will be reviewed. This review will highlight that some of the traditional ways that psychologists have treated luck (e.g., as an external, unstable, and uncontrollable factor) may not always match with how people naturally regard the concept of luck. Recent research that has challenged this view of luck will be reviewed. Some of this work has revealed how luck may often be regarded as internal, stable, and controllable (e.g., ‘I am a lucky person’). In light of these findings, suggestions for how positive psychology might help people to increase their experiences of ‘good luck’ are discussed. For example, can positive emotions and/or positive beliefs actually help increase the likelihood of experiences of ‘good luck’? In addition, it is argued that positive psychologists are well placed to help better understand experiences of ‘bad luck’. For example, if positive emotions are indeed related to experiences of ‘good luck’, might negative emotions have a corresponding relationship with experiences of ‘bad luck’? In addition, given that negative experiences that are beyond an individual’s control will happen from time to time anyway, irrespective of positive or negative emotions and beliefs, how might positive psychologists help make sense of such experiences? The role of research on post-traumatic growth will be discussed here. The paper concludes by discussing directions for future research examining how positive psychology might further help in the understanding of experiences of luck. PS 3.6. Positive Psychology and the experience of ‘luck’ Matthew Smith, Piers Worth Buckinghamshire New University, UK To what extent can positive psychology help in the understanding of experiences of ‘luck’? In particular, can positive psychology help people to, (a) increase their experiences that are typically labelled as ‘good luck’ and, (b) make the best use of their experiences that are typically labelled as ‘bad luck’? The term ‘luck’ may be used to refer to any personal experience that is deemed to be caused by factors that appear to be largely outside the individual’s personal control. To date, there has been relatively little research on the relationship between concepts that are central to positive psychology (e.g., positive emotions, positive beliefs, resilience, etc.) and experiences of ‘luck’. In this paper, previous psychological research on the concept of luck will be reviewed. This review will highlight that some of the traditional ways that psychologists have treated luck (e.g., as an external, unstable, and uncontrollable factor) may not always match with how people naturally regard the concept of luck. Recent research that has challenged this view of luck will be reviewed. Some of this work has revealed how luck may often be regarded as internal, stable, and controllable (e.g., ‘I am a lucky person’). In light of these findings, suggestions for how positive psychology might help people to increase their experiences of ‘good luck’ are discussed. For example, can positive emotions and/or positive beliefs actually help increase the likelihood of experiences of ‘good luck’? In addition, it is argued that positive psychologists are well placed to help better understand experiences of ‘bad luck’. For example, if positive emotions are indeed related to experiences of ‘good luck’, might negative emotions have a corresponding relationship with experiences of ‘bad luck’? In addition, given that negative experiences that are beyond an individual’s control will happen from time to time anyway, irrespective of positive or negative emotions and beliefs, how might positive psychologists help make sense of such experiences? The role of research on post-traumatic growth will be discussed here. The paper concludes by discussing directions for future research examining how positive psychology might further help in the understanding of experiences of luck. PAPERS PS 4. Positive Interventions 1 Chair: Chiara Ruini PS 4.1. Initiating positive psychology exercises in everyday life: Predicting intentions and behavior Lukasz Dominik Kaczmarek, Todd. B. Kashdan, Blażej Baczkowski, Jolanta Enko, Adrianna Siebert, Agata Schaefer, Marek Król, Barbara Baran 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 - Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland; 2 - George Mason University, USA Theorists have argued for the importance of intentionality in the initiation of positive life practices (PLP) or interventions (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). To our knowledge, no study has separated intentions to engage in behavioral change from actual behavioral change in the positive psychology literature. Studies within the field of health psychology have shown that there is a profound intention-behavior gap. Although the efficacy of positive psychology interventions in reducing distress and enhancing personal well-being has been supported in experiments (e.g. Seligman et al.,2005), questions remains about how people initiate these practices on their own. Based on earlier studies we predicted that greater well-being (i.e., satisfaction with life and fewer depressive symptoms) will be positively related to behavioral intentions for PLP. Based on existing theory and empirical data, we expected people higher in trait curiosity to have greater initiative to start PLP that in turn, influences actual behavioral effort. To test these hypotheses, we conducted a longitudinal study with 226 participants 18 to 29 years old (M=21.36, SD=1.66) who completed a set of questionnaires at Time 1: Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II (Kashdan et al.,2009), CES – Depression (Radloff, 1977), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al.,1985). Next, participants received invitations for the second part of the study, to learn about and integrate a new positive psychology exercise into their everyday life. The intention to start PLP at that time was measured. The positive intervention that participants were introduced to was a web-based gratitude exercise wherein they listed “three good things” that happened during the last three days (Seligman et al., 2005). To enter the web-site participants typed in a PIN code that was given to them during invitation packets at Time 1. Completion of their first entry was classified as behavioral effort toward the integration of PLP. We tested a structural model in which PLP behavioral effort was the primary outcome, intention to start PLP was the mediator, and indices of well-being and curiosity were predictors of both PLP intention and behavioral effort. The model fit the data well, χ2(4)=8.42, p=.07, χ/df=2.10; GFI=.99, AGFI=.93, CFI=.97, RMSEA=.07, RMSEA 90%CI [.00,.14]. Only PLP intention was a significant direct predictor of PLP behavioral effort (β=.22, p<.01). The PLP intention was predicted by trait curiosity (β=.32, p<.01) and depressive symptoms (β=-.16, p<.01) but not satisfaction with life.. Upon directly testing our mediation model, we found significant indirect effects for curiosity (p.e.=.069; 95%CI [.027;.135]) and depressive symptoms (p.e.=-.036; 95%CI[-.095; -.002]) on PLP behavior via PLP intentions. In this study, we found support for particular paths that set the stage for positive psychology interventions to occur in people’s lives. People higher in trait curiosity and lower in depressive symptoms showed greater intention to experiment with a gratitude exercise that in turn, led to greater behavioral commitment toward this gratitude practice over time. Additional research is needed on the psychological factors that increase and decrease the likelihood that the introduction of positive psychology exercises will lead to actual behavioral change and sustainable gains in well-being. PS 4.1. Initiating positive psychology exercises in everyday life: Predicting intentions and behavior Lukasz Dominik Kaczmarek, Todd. B. Kashdan, Blażej Baczkowski, Jolanta Enko, Adrianna Siebert, Agata Schaefer, Marek Król, Barbara Baran 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 - Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland; 2 - George Mason University, USA Theorists have argued for the importance of intentionality in the initiation of positive life practices (PLP) or interventions (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). To our knowledge, no study has separated intentions to engage in behavioral change from actual behavioral change in the positive psychology literature. Studies within the field of health psychology have shown that there is a profound intention-behavior gap. Although the efficacy of positive psychology interventions in reducing distress and enhancing personal well-being has been supported in experiments (e.g. Seligman et al.,2005), questions remains about how people initiate these practices on their own. Based on earlier studies we predicted that greater well-being (i.e., satisfaction with life and fewer depressive symptoms) will be positively related to behavioral intentions for PLP. Based on existing theory and empirical data, we expected people higher in trait curiosity to have greater initiative to start PLP that in turn, influences actual behavioral effort. To test these hypotheses, we conducted a longitudinal study with 226 participants 18 to 29 years old (M=21.36, SD=1.66) who completed a set of questionnaires at Time 1: Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II (Kashdan et al.,2009), CES – Depression (Radloff, 1977), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al.,1985). Next, participants received invitations for the second part of the study, to learn about and integrate a new positive psychology exercise into their everyday life. The intention to start PLP at that time was measured. The positive intervention that participants were introduced to was a web-based gratitude exercise wherein they listed “three good things” that happened during the last three days (Seligman et al., 2005). To enter the web-site participants typed in a PIN code that was given to them during invitation packets at Time 1. Completion of their first entry was classified as behavioral effort toward the integration of PLP. We tested a structural model in which PLP behavioral effort was the primary outcome, intention to start PLP was the mediator, and indices of well-being and curiosity were predictors of both PLP intention and behavioral effort. The model fit the data well, χ2(4)=8.42, p=.07, χ/df=2.10; GFI=.99, AGFI=.93, CFI=.97, RMSEA=.07, RMSEA 90%CI [.00,.14]. Only PLP intention was a significant direct predictor of PLP behavioral effort (β=.22, p<.01). The PLP intention was predicted by trait curiosity (β=.32, p<.01) and depressive symptoms (β=-.16, p<.01) but not satisfaction with life.. Upon directly testing our mediation model, we found significant indirect effects for curiosity (p.e.=.069; 95%CI [.027;.135]) and depressive symptoms (p.e.=-.036; 95%CI[-.095; -.002]) on PLP behavior via PLP intentions. In this study, we found support for particular paths that set the stage for positive psychology interventions to occur in people’s lives. People higher in trait curiosity and lower in depressive symptoms showed greater intention to experiment with a gratitude exercise that in turn, led to greater behavioral commitment toward this gratitude practice over time. Additional research is needed on the psychological factors that increase and decrease the likelihood that the introduction of positive psychology exercises will lead to actual behavioral change and sustainable gains in well-being. PS 4.2. The use of narrative strategies for improving psychological well-being and growth Lukasz Dominik Kaczmarek, Todd. B. Kashdan, Blażej Baczkowski, Jolanta Enko, Adrianna Siebert, Agata Schaefer, Marek Król, Barbara Baran 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 - Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland; 2 - George Mason University, USA Background: the use of narrative strategies has been rarely applied to the positive psychology domain. Traditional folktales are concerned with several concepts that are now scientifically investigated by positive psychology research, such as self-realization, resilience, personal growth and meaning in life. Aims: the aim of this pilot study was to apply a narrative approach based on folktales delivered and discussed in a group format for promoting psychological well-being and growth. Method: a group intervention consisting of 5 sessions was delivered to 15 women, reporting emotional disturbances, work stress and difficulties in dealing with the demands of everyday life. The group was conducted by a folklorist and a clinical psychologist. In each session a different folktale with related topics was narrated and discussed with participants. Assessment pre and post-intervention was performed with Ryff ’ Psychological Well-being Scale, Symptom Questionnaire and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-Risc). Results: Participants reported an increased personal growth and sense of appreciation of life, together with decreased levels of anxiety. Conclusion: this pilot investigation suggests the feasibility and positive effect of a group intervention based on narrative strategies for promoting well-being and growth in stressed women. Considering its promising results, further studies, with larger samples and in clinical settings, are recommended. PS 4.4. Cultivating Gratitude Thinking Habit and Exploring Its Effects on Psychological Wellbeing: An Exploratory Study Freedom Leung, Edmund Tak Tsun Lo The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong The present study examined the development of gratitude thinking habit and its effects on psychological well-being among Chinese college students in Hong Kong. Participants included 180 students recruited from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In part I of this study, participants engaged in gratitude thinking for 12 weeks every night before sleeping. They completed the Habit Index of Gratitude Thinking (HIGT) each day and record whether they have done gratitude thinking. The majority (123) of participants provided sufficient data for analysis. Nonlinear regression fitting an asymptotic curve was conducted, with 54 participants’ data fitting well. Median time needed for participants to reach plateau state of habit was 77 days. In part II of this study, the effects of gratitude thinking on psychological well-being was investigated, using a pre- and post-test design. One hundred and fift y-five participants who completed all pre- and post-test measures were used for the analyses. Results revealed significantly improvement in measures of life satisfaction, happiness, negative affects and received social support. Implications of these preliminary findings and future research directions were discussed. PS 4.5. Being resilient: Creating personal resources through gratitude interventions Itai Ivtzan, Kate Hefferon, Jin-Kai Chng University of East London, UK Peterson and Seligman (2004) consider ‘gratitude’ one of the character strengths with vital benefits in the flourishing of the individual. Gratitude, the sense of thankfulness and joy in response to attributing the occurrence of a desired outcome to an external agent, is the most studied intervention in Positive Psychology. Research has found that gratitude leads to greater happiness and better physical and mental health. Furthermore, Watkins (2004) proposed that gratitude can help an individual cope with negative emotions following a stressful event – and the current study examined this proposition by testing whether gratitude could provide resilience and become a resource against learned helplessness. Learned helplessness manipulation was specifically chosen among other manipulations aimed at eliciting negative emotions, because it forms the basis of one of the major theories of depression – the reformulated learned helplessness theory (Seligman, 1975). This presentation focuses on a pilot study attempting to measure the effects of experimentally-induced learned helplessness on individuals who have experienced different gratitude interventions. 120 participants from the general population were randomly assigned to one of three journaling conditions: expressed gratitude (combination of a list of things one is grateful for plus writing a letter to someone in the list), basic gratitude (only a list of things one is grateful for), or neutral life events (making a list of neutral things). A ‘between-subjects independent groups’ design was employed in this experiment, with journaling condition and time as independent variables to eliminate the carry-over effects of journaling conditions. The between-subjects variable was the journaling condition (3 levels: expressed gratitude, basic gratitude, and neutral life events); the dependent measures were gratitude scores and number of physical symptoms experienced. Following two weeks of daily intervention for each of the 3 groups, participants experienced learned helplessness via a computer program. It was hypothesised that expressed gratitude group participants would show a decrease in the number of physical symptoms experienced. The hypothesis was based upon the idea that expressed gratitude participants would interpret the experience of learned helplessness as a challenge that could provide growth. It was also hypothesised that such a response would not be found for the other 2 groups. As hypothesised, when measured in day 29 only the expressed gratitude group had a significant decrease in the number of physical symptoms (F(2, 52) = 6.160, p = .004). Participants in the expressed gratitude group used gratitude as a resource and experienced a positive impact on their number of physical symptoms following the challenging learned helplessness experience. The implications of the study’s findings will be presented in relation to their relevance for cancer patients. Cancer diagnosis can be a devastating and challenging experience, with continued negative physical symptoms experienced. Add to this that cancer patients’ depression levels are much higher than the normal population; there is a need for more positive research into the area of cancer survival. We intend to implement the evidence based findings from the aforementioned study to cancer patients/survivors in London, England. PAPERS PS 5. Positive Psychology in political and ethical contexts Chair: Dora Gudmundsdottir PS 5.1. Good politics for a positive participation Marco Boffi, Paolo Inghilleri University of Milan, Italy Good Work is defined as an activity which is: excellent in quality, referring to the standards applying to the field; engaging for the practitioner, namely personally meaningful; ethically carried out, hence socially valuable (Gardner, Csikszentmihalyi, & Damon, 2001). A field allowing to develop this kind of good work is more likely to attract new apprentices. Applying such categories to politics would allow to outline forms of Good Politics able to build a political system effective in encouraging citizens’ participation. The shift from traditional political participation to civil society initiatives (Zukin, Keeter, Andolina, Jenkins, & Delli Carpini, 2006) suggests that two separate processes are in action. On the one hand the rising political cynicism (PCY), which is the degree of mistrust towards politics (Agger, Goldstein, & Pearl, 1961). On the other hand the constant search of involvement in social activities: when adequately satisfied it is source of flow of consciousness for individuals (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975/2000), fostering their own wellbeing. The aim of this study is to develop a method to monitor the psychological quality of political participation, integrating several psychological aspects. We interviewed thirteen high level experts of Italian politics, gathered among journalists, historians and political scientists. The grid interview was built on the basis of the tools developed for the GoodWork Project (Gardner, Csikszentmihalyi, & Damon, 2001; GoodWork Project Team, 2008), adapted to the Italian context and to the political field. The analyses of the interviews allowed us to create eighteen items describing important features to be held by “good politicians”. Subsequently we administered an online questionnaire to 224 political activists including such items, a scale for PCY (Bobbio & Manganelli, 2010; Pattyn, Van Hiel, & Dhont, 2009) and a scale of flow (Flow State Scale, FSS) (Jackson & Marsh, 1996; Muzio, 2004). The factor analysis performed on the eighteen items highlighted three main components of Good Politics: engagement (passion experienced by the politician himself and passed on to others), success (being able to get votes and to advance his own career) and competence (having a good knowledge in a specific field and in the legislative domain in general). On the basis of such factors we performed the cluster analysis that led us to identify four groups. The ANOVA showed an effect of groups for both PCY (F(3,220) = 3, p < .05) and FSS (F(3,136) = 4.16, p < .01). Hence we described four groups of activists, based on the three factors, on PCY and on FSS: technicians, pragmatists, idealists and cynics. As the first three groups represent different paths to Good Politics, the latter embody a threat to the political system. Promoting political participation is a key issue for modern societies. But it is important to focus on the quality of people involved, not only on the quantity. Monitoring psychological dimensions of political activists would allow to evaluate the health conditions of a political environment, hence appraising the efficacy of its selective processes (Inghilleri, 1999). PS 5.2. Materialism and Planetary Well-being: Associations between Values, Life Goals, Environmental Identity, Environmental Concern and Pro-Environmental Behaviours in the UK and Chile Wenceslao Unanue, Helga Dittmar University of Sussex, UK Global warming is the biggest human challenge of the 21st Century (UNDP, 2007). Peoples’ values and life goals have played a key role in the environmental degradation (Tanner, 1999). The main objective of this research is to develop a comprehensive model to explore the associations between materialistic values and several aspects of planetary wellbeing in order to help policy makers and the scientific community to tackle the current ecological crisis. A growing body of research has found that materialistic values are associated with lower personal well-being (Dittmar, 2008; Kasser & Ahuvia, 2002; Kasser & Kanner, 2004). However, recent studies argue that materialism is also linked to other dimensions of well-being such as planetary well-being. People who strongly endorse self-enhancing, materialistic values also express more negative attitudes towards non-human nature and are less likely to engage in pro-environmental behaviours (Brown & Kasser, 2005; Crompton & Kasser, 2009; Gatersleben et al., 2008, 2009, submitted; Kasser, 2005; Richins & Dawson, 1992; Sheldon & McGregor, 2000; Sheldon, Nichols, & Kasser, 2011; Tanner, 1999). Unfortunately, despite the link between materialism and planetary well-being has been already tested, previous studies lack of the following five important aspects. Our research aims to fill the current gaps. First, research has mainly focused in young populations, but we analysed an adult sample. Second, previous studies have explored the link between materialism and planetary well-being focusing in either life goals or on materialistic values. The present research aims to be the first one using a more comprehensive measure, including the two most important perspectives in the field: materialistic values orientation (MVO; Richins & Dawson, 1992) and the aspiration life goals (AI; Kasser & Ryan, 1993, 1996). Third, previous research has never tested environmental identity (EI) in the link between materialism and other aspects of planetary well-being. Our research aims to be the first one including this variable. Fourth, when analyzing planetary well-being, most studies have focused in either, environmental concern (EC) or pro-environmental behaviour (EB). Our research aims to be the first one including in one single model both variables, but also EI. Finally, there is no previous research in a recently flourishing developing South American country like Chile and the present research aims to be the first addressing this issue. Using Structural Equation Modelling we tested our hypotheses in a large graduated British sample (Study 1, N = 958). We found that materialism was negatively associated with EB, EC and EI. In addition, EI was positively associated to both, EB and EC and EC was positively associated to EB. We replicated our model in a graduated Chilean sample (Study 2, N = 258) finding similar patterns. Therefore, the results provided strong support for our expectation that materialism is negatively linked to several indicators of planetary well-being not only in the UK, with a long-established mass consumer culture, but also in Chile, a developing country. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed, as well as directions for future research. PS 5.3. Respect for human dignity and gratefulness as a factors of pro-social perspective and altruistic behavior Julia Zaitseva St. Petersburg State University, Russia Theoretical and empirical researches were dedicated to the problem of respect for dignity as a psychological phenomenon. Attitude to a person considering his/her unconditional value as a human being were explored. Influence of the moral consciousness stages (measured by L. Kohlberg’s moral dilemmas) on persons understanding of ‘self-respect’, ‘dignity’, ‘dignified behavior’ was empirically reveled. Respect for dignity as a personality trait consisting of 3 factors: cognitive (awareness of an unconditional value of a human being), affective (unconditional self-respect and respect of other persons) and regulation (habitude to behave according to such attitude even in the situation of social or inner pressure) components was noticed just along with post-conventional stage of moral development. But everyone’s moral self-regulation was influenced by one’s sense of his own dignity, interpreted and projected to other persons according to his/her level of moral development. Egocentric perspective (a person as a mean for my goals), group-centered perspective (a person as a subject and an object of interpersonal relationship and a part of a group), and pro-social perspective (a person as a Humanity representative) provide different understanding of ‘dignified behavior’ and ‘dignity’ as it was empirically proved. Research of 760 St.Petersburg and suburban citizens’ auto-biographies and their evaluations of deeds as dignified or not has shown that basic types of dignified behavior were considered to be: (1) to value oneself and to take care of oneself; (2) to protect oneself; (3) to be honest; (4) to value another person and not to infringe; (5) to protect the other person and to take care of him/her; (6) to help another person. But different deeds (sometimes contradictive) were considered to be their representatives depended on moral development level. Egocentric / group-centered / pro-social perspectives of long-term motivation and life goals were also analyzed in a context of gratitude phenomenon. Sample of people (N=120, age 15-60, different occupations and levels of education) was divided in two groups: both received the same set of 7 surveys, inventories and projective tasks, but in a different sequence. One of the tasks was to recall 10 persons to whom they were grateful for and to share the most important reason for it; and right after it (in the 1st group) or just before it (in the 2nd group) they were asked to imagine meeting the Magician who would grant any of their wish and share this wish in general. First group showed significant majority of pro-social and altruistic wishes comparing to 2nd group (by MWW-test). Affective component of sense of one’s dignity measured as Likert-type scales (‘I-OK’; ‘You-OK’) proved to be correlated with balance between trust and gratitude in allocation of resources problem. Model of hypothetic ‘trust/gratitude game’ was used (McCabe K. A. et al, 2003): trusted to unknown partner sum of incoming money is tripled by psychologist, the partner can return any part of it back as a ‘gratitude’, one interaction without communication. Gratitude were correlated with self-respect more than trust to a stranger. We suppose that positive relations between people revealing itself in pro-social perspective of long-term motivation and altruistic behavior could be established on respect for dignity and gratitude attitudes. PS 5.4. Unobtrusively Measuring the Well-Being of Large Populations: the World Well-Being Project J.C. Eichstaedt, H.A. Schwartz, M.L. Kern, L. Dziurzynski, S.M. Ramones, M. Kosinski, D.J. Stillwell, M.E.P. Seligman, L.H. Ungar University of Pennsylvania, USA Rationale/Motivation Governments around the world are now considering the well-being of their citizens as an explicit goal of public policy, and are consolidating the necessary infrastructure to measure it (e.g., Cameron’s Well-Being agenda). To contribute to this new generation of policy objectives, the World Well-Being Project (WWBP) at the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania is developing a novel method to unobtrusively and cost-effectively measure the wellbeing of large populations. We analyze Facebook status updates, blog posts, Tweets, and Google search queries of millions of users for expressions of various Well-Being dimensions, including Positive emotions, Engagement, positive Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA; Seligman, 2011). Similar high-impact work has recently shown the potential of analyzing social media (e.g., Dodds, Decker, Kloumann, Bliss & Danforth, 2011; Golder & Macy, 2011; Bollen, Mao & Zeng, 2010; Kramer, 2010). Method The basic idea behind our research is to scan the language used by social media users for features that are likely to signal cognitive and affective states of interest. For example, if a user publishes “I feel happy” as their Facebook status, we take that to express positive emotion in the user’s life. A customary method (e.g., Golder & Macy, 2011) is to match words against pre-determined dictionaries associated with the psychological dimension in question (e.g., a positive emotion dictionary will contain the term “happy”; Tausczik & Pennebaker, 2010). However, this focus on words as signal in social media is often susceptible to false positives, as in the case of temporally dependent salutations, as in “Happy Thanksgiving”. In a first step to improve these standard methodologies, we removed the most ambiguous words from standard dictionaries, using data on relative word sense frequencies (Fellbaum, 1998). Additionally, we used machine learning algorithms to isolate language features that uniquely predict specific psychological dimensions for users for whom we had both Facebook statuses as well as psychometric survey results. We used the resulting feature sets to improve our estimate of the prevalence of these psychological states in space and time. Results/Discussion Preliminary results provide a convincing proof-of-concept. Across time, we see significant emotional responses to societal events, for example a four standard deviation (SD) increase in expressions of negative emotions after Michael Jackson’s death in Facebook posts, and a three SD spike in expressions of accomplishment after Obama’s election in blog posts. In collaboration with Google, expressions of PERMA were aggregated to the level of US states and correlated against survey outcome measures available on the state level (including data from the Gallup-Healthways WellBeing Index and the CDC) to establish predictive validity. Numerous face-valid moderate to high correlations were observed. We present specific results that suggest that we have laid the groundwork to measure an open set of wellbeing dimensions for large populations unobtrusively and cost-effectively. We believe that this methodology holds the promise to substantially complement current efforts to track national well-being. PS 5.5. The Impact of economic crisis on well-being Dora Gudmundsdottir Directorate of Health, Iceland Background There is a common believe that economic crisis will lead to decrease in well-being. Previous studies indicate that national income is highly correlated with happiness and unemployment with unhappiness. Recent studies demonstrate that economic factors can have diverse impact on different aspects of well-being. Objective The aim here is to study how the economic downfall in Iceland followed by increased unemployment and less purchasing power affects different aspects of wellbeing like happiness, life satisfaction and mental well-being. Method The study is a cross-sectional nationally representative post survey assessing 9807 individual’s aged 18-79 of whom 5918 (60.3%) responded in 2007. A total 4092 (77.3% of those who agreed to participate in a follow-up) answered again in 2009. The relationship between economic factors and different well-being measures was explored to find out how much they explain of their variance. The wellbeing measures before and after the crises were also compared. Results indicate that economic factors had similar relationship with happiness and life satisfaction but different with mental well-being. There were not dramatic changes in the means of the well-being measures from 2007 to 2009. Nevertheless, when analysed in more details, a group of people did have a decrease in wellbeing from 2007 to 2009 while another group had an increase in well-being. Conclusions Economic factors do have different impact on different aspects of wellbeing. Looking simply at changes in the mean of the well-being measures tell only part of the story. PS 5.6. Negativity, Socio-Economic Status, Education and Health Behaviours Kaisla Joutsenniemi, Heimo Langinvainio, Antti S. Mattila, Maiju Pankakoski, Jouko Lönnqvist, Pekka Mustonen Finnish Medical Society Duodecim, National Institute for Health and Wellbeing in Finland, Finland Background: Socio-economic status (SES) has been linked to health. Across diverse health outcomes, individuals who are less educated and earn less are at greater risk for poor health than their higher-SES counterparts. Unhealthy behaviors are seen to be one of the mechanisms linking lower SES to worse health. Objectives: Our aim was to explore how individual indicators of mental wellbeing are related to SES and health-related behaviors in a large cross-sectional study of more than 130000 Finns who completed an “Electronic Health Check” linked to a TV-series by the Finnish Broadcasting Company. Methods: Electronic Health Check included a Happiness Scale the validity of which was carried out with average Finns (N=2035, RR = 41%). The construct validity of the Happiness scale was studied estimating convergence with two Life Satisfaction Scales and the national prospective Finnrisk-health questionnaire data. Results: The strongest predictor for happiness and health risks of all the 80 questions was “I have a strong confidence in the future” (OR 15,82, 95%CI 15.18-16.49). An age-adjusted logistic regression analysis was performed. The dichotomized outcome was agreeing or disagreeing with the statement. The disagreeing cohort “Negative” (n= 13 396) expressed markedly more negative health behaviors as measured by eg. smoking, binge drinking, healthy nutrition, physical exercise and dissatisfaction to social relations or marriage as compared to the “Positive” (n= 63 653). One of the main findings was that there was no difference in the education years between these two cohorts, whereas the annual earnings were 35% higher for the Positive. The Negative belonging to the highest income quartile were less satisfied with their income than the Positives belonging to the lowest income quartile. Conclusion: Negative emotions and weak confidence in the future are independent variables with respect to the education years and are strong predictors of trait bad health behaviors, dissatisfaction with social relations and marriage and lower income level. PAPERS PS 6. Well-being at the workplace Chair: Willibald Ruch PS 6.1. Purpose and meaning in life and employee outcomes: the mediating role of psychological need satisfaction Sebastiaan Rothmann, J. P. Swart North-West University, South Africa Background: Individuals seek meaning and purpose in their lives and because more than a half of an employed person’s life is spent at work, meaning in work is also pursued. Meaning and purpose in life and in work are associated with engagement, commitment, psychological well-being, authentic happiness, life satisfaction and flourishing. Self-determination theory can be used as theoretical framework to explain how work role fit, task characteristics, co-worker relationships and work beliefs and psychological need satisfaction which is derived from these factors relate to meaning and purpose in life, as well as organisational citizenship behaviour and turnover intention. SDT postulates that in order for individuals to function optimally, they must satisfy three psychological needs, i.e. autonomy, competence and relatedness. SDT can hence be viewed as the psychological conduit through which certain aspects in the working environment i.e. work role fit, task characteristics, work beliefs and co-worker relations relate to eudaimonic well-being (e.g. meaning and purpose in life) and organisational outcomes – in this instance organisational citizenship behaviour and turnover intention. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships among factors contributing to meaningful work (i.e. work role fit, task characteristics, co-worker relationships and work beliefs), psychological need satisfaction, meaning and purpose in life, organisational citizenship behaviour and turnover intention. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used with managers in the agricultural sector in South Africa (N = 507). Measures included the Meaning and Purpose in Life Scales, a Task Characteristics Scale, the Work Role Fit Scale, the Work-Life Questionnaire, the Work-related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale, the Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Scale and the Turnover Intention Scale. Results: The results showed that factors contributing to meaningful work (work role fit, good co-worker relations, meaningful tasks and work beliefs) had direct effects on psychological need satisfaction, purpose and meaning in life, organisational citizenship behaviour and turnover intention. Work role fit, co-worker relations, task characteristics and career orientation (as a work belief) impacted meaning and purpose in life indirectly through competence satisfaction. Conclusions: This study contributed to the literature by showing how factors such as work role fit, task characteristics, work beliefs and co-worker relations influence organisational citizenship behaviour and turnover intention. Furthermore, the study contribute to the SDT showing how the antecedents of work role fit, task characteristics, co-worker relationships and work beliefs, i.e. viewing work as a job, career or calling satisfy the three psychological needs of autonomy, relatedness and competence. PS 6.2. Work-Family Conflict versus Work-Family Facilitation: The Role of Loss and Gain of Resources Lior Oren Israel The interaction between work and family received much theoretical and research attention in today’s organizational behavior literature. Employing conflict theory, most studies focused on the negative spillover between work and family (i.e. Work-family conflict), ignoring potential positive aspects of the interaction. In recent years, there is a growing agreement that a comprehensive understanding of the work-family interaction should include components of both conflict and facilitation, and that these components should be regarded as bidirectional in that work can interfere with family and family can interfere with work. In this original study, Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory (Hobfoll, 1989) has been applied to the work–family interface. COR theory addresses people’s efforts to conserve and protect resources to minimize stress. It can be argued that in the process of juggling both work and family roles resource loss as well as resource gain can occur (Grandey & Cropanzano, 1999; Wayne et al., 2007). Two hundred and sixteen working women who had at least one child completed a research questionnaire, measuring work family interference (Carlson et al., 2000), work family facilitation (Greenhaus, 2006), job significance and resource loss, resource threat and resource gain (COR-E; Hobfoll, 1989). Work-family conflict and family-work conflict were found to be associated with overall resource loss and resource threat as well as with loss and threat of resources specifically related to work and family. Conversely, work-family facilitation and family-work facilitation were found to be associated with overall resource gain as well as with gain of resources specifically related to work and family. Four regression analyses were performed with demographic and job significance entered in the first step, followed by resource loss, resource threat and resource gain in the second step. Work-family conflict was positively related to weekly hours of work, lack of job significance and loss of resources. Family-work conflict was positively related to weekly hours of work, lack of job significance, stress at home, loss of resources and lack of resource gain. Work-family facilitation was negatively related to weekly hours of work and positively related to job significance and resource gain. Family-work facilitation was positively related to work significance and resource gain. The study contributes in understanding the interaction between work and family, emphasizes the importance of investigating the positive spillover between these two domains and support utilizing COR model as a theoretical basis for work–family research. PS 6.3. Profiles of coping with multiple roles and their impact on the work-family enrichment and conflict Marisa Matias, Anne Marie Fontaine University of Porto, Portugal Managing work and family responsibilities has become an increasing challenge in today’s societies due in part to the changes in the roles of men and women in both workplace and at home. Dual-earner families are increasing and questions have been raised regarding how individuals and couples can balance family and work. Traditionally, research has been focused in the conflict and strain dual-earner couples’ experience. Nevertheless, despite the barriers to conciliation, many dual-earners seem to develop the necessary skills to deal with the challenge of conciliation. Assuming that multiple roles participation has more benefits than costs, the aim of this work is to describe the adaptive strategies used by dual-earners to manage work, family and personal roles – work-family conciliation profiles and their impact in work-family conflict (WFC) and enrichment (WFE). A previous study identified five profiles: one Family Oriented; three Career Oriented (Supportive, Unsupportive and Active) and one Undefined. All Career Oriented profiles are characterized by low levels of professional adjustments. Two profiles are characterized by a strong use of partner emotional support and moderate to higher positive attitudes toward the dual-earner role (Career Active and Career Supportive) and another one is characterized by a lower use of these strategies (Career Oriented – Unsupportive). The Career Oriented-Active profile, besides using couple coping and being positive about their multiple roles, make a very strong use of planning and management skills while the Career Oriented – Supportive profile identified individuals who make a lower use of their personal skills. The Family Oriented profile is characterized by a moderate to high level on all strategies, especially professional adjustments. The Undefined profile can be described by a lower use of all strategies, showing no clear orientation. In this work a sample of 402 individuals belonging to dual-earner families was used. Short measures with 6 items each were used for assessing WFC and WFE (3 for each direction of interference). In order to uncover what specific profiles of conciliation are associated with the work-family interface, Anovas were performed. Preliminary results showed that the Undefined cluster has the less positive outcomes (more WFC and less WFE) and the Career Oriented - Active cluster the most positive ones. Moreover, the Unsupportive cluster also shows negative outcomes, namely less WFE and more family to work conflict. The Career Oriented – Supportive cluster and the Family Oriented both have high levels of WFE but while the former shows more work to family conflict the latter shows more family to work conflict. Thus, these two clusters have an intermediate position regarding the outcomes considered. In sum, coping profiles characterized by an active role of families and individuals show the best outcomes and profiles where individuals are less active or not supported by their partners have poorer outcomes. Having a clear orientation either to work or family seems to be a strategy that enriches individuals. Identifying profiles that are more beneficial (enriching) or detrimental (conflicting) for the integration of work and family may help practitioners develop specific intervention programmes to support dual-earner families. PS 6.4. Being good = doing well at work? The relationships between character strengths and different dimensions of job performance Claudia Harzer, Willibald Ruch University of Zurich, Switzerland Character strengths should lead people to positive behavior (Peterson & Park, 2006; Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Therefore, it was hypothesized that “being good” (i.e., the endorsement of character strengths) is related to positive behavior at work (“doing well”). The present research was aimed at investigating the relationships between the 24 character strengths of the Values in Action Classification of Strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) and four dimensions of job performance (i.e., task performance, and three dimensions of contextual performance: job dedication, interpersonal facilitation, and organizational support). This was done in a set of two studies to test for the replicability of the results. Furthermore, performance ratings in study 2 were not only based on self-descriptions but on supervisors’ judgments on the four dimensions of job performance as well. Greatest interest was in the results, which could be found across the studies 1 and 2 as well as across self- and supervisorrated dimensions of job performance. In study 1 and 2, 318 and 108 employees, respectively, filled in the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS; Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005; German version: Ruch, Proyer, Harzer, Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2010) to measure the character strengths. The Task Performance Questionnaire (TPQ; Williams & Anderson, 1991), the Job Dedication Questionnaire (JDQ; Van Scotter & Motowidlo, 1996), the Interpersonal Facilitation Questionnaire (IFQ; Van Scotter & Motowidlo, 1996), and the Organizational Support Questionnaire (OSQ; Coleman & Borman, 2000) were utilized to measure the job performance dimensions. In study 2, also supervisors judged the employees’ job performance. The amount of shared variances of character strengths and each of the dimensions of job performance were examined and how each of the character strengths was related to each of the dimensions of job performance. As expected character, indeed, proved to be positively related to job performance. Therefore, the initial hypothesis, whether being good (i.e., character strengths) is related to positive behavior at work (i.e., job performance) can be answered with “yes, to a considerable degree”, as shared variance was up to 48%. Findings were replicable across the two studies utilizing self- and supervisor-rated performance. Amongst those strengths consistently associated with task performance were perseverance, teamwork, honesty, prudence, and selfregulation. Job dedication has more overlap with task performance than the other dimensions of contextual performance, hence task performance and job dedication share correlates among the strengths (i.e., perseverance, teamwork, honesty, prudence, self-regulation). However, bravery, curiosity, and love of learning were unique to job dedication. Interpersonal facilitation was associated with teamwork, kindness, leadership, and fairness. Organizational support was related to all of the character strengths except six (i.e., forgiveness, modesty, appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, humor, and religiousness) across all studies and samples. The numerically highest associations were with perseverance, kindness, teamwork, and selfregulation. Character strengths seem to be promising personality traits regarding the prediction of job performance. This opens a new field for research on, for example, organizational behavior, personnel selection, and personnel development. PS 6.5. The character strengths-related person-job fit – Theoretical background, operationalization, and first results on the role of strengths-related person-job fit Claudia Harzer, Willibald Ruch University of Zurich, Switzerland The fit between a person and the work environment has often been highlighted in psychological research as being decisive for positive experiences at work like job satisfaction (Verquer, Beehr, & Wagner, 2003) and pleasure at work (Edwards, 1996). The importance of character strengths-related person-job fit for positive experiences was highlighted as well by postulating that activities congruent with the individual’s character strengths are most valued, satisfying, engaging, and meaningful (e.g., Park & Peterson, 2007; Seligman, 2002). Findings from two studies with participants employed in various occupations (study 1: N = 1’111; study 2: N = 111) will be presented showing the role of character strengths-related person-job fit for positive experiences at work (i.e., job satisfaction, pleasure, engagement, and meaning at work), and seeing the job as a calling. In both studies participants filled in measures for character strengths as traits (Values in Action Inventory of Strengths [VIA-IS]; Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005; German version: Ruch, Proyer, Harzer, Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2010), the applicability of character strengths at work (Applicability of Character Strengths Rating Scales [ACS-RS]; Harzer & Ruch, 2011), and positive experiences at work (Job Satisfaction Questionnaire [JSQ; Andrews & Withey, 1976]; Work Context Questionnaire [WCQ; Ruch, Furrer, & Huwyler, 2004]). In study 2 participants also rated the extent to which they see their work as a calling (Work-Life Questionnaire [WLQ; Wrzesniewski, McCauley, Rozin, & Schwartz, 1997]) and their co-workers (N = 111) judged the applicability of the character strengths at work (ACS-RS). The latter allowed controlling for common method variance in the examination of the relationships. Character strengths-related fit is operationalized as the number of the signature strengths applied at work (i.e., individual top 7 seven strengths in the VIA-IS have scores of at least 3.5 to make sure participants at least slightly possessed the strengths to be able to show strengths-related behavior and the ACS-RS scores of these strengths were at least 4 indicating that they can be applied at work often to [almost] always). Both studies showed that the fit between an individual’s signature strengths and those demanded at the workplace was positively related to the degree of positive experiences at work (i.e., pleasure, engagement, meaning, job satisfaction). Additionally, there seemed to be a critical number of signature strengths applied at work: Those individuals applying at least four of their signature strengths had higher scores in positive experiences compared to those applying none to three. Moreover, the studies showed that only those applying four or more of their signature strengths described their jobs as a calling. Finally, results show that the effect of character strengths-related person-job fit on calling was partially mediated by positive experiences indicating that the degree of fit even had two modes of action on calling – direct and indirect through the enhancement of positive experiences. In the light of the two studies, a positive workplace is one that fosters the individuals’ character strengths (i.e., allows for their application) and consequently facilitates positive experiences and calling. PS 6.6. Positive workplace image as the predictor to the wellbeing at the workplace Tatyana Ivanova Higher School of Economics, Russia Introduction Well-being at the workplace is a broad category that encompasses a number of characteristics of both environment and personality. The work status is one of the most significant sources of self-identity in contemporary society. People strive to maintain a positive view on one’s occupation, in addition to the respect and admiration the occupation holds in the society as well as to prevent being embarrassed by their job. Methods The main goal of our study was revealing the main predictors of the wellbeing at the workplace in Russian context. The sample included about 4,700 employees of a major national electric company. Respondents were asked to participate in a study of well-being at work and completed a questionnaire that included the Russian versions of the Situational Motivation Scale (Guay, Vallerand & Blanchard, 2000), Organizational Commitment Questionnarie (Porter, 1979) Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli), Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener a.o.), Work-Life Balance Scale, Satisfaction with five main work domains that contributed to the the wellbeing at the workplace, Personal Views Survey II measuring hardiness (Maddi, 1997), Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (Schwartzer & Jerusalem), Multiple Stimulus Types Ambiguity Tolerance scale I (McLain, 1993), and the Life Orientation Test (Scheier & Carver, 1985), and an inventory for the direct collection of social and demographic data.The data were collected from July to October 2011. Results. Surprisingly, age and gender differences, duration of employment, experience in the field, educational level, overtime work were not linked with satisfaction with any work domains. Their correlations with work motivation, commitment to the organization and engagement in the work process were also nonsignificant. However, the results suggested that one variable can effectively predict the wellbeing at the workplace, namely respect and admiration that their own occupation holds in the society which significantly correlated with the satisfaction with all work domains. The higher was the reported job satisfaction, the greater the organizational commitment and engagement. The model of the impact of employees’ perception of their occupations on intrinsic work motivation was proven by using EQS. We hypothesize that the link mediating this connection might be personal meaning of one’s occupation and plan to check it in future studies. Therefore, we assume that respect and admiration that one’s actual occupation holds in the society is one of the main predictors of wellbeing at the workplace and intrinsic work motivation in Russia. Its correlation with personal resources as well as its contribution to overall life satisfaction will also be discussed. PAPERS PS 7. Parenting Chair: Fu-mei Chen PS 7.1. Joyful experiences of being parents- Parenting daily uplifts for fathers and mothers with young children Fu-mei Chen Fu-Jen Univeristy, Taiwan Being parents has always been a great challenge for adults. Rearing young children under age of 6 is especially viewed as a demanding task. Past research related to parenting daily experiences has been focused on parenting hassles. However, in daily life, parents do not only experience hassles, they also experience parenting uplifts. Daily uplifts refer to positive toned events that make one feel good. The aim of this study was to examine the components of parenting daily uplifts for fathers and mothers with young children. Moreover, the effect of one’s parenting experiences not only reflects on the person himself or herself but also on one’s spouse. Therefore, this study also examined the actor and partner effects of parenting daily uplifts on parents’ well-being. Focus group interviews and questionnaire methods were used in this study. First, two focus group interviews were held to collect qualitative data of parenting daily uplifts. 8 (3 fathers and 5 mothers) and 11 (5 fathers and 6 mothers) parents participated in the two focused group interviews. The data was analyzed to develop parenting daily uplift scale. Second, 710 parents with young children (345 fathers and 365 mothers; 336 of them are couples) were asked to fill out the questionnaires including Parenting daily uplift scale, demographic background information and parents’ well-being (including psychological symptoms and life satisfaction). For the 710 parents, most of them are college graduates and have two children. The average ages of fathers and mothers are 39.40 and 36.82 respectively. The results were as follow. First, based on the interviews, 3 dimensions of parenting daily uplifts were identified, involving “Affectionate support“, “Children’s growth ”and “Joyful interaction.“15 items of parenting daily uplifts scale were then developed. Both frequency and intensity of uplift events were assessed using a 5-point scale. The product of frequency multiplied by intensity was used as parenting uplift scores. Factor analyses were performed and two factors –“Children’s growth” and “Affectionate interaction” were identified for both fathers and mothers. Fathers experienced both parenting daily uplifts at median level. Mothers’ parenting daily uplifts were significantly higher than fathers. Parenting daily uplifts were significantly and negatively related to parents’ psychological symptoms. Parenting daily uplifts were significantly and positively related to life satisfaction. However, the relations between parenting daily uplifts and life satisfaction (domain-specific effect) were significantly higher than the relations between parenting daily uplifts and psychological symptoms(crossover effect). Finally, Actor-Partner Interdependence Model(APIM) was used to analyze the data. Both actor and partner effects were supported for the effects of parenting daily uplifts on parent’s life satisfaction. Results indicated that the mother’s parenting daily uplifts positively predicted her own and her partner’s life satisfaction. The father’s parenting daily uplifts also had a positive effect on his own and his partner’s life satisfaction. PS 7.2. Personal Growth and Subjective Happiness among Mothers of Children with Various Disabilities Liora Findler, Ayelet Klein – Yaacoby Bar Ilan University, Israel The birth of a child with a disability may generate numerous emotional and practical demands, pressures, and changes, often leaving families to contend with an extended crisis. While some families have a difficult time adjusting to the situation and are unable to function effectively under the pressure, others manage to cope successfully, experiencing personal growth and happiness. This raises the question of the factors that may help individuals overcome the difficulties and derive benefit from crisis. The literature suggests various possibilities, including internal resources such as attachment orientation, external resources such as social support, and emotions such as guilt, which has been shown both to contribute to positive feelings and to reduce them. The aim of the current study was to examine the implications of a child’s disability on the mother’s growth and subjective happiness, employing a sample consisting of mothers of children with four types of disabilities. The study adopts the non-categorical approach, which maintains that the child’s specific diagnosis is just one of the factors that play a role in the mother’s psychological responses. Other factors include the child’s characteristics and functioning and the mother’s personality and resources. The participants consisted of 191 mothers of children (ages 3-7) with four different disabilities (intellectual disability, autism, deafness, and cerebral palsy). They completed the following questionnaires: Post- Traumatic Growth Inventory (Tedeschi and Calhoun, 1996); Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1990); Social Support Scale (Zimmet, Dahlem, Zimmet, & Farley, 1988); Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998); Shame and Guilt Scale (Tangney and Dearing, 2002); and Handicap Related Events Checklist and Symptom Severity Measure (Peterson, 1983). The results indicate no differences among mothers in the four groups regarding personal growth, subjective happiness, internal and external resources, and feelings of guilt. Our findings lend support to the claim that the emotional responses of mothers of children with different kinds of disabilities are not necessarily related to the specific disability, but rather to the mother’s resources and psychosocial characteristics. In addition, while guilt has been shown to contribute to certain positive emotions, in our sample, it was associated with low levels of both personal growth and subjective happiness. Furthermore, our findings indicate that despite the similarities between them, personal growth and subjective happiness are two distinct and independent constructs that are associated with different patterns of variables. Whereas the level of subjective happiness was predicted by non-specific stress levels, guilt, avoidance and anxiety attachment, and extent of social support, personal growth was predicted by the severity of the disability, attachment avoidance, and social support. Thus, while both happiness and personal growth are positive dimensions of mothers’ lives, they appear to be different in nature and to stem from different internal and external resources. PS 7.3. The Examination of the Psychometric Properties of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) on Parents of Children with Autism in Turkey Bekir Fatih Meral Sakarya University, Turkey The aim of this study is to examine psychometric properties of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & et. all., 1988; Eker, Arkar, & Yaldız, 2001) on parents of children with autism in Turkey. Participants were 806 mothers of children with autism in Turkey. In this study, confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor anaysis, criterion validity, Cronbach alpha correlation coefficients and corrected item-total correlations of the MSPSS form were examined. For the validity and relibility analysis of MSPSS, Paws Statistics 18.0 (SPSS Statistics) and LISREL 8.71 programs are used. According to confirmatory factor analysis results, this study have a goodness of fit (x2/df = fit; 121.31/47=2.58). It is seen that fit index values and 3 factor model of MSPSS are fit (RMSEA=.004, SRMR=.002, GFI=.98, AGFI=.96, NFI=.99, NNFI=.99, CFI=.99, IFI=.99 ve RFI=.99). For criterion validity of MSPSS, Family Social Support Scale (FSSS) (Kaner, 2004) is used. It is determined that there is significant and positive relationship (p<.01) between the both MSPSS and FSSS. The total and sub-areas of Cronbach alpha values in MSPSS are high (total=.91, family=.90, friends=.91, significant other=.89). Corrected item-total correlations upper than .40 in MSPSS. Results showed that the scale called Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) as a valid and reliable instrument can be used in the fields of autism and special education. PS 7.4. Family Quality of Life of Parents of Children With Disabilities Who Live in Rural Part of Turkey Bekir Fatih Meral, Atilla Cavkaytar Sakarya University, Turkey Aims The purpose of this study is to examine family quality of life perceptions of parents of children with disabilities who live in rural part of Turkey. Method To research the percection of family quality of life and relevent predictive relations, the data is analysed of 1139 parents who have children with disabilities in rural area of Turkey. In this research “casual comparative model” is used. The data were collected by using Socio-demografic Family Information Form for socio-demografic datas, Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale (BSFQOLS) for family quality of life perceptions of rural parents of children with disabilities and Family Supports Scale for social support datas. Results It is determined that the family quality of life and sub-domains family quality of life perceptions of rural parents of children with disabilities is higher than avarage while highest perception in “family interaction” sub-domain and lowest perception in “physical/material/financial” sub-domain were found. In the prediction of family quality of life perceptions of rural families with four regression models, it is observed that the variable which mostly explaines total variance is family social support (ΔR²=.31). It is seen that family income/household (ΔR²=.01), age of children with developmental disabilities (ΔR²=.008) and marital status (ΔR²=.003) to prediction of family quality of life perceptions of rural parents are weak. It is determined that the age of mothers, labour situation of mothers, gender of children with disabilities, type of children with disabilities, second disability status of children, type of family, socio-economic status are not important prediction in family quality of life perceptions of rural parents of children with disabilities. PS 7.5. Female advantage in the recognition of positive emotions in babies Armindo Freitas-Magalhães, Erico Castro University Fernando Pessoa Health Sciences School, Portugal Research indicates female superiority in emotional perception. Thus, we sought to evaluate sex differences in perception of the facial expression of babies. The sample involved 320 Portuguese participants aged 18-50. Happiness, anger, sadness, surprise, disgust, and fear were the basic emotions studied. It was confirmed women are more spontaneous in identify positive emotions than negative emotions, as well as more consistent than men in the perception of basic emotions conveyed by the facial expressions of babies aged 1 year. Men are less spontaneous and less consistent in their identification, manifesting errors of emotional perception in babies of both sexes between 5 and 6 months. Gestational age is a moderating variable in emotional perception. The 1835 age group registers the least discrepancies in emotional perception, regardless of gender, while the 35-50 age group exhibits alterations, inaccuracies, and errors in its emotional perceptions, a phenomenon especially marked in men. The findings showed that the identification by women of the basic emotions is the result of the positive emotional attachment in bonding from the first 3 months of life, intensifying from 8 months without gender distinction. PAPERS PS 8. Post-Traumatic Growth Chair: Hester Gertrude (Gertie) Pretorius PS 8.1. Sexual Violence in the South African Context: Trauma and the Potential for Posttraumatic Growth Hester Gertrude (Gertie) Pretorius University of Johannesburg, South Africa South Africa is a society that is in transition from an Apartheid regime to democratic governance. Erstwhile discriminatory policies and practices have led to unprecedented levels of social crime. Sexual violence perpetrated against women and children has, in particular, taken on pandemic proportions. In this reflective paper I present research on sexual violence perpetrated against South African women and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in the aftermath of their traumatic events. In the first part of this paper I report on several quantitative and qualitative studies (of which I was supervisor and co-researcher) that have explored sexual violence perpetrated against women and children in the South African context. These studies are (1) an investigation into the lived experience of women who were sexually abused as children, (2) a psychological exploration of women who murdered their intimate male partners, (3) an analysis of the lived experience of women whose children were sexually abused by their intimate male partners and (4) an exploration of abuse directed toward female sex workers. Although PTG was not the focus of these studies, it was clear throughout the analyses that there is a common theme of resilience and strength that emerged in the participants in the aftermath of their experiences. This theme suggests that there is a strong capacity in the human spirit for growth in the face of sexual violence and trauma. In the second part of this paper I reflect on the results of these studies from a positive psychology framework and discuss the themes of resilience, hardiness, thriving, sense of coherence, flourishing and PTG that emerged in the participants’ accounts. In particular I focus on the traumatic experience of sexual violence and discuss the ability of individuals to transform a traumatic event into personal growth and enhanced personal functioning. This discussion incorporates the three domains of PTG as forwarded by Calhoun and Tedeschi (2006). These three domains are change in perception of self, changes in relationships with others and change in philosophy of life. The paper concludes with the argument that even though sexual violence is always devastating to victims and never to be condoned, the human psyche has the ability to triumph over tragedy and turn traumatic events into opportunities for growth. PS 8.2. Posttraumatic growth after 3/11 earthquake-tsunami-nuclear disaster: its relationship with attribution style, sense of coherence, and attachment style Manami Ozaki, Tetsuo Onodera, Takehiko Ito 1 – Sagami Women’s University, Japan; 2 – Fukushima Municipal Learning Center Foundation, Japan; 3 – Wako University, Japan The purpose of this study is to specify which attribution style contribute to posttraumatic growth (PTG) among Japanese after 311 disaster. We focus on PTG from the perspective of inclusive positivity (Ozaki, 2010). Inclusive positivity is a holistic positive concept which includes negativity such as pain and death, embraces the whole as they are, and finds gratitude and hope within difficulties. [Method] Three hundred twenty-one college students in the Kanto area participated in the questionnaire study approximately six months after March 11, 2011. The questionnaire included Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI-J) by Taku et al. (2007), Attribution Style Questionnaire (ASQ) by Seligman(1990) translated by Onodera (2010). Sense of Coherence (SOC) Short Version (Antonovsky, 1987), and Attachment Style Items of Relationship Questionnaire by Bartholomew et al.(1991). [Results] ANOVA showed that the high hope group in ASQ had significantly higher scores on PTGI-J than the low hope group in overall items and in Factor 1(Relating to Others), Factor 2 (New Possibilities), and in Factor 4 (Spiritual Change and Appreciation of Life), but not in Factor 3 (Personal Strength). The PTGI-J significantly (p < .0 5) positively correlated with SOC ( r = .285) and attachment-stability ( r = . 179), negatively with attachment-avoidance ( r = -.368) and attachment- ambivalence ( r = -.167). [Conclusion] Hope accompanied by relation and spirituality rather than personal strength revealed to contribute to PTG among Japanese people after 311 disaster. PTG is also associated with SOC and stable attachment style. Negative attachment styles such as avoidance, which may be related to avoidant stress coping style might suppress PTG. Connectedness with people and transcendence facilitate to grow inclusive positivity of those who suffer after traumatic event. PS 8.3. Comprehensive Growth Ability: Thriving through positive and negative life events Judith Mangelsdorf, Johannes Eichstaedt, Margaret L. Kern University of Pennsylvania, MAPP, USA A person who endures through disaster or hardship is called a survivor. A “thriver” is something more - an individual who not only passively experience a truly threatening or exceptionally positive life situation, but also thrives as a result. Why are some people more likely to grow than others? We suggest a new framework that unifies the concepts of post-traumatic growth and post-ecstatic growth (Roepke, 2010): Comprehensive Growth Ability (CGA). According to our model, people who are more likely to experience posttraumatic growth are also more likely to experience post-ecstatic growth. Integrating post-traumatic and post-ecstatic growth theories, we suggest that it is not the quality of a certain life event, but the way it is processed in dependence on emotional, cognitive, and relational affordances that is crucial for human growth and flourishing. In particular, we argue that these vital affordances are the experience of positive emotions, a counter-factual mindset, and positive supportive relationships. Comprehensive growth ability is a process model that complements other taxonomies of well-being such as Seligman’s PERMA (2011) model of flourishing, as it provides an explanation of how the five constructs interact and scaffold as processes to produce human growth. More specifically, we suggest that comprehensive growth ability is a trait-like capacity to flourish after either traumatic or positive life events. We propose that a counter-factual mindset partially mediates the effect of the event on growth (Kray et al., 2010), and that the direct effect of the event is moderated by the presence of supportive positive relationships and the prevalence of positive emotions. While counter-factual thinking (meaning-making by imagining alternatives to the past) provides a significant part of the cognitive basis of post-traumatic or post-ecstatic growth, high valence of positive emotions provides the neuronal activation for long-lasting changes in the brain. We propose that enhanced emotionality increases neural plasticity and facilitates the stabilization of neural networks involved the generation of appropriate patterns of appraisal and coping (Hüther, Doering, Rüger, Rüther, & Schüssler, 1999). Additionally, positive emotions broaden thought action repertoires, as suggested by Fredrickson’s Broaden-and-Build Theory of positive emotions (2004). By unifying post-traumatic and post-ecstatic growth, comprehensive growth ability proposes a new understanding of positive human development. We suggest that by fostering a counter-factual mindset, enhancing positive emotions, and helping people to strengthen supportive relationships, they will be more likely to thrive, whatever their life path will be. PS 8.4. The Will to Meaning in the Face of Adversity: Toward Integrating Existentialism and Positive Psychology in the Context of Posttraumatic Growth Hester Gertrude (Gertie) Pretorius University of Johannesburg, South Africa South Africa is a country characterised by high levels of violence across all spheres of society. As a result of this violence many people have experienced one or more traumatic events. However, according to Frankl (1992) meaning in life can best be found through adversity and suffering. The purpose of this philosophical paper is to propose an integrated theoretical approach between existentialism and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in the South African context. Despite uncertainty in the nature of the relationship between meaning in life and PTG, there appears to be a definite relationship between them. This paper begins with a discussion on violence and trauma in the South African context. Hereafter I discuss meaning making under conditions of adversity according to the Frankl’s (1992) exposition on the will to meaning and Antonovsky’s (1993) ideas on why some people stay healthy and find meaning in life despite adverse events. Hereafter I present the positive psychology constructs of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness and discuss PTG in the South African context. I then attempt to integrate existentialism and the will to meaning with positive psychology principles and forward the argument that PTG as it is conceptualised in positive psychology is rooted in existentialism and the will to meaning. The paper concludes with some thoughts on the implication of this integration on theory and practice in psychology. PAPERS PS 9. Positive Education 1 Chair: Ilona Boniwell PS 9.1. Developing School Leader’s using Positive Psychology Lea Waters University of Melbourne, Australia Background The leadership of schools is a complex and challenging role. Although the role of a school leader is filled with purpose and meaning, the research also shows that school leaders suffer high levels of stress and burnout (Amy, 1992; Fang, 2004). This poster outlines the way in which positive psychology has been used to allow leaders within the Victorian State Education System, Australia, to enhance their well-being and create the conditions that foster personal and institutional flourishing. Well-being was defined in this training program as “the combination of feeling good and functioning well” (Huppert & Johnson 2010, p. 264). John’s (1998) definition of leadership as “a relationship that influences people to perform to the best” was used. Aims and method Sixty school leaders within the public system have been introduced to positive psychology techniques that foster gratitude, savouring, mindfulness, compassion, active-constructive responding, appreciative inquiry and positive organisational virtues through a Masters Degree at the University of Melbourne. The leaders were required to put these positive psychology principles into practise using Marquardt, Leonard, Freedman and Hill’s (2009) action-learning model. The leaders were interviewed as to the usefulness of positive psychology in building their leadership capacity. The participant responses were analysed qualitatively using a grounded theory approach (Strauss, Corbin, Denzin & Lincoln, 1994). Results Six key themes come out of the data: 1) a feeling of personal renewal, 2) a new way to approach traditional school problems, 3) a deeper appreciation for the positive aspects that occur in schools, 4) better techniques to build interpersonal relationships with staff, 5) a clearer vision or how to promote student well-being and 6) a stronger commitment to achieving work-life balance. Sample quotes include: “My commitment to positive psychology has enlivened my leadership team, there is more laughter and more innovation. Staff trust me more.” “Using appreciative inquiry has reconnected with me all the good things that happen at my school and this is a more energising force than always being in crises management mode.” “Seeing my staff from a strength based perspective has radically transformed the way I interact with them.” “The gratitude and savouring PPI’s turned a light bulb on inside and me and showed me how important it is that I spend time with my family and friends” Conclusions The results suggest that positive psychology is a beneficial field to include in leadership development programs. The results also support the combination of positive psychology with action-learning and validate Professor Chris Peterson’s claim that ‘Positive Psychology is not a spectator sport” (p. 25, 2006) but is best learnt through experience. The leadership training program will continue to structure positive psychology experiences for school leaders as a way to develop their leadership capacity. PS 9.2. Positive psychology in the classroom – developing students’ action competence Soren Breiting Aahus University, Denmark The research about strategies for the development of students’ action competence related to health and environmental issues can be seen as a practical way of bringing positive psychology to the classroom. It is now possible to draw a rather detailed model of how the action competence approach is working in schools and how teachers and their supervisors can support the approach. Key elements are the interplay between the teacher’s role and the learner’s role, the level of participation of the learner, the positive atmosphere in the classroom, a meaningful learning situation, the development of insight in issues and potential solutions, the development of students’ self-esteem, an open-ended approach to identifying issues for investigation/research, a positive view on the future, mechanisms of mental ownership among the students, and the enhancement of students’ action possibilities to fulfil their own visions. The presentation sums up research findings from a number of studies in Denmark and elsewhere related to health education, environmental education and education for sustainable development (ESD). Summaries of which mechanisms that enhance students’ feeling of ownership (mental ownership) to issues and problems; and summaries of what students appreciate in ‘the new generation of environmental education’ are another way of outlining the successful path towards benefitting from positive psychology in real life situations in primary and secondary schools. PS 9.3. Positive Educational Intervention: effects of the “CONCILIATION IN YOUR LIFE” programme on the well-being of young people and their level of satisfaction with life Juana Mª Maganto Mateo, Juan Etxeberría Murgiondo, Carmen Maganto Mateo, Amaia Etxeberría Maganto, Rodríguez María Reiriz, Peris Hernández University of the Basque Country, Spain Introduction From the perspective of Positive Education, related to research into Positive Psychology, what is proposed is an educational model based on the well-being and the quality of life of persons. Within this paradigm is the positive education programme “Conciliation in your life”. The programme, inspired by the results from research by Maganto and Etxeberría (Ministry of Science and Innovation, MICIN, 2009-12 EDU 2008-03272-E-EDU), and which pointed to a clear need to improve the everyday perceptions, ideas and beliefs of adolescents, young people and adults as regards the value of conciliation with shared responsibility, to encourage gender equality as well as to urgently take on board a training programme to support new programmes and lines of action, at a European, State and Autonomous Community levels. The objective is also to develop attitudes, skills and knowledge which favour conciliation with co-responsibility in the three most important ambits of our lives: the personal, the family and work, and to promote equality between the sexes. Method “Conciliation in your life” is a practical and participative educational programme with seven group work sessions of two hours duration each. It works on content, procedures and practical activities regarding gender, conciliation with co-responsibility, communication, management of time and the resolution of conflicts. In the evaluation of the programme an experimental design of repeated pre-post measures with a control group was employed. To this end, multiple aspects were measured: self-esteem, satisfaction with life, level of hostile and benevolent sexism, attitude to gender equality; level of knowledge about conciliation and measures to achieve it, expectations of work life; positive and negative work-family interaction; styles of communication: assertiveness, aggressiveness and passivity; capacity for active and empathic listening; appropriate management of time; message styles and conflict handling; styles of facing conflicts; and level of self-concept. In this presentation the first results of the first evaluation are shown. The experimental group was made up of 48 persons and the control of 64, from both sexes and from the ages of 18 to 32. Results and conclusions The results obtained showed improvements in the subjective well-being and quality of life of the young people on acquiring greater knowledge about conciliation, in the measures to achieve this and in greater positive interaction between family and work aspects of life. Positive attitudes and communication skills were also improved, while time management and conflict resolution skills revealed a more optimistic attitude and one that was more focused on the problems. The level of self-concept in the social and family dimensions is enhanced and there is a greater feeling of power and self-competence. PS 9.4. Authentic leadership and empowerment Heather Laschinger, Carol Wong, Ashley Grau University of Western Ontario, London, Canada Aim: To examine the effect of authentic leadership and structural empowerment on the emotional exhaustion and cynicism of new graduates and experienced acute care nurses. Background: Employee empowerment is a fundamental component of healthy work environments that promote nurse health and retention, and nursing leadership is key to creating these environments. Method: In a secondary analysis of data from two studies we compared the pattern of relationships among study variables in two Ontario groups: 342 new graduates with less than 2 years of experience and 273 nurses with more than 2 years of experience. Results: A multi-group path analysis using Structural Equation Modelling indicated an acceptable fit of the final model (χ2 = 17.52, d.f. = 2, p< .001, CFI = .97, IFI=.97 and RMSEA=.11). Authentic leadership significantly and negatively influenced emotional exhaustion and cynicism through workplace empowerment in both groups. Conclusions: The authentic behaviour of nursing leaders was important to nurses’ perceptions of structurally empowering conditions in their work environments, regardless of experience level, ultimately contributing to lower levels of emotional exhaustion and cynicism. Implications for Nursing Management: Leadership training for nurse managers may help develop the empowering work environments required in today’s health care organizations in order to attract and retain nurses. PS 9.5. Teaching practices and happiness in nations Gaël Brulé, Ruut Veenhoven Erasmus University of Rotterdam, Netherlands Happiness depends on culture and a large part of culture is transmitted in schools. In this context we explore the relationship between teaching practises and average happiness in nations. We define two types of teaching: ‘horizontal teaching’ which pictures group working and ‘vertical teaching’ which includes more lectures and notes taking. We observe that people feel happier in nations where ‘horizontal teaching’ dominates. These teaching practises have a different impact on the components of actual freedom: we use Bay’s classification (social freedom, psychological freedom, potential freedom) and come to the conclusion that teaching practises influence primarily psychological freedom. PAPERS PS 10. Positive Relationships Chair: Martin Lynch PS 10.1. The relative contributions of autonomy and attachment security in the willingness to seek support Martin Lynch University of Rochester, USA Recently there has been some debate on the relative contributions of autonomy versus security in interpersonal processes (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007; Ryan, Brown, & Creswell, 2007). Prior research (Ryan, La Guardia, Solky-Butzel, Chirkov, & Kim, 2005) suggests that people are more willing to turn to others during an emotionally salient event when they experience those others as providing satisfaction of basic psychological needs, including the need for autonomy. The attachment theory tradition however suggests that security of attachment plays a crucial role in supportseeking behavior. The present research seeks to address the relative contributions of autonomy versus security in the willingness to seek support (emotional reliance, ER). A survey study (N= 247) assessed dispositional and relationshipspecific measures of both autonomy and attachment. MLM analyses showed that whether measured dispositionally or situationally, both autonomy and security contributed to the willingness to turn to others. However, at both levels emotional reliance was more strongly related to the autonomy dimension. Similarly, when the outcome was vitality in relationships, associations were substantially greater with autonomy support than with either attachment anxiety or attachment avoidance. The study thus provides evidence that autonomy and its support may be more closely associated with important relationship processes involving emotion regulation and well-being than is attachment security. Discussion focuses on how the present study contributes to developing a positive framework for understanding relationship processes. PS 10.2. Character Strengths and Partner Selection in Young People (823) Marco Weber, Willibald Ruch University of Zurich, Switzerland Little is known about partner selection in adolescence (Collins, Welsh, & Furman, 2009). Research in adults found characteristics like a good character as highly preferred in a partner. The VIA classification (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) enables researchers to study the good character detailed, as it postulates 24 different components of the good character (i.e., character strengths). In the present study we investigated the role of character strengths in adolescents’ descriptions of an ideal partners, but also analyzing the selection of their real life partners. Furthermore, we investigated the association between character strengths and mates’ global life satisfaction. The sample consisted of 174 German-speaking Swiss (i.e., 87 couples). Their mean age was 16.5 years with an averaged relationship duration of 11.2 months. Measures included the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth (VIAYouth), the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS), and an Ideal Partner Profiler (IPP) for the composition of an ideal partner. The results showed that the character strengths of honesty, humor, and love were the most preferred character strengths in an ideal partner. Religiousness was least important in an ideal partner. Hope, religiousness, honesty, and fairness showed the most substantial assortment coefficients (all coefficients were positive). Analyses regarding mates’ global life satisfaction revealed targets’ character strengths as most relevant explaining variance in targets’ life satisfaction, but also specific character strengths of the partners and couples’ similarity in certain character strengths were found as relevant for targets’ life satisfaction. This initial research on this topic showed that character strengths play a significant role in adolescent couples. Character strengths have been found to be helpful describing an ideal partner, and character strengths showed positive assortment what means that “birds of a feather flock together”. Furthermore, character strengths contribute to mates’ life satisfaction as a function of mates’ own character strengths followed by specific partners’ character strengths and couples’ similarity in specific character strengths. Future studies are needed to replicate findings and expand knowledge on the role of character strengths in young people’s romantic relationships. PS 10.3. The Interpersonal Styles as Predictors of Subjective Well-Being Tayfun Doğan, Tarık Totan, Fatma Sapmaz Sakarya University, Turkey How the people communicate with others, express themselves and how they approach to others, constitute their interpersonal styles. Basically, interpersonal styles are considered as nourishing and toxic. Toxic relationship style makes people feel devalued, angry, frustrated, guilty or otherwise inadequate. Nourishing relationship style makes people feel valued, respected, affirmed, encouraged or competent (Albrecht, 2006). When the literature is analyzed, there are findings which suggest that happy people have better social relationships than those who are unhappy (Lyubomirsky, King and Diener, 2005). Subjective well-being (happiness) is defined as experiencing positive feelings more and negative feelings less and getting high satisfaction from life (Diener et al., 1985). In this study, it is aimed to examine the effect of interpersonal styles of individuals on subjective well-being. Method: The participants of the research are constituted by 242 undergraduate students from Sakarya University/Turkey. Interpersonal Style Scale (Şahin, Durak and Yasak, 1994) was used to measure the interpersonal styles of the participants in the study. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985) and Positive-Negative Affect Scale (Watson, Tellegen & Clark, 1988) were used to measure subjective wellbeing. Multiple Regression Analysis method was used in the analysis of the data. Results: Findings showed that nourishing and toxic relationship styles explain subjective well-being in a significantly (R=.43, R2=.18, F=26.882, p<.001). When the relations of variables with the subjective well-being are considered one by one, it was concluded that subjective well-being is significantly predicted by nourishing relationship style (β= .40; p= .001), in the highest level and by toxic relationship style (β= -.15; p= .001) in the second highest level. According to these results, the related variables explain about 18% of variance in subjective well-being. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, nourishing relationship style effects subjective well-being in a positive way. The facts that nourishing relationship style provides social support to the individual and that the individuals with that type of relationship style are generally constructive and positive individuals may be effective in obtaining such results. Toxic relationship style effects subjective well-being in a negative way. The fact that the individuals with that type of relationship style move other people away from themselves as well as their negative attitudes effect their receiving social support in a negative way. PS 10.4. Interpersonal status, flourishing, and satisfaction with life (1641) Lukasz Dominik Kaczmarek, Maja Stańko-Kaczmarek, Piotr Haładziński, Barbara Baran Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland The need to belong theory (Baumeister & Leary, 1995) stipulates that people are motivated to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships. This universal need to belong is hypothesized to be a result of natural selection as it promoted survival. This theory emphasizes that relationships help to avoid adverse outcomes. However, many researches have pointed out that besides decreasing negativity, intimate relationships have the potential to increase positive outcomes (Gable et al., 2003; Myers, 2010). More recent psychological theories of human functioning have indicated that the optimal human state goes beyond homeostasis as indicated by avoiding maladies. The individual potential gravitates towards optimal functioning infused with positive characteristics (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). As such we might expect that the need to belong might also facilitate the social-psychological prosperity conceptualized as flourishing (Diener et al., 2010). In the present study we set out to test if intimate relationships can affect the global satisfaction with life by increasing flourishing. The current study reports a parts of a larger project in which 297 persons (M = 26.39, SD = 5.22, 51.4% men) representative for the population of young adults were recruited at the place of their residence. The sample was diverse in level of completed education, place of residence to reflect the national population of young adults. Participants reported their demographic and socio-economic status and completed a set of psychometric questionnaires including: Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985), and Flourishing Scale (Diener et al., 2010). We tested a mediational model in which interpersonal status (being single vs. being in an intimate relationship) was expected to have an indirect effect on satisfaction with life through flourishing. We additionally controlled for age as a potential covariate with younger participants being more often single. The model with interpersonal status as the independent variable and flourishing as the mediator explained 49% of the variance in satisfaction with life [F (3, 287) = 29.57, p < .001]. The total effect of interpersonal status [p.e. = .45, t = 3,40, p < .001] comprised of a significant direct effect [p.e. = .31, t = 2.64, p < .001] and a significant indirect effect [p.e. = .13, bootstrapping 95%CIs [.025; .276]]. The results of this study supported our hypothesis that flourishing can be a significant intervening variable between interpersonal status and satisfaction with life. However, we observed a partial mediation with the direct effect still significant after including the mediator into the model. The results indicate that intimate relationships can promote intense forms of positivity in personal development indicative of flourishing among young adults. Furthermore, the presence of flourishing can partially explain by what means intimate relationships contribute to the global satisfaction with life. In sum, this study emphasized that intimate relationships as a result of the need to belong do not only promote well-being but also contribute to the social-psychological prosperity. PS 10.5. The Effects of Altruism on Subjective Well-Being: Can altruism predict happiness? Tayfun Doğan, Fatma Sapmaz, Tarık Totan Sakarya University, Turkey Background: Altruism is defined as the behavior of helping others without any expectation to be awarded or return (Mateer & Willover, 1994; Piliavin & Chaing, 1990). For a behavior to be expected as altruism behavior, it is necessary that it should directly aim helping, it should be a voluntary act, it should not be motivated by an external award, it should be helpful to others and it should include risks for the helper when necessary (Oliner & Oliner, 1988). Although altruism means helping others and doing favors without expecting something in return, altruistic behavior is of help to the individual directly or indirectly. For instance, altruistic behavior ensures the individual to feel himself/herself good, experience good feelings and improve his/her social relationships. In this study, it has been aimed to research the effects of altruism on happiness. In literature happiness is defined as experiencing positive feelings often (joy, cheer, excitement, hope, trust, courage, etc.) and negative feelings less (anger, hatred, anxiety, fear, desperateness, sadness, etc.) and getting more satisfaction from life (Diener, 1984). In the study, the assumption that there is a positive relation between altruism and happiness was examined. Method: 238 university students studying in Sakarya University Faculty of Education comprise the participants of the research. The age range of the participants is 18-27 and their age average is 21.09 (S=1.61). Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (Hills & Argyle, 2002) and Altruism Scale (Doğan & Sapmaz, 2012) were used as data collection instruments in the study. Pearson Moments Corelation Coefficient and Simple Linear Regression analysis were used in the analysis of the data. Results: When the analysis results are examined, it was concluded that altruism explains subjective well-being significantly (R=.39, R2=.15, β= .39, F=41.59, p<.001). According to these results, altruism explains about 15% of the variance on happiness. Conclusions: Research results indicated that altruism significantly effects happiness in a positive way. What kind of contribution altruism makes to happiness can be address from some different aspects. First of all, altruistic behaviors may contribute to the life of the individual by adding meaning and aim. In addition, it may be effective on his/her happiness by making the individual have a clear conscience and feel himself/ herself good. Another important point is that showing altruistic behaviors reflects on the social relationships of the individual in a positive way and the individual takes positive feedbacks from other people. PS 10.6. Helping Behaviors and allostatic overload Emanuela Offidani, F. Vescovelli, E. Albieri, D. Visani, C. Ruini University of Bologna, Italy Background: Helping behaviours have been widely associated with well-being, health and longevity. Nevertheless, recent findings pointed to the presence of adverse health consequences related to being overly taxed by altruistic acts. It has emerged that giving beyond one’s own resources and feeling overwhelmed by others’ demands may worse mental health. Stress has been conceived mainly with the presence of negative life events. Only recently, a more comprehensive definition of stress, named allostatic overload, has been introduced. The concept of allostatic overload has been defined as not only the presence of life events and physiological response, but also as symptomatic manifestations (presence of symptoms and absence of well being) of distress, emerging when the cognitive appraisal of the stressor estimates the situation as exceeding the individual resources. Aim: Considering such findings, our aim is to investigate if altruistic behaviours differ in stressed and non stressed individuals, according to the new clinimetric definition of allostatic overload. Specifically, we have evaluated if individuals with different levels of allostatic overload presented differences in altruistic behaviors. Methods: This cross sectional study involved 240 (F=79; M=161) volunteers of 4 Italian blood donor centers, aged from 19 to 66 years (M = 37.33, SD = 10.75). They were administered the following questionnaires: Self-Report Altruism Scale (SRA); Symptom Questionnaire (SQ); Psychosocial Index (PSI) and Psychological Well-being Scales (PWB). Based on the criteria for the clinimetric evaluation of allostatic overload, individuals reporting chronic stress and/or life events during the last year were selected if scoring positive on specific items of the Psychosocial Index. According to these criteria, subjects required also to present psychiatric symptoms and/or low psychological well-being to be identified as having allostatic overload. According to frequencies of scores on SRA subjects have been divided into three groups: low, medium and high altruistic individuals. Chi square test was performed in order to investigate the different frequencies of altruism between individuals with and without AO. Results: Concerning stress, more than 80% of the total sample reported suffering from stress in the PSI. Particularly, 157 reported chronic stressful situations whereas 130 described some life events such as work’s problems (23%) or relative ill in the past year (9.5%). Among 196 subjects reporting stress, only 98 could be included in the allostatic overload group. The two groups (AO vs non-AO) did not differ in any sociodemographic variables. SRA scores ranged from 28 to 87. No differences in SRA scores emerged according to socio-demographical variables. Chi square showed different frequencies in altruism scores between individuals with and without AO. Specifically, subjects scoring low and medium in SRA have been equally represented in both AO groups. On the contrary, high levels of altruistic behaviors have been associated with the absence of AO. Conclusions: Differently from previous findings, our results showed that highly altruistic individuals do not present stress and allostatic overload. . These findings may have psycho-social implications, suggesting that the probability of engaging in altruistic behaviours is higher when people are less stressed. Further research, are needed to better explore the relations between these variables. PAPERS PS 11. Flow in Achievement Chair: Orin Davis PS 11.1. Microflow Experiences at Work Orin C. Davis Quality of Life Laboratory, Boston, USA Prior research on microflow (Davis, 2010) has shown that microflow is a flow-type experience in which several of the nine characteristics of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996) are compromised. The present study analyzes the effect of microflow in the workplace, and shows that, while microflow is relatively uncommon, it is a measurable and distinct state that differs from deep flow. Results reflect the theorized benefits of microflow experiences at work, which include improved quality of work products, higher company loyalty, higher productivity, increased job satisfaction, and better use of time. The presentation will review the results of the study and compare them with findings from prior research on microflow, which reflects subtle differences in microflow experiences that vary by where/how it is measured. This implications for the nature of optimal experience as a general construct will be discussed. In addition, the presentation will cover the challenges of measuring microflow, and the debates it raises in the definition of a flow-type experience. Specifically, the question of whether challenge and skill need to be balanced in flow experiences will be considered, in addition to the role of affect and arousal in flow experiences. PS 11.2. Using the Team Flow Monitor Jef van den Hout, Orin Davis 1 – Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands, 2 – Quality of Life Laboratory, City University of New York, USA Research has suggested that flow in teams can enhance the team’s effectiveness, productivity, performance, and capability. Team flow is the individual experience of flow during the execution of one’s personal task in the team. The team members can help each other entering team flow by providing the external conditions for individual flow experiences which are: (a) balance of challenge and skill (> average), (b) clear goals, (c) immediate feedback, (d) no fear of failure, (e) distractions excluded from consciousness. Treating team flow as an individual experience emerging from the group’s dynamic, we developed a model that describes team flow, which has seven main antecedents: (1) Goals, (2) Communication, (3) Potential to succeed or fail, (4) Balance of Challenge and skill, (5) Focus, (6) Unity, (7) Autotelicity. When all of the individuals in the group are experiencing team flow at the same time, there is full team flow. In full team flow the group will likely exhibit synchronicity and very high performances. In addition to the theory of team flow, we developed an instrument to measure the conditions needed for team flow. The name of this instrument is the Team Flow Monitor (TFM). For each condition of team flow, there are several interventions linked that can build the specific conditions that a team needs to spark more members to team flow. So, when an condition for team flow is measured low by the TFM, several interventions can be suggested to enhance team’s effectiveness, productivity, performance, and capability. To that end, we will be presenting the results of evaluations, based on the model, that will clarify the definition of team flow and its antecedents, as well as examining the effectiveness of interventions that may spark team flow (e.g., developing team awareness using appreciative inquiry and setting common goals in team sessions). PS 11.3. Measuring Flow is difficult, but the Flow Simplex seems to do a better job than the Experience Fluctuation Model Lisa Vivoll Straume, Karoline Kopperud, Joar Vittersø 1 – Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway, 2 – Assessit, Norway, 3 – University of Tromsø, Norway Flow is an important concept, but valid measures seem difficult to develop. The Challenge-Skill Ratio (CSR) is commonly used in order to measure flow, even if it’s convergent and discriminant validity remains to be established. For example, the Experience Fluctuation Model (EFM), which is one version of the CSR, seems not able to explain much of the variance in typical indicators of the flow state. As an alternative we propose to use the Flow Simplex (Vittersø, J. [2004]. Subjective well-being versus self-actualization: Using the flow-simplex to promote a conceptual clarification of subjective quality of life. Social Indicators Research,65, 299–331). Empirical support for our preference comes from a Day Reconstruction study among Norwegian job-holders. Aim of study: We contrast the EFM with the FS as measures of flow. Since enjoyment is suggested to be an essential feeling during a flow state, we compared the amount of explained enjoyment variance accounted for by the EFM and the FS respectively. Method: Data were collected among employees from seven different organizations in Norway (N = 120). Analyses of variance and regression analyses were employed. Results / Theoretical advancements: Running two separate analyses, we estimated the enjoyment variance accounted for by the EFM to be 7%. By contrast, the FS was able to account for 32% of the variance in enjoyment. When we compared the mean score of enjoyment in each channel of the EFM, enjoyment reported in channel 2 was not significantly different from any other channels, except channels 6, 7 and 8. For the FS, the highest score of enjoyment appeared in sector 3, as predicted by Scheme theory (Eckblad, G. [1981]. Scheme theory. London: Academic Press). The mean score of enjoyment in sector 3 was significantly higher than the mean scores in every other sector. We finally transformed the categorical flow variables in the EFM and the FS into a continuous scale reflecting the distance between a particular location in the model, and the flow area (i.e., higher number reflects a larger distance from the flow area). Such transformations make it possible to analyze flow as a continuous variable (ratio level), and makes it easier to analyze the concept with parametric techniques. When we submitted the transformed EFM variable into a regression analysis, a non-significant regression weight appeared (β = .03, p = 503). By contrast, the transformed FS variable was a highly significant predictor of enjoyment (β = -.46, p < 001). Conclusion reached: The FS appears to be a better instrument for measuring flow-related feeling states as compared with the EFM. PS 11.4. Flow as a tool of navigation between burnout and boreout Frans Andersen, Nina Hanssen 1 – University of Aarhus, Denmark, 2 – IPPA, Norway Obtaining states of flow can be seen as an appropriate tool for navigation in modern complex life, at work, in education, in spare time or in time spent with relatives and friends. Nowadays the zone between “boreout” and “burnout” seem to be very limited. In the Nordic countries (indeed all over the world) an increasing amount of people, even children, experience stress in daily life, whether at work or at home. Stress can be associated to both being challenged too much or too little. Many studies show that the reasons for the growing amounts of stress are complex and often associated to interconnected factors. E.g stress at work can often be seen as closely connected with stress in spare time: there’s either too much I ought to/ got to/ want to do or too little. The way people use media, smartphones, I-pads, laptops, etc. for communication, information search, work, shopping, entertainment, etc, seem to be part of the problem: possibilites seem endless, but how can one find and decide for the appropriate and meaningfuld activity to engage in right now? A solution for many is “to keep all channels open at all times”. I work on my report, but if an e-mail or sms comes in, I check it right away, in between updating my Facebook and Twitter sites, maintaining contact to my workplace intranet, etc. etc. The result is a feeling of permanent stress. Even people who used to be good at concentrating for hours now experience unrest, unease and “wandering thoughts” after doing the same activity for just a few minutes. Yet, some people seem to be able to handle this modern complex life very well by constantly seeking and establishing flow-zones whether working on a spreadsheet, cooking, teaching, nursing, communicating, playing the piano, composing a song, painting a picture, conducting scientific research, playing with the kids or just having coffee with friends at a café and so on. But how do they do it? What strategies do they use? What can we learn from them? We have sampled around 20 such persons from all works of life in Norway and Denmark and interviewed them in an exploratory research project aiming at generating new hypotheses for further Nordic flow-research, undstanding the role of flow in the 21st. century. At this presentation we will put forward the exploratory qualitative results from this project, where we e.g found the “flow-nurse” working, and finding flow, engagement and enjoymend at a hospital ward with an extreme amount of stress and burnout among the staff. The school teacher who manages to create flow both for himself and his students within science education. The Norwegian member of Parliament who writes crime novels in flow while commuting on the train. The basket ball player, from the most succesfull 2012 Danish club, who experiences being in the flow zone together with his teammates. The artist who’s in flow “all the time when working”, etc. PS 11.5. Intuition and Flow Lauri Jarvilehto Helsinki Academy of Philosophy and Aalto University, Finland In this presentation, it is my purpose to study the nature of non-conscious thought and its relevance to both intuition and flow. Further correlation of intuitive thought and the flow state are sought, especially with respect to the acquisition of expert performance by deliberate practice and experience. Flow, the state of optimal experience, is characterized as a condition where the sense of self and the sense of the passage of time disappear (Csikszentmihalyi 1990). In flow, a person is completely immersed in the present activity. Intuition, in turn, is a cognitive facility often characterized as a non-conscious capacity to generate fruitful results such as creative insights. Non-conscious thought is, in other words, central to both flow and intuition. In recent years, studies in psychology and the philosophy of the mind have shed light to the mechanisms of nonconscious thought. Promising avenues of inquiry can be found in Jonathan Evans’ (2003) dual processing theory of thought, Ap Djiksterhuis’ (2007) theory of unconscious thought and John Bargh’s (1999) studies on the automaticity of thought. In addition, the research on expert performance by K. Anders Ericsson (1993) has shed further light on how non-conscious thought is structured via deliberate practice and experience. Based on this research, intuition is here construed as an expertise-based capacity to produce viable results by nonconscious thought. Intuition is based on complex habits acquired by deliberate practice and experience that enable a person to produce creative insight and engage in powerful decision making and problem solving in a domain of expertise. Consequently, flow is construed as optimal performance based on non-conscious habits and processes. In flow, a person uses her non-conscious cognitive capacity optimally with regards to the task at hand. PS 11.6. Flow and Addiction: Does passion matter? Vivian Hsuehhua Chen, Saifuddin Ahmed, Angeline Khoo, Henry Been-Lirn Duh 1, 2 – Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; 3 – National Institute of Education, Singapore; 4 – National University of Singapore, Singapore This study examined the relationship between flow experience and game addiction with moderating role of dualistic model of passion as proposed by Vallerand et al. (2003). The two types of passion under study were: obsessive and harmonious. A total of 3012 students from secondary and primary schools in Singapore were part of this longitudinal study spanning over three years. The results of our analysis showed that harmonious passion did not act as a significant moderation between flow experience and addiction, but obsessive passion did play a significant role. Flow experience was also positively related to addiction and passion but this relationship strength declined over time. This study offers new directions in studying game involvements. PAPERS PS 12. Personal Resources 1 Chair: Iva Solcova PS 12.1. The motivational antecedents of perseverance Tamara Gordeeva, Oleg Sychev 1 – Moscow State University, Russia, 2 – Altay State Academy of Education, Barnaul, Russia Perseverance has a rather long history of study within achievement motivation literature (McClelland, 1961, 1987; Heckhausen, 1980, 1989) and recently in positive psychology as one of the important character strengths (Peterson, Seligman, 2004). Peterson & Seligman defined it as voluntary continuation of action or behavior that is goal directed and typically in the face of difficulty or obstacles. Recently a new similar construct appeared in psychology, namely grit, which was defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals (Duckworth et al., 2007). Grit was found to be a predictor of different types of educational attainment among variety of samples. Our own studies confirmed this relation, grit accounted for 8% of the variance in academic achievement of university students (Gordeeva et al., 2011; Gordeeva, Sychev, 2012). The role of perseverance or grit couldn’t be overestimated as it’s a source of achievement basically in every field. However, it remains unclear what lays behind grit, what moves a person to display grit? The aim of present study is to investigate the motivational antecedents of grit and perseverance. In accordance with structural-dynamic model of achievement motivation (Gordeeva, 2006, 2011) it was hypothesized that three sources of perseverance could be distinguished: 1) a profile of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, 2) self-regulatory components of motivation responsible for effective goal attainment, including self-control and purposefulness, and 3) cognitive motivational components including positive expectations, optimistic attributional style, and perceived control. To measure perseverance and motivational variables a battery of tests was used including Grit scale (Duckworth et al., 2007), Aidman’s perseverance scale (1990), Intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientation scale (Amabile et al., 1994), Flow scale (Leontiev, 2011), academic motivation scale (AMS-C, Vallerand et al., 1992), self-control scale (Tangney et al., 2004), hope scale (Snyder et al., 1991), academic perceived control scale (Perry et al., 2001), modified version of ASQ (Peterson et al., 1982, Gordeeva et al., 2009), and LOT (Scheier, Carver, 1985). The sample comprised 432 participants, students from three departments of Moscow State University and from four departments of Altay State Academy of Education (M= 18 years, SD=1.3). Summary of the results. As expected perseverant students outperformed their less perseverant peers. Grit and perseverance scores were consistently associated with higher GPAs. The cluster analysis showed that most gritty students were from cluster with high learning motivation, intrinsic achievement motivation, identified and applied practical motivation. The overall model describing three types of persistence’s antecedents was confirmed. The most reliable SEM model predicting persistence was comprised by intrinsic achievement motivation, consistency of interests, and optimistic attributional style (RMSEA=.04). Moreover, the obtaibed results show that high perseverance is not the only way to academic success. The second path to achieve academic success is through high and predominant intrinsic motivation accompanied by moderate level of perseverance. However, this second pattern was twice more rare in our overall sample (19% compared to 40% to the first pattern). The theoretical advancements and implications for future research will be discussed. PS 12.2. Changes in resilience, locus of control and proactive coping after 520 days of space flight to Mars simulation Iva Solcova, Alla Vinokhodova 1 – Institute of Psychology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic; 2 – Institute for Biomedical Problems, State Research Centre of the Russian Federation, Moscow Background. Mars 500 has been an international study into interplanetary spaceflights and the first full duration (520 days) simulation of a manned flight to Mars. The crew spent their days in simulation chamber designed to simulate the dimensions and layout of the International Space Station. The crew members had strict schedule of eating, exercising and performing or participating in scientific experiments. Method. The study comprised 6 volunteers aged between 27 – 38 years of age (M = 32,16; SD = 4,99), all males. At the baseline measurement Locus of Control, Brief Resilient Coping Scale, and Proactive coping scale were administered to the participants. The follow up measurements included baseline methods (to assess the changes from input variables), and a structured interview with crew members. Complete data has been collected from five participants. Results. In the follow-up measurement, resilience increased in two participants, and remained on the same level in three participants. Locus of control became more internal in four of five participants. Proactive coping increased in three participants, in one stayed on the same level and in one participant very slightly decreased. Conclusion. The results are good news for space psychology. The majority of crew members were able to gain positive strengths from demanding situation PS 12.3. Optimistic and Hopeful Coping vs. Coping with Hope and Optimism. Examination of structural relations Tatjana Avramov, Nevena Berat, Dragana Jelić, Dragan Žuljević Faculty of Philosophy, Novi Sad, Serbia The previous research of coping strategies related to personality traits suggested that avoidant style of coping is more determined by personality traits, while the problem solving and social support strategies tend to isolate themselves as a unique constructs poorly determined by variables of personality (Žuljević, Gavrilov-Jerković, 2011). The aim of this research was to examine the structural similarities between constructs of hope and personal optimism with Amirkhan’s tripartite model of coping strategies. The sample consisted of 1374 students of University of Novi Sad, 78.5% of them female and 21.5% male gender, with average age of 20 years, which completed The Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI; Amirkhan, 1990), Personal Optimism and Social Optimism-E-8 (POSO-E-8; Schweizer & Koch, 2000) i The Adult Hope Scale (AHS; Snyder et al., 1991). The joint principal component analysis (SPSS 17) of instruments` standardized subscale sums resulted in two moderately correlated components, explaining 60.86% of total variance. The first component gathered the avoidant coping strategies together with hope and optimism, while the second was highly saturated by problem solving and social support coping strategies, as well as by hope but not in a significant quantity. The Confirmatory factor analyses (Statistica 7) tested five models of various relations between constructs, from which the previously described one showed the best fit indices. (χ2=16.43; df=3; p<.001; RMSSR=.023; RMSEA= .059; GFI= .99; AGFI= .97; CFI=.98; NFI=.98). In general, the only unambiguous conclusion is that the avoidant coping strategies share the latent space of measurement with hope and optimism constructs, which follows our previous findings. The main reason of these results we find in the fact that the problem solving and social support strategies, as operationalised within Amirkhan`s Coping strategy indicator mainly refer to behavioral strategies in dealing with stress, while the avoidant coping mainly refers to emotional processes in the presence of a stressor, implicating the lack of conceptual consistence in this field of research. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings will be discussed. PS 12.4. Mediating Effect of Self-Efficacy and Perceived Control on the Relationship between Life Orientation and Persistence Afsheen Anwar, Zenab Tariq and Sana Anwar 1 – University of Karachi, Pakistan; Southshore School for A Levels, Pakistan; 3 – Karachi School of Arts, Karachi Background: The assumption that optimists are likely to persist for longer because they expect positive outcomes is widely prevalent. Bartolotta (1998) studied the effect of optimism on persistence with the situational factor of the perceived importance of the task at hand. Showed some evidence of an mediating relationship between life orientation and situational factors on persistence but insisted further inquiry using factors other than perceive importance of the task. In light of this, we propose to study the relationship of optimism to persistence using self efficacy and perceived control as moderating factors. Self efficacy (SE) and perceived control (PC) are two separate constructs, whereby SE refers to an individual’s belief that he or she has the capability to perform a required behavior or complete a task, and PC is an individual’s belief that he or she can control this performance and hence influence the outcome or completion of a task (Tavousi, Hildarnia, Montazeri, Hajizadeh, Taremain, & Ghofranipour, 2009). Hypothesis: We propose that life orientation, that is, optimism or pessimism, does not have a significant effect on persistence in solving a puzzle, in the absence of high self-efficacy and level of perceived control. Self-efficacy and perceived control are situational factors that we believe do have an effect on life orientation as well as persistence. More specifically, an optimistic individual is more like to anticipate positive outcomes because high levels of perceived control and self-efficacy mean that the individual is more likely to persist, and hence more likely to achieve successful or desired outcomes. Methodology: The sample used will be of 200 high-school male and female students in Karachi, of ages 17 years to 19 years. Our research will gauge life orientation using the Life Orientation Test – Revised (LOT-R) by Scheier, Carver, & Bridges (1994), self-efficacy using the General Self Efficacy scale (GSE) developed by Schwarzer & Jerusalem (1995) and perceived control using the Perceived Control Across Domains Scale (PCAD) developed and validated by Davis (2004). Persistence will be measured in terms of the mean time taken by the experimental group to attempt solutions to an impossible puzzle. Results: Results will be analyzed to statistically investigate the mediation effects of self-efficacy and perceived control on the relationship between life orientation and persistence on task. Importance: Apart from adding to the body of knowledge to sometimes overemphasized importance of life orientation alone, it is expected that results of this study will have important implications for youth development and training both in educational and social situations. PS 12.5. Gratitude as Strong, Unique, Causal, and Changeable Precursor of Well-Being Alex Wood, Stephen Joseph, John Maltby, Alex Linley, Gordon Brown University of Manchester, UK Background: Conceptualising individual differences in gratitude and showing their link to well-being has represented a key success of the theoretical positive psychology, which have been translated into simple and popular positive interventions to improve functioning. This pioneering research has shown the basic relationships between gratitude and other variables and showed that a “count your blessings” intervention increases well-being relative to a waiting list control group. Aims: This talk overviews a series of new studies aimed at providing a “second wave” of gratitude research, moving beyond the basic descriptions of relationships towards answering questions about the mechanisms underlying the effect of gratitude on other variables, questions of causality regarding the role of gratitude in the natural development of well-being, and whether interventions to increase gratitude can increase well-being more effectively than techniques currently used in clinical practice. Methods: Study 1 provides exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (Ns=284 and 389) to support the existence of a single gratitude and appreciation factor. Studies 2 and 3 (Ns=390 and 201) show that gratitude predicts subjective and psychological well-being above and beyond the 30 facets of the Big Five personality traits. Studies 4 and 5 (Ns=156 and 87) present structural equation modelling of longitudinal data to test between models of gratitude leading to wellbeing over time, well-being leads to gratitude, or bidirectional and mediated relationships. Studies 5 (N=120) show that gratitude naturally develops from the context of help given as predicted by rank models of cognition. Studies 6 and 7 (Ns=401 and 236) show that gratitude leads to lower stress through the mechanism of positive coping and better sleep through the mechanism of pre-sleep cognitions. Studies 8-10 (Ns=447, 479, and 247) present three randomised controlled trials comparing gratitude therapy (respectively for depression, body image problems, and stress) with both a waiting list and cognitive behavioural therapy conditions. Results: All studies supported their hypotheses; gratitude is shown to uniquely and causally lead to superior wellbeing, the mechanisms are indicated, and the techniques to improve gratitude increased well-being to an equal degree as techniques in clinical practice whilst having a consistently lower drop-out rate showing greater engagement in the therapy. Conclusions: This second wave of gratitude research reinforces the importance of gratitude to well-being, furthering the study through showing how this relationship operates, and validates techniques to develop gratitude to help people gain these benefits. The applicability of gratitude research (and more widely positive psychology) to clinical practice is shown through demonstrating that gratitude therapy is as effective, and easier to use, that the leading techniques currently used in therapeutic settings. PS 12.6. Flow in studying as a function of adaptive and maladaptive metacognitive traits Giovanni B Moneta London Metropolitan University, UK Csikszentmihalyi’s (1975/2000) flow theory states that flow is more likely to occur in demanding tasks, such as studying. Wells and Matthews’ (1994) Self-Regulatory Executive Function (S-REF) model and Wells’ (2000, 2009) theory of emotional disorders state that, when dealing with demanding tasks, maladaptive metacognitions foster dysfunctional use of attention, rumination and worry, and adoption of maladaptive coping strategies, whereas Beer and Moneta (2010, in press) propose that adaptive metacognitions foster flexible task focus, positive emotions, and adoption of adaptive coping strategies. Therefore, it was hypothesized that adaptive metacognitions would be positively associated with flow in studying, whereas maladaptive metacognitions would be negatively associated. Moreover, it was hypothesized that these associations would be partly mediated by the positive affect and the negative affect, respectively, experienced when engaged in study activities. An opportunity sample of 702 students in a London university completed the short Dispositional Flow Scale-2 to measure current flow in studying (SDFS-2; Jackson, Martin, & Eklund, 2008), Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire 30 (MCQ-30; Wells & Cartwright-Hatton, 2004) for measuring maladaptive metacognitive traits, Positive Metacognitions and Meta-Emotions Questionnaire (PMCEQ; Beer & Moneta, 2010) for measuring adaptive metacognitive traits, and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) – Short Form (I-PANAS-SF; Thompson, 2007) to measure current affect in studying. A multiple-mediator model using bootstrap estimation (Hayes & Preacher, 2011) explained 38% of the variance in flow. Positive affect had a fostering effect on flow (β=.33), whereas negative affect had a hindering effect (β=-.25). Both adaptive metacognitive traits – ‘confidence in interpreting own emotions as cues, restraining from immediate reaction, and mind setting for problem solving’ and ‘confidence in setting flexible and feasible hierarchies of goals’ – had direct and fostering effects on flow (β=.18 and .15, respectively). One adaptive metacognitive trait – ‘confidence in setting flexible and feasible hierarchies of goals’ – had an indirect and fostering effect on flow through the mediation of positive affect (ab=.09). Only one of the five maladaptive metacognitive traits, ‘cognitive confidence’ (lack of), had a direct and hindering effect on flow (β=-.11). Four maladaptive metacognitive traits – ‘positive beliefs about worry’, ‘negative beliefs about worry concerning uncontrollability and danger’, ‘cognitive confidence’ (lack of), and ‘beliefs about the need to control thoughts’ had indirect and hindering effects on flow through the mediation of negative affect (range of ab=-.02 – -.06), and ‘positive beliefs about worry’ unexpectedly had an indirect and fostering effect on flow through the mediation of positive affect (ab=.04). The findings of this study support the research hypotheses in that adaptive and maladaptive metacognitions appear to influence flow in studying directly and indirectly, through distinct affective processes. On one hand, adaptive metacognitions foster flow indirectly by fostering positive affect in studying, which in turn fosters flow. On the other hand, maladaptive metacognitions hinder flow indirectly by fostering negative affect in studying, which in turn hinders flow. In all, adaptive and maladaptive metacognitions appear to play distinct and relevant roles in the self-regulation of flow. PAPERS PS 13. Happiness Chair: Joar Vittersø PS 13.1. Towards a comprehensive model of eudaimonia: development of the Integrated WellBeing Scale Evgeny Osin, Ilona Boniwell 1 – Higher School of Economics, Russia, 2 - University of East London, UK Despite recent interest in eudaimonic well-being, in Positive Psychology this construct has long remained an umbrella term for a number of often unrelated theories. A new multifactor model of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being combining different existing approaches to eudaimonic well-being (Ryff & Keyes, 1995; Ryff & Singer, 2008; Waterman, 1993; Vitterso, 2003; Waterman, Schwartz & Conti, 2008; Ryan, Huta & Deci, 2008) was developed theoretically and tested in a subsequent study. The theoretically proposed factors in the initial model included pleasure, meaning, selfregulation, engagement, non-attachment, need for cognition and growth, personal autonomy, deep emotional experiences, perspective and contribution. Following the initial expert-rating stage, the item pool was reduced to 158 items and the integral well-being model was empirically validated in online (N=755) and student (N=251) samples. Exploratory factor analysis and cluster analysis with subsequent confirmatory factor analysis were used to investigate the latent structure of the model, resulting in a set of reliable psychometric scales measuring eudaimonic experience (engagement, personal direction, fulfilment), meaning (sense of purpose, contribution, peak experiences), eudaimonic attitudes (responsibility, connectedness, commitment to learning, challenge), and eudaimonic personality resources (autonomy, self-regulation, delay of gratification, emotional control). All the scales load on a single factor explaining over 50% of the variance; alternative second-order factor models are being evaluated. A set of measures were used to establish convergent and discriminant validity of the integrated well-being scale, including Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985), Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson, Clark & Tellegen, 1988), Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being (Ryff & Keyes, 1995), Short Index of Self-Actualization (Jones & Crandall, 1986), Orientations to Happiness questionnaire (Peterson, Park & Seligman, 2005), and Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (Paulhus, 1997). The observed correlations of the new scales with the existing measures were moderate to strong, providing sound evidence for convergent validity. Path analysis and structural equation modelling were used to establish their discriminant validity. Specific patterns of association of the eudaimonic scales with positive and negative affect measures suggest multiple pathways that link eudaimonic functioning to hedonic well-being. A number of demographic variables were also measured, including age, gender, education, hours of paid work per week, relationship status, number of children, and volunteer work engagement. Education and engagement into work emerged as the strongest predictors of eudaimonic functioning. Students engaged in volunteer work reported higher contribution, perspective and meaning. The model suggests that eudaimonia is a freely chosen effortful action based on responsibility and commitment to challenge and learning, guided by a belief in and contribution to something larger than oneself, resulting in occasional experiences of transcendence (peak experiences) and frequent feelings of engagement, fulfilment, and directedness of one’s life. The presentation will focus on the final model of eudaimonia operationalized in the Integrated well-being scale, and on its relationships to established measures of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. PS 13.2. Four Ways to a Good Life: Kahneman Meets Eudaimonic Well-Being Joar Vittersø, Cathrine Wangberg, Espen Røysamb 1, 2 – University of Tromsø, Norway; 3 – University of Oslo and Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway Daniel Kahneman has brilliantly demonstrated why a good life is more than the sum of ongoing, happy moments. The construction of happy life stories, the way in which moments of experiences are remembered, is also important for human well-being. But Kahneman’s theory does not distinguish between different kinds of positive experiential qualities; it lumps them all together under the rubric of “hedonic experiences”. A growing number of studies does suggest, however, that hedonic and eudaimonic experiences are at least partly independent of each other, and that it may be unwise to treat all positive feeling states as if they were a unitary concept. Accordingly, the current paper suggests that a human life may be good in four different ways: It can be good at the moment (the experiencing self), or it can be good overall (the remembering self). But momentary and overall well-being may be further separated into a hedonic component and a eudaimonic component. Data presented in support of our position are from Norwegian Folk High School students (N = 171). The design was a combination of experiments and questionnaire data. Results from the questionnaire showed a clear two-dimensional factor structure with overall hedonic and overall eudaimonic wellbeing instruments loading on different factors at both momentary and overall levels. Second, the experimental part of the study showed that participants randomly exposed to a eudaimonic intervention (“develop a personal talent”) reported to experience more momentary eudaimonic feelings, but more momentary hedonic feelings, as a consequence of the intervention. A second group allocated to a hedonic intervention (“cultivation of gratitude”) improved on both hedonic and eudaimonic momentary feelings. Finally, and following a priming design, participants were randomly allocated into a eudaimonic group or a hedonic group. The first group completed measures of overall eudaimonic wellbeing, before they were asked to choose a problem to solve. The second group completed measures of overall hedonic wellbeing before they made their choice. The eudaimonic group tended to select more difficult problems, compared with the hedonic group. These results corroborate a series of related findings published in recent years, which eventually, we believe, will force investigators of happiness to accept the distinction between hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing. PS 13.3. Eudaimonic during work, but hedonic at night: The perception of motives for activities changes with context Aleksandra Iga Bujacz, Joar Vittersø 1 – Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznan, Poland, 2 – University of Tromsø, Norway The idea of eudaimonic well-being remains controversial, and critics claim that the distinction between eudaimonic and hedonic well-being is neither well-specified nor empirically supported. Contrary to hedonic pleasure, eudaimonic well-being is often seen arising only from particular sources, such as relevant subjective experiences, rather than everyday events. In order to clarify elements of this distinction, the present study analyzed indicators of “eudaimonia” and “hedonia” over a range of activities, and with two different sets of instructions. Middle-aged Polish respondents (N = 109) completed a combined Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) and a Personal Expressiveness (PE) designed questionnaire (Waterman, A. S. (1993). Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 678-691). The DRM approach asks for experiences during a random sample of events from the previous day. The PE approach asks for experiences during activities chosen by each participant because these activities express something important about the participant’s identity. We further asked about eudaimonic and hedonic motivation for events\activities, and for eudaimonic and hedonic feelings during events\activities. We collected 930 DRM events and 322 PE activities. The events and activities were categorized as either representing work or leisure (including time spent with family and friends). The results revealed a clear split between eudaimonic and hedonic indicators. During leisure, both hedonic motivation and hedonic feelings dominated. However, in work settings the eudaimonic indicators dominated over the hedonic ones. An interaction appeared between eudaimonic feelings and the two categories of events/activities. Compared with random DRM events, the PE leisure activities were experienced as significantly more intense, while no difference was discovered between eudaimonic DRM feelings and eudaimonic PE feelings during work. A similar interaction was found for eudaimonic motivation, but not for hedonic feelings or hedonic motivation. By and large eudaimonic well-being changes with context in a complex way that could not be explained only by subjective relevance of experiences. All in all, these findings suggest that rather than being trivial, the separate analyses of eudaimonic and hedonic indicators are essential for a proper understanding of the mechanisms that regulate a good life. Specifically the neglect of eudaimonic processes typically observed in organizational and industrial psychology is particularly unfortunate, since the processes of eudaimonia are more active during professional activities than in other areas of modern lives. PS 13.4. How important is a peak experience? Eudaimonic feelings are transformed differently from real time to remembered experience Helga S. Lovoll, Joar Vittersø 1 – Volda University College, Norway, 2 – University of Tromsø, Norway Remembered experiences have been identified as the best predictor of the desire to repeat an experience (Wirtz, D., Kruger, J., Scollon, C. N., & Diener, E. [2003]. What to do on spring break? Psychological Science, 14, 520-524). We took this research one step further and asked what the predictors of the remembered experiences are. Inspired by the Functional Well-Being Approach (FWBA) we suggest that eudaimonic and hedonic feelings are remembered differently. Our main hypotheses were, first, that eudaimonic feelings are felt more intensely than hedonic feelings during moments of peak experiences. Second, eudaimonic feelings, as compared with hedonic feelings, better predict remembered experiences. 64 Norwegian students were recruited for the study. These were first year students of a combined bachelor in sports and outdoor education, and they were followed through 2 semesters. Data were collected from two 3-day trips; one in a coastal area using traditional wooden boats and one ski trip in the mountain wintertime. Utilizing the Event Reconstruction Method, students reported on their peak experiences every day. Follow up measures were conducted 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after each trip. We were able to collect 720 reports (80%). Results supported both hypotheses, showing that eudaimonic feelings were reported to be more intense during the peak experience than were hedonic feelings (p < .001). No difference were found between the two categories for the remembered experiences (p = .760), but the intensity of eudaimonic feelings decreased from peak to remembered experience (p = .005) whereas the intensity of hedonic feelings increased from peak to remembered experience ( p < .001). Eudaimonic peak experiences were further the most powerful predictor of remembered experiences (β = .69, p < .001), as compared with the impact from hedonic peak experiences (β = - .08, ns). The findings support several assumptions of the FWBA and illustrate the importance of separating hedonic and eudaimonic feelings in order to understand their distinct functions in creating positive emotions and different aspects of well-being. PS 13.5. Happiness Intelligence: A Practical New Approach to Building Mental Fitness and Wellbeing Bill Gee, Malik Jaffer, Memory Matanda InHappiness, South Africa Introduction: The authors developed a novel and effective psychosocial support program for highly stressed groups that combines 1) happiness re-education; 2) Aerobic Laughter Therapy (ALT); and 3) a comprehensive program of ongoing assessment to measure program impact. The ‘Healing with Happiness’(HWH) program was developed for HIV and AIDS caregivers, some of the most stressed, depressed, and burned out people on our planet. They work closely with dying adults and children (and their families), and often attend three funerals a week of people they have come to care deeply for. What We Discovered: In periodic assessment sessions we began to see a profound change in participants that went beyond our expectations: they had become mindfully aware of all the actions and interactions in their life, whether these were contributing to their happiness or unhappiness and that of others, and were applying techniques we taught to manage their lives to increase their happiness. Participants became fiercely protective of their own happiness. They mindfully applied a variety of stress reduction and management techniques including cognitive reframing, stressor identification and reprogramming, mindful stress response overriding, and increased emotional intelligence to build their resilience, coping, and reduce unhappiness. They were able to assess the results of their actions and continued to improve their skills over periods of 18 months and more. They started to see their world through a filter of how every action and interaction could impact on their happiness and of those around them. They had developed ‘Happiness Intelligence’. Building Happiness Intelligence: As we rolled out the Healing with Happiness program to thousands of rural and urban healthcare workers (from hospital CEOs through doctors, nurses, and support staff including drivers, cooks and cleaners) from different cultures and in different languages, we observed that all started to develop Happiness Intelligence. The necessary ingredients include 1) happiness re-education (learning how happiness and unhappiness affect our body and physical health, immune function, cognitive performance, emotional state, and adherence to our spiritual, religious and moral beliefs); 2) the development of ‘happiness mindfulness’ (becoming aware of how each action and interaction impacts on our happiness); 3) an ongoing program of self-discovery in which they learn what impact each action and interaction in their lives has on their happiness and the happiness of those around them; and 4) learning and mastering a range of happiness management techniques (these include stress management and reduction techniques, techniques to trigger their de-stress response, and ways to quickly boost their happiness). Develop Happiness Intelligence and Happiness Follows The HWH program was honed to encourage the development of Happiness Intelligence. As the program became better at this, the results became dramatically more successful. HIV healthcare workers constantly subjected to extreme stress and emotional trauma achieved happiness levels above the national average. Their coping and resilience abilities increased to levels beyond our hopes. Their emotional intelligence shot up, as did their productivity and the quality of care they provided. PAPERS PS 14. Workplace Interventions 1 Chair: Marianne van Woerkom PS 14.1. Strengths Interventions in the Work Place: Employees’ Character Strengths, Subjective Well Being and Performance Hilla Rahamim Engel, Mina Westman, Daniel Heller Tel Aviv University, Israel Character strengths and virtues play a significant role in the Positive Psychology’s effort to build positive qualities both at the individual and the group level. The demonstration of strengths has been linked to both Subjective Well Being (SWB) and performance. Seligman’s model of happiness (2002, 2005) suggests a fundamental link between the demonstration of strengths and SWB. Furthermore, Park et al. (2004) found that some strengths (optimism, love, gratitude, zest, and curiosity) are more related to happiness than others. In other words, people whose dominant strengths are of the above five strengths (“Happy people’s strengths”), are happier than those whose dominant strengths are different. Peterson and Seligman (2004) assert that when demonstrating strengths, people experience a rapid learning curve and perform at their best. Furthermore, Fredrickson’s “Broaden and Build” theory (2001) suggests that positive emotions (e.g., love, joy, interest, and contentment- some of which are referred to as “strengths” in the VIA classifications) have a positive impact on performance. However, empirical efforts to identify these relationships in general and in the workplace in particular are at their initial stages. In the current research, we hypothesized that the demonstration or exercise of character strengths increases subjective well-being, job satisfaction, and job performance. In one field experiment conducted in a banks’ call center (N=73), we examined the effects of demonstration of signature strengths, and in the other experiment conducted in a cellular phone company’s call center (N=58) we tested the effect of demonstration of the five “Happy people’s strengths”, namely: hope, love, gratitude, curiosity, and zest. Findings show mixed support for the hypothesis: while the former intervention positively affected employees’ performance but not their well being, the latter intervention positively influenced employee well-being but not their performance. PS 14.2. The Happy Worker: Exercise and Thoughts about Performance leading to Positive Emotions Danilo Garcia, Trevor Archer, Patricia Rosenberg, Saleh Moradi 1, 2, 4 – University of Gothenburg, Sweden; 3 – School of Education and Humanities, Dalarna University, Sweden Background: Most call centers define performance as the percentage of the scheduled “time on the phone”, this specific type of work design might imply unfavourable working conditions for employees that might affect learning how to cope with the rapid external and internal changes in working life. For this reason, the call center environment makes for a remarkable field in order to test if happier people are more productive. Although positive emotions foster productivity under many conditions (Fredrickson, 2001), this effect is probably not ever-present. Although, pleasant emotions might bias cognition and behavior in some ways, the relationship can be the other way around. Moreover, physical activity has been found related to performance on cognitive complex tasks, perhaps because frequent exercise reduces stress symptoms and improves mental states, and in the long term, enable arousal levels to be more appropriate adjusted for cognitive work and by increased stress resistance. These suggestions are investigated in two studies among workers at a call center. Aims: Study 1 aimed to investigate if happiness (i.e., Subjective Well-Being; SWB), Psychological Well-Being (PWB), and exercise frequency predicted workers’ performance. Study 2 aimed to test if priming thoughts of own performance lead to positive emotions. Method: In Study 1, workers (N = 107) self-reported how often they engaged in physical activity, SWB (Life Satisfaction, Positive and Negative Affect), and Psychological Well-Being. Each worker’s performance (average percent of time on the phone) was then assessed by the same system handling the calls each day over a five month period. To understand which factors contributed to performance over the five months period, we conducted structural equationmodeling analysis. In Study 2, workers (N = 104) were randomly assigned to two different conditions. In the “performance” condition participants were asked to report their own performance for the last five months, measured by the same system handling the calls, and then to report how often they had experienced different positive and negative emotions at work. In the “control” condition, participants were first asked for emotions at work and then for their own performance for the last five months. We conducted a condition (performance vs. control) x gender between-subjects ANOVA in order to test differences in positive and negative emotions at work. Results: In Study 1, high exercise frequency and high PWB predicted performance. Moreover, physical activity was also related to PWB. In Study 2, workers in the “performance” condition reported experiencing more positive emotions at work than workers in the “control” condition. Moreover, no differences in negative emotions were found between conditions. Conclusions: At least in regard to performance at call centers, the happy worker seems not to be the most productive worker. Instead, frequent exercise and characteristics such as environmental control and self-acceptance (i.e., PWB) seem to play an important role when organizations measure productivity of this type. More important, thinking about their own performance seems to boost positive emotions at call centers. In other words, the productive worker seems to be the happy worker. Keywords: Call Centre, Exercise Frequency, Happy Worker, Subjective Well-Being, Performance, Physical Activity, Psychological Well-Being. PS 14.3. Happy@ConocoPhillips – Applied Positive Psychology in an energy company in Norway Inger Mette Staalesen, Hanne Toendel, Paal Navestad, Øyvind L. Martinsen 1,2,3 - ConocoPhillips, Norway, 4- Institute for Leadership and Organizational Behavior, Norwegian Business School Background A growing body of evidence supports effects of positivity in the intellectual physical, psychological, and social resources of individuals. Similar effects have also been identified for positive organizational and leadership practices. Still, it takes time for organizations to realize benefits of positivity practices and to put them to use. Based on this, we made an attempt to test different positivity interventions in an energy company and details for this are provided in the presentation. Aims We started the project happy@ConocoPhillips four years ago with the aim to: •Understand how we can use results from positive psychology research to enhance positive emotions in the workplace •Stimulate curiosity in the topic happiness and introduce interventions that might increase happiness in the ConocoPhillips Norway workforce which was again expected to increase participants thriving and performance. •Increase our understanding of the present happiness producing interventions and to further investigate effects and correlates of happiness in the present context. Method 607 people in ConocoPhillips volunteered for the project and 304 responded to several self-report instruments including questionnaires from authentichappiness.com, self-leadership, personality and leadership style. Participants were randomly split in groups, and we introduced different interventions for the different groups; VIA character strengths, Realise2, Strengthsfinder 2.0 and gratitude. The self-report questionnaires were used to establish baseline data, and were administered again 4 months after interventions and 2 years after the interventions. Results We will report results based on statistical analyses and more practical results and interpretations from our happy@ conocophillips project. Preliminary results from happy@conocophillips study demonstrate effects of the interventions in our organization, and have provided rich experience on how to handle this type of project. Main findings and main learning points will be presented, along with ideas for how to implement findings. Conclusion A business case for positivity in organizations has been established and the study supports the idea that positive interventions may have effects in our organizational context. PS 14.4. Strengths development support as an additional job resource: Its relations with work engagement and turnover intention Marianne van Woerkom, Christine Meyers, Brigitte Kroon Tilburg University, The Netherlands Strengths and strengths use are important topics on the research agenda of positive psychology (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Wood et al. 2011) and have recently been described as central enabling factors of individual wellbeing in everyday life, including working life (Peterson & Park, 2011). While strengths are often described as traits that tend to be stable across situations and across time, more recently they have been described as potentials that need to be developed to fit the context before optimal performance can be reached (Biswas-Diener, Kashdan, and Minhas, 2011). Although little is known about workplaces that stimulate the development of strengths and how they affect employee behavior (Gable & Haidt, 2005), it can be expected that the opportunity to develop one’s strengths may function as an important job resource that is functional in achieving work-related goals, in reducing demands and the associated costs, and in stimulating personal growth and development (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Because strengths development support may fulfill basic human needs such as the need to feel competent (Deci & Ryan, 1985) we hypothesized that strengths development support leads to higher levels of work engagement and, as a result of this, lower levels of turn-over intention. To test our hypotheses, we collected data using a self-report questionnaire from 646 employees working in 65 different departments within 65 different organizations in both the profit and non-profit sector. The average response per department was 55%. Respondents were on average 39 years old and 62% of the respondents were male. The majority of the respondents had completed higher vocational education (36.76 %) or secondary vocational education (39.4%). To measure strengths development support we developed a scale that includes 5 items. Example items include the following: “I get help to develop my strong points” and “my development plan is focused on developing my strong points”. Answers were given on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). The five item scale proved to be reliable (Cronbach’s alpha = .88) and to have a satisfactory fit in confirmatory factor analysis. Work engagement was measured with the nine-item version of the Utrecht work engagement scale (UWES; Schaufeli, Bakker, & Salanova, 2006) and turn-over intention was measured with a scale from Valentine, Greller, & Richtermeyer, (2006). Results of multi-level regression analyses that control for age, gender and educational level and for other job resources (autonomy, the relationship with colleagues, the relationship with the supervisor and career-development support) indicated that strengths development support had a significant positive effect on work engagement and a significant negative effect on turn-over intention that was partly mediated by work engagement. Although many employers may tend to focus the development of their employees on improving their deficiencies, these results suggest that employers who want to invest in engaged employees who have the intention to stay with their organization need to make sure that employees also have the opportunities to further their strengths. PS 14.5. Preventing work-stress: common beliefs of preventive factors among Estonian employees Kaidi Kiis, Taimi Elenrum Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences, Estonia Fostering well-being – positive emotion, engagement, purpose, positive relationships, purpose, positive accomplishment- may be one of the best means people have against mental disorders (Seligman, 2008), including work related stress. In health psychology, different models of changing health related behaviour stress the importance of individual’s belief in effectiveness of the new and better behaviour (Ajzen & Madden, 1986, Rosenstock, 1966). The aim of the present exploratory study was to find out common beliefs of factors helping to prevent work-stress among Estonian employees. Knowing the beliefs could help us to design more effective prevention programs as an individual is more ready to make the changes he believes in. In problem centred interview Estonian employees (n=65) were asked to tell what in their opinion helps to prevent work-stress. The interviews were analysed using the principles of content analysis. Results indicate two general categories: individual’s and employer’s. Most frequently (88%, n=57) participants mentioned right thinking as the most important preventive factor of work-stress. According to those who gave the answer, the right thinking consists of (a) knowing what I value in life (83%, n=47), (b) understanding what is really important for me in my life and at work (66%, n=37) and (c) noticing even the small positive things around me (31%, n=17). In addition 37% (n=24) of respondents believed that it is also important to choose the right work, saying that it brings positive excitement, engages and brings change to daily routine. Both most often mentioned factors involve the individual himself. The most frequently mentioned factor of employer’s category was appreciation (45%, n= 29): employer should appreciate the employee as an individual and the work he does by showing that he cares of those who work for the company. The results are in accordance with different studies that have indicated effective ways to prevent work-stress. According to this study prevention programs might benefit more by turning attention to employee’s values, positive thinking and engagement at work as well as to being appreciated at work. PS 14.6. Job Satisfaction or Work Balance? A Multi-level Analysis Chaoming Liu, Sy-Feng Wang Fu-Jen University, Taiwan Job satisfaction includes multiple aspects, such as individual, group and organizational levels. However, past surveys regarding job satisfaction have provided feedback only to the organizational level. This has resulted in the organization being held chiefly responsible for responding to not only organizational survey results, but also dissatisfaction in individual and group level results. These latter types of dissatisfaction require comprehension and action on the individual and group levels, but this present confusion of levels in informational feedback mechanisms have obstructed opportunities for individuals and groups to reflect and readjust, and has also caused CEOs to shoulder too much of the “responding” responsibility. This research uses a “multiple-level survey informational feedback system,” a suggestion presented by Schein (1990, 1995) in which results that belong to different levels are presented as feedback to each corresponding level. The responsibilities of the organization should be to respond to dissatisfaction on the organizational level and assume a role that “provides resources to solve problems,” providing appropriate resources toward assisting individuals and groups deal with dissatisfaction on those respective levels. With these appropriate resources, Individuals and group leaders should make choices and act on accord of themselves. The participants were 351 members of a textile company, including 144 basic staff members, 108 group managers, 84 section chiefs, and 15 department leading executives. The research instruments included the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), among some additional items, and balance and imbalance scores were calculated using the Job Satisfaction Scale and Work Importance Scale. Regression analysis reveals four important precursors that influence satisfaction: department on the organizational level, rank, “homogeneity of peers” on the group level, and “outward imbalance” on the individual level. Moreover, the individual level presents higher influence over the group level, and the group level presents higher influence over the organizational level. This is further proof that the organization is not the only responsible level for “satisfaction,” but conversely, it is the appropriate balance between individual values and outward resources on the individual level that is the most significant factor toward satisfaction. “Homogeneity of peers” on the group level refers to the similarity of an employee to his or her peers in the same department group in terms of 19 work values. Regression analysis has revealed that the more similar the work values, the less satisfaction there is. This result holds for both inward and outward satisfaction. This perhaps reflects the strength of the peer network as an informal group. The more similar a group of peers are in terms of work values, the more likely they will feel dissatisfied with the same aspects, discuss them, and this in turn strengthens the feelings of “legitimacy” to such dissatisfaction. Thus, the more similar the peers’ values are, the less balance there is. The higher the inward and outward imbalance scores, the higher the dissatisfaction. Based on the results of the multiple level survey presented above, it is evident that job satisfaction is not simply a matter of “satisfied” and “not satisfied,” but more about “balance” and “imbalance.” When influencing satisfaction, variables such as peer network, age, years of service, and rank are all mediated by the balance between individual values and whether outward resources satisfy them. Our world is imperfect; the individual cannot completely control the outside environment, but there is still individual choice when it comes to maintaining balance and health. PAPERS PS 15. Health Chair: Patrizia Steca PS 15.1. The Model of Personal Growth in Chronic Illness (MPGCI) Marlena Kossakowska Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Poland Presentation contains the proposal of the Model of Personal Growth in Chronic Illness. Personal growth is defined as the benefit- finding, benefit-reminding (Tennen, Affleck, 2005). According to the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation of Health and Illness (Leventhal, Brissette, Leventhal, 2003) illness perceptions are the significant predictors in coping with chronic illness. Mentioned above model (MPGCI) assumes that coping with chronic illness mediates the effect of illness perception on personal growth among chronically ill people. The aim of this study is to find the predictors for personal growth among people with chronic diseases (eg. multiple sclerosis, cancer, dermatoses...) and to create the empirical model for it. Patients suffering from chronic diseases ( n=200) were assessed using Illness Perception Questionnaire-Brief (Broadbent, Petrie, Weinman, Main, 2006), Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced (Carver, Scheier, Weintraub, 1989) and The Silver Lining Questionnaire (Sodergren, Hyland, 2004). Multiple regression analyses showed that aspects of illness perceptions, such as severity of symptoms and emotional representation of illness are the best direct predictors of coping with chronic illness. The above factors may also reinforce personal growth indirectly in certain areas: e.g. greater appreciation for life. The further relationship between illness perception, coping strategies and personal growth is discussed in this presentation. The conclusion is that research on personal growth in chronic illness is still necessary and may have huge impact on psychosomatic therapy increasing personal well being of people suffering from chronic diseases. PS 15.2. Exploring goal adjustment strategies in a sample of adolescents with cancer Moniek Janse, Esther Sulkers, Mirjam A. G. Sprangers, Adelita V. Ranchor, Joke Fleer 1, 3, 4 – University Medical Center Groningen, Netherlands; 2 – Academic Medical Center, The Netherlands Background: Personal goals give meaning to life and are vital to well-being. When people are faced with adversities in life such as being diagnosed with cancer, it is likely that their personal goals will be disturbed. People may adjust to these disruptions and increase their well-being by adopting several goal adjustment strategies. This can also be expected for adolescents with cancer. Aims: 1) This is the first study to empirically investigate the extent to which cancer patients use such goal adjustment strategies, and 2) to explore relations between strategies and optimism, anxiety and depression respectively. Method: Thirty-two adolescent cancer patients (mean age at diagnosis= 14.3 years, 56.3% girls), suffering from four different types of cancer (leukemia 25%, lymphoma 12.5%, solid tumor 43.8%, brain tumor 18.8%), were interviewed at three assessment points (3, 6, and 12 months post-diagnosis). They were asked about their goals for the upcoming year and asked to rate these on a 10-point Likert scale regarding their importance, effort and attainability (1= not at all - 10 = very). All goals were categorized by content (psychological, physical, social, achievement, leisure and material) by two independent raters. Additionally, patients completed questionnaires measuring optimism (Y-LOT, at T1), anxiety (STAIC, at T3) and depression (KDVK, at T3). Formulas were developed, based on content, importance, effort and attainability, to calculate whether one of the following goal adjustment strategies had been used by a respondent over time: (1) Continue to pursue disturbed goals, (2) Scale back goals within the same domain, (3) Reprioritize goals, (4) Form new goals, (5) Give up effort but remain committed and (6) Give up goal commitment without turning to a new goal. Summary of results: Aim 1) All strategies were used by at least some respondents, with the majority using three strategies (37.5%). The strategy Give up effort but remain committed was used by almost all respondents (96.9%) whereas the strategy Form new goals was used by only 2 respondents (6.3%). Aim 2) Respondents who used the strategy Give up goal commitment without turning to a new goal scored significantly higher on optimism than respondents who did not use this strategy (p<.05). Those who used the strategy Continue to pursue goals scored lower on anxiety (p<.01) and those who used the strategy Reprioritize goals scored lower on depression (p<.05). Other strategies were not related to optimism, anxiety or depression. Respondents who used more strategies, scored higher on optimism (p<.01) and lower on anxiety (p<.01), but no significant relation with depression was found. Conclusion: Adolescents with cancer use goal adjustment strategies and differ in choice of strategy and number of strategies used. The relations found with anxiety and depression suggest a potential important role of goal adjustment for well-being. More research is needed to gain further insight into the role of goals in adjustment to adversities. Moreover, interventions need to be developed that help distressed patients to stop using maladaptive and adopt adaptive strategies to enable them to regain their well-being and meaning in life. PS 15.3. Illness perceptions and self-efficacy beliefs in contrasting depression and promoting life satisfaction in patients affected by cardiovascular diseases Patrizia Steca, A. Greco, M. D’Addario, R. Pozzi, D. Monzani University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy Guidelines for cardiovascular rehabilitation from different countries underline the importance of psychological factors in the achievement of improved clinical conditions and quality of life in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Nevertheless, little research has been done in order to identify the specific factors that mostly affect or foster patients’ well-being. Two cognitive dimensions have been identified as playing a major role of protective factors: illness perception and self-efficacy beliefs. As largely showed by the literature, changing a patient’s negative perception of his or her illness into a more positive one may contribute to decrease morbidity and mortality after cardiovascular diseases (Petrie, Cameron, Ellis et al., 2002; Petrie, Jago, & Devcich, 2007). Promoting self-efficacy beliefs in managing risk factor could decrease depression and increase healthier behaviours (Ewart, 1992; Jeng & Braun, 1997). Aim of the current study was to investigate the contribution carried by illness perceptions (IP) and self-efficacy beliefs (SE) to the impact exerted by illness severity on health satisfaction, life satisfaction and depression in patients undergoing a rehabilitation program because of heart failure due to chronic CVD. The study had a cross-sectional design and involved 120 patients (95 men and 25 women; mean age = 65.67, sd = 9.84). Illness severity was measured in terms of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), at admission in the cardiovascular rehabilitation department, whereas psychological factors were assessed one week later. Results from path analyses showed that the relationships among LVEF, health satisfaction, life satisfaction, and depression were mediated by IP and cardiac risk factors SE (χ²(1)=0.92, p=n.s.; CFI=1.00; SRMR=.02. Findings underlined the importance of working on IP and SE to improve well-being in patients with CVD. PS 15.4. Positive clinical psychiatry, positive diagnosis, and positive interventions Timothy So, Carol Kauffman, Winifred Mark 1 - Univeristy of Cambridge, UK, 1,2- Harvard School of Medicine, 3- Oxford University The fields of psychiatry and clinical psychology have predominantly focused on mental illness, both in its diagnosis and remedy. More recently, however, the field of psychology has moved in the direction of “positive psychology”, the aim of which is addressing mental health rather than mental illness. Within positive psychology, positive clinical psychology is an emerging and rapidly expanding field. Positive clinical psychology is all about how you can create, in the individual or group therapy, the conditions and processes that help patients be at their best. This approach is by no means in competition with traditional therapy, but is rather, complementary. In this presentation, we offer a new comprehensive mechanism of positive clinical psychology which involves a combination of positive diagnosis and sophisticated use of interventions that increase wellbeing. Positive diagnosis is seen as all-important because only with a valid diagnosis can we introduce specific and well-focused interventions. In order to illustrate what positive diagnosis is, as well as the potential directions of treatment, we reviewed all existing relevant literatures on definitions and diagnosis of positive mental health, mental wellbeing, psychological wellbeing, subjective wellbeing and positive psychology, over 300 evidence-based interventions literatures that were developed to increase well-being and flourishing has also been reviewed. Based on our findings, we proposed a “4-Bs model” that integrates diagnosis and intervention in a unified framework that will help clinicians make positive diagnosis and design suitable interventions based on individual patients’ characteristics. The “4Bs model” comprises of “Buffering”, “Broadening”, “Building” and “Buttressing. Our “4Bs model” addresses mental health from four angles, facilitating clinical practitioners’ choosing an intervention that matches their intended purpose for their clients. This is a framework for assessing what a patient needs, in light of the diagnosis of the patient’s weaknesses and strengths by a clinician. “Buffering” addresses patients’ need for minimizing negative effects of life stress, damaging emotions or relationships. Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) proposed that “positive human traits” such as courage and optimism could act as buffers against weakness, negative events and mental illness. “Broadening” addresses patients’ need for identifying underutilized skills through broadening of their thought-action repertoire and behavioural flexibility, as outlined in Friedrickson’s (1998, 2003) broaden-and build theory of positive emotions. “Building” addresses patients’ need for building personal resources such as positive emotions, engagement and meaning. Increased positive emotions are thought to broaden the cognitive capacity which in turn allows building of more positive personal resources (Friedrickson, 2001), resulting in a virtuous cycle. Finally, “burttressing” aims at helping patients follow through an intervention. Research has indicated, unsurprisingly, that individuals who had high preference for an exercise were more likely to complete the exercise, thereby making the intervention more effective (Schueller 2011). Clinicians can use positive interventions in a “structured model”, such that the interventions are applied in a manualized and structured way to individuals or groups. Alternatively, the interventions can be artfully integrated into the processes each therapist already utilizes, in an “integration model”. Audiences are going to understand that positive psychiatry would help decrease mental disorders such as depression and anxiety in the ways described in our 4-Bs framework, thereby improving relationship with self and others, as well as increase level of functioning and optimal mental health. PS 15.5. Effect of positive interventions on quality of life in patients with borderline personality disorder Hamid Nasiri Dehsorkhi, Sedigheh Sadrameli, Amrollah Ebrahimi-Mostafa Arab Psychosomatic Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran Background: Patients afflicted with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are in the border of neurosis and psychosis. Their feature is instability in emotional, mood, behavior and relation statues and their self-image. This disorder is known as temporary Schizophrenia, pseudo-Neurotic Schizophrenia or hidden Schizophrenia. The spread of this kind of disorder is prevailing one to two percents among the public population and in women, it is two times of those of the men. It seems that these patients are always in crisis and the fast mood swing is prevailing among them. It is also possible that they experience psychological distress with a short life or micro-psychotic attacks. However, a fully-fledged attack of psychological distress is not observed in these series of this patients. The behavior of these patients is not predictable and they never reach efficiency which they are supposed to present. There are several approaches to treatment of BPD, one of the most acceptable treatment of BPD is positive intervention. In this study , we have seen effect of positive interventions on increase of quality of life in BPD. Aims of study: The aim of study was defining the significant methods for BPD treatment. On the other hand , improve the quality of life in these patients have significant outcomes like decrease of irritability, instability, depression, and increase of hope, self esteem, happiness, self efficacy. Methods: This study was semi-experimental with control group. Forty patients with BPD diagnosis were selected and located in four groups: A)The patients who was only under drug treatment. B) The patients who was under drug treatment and positive intervention. C) The patients who was only under positive intervention treatment. D) control group(without any treatment).All subjects assessed by WHOQOL-100 and MCMI-III . All data analyzed by SPSS through ANCOVA. Results: Results of research showed that, combination of positive intervention with drug therapy had significant effect on increase of quality of life in BPD patients (p<0.05), in comparison with other groups. However, use of only positive intervention had significant effect on increase of quality of life in BPD patients (p<0.05), in comparison with control and only drug group. Conclusions: Results of this study indicated that, positive interventions have significant effect on increase of positive potentials of patients with borderline personality disorder , and could significantly decrease the irritability, instability, depression of these patients. Nevertheless, this results emphasized on combination of positive interventions with drug therapies. PS 15.6. Sense Making of Illness in Patients with Myocardial Infarction Rajbala Singh The LNM IIT Jaipur, India In recent years, scholars have acknowledged the importance of sense making of illness. The sense making of illness is different from biomedical perspective of illness. The biomedical perspective does not acknowledge the role of nonbiomedical factors in influencing patients’ understanding regarding their illness. Thus, the present paper attempts to investigate sense making of illness in patients suffering from myocardial infarction in an in-depth manner. Open ended interviews were conducted with twelve MI patients who were undergoing treatment of their illness. The interviews with the participants were recorded and were transcribed later. Participants’ transcribed verbatim reports were analyzed following the guidelines of interpretative phenomenological analysis. Overall, results demonstrated that participants’ sense making of illness was largely grounded in their living situations and experiences. Qualitative analysis revealed five broader themes, which were related to the nature of illness, perception of control over illness, perceived consequences of illness, perceived causes of illness and shift in the perception after diagnosis. Results also demonstrated that participants’ inherent cultural beliefs and values such as, God’s will, law of Karma, played a very significant role in interpretation of their present illness condition. Overall, results indicated the role of psycho-socio-cultural factors in sense making of illness. Finally, it can be concluded that it is very important to address sense making of illness as it provides a lay understanding of illness to the patients. The findings of the present study have important implications for health practitioners. It suggests that health practitioners should take into account patients’ sense making of illness while planning health management and health intervention program for MI patients. Key words: Sense making, illness condition, myocardial infarction. PAPERS PS 16. Self-Determination Chair: Sofya Nartova-Bochaver PS 16.1. The impact of affect and emotion regulation on autonomous and controlled motivation Leen Vandercammen, Joeri Hofmans, Peter Theuns Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium Background Affect and motivation are interrelated, as different kinds of affect have different motivational mechanism (Frijda, 2008). Consequently, to completely understand the relation between motivation and affect one should focus on discrete affect. However, Self Determination Theory, among other theories on motivation, has considered positive and negative affect as the only kinds of affect, hereby ignoring the importance of a multitude of different affects. Moreover, affect is interwoven with emotion regulation (Gross & Thompson, 2007). Therefore, when investigating the relationship between affect and motivation, one should also consider emotion regulation. Until now, no research has considered the association between motivation and emotion regulation. Aims of study This study will overcome the abovementioned limitations. First, it will study the relationship between different kinds of affect and Self Determination Theory. Second, it will investigate the association between motivation and emotion regulation. Methods A new day reconstruction study is being started where 50 participants reporting on 10 consecutive working days. Each day participants will fill-out a short questionnaire about their needs, two different kinds of positive and negative affect (anxious, depressed, enthusiasm, contentment), motivation and emotion regulation. Results It is expected that different kinds of affect will have different relationships with autonomous and controlled motivation. When feeling anxious, one feels uncertain and inhibited, so one adopts a waiting attitude (Frijda, Kuipers & ter Schure, 1989). Therefore, it is expected that feeling anxious is positively related to controlled motivation. Feeling depressed, on the other hand would be associated with having no interest in achieving any goals. People who feel depressed, would not want to take action to change their situation (Frijda, 2008). Consequently, it is expected that feeling depressed is associated negatively with both autonomous and controlled motivation. When enthusiasm is experienced, people approach the situation as they feel responsible and have a sense of control (Frijda, Kuipers & ter Schure, 1989). It is therefore expected that feeling enthusiastic is positively related to autonomous motivation. Feeling content is expected to be positively related to controlled motivation (Frijda, 2008), since experiencing contentment leads to inactivation. A previous (yet unpublished) study of ours confirmed these expectations, as different kinds of positive (negative) affect differed in their relationship with autonomous and controlled motivation. This is also confirmed by the literature on emotions where it is emphasized that different kinds of affect entail different motivational mechanisms (e.g. Custers & Aarts, 2005; Dael, Mortillaro & Scherer, 2011; Raghunathan, & Tuan Pham, 1999)). Furthermore, we expect that emotion regulation and motivation are related. Up to our knowledge, no study has investigated this hypothesis. However, a relationship between emotion and motivation is certainly expected as affect and emotion regulation are interwoven (e.g. Gross, 2002; Liu, Prati, Perrewe, & Brymer, 2010; Nezlek & Kuppens, 2008) and affect is related to motivation (Meyer, & Turner, 2006). Conclusions This study will give new insights in Self Determination Theory. First, it will be concluded that Self Determination Theory should consider different kinds of affect instead of focussing only on positive versus negative affect. Second, future research should acknowledge the relationship between motivation and emotion regulation. PS 16.2. The impact of intrinsic motivation and volition on resource management Peter Gröpel Technische Universität München, Germany Engaging in volitional acts depletes mental resources. Similarly, intrinsic motivation depletes the resources due to enhanced effort put into a motivating task. However, intrinsic motivation has been found less depleting than volition. We propose that the impact of intrinsic motivation on the exertion of mental resources depends on how much volition is required in a task: In an easy (i.e., volitionally effortless) task, high intrinsic motivation enhances effort and, in turn, depletes more mental resources than low intrinsic motivation. In a difficult (i.e., volitionally effortful) task, high intrinsic motivation leads to less depletion than low intrinsic motivation because the high motivation may partly substitute the more effortful volition. Three experiments tested this proposition adopting the ego depletion research paradigm. In all experiments, intrinsic motivation was manipulated by performing motive-congruent vs. motive-discrepant task. In Experiment 1, persons high and low in achievement motive (as indicated by the Thematic Apperception Test) engaged in an easy achievement task (i.e., solving mazes). Persistence on a handgrip task was assessed before and after the achievement task as an index of resource depletion. In Experiment 2, persons high and low in power motive acted a difficult social dialog, which involved the exertion of power. Depletion of mental resources was measured with a suppress-emotion task. In Experiment 3, high and low achievement motivated persons performed either the easy or the difficult achievement oriented senso-motor test of Wiener Test System. The Stroop task was used to measure resource depletion. As expected, high intrinsically motivated persons who performed the easy tasks depletes their mental resources more than the low intrinsically motivated counterparts. The opposite effect was found after performing the difficult tasks. Participants in control condition did not differ in resource depletion regardless of their motivation. The results suggest benefits of intrinsic motivation: In easy tasks, intrinsic motivation enhances effort and, in doing so, may facilitate better performance. In more effortful tasks, intrinsic motivation partly substitutes the more effortful volitional regulation and, in turn, facilitates better resource management. PS 16.3. Team Level Perceived Autonomy Support and Wellbeing Outcomes of New Zealand Employees Maree Roche, J. M. Haar Waikato Institute of Technology, New Zealand According to Self Determination Theory (SDT) all people have the capacity to pursue growth and development, but whether they succeed or not, can depend on the features of the context within which they seek these opportunities. As such, within the workplace, employee wellbeing is likely to be satisfied within a workplace environment that supports employee autonomy, and this is termed Perceived Autonomy Support (PAS). Theory suggests that autonomy can be enhanced for employees when the task significance is supported, feelings toward the task are acknowledged, and a choice in how to perform the task is provided. Overall, empirical studies attest to the workplace benefits of PAS in terms of increased trust in management, turnover intentions motivation and engagement. However, missing from the analysis of PAS is team level analysis and how employee teams perceive the autonomy support within their departments, and how this may relate to their own wellbeing. This study seeks to extend the SDT literature by testing PAS at the Team level towards a range of employee wellbeing outcomes within New Zealand. Data were collected from 250 New Zealand organizations across a wide range of professions and industries. In total, 457 employee surveys from 199 teams were analysed for this study, representing a 33% response rate. The minimum threshold of two team members was taken, with the highest number of followers being five (mode = two). The survey had employees rating their organizations PAS as well as a number of individual employee outcomes. Structural Equation Modelling was used for analysis, finding significant positive influences from Team PAS towards employee wellbeing. Team PAS were positively related to positive affect and life satisfaction, and negatively related to negative affect. We also conducted mediation and found that, employee moods (positive and negative affect) fully mediated the effect of Team PAS towards life satisfaction. Positive affect was positively related and negative affect negatively related to life satisfaction. As such, we find support for PAS at the team level, influencing employee moods, which in turn lead to life satisfaction. Overall, our findings suggest that the way in which work teams perceive PAS has significant implications for employees’ mood and life satisfaction and thus organizations wanting to enhance the wellbeing of employees may do so through the way they support autonomy amongst their workforce. PS 16.4. The Personal Sovereignty: A Theoretical Conceptualization and Development of the Instrument for its Measurement Sofya Nartova-Bochaver Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Russia Background. There are few concepts describing positive everyday functioning of personality based not on phenomenological but on environmental activities. This gap could be filled up due to the concept of Personal sovereignty (PS). PS can be defined as a person’s ability of protecting his/her psychological space; as a balance between person’s needs and needs of other people; and as a state of personal boundaries. Boundaries are meant in a lot of psychological schools: in the psychoanalysis, gestalt therapy, environmental psychology etc. (Federn, 1929; Perls, 1951; Polster & Polster, 1973; Altman, Wohlwill, 1978). We could point to such concepts as personal space (Sommer, 1959), privacy (Altman, 1975; Wolfe, 1978), secrecy and self-concealment (Finkenauer et al., 2002; Wismeijer, 2008) that imply existence of boundaries as well. The concept of personal sovereignty extends this list. Results on the Russian sample allow considering sovereignty to be important indicator of well-being and social happiness (Buravtsova, 2009; Kopteva, 2010; Sakharov, Akhmadullina, 2009; Shamshikova, 2009; Panyukova, Panina, 2006; Zhedunova, 2008). Aims. The main purposes are to substantiate the concept “Personal sovereignty” and present a new questionnaire to measure it. Methods. To measure the sovereignty level there was a “Personal Sovereignty Questionnaire-2010” (PSQ-2010) consisting of 6 subscales and 67 items developed. There are psychometric properties and results of CFA shown. Content validity, divergent validity, and consistency are tested on the sample of N=1073 respondents, Mage = 23, due to the 75item FFPQ by Тsuji and Chromov (2010), the Russian version of the 13-item Just World Belief Scale by Dalbert (Astanina, 2010), the Self-trust Scale by Astanina (2010), and the 6-item Trust – Suspicion Scale by Heretick (1981). Results. Theory of PS discovers evolutional and social meaning of personal sovereignty, its structure, dynamics, and phenomenology. Sovereignty appears in the confidence of behaving according to his/her own desires and beliefs, in a feeling of security of personal space, and sensation of his/her relevance in life circumstances. The opposite pole of this construct is designated as deprivedness. Deprivedness is characterized by feeling of estrangement, self-alienation, fragmentariness of person’s life, and problems with objects of identification. The PSQ-2010 was meaningfully related to the Big Five, with more sovereign people tending to tie friendship, respect others, and being warmer. There was also proved the difference between successful and adverse, criminal and lawabiding persons in some of PSQ-2010 subscales. There was revealed that PS is positively connected with personal belief in a just world and self-trust; at the same time, we didn’t find any connections neither with general belief in a just world nor with trust in life. The questionnaire has been standardized, profile forms have been developed. Conclusions. Taken together, our findings shed light on the nature of personal sovereignty and provide preliminary psychometric support for the PSQ-2010. CFA strongly represented six reliable, interpretable, and moderately correlated factors which were in accordance to our theoretically substantiated sovereignty structure. All patterns of correlations are consistent with our conceptualization of personal sovereignty as an aspect of positive emotional and social functioning. PS 16.5. What kinds of decisions make us truly happy? On connecting everyday decision making and well-being Dina Nir Ono Academic College, Israel This talk addresses the connection between well-being and everyday decision making through a novel conceptualization of inner conflict resolution, termed Negotiational Self Theory (NST). By integrating literatures on negotiation and the self, NST conceptualizes the process of resolving inner conflict and decision making as an intra-personal negotiation. This internal negotiation takes place between different and opposing self-aspects, each representing unique perspectives and promoting different needs and interests. NST further suggests that the decisions reached to resolve inner conflict may vary according to a key variable—the Decision Integration (DI) level. DI level represents the extent to which various and conflicting self-aspects are addressed and satisfied in a given decision. Low DI reflects coercive win–lose decisions, in which aspects grouped at one pole of the conflict are fully satisfied, whereas opposing self-aspects remain lacking and unfulfilled. High DI reflects integrative win–win decisions, in which opposing selfaspect are equally acknowledged and addressed, and a creative solution is constructed that incorporates and satisfies all self-aspects. NST further proposes that higher DI is associated with increased positive and decreased negative post-decision emotions—putatively, because each self-aspect that is satisfied in a decision no longer experiences a need discrepancy. Three studies were conducted to verify these assumptions. Study 1 (n=275) collected participants’ inner-conflicts and their decisions, which ranged from everyday to life-changing dilemmas. The results showed that as hypothesized, DI levels can be reliably identified as ranging from low to high DI (inter-rater classification reliability among three independent judges yielded ICC2 = .75). Moreover, as hypothesized, while most people tend to reach low DI solutions, higher DI levels were associated with higher positive, and lower negative, post-decision emotions. In Study 2 (n=115) participants were given a scenario of a managerial inner conflict between achievement and affiliation motivations. Here too, the more integrative the solution reached to resolve the given scenario, the higher the positive over negative post-decision emotions, and in addition, the more satisfied people were with their decision and enthusiastic to implement it. Study 3 (n=99) aimed to show that while people tend to choose low DI solutions, they would opt to choose high DI, integrative solutions—if they would have thought of them. Therefore this study manipulated the kinds of solutions participants could choose from to resolve the same managerial inner conflict. The control group was presented with two opposite low DI alternatives (either affiliation concerns superseded achievement concerns, or vice versa), while the experimental group was also presented a third, high DI solution (satisfying both affiliation and achievement concerns). The results showed that given an integrative solution, people will almost always prefer it over low DI options. Moreover, as predicted, the ratio of positive over negative post-decision was higher in the experimental group. To sum, everyday life with all its complexities, continually leads to the experience of conflict between different needs and concerns. These studies show that reaching integrative rather than coercive decisions is advantageous, if we are interested in promoting need satisfaction, expanding positive emotions and decreasing negative emotions. PS 16.6. Autonomous regulation mode moderates the effect of actual physical activity on affective states: An interactive ambulatory assessment study with a randomized sample in advanced age Martina Kanning, Thomas Bossmann, U. Ebner-Priemer University of Stuttgart, Germany Background: Studies have shown that physical activity influences affective states. However, studies have seldom depicted these associations in ongoing real-life situations. Furthermore, the impact of motivational states in situ has hardly been analyzed so far. The degree to which active episodes are regulated autonomously might moderate the effect of physical activity. Aims: This study aims at closing this gap by using an interactive ambulatory assessment approach, assessing autonomous regulation mode (AR), affective states and actual physical activity (aPA) during every day life situations. The assessment interactively linked event-based assessments of AR and affective states to certain episodes of aPA. These episodes were detected instantaneously by an accelerometer and used as a trigger for assessing AR and affective states. Methods: In a randomized sample of 22 woman and 21 men (Mage = 61; SD = 6.5) we assessed aPA in daily life situations continuously over three consecutive days (Thursday to Saturday) using a 3-axial accelerometer. The accelerometer gave an acoustic signal when predefined intensity thresholds were surpassed. This signal prompted the subjects to complete an electronic diary in order to assess AR and the basic dimensions of affective states (valence, energetic arousal and calmness). We assessed AR with four questions (Reis & Sheldon, 1999). A six-item mood scale (Wilhelm & Schoebi, 2007) was used to measure mood. This instrument is optimized for assessing affective states during daily routine repeatedly. We controlled for the general psychological need for autonomy (Gagné, 2003) and the volume of physical activity via cross level interaction. To analyze the interaction of AR and aPA with affective states in situ, we aggregated the preceding 10 minutes of aPA before each electronic diary entry. We performed hierarchical multilevel-analyses (HLM6.0). Results: Both aPA and AR significantly influenced affective states in real life situations. The interaction was significant for valence and energetic arousal. The higher the volume of physical activity episodes and the more these situations were autonomously regulated, the more our participants felt well (t (841) = 2.1, p = .037) and energized (t (841) =3.5, p = .001). Conclusion: The significant interactions underline that the impact of aPA in every day life on affective states is moderated by the degree to which such activity episodes are regulated autonomously. By this, a person could achieve physiological effects if he or she followed an advice from an activity intervention. But, he or she may feel even better, the more the recommended activity has been integrated in his or her own value system. Exercise psychologists (or therapists, depending on the setting) might help subjects towards achieving this. PAPERS PS 17. Positive Interventions 2 Chair: Charles Martin Krumm PS 17.1. Coaching and Yoga Justine Lutterodt, Angela Curtis Centre for Synchronous Leadership, UK Objective: Discuss the potency of combining executive coaching with yoga in a coordinated manner. Content: Synchronous leadership is a way of being as a leader that helps individuals to become more ‘in sync’ with one another on a systemic level. When used as a model for executive coaching it typically starts by tuning in to a leader’s vision for change and facilitating alignment with his or her ‘natural self’. This holistic orientation resembles that of Integral Transformational Coaching. As the coaching progresses, the notion of alignment spirals outwards to include the leader’s team, the larger organisation, and potentially society. Central to this approach is the need to raise levels of client awareness and resilience. Given its emphasis on mindfulness, yoga is an ideal tool for ensuring that alignment occurs not only in the mind, but is connected and reinforced in the body as well. Additionally, the capacity for yoga to enhance psychotherapy result and promote socially responsible behavior has been documented. This paper presents the concept of synchronous leadership coaching, providing examples of the powerful results it has yielded. It then explores case examples where this coaching has been accompanied by yoga, and describes the increase in potency reported by clients. The specific approach to yoga is described, so that it is easier to understand why this synergistic effect occurs. Method: This professional practice paper employs a case study approach presented by an executive coach and yoga instructor who have worked together in tandem. Results: Clients reported an additional level of transformation when synchronous leadership coaching was accompanied by yoga. Conclusion: The transformations stimulated by executive coaching may be enhanced by yoga. This is consistent with existing research, but warrants further investigation. PS 17.2. What psychologists should know about massage therapy Grant Rich USA While research indicates more than one in three persons in the USA utilize some form of complementary or alternative medicine (CAM), there is a paucity of research on the efficacy of massage therapy, one of the most popular CAM healing modalities. Practicing psychologists are often uninformed about the documented effects of these manual therapy techniques, such as their impact on anxiety and on depressive mood and health and well-being. In addition, psychologists are unlikely to understand important differences between various massage and bodywork healing methods, such as those that require deep tissue manipulation and those that may rely solely on light, passive touch. Psychotherapists may be reluctant to make referrals to massage therapists or may risk making inappropriate referrals. This presentation aims to define and describe massage therapy and distinguish it from other techniques, and to outline clinical conditions and populations for which massage therapy has documented effects. Key evidence for its effectiveness will be described. How may massage therapy most appropriately serve as a positive intervention towards optimal health? In addition, this presentation will outline the status of certification and licensure for massage therapists in several nations, along with discussion of research on practitioner effects, such as the possible roles of therapist charisma, experience, and training. Common questions and concerns about massage therapy will be examined. In conclusion, the relevance and significance of massage therapy for psychology will be summarized. The presenter is both a certified massage therapist and a PhD in psychology. PS 17.3. Feeling the power: Reviewing the physical and psychological benefits of Boxercise for individuals with mental health difficulties Kate Hefferon, Rebecca Mallery, Chloe Gay, Simeon Elliot 1,2,4 - University of East London, London, 3- Mind in Croydon, UK Physical activity, hailed as a stellar positive psychological intervention (Hefferon & Mutrie, In press), focuses on producing well-being within individuals rather than simply reducing negative states. Positive psychology has begun to consider the needs of those with mental health difficulties, in addition to its zero to plus five remit (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). Since there is currently a trend to advocate physical activity as an adjunct to mental health treatment, this mixed method study aimed to assess the psychological benefits of a 6-week structured physical activity programme, specifically Boxercise, for individuals with mental health difficulties. Study 1 consisted of one pre-intervention focus group (n=8) and one post intervention focus group (n=4), employing inductive thematic analysis. Study 1 results yielded three main themes: Gone off track, Social re-integration and Class constituents. Post intervention results focused on the actual experience of the programme, including three main themes: Praise of class, Wayne and Path to metamorphosis. Study 2 employed a quantitative approach including data analysis of self-esteem scores (RSE) of attendees of the programme (n=45). The results of Study 2 showed a significant and positive correlation between Boxercise attendance and self-esteem scores (r = 0.756 p< 0.001). In terms of suggestions for future research, the authors are currently conducting further analysis of the benefits of the Boxercise program using several additional positive psychology scales [Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Resilience Scale, Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) and a depression scale (CES-D)] in relation to participants from a control group intervention. The results will be presented at the conference oral presentation. Overall, this novel mixed method study found positive psychological benefits from participation in a structured Boxercise programme for people with mental health difficulties. The implications of the results advocate organizations, involved in the planning of mental health interventions, consider the importance of social connectedness (closed group interventions) which provides enhanced social interaction within a safe environment. Furthermore, organizations may consider offering safe physical activities that have a ‘power’ element, such as Boxercise, which may be useful for people who want to express emotions and manage stress/anger, thereby providing a healthy distraction from their mental health difficulties. PS 17.4. Healing with Happiness: A Powerful New Positive Psychology Group Program using Aerobic Laughter Therapy to Improve Mental Fitness and Wellbeing in Highly Stressed Groups (1412) Bill Gee, Malik Jaffer, Memory Matanda InHappiness, South Africa Background: The use of laughter in therapy is hampered by a lack of professional and consistent programs and of reliable qualitative and quantitative measurement of program impact. Healing with Happiness (HWH) is a standardized therapy program that combines 1) happiness reeducation; 2) Aerobic Laughter Therapy (ALT); and 3) a comprehensive program of ongoing assessment to measure program impact. HWH was first developed to improve the mental fitness and wellbeing of HIV healthcare workers who experience occupational hazards including stress, depression, emotional trauma and burnout that can result in physical and mental health problems, low productivity, and poor care quality. The explosion of sub-Saharan African HIV caregiver numbers made it impractical to deliver traditional psychosocial support. The development team worked with sector stakeholders to develop criteria for a new psychosocial support program: economical, culture and language independent, not requiring professionals, easy to roll out on a large scale, effective, sustainable, and evidence-based. The program has now been extended to more than fift y thousand persons living with HIV and AIDS, orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) from AIDS, hospice patients and their care workers across southern Africa in partnership with World Vision, FHI-Family Health International, USAID and other major NGOs. HWH is now being introduced into government hospitals and the corporate environment. Methods: While all HWH programs incorporate monitoring and evaluation, date will be presented from two six-month programs with fine grained assessment including 1) a battery of psychometric assessments; 2) Emotional Intelligence assessment; 3) individual interviews; and 4) performance measures administered at baseline, then after two weeks, two months, four months, and six months. One program included 37 palliative healthcare workers providing end of life care, home based care, and OVC care. The second program included 130 hospital staff including CEO and management through doctors, nursing staff and support staff. Results: Assessment data illustrates dramatic reductions in stress, depression and burnout; improved coping skills and resilience; significant increases in happiness, hope, joy, positivity, satisfaction with life, and meaning in life. The program significantly reduced physical stress indicators including sleep problems, headaches and migraines, body pain, and digestive problems including chronic diarrhea and constipation. Increased emotional intelligence resulted in a dramatic reduction in workplace conflict and improved relations with co-workers, patients, spouse/partner, and children. Increases in problem solving ability, teamwork and cooperation, mindfulness; decreases in causes of presenteeism including days feeling worried, stressed, depressed and sick; and significantly increased energy resulted in a 52% reduction in absenteeism and a 56% increase in productivity in some groups. Results with HIV patients included reduced stress and depression, increased adherence to treatment and medications, a 500% increase in support group attendance, and better relations with family, friends and healthcare workers. Conclusions: Healing with Happiness is economical, sustainable, quickly implemented, and provides powerful psychosocial support, improving participants capabilities and efficacy and patient wellbeing. Results can be generalized to other highstress occupations. PS 17.5. Exploring the Scope for Considering Laughter Yoga as a Component of the Positive Psychology Tool-Kit Siobhan Kavanagh, Padraig MacNeela School of Psychology; National University of Ireland, Galway; Ireland This paper explores the potential for considering the recently emerging strategy of laughter yoga as a means to support the well-being of university students. While this strategy has attracted considerable interest, the conceptual and empirical research base underpinning laughter yoga is not as yet well-developed. In particular, this paper explores the rationale and strategies that are included in laughter yoga in the light of models of well-being and the principles of positive psychology. Laughter yoga itself refers the use of specific yogic breathing and movement techniques to induce the behaviours associated with laughter, in the context of a supportive group environment. Initial research investigations show it has some promise for improving mood and reducing perceived stress, but only a few studies on effectiveness have been carried out so far. The conceptual analysis of laughter yoga within a well-being and positive psychology framework, described in this paper, is the first step in testing it in a university student context, using the Medical Research Council’s complex intervention development guidelines. In conclusion, issues of research design and theoretical grounding are discussed in relation to adopting a participative research methodology underpinning intervention testing. PS 17.6. Is it possible to have a better integration of positive psychology by E.M.D.R.? Regourd Laizeau, Charles Martin Krumm, Cyril Tarquinio 1 – Metz University, France, 2 – Rennes University, France, 3 – Metz University, France In 2008, Laizeau, Nousse and Chakroun showed that optimism could be improved by the means of an optimism protocol based upon attributional style theory and EMDR (Shapiro, 2001). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a comprehensive, integrative psychotherapy approach. It contains elements of many effective psychotherapies in structured protocols that are designed to maximize treatment effects. It is also an information processing therapy. Leeds (1995) has developed a Resource Development and Installation protocol, to strengthen resources, but McKelvey (2009) has proposed another way to integrate positive psychology practice, and EMDR. Even if we think it’s a very good idea to use positive psychology and EMDR, we are interested in verifying the validity of its application so that one can join the two scientifically according to Shapiro and Seligman’s opinion. We decided to begin this work with the “dusting off the strength” application: 60 people (30 males, 30 females) completed a pretest questionnaire regarding self esteem, optimism and subjective well-being measures. They then had to take the Via signature strengths questionnaire. And following that, three conditions were monitored : • Bilateral stimulation (from EMDR) • discussion on the forces in accordance with Seligman • Reading characteristics of the forces on a paper. A post test questionnaire was completed and the 3 conditions compared. At the time, first results were encouraging. PAPERS PS 18. Positive Education 2 Chair: Giovanni B. Moneta PS 18.1. Character strengths and life satisfaction of Slovenian teachers and student teachers Polona Gradisek University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Developing character strengths of future teachers is an important part of undergraduate education. We investigated character strengths and life satisfaction of teachers and students at the Faculty of education, student teachers. There is only limited existing research on character strengths of teachers. To best of our knowledge, no study was so far conducted comparing character strengths of teachers and student teachers, using a complete VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS). VIA-IS has been translated into Slovenian language and was used for the first time in this study. 173 primary school teachers (150 females and 23 males, Mage = 42.32 years) and 77 students (future science teachers) (68 females and 9 males, Mage = 22.47 years) took part in the research by completing the VIA-IS and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) questionnaires. The VIA-IS scales demonstrated high reliability (αs > 0.70) in the obtained sample. The highest reported strengths among both studied groups were fairness (Mteachers = 4.34, Mstudents = 4.15), kindness (Mteachers=4.25, Mstudents= 4.25), integrity, and love. The lowest expressed strengths among teachers were creativity, humor, self-regulation and spirituality. For students, those were creativity, self-regulation, spirituality, and love of learning. The two samples differed significantly in the endorsement of most character strengths; results on kindness, love, teamwork, gratitude, hope, zest, and modesty did not differ significantly. Grouping the character strengths into categories of virtues, the highest reported in both groups were justice and humanity strengths. In the previous work by Park, Peterson & Seligman (2004), the correlations between the character strengths and life satisfaction were studied on a general population sample. In our study, focused on teachers and student teachers, consistent with past findings, hope, zest, love, and gratitude correlated highest with life satisfaction, while correlation with modesty was the lowest. Strengths of transcendence correlated highest with life satisfaction in both samples. Correlations between strengths of wisdom and life satisfaction were not as low as reported in previous research. Teachers often represent role models for children, therefore, the strengths of wisdom and knowledge and humanity strengths are substantial for a good teacher. In our sample, both teachers and students expressed high endorsement of kindness, love, fairness, and authenticity, which are all essential for good teachers. They should be stimulated to build upon these strengths. On the other hand, surprisingly, we found that the love of learning scored lowest of students’ strengths, and creativity ranked low in both samples. It seems imperative to work systematically on students’ intellectual strengths during their undergraduate studies, with a special focus on cultivating their creativity. PS 18.2. Empowerment of Teachers to Lead Resilience-Enhancement Interventions: The Impact on Self-Efficacy and Role Identity Daniel Hamiel, Leo Wolmer, Tali Versano, Michelle Slone, Yael Findler, Nathaniel Laor Cohen Harris Resilience Center, Israel Mass traumatic events might result in large numbers of exposed individuals, requiring interventions to alleviate their suffering and strengthen adaptive development. With limited availability of expert clinicians, endorsing a public health approach based on ecological and systemic principles is in order. For children, teachers are undoubtedly the main natural mediator. Teacher-delivered resilience-focused intervention has proved to be a promising and cost-effective approach to address the challenge of alleviating the suffering of masses of children and enhancing their resilient coping. Implemented in Israeli schools for several years, this manualized approach was reported to improve significantly the well being of the students, their adaptation following exposure to traumatic events, and to reduce functional problems, somatic complaints, and depression. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of implementing, within such empowered role, the resilienceenhancing teacher-based intervention, on the teachers themselves. The process of role empowerment sees teachers as “educators”, who are in charge not only of transferring knowledge according to the school curriculum but also of preparing children to cope with life situations involving stress. Specifically, the intervention was postulated to ameliorate teachers’ self efficacy and performance identity. Both constructs are of major importance for teaching and for student outcome. The study sample consisted of 100 female teachers of grades 1-8 from 14 schools in Israel. Forty-eight of the teachers participated in the resilience-enhancing teacher-based intervention, and the remaining fift y-two served as a waitinglist control group. They completed the following questionnaires: Educators Performance Identity Scale (Wolmer, 2012), and the long form of Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES, Tchannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). Our results suggest that the training, the intervention and the continuous supervision seem to have exerted a considerable transformation in the role of teachers, emphasizing their role as facilitators of emotional processes beyond imparting knowledge. Self efficacy and identity were reported higher among participants of the intervention, particularly among those with 15 or more years of experience. Significant differences were observed in the factors related to pedagogical aspects of teaching, such as serving as a role model for one’s students, which are emphasized in the contents of the intervention. Notably, in the control group, teachers with longer experience reported lower levels of identity and self-efficacy, compared to peers with less experience. An opposite pattern was found in the experiment group. The study demonstrates how the transformation in the role of teachers strengthens their professional identity as well as their self-efficacy. This is particularly true for experienced teachers, who are most sensitive to burnout signs, and more aware of their needs and abilities. A major source of resilience among children is the presence of a stable and reliable adult figure in their life. Therefore, strengthening the teachers through the role transformation will clearly enhance children’s resilience to confront mass stressful events. PS 18.3. A trait state model of strategic approach to studying in university students Jekaterina Rogaten, Giovanni B. Moneta, Marcantonio M. Spada 1, 2 – London Metropolitan University, UK; 2 – London South Bank University, London, UK Strategic approach to studying is characterised by students’ target-oriented attitudes towards comprehension of new information (Tait & Entwistle, 1996). It is an adaptive learning strategy that positively relates to academic performance (e.g., Cassidy & Eachus, 2000). This study proposes and tests a trait-state model of strategic approach to studying. It was hypothesised that the traits of adaptive metacognition, attentional control, and intrinsic motivation would be positively associated with strategic approach to studying, and the relationships would be mediated by the state variables of flow in studying, approach coping in studying, positive affect in studying and mastery and performance approach goals. An opportunity sample of 419 undergraduate students from a London University completed a questionnaire pack consisting of a short inventory assessing students’ approaches to studying (ASSIST; Entwistle, 2008), Positive Metacognitions and Meta-Emotions Questionnaire (PMCEQ; Beer & Moneta, 2010) measuring adaptive metacognition, Attentional Control Scale (ACS; Derryberry & Reed, 2002), Work Preference Inventory (WPI; Amabile, Hill, Hennessey & Tighe, 1994) assessing trait intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, Dispositional Flow Scale-2 Short Scale (DFS-2 ; Jackson, Martin & Eklund, 2008), revised COPE (COPE-R; Zuckerman & Gagne, 2003) measuring coping strategies, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) – Short Form (I-PANAS-SF; Thompson, 2007) measuring current affect in studying, and Achievement Goals Questionnaire (AGQ ; Elliot & McGregor, 2001) assessing goal orientations in studying. The findings of this study substantially support the research hypotheses. Approach coping and flow in studying are the strongest predictors of strategic approach to studying and the strongest mediators of the effects of dispositional variables, and, together with positive affect and mastery approach goals, explain entirely the positive effect of trait intrinsic motivation on strategic approach to studying. Adaptive metacognitive traits and dispositional attentional control appear to exert positive effects on strategic approach to studying, and hence are also candidate targets for interventions aimed at enhancing students’ strategic approach to studying. PS 18.4. Making strengths work! Using positive psychology to boost students’ career identity Maria Christina Meyers, Marianne van Woerkom, Renée de Reuver Tilburg University, The Netherlands Employers expect young professionals to have up-to-date knowledge, sufficient skills, and intrinsic motivation when they hire them; those expectations, however, seem to clash with reality. Recent graduates in the Netherlands appear to lack intrinsic motivation for their job as a consequence of not having developed a clear career wish - let alone a career identity - during their studies (Kuijpers & Meijers, 2011). Career identity evolves through a process of linking one’s own interests, competencies, motivations, and values to suitable career roles (Meijers, 1998), and it is crucial that this process gets facilitated by educational institutions, so that their students are confident about their career choice when entering the labor market. One way to advance students’ career identity might be to develop awareness of individual strengths and of possible applications of those strengths in the working context. From available research in the field of positive psychology (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) we already know that strengths identification, development, and use have highly beneficial effects, especially on individual well-being (e.g., Wood, Linley, Maltby, Kashdan, & Hurling, 2011). Yet, to our knowledge, none of these studies reports effects on students’ career identity. On this account, we aim to expand the literature on positive psychology by conducting a quasi-experimental, longitudinal study that tests the effects of a training that focuses on strengths on career identity of master’s students. We developed a one-day training for students of the master’s program Human Resource Studies of a Dutch University (hereafter referred to as ‘strengths training’). As a preparatory task for the strengths training, students had to gather feedback on their strengths from people in their surrounding and had to fill in the Values in Action (VIA) Inventory of Strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). During the training, students engaged in group activities and individual tasks that triggered reflection on and critical examination of the strong points that were identified by those two means. In total, 58 master students enrolled in the training in exchange for course credits. An independent no-treatment control group was recruited amongst master students of a comparable track (Organization Studies, N = 47). Measurement of the independent variable career identity (example item: ‘I know what kind of work suits me well’) took place before (T1), immediately after (T2), and one month after the one-day training (T3). Within the experimental group 50 out of the initial 58 individuals completed all three measures (attrition rate 13.8%), whereas the number of respondents in the control group dropped from an initial 47 at T1, to 31 at T2, to 16 at the final measurement (attrition rate 66%). Conform to our expectation, results of paired sampled T-Test revealed that the strengths group gained in career identity at T2 and T3 compared to pre-training assessment, whereas comparisons of means for the control group did not result in any significant results. A subsequent mixed between-within subject analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant main effects for time as well as for the grouping variable. The linear within-subject contrast for the time*group interaction was marginally significant, indicating a trend in the data that was further investigated by examining the plot. It became evident that both groups experienced a boost in career identity at T2, but that this boost was bigger for the strengths group. At T3 the control group’s score on career identity dropped to the level of the T1 measurement, whereas the value for the strengths group dropped slightly, but not significantly. Although this study has been subject to several limitations such as the non-randomized division into groups and the high attrition rate in the control group, it can be seen as a first piece of evidence hinting at the benefits of positive psychology for the development of students’ career identity. A short training to develop awareness of individual strengths seems to be a promising technique to enhance students’ career identity which presumably translates into more intrinsic motivation and a better overall quality of job beginners. PS 18.5. Positive Psychology at School: The Role of Character Strengths in the Classroom Marco Weber, Willibald Ruch University of Zurich, Switzerland Peterson and Seligman (2004) described the good character as an enabling factor of a good and flourishing life. The present research expected it therefore to be a key resource in the school context. Hence, the role of 24 character strengths (i.e., components of the good character) in the educational environment was investigated. Specifically, we examined the relationships between character strengths and satisfaction with school experiences, academic self-efficacy, positive classroom behavior, and school success. Additionally was of interest, whether the character strengths were able to discriminate between students who improved vs. decreased their grades during the school year. A sample of 247 students (mean age = 12 years) completed the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth (VIA-Youth) and measures on school-related satisfaction and academic self-efficacy. Furthermore, teacher-ratings on positive classroom behavior, and grades from students’ school reports were collected. The results showed that the character strengths love of learning, zest, gratitude, perseverance, and curiosity were positively associated with school-related satisfaction. Hope, love of learning, perseverance, prudence, and others were positively associated with academic self-efficacy. Character strengths of the mind (e.g., self-regulation, perseverance, love of learning) were predictive of school success. The good character explained about one fourth of the variance in positive classroom behavior, with the specific character strengths of perseverance, love of learning, and prudence showing the most substantial positive correlations. A model that postulated the predictive power of classroom-relevant character strengths on school success, mediated through positive classroom behavior showed a significant indirect effect. Furthermore, character strengths (e.g., perspective, gratitude, hope, self-regulation, teamwork) distinguished between students who demonstrated improved vs. decreased grades during the school year. This study shows that the good character clearly matters in different contexts at school, and it seems to be relevant for subjective (e.g., satisfaction) as well as objective (e.g., grades) outcomes, and for positive behavior in classrooms. PS 18.6. What’s good about your students? Teachers’ perceptions about their students’ character strengths Ruth Hadas The Center for Academic Studies, Tel Mond, Israel The present research is anchored in Seligman’s and Peterson’s classification of virtues and character strengths. The purpose of this pilot study is to shed some light on teachers’ perception of their students’ character traits, and to measure the extent of teachers’ recognition of their students’ strengths. The research participants were four teachers from two junior high schools. Each two teachers taught in the same class, where one of them was the homeroom teacher and the other was a subject teacher. The teachers were asked to fill in a questionnaire where they had to refer to each of the students in the class. In the first part of the questionnaire, the teachers had to rate each student according to their academic function. In the second part the teachers were asked to point out the positive traits of each student. The third part of the questionnaire required the teachers to refer to their subjective personal experience and feelings while filling in the questionnaire. The first research question examined the positive traits the teachers related to their students. Findings showed that the positive traits teachers referred to were linked only to four out of the six virtues suggested by Seligman and Peterson. Moreover, within each virtue, they pointed out to just a few strengths: within the virtue of wisdom and knowledge, the teachers referred mostly to love of learning; within the virtue of courage, they referred mostly to perseverance; within the virtue of humanity, they referred to kindness and love; and within the virtue of temperance, they pointed out only to modesty. There was no reference to strengths related to justice or transcendence. The second question was whether there was any difference between the homeroom teachers and the subject teachers referring to the positive traits they related to their students. Findings showed that the homeroom teachers indicated more strengths than the subject matter teachers in concern to the same students in the same classes. The third question examined the relation between the students’ academic status and the amount of positive traits teachers related to them. Findings showed that the teachers related more positive traits to students they rated as “excellent” or “very good” than to those they rated as “good”, “mediocre” or “poor”. In an open question, in which the teachers were asked to reflect on their subjective experience and feelings, both of the subject teachers and the homeroom teaches reported that they experienced many indecisions when thinking about the students. It seemed that negative traits popped up immediately and automatically to their minds, while on the other hand, trying to point out to the students’ positive traits, they put a lot of efforts and had to think thoroughly about it. In some cases they could not find any positive trait to relate to certain students, or felt insecure about the traits of poorly functioning students. The study has significant implications concerning teacher-student relationship, and teachers’ influence on students’ function and wellbeing in school. PAPERS PS 19. Positive Development Chair: Helena Slobodskaya PS 19.1. More than Resilience: Positive Child Development Michael Pluess King’s College London, UK A substantial proportion of research in child development has been and is being conducted from a perspective of developmental psychopathology. Most of these studies have the important goal of increasing knowledge regarding the development of specific problematic behaviours in order to develop effective prevention and treatment programmes. As a consequence, a lot is known today about the development of maladaptive outcomes and the treatment thereof but it is less clear how development looks like when everything goes right, when developmental conditions are optimal or even outstanding. While some research in developmental psychology certainly has a rich history of investigating positive adaptive outcomes (e.g., secure attachment, academic achievement, prosocial behaviour etc.) research informed by developmental psychopathology often treats the mere absence of problematic outcomes as evidence for positive development. This is, for example, the case in research on resilience to childhood adversity. While resilience is a very popular topic in both developmental and positive psychology it generally refers to the absence of negative development under adverse conditions rather than the presence of positive development under ideal conditions. A further limitation of current research in child development is the often restricted focus on effects of specific environmental components on specific outcomes neglecting the complex relationships between multiple factors, both proximal and distal, on different dimensions of positive developmental outcomes. In my talk I will propose a new positive psychology perspective in child development that is characterized by: (1) a focus on truly positive developmental outcomes rather than just the absence of negative ones; (2) an empirically based multi-dimensional definition of positive child development; (3) the identification and investigation of determinants of positive child development; and (4) the development and evaluation of interventions aimed at increasing positive child development. After reviewing existing empirical work, potential implications and future steps of research from a positive child development perspective will be discussed. PS 19.2. Interactions between personality and family factors: implications for child well-being Helena R. Slobodskaya, O.A. Akhmetova Research Institute of Physiology, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Russia Background: Although there is considerable evidence of the effect of personality and environmental factors on children’s well-being (e.g. Caspi, Roberts, & Shiner, 2005; Hampson, 2008; McMahon et al., 2003; Pulkkinen, 2009), recent findings suggest that children with similar predispositions, as well as and children from similar backgrounds, can develop quite differently due to a variety of interaction effects (Belsky & Pluess, 2009; Lengua et al., 2008; Leve, Kim, & Pears, 2005). Aim: The present study aimed to explore the interactions between personality and family factors in the prediction of children’s well-being. Method: A large sample of 1864 Russian children aged 3 to 18 years (46% female) of various socioeconomic backgrounds from the urban and rural (21%) regions was assessed using parent reports. Well-being was measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire which assessed prosocial behaviour, emotional and behavioural problems and their impact on everyday life. Personality was measured by the Inventory of Child Individual Differences at three levels of the hierarchical structure, mid-level traits, the Big Five and two higherorder factors, Alpha and Beta. Family factors were measured by the Life Style Questionnaire which assessed socioeconomic status, family structure, affluence, family cohesion, violence, parenting practice, monitoring and social support. Results: Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that in children whose parents were unemployed or had manual occupations, the effect of Beta domain (personal growth or plasticity) on behavioural problems and the contribution of Openness, Achievement Orientation, Intelligence and Organized personality traits was larger than in children whose parents had higher occupational status. The effect of Conscientiousness and mid-level traits Achievement, Compliant, Considerate and Organized on behavioural problems was largest in children from low-income families. In discordant families, the effect of Alpha domain (successful socialisation or stability) on behavioural problems and the contribution of Agreeableness, low Antagonism and Positive Emotionality was larger than in cohesive families. The effect of Alpha and Conscientiousness on behavioural problems was largest in children whose parents used physical punishments. For emotional problems, the effect of Beta domain was larger in children from single parent families (Openness and Intelligence) and in children from discordant families (Extraversion, Positive Emotionality). In children from violent families, the effect of Emotional Stability and Positive Emotionality on emotional problems was larger than in children who have not witnessed domestic violence. The effect of Emotional Stability on emotional problems was largest in children whose parents used physical punishments compared to children whose parents used limitations, withdrawal of privileges or discussed child’s inappropriate behaviour. Conclusions: In difficult circumstances (poverty, single parent household, unemployed or under-qualified parents, family discord and violence) the contribution of personality to child mental health is larger than in more favourable environments. Interactions between personality and family environment point to the compensatory mechanisms through which child biological and family protective factors promote positive development. These findings may shed light on important issues in the study of children’s well-being. PS 19.3. Hopeful Youths: Benefits of Very High Hope Among Adolescents Susana C. Marques, Shane J. Lopez, Anne Marie Fontaine, Susana Coimbra Porto University, Portugal Hope is defined as a goal-directed thinking in which the person has the perceived capacity to find routes to goals (pathways thinking) and the motivation to use those routes (agency thinking). It is a key indicator of a vast array of positive personal, psychological, social, interpersonal, and intrapersonal outcomes. This study investigated the characteristics of adolescents who report very high levels of hope. A total of 682 adolescents (ages 11-17, 53.51% females) completed the Portuguese-language version of the Children Hope Scale (CHS), along with self-reported measures of global and multidimensional life satisfaction, self-worth, mental health, and school engagement. Grade point average was obtained from students’ school records. Based on their CHS scores, students were divided into three groups: “very low” (bottom 10% of the distribution), “average” (middle 25%), and “very high” (upper 10%). Results indicated that hope is positively related to global and multidimensional life satisfaction, self-worth, mental health, engagement at school and grade point average, but negatively related to depression, anxiety and loss of behavioral or emotional control. Moreover, adolescents reporting very high hope had the lowest levels of depression, anxiety, and loss of behavioral or emotional control problems, and significantly higher life satisfaction, self-worth, school engagement and academic achievement than those in the average hope and low hope groups. However, rates of clinical levels of mental health problems did not differ significantly between the very high and average groups but are significantly higher in the very low group. Taken together, the findings support the notion that very high hope in adolescence is associated with adaptive psychosocial and school-related functioning. Furthermore, very high and average hope is associated with some mental health benefits that are not found among adolescents reporting comparatively very low hope levels. Overall, given the superior adjustment profile, perhaps ‘‘hopeful enough’’ should be defined as extremely high hope. PS 19.4. Constructing Competent Selves: A Three Year Study on Children’s Representation of Selves in Portraits and Narratives Min-Ling Tsai National Taipei University of Education, Taiwan This current presentation draws on a three-year study on eleven children’s (seven girls and four boys) self-representation and will focus on how these children represented and constructed multiple selves in their self-portraits and the narration of the drawings. In the first year of the study, these children were in their first grade in an elementary school in Kinman, an island located between mainland China and Taiwan. The researcher was well acquainted with these children ever since they were in kindergarten and participated in one of the researcher’s previous studies. In this three year study, the researcher and the assistant (these children’s formal kindergarten teacher) flew to Kinman once in a month, met with these children and invited them to make a self-portrait. When the self-portraits were completed, the children were invited to “talk about” their drawings either to the researcher or to the assistant one by one. From September 2008 to June 2011, there were 19 gatherings (9 in the first year, 6 in the second year and 4 in the third year) and 165 self portraits and their narration were collected. All of the portraits were scanned into digital files and all of the narration were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The portraits were almost always freeze framed moments embedded in one or several events narrated by these children. It is believed that the actions or states of being narrated were chosen consciously or unconsciously to represent some aspects of self or some kind of self of the narrator. As evidenced by the empirical data, one narration of self portrait could include several aspects of self or several selves. The transcripts of the narration were read carefully and given a code whenever a certain self was represented. All of the codes were classified inductively and a “taxonomy” of various kinds of selves took form,. At the most abstract level, there were the individual self and the social self. The sub-categories of the individual self includes being competent or incompetent, being fond of something, desiring, emotion, personality and the state of being alone. The sub-categories of the social self include being socially competent, being socially incompetent and relying on someone. It is found that in the first and second years, the amount of the individual selves was very close to that of the social selves. However, in the third year, the amount of the individual selves exceeded that of the social selves. Secondly, consistently over the three years, the most frequently represented individual self was the competent self, followed by the self who was fond of something. The most frequently represented social self was the self who was engaged in positive social relationships, followed by the obedient self. Thirdly, these children were more expressive in representing various aspects of self or multiple selves orally than pictorially. In sum, mediated by the self-portraits and the narration, these children were constructing positive selves which were competent at observing and playing, valuing social relationships and being obedient at the same time. These children’s self-portraits and the narration of them seemed to strike a delicate balance between cultural expectation and self construction. PS 19.5. Resisting Everything Except Temptation: A Longitudinal Study of Domain Specificity in Self-Control Eli Tsukayama University of Pennsylvania, USA In December 2009, Tiger Woods confessed that he had been unfaithful to his wife. The news was particularly sensational given Wood’s squeaky clean image, which personified almost fanatical self-control. Known as the exemplar of mental discipline, Woods demonstrated remarkable self-control and moral character in many domains of life. Yet, he was impulsive when it came to extramarital sex. Why do some people act morally in some situations but not others? In particular, how do we reconcile apparent inconsistencies in self-control behavior? That is, why does it appear that an individual can be self-controlled in one situation or domain (e.g., work) but impulsive in another (e.g., drinking)? Can subjective temptation and perceived harm explain inconsistent self-control behavior across domains? Similarly, can domain-specific subjective temptation and perceived harm explain gender differences in domain-specific self-control behavior? For example, do women have more self-control problems with food because they are more tempted to overeat than men? Does the number of selfcontrol domains increase over the life course, and if so, can this trend be explained by age-related changes in subjective temptation and perceived harm? I propose and test a model that incorporates and explains both domain-general (some people are more self-controlled than others on average) and domain-specific (a person can be self-controlled in one domain but impulsive in another) differences in impulsive behavior. Specifically, I suggest that individuals who on average are more self-controlled across all domains relative to others have more self-control resources to deploy (e.g., greater working memory capacity) and more effective metacognitive strategies (e.g., pre-commitment, goal setting and planning, psychological distancing). On the other hand, an individual’s observed behavior will vary across domains as a function of his or her idiosyncratic, domain-specific subjective evaluations of temptation and perceived harm. For example, Tiger Woods might have prodigious self-control resources and effective strategies for reducing the cost of resisting temptation. But, relative to other temptations that Woods did successfully resist (e.g., the urge to procrastinate), the particular improprieties which were his undoing must have elicited exceptionally strong urges and/or been evaluated as benign. In preliminary work, I found support for this model using a convenience sample of college students (Tsukayama, Duckworth, & Kim, in press). Here, I report results from a longitudinal study with cohorts of varying ages (e.g., childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, late adulthood) that are more socioeconomically and ethnically diverse than our initial sample. This research sheds light on putative inconsistencies in moral character. More specifically, this investigation (1) provides support for a model that explains both domain-general and domain-specific self-control behavior that is generalizable across the lifespan, (2) demonstrates temporal consistency of domain-general and domain-specific self-control behavior, (3) provides an explanation for the increase in relevant self-control domains from childhood to adulthood, (4) and provides an explanation for gender differences in self-control behavior. PAPERS PS 20. Creativity Chair: Suzanne Einöther PS 20.1. A cup of creativity? Positive affect and insights after tea consumption Suzanne Einöther¹, Matthijs Baas², Matthew Rowson³, Timo Giesbrecht¹ ¹Unilever R&D Vlaardingen, The Netherlands, ²University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, ³Unilever R&D Colworth, United Kingdom Background To date, no research has investigated the relationship between tea consumption and creativity directly. However, there are indications that tea can induce positive affect (Isen et al., 2004; Desmet et al., 2008), which in turn has been associated with increased creativity in a large number of studies (Baas et al., 2008; Davis, 2009). Aim To investigate the effect of tea consumption on positive affect and creativity. Method One hundred-fift y participants (regular tea drinkers aged 18-45) were randomly allocated to three conditions: 1) tea preparation and consumption (n = 50), 2) cold water consumption (n = 50), or 3) positive affect induction by means of recalling positive personal memories (n = 50). Participants completed measures of mood (Affect Grid) before and after the intervention, and measures of creativity (Remote Associates Test, Alien Creatures Test), and motivation (time spent on an unsolvable anagram, workload questionnaire) after the intervention. Results Affect Grid: There was a significant effect of condition on both the pleasantness and arousal dimensions (both p<0.0001). Specifically, the tea condition induced a significantly higher pleasantness than the water condition, whilst only the positive affect condition induced significantly higher arousal than the other two conditions. Remote Associates Test: There was a significant treatment by difficulty interaction on reaction time for correct responses (p=0.04). Post hoc tests revealed a marginally significant difference between conditions evident only for difficult problems (p=0.07), not for easy and neutral problems. Specifically, participants in the tea and positive affect conditions tended to be faster in generating correct solutions for difficult problems as compared to participants in the water condition. There was no evidence of an effect of condition upon other outcome measures. Conclusions Findings confirm that both the positive affect induction and tea consumption can positively affect aspects of mood, as compared to water. Specifically, tea consumption and a positive affect induction increased feelings of pleasantness as compared to water. Furthermore, there was an indication that creative problem solving might be improved by tea and positive affect induction, as compared to water, in that the former two tended to yield faster insights on difficult problems. This effect warrants further investigation and needs to be replicated in future studies. PS 20.2. Creativity and Adversity: Creative Growth Constitutes a Manifestation of Posttraumatic Growth Marie Forgeard University of Pennsylvania, USA This presentation will review past research and provide new evidence regarding the role that creative behavior plays following adversity, and will propose that creative behavior constitutes one important way in which posttraumatic growth may be expressed. Anecdotal and scientific evidence suggests that throughout history, numerous creative individuals have experienced highly stressful and traumatic experiences (e.g., losing a family member, coping with severe physical or mental illness). In addition, such individuals have often reported that the experience of adversity contributed in some way to their creativity. Creative behavior therefore seems to constitute a manifestation of posttraumatic growth (also sometimes referred to as “stress-related growth,” or “benefit finding”), which has been defined as “the experience of positive change that occurs as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life crises” (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004, p. 1). Furthermore, the capacity to experience posttraumatic growth has been related to openness to experience, the Big Five personality trait most closely associated with creative thinking. In spite of this evidence, which strongly suggests that creative behavior constitutes one way in which posttraumatic growth may be manifested, no research program had until now examined the relationships between adversity, posttraumatic growth, and creative growth. Results of a recent study provided support for the notion that creative growth may constitute an important form of positive change following adversity. Three hundred and seventy three participants filled out questionnaires to assess present personality traits, past exposure to adverse events, subsequent intrusive/deliberate rumination, experience of posttraumatic growth and/or depreciation, as well as creative growth. Results of multiple regression and path analyses showed that the experience of adversity is associated with self-reported creative growth, and that this effect is mediated by both intrusive and deliberate rumination, as well as changes in personal relationships and in the perception of new possibilities for one’s life. In addition, openness to experience moderated these effects, suggesting that individuals high in openness to experience are more likely to experience creative growth following adversity. Taken together, these findings provide convincing evidence that creative behavior constitutes one way in which posttraumatic growth is manifested. Following a review of relevant literature and presentation of study results, this presentation will outline future directions for research in this emerging area of investigation. PS 20.3. Enhancing Creativity: The Role of Self- and Other-Oriented Motivation Marie Forgeard University of Pennsylvania, USA This presentation will review past research on the determinants of creativity and the efficacy of creativity interventions, as well as report on recent findings suggesting new ways to enhance the creative process. Past research in the fields of psychology, business, and education, has primarily focused on the acquisition of cognitive skills to foster creative thinking abilities. This research has yielded convincing evidence suggesting that individuals can be trained to think more creatively. In addition to cognition, however, motivation may also constitute an important lever of change for creativity. Indeed, creativity is associated with particular motivational profiles, and, in particular, high levels of intrinsic motivation. In keeping with this, past studies have shown that extrinsic factors which decrease intrinsic motivation also impede creative thinking. As a result, scientific guidelines for enhancing the creative process have emphasized the importance of solitary work allowing creators not to be disrupted by external constraints. Supporting the view that creativity thrives in solitude, successful creators have anecdotally reported turning inwards for inspiration, and hoping to be themselves the main beneficiaries of their own work. Yet, in recent decades, growing evidence has demonstrated that other people can constitute an important motivation for creativity and that the creative process can be fueled by prosocial goals in which creative achievements are viewed as opportunities to make positive contributions to the lives of others. This presentation will present new data speaking to the importance of both self-oriented and other-oriented motivational processes for creativity, drawing from a recent study examining the motivations of a sample of artists and scientists. This presentation will propose ways to incorporate these recent motivational insights into a new generation of creativity-enhancing interventions. PS 20.4. The positive role of personality in group creative process Yulia Stepanova Moscow State University, Russia During the latest 60 years period psychology of creativity has mostly focused on group creative process. This is determined by both logic of science and practical demands. Science started with investigation of an isolated creative individual and finally faced the necessity to consider social relations in description and interpretation of individual creative process. Practice has always been concerned about collective work including innovation activity in groups. That’s why brainstorming method suggested by A. Osborn in 1953 gained such a popularity, support and recognition first by practicians and then by scientists as well. It gave hope of group productivity increase and also served as a new methodical instrument for future investigations of group creativity. However research investigating brainstorming power revealed failure of some important assumptions. Clear results of several studies were presented and proved that productivity of interactive group (members exchange ideas face-to-face) is less than those of nominal group (fictional group: members are not in a direct contact, final result is an aggregate of individual products). The analysis of group creative process revealed common factors which inhibit individual creative potential in teamwork: production blocking, social-loafing or free-riding, evaluation apprehension. All in all interpersonal communication was adjudged as negative factor of group productivity and later investigators started trying to decrease and eliminate direct contact in teamwork. The studies became artificial and lost their positive sounding. ur approach is specified with methodological optimism towards teamwork and group creative process. We tried to find mechanisms and factors which stimulate creative solutions in dyads but not limit it. We also regard interpersonal communication as productive positive process importing new quality in creative activity. That’s why we didn’t avoid face-to-face interaction of team members and tried to conduct ecologica lresearch of quasi-experimental type and investigate creative process in free-communicating dyads. The main problem of the present study is the following: is there any positive effect of personal characteristics of dyad members on the productivity and creativity of dyadic solutions in interactive work. The dependent variables are quality and quantity of ideas generated by dyad performing creative task. The independent variables are personality characteristics of dyad members and its combination. We chose those characteristics both associated with creative individual and important for effective interpersonal communication. There are: affiliation, empathy and emotional intellect (EQ). According to the main hypothesis, dyads which members have high “communicative ability” (characteristics indicated above) are productive working face-to-face not less than working in nominal groups. he subjects were 100 high school students who performed creative tasks (Unusual Uses Guilford tasks) separately and in random dyads. Personality characteristics were evaluated later with the following questionnaires: Affiliative Tendency Scale by A. Mehrabian, Emotional Empathic Tendency Scale by A. Mehrabian and N. Epstein, Emotional Intellect Questionnaire by D.Lyusin. The results showed that the more affiliative and empathic both dyadic members are, the more creative are their solutions in interactive work (at the same level as in nominal group work). EQ parameters are negatively correlated with productivity of interactive work. PS 20.5. Creating a better future: Nurturing pupils’ future imagination Weiwen Lin, Mei-Chen Lai, Meng-Hung Chiang, Yin Huang National Taipei University of Education, Taiwan According the hope theory (Snyder, 2002), the goal-directed energy is the key element of hope. The expectation about the future of pupils would affect their health and energy in the reality. The aims of these action researches were to explore how teachers nurtured the future imagination of pupils. Pupils in 3 classes were instructed with the “future imagination program”. The program was developed by 4 stages: exploring the probable future, imaging the possible future, selecting the preferable future and creating the prospective future. And 3 classes were taught by 3 different topics that included 3 levels: individual (myself in 2030), school (future learning center) and community (the future of my hometown). The qualitative data was collected via administrating the imagination test, imaginative disposition inventory and the consensual assessment of the product. The qualitative data was collected via interview, observation and documents analysis. The results indicated that the ability of imagination, the dispositions of imagination was improved. And the pupils performed higher intrinsic motivation of leaning, self-efficacy to success and creativity. PS 20.6. Exploring the Link Between Time Perspective and Global Motivation Antanas Kairys, A. Liniauskaite, I. Urbanaviciute Vilnius University, Lithuania Introduction. This research study is aimed at analysing the link between two broad variables that are thought to be “responsible” for our approach to major life events and for determining our intended actions. The first variable measured in the study is time perspective (TP) which can be defined as a state of mind and as a process “by which individuals automatically partition the flow of their personal experiences into psychological time frames of future, present, and past” (Harber et al., 2003). It is a multidimensional construct, usually categorized into 5 dimensions or time perspectives: past positive TP, past negative TP, present fatalistic TP, present hedonistic TP, and future TP. Some recent research findings suppport the assumption that time perspective might be classified not only as a specific attitude towards our life experiences, but as a rather stable motivational construct as well. In this case, it may be implied that time perspective should be related to other motivational constructs defining our approach towards our intended actions. If it proves to be true, time perpspective might serve as a factor helping to better understand and explain the underlying motivation of our behaviour. Thus, the second variable in the study is global motivation – a construct derived from Self-Determination Theory (Deci, Ryan, 2000) and reflecting a range of people’s motivational orientations toward behaving in general in their life as a whole (from amotivation to intrinsic, autonomous motivation). The goal of the study: to explore the link between time perspective and global motivation (general motivational orientations). Method. Time perspective was measured by the Lithuanian version (Liniauskaite and Kairys, 2009) of a 56-item Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI; Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999). Global motivation was measured by the Lithuanian version of a 28-item Global Motivation Scale (GMS-28; Guay et al., 2003). In total, 177 undergraduates majoring in various subjects took part in the study. Results. Our findings support the general assumption about the link between time perspective and global motivational orientations. Intrinsic motivation proves to be most strongly related to future TP, whereas the analysis of the link between several extrinsic motivation types and TP does not reveal a clear pattern. In the latter case, multiple significant correlations are observed, however extrinsic motivation seems to be mostly related to past negative and present fatalistic TP. Finally, respondents who score high on amotivation show higher preference for present fatalistic TP and less preference for future TP. Conclusion. Findings of this study provide twofold insight: firstly, they serve for a better understanding of the phenomenon of time perspective and its relation to motivational constructs; secondly, these findings add empirical data to the investigation of factors underlying our intended actions and motivation in general. PAPERS PS 21. Theory and metatheory Chair: Aydan Gülerce PS 21.1. Conceptualisations in the literature: flourishing, thriving, and optimal functioning Arabella Ashfield, Jim McKenna, Sue Backhouse Sheffield Hallam University, UK Flourishing is widely known as the presence of mental health (Keyes, 2002) as well as living optimally, connoting goodness, generativity, growth and resilience (Fredrickson & Losada, 2005). However, further different descriptions of flourishing are also in existence, such as individuals who are flourishing are “truly living” (Keyes & Haidt, 2003, p. 6) and broader connections have been made with Aristotle’s conception of Eudaimonia. When these descriptions are compared, authors’ conceptualisations toward different subject areas become visible. The positive psychology constructs of thriving and optimal functioning also appear to share conceptual ground with flourishing, though these also lack clarity in their own positioning within the literature. In order to fully appreciate these different orientations and understand the complex root of flourishing, this paper will present a systematic review of all three terms: flourishing, thriving and optimal functioning. This review attempts to assess the variety and breadth of the subject areas which use the terms, as well as gain some conceptual clarity around the relatedness of thriving and optimal functioning to the concept of flourishing. Electronic databases searched were PsychARTICLES, PsychINFO, SPORTDiscus full text and International Bibliography of Social Science. No time constraints were placed on the search strategy and the three terms were searched by title and subject term. Duplicate articles, book sections, books, theses and editorials were excluded. However, philosophical essays were included due their relevant insight into the eudaimonic foundations of flourishing. A total of 70 articles were retained. The rationale, methods, population samples, and research questions varied across the literature of all three search terms. Seven perspectives were devised: positive psychology, mental health, philosophical, semantic, combination, adversity considered, and adversity required. These seven perspectives group articles together on the basis of the conceptualisation and orientation of the three terms toward specific subject areas of psychology and social science. The review shows clear conceptual overlap between the construct of thriving and flourishing, and the lack of clarity within each term across the scientific literature. Furthermore, this paper will present in detail the current diversity of conceptualisations of the three terms and will raise questions around how they are used in future research as well as initiating debate about whether clearer definitions or conceptualisations of these terms is necessary. PS 21.2. Positing the ‘positive’ in metatheory and social praxis Aydan Gülerce Boğaziçi University, Turkey Positive psychology is called ‘positive’ for it is concerned not with disabling ( ‘negative’) human conditions such as mental illness and suffering, or their absence, but with how to increase authentic happiness of individuals by building on gratifying (‘positive’) emotion. Although there has been a shift in focus from happiness, judged by life satisfaction, to subjective well-being, defined by engagement, positive relationships, accomplishment, meaning, and so on. However, positive psychology has been reluctant to leave traditional methodology, epistemology and ontology of positivist science, whereas some contemporary psychologies make deliberate attempts at relational philosophy and critical praxis for good reasons.Thus, its own ‘optimistic’ aspirations towards increasing well-being, self-efficacy and flourishing of not only individuals but also communities seem to contradict with its underlying ‘pessimistic’ metatheoretical framework and individualistic practice. Therefore, in this presentation I first will delineate some problems that inhere this argument of psychologization, and then will highlight few basic aspects of a potentially enabling and transdisciplinary metatheoretical matrix for present day positive psychology. PS 21.3. The positive psychology evidence for the Big One as a substantive personality Dimension (1090) Eleonora Nosenko, Iryna Arshava, Liliia Ponomarova, Ludmila Baysara. Yana Amineva Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University, Ukraine There is no agreement yet among the personality psychologists whether the General Factor of Personality (GFP) or the Big One , recently extracted from the inter-scale correlations of the Big Five and a number of other personality inventories at the apex of the personality hierarchy (.Rushton, Irwing , 2008, 2010) is a substantive personality dimension or a mere research artifact. While the above mentioned key researchers of the phenomenon state that the GFP evolved as a result of the natural selection for socially desirable behavior and there is evidence of the shared genetic dominance between the GFP, mental and physical health , and life history traits (Figueredo,2010)) , others claim that it might be a result of a common response perspective on otherwise relatively independent traits (.Riemann , .Kandler, 2010). The aim of this presentation is to provide an empirical support and theoretical substantiation of the claim that the GFP is indicative of a socially effective personality. The possibility was examined by using the methods of positive psychology for selecting the relatively more thriving personalities among the university undergraduates, who took a selective course of “Positive Psychology”, and check, if they differed significantly from those having lower levels of their character strengths (VIA-IS .Peterson,.Seligman, 2004), Psychological Well-Being(.Ryff,1989), Satisfaction with Life (SWLS, Ed Diener et al.,1985), Positive and Negative Affectivity Ratio (PANAS, Watson, Clark and Tellegen,1988) , as well as the Big Five (McCrae and Costa , Jr,1987) and The Dark Triad Trait variables ( measured by the adapted MACH -IV, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale). The results of cluster analysis (K-means algorithm) of several samples of participants on their character strength and other positive functioning variables showed that the participants grouped into the clusters with the higher level of the chosen variables appeared also to possess significantly higher levels of four Big Five traits: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience. In every other of several samples the cluster with the higher level of the character strengths, life satisfaction, psychological well-being and other indicants of positive functioning was found out to have lower levels of neuroticism . There was a tendency toward lower levels of Machiavellianism and narcissism in the clusters with the higher character strength values but differences did not reach the level of fit. At the same time , the correlation analysis of the empirical data provided more overt support of the hypothesis : while all the Big Five personality traits, claimed to represent in their manifold the GFP, correlated with all the cumulative values of the positive virtues as predicted, not a single Dark Triad Trait positively correlated with the character strengths and other indicants of the positive personality functioning and all of them had significant negative correlations with the character strengths of “fairness,’ “leadership” , “forgiveness. and gratitude’. Conclusion, The findings provide an ample proof of the statement that the GFP is a substantive personality dimension PS 21.4. The development of a research-instrument to assess the components of Seligman’s (2011) PERMA-theory of well-being Fabian Gander, René T. Proyer, Sara Wellenzohn, Willbald Ruch University of Zurich, Switzerland Philosophers and psychologists have proposed two different routes to happiness: Hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain (life of pleasure), and eudaimonia (life of meaning), the pursuit of a life in accordance to one’s virtues. Seligman (2002) suggested a third route to happiness, the pursuit of flow experiences, which constitutes the life of engagement. The Orientations to Happiness Questionnaire (OTH, Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005; 18 items) has been developed as a subjective measure for these three orientations. In a revision of his theory, Seligman (2011) added two new components; namely positive relationships and accomplishment. According to this well-being theory, the five components positive emotions (not fully overlapping with the life of pleasure), engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (PERMA) contribute to human flourishing. Based on the OTH, we developed a 25-item research-questionnaire for a first approximation of the five components of the PERMA-theory. In a first step, new items reflecting positive relationships and accomplishment were developed. Together with the OTH, about 200 adults completed these items. In subsequent psychometric analyses, the best five items for each of the five scales were retained, resulting in a total of 25 items. The final factorial structure of the scale was analyzed by means of exploratory factor analysis. In a second sample of about 300 adults, the factorial structure was cross-validated. Furthermore, the newly developed questionnaire was validated by examining the correlations with different instruments, including the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985) and the Flourishing scale (Diener et al., 2010). Data analyses and data collection are ongoing and results will be presented and discussed at the conference. Additionally, a first intervention study contrasting awareness for each of the five PERMA-dimensions for 7 consecutive days with a placebo intervention (writing about ones daily routine) is currently being conducted. Preliminary findings for this study will also be reported at the conference. PS 21.5. Motivational Dialogue: The Way To Self-Determination Catherine Patyayeva Moscow State University, Russia The aim of this presentation is to propose a model of the self-determination process, based on the cultural-historical view on human motivation, which can be used as the foundation for developing practical training programs, fostering the ability for self-determination. From the cultural-historical point of view, all of “the higher human capacities”, including higher forms of human motivation – such as free will, making choices and decisions, self-motivation and self-determination – are seen as a result of cultural development of a person in the course of spontaneous socialization, regular education and autonomous activity. And while a lot of people acquire such ‘higher motivational abilities’ spontaneously and without efforts, others should be taught these abilities purposefully – or otherwise they would be submitted to the influences of other people and social institutions. Relying on the concepts of P. Janet, L.S. Vygotsky, M. M. Bakhtin and B. F. Porshnev, the author considers the motivating speech influence to be the universal ‘building block’ both of the complex social motivating systems and of specifically human ‘higher motivational abilities’, including self-determination. The most ancient and simple form of motivating speech impact is hypnotic suggestion, later on more complicated systems of speech motivating emerge, involving authority, prestige, different forms of persuasion, ideology and so on. Our reaction to a speech impact can be different: we can obey or disobey, we can put questions or explain the reasons why the fulfillment of a required action is impossible. And so, our answer can start the more or less extensive motivational dialogue, resulting in some new wishes and decisions leading to future actions. Motivational dialogue includes a lot of elementary motivating speech ‘operations’ such as questioning goals and orders, assuring, giving one’s view, suggesting compromises, standing one’s ground, and the like. On the whole it can be seen as a process of a joint determination of an action. All of the operations of a motivational dialogue can be internalized and fulfilled by one and the same individual speaking with himself, so that the motivational dialogue becomes an inner one. And if the individual himself accomplishes all of the psychological work needed to determine the course of his or her future action, than we should acknowledge that he or she carries out the process of real self-determination. At advanced levels of internalization, inner motivational dialogue often gets heavily reduced and becomes more compact and more concentrated, since inner speech as such being a curtailed and abbreviated form of speech (Vygotsky). In the end it may be reduced to a single word, for instance, to W. James’s ‘Fiat!’, or even to a barely noticeable volition. If so, the most promising way of cultivating the ability for self-determination in children is expanding their opportunities for joint determination of all important for them actions both at school and in family – in contrast, on one hand, to constant giving tasks and ordering children what to do, and, on the other hand, to indulging them in all their wishes. PS 21.6. Cultural Models of the Russian Orthodoxy with Regard to Psychological Autonomy, Human Flourishing and Happiness: A Critical Cultural-Psychological Analysis Valery Chirkov, Boris Knorre University of Saskatchewan, Canada In this presentation, the authors – a cultural psychologist and a religious studies scholar– provide a critical cultural psychological analysis of the cultural models of the ROC with regard to human psychological autonomy, relations of people’s psychological freedom with their happiness and flourishing, and social conditions that promote and facilitate psychological autonomy and happiness. The questions of human nature and the conditions of its thriving from the point of view of the ROC will also be discussed. The ROC is the main religion of Russia and is considered to represent the nature and soul of Russian culture. Its cultural models and behavioral codes strongly influence the social and individual consciousness of the Russian society and its individual members. There were very few attempts to provide a critical analysis of this cultural system with regard to basic conditions of people’s personal growth, happiness, and flourishing. The authors articulate these conditions as psychological autonomy and the culture of horizontality in relationships among people. Founded on the ideas about the nature of human autonomy (Chirkov, 2010, 2011, in press), the presenters outline its basic components: self-generated values and moral norms, mindfulness, reflexivity and rational decision making. Based on the cultural analysis of religious texts, normative documents of the ROC, declarations of its leading representatives and own fieldwork (Knorre, 2010, 2011a, 2011b), the presenters will analyse normative and informal prescriptions of the ROC with regard to people’s nature, behavior, and motivation. Among these prescriptions there are such as ‘obedience (poslushanie)’, ‘humiliation (smirenie)’, ‘inherent sinfulness and guiltiness of human beings’ (iznachal’naya grehovnost’), and their ‘unworthiness’. Relationships between individuals’ autonomy and ‘God’s willpower’ also will be discussed. The issue of intrinsic motivation and ability to enjoy one’s work and life from the perspective of the ROC will be presented. In conclusion, several versions of the humanistic Orthodoxy articulated by a new generation of the Orthodox’ priests will be offered. PAPERS PS 22. Workplace Interventions 2 Chair: Andreas Krafft PS 22.1. Toolkit for leaders – practical positive psychology Gudrun Snorradottir Reykjaviks Department of Education and Youth, Iceland Gudrun Snorradottir is the Head of the Youth Department at the Leisure Center Kampur, which is a part of Reykjaviks Department of Education and Youth. From 2009-2010 she worked as a manager for Kampur, www.kampur.is, which includes around 80 employees. Kampur serves children, teenagers and adults from the age of 6 to 99 in different kind of leisure activities. The aim is to give an example how positive psychology can be used as a toolkit for leaders in organisations. Especially organisations that involves working with children and youth. The presentation will include how the project developed over the year and which steps were taken. Participants will be given some ideas and tools for their role as leaders, using practical positive psychology. Stepping stones of the presentation 1. Working with values as a way of finding the employees common denominator. 2. Building on employees strengths. 3. The human resource centre of Kampur. * After the project it was obvious how this process affected people all the way from leading positions to the people we serve. The main conclusion from this year is that the employees finally had a common denominator which they are most proud of. While working at finding our values, with everybody included, we found a way to empower the staff and make them feel like a real part of the team. The human resource centre of Kampur opened up many new possibilities to flourish at work and helped the staff to gain a new kind of respect and curiosity for their co-workers. At the employees annual job evaluation I noticed a pattern of increasing fulfilment, trust and pride for their organisation. The main results I will share at the presentation, which supports my experience that positive psychology is a powerful tool in management. * The human resource centre of Kampur is a tool we created to document the employees strengths, education, talents and hobbies. PS 22.2. The Practice of Positive Psychology in Hong Kong Police Force Edmond Kam Lun Lau Hong Kong Police Force, Hong Kong The Psychological Services Group of the Hong Kong Police Force has been introducing positive psychology to the organization through a systematic approach to the promotion of happiness and positive emotions among Force members. Such endeavours include conducting “Happiness Do-It-Yourself” workshops in and outreach visits to different police units promulgating the ingredients of happiness (pleasant life, engaged life and meaningful life) and augmenting police officers’ resilience, and (2) utilizing multi-media and -platforms (such as conducting regular seminars, uploading messages through the police intranet, publishing articles in the bi-weekly police newspaper and printing pamphlets, booklets and calendars) to promote the building blocks for a positive living. The presentation will focus on the above model of introducing positive psychology to the Force with a view to enhancing the Force members’ satisfaction in life and general well being. The presentation will also outline a research project being carried out by the Psychological Services Group in the Force among a group of supervisory officers on the effect of positive relaxation (mindfulness-based relaxation training) on the stress level and well being of a group of police officers. The experimental group was taught a set of mindfulness based relaxation techniques on 15 days in a month and the control group just received a lecture on how to be an effective person during the 15 days. The dependent variables included the subjects’ level of stress and subjective well being. The results are being analyzed and will be ready by May 2012. PS 22.3. The Added Value of the Positive: A Literature Review of Positive Psychology Interventions in Organizations Maria Christina Meyers, Marianne van Woerkom, Arnold B. Bakker Tilburg University, Netherlands After the emergence of positive psychology around the turn of the century, it quickly gained popularity amongst organizational researchers and led to distinct research streams such as positive organizational behavior and positive organizational scholarship. Experts in those research fields assume that the application of positive psychology to the workplace will lead to valued outcomes for individuals (e.g. well-being) and organizations (e.g. performance). In order to test this assumption, our paper aims at providing a first review of intervention studies that build on the principles of positive psychology and that are conducted in organizational settings. We thereby want to shed light on the proposed relationship between positive psychology at the workplace and individual and organizational outcomes, identify avenues for future research in this field, and provide practitioners with an overview of applicable interventions and their effects. We conducted an extensive literature search to identify studies that tested the effects of positive psychology interventions in organizational contexts with experimental or quasi-experimental designs. For the purpose of this study, we characterized a positive psychology intervention as any intentional activity or method that is based on (a) the cultivation of positive subjective experiences, (b) the building of positive individual traits, (c) the building of civic virtue and positive institutions. It is important to note that under part (a) of the definition falls any intervention that understands positive subjective experiences as part of the intervention method (e.g., remembering sacred moments) and not just as a byproduct that happens to appear in consequence of the intervention. Literature search in the electronic databases PsychINFO, ISI Web of Science, and ABI/Inform resulted in 1439 hits. After excluding papers that did not fit our selection criteria (intervention study, experimental or quasi-experimental designs, organizational sample, written in English, published in peer-reviewed journals in the time-span 2000-2011), 117 papers were examined in greater detail. Out of those, 15 were identified as suitable for our review. Subsequent analyses of those studies revealed that positive psychology interventions consistently enhance employee well-being. As a side-effect, PPIs also tend to diminish stress and burnout and to a lesser extent depression and anxiety. Results for effects on performance were mixed, but should not be overemphasized due to a lack of studies investigating performance as an outcome measure. Moreover, investigation of studies that tested moderating mechanisms hinted at a greater effectiveness of PPIs for individuals who score low on happiness. All in all, we can conclude that positive psychology interventions seem to be a valuable tool for organizations which adds value especially in terms of enhanced employee well-being. According to the happy-productive worker thesis, enhanced employee well-being is beneficial for an organization because of its positive effect on performance. In addition, this overview of the research at hand identified a need for future studies that focus on measuring performance as an outcome, on investigating possible moderators and mediators of the positive psychology intervention – outcome relationship, or on group- and organizational-level interventions. PS 22.4. Organizational Development and Personal Well-Being Andreas Krafft University of St. Gallen, Switzerland Managers in organizations ought to promote and implement innovations as well as change processes professionally. They are supposed to think and act entrepreneurially and manage innovation activities smoothly. To be able to achieve these demands, company owners and HR managers very often expect certain personality strengths from their senior and junior managers. Over all, managers are asked to be ‘resilient’, that means stress resistant, and able to cope with difficult situations such as persistent work overload, frustration and tensions among colleagues. Such expectations and requirements often drive managers to the limits of their own possibilities (and sometimes beyond); especially since not all managers possess these kinds of attributes and because personality traits are very difficult or even impossible to change at this stage. The purpose of this presentation is to introduce an organizational development conceptual framework, which, rooted in the positive psychology thinking and in the St. Gall Management Model, links innovation and change with the personal sense of well-being of managers. Reverting to Antonovsky’s Salutogenic model we argue, that the sense of coherence is a general phenomena, which help people – especially managers – to cope with complexity, handling external challenges and leading innovation and change processes more smoothly while at the same time improving their sense of well-being. Based on three quantitative research studies among more than 300 managers we are able to show first empirical findings supporting the conceptual model and define lines for further research. Data was analyzed with SPSS and AMOS in four steps: 1. Explorative factor analysis and a reliability test; 2. Classification and Regression Trees to explore dependencies between variables; 3. Design of suitable confirmatory structural equation models; 4. Post-hoc analysis to identify relevant demographic sub-groups. The perception of an overall top-management commitment to an innovation strategy depends primarily on the experienced quality of the management processes for innovation. Furthermore, the sense of coherence and the perception of the quality of management processes for innovation are mutually interdependent. Finally, on the one hand, the perceived quality of the innovation strategy was the main predictor for the perceived innovation success and, on the other hand, the sense of coherence strongly correlated with the perceived well-being as measured by the short form of the mental health continuum. The empirical data supported (or at least did not contradict) our assumption, that the innovation capacity of managers emerges from the mutual influence of the directly experienced management processes for innovation and the sense of coherence as perceived by the respondents. This phenomenon has a strong effect on how managers at all levels of the organization perceive the quality of the innovation strategy and this, consequently, determines the appreciation of the innovation success of the entire organization and at the same time the level of personal well-being of the individual managers. PS 22.5. Inspiring impression non- management: The effect of authentic leadership on employees’ authenticity and positive emotions Dana Yagil, Hana Medler-Liraz University of Haifa, Israel Background Authenticity is defined as “owning one’s personal experiences, be they thoughts, emotions, needs, wants, preferences, or beliefs”, and implying that “one acts in accord with the true self, expressing oneself in ways that are consistent with inner thoughts and feelings” (Harter, 2002, p. 382). High authenticity relates to aspects of healthy psychological and interpersonal functioning and wellbeing, including high self-esteem, life satisfaction (Goldman & Kernis, 2002), and quality of relationships (e.g., Brunell et al., 2010). However, research suggests that workplaces often encourage impression management (Higgins, Judge, & Ferris, 2003), especially in service contexts where organizations inhibit employees’ authentic behavior by means of display rules (Diefendorff & Croyle, 2008). Yet, Social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) suggest that through role-modeling authentic leaders may increase followers’ authenticity. Because authenticity involves striving to achieve truthfulness in relationships (Illes et al., 2005), authentic leaders’ honesty sets a personal example in interpersonal interactions, thus evoking a sense of identification among followers and generating aspirations to be like the leader by also behaving honestly (Ilies et al., 2005). Furthermore, Walumbwa et al. (2010) suggested that, because authentic leaders convey their thoughts, emotions and values through actions, their followers not only identify with those values and beliefs but also internalize them as their own ( Ilies et al., 2005). Accordingly, authentic leadership may enhance follower authenticity in service encounters when employees internalize values of authentic self- expression (Walumbwa et al., 2010) and extend them to their own interaction with customers Aims of study To examine the effect of authentic leaders on employees’ authenticity and positive emotions in service encounters. Methods Respondents were 76 undergraduate students working in part-time service jobs, who participated in the study in exchange for credit for a research-participation requirement. For two weeks, participants completed a set of measures after each of five shifts as service providers, recording the number of customers served per shift, the number of authentic experiences during the shift, and the level of positive emotions experienced during the shift. Two weeks later, participants also completed a measure concerning the authentic leadership of their direct supervisor. A total of 380 service experiences were recorded. Results The data were analyzed with Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM), which takes into consideration the nested structure of the data. Results of the HLM analyses indicate that leader authenticity is related to followers’ authenticity in service encounters. In addition, followers’ authenticity was found to fully mediate the relationship of leader authenticity with followers’ positive emotions during service encounters. Conclusions Although the service environment is constrained by display rules and service scripts promoting inauthenticity rather than authentic self- expression, authentic leaders enhance followers’ authenticity in their interactions with customers, and consequently influence employees’ experience of positive emotions in the interaction. This suggests that positive attitudes toward authentic behavior may have been internalized by followers and affected their behavior in various contexts. PAPERS PS 23. Aging Chair: Lea Pulkkinen PS 23.1. Well-Being and Big Five Personality Traits in Mid-Adulthood: Continuity, Mutual Associations, and Predictors Katja Kokko, Lea Pulkkinen University of Jyväskylä, Finland Background It has been shown, based on the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (JYLS), that well-being consists of emotional, psychological and social well-being as well as of a lack of depression, and that a latent factor based on these indices is very stable from age 36 to 42 (Kokko et al., 2012). The stability estimate of .84 is close to that of the Big Five personality traits in the same study (Rantanen et al., 2007). Steel et al. (2008) indicated that the Big Five traits explained 40 to 60% of the variance in emotional well-being. Sense of coherence, an indicator of positive psychological functioning, was highly associated with low neuroticism in the present longitudinal study (Feldt et al., 2007). Less is known about the associations between the Big Five traits and psychological and social well-being. In the JYLS, early socioemotional characteristics were connected to adult personality traits (Pulkkinen et al., in press), but they were not directly associated with well-being. Socioemotional characteristics were linked both to career success (Pulkkinen et al., 2006) and social capital (Pulkkinen et al., 2011) which, in turn, explained well-being. The aims of our study First, we analyzed whether the relative continuity of well-being and personality traits is high when age 50 is considered. Second, we investigated concurrent and longitudinal links between different indices of well-being and personality traits in adulthood. Third, we examined common and different childhood and adolescent roots of well-being and personality traits. The methods used The present study is based on the JYLS, where the same participants (initial N = 369, 53% males) have been followed from age 8 to 50 years (Pulkkinen, 2009); information collected at ages 8, 14, 33/36, 42, and 50 was employed here. Many well-known measures were used, such as NEO Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1989), Scales of Psychological Well-Being (Ryff, 1989), and Scales of Social Well-Being (Keyes, 1998). Life satisfaction (an indicator of emotional well-being) is based on an individual’s assessment of his or her satisfaction with different life domains. Information about childhood and adolescent characteristics was based on teacher ratings. Summary of the results Tentative analyses indicated, firstly, that the relative continuity of the traits, life satisfaction, and psychological and social well-being remains high from age 42 to 50. Secondly, neuroticism, extraversion and agreeableness are significantly related to well-being at age 50 in both genders. The associations of conscientiousness and openness with well-being are gender-specific. Thirdly, socioemotional characteristics are more highly associated with female than male well-being in adulthood. Conclusions The relative continuity of personality traits and well-being is similarly high until age 50 and their mutual associations are, in some respects, notable. However, the predictors differ: behavioral activity in childhood predicts male temperamental extraversion in middle age (Pulkkinen et al., in press), but the present study suggests that for females, behavioral activity is a resource factor for adult well-being. PS 23.2. Perceived Social Support from Friends as a Mediator in the Relationship between Social Independence and Positive Affect in the Sample of Middle-Old and Oldest-Old Mithat Durak, Emre Senol-Durak Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey Current literature suggests that demographic variables and perceived social support influence the affective components of subjective well-being particularly positive affect. Additionally, the role of social independence on positive affect has been investigated mainly in adolescent samples. To examine the contribution of demographic variables, social independence and social support received from friends on positive affect, data are collected from 329 middleold and oldest-old adults (Range of age =75-99 years) (176 females and 153 males). Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Functional Independence Measure, Positive Form of Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and Demographic Information Form are administered to the participants. According to the results of structural equation modeling, perceived social support from friends mediates the relationship between socio-demographic variables, functional independence and positive affect. Being male, higher education and higher income in the latent variable of socio-demographic variables, higher functional independence, and higher perceived social support from friends are associated with higher positive affect. The study advances the scientific understanding of social resources and their impact on individual well-being. PS 23.3. Materialism and Psychological Well-being among Older People in Hong Kong (837) Yau-tsang Chan, David R. Phillips, Oi-ling Siu Lingnan University, Hong Kong Abstract Empirical research indicates that materialism, the importance people place on acquisition or possession of material goods, is negatively related to psychological well-being. “Materialists” have been seen in popular and academic studies as potentially self-centered and concerned about the acquisition for themselves. Research by Kilbourne and LaForge (2010) shows that materialism is negatively correlated with value system such as self-transcendence. In other words, if people are more materialistic, they would tend to be less concerned about welfare of others. Many researchers are interested in investigating psychological effects of materialism, yet, studies among older people are rare. So, less is known about materialism and older persons. When people grow older, will they still care about material acquisition as much as when they were younger? Will materialism manifest itself in another way, with another ‘beneficiary’, among the older cohort? Hong Kong has a fairly rapidly ageing population in which 14% are aged 65 in 2011 and about 24% of the population are expected to be 65+ in 2025. Given that Hong Kong is also predominantly a Chinese society; this makes it an ideal place to study the well-being of older people in a specifically Chinese cultural context. The current study attempts to look at materialism among older Chinese from a novel perspective—their expectations of the materialistic welfare of their children. A new 3-item scale was developed to measure these kinds of expectation. The study also looks at the relationships between materialism, life satisfaction and other demographic variables such as gender and educational level. A total of 170 older adults aged 65 to 90 were successfully interviewed. Among the participants, 41 were males and 129 were females. The results provide validation evidence for the 9-item version of Materialism as Value System (MVS) Scale developed by Richins (2004), with internal consistency of 0.75 (p<.05). Internal consistency of the new 3-item measurement of materialistic expectations regarding the second generation was 0.80 (p<0.5). Result of t-test shows that the mean score for materialistic expectation for the second generation was significantly higher than the MVS scale (t=-13.543, p<.01), demonstrating that participants were more concerned about the materialistic welfare of their children than themselves. Both scales were found to be negatively associated with the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), after controlling for age, gender, education level, marital status and housing type (β=-.32, p<.001 and β=-.24, p<.001). The study also found that education level was negatively related to MVS and materialistic expectation for offspring (β=-.22, p<.001 and β=-.25, p<.001). In sum, the findings show that participants are in general more concerned about the material welfare of their next generation, rather than their own. This may to an extent explain certain earlier findings about the decline of materialism with age. Being more materialistic does not necessarily mean one is less concerned with welfare of others. The result provide insights on the value changes of older people and how these may affect their well-being in a Chinese context, which should helps an understanding of positive ageing. PS 23.4. The Well-Elderly: The Role of Character Strengths in Ageing Well Emma Kirkby-Geddes, Ann Macaskill Sheffield Hallam University, UK Background Today, in the UK and in many European countries, the fiscal reality of a large ageing population dependent on a state pension, has led to major changes in pension and retirement legislation. This means that for the majority of people, working beyond what is currently considered retirement age may well become a reality. In addition as the lifespan increases, people will spend a proportionately longer part of their lives as ‘elderly’. Therefore attitudes to, and expectations of old age are likely to become increasingly debated. It can be argued that ‘being-well’ which includes physical and mental well-being will become more necessary if elderly people are to be expected to meet the demands of the work environment. Research is increasingly showing that there is a positive relationship between good mental health and physical health. Therefore exploration of the psychological determinants of ageing well is pertinent and psychologists are increasingly turning to positive psychology to do this. Psychology has traditionally focused on clinical populations with relatively little attention paid to the psychology of normal people. However this group – the well-elderly - is likely to account for an increasing proportion of the elderly population and understanding the psychological determinants of what makes and keeps them well is pertinent. Aims of study • To explore the role of the character strengths of hope, curiosity, optimism, gratitude and forgiveness to well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic) in older adults. • To develop a more rounded conceptualisation of old age that includes consideration of strengths, gains and potentiality. Methods used A cross-sectional quantitative study using self-report questionnaires (on-line/paper). Participants: 300 plus. UK based sample. Ages 65-85, who are still employed and/or engaging with continued social and/or educational activities and/or caring responsibilities. Measures: Character strengths (hope, curiosity, optimism, gratitude and forgiveness) and well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic). An additional population of the ‘less well-elderly’ will be captured by the questions on chronic pain and the General Health Questionnaire -12. The inclusion of a ‘less-well’ cohort may provide some interesting comparisons within our sample. In addition, variables relating to Self-Determination Theory (SDT) will be included to measure the extent to which autonomy, competence and relatedness variables are present in the environment. The character strengths of gratitude and forgiveness have a strong religious and spiritual dimension. Religiosity and spirituality are also explored as a covariate in this study with the well-elderly. Results obtained / theoretical advancements Relationships between all the variables will be explored and predictors of well-being examined. Conclusions The study will provide evidence for the contribution that positive psychology can make to our understanding of wellbeing in this increasingly important population. It will also add to the literature which is re-defining old age in a positive way by providing evidence for a positive conceptualisation. PS 23.5. The Predictive Role of Self-Esteem beyond Environmental and Personal Resources on Late-Life Depression Mithat Durak, Emre Senol-Durak Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey The current study investigated the predictive role of self-esteem on late life depression in a sample of 906 elderly (434 females and 472 males). Geriatric Depression Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Functional Independence Measure, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, and Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale are administered to the participants. According to the results of five-step hierarchical multiple regression analysis, beyond socio-demographic variables, perceived social support, physical and social independency, and coping styles, self-esteem significantly predict the late life depression . Increase in the number of children, not working, lower education in the first step, lower perceived social support from friends and significant others in the second step, lower physical independence in the third step, lower planfull problem-solving, lower seeking social support, and higher accepting responsibility coping styles in the fourth step, and lower self-esteem in the final step are associated with late life depression. The results are discussed in the frame of theoretical and methodological perspectives of self-esteem on late life depression PS 23.6. Aspirations and the Search for Meaning across Adulthood: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Jess Morgan, Oliver Robinson University of Greenwich, UK Background and Aims Despite the conceptual overlap between aspirations and personal meaning, research that looks at the inter-relation of these constructs across adult age groups and sexes is lacking. Studies have found evidence that personal aspirations evolve with age (e.g. Kasser & Ryan, 1996; Nurmi, 1992; Sheldon & Kasser, 2001), and also that the experience of personal meaning changes across adult age groups (e.g. Reker, 2011). The study to be presented here attempts to forge a developmentally-focused link between aspirations and personal meaning in relation to adult age. A further aim is to address ambiguous gender differences in relation to aspirations and personal meaning (cf. Reker, Peacock & Wong, 1987; Steger, 2009). When the positive end of the mental health spectrum is considered, findings generally suggest that women have greater psychological well-being (Ryff, 1995) and a greater intrinsic content to their aspirations (Kasser & Ryan, 1996; Schwartz & Rubel, 2005). However, the need remains for more research that considers the aspirations of older adults. Method Our study examined adult age and sex differences in self-reported aspirations and personal meaning. Young, midlife and older adults (n = 2557) from the UK and USA completed an online survey of their aspiration striving, aspiration importance, and multi-dimensional personal meaning (subscales of Purposeful Life, Exciting Life, Accomplished Life, Principled Life, Valued Life). Predictions were made in line with humanistic and gerontology theories which suggest that sources of personal meaning consolidate across the lifespan towards intrinsically motivated pursuits. Women were also predicted to be more intrinsically aspirational than men. Results Findings generally supported our predictions, showing that while there was a tendency for aspirations to decline with age overall, the proportion of intrinsically motivated aspirations (which we termed intrinsicality) increased, as did total meaning and the inter-relationship between meaning and intrinsic aspirations. Intrinsicality of aspirations related positively to personal meaning in every age group, with significantly stronger correlations shown in midlife and older age than in young adulthood. There were also gender differences in personal meaning and aspirations which suggested a more pronounced midlife dip in intrinsic and purposive goal striving for men than women, and a greater focus on intrinsic aspirations in women irrespective of age. The relationship between gender and meaning was moderated by age, suggesting that in older adulthood, men catch up with women in their tendency to view life as meaningful and significant. Conclusions Intrinsicality of aspirations was less strongly associated with personal meaning in young adulthood than in midlife or later life, which may relate to the more adaptive function of extrinsic pursuits in young adulthood, and the importance attached to intrinsically motivated pursuits in older adults (Carstensen & Mikels, 2005). Our findings can be interpreted as evidence for developmental/maturational changes or alternatively as cohort differences. Developmental and cohort interpretations of these findings and directions for further research will be discussed. PAPERS PS 24. Positive Psychology in virtual reality Chair: Fabian Gander PS 24.1. Adolescent computer use and important life outcomes Tatiana Rippinen, E. R. Slobodskaya Research Institute of Physiology, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Russia The aim of the present study was to explore the structure of adolescent computer/Internet activities and their links with a broad spectrum of competencies, problems and psychosocial functioning. The sample were self-reports of 993 adolescents (50% female) aged 14-18 years. Participants were recruited through schools; the majority of the sample was in grades 8 and 10. Computer/Internet behaviours were measured by frequency and duration of use and the amount of time spent on different computer activities (games, photo/video, installing/configuring, programming, drawing/ designing, writing/editing) and on the Internet (net games; e-mail; information search; chat communication). Life outcomes included academic achievement, self-esteem, prosocial behaviour, emotional and behavioural problems and substance use. Factor analysis of adolescent computer/Internet behaviours revealed five dimensions. The first factor, Intensity, was negatively associated with self-esteem and positively related to hyperactivity and conduct problems. The second factor, Games, was negatively associated with academic achievement and positively related to male gender and substance use, gender differences accounted for 25% of the variance. The third factor of Advanced use (installing/ configuring, programming and drawing/designing) was associated with male gender, prosocial behaviour, academic achievement and peer problems. The fourth factor of Common use (watching photo/video, search, drawing/designing and writing/editing) was positively related to age and emotional symptoms. The fift h Social factor (e-mail and chat communication) was negatively associated with age, academic achievement and peer problems and positively related to self-esteem, prosocial behaviour and hyperactivity. PS 24.2. Optimal Experience in Virtual Environments: A Decade of Studies Alexander Voiskounsky Moscow State University, Russia Positive psychology related studies in computer/Internet-mediated environments started in early 1990s, the methodology of optimal (flow) experience proved to be promising. This type of studies is developing in Russia for over ten years; the paper sums up various studies done within this time period. All these studies are published in English: for a brief review, see [1], [2]. Flow is taken as a complex motivational state, not to be confused with other psychological states, such as for example computer/Internet addiction. Flow belongs to entirely positive states, while any addiction is an entirely negative psychological state. Thus, flow is a valuable parameter to be used while performing web/soft ware usability studies. Flow is helpful in constructing emotionally comfortable cyberspace environments and prospective soft ware products. In a series of studies it is shown that flow is a common motivating element for online gamers in four ethnic groups such as Chinese, Americans, French and Russians. This proves a guess that optimal experience is a basic element in one of the most well-grounded explanations of world-wide attractiveness of playing massive multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPGs), and very likely other types of video, computer and/or console games. A nonlinear model of the development of flow experience in computer hackers’ activities is worked out: flow depends on the balance between the challenges the hackers take and the skills they possess – skills in competent computer usage, not necessarily in the use of specific soft ware programs for hackers. Flow is shown to develop in a step-like manner which includes “flow crisis gaps”, i.e. shorter or longer periods during which hackers do not report of optimal experience. The flow crisis gap periods are promising for the hackers’ dropouts due to eventual loss of interest in new hacking related challenges. This nonlinear model shows prospective directions of educational work aimed at transforming computer hackers into qualified experts in computer science and computer security, or any other problem area which responds to their particular interests. Flow experience should be considered among major and most constructive dimensions pertinent for estimating new and old virtual environments and for designing/re-designing these environments. The notion of flow is an entirely human-centric dimension, which should not be underestimated. Both scholars and producers of new technologies need to work jointly in order to establish reliable standards to ensure that the would-be users of prospective virtual environments are likely to experience flow. This type of theoretical and empirical work, while being of global importance, suggests that it might be performed in a series of cross-cultural projects. PS 24.3. Web-based Story Editing Interventions to Support Students at Risk and to Address Possible Stereotype Threat Alten Du Plessis Stellenbosch University, South Africa Background In ‘’Whistling Vivaldi’’ Steele focuses on the phenomenon of stereotype threat as it explains the trend of minority underperformance in higher education. Steele discusses how identity contingencies can have a drastic negative effect on a person’s functioning, and how these effects can explain racial and gender performance gaps in academic performance. Steele also offers a host of strategies for reducing stereotype threat, including story editing approaches. In “Redirect” Wilson reports on a study in which college freshmen who were worrying about their grades and not doing well academically were targeted with a simple story editing intervention. Compared to a randomly assigned control group of students who didn’t get any information about grade improvement, those who got the story prompt achieved better grades in the following year and were less likely to drop out of college. Trends over the last decade at Stellenbosch University indicate that a large percentage of first-year students underperform during their first year, that white students (the majority) outperform non-white students at undergraduate level and that male engineering students achieve better first-year grades than females (the minority). This clearly opens the door for story editing interventions. Aims The aims of this study were to collect evidence of possible stereotype threat by studying trends in retention, weighted first-year performance and throughput rates per race, gender and faculty level over the last ten cohorts, and to design web-based story editing interventions that could possibly be used to improve performance (like Wilson) and address signs of stereotype threat (like Steele). A simulation was built in 2011, the interventions will be undertaken in 2012 and its effect will be traced in 2013. Description Sophisticated management information systems were used to study the retention, success and throughput rates as well as the weighted first-year performances of the last ten first-year cohorts in order to find evidence of possible stereotype threat at our university and to identify the struggling first-year students that may also benefit from story editing interventions. Web-based story editing interventions were designed for all struggling first-year students as well as for non-white students and female engineering students who might experience the consequences of stereotype threat. Each intervention first tells the student’s own life story (compiled from his/her biographical information) and then continues to provide the life stories of students very similar to the student (in terms of race, gender, home language, type of accommodation, financial support, field of study, grade 12 results and weighted average after the first semester at university (if appropriate)) and, very importantly, who were successful at university. It is hoped that these role models will inspire students to excel academically. Our simulation targeted 3810 different students with these web-based stories. See http://www.sun.ac.za/trackwell/direct11/example.htm for examples. Conclusion Clear evidence was found that confirms the strong possibility of the presence of stereotype threat. Novel ways were used to construct web-based story editing intervention to address this threat and to inspire struggling first-year students. PS 24.4. Further evidence on the effects of online Positive Psychology Interventions Fabian Gander, René T. Proyer, Sara Wellenzohn, Willibald Ruch University of Zurich, Switzerland Developing strategies on how to enhance one’s well-being is one of the central topics of Positive Psychology. Various such strategies (Positive Psychology Interventions, PPIs) have been proposed and empirically tested (e.g., Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). Despite the evidence on the effectiveness of deliberate PPIs, replications or extensions of findings, as well as testing for long-term effects are rare. The present study aims at replicating and extending the findings of Seligman, Steen, Park, and Peterson (2005). The study pursues three research questions; namely, (1) Are the positive effects for interventions tested by Seligman et al. (2005; i.e., gratitude visit, three good things, using signature strengths in a new way) replicable under the condition that participants are not informed about a potential impact of the interventions on their well-being? (i.e., not advertising the study as a study for enhancing the well-being but rather further strengthening ones strengths); (2) Are variations of the duration of the intervention (i.e., three good things for two weeks), or the application of a functioning intervention method to a different strength (i.e., three funny things instead of three good things), or the combination of two interventions (i.e., gratitude visit and three good things) equally effective or even more effective than the initial interventions?; and (3) Are other positive interventions that have already been tested, effectively applied in an online setting (i.e., counting kindness, gift of time, and another door opens)? A sample of 622 adults participated in an Internet-based study. They were randomly assigned to one of nine experimental groups or a placebo control group (i.e., early memories). Participants completed measures on happiness (Satisfaction with Life Scale; Diener et al., 1985) and depression (Centre for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale; Radloff, 1977) on five time periods (pre- & posttest, one-, three- and six months follow-up). Results showed that the interventions were effective, replicating earlier findings. Happiness increased in eight out of the nine experimental groups to at least one time period. Depressive symptoms decreased in all groups, including the placebo group. Possible mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of interventions and perspectives on future research will be discussed. PS 24.5. Wellness Research and Development to Enhance Academic Performance: Identifying Predictors and Building Web-based Tools (1103) Alten Du Plessis, H. L. Botha, H. Menkveld Stellenbosch University, South Africa Background The Alpha Baseline Questionnaire (ABQ) is administered to first-year students at Stellenbosch University at the beginning of the academic year. The ABQ is a web-based questionnaire consisting of 160 items that cover six wellness dimensions: physical, emotional, intellectual, social, occupational and spiritual. Since it was first launched in 2002 more than 25000 students have completed this questionnaire. The ABQ is used to build an initial profile of first-year students and to provide and facilitate appropriate support services. ABQ information is also combined with biographical and performance data to build prediction models that identify qualitative and quantitative variables that influence academic performance. The results thereof led to the development of web-based tools that support the development of skills and attitudes related to the qualitative (wellness) variables – academic performance should improve if these wellness needs are addressed. Aims During the first phase of this ten year project the main research aim was to identify wellness related variables that influence academic performance. Once effective prediction models were built the emphasis shifted to the development of web-based multimedia tools that support the development of good wellness habits. Research Both regression and advanced neural network technology were used to build prediction models. These models clearly identified wellness related variables as important predictors of first-year academic performance – grade 12, however, remained the single best predictor. A complementary and interesting finding was that wellness per grade 12 level matters: The more well students outperformed the less well students with similar grade 12 levels during the first year at university. Development The following internet and multimedia resources on wellness topics were collected, developed or purchased over the last couple of years (http://www0.sun.ac.za/flourish/ecppwell.htm): 1. Wellness websites by experts; 2. Wellness websites specifically for university students, developed by psychologists; 3. YouTube videos; 4. LearnWell4Life, a study and wellness skills DVD, specially produced (locally) and available online; 5. A large collection of ebooks, audio books and other mp3 recordings; 6. Skill development packages; and 7. Journal-based, self-coaching modules on wellness. Internet-based surveys with immediate feedback and individualized recommendations were developed next. They recommend/guide students to consult appropriate resources from the list above. Examples include: 8. An early support survey for struggling first-year students; 9. A wellness index that determines how well you are, with recommendations (resources); 10. A wellness web resources survey; 11. A wellness video allocation survey; 12. A HelpMe support survey for students, with links to a huge collection of wellness resources; and 13. A Potential Optimization Support Survey (POSS) for students who want to flourish. Illustration The main aim of the POSS is to support the developmental needs of university students by providing individualized multimedia resources that address the unique developmental needs of each student. A student with the need to optimise his/her study skills will, for example, be advised to watch the LearnWell4Life DVD on the intranet and listen to audio books. Sets of multimedia resources were compiled for 19 developmental needs. PAPERS PS 25. School Climate Chair: Tamara Gordeeva PS 25.1. Profiles of School Anxiety: Differences in Social Climate and Peer Violence (1033) Jose Manuel Garcia-Fernandez, Cándido José Inglés, María del Carmen Martínez-Monteagudo, María Soledad Torregrosa, Beatriz Delgado University of Alicante, Spain School anxiety is defined as a set of symptoms grouped into cognitive, physiological and motor responses emitted by a subject in school situations that are perceived as threatening and / or dangerous. Between school relevant variables, school anxiety is influenced by the perception of social climate and the daily violence observed by the students in the school. The aim of this study was to identify whether there are different combinations of school anxiety-provoking situations leading to different anxious profiles. Furthermore, it claims to verify whether there are differences between these profiles on the variables of perception of social climate and peer violence. The sample consists of 365 students aged from 12 to 16 years old (M = 13.71; SD = 1.47). The distribution of the sample was as follows: 1st course of Secondary Education (57 males and 53 females), 2nd course (65 males and 46 females), 3rd course (36 males and 25 females) and 4th course (52 males and 31 females). The Chi-square test for homogeneity of frequency distribution revealed the lack of statistically significant differences among the eight Gender x Course groups (2 = 2.46; p = .482). School anxiety was measured with the School Anxiety Inventory (SAQ; Garcia-Fernandez, Ingles, Martinez-Monteagudo, Marzo & Estevez, 2011). The SAQ measures seven factors: four school situations (Anxiety faced with School Failure and Punishment, Anxiety faced with Aggression, Anxiety faced with Social Evaluation, and Anxiety faced with School Evaluation), and three anxiety response systems (Cognitive, Physiological, and Behaviour). The social climate was measured with the School Social Climate Questionnaire (Trianes, Blanca, de la Morena, Infante & Raya, 2006). It has two factors: (a) School Climate and (b) Teacher Climate. And peer violence was measured with the Daily School Violence Questionnaire (Fernández-Baena et al., 2011). It has two factors: (a) Personal Experience of Suffering Violence and (b) Observed School Violence. Cluster analyses have identified three profiles of school anxiety. The results indicated statistically significant differences between the three profiles in relation to the climate variables related to teachers between groups with low and high school anxiety and personal experience of suffering violence between groups with low and middle school anxiety among the group with low and high school anxiety. The magnitude of the differences found was low to moderate. The findings of this study are relevant because they provide a more comprehensive analysis of school anxiety and differences in other relevant variables in education, such as the school social climate and peer violence. PS 25.2. Flow experience of Japanese junior high school students while attending classes and its effects on their attitude toward learning and social skills Kiyoshi Asakawa, Kazuhiro Akita, Makoto Aiba, Kazuhiro Ikuma, Takeshi Kameyama Hosei University, Japan Previous research has shown that flow is positively associated with commitment and achievement in academic work. More recently, we have witnessed several attempts to apply flow theory to educational settings. However, these investigations have been conducted mostly in Western countries, and scarcely in non-Western countries. In such circumstances, Hamamatsu Junior High School took a step toward applying flow theory in class settings for the first time in Japan. The school developed curricula based on the theory in order to help not only for its students’ academic development, but also their psycho-social development, by introducing as many group activities as possible in class. As a part of the project, this study examined how the Japanese junior high school students’ flow experience would affect their attitude toward learning and social skills. Participants were a total of 357 Japanese junior high school students (171 males and 186 females). A modified version of the Flow Questionnaire was used to measure the frequency of flow in class settings. To measure the students’ attitude toward learning, a scale was also administered, which was composed of 5 subscales, namely: “motivation for learning,” “flexibility in thought and behavior,” “openness to new things,” “sense of the meaning of life,” and “future aim.” In addition, Kikuchi’s social skill scale was used to measure the students’ levels of social skills. These three measures were administered in May, December, and February of the 2010 academic year. In addition, at the end of all 4 classes on 3 normal days in the second term of the 2010 academic year (in November), the students were asked to fill out a Class Experience Form (CEF), which was designed to elicit information on their class activities, perceived levels of skills and challenges, and other psychological states while they were attending classes. Thus, each student evaluated at most 12 class experiences. Then, it was calculated what percentage of classes was classified as in the flow condition (high challenge/high skill), as well as each student’s average intensity of flow experience in the 12 evaluated classes - the composite of a set of CEF experiential variables, concentration, enjoyment, interest, and Jujitsu-kan (a Japanese sense of fulfillment), which are expected to be concurrently high in flow. The results showed that the classes, evaluated as in the flow condition by the students, created an optimal state of experience for them. Moreover, correlational analyses showed that the students’ increase in the flow experience while attending classes from May 2010 to February 2011 was positively associated with their increases in the levels of 4 out of 5 aspects of attitude toward learning as well as social skills. In addition, a series of regression analyses showed that the students’ percentage of classes in the flow condition and their average intensity of flow, as measured in November 2010, predicted their attitude toward learning and social skills measured in February 2011. The results appear to indicate the potential that flow has to promote academic as well as psycho-social development. PS 25.3. Appreciative Inquiry as a process for leading positive school change: A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of appreciative inquiry in a whole-staff appreciative inquiry school summit Lea Waters, Mathew White, Simon Murray University of Melbourne, Australia Background Researchers in the fields of positive psychology and positive organisational scholarship have argued for the application of positive-based and appreciative-based techniques to create enabling and virtuous institutions (Peterson,2006; Cameron & Spreitzer, 2011) . Within the field of education, Hay and Tarter (2011) have recently called for the use of approaches that bring a “more sophisticated understanding of the good things about schools” (p.434). Similarly, Pukey and Novak (2008) urge school leaders to “make school a more exciting, satisfying and enriching experience for everyone – all students, all staff and all visitors” (p. 19). Aims of study Following the calls above, this study examined the effectiveness of a whole-staff appreciative inquiry summit conducted at St Peter’s College, Adelaide, Australia. One hundred and fift y staff participated in a one-day AI summit to collaboratively identify the positive core of the school as a platform for operationalising the school’s new strategic agenda and becoming a positive psychology school. Methods A mixed method design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the summit. Quantitative surveys were used to assess the impact of the day on staff ’s positive affect, negative affect, job satisfaction and perceptions of organizational virtues. The survey also included 3 open ended questions that assessed the staff ’s perceptions of the effectiveness of the day. These questions were analysed qualitatively using a grounded theory approach (Strauss, Corbin, Denzin & Lincoln, 1994). Results Paired-samples t-tests were conducted to investigate whether there were any changes in positive affect, negative affect, job satisfaction and perceptions of organizational virtues between the survey scores at the beginning of the AI day and the end of the AI day. There were significant improvements in all the study outcomes. At the end of AI day staff reported that they felt there was more meaning and purpose to their school, tmeaning&purpose(148) = -4.852, p < .001, d = -0.398, that the culture was more inspiring, tinspiring(149) = -4.310, p < .001, d = -0.352, and that the school had higher representations of the best of human kind, thumankind(151) = -2.310, p < .05, d = -0.187. The qualitative analysis identified six key themes: valuing the collaboration process; learning from colleagues, appreciating the people you work with, connecting with staff around shared values, feeling energised and passionate, and having a clearer vision of the school’s future direction. Conclusions Although appreciative inquiry is a relatively new technique being used within the field of education, these results suggest that it is an effective change management tool in encouraging positive mood, in affirming the positive core of the school, in fostering collaboration and in energizing staff to work towards a shared positive future. This study makes a significant contribution in that it is one of the first studies to conduct a mixed methods approach to the evaluation of AI. PS 25.4. The experiences of working in an academic environment: a positive psychology Molebogeng (Lebo) Makobe-Rabothata University of South Africa, South Africa The South African higher education environment is rapidly changing in response to both external and internal factors and academics seem to be experiencing a tremendous pressure in coping with such changes. Some of the external pressures include globalization and Information Communication Technology. Among the internal aspects are higher student numbers and more administrative work. Academics are an important stake holder in higher education institutions because of their much needed intellectual abilities and commitment (Pienaar, 2009). Due to the identified changes and realities that impact on academics, academia is currently being experienced as one of the most stressful careers. Simultaneously what is perceived as stressful by some can at times motivate others to thrive and function optimally. The specific research question in this study is: What is it that makes academics experience their work positively? The researcher assumes that by exploring the positive experiences of academics, insight may be gained into those positive characteristics that contributes to the positive experiences. Positive Psychology will therefore allow us to understand psychological growth or optimal functioning of academics without negating the negative experiences. This paper will use a conceptual reasoning to interrogate the above raised issue. PS 25.5. Two pathways to academic achievement: along with well-being and away from it Tamara Gordeeva, Dmitry Leontiev, Eugene Osin 1, 2 – Moscow State University, Russia, 3 – Higher School of Economics, Russia Background. In PERMA model (Seligman, 2011) achievement is conceptualized as one of five main constituents of integral well-being. It is not rare, however, that in our race for success we sacrifice other aspects and domains of our well-being and the success is reached at the expense of well-being, even if we consider only true tangible success rather than illusory symbolic one. The results of numerous studies show that success (achievement) in life and psychological well-being are generally not related. In particular, there are contradictory evidence regarding association of achievement at college with well-being (Svanum, Zodi, 2001). The aim of this study is to check whether it is possible to be both successful (in academic domain) and happy. The study. The sample consisted of 166 students from prestigious chemistry department of Lomonosov Moscow State University. We investigated them twice in the middle of the second and forth semesters and also followed them for first two years for their academic achievement. Academic achievement was operationalized as Grade Point Average across four examination sessions. To measure personality variables, a battery of tests was used including Russian versions of Hardiness survey (Maddi, Khoshaba, 2001), Noetic orientations test (Leontiev, 1992), modified version of ASQ (Peterson et al., 1982, Gordeeva et al., 2009), LOT (Scheier, Carver, 1985), Grit scale (Duckworth et al., 2007), Intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientation scale (Amabile et al., 1994), Flow in professional activity (FPA) scale (Leontiev, 2011), academic motivation scale (AMS-C, Vallerand et al., 1992), academic self-control scale (Perry et al., 2001), and social desirability scale (BIDR, Paulhus, 1998). Well-being was assessed using Satisfaction with life scale (Diener et al., 1985) and Subjective happiness scale (Lyubomirsky, Lepper, 1999). Summary of the results. As expected, well-being was unrelated to academic success. The successful part of the sample was split (by median) into two parts on their well-being scores. Successful and happy students (N= 54) scored significantly higher than successful and unhappy ones (N=37), as well as their less successful classmates, on three types of measures: 1) measures of personal potential (hardiness, optimistic attributional style, and self-control), 2) measures of intrinsic motivation, meaningfulness of life, curiosity, flow, purposefulness, and motivational beliefs, and 3) measures of grit and perseverance. The path model shows that grit mediates the relationship between intrinsic motivation and academic achievement. Besides, students with ascending dynamics of academic achievement compared to students with descending dynamics revealed more optimistic attributional style explaining success, and lower dispositional optimism. This confirms our previous findings (Gordeeva, Osin, 2009, 2011) regarding controversial nature of dispositional and attributional optimism. Conclusions. The findings suggest that there are two different pathways to academic success. The first path is through the use of personal potential (and certain character strengths), implementation of intrinsic motivation and perseverance, based on curiosity and sense of meaning. The results of this process are accompanied by well-being and flourishing. The second path to success is through introjected extrinsic motivation, careful planning of learning activity and use of negative emotions as incentives to this activity. PS 25.6. Characteristics of families with academically gifted adolescent Jasmina Pekic University of Novi Sad, Serbia Starting from the conceptions of giftedness, which define this term as a “multifactor construct of ability within the network of psychological and social moderators” (Heller, 2004, p. 306, words in italics are mine), the paper examines a contribution of social moderators which come from the family context, up-to-dating the high abilities which are a prerequisite for advanced mastering of different academic domains. More precisely, the research presented in this paper aims to offer an answer to questions deals with relations of particular characteristics of the family functioning and academic giftedness. While specifying the characteristics of the family functioning, the choice is reduced to the following variables: parental rearing styles, family support, co-parent relationships, family cohesion and adaptability, and family attachment style. When it comes to the construct of academic giftedness, it is considered as a categorical variable, and operationalised through the above-average effect on the IQ test and indicators of academic achievement. The survey was carried out on the territory of Serbia, on the sample consisted of 358 respondents - 177 academically gifted pupils (IQ score 120 and above and excellent grade point average) and 181 average pupils (IQ score within the range 90-110 and grade point average lower than excellent), who attended Socio-Linguistic and Mathematic-Science Courses of Grammar School. Examination of the space of family functioning variables was carried out by the following instruments: parental rearing styles scale (VS scale), family support questionnaire (PSS-Fa), supporting coparenting questionnaire (CFO), family cohesiveness and flexibility questionnaire (FACES III), and family attachment style questionnaire (AAF). Assessment of intellectual abilities was done by Cybernetic Intelligence Tests Battery KOG 3. The obtained results suggest that there are significant differences in the way of the family functioning between the families with academically gifted adolescents and families with the average adolescents. Accordingly, the characteristic of the first type of a family is higher level of family emotional connection of the gifted child with the other members of the family (higher levels of family cohesiveness and family attachment), as well as higher level of family flexibility, which derive from warm-permissive rearing style of parents and their supportive relationships. When it comes to family support, this feature has proved to be significantly more pronounced in the families of average students. These findings could serve as a framework for the guidelines in raising a gifted child, which would contribute to a fuller actualization of the child’s potential, and reduce the chances of his underachievement. PAPERS PS 26. June 28, 14.00-15.30 Amur room Values and virtues Chair: Rolv Mikkel Blakar PS 26.1. Basic human values and virtues - similarities, differences and relationships Małgorzata Najderska, Justyna Harasimczuk, Dominika Karaś, Maria Kłym, Jan Cieciuch University of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, Poland The approach to values that is dominant in contemporary psychology is the circular model proposed by Schwartz (1992, Schwartz et al., 2012). However, Seligman and Peterson (2004) in their classification of character strengths and virtues use also the concept of values. They even developed a questionnaire named “Values in Action – Inventory of Strengths”. We face a challenge to theoretically and empirically compare both of the approaches. The main theoretical question is therefore – do the two proposals approach the same psychological construct describing and explaining it in a different way or rather contrary, do they approach different psychological phenomena? The main similarity between the two theories is that both of them concern what has been positively evaluated by people across cultures and throughout time. However, we would like to point out two main differences. The first one is that values in Schwartz’s theory are beliefs about desirable goals, while character strengths in Seligman and Peterson’s approach are desirable traits. Virtues in their approach are the core characteristics valued by moral philosophers and religious thinkers, while character strengths are the psychological ingredients, which the virtues are defined by. The second difference is that Schwartz’s values shape circular structure. The circle of values is organized by the principle of similarity and dissimilarity of motivational goals that are at the foundation of given value types. The character strengths and virtues of Peterson and Seligman are just hierarchical classification (each virtue is defined by some character strength), without any specially defined structure. We propose the interpretation of the two approaches by coming back to the distinction made by Rokeach (1973) between instrumental and terminal values. Schwartz’s circle of values is therefore the description of terminal values, while Seligman and Peterson’s classification of character strengths is a description of instrumental values. Therefore we expect quite weak relationships between them, because they concern different psychological phenomena. We expect however that the relationships are systematic in sinusoidal shape in accordance to Schwartz’s cirumplex model. The research was done in Poland. We used the new version of the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ-R) by Schwartz (Schwartz et al., 2012) in the Polish adaptation by Cieciuch to measure 19 narrowly defined values and International Personality Item Pool – Values in Action (IPIP-VIA) in the Polish Adaptation by Najderska and Cieciuch to measure 24 character strengths. We present multidimensional scaling of values and character strengths together and systematic relationships between strengths and values. Our expectations were confirmed – values and character strengths are systematically related, however it is impossible to combine them together in one structure. PS 26.2. Virtuous States and Virtuous Traits: How Personality Saves the Study of Character Eranda Jayawickreme, R. Michael Furr, William Fleeson Wake Forest University, USA One major objection to the study of virtue and character is that research in the social and personality psychology literature arguably represents evidence against the existence of virtues, thus rendering any talk of virtue and character strengths redundant (Doris, 1998, 2002; Harman, 1999). This challenge against virtue and character originally stems from the controversy over trait theories in the personality psychology literature in the late 1920’s (Hartshorne & May, 1928). The density-distribution approach (Fleeson, 2001; 2007), which focuses on the aggregation of “personality states,” however provides a resolution to this debate. This approach achieves this by incorporating empirical evidence from both sides of the debate into a new understanding of personality traits. Although each individual varies considerably in his or her behavior, each individual also has a central point or tendency around which he or she varies. Each individual’s central point remains stationary and therefore indicates an essential part of that individual’s behavior. By splitting the data in half, it is possible to calculate two central tendencies for each individual and then correlate them. The extremely high resulting correlations (between .71 and .87) mean that differences between individuals in their average tendencies are highly stable and highly predictable (Fleeson & Noft le, 2010). This is the key evidence against the situationist position – differences between individuals in their average behavior were as consistent and predictive as any variable in psychology. Thus, personality differences show up in averages, rather than in qualitative differences in the single behaviors they enact. While people may act very differently in different situations, their typical behavior remains highly consistent from week to week. We argue that this reconceptualization of traits resolves the controversy over the study of virtue, and present new evidence showing that virtues exhibit high levels of consistency comparable to personality traits. To reiterate the challenge, if moral behaviors and beliefs are not adequately consistent across situations, this would suggest that moral behaviors and thoughts are largely the product of situational forces. In this case, it would be inaccurate to ascribe morality to people; rather, it would seem that morality and immorality are mainly determined by situational factors. The results of two experience sampling studies show that individual differences in moral behaviors and beliefs are highly consistent. Furthermore, the results of these studies suggest that within-person variability in moral behavior and behavior is comparable to personality traits. These findings highlight the fact that the totality of empirical evidence supports the study of virtue in philosophy and positive psychology. PS 26.3. Meaning systems and representations of a good life Erik Carlquist, Hilde Eileen Nafstad, Rolv Mikkel Blakar University of Oslo, Norway Background: A good life is one of the core concepts of positive psychology. The present study analyzes the concept of good life from the perspective of social representations theory. The aim is to map out people’s own ideas about a good life. People’s ideas of a good life may involve complex meaning systems and include ideals to strive for. To describe people’s own representations is particularly important for the study of the eudaimonic concept of a good life. Aims: This study will draw on a Norwegian sample of participants who were asked to provide their definitions of a good life. This data set allows an analysis of possible age differences in meaning systems or representations of wellbeing. The aims of this study are largely descriptive and exploratory. Methods: A sample of approx. 120 people aged 18-75 living in Norway provided their own short definitions of a good life. People were recruited in a number of settings including train stations, shopping centres, public offices and on the Internet. Firstly, their responses will be coded by life domain and analyzed by age, education level and gender. Secondly, a qualitative thematic analysis comparing the different age cohorts of possible hedonic and eudaimonic as well as individual vs. relational aspects reported within each of the domains will be conducted. Summary of results/theoretical advances: Preliminary findings indicate that relational aspects are reported by many people as constituents of a good life; family is a frequently recurring domain. Preliminary findings also indicate that relatively few people mention high presence of temporary positive affect as a part of good life. However, this type of self-report data suggests the need for further disentanglement of hedonic and eudaimonic representations of good life: E.g., family provides a wealth of experience ranging from pure fun (pleasure) to deeply appreciated meaning. In particular, we will be interested in possible differences across age groups. Conclusions: Research on well-being can benefit from knowledge of people’s own representations of good life. Representations should be considered not as universally valid descriptions of psychological or social pathways to a good life, but individually and culturally contingent ideas of what a good life consists of and is worth pursuing. Our sample is from an affluent Scandinavian country with a high level of welfare benefits. Cross-cultural investigation comparing our findings with other cultural or socio-political contexts is thus important. PS 26.4. Conversion experiences and positive psychology Alice Y. Y. Chan, Chi Chuen Chan Upper Iowa University, Hong Kong The present study intends to study how Christian conversion experience shape and change the life experiences of individuals. This investigation is an qualitative study in which 20 participants were invited from the churches in Hong Kong. All participants were interviewed on semi-structured questionnaires which covered their developmental history, their career and family development. Thematic analysis was performed on the collected responses. Hycner’s explication process (Hycner, 1999) was used to find out themes and meanings in the participants’ data. The data collection process lasted six months (from November 2011 to Mid-January, 2012). The emphasis of the current study is to investigate how conversion experience can shape the personality development of the person. There were two hypotheses in the present study. Firstly, the more psychologically maladjusted the particpants, the personality change is the particpants. Secondly, conversion experiences carry a positive change in the person’s world view. The findings of the present study supported the two hypotheses. It was found that the conversion experiences impacted more on the individuals who showed a more maladjusted lifestyles. For instance, conversion experience of those who had pursued an illegal means of life previously reported more behavioral change. Further their evaluation of their life purposes were significantly changed by the incident. The thematic analysis of their responses on the interviews show that the conversion experiences carry a sense of happiness that is filled with subjective sense of personal liberation, freedom and a sense of control. Further, after the conversion experiences, these individuals showed high hope for their lives . Hope can be separated into two types : long term hope and short term hope (Ginakis & Ohtsuka, 2005). For these individuals, they showed both types of hope after the conversion. The current findings can be explained by the existential theory of Frankl (Frankl, 1962) and the Prochaska and DiClemente (1986) theory of behavioral change. PS 26.5. Does social inclusion policy improve happiness? Yoshiaki Takahashi Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan Objective: Social inclusion was developed in a different domain from happiness studies. In this circumstance, outcome measurement for social inclusion does not include subjective measurement such as happiness, life satisfaction and loneliness. However, happiness studies indicate that relatedness is one of key factors to form human happiness. Because finite goal for social inclusion policy is also that people live happily and does not feel lonely in their society, it is meaningful to examine if individual circumstance of social exclusion are correlated to their subjective well-being to evaluate the validity of social inclusion indicators as policy tools. Method: An online panel survey of happiness for 11,984 youths was conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute of Japan in December 2010 and March/May 2011. It included questions about their happiness on a 0-10 scale and some social inclusion questions such as material deprivation, which is used in the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) by Eurostat. Therefore, microdata from this survey give us a chance to evaluate the relationship. After calculating the indicators applied in the Eurostat (2010), ordered probit and least square model were used to test it. Results: Individual happiness level and most of the indicators except overcrowding and population whose housing cost burden exceeds 40% of annual income were highly statistically significant to the 95 percent level. Although material deprivation and housing deprivation rates were important factors to consist of individual happiness, all components did not affect equally to individual happiness. When each component was used as an explanatory variable in the model, the result shows that, for instance, relationship between happiness and lack of durables such as TV and car, and relationship between happiness and housing problems such as leaking roof were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Although the EU-SILC has not included questions about subjective well-being at this moment, it planned to include them in 2013. Most of social inclusion indicators are useful because they are highly correlated with happiness. However, for instance, having durables may not improve happiness. Thus, the result in Japan indicated usefulness to check social inclusion policy by using subjective well-being. This study can contribute to encourage the discussion about the relationship between social inclusion policy and positive psychology in Europe. PS 26.6. The Role of Integrative Self Knowledge in Organizational Citizenship and Oneness Behaviors Duysal Askun Celik Istanbul Bilim University Department of Psychology, Turkey For healthy and effective organizations, there has to be a unity in diversity which is sometimes termed as “Oneness”, characterized by a mysterious spiritual and emotional bond between people (Hung, 2006). Related to Oneness principle, there is actually no “Other” but “We”. In the same line of thought, when you see no other, you help and support the correspondent no matter what his or her position/race/religion. As a concept, Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) seems to have common attitudinal and behavioral aspects (Organ & Ryan, 1995) such as Consideration of others and Altruism. There have been many attempts to understand OCB from dispositional and attitudinal perspectives. Usually, the personality factors have been argued to be indirect contributors to the construct. Instead, attitudinal contributors such as job satisfaction and commitment have been found to have a strong link. In this study, a personal attitudinal domain, integrative self-knowledge (Ghorbani, Cunningham, & Watson, 2010) which is said to include “an ongoing sense of self-awareness” and “stable mental representations” (Robins, Norem, & Cheek, 1999; as cited in Ghorbani, Watson, & Hargis, 2008) will be explored. As a feature of positive psychology, Ghorbani et al. (2008) argue that self-knowledge research has promise in promoting an understanding of psychological well-being across cultures. A psychologically healthy individual is said to be integrated in mind, body and soul; with no energy leakage from any disintegrated parts. Therefore, integrative self-knowledge will be treated as an independent variable regarding its predictive value for OCB and also the exploratory dependent variable Oneness Behavior in a sample of working population from different industries. By exploring the link between these concepts, this study will try to explain how individual variables contribute to the organizational effectiveness and healthiness as a whole, including our Global situation. 143 individuals working as managers or employees in different sectors participated in the study. 51 Males and 90 Females with the mean age 35,5 and the age range 21 and 77.. The first group of participants (69 of them) was from a multinational organization having an official language as English. The rest were Turkish employees coming from different sectors. The following original measures were used for the study: Integrative Self-Knowledge Scale by Ghorbani, Watson, & Hargis (2008); Organizational Citizenship Behavior Intention Scale by OCB Williams & Shiaw (1999); and the Organizational Oneness Behavior and Organizational Oneness Perception Scale by Askun Celik (2011) were used. The results revealed interesting findings. There was a significant positive relationship between Integrative SelfKnowledge and OCB and Oneness behaviors. However, when Oneness Behaviors are taken out of the equation, the relationship between the others became insignificant.This study can be said to be a preliminary research in terms of understanding oneness in the context of individual and organizational factors. In positive psychology terms, focusing on self-reflective terms seems to be very much needed to promote the realization of potentials and the development of human strengths (Caprara & Cervone, 2003; as cited in Tahmasb, Ghorbani, & Watson, 2008). And as Oneness is very much needed for our world today; which is in complete economic, political and psychological crisis. We must go beyond the “other” and “me only” type of approach to heal, grow, and to develop certain things. PAPERS PS 27. June 29, 9.00-10.30 Amphitheatre hall Emotion and compassion Chair: Antonella Delle Fave PS 27.1. The everyday experience of people with neurodegenerative diseases and their caregivers Raffaela D.G. Sartori, Tiziana Maero, Pasquale Masala, Marina Zapparoli-Manzoni, Antonella Delle Fave Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy Research among people with neurodegenerative diseases and their caregivers has traditionally focused on individuals’ loss of motivation, fatigue and depression, while a growing amount of studies in Positive Psychology have highlighted the psychological resources that patients and caregivers can mobilize or develop after the onset and during the progression of the disease. In line with the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) guidelines, in order to explore individuals’ psychological needs and resources, and the role of perceived environmental opportunities, useful information can be derived from the analysis of the subjective experience during daily activities. Moreover, the evaluation of the quality of experience can shed light on the opportunities for engagement and skill development available in the daily context to individuals with neurodegenerative diseases and their caregivers. Participants were 10 women and 16 men (mean age=49.1) with Hereditary Spastic Paraparesis (HSP)and 14 caregivers (12 women and 2 men, mean age=50). The HSP is characterized by progressive weakness and increased muscle tone in the lower limbs. Additional neurologic impairments, such as distal muscle wasting, peripheral neuropathy and mental retardation can also occur in the complicated forms. Participants were administered the Experience Sampling Method (ESM): for one week they carried an electronic device sending acoustic randomized signals 6-8 times a day. At signal receipt, they provided self-reports about on-going activities and the associated experience. Likert-type scales measured cognitive, emotional and motivational dimensions, including challenges perceived in the activity and related personal skills. Results showed that individuals with HSP prominently reported doing non-structured leisure activities (30.6% of the ESM forms), mainly perceiving low challenges, low short and long term goals, but high activity desirability. The 17.9% of the answers was related to productive activities, prominently associated with high challenges and high activity desirability, but low short and long terms goals. During interactions (15.5%) participants reported high challenges and skills, involvement, activity desirability and short term goals. Caregivers were prominently involved in productive activities (35.9% of the answers) on average these activities were characterized by high activation but low levels of happiness and activity desirability. Taking care of the ill relative accounted for one-fift h of the caregivers’ ESM forms, prominently associated with above average challenges, as well as high concentration, involvement, short and long term goals. Finally, caregivers reported leisure activities in the 18% of the self-reports, in particular associating them with high activity desirability, however matched with the perception of low short and long term goals. Results suggested that a) people with HSP and their caregivers can perceive a good quality of life; b) individuals with HSP should be supported in the development of competences in productive and socially meaningful activities; c) caregivers, on the other hand, should be supported in pursuing a better balance between their high investment on family and the retrieval of well-being and positive experiences within other daily contexts. PS 27.2. From acts of caregiving to caring connections – Compassionate mutuality in human interaction Frank Martela Aalto University, Finland Human life is full of bigger and smaller situations in which one person offers some form of care for another. Engagement in such caring situations has been found to improve the well-being as well as other psychological factors of both the careprovider and the carereceiver. Nevertheless, despite the increased interest in relationships as part of the positive psychology movement these acts of caregiving have not received the research attention they would deserve. The aim of this article is to provide insight into the relational nature of these caregiving encounters through examining the everyday contacts between nurses and residents in a nursing home. Based on participant observation and interviews with the nurses and residents analyzed through grounded theory I argue that in caring situations both participants can choose to either be emotionally engaged or disengaged. This gives rise to four different types of caring situations: 1) Instrumental caretaking, in which some physical or other need of the care receiver is taken care of without either person being engaged in the situation, 2) unmet call for caring, in which the cared for reaches out to form a connection with the care provider who remains emotionally detached from the situation, 3) one-sided caregiving, in which the care provider engages with the cared for in a warm and tender way but the care receiver remains disengaged, and 4) caring connection, in which both participants engage emotionally with each other thus making possible the formation of a reciprocal high-quality connection between them. Focusing especially on caring connections I argue that they are mutual encounters that are felt by both participants to be highly satisfactory, meaningful, warm and tender. I see that they are composed of six elements: mutual validation of the unique worth of the other, being present in the now9moment, opening up towards the other, establishing a shared space, heightened flow of affectivity, and acts of caregiving and displays of gratitude. The connection between the participants is deep and operates to a significant degree through nonverbal attunement and sensitivities related channels. I relate my findings to relevant research within positive relationships at work (e.g. Dutton & Ragins, 2007), infant research (e.g. Beebe & Lachmann, 2005), close relationships (e.g. Gable & Gosnell, 2011), mirror neurons (e.g. Gallese et al., 2007) as well as nursing (e.g. Boykin & Schoenhofer, 2001) because within these fields there are to be found some of the most insightful research that explores the relational and affect laden interactional processes between two persons. Especially the insights gained in infant research about the intersubjective dyad between the infant and the primary caregiver can be used to significantly deepen our understanding of the intersubjective and non-cognitive processes that take place between the participants. In sum, caring connections are one form of high-quality connection between two persons in which the interpersonal dimension between the participants is flourishing. Understanding more about this positive and life-giving dimension of interaction is thus very much in accordance with the aims of positive psychology. PS 27.3. Interventions to enhance happiness: comparison of Loving Kindness Meditation practice with an Integrative Positive Emotion Regulation program in a randomized controlled trial Fanny Weytens, Moïra Mikolajczak, Olivier Luminet Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium Benefits of positive emotions (e.g. joy, pride, awe, gratitude) have been well established in the past ten years (e.g. Frederickson, 2001; Keyes, 2007 ; Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005; Ryff & Singer, 2008). The increase of research on positive emotions went hand in hand with the creation of a true “market of happiness” for lay people. As a result, many people are now willing to increase their level of happiness (Cohn, & Fredrickson, 2010) and there is a boom of techniques aiming to address this need. Among the validated techniques, one finds methods as diverse as cognitive reframing (Seligman, Rashid, & Parks, 2006; Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005), savoring (Bryant, 1989), gratitude (Emmons & McCullough, 2003; Sheldon &, Lyubomirsky, 2006), expression of positive emotions (Adelmann & Zajonc, 1989), remembering of positive events (Lyubomirsky, Sousa, & Dickerhoof, 2006; Quoidbach, Hansenne, & Mottet, 2008) to cite but a few examples. These techniques (and others) have been recently organized by Quoidbach (2012) in a theoretical model based on Gross’ Process Model of Emotion Regulation (1998, 2007). While there is a miscellaneous of techniques to increase one’s happiness, there is currently no psychological intervention that integrates and organises them. The only structured intervention to increase happiness validated so far appears to be the Loving Kindness Meditation (LKM). LKM is a meditation practice that induces feelings of warmth and caring for self and others (Salzberg, 1995). It has been found to increase daily experience of positive emotions and improve life satisfaction and reduce depressive symptoms (e.g. Cohn, & Fredrickson, 2010; Fredrickson, Cohn, Coffey, Pek, Finkel, 2008). Because the LKM is a single-method intervention, we wondered what would be the relative efficiency of a multi-method intervention. Using Quoidbach’s model as a conceptual framework, we designed an Integrative Positive Emotion Regulation-Program (IPER-Program) including a set of effective techniques to teach people how to generate, intensify or prolong positive emotions. The aim of our study is to compare the benefits of LKM and the IPER-Program on subjective well-being, physical health and social relationships in a North European sample. Our first hypothesis is that a multi-method program that gathers a core of positive emotion induction methods (as the IPER-Program) will generate greater effects than LKM which focus on generating feelings of warmth and care. Our second hypothesis is that the IPER-Program, articulating 1) explanations of scientific findings about positive emotions, 2) the way people can implement these findings in their daily lives and, 3) practical exercises in vivo, will be more “adherence-able” and thus, efficient and generalizable technique for North European people that can be culturally more reluctant to the meditational aspects of LKM. 140 students were randomly assigned to either (1) the IPER-Program, or (2) a LKM intervention or (3) a waitinglist control group. Both intervention groups followed a 12-hours program complemented with home exercises. Subjective well-being, physical health and social relationships were assessed before and 4-weeks after the training in different ways (self reported questionnaires, biomarkers levels and behavioral task). As the study is still in progress, results will be presented and discussed at the conference. PS 27.4. A positive psychological perspective: Optimizing the transition process towards independent living for care-leavers Katrina Simpson, Genevieve Eckstein University of Notre Dame Australia, Australia The Australian government is currently developing a national framework for individuals in government care who are transitioning into independent living. A majority of research has focused on care-leavers disadvantage and/or the resilience of the individual. This approach however, restricts the enhancement of strengths in the national framework’s direction by failing to acknowledge Seligman’s third pillar of positive psychology in the process, that of the role of positive institutions and also, has omitted the necessity for counseling of care-leavers at each stage in the process. The current research aims to expand the Maunder’s et al 3-step model of support during transition to include Antonovsky’s salutogenic approach. Methodologically an integrative literature review provided the structure for application of a positive psychological framework to the transition process for care-leavers. While past disadvantage is recognized, the current research makes three recommendations to strengthen service provision. First, it highlights limitations due to the labelling of care-leavers and suggests training stakeholders to be cognizant of the anchoring bias; second, it outlines the necessity for individualized leaving care plans for all care leavers that incorporate the 3-step model with follow up in the third stage and, third, it stresses that support through counseling during each stage of the transition process is crucial. PS 27.5. The effects of emotional intensity and emotional clarity on the binge eating Gop Je Park, Sang-hee Jun, Sung-mun Lim Chungbuk National University, South Korea A growing empirical literature suggests that emotion regulation deficits have been linked to adolescent psychopathology. Especially it has been reported that emotion plays an important role on the binge eating. On the basis of the precedent researches about the emotion and binge eating, this study investigated the effects of emotional intensity and emotional clarity on binge eating. First, this study aimed at investigating investigate whether negative and positive emotional intensities influenced directly on the binge eating and the mediation role of thought suppression that exists in the pathway in which emotional intensities influence on the binge eating. Second, this study investigated whether the groups which are classified by the levels of emotional intensity and emotional clarity had different effects on the binge eating. Third, this study explored how different the effects on binge eating were by sex. For this study, data were collected from 547 students (249 males and 298 females) in three Korean high schools. For the analyses of mediating effects, the method of structural equation modelling was used. The pass model that emotional intensity affects thought suppression, and then thought suppression affects binge eating was used. The results were following. First, both negative and positive emotional intensity directly influenced on the binge eating. However, thought suppression mediated only between negative emotional intensity and the binge eating. Second, each groups classified depending on the level of emotional intensity and emotional clarity had different effects on the binge eating. The group of high emotional intensity and low emotional clarity had the highest mean in the binge eating and thought suppression. Also, the groups in which thought suppression affects on the binge eating meaningfully had high emotional clarity regardless of levels of emotional intensity. Third, sex had different roles on the binge eating. Negative emotional intensity positively effected on the binge eating in males, but in females, on the contrary, positive emotional intensity had an positive effect on the binge eating. Emotional clarity had an negative effect on the binge eating in both males and females. These results suggest that not only negative but also positive emotional intensity influences on the binge eating as a predicting factor. Furthermore, the differences depending on the combination of emotional intensity and clarity may cause different effects on the binge eating. Thus, future studies are required to investigate how emotional characteristics are associated with the binge eating. Studying the association between emotion and the binge eating in both males and females and in different age groups may facilitate more effective prevention and management strategies. PAPERS PS 28. June 29, 9.00-10.30 Dvina room Personal resources 2 Chair: Danilo Garcia PS 28.1. A will (Persistence) and a proper way (Self-Directedness) might lead to happiness Danilo Garcia, Trevor Archer, Saleh Moradi University of Gothenburg, Sweden Background: Persistence is a temperament dimension that explains maintenance of behavior. Adolescents high in Persistence are expected to be hard-working, and stable despite frustration and fatigue. They are also expected to increase their efforts in response to anticipated reward. In other words, frustration and fatigue may be perceived as a personal challenge; they do not give up easily and are probably willing to make major sacrifices to be a success (e.g., good grades). Persistent pursuit of need-satisfying goals is suggested to lead to increased Subjective Well-Being (SWB; Sheldon et al., 2010). Nevertheless, adolescents who have difficulties disengaging from unattainable goals, display high levels of proteins that predict long-term risk for diabetes, heart disease, and other medical conditions. Perseveration might naturally lead to high levels of positive experience when goals are achieved. Nevertheless, high persistence may be an adaptive behaviour only when rewards are intermittent but the contingencies remain stable. It is important to point out that daily problems adolescents encounter seem to be an equally stressful experience as major life events. Hence, at least among adolescents, perseveration may become maladaptive and probably leads to low SWB. In this context, another important personality dimension in adolescence might be Self-Directedness. Adolescents that are self-directed develop good habits and automatically behave in accord with their long-term values and goals, probably as a consequence of self-discipline. For instance, Duckworth and Seligman (2005) showed that, among adolescents, self-discipline outdoes IQ when predicting academic performance. Aims: The present study aims to investigate the relationship between Persistence, Self-Directedness, and SWB. Method: In two studies 468 high school pupils reported Persistence, Self-Directedness, Positive and Negative Affect. Life Satisfaction was also measured in Study 2. The personality dimensions were measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory. The SWB constructs were measured using the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. We used mediation analysis procedures recommended by Baron and Kenny (1986) to investigate if Self-Directedness accounts for a significant amount of the shared variance between Persistence and SWB measures. Results: Self-Directedness emerged as being related to all measures of SWB used in the present set of studies. In both studies, mediation analysis show that Self-Directedness accounts for a significant amount of the shared variance between Persistence and Positive Affect. Specifically, the indirect and total effects of Self-Directedness in our model suggest a partial mediation of 24% in Study 1 and a partial mediation of 42% in Study 2. However, Self-Directedness did not mediate the relationship between Persistence and Negative Affect or Persistence and Life Satisfaction. Conclusions: Paraphrasing the most asserted conclusion from Sheldon and colleagues (2010) at least among adolescents Persistence (will) and Self-Directedness (proper way) might lead to happiness. We suggest that, although the meditational effect of Self-Directedness was only true for the relationship between Persistence and positive emotions, this specific finding is important. If the goal is to teach adolescents to direct attention and effort toward a challenging goal, this might be facilitated through the promotion of Self-Directedness. PS 28.2. Surrender to Win: Acceptance, Control, and the Paradox of Powerlessness Genevieve Baijan University of Sydney, Australia Background Despite a growing body of evidence pointing towards the beneficial effects of acceptance, little research has systematically assessed the potential adaptiveness of an acceptance-based approach to dealing with situations where the individual is powerless to alter the outcome of a problem. This project developed a theoretical model integrating coping, control, helplessness, and acceptance literature, and provides a framework for predicting the conditions under which an acceptance of powerlessness will prove adaptive. Importantly, it contextualizes the coping experience within a broader theory of control and powerlessness, and incorporates into the model various empirically validated coping and positive psychology exercises. Aims The first of a series of studies aimed to explore how acceptance of powerlessness might influence positive and negative affect in a non-clinical context. A subsequent study explored the role of ego-depletion as a causal mechanism underpinning the ‘powerlessness paradox’. A third study (currently underway) aimed to investigate how individual differences in control and coping profiles might impact the subjective appraisal of situational controllability, and explore how acceptance might differentiate the experience of ‘positive powerlessness’ from learned helplessness. Methods Study 1 133 first-year psychology students were randomly allocated to a control (C), powerless-only (P), or powerless + acceptance (P+A) condition; positive and negative affect (PANAS) and depression/anxiety (Kessler) scores were obtained. The P and P+A groups completed an essay-based priming procedure to induce powerlessness, whilst the controls completed a neutral essay prime; the P+A group then received a 10-minute acceptance induction. All participants then completed the PANAS again. Study 2 117 participants completed Study 2. Methods replicated Study 1, except that a control + acceptance (C+A) condition was also included, and the dependent variable of interest was a majority-congruent Stroop task (a measure of response inhibition; also used as a measure of ego-depletion). Study 3 Currently underway; to be completed by April 2012. Results Study 1 Controlling for Kessler depression/anxiety scores, the P+A group showed significantly more positive affect (p = .004) and less negative affect (p <.001) than the P-only group. Mixed-model ANCOVAs revealed highly significant interaction effects, with the P group showing more negative affect and less positive affect following the powerlessness induction - an effect that was eliminated for the P+A group. Study 2 A significant pattern of prime x acceptance interactions emerged for congruent (p=.052) and incongruent Stroop reaction times (p=.057), and trended for neutral reaction times (p=.08). C+A participants typically demonstrated slower Stroop reaction times, whilst those in the P+A group demonstrated improved Stroop performance; this finding provides initial support for the notion that acceptance is only ‘adaptive’ if contextually appropriate – a core assumption of the proposed model. Conclusions Taken together, results suggest that actively accepting a sense of powerlessness ameliorates the typically aversive effect of powerlessness on mood (Study 1) and improves the inhibition of competing responses (possibly be reducing egodepletion; Study 2). Results from further studies (to be completed by May 2012) will explore other key assumptions underlying the model, and elucidate the role of individual differences in moderating the ‘positive powerlessness’ phenomenon. PS 28.3. The impact of trait emotionality on ability test performance Katharina Lochner, Achim Preuss, Maike Wehrmaker Cut-e group, Germany Performance on a test is not only influenced by ability, but also by motivation and emotion. There are a great number of studies investigating the impact of test anxiety on test performance (Hembree, 1988). However, other (particularly positive) emotions have hardly been investigated so far. There are a number of theories on the influence of emotions on test performance (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005). They are, however, contradictory. For example, resource models predict the performance on complex tasks to be better in good than in bad moods (e.g. Ellis & Ashbrook, 1988) whereas other models that refer to mood-dependent thinking styles (e.g. Kuhl, 1983b) predict the opposite or a moderating effect of the type of task (e.g. Fiedler, 1990). In a total sample of N=992, we compared groups that were low, medium, or high on trait emotionality with respect to their performance on a test measuring logical reasoning. We found that those high in the positive trait emotions balance and joy did better on the tests than those intermediate or low on these traits. With respect to hope, participants with intermediate levels did best on the test. This is in line with Ashby, Isen and Turken’s (1999) neuropsychological theory of positive emotions that posits working memory to be best in mild positive affect, which people that are high on trait balance and trait joy are likely to experience more often than those low on these trait emotions. It can also be seen as an extension of the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 1998, 2001). Thus, test performance is likely to be related to emotionality as well as to ability. PS 28.4. Psychological and environmental correlates and antecedents of Sense of coherence Alena Slezáčková, Iva Šolcová, Marek Blatný, Katarína Millová, Martin Jelínek Masaryk University, Czech Republic Background: The study deals with the psychological and environmental antecedents and correlates of Sense of coherence (SOC) measured in middle adulthood. The antecedents of SOC (Antonovsky, 1993) are best examined in research studies employing longitudinal design. Aim of study: We used data from Brno Longitudinal Study of Life-Span Development, which has been running for 50 years, to examine personality (extraversion, neuroticism, intelligence) and social (atmosphere in the family of origin, school achievement) predictors of SOC in childhood and adolescence. We have also examined the personality (e.g. neuroticism, self-esteem, self-efficacy) and social (career stability, negative life events) characteristics in relation to SOC in adulthood. Methods used: The sample consisted of 74 participants (32 men and 42 woman aged from 41 to 44 years) who participated in the longitudinal study running since 1961. In respondent’s childhood (12 years) we used WISC (Wechsler, 1949) and we measured atmosphere in the family and school achievement; in respondent’s adolescence (16 years) we used MPI (Eysenck, 1959); and in adulthood (41 to 44 years) we used SOC (Antonovsky, 1993), Life History Calendar, (Caspi, et al., 1996), EPI (Eysenck, & Eysenck, 1964), GSES (Schwarzer, & Jerusalem, 1993), RSES (Rosenberg, 1965), SWBS (Pavot, & Diener, 1993), and TCI (Cloninger, et al., 1994). Summary of the results: Results show that psychological and environmental characteristics in the childhood did not affect the SOC in middle adulthood directly. Their influence was mediated by the stability of career line. In adulthood, we have discovered an association between SOC and self-efficacy, low neuroticism and self-directedness. Regression analysis did not revealed significant relationships with other psychological and environmental characteristics in adulthood, such as negative life events, self-esteem, well-being and self-transcendence. Conclusion: It seems that foundations of the SOC appear already in the childhood, although psychological and environmental characteristics in childhood did not affect the SOC in middle adulthood directly. Thein influence was exercised through the education level and the stability of career line, which appears to act as a challenge and encourage high SOC. In middle adolescence, the best predictor of SOC was not neuroticism, but extraversion. PS 28.5. Need satisfaction leads to positive mood and interest/enjoyment. But does this count for everyone? Jemima Bidee, Tim Vantilborgh, Roland Pepermans, Gert Huybrechts, Jurgen Willems, Marc Jegers Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium Human needs have already received a lot of attention in the academic literature, playing a central role in several theories (Murray, 1938; Maslow, 1943; McClelland, 1965; Hackman & Oldham, 1976; Deci & Ryan, 1985). According to Self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000), satisfying the need for competence (i.e., the need to feel effective while enacting an activity) and relatedness (i.e., the need to feel related to and cared for by others) (next to the need for autonomy; the need to feel free and to have the choice to engage in an activity) is a prerequisite for feeling psychologically healthy – making them basic psychological needs. Stating that these needs are essential, innate, and universal psychological nutriments, SDT scholars are especially interested in ways to stimulate need satisfaction, and in how the level of need satisfaction can explain variations in various (positive) outcomes. Moreover, they suggest that considering individual differences in need strength would be less fruitful to start with while interpreting these relations. In the present study, we aim to investigate whether people differ in the degree to which they have to satisfy these needs before experiencing those positive consequences. In this regard, we integrate principles of the Self-determination theory with the motive disposition tradition, in which individual differences in needs (“implicit motives”) are used to explain variation in human behavior and motivation. Although both aforementioned motivation theories approach human needs from a different point of view, combining the principle of these research traditions may help us to get a better grasp of motivational processes (Buunk & Nauta, 2000; Vallerand, 2000). Recent research in the sports domain has indeed shown that integrating these traditions is a fruitful way to predict human motivation and well-being: feeling competent in a discipline positively affects flow and intrinsic motivation, but especially for people scoring high on the need for achievement (Schüler, Sheldon, & Fröhlich, 2010). We investigate our research questions in a diary-study approach (Bolger, Davis, & Rafaeli, 2003). In line with prior findings on this topic, we expect that satisfaction of the competence need results in positive outcomes such as positive mood and interest/enjoyment, especially for people with a strong need for achievement. A similar moderating effect of need for affiliation is expected for the relationship between satisfaction of the need for relatedness and positive outcomes. These hypotheses are tested in a group of 100 youth leaders, who engaged in a 10-day diary study (Bolger, Davis, & Rafaeli, 2003). Applying multilevel moderation modeling enables us to longitudinally examine the aforementioned relationships at both between-and within-persons levels of analysis. Since we are currently gathering our data, the conclusions for this study will only be available by May 2012. However, in line with similar studies, we expect our data to support the hypotheses. PS 28.6. Mental Fitness: From conceptualization to measurement Paula Robinson, Lindsay Oades University of Wollongong, Australia Whilst the term mental fitness is being increasingly used by psychologists, mental health practitioners and the general population, there is conceptual confusion within the scientific and popular literature. To address this lack of consensus a comprehensive theoretical and empirical review of the term mental fitness was undertaken, drawing from literature within psychology, positive psychology, physical fitness and the perceptions of the global community. A baseline definition and four underlying principles for the term mental fitness was constructed for evaluation by an international expert panel chosen based on specific and rigorous selection criteria. The panelists were drawn from several countries including Demark, United Kingdom, Canada, United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. The study was undertaken using the Delphi methodology. The Delphi process was chosen as it has demonstrated utility in the field of psychology for evaluating and developing psychological constructs. It provides researchers with a systematic methodology to organise responses and ideas that can be validated further into theory, models and measurement. Two rounds of the study were conducted, the expert panel was asked to respond quantitatively and qualitatively to the proposed baseline definition of mental fitness and each of the four underlying principles. The expert panel reached consensus based on the criteria provided thus providing a final definition, four underlying principles and a framework of mental fitness broadly aligned to physical fitness (i.e., strength, flexibility and endurance). This presentation summarizes the background, methodology and results of the study and highlights future direction and importantly, practical examples of how a reliable and valid mental fitness construct can be applied by way of activities practiced regularly in work and life to measurably improve wellbeing evaluated by subjective and objective outcomes. POSTERS PS 1.1 Health and Wellness PS 11-01. Do individuals with eating disorders experience resilience? Carlota Las Hayas, M. Agirre, J.A. Padierna, E. Calvete Universidad de Deusto, Bilbao, Spain BACKGROUND Positive psychology studies the conditions and processes that contribute to the flourishing or optimal functioning of people. Within this framework we studied the experience of resilience reported by past eating disorder (ED) sufferers. We base our understanding of the concept of resilience on the definition given by Glenn E. Richardson (2002), “resilience is a force within everyone that drives them to survive, fulfill their potentials, progress with purpose, and be in harmony with a universal source of strength”. AIMS OF STUDY: • To provide evidence that the resilience force is experienced by individuals who were suffering an ED. • To describe from the subjective perspective of past ED sufferers the resiliency process: changes in attitudes, strengths, and behaviors. • To provide evidence that the resiliency process precedes the recovery status. METHODS This is a qualitative study. After a bibliographic search we did not find any scientific article which dealt with the topic of resilience in EDs. One of the coauthors (JAP), who is a psychiatrist expert in the field of EDs, invited past patients to participate in an interview about the process of resilience and recovery. Volunteer individual semi-structured interviews were carried out in a private room, and were audio recorded. Interviews were transcribed and a thematic analysis method was used. Participants also completed some clinical data. RESULTS Nine past ED sufferers were finally interviewed. Interviews lasted an average of 95 minutes. All were females with a mean age of 36 years, they had been 14 years suffering from the disorder, 10 years receiving treatment and 7 years have passed since recovery. All participants understood the concept of resilience and reported to have experienced it. The trigger for the experience of resilience was an awareness of the state of profound disgust, rage, and discomfort in which they were living and a conscience of the torment they were for their loved ones. Participants invested the force of resilience in: a) Activating personal values such as humility to be helped, take responsibility of herself, acceptance, patience, sincerity and altruism; b) Getting in contact with their own self: vent their emotions (via psychotherapy, writing them down, singing, painting, doing sports), identify their personal life goals/dreams, raise their self-esteem; c) Activating personal traits that were nullified by the ED: sociability, joy, humor, fighter, courageous; d) Searching for social support: Need for a social net which support them unconditionally; e) Activating strategies of control in order not to fall again in the disorder: use negotiation techniques to reduce sequentially eating disorder symptoms; f) Spiritual values: Faith in that recovery is possible. CONCLUSIONS Some individuals with ED experience the force of resilience when the situation turns to be unbearable for them. Future studies should explore whether resilient qualities predict recovery in ED patients. We expect that increasing the knowledge of the resiliency process may reduce the percentage of 40% ED patients who do not recover. PS 11-02. Happiness and self-esteem: Gender differences changes with age, and relation with sexism Carmen Maganto, Maite Garaigordobil University of Basque Country, San Sebastian, Spain The present work opens a pathway for research of the interaction of two very contemporary theoretical perspectives: positive psychology and the gender or sexist perspective. We propose the predictive—and consequently, preventive— factor of positive emotions when faced with negative emotions and sexist behaviors. THE STUDY HAD TWO GOALS: 1. To analyze gender differences and changes with age in positive emotions (happiness, self-esteem), negative emotions (anxiety, depression, anger) and sexism (HS-hostile; BS-benevolent; AS-ambivalent; NS-neosexism); 2. To explore the concomitance between positive and negative emotions and sexism, identifying which kind of emotions predict high levels of sexism. The sample comprised 941 students, aged 14-25 years (49.4% males, 50.6% females). Using a descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational design, 7 assessment instruments were employed: OHQ (The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire; Hills & Argyle, 2002), RSE (The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; Rosenberg, 1965), STAI (The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; Spielberger et al., 1982), IDER (Inventario de Depresión Estado Rasgo [StateTrait Depression Inventory]; Buela-Casal & Agudelo, 2008), STAXI-2 (State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory; MiguelTobal et al., 2001), ASI (Ambivalent Sexism Inventory; Glick & Fiske, 1996), and NS (Neosexism Scale; Tougas et al., 1995). THE ANALYSES OF VARIANCE CONFIRMED THAT: 1. Males scored significantly higher in self-esteem, state-anger, and sexism (HS-BS-AS-NS), and women were higher in anxiety (state-trait), state-depression, and trait-anger; however, there were no gender differences in happiness, traitdepression, and anger expression index; 2. Between ages 14 and 25, self-esteem, anxiety, and depression remain stable, but sexism and anger decrease with age, and feelings of happiness increase. Controlling for the effect of sex and age, the partial correlation coefficients showed that the feelings of happiness and self-esteem correlated negatively with anxiety (state-trait), depression (state-trait), anger (state-trait- expression), and sexism (HS-AS-NS). The linear regression analyses identified as predictors of HS: few feelings of happiness, low level of state-depression and trait-anxiety, as well as a high level of state-anger and of anger expression. The predictors of BS were: few feelings of happiness, low level of state-depression, and high level of state-anger. CONCLUSIONS: From the results obtained, it seems that the positive emotion of happiness correlates negatively with sexist attitudes and negative emotions, because as age increases, happiness also increases, and sexist attitudes and negative emotions decrease; happiness is also one of the predictors of hostile and benevolent sexism. Therefore, happiness is one of the positive emotions to be developed in preventive programs to combat sexist attitudes, instead of continuing to emphasize the eradication of negative attitudes. The factor of self-esteem in interaction with happiness is discussed. PS 11-03. How hard it can be: The negative influence of modesty on well-being Lung Hung Chen, Jui-Yun Liao National Taiwan Sport University, Taipei, Taiwan Modesty, downplaying and avoiding bragging about one’s own accomplishment, has always been conceptualized as one of the most important virtues in Chinese culture. However, in the current study, we argued that modesty is not always beneficial for one’s mental adaptation. Because it is a social strategy to avoid offending others, it may arouse one’s prevention orientation of behavior and, thus, the regret about that prevention. Our data supported the hypothesis by showing that the positive association between modesty and regret was totally mediated by prevention-focused concerns. We discussed the results in terms of its mechanism and its implications in the conflict between culture norms and individuals’ well-being. PS 11-04. Knowing in order to prevent: Standardization and normative data of the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory Maite Garaigordobil, Carmen Maganto, José Ignacio Pérez University of Basque Country, San Sebastian, Spain Women’s psychological well-being is being threatened in many places all over the world because of the sexist ideologies and prejudices linked to political, cultural, religious, and social ideologies. The steps taken to vindicate gender equality are achieving higher levels of happiness, personal autonomy, and psychological, social, and economic well-being. However, prejudicial attitudes still exist, either in direct or covert forms, and all of them hinder women’s complete egalitarian development. We need to know how to identify the diverse forms of sexism in order to be able to work using positive responses to this perspective of objectifying women, and to achieve a higher level of personal self-esteem, happiness, and autonomy. For this purpose, research should offer diagnostic instruments that allow the rigorous identification, both in men and in women, of sexist characteristics that underlie the relations between the sexes. Conceptually, sexism is defined as a discriminatory attitude towards people because of their biological sex, as a function of which, diverse characteristics and behaviors are assumed. From a psychosocial analysis of gender, sexism is considered one of the main beliefs that maintains inequality of the sexes, and recent studies have also revealed the direct relations between sexism and violence towards women. The main goal of this study was to standardize the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory. With regard to this goal, the study analyzes differences in sexism as a function of gender, age, and educational level, exploring the correlations among the scales of the inventory and their factor structure. The sample comprises 5313 participants (2581 men and 2795 women), aged 14 to 70 years, from the Basque Country (Spain). Descriptive, comparative, correlational, and cross-sectional methodology was used. The results confirm significantly higher scores in the men in hostile sexism in all age groups, in benevolent sexism up to 54 years of age. Sexism increases with age, but not linearly; a high score was observed between 14 and 18 years of age, which progressively decreased until the age of 54, and it subsequently increased, with the highest scores observed between 64 and 70 years of age. Inverse relations between sexism and educational level were found. The study contributes normative data to assess sexism in the Basque Country. The discussion focuses on the importance of implementing educational and community intervention strategies in order to eradicate sexism and promote gender equality. Only by means of accurate knowledge of the behaviors that we wish to eradicate can we prevent them and promote other behaviors. This work is a step in that direction: knowing in order to prevent. PS 11-05. Reconnecting with the body: an exploratory analysis of Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) following Cancer Diagnosis Deirdre Walsh, Kate Hefferon National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland Post-traumatic growth (PTG) is the concept of positive change/growth through experiencing trauma (O’Leary & Ickovics, 1995). Recently, Hefferon, Grealy & Mutrie (2009) argued that there might be a further element to the PTG process for individuals who have undergone physical trauma, known as the ‘reconnection with the body’. The aim of this study was to explore and document the experiences of five mixed gendered individuals post cancer diagnosis and treatment, in order to ascertain how ‘the role of the body’ affected PTG within this sample group, and how, if at all, the body facilitated the reconnection with the body. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) is the qualitative research methodology which was used as it explores experience in its own terms (Smith et al., 2009) and values each individual experience. This study found that the progression of the cancer diagnosis and treatment had a large part to play within the role of the body and PTG. The participants tracked their bodies from a weakened state of ‘damaged goods’ and a reduced self to a point where the body was ‘brought back into context’. This synthesis of the old and new body created a ‘battle survivor’ mentality, relishing the body’s authenticity. Throughout the patients’ treatment, different aspects of the treatment were given tangible roles. This could be seen in the theme ‘the casting of the roles’ which was subsequently divided into three sub-themes: ‘the alienation of the body’, the hospital as ‘the other’, and childlike cancer patients. Toward the end of the participants’ physical trauma, the theme of ‘universal oneness’ was most prominent. This theme emphasised how participants began to see their bodies as mere ‘transient vessels’, where living in the present was of utmost importance. The futility of fighting against ‘the circle of life’ was also highlighted. This view of the body as part of the circle of life, much like other mammals was refreshing for most participants. This theme of ‘the body as part of the circle of life’ ran closely to the theme of ‘nothingness and letting go’ which completed the patients journey of the role of the body and post traumatic growth and highlighted the concept of the reduced body, bodily synthesis and self-transcendence. Ultimately, this study highlights the importance, which the role of the body plays throughout physical illness. This can be seen through the revelations which many of the participants had in relation to the reconnection with their bodies which they would not have experienced but for the unique effects of the physical trauma. PS 11-06. Sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction: Are they related to optimism, positive affect, disease length and disease severity perception in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes? Isabel Silva, J. Pais-Ribeiro, R. Meneses, L. Pedro, H. Cardoso, D. Mendonça, E.Vilhena, M. Abreu, V. Melo, A. Martins, A. Martins-da-Silva Universidade Fernando Pessoa, Fundação Fernando Pessoa, Porto, Portugal PURPOSE: This study aims to analyse if there is a significant relation between sexual functioning and satisfaction, and optimism and positive affect in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. METHOD: A cohort of 129 participants with diabetes, who were organised in to groups: Group 1: 86 patients with type 1 diabetes, 55.8% women, with ages ranging between 17 and 62 years (M=35.29; SD=10.75), with this diagnosis between 1 and 44 years (M=16.93; SD=10.05). Group 2: 43 patients with type 2 diabetes, 60.5% women, with ages ranging between 22 and 64 years (M=52.86; SD=10.02), with this diagnosis between 2 and 40 years (M=12.73; SD=8.91). Participants answered to the Sexual Functioning and Satisfaction Scale, to Life Orientation Test - Revised and to Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed that, for type 1 diabetic men, there is a statistically significant negative relation between sexual functioning and positive affect, suggesting that the higher positive affect is, less frequent are sexual functioning problems reported by these patients. Moreover sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction in these patients revealed to be positively related to disease severity perception, indicating that the more severe this perception is, more frequent are sexual problems and lower is sexual satisfaction. There are no statistically significant relations between sexual functioning/sexual satisfaction, optimism and disease length. On the other hand, results revealed that, for type 1 diabetic women and for type 2 diabetic women and men, there are no statistically significant relations between sexual functioning/sexual satisfaction and positive affect, optimism, disease length and disease severity perception. Finally, sexual satisfaction revealed to be highly related to sexual functioning in diabetic type 1 and type 2 women and men. DISCUSSION: Results suggest that it is important to adopt a differential approach in what concerns to sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction in diabetic patients, in particular with respect to positive affect in type 1 diabetic men. PS 11-07. Treatment adherence in epilepsy: A place for positive interventions focusing on coping strategies? Isabel Silva, Vânia Linhares, Rute F. Meneses, José Pais-Ribeiro, Isabel Silva, Luísa Pedro, Estela Vilhena, Denisa Mendonça, Helena Cardoso, Ana Martins, António Martins-da-Silva Universidade Fernando Pessoa, Fundação Fernando Pessoa, Porto, Portugal Epilepsy is a common neurological disease and a chronic illness. The primary treatment goals for epilepsy patients are to prevent the occurrence of seizures and reduce antiepileptic drugs side-effects and drug interactions. However, it has been estimated that few patients with epilepsy receive adequate medical treatment in developing countries. Poor adherence is the primary cause of treatment failure and the single most important modifiable factor that could be determinant of treatment success. The World Health Organization estimates that only 50% of chronic patients adhere to treatment recommendations. Therefore, non-adherence results directly in an increase in health care costs and reduced quality of life and is a special concern for health care professionals. In this context, the aim of the present study is to analyze the relationship between treatment adherence and coping strategies in a group epilepsy patients. A sample of 94 epilepsy patients, between the ages of 17 and 65 (M=36.84, SD=10.49), 58 of which females (61.7%), diagnosed between 4 and 49 years earlier (M=21.26, SD=10.96), was assessed trough the “Medida de Adesão aos Tratamentos” (MAT; 7 items regarding treatment adherence) and the Brief-COPE. A statistically significant correlation was found between the MAT total score and Active coping (rs=.246, p<.02) and Use of emotional support (rs=.221, p<.04). A statistically significant and negative correlation was found between the MAT total score and Behavioral disengagement (rs=-.387, p<.01). These preliminary results have considerable clinical implications, suggesting that treatment adherence could be increased trough the training of specific coping strategies. However, further research is needed to develop and evaluate the efficacy of such (positive) interventions. PS 11-08. Social support, coping, well-being and disease severity perception in women with thyroid cancer I. Silva, J. Pais-Ribeiro, R. Meneses, L. Pedro, H. Cardoso, D. Mendonça, E. Vilhena, M. Abreu, V. Melo, A. Martins, A. Martins-da-Silva. Universidade Fernando Pessoa, Fundação Fernando Pessoa, Porto, Portugal PURPOSE: This study aims to analyse if there is a significant relation between social support, coping strategies, disease severity perception and well-being in women with thyroid cancer diagnosis. METHOD: A cohort of 55 participants with thyroid cancer diagnosis, aged between 21 and 63 years (M=46.67; SD=9.76), with a disease length ranging between 1 and 34 years (M=10.60; SD=6.92) answered to MOS Social Support Survey, to Brief Cope, to a general Well-Being Scale, and to an item of disease severity perception. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed that affective social support is negatively related to behavioural disinvestment and spiritual coping, and positively related to self-distraction. Tangible support revealed to be positively related to active coping, emotional support, positive reinterpretation, and acceptance. Positive social interaction showed to be negatively related to denial, to behavioural disinvestment, and to spiritual coping, and positively related to positive reinterpretation. Emotional and informational support showed to be positively related to positive reinterpretation, acceptance, active coping, emotional support, but negatively related to self-blaming and spiritual coping. Global social support revealed to be positively related to active coping, positive reinterpretation, and acceptance, and negatively related to behavioural disinvestment, self-blaming and spiritual coping. Social support perception is not significantly related to disease severity perception. Coping strategies were not significantly related to patients’ well-being, with the exception of denial and to feel upset and express feelings that were negatively related to it and of humor which was positively related to it. Affective social support, emotional and informational support and tangible support revealed not to be significantly related to patients’ well-being, but positive social interaction and global social support showed to be positively related to this psychological variable. DISCUSSION: Although, at a first glance, results seems to suggest that social support is related to the adoption of more adaptive coping strategies, generally these strategies are not significantly related to higher well-being in women with thyroid cancer diagnosis. Furthermore positive social interaction seems to be particularly important to patients’ well-being. Social support perception is not significantly related to disease severity perception. PS 11-09. Well-being, coping and treatment adherence in women with obesity undergoing weight loss programs I. Silva, J. Pais-Ribeiro, R. Meneses, L. Pedro, H. Cardoso, D. Mendonça, E. Vilhena, M. Abreu, V. Melo, A. Martins, A. Martins-da-Silva. Universidade Fernando Pessoa, Fundação Fernando Pessoa, Porto, Portugal PURPOSE: This study aims to analyse if there is a significant relation between well-being, coping strategies and treatment adherence in women with obesity diagnosis undergoing weight loss programs. METHOD: A cohort of 151 women with obesity diagnosis undergoing weight loss programs in a public hospital, aged between 20 and 64 years (M=43.83; SD=10.01), with a disease length ranging between 3 and 45 years (M=12.91; SD=10.42) and with a body mass index ranging between 30 and 57 (M=40.85; SD=6.81) answered to a general Well-Being Scale, to the Brief Cope, and to a Treatment Adherence Scale. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed that treatment adherence is not significantly related to patients’ well-being. Furthermore, of all the coping strategies adopted by these women only to give up of doing efforts to obtain what the person wants and to blame his/herself because of what is happening revealed to be negatively related to their well-being, and to try to accept what is happening and to face the situation with humor showed to be positively related to women’ well-being. Just two types of coping strategies revealed to be significantly related to treatment adherence - to hide his/herself in alcohol or other drugs in order to feel better and to blame his/herself because of what is happening, which are negatively related to adherence. Body mass index was not significantly related to well-being, neither to treatment adherence. Nevertheless, it is positively related to specific coping strategies, as denial, to give up of doing efforts to obtain what the person wants and to blame his/herself because of what is happening. DISCUSSION: One of the most frequent arguments to persuade women to adhere to obesity treatment is that it will promote higher well-being, but the present study suggests that there is no significant relation between these variables. In addition, there were identified some coping strategies which are related to higher or lower well-being in women integrating obesity treatment programmes, and that should be taken into account when planning multidisciplinary intervention programmes. Finally, the present study suggests that intervention in what concerns to specific coping strategies can be important to promote treatment adherence. PS 11-10. Differential impact of coping styles on quality of life among Hemodialysis patients Ahmad Heidari Pahlavian, Zohreh Rahimi Hamedan, Iran BACKGROUND: Hemodialysis patients are faced with challenge of coping with a chronic disease that alters their lives in numerous ways. Understanding coping reactions and its impact on quality of life is an area of great importance for patients, family members and physicians. How an individual copes with specific stressful symptoms of the disease and the other psychosocial stressors has a significant effect on overall function and well-being. Although there has been some research on coping with chronic disease, further understanding about the coping strategies and its implications on quality of life is warranted. METHOD: In a case-control study, 99 hemodialysis patients (45 males; 54 females) from academical hospitals of Hamedan University of Medical Sciences (Iran) were compared with 150 controls (70 males; 80 females) that were selected using convenience sampling and were matched by a number of demographic factors with each other. Data were gathered using coping styles Questionnaire (CSQ) and SF-36 Questionnaire. Data were analyzed via stepwise multiple regression analysis, MANOVA and t-test. RESULTS: Hemodialysis patients showed lower quality of life scores (p<0.01) and mostly used maladaptive coping strategies (like inefficient direct confrontation style, inefficient self-control style and escape-avoidance style) in comparison with controls (p<0.05). Coping strategies explain 39% variance in quality of life scores. CONCLUSIONS: Hemodialysis patients used various types of coping strategies. Active coping and positive attitude have a positive impact on quality of life. Thus, it can be deduced that more active strategies of coping with emotional discomfort can lead to higher levels of quality of life in Hemodialysis patients. Keywords: Hemodialysis patients, coping strategies, quality of life, Iran. PS 11-11. Do nursing home residents live longer when they enjoy getting up in the morning? R. Leontjevas, D.L. Gerritsen, S. Teerenstra, N. Jacobs, M. Smalbrugge, R.T.C.M. Koopmans Open University, Heerlen, the Netherlands BACKGROUND Feelings of happiness can be beneficial for health in the elderly and are associated with longevity. Depression in nursing home (NH) residents is more common than in the general population, and it can be both a consequence of medical illness and an influencing factor for morbidity and mortality. It is not clear whether life expectancy in NH residents is mainly associated with the presence of positive emotions such as being happy or hopeful, or with the lack of negative emotions such as pessimism and sadness associated with depression. OBJECTIVES To determine whether the presence of positive emotions, and the lack of negative emotions predict life expectancy in NH residents. METHODS Design: prospective longitudinal study with a baseline measurement of positive and negative emotions, and mortality rate at 21 months follow-up. PARTICIPANTS a subsample from a study on depression management in 32 Dutch NH units. Exclusion criteria: no informed consent; cognitive inability to respond to the interview. MEASUREMENTS Positive Emotions (PE): sum of ‘yes’ answers on 9 positive-items of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), such as “do you find life very exciting?”; Lack of Negative Emotions (LNE): sum of ‘no’ answers on 21 negative-items of the GDS such as “Do you often feel downhearted and blue?”; Co-morbidity: Charlson index; Cognition: Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) PROCEDURE: trained interviewers scored the GDS and MMSE; demographical data and co-morbidity were retrieved from medical files. STATISTICS Cox Regression was run for survival analysis with age, gender, MMSE and Charlson index as fi xed variables, and PE and LNE as predictors for mortality (forward likelihood ratio). Additional survival analyses were run for individual PE, and LNE items. RESULTS Of the 250 NH residents included, 158 (63%) were female. The mean age was 79.0 years (SD 11.3), MMSE score was 18.8 (SD 7.5; N=233), and Charlson-index was 2.8 (SD 2.0; N=244). There were 65 deaths (26%). A mean follow-up was 16.8 months. Survival analysis showed that LNE was associated with decreased mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.94 [95% CI: 0.89 to 0.99] P=0.036) whereas PE were redundant (not associated with mortality). Of the LNE-questions, a negative answer to the item “Do you feel that your situation is hopeless?” (HR 0.44 [95% CI: 0.26 to 0.76]; P=0.003) was associated with decreased mortality: 79% and 61% of the residents who answered ‘no’ and ‘yes’, respectively, survived during 21 months. Of the individual PE items, a positive answer to the item “Do you enjoy getting up in the morning?” (HR 0.41 [95% CI: 0.23 to 0.71], P=0.001) was associated with decreased mortality: 80% and 59% of residents who answered ‘yes’ and ‘no’, respectively, survived. CONCLUSIONS The lack of negative emotions was associated with decreased mortality in NH residents. Residents who did not report that their situation was hopeless and those who enjoyed getting up in the morning lived longer. More research on positive emotions in NH residents is needed due to limited number of positive items of the GDS used in the study. PS 11-12. Challenging the challenge: Dispositions and cognitive processes that promote positive personality change in the face of risk situations Janne Fengler, Thomas Eberle Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, Germany Previous research has indicated a strong connection between challenging situations, as well as the individual level of risk perceived in the face of such challenges during outdoor-programs and effects on personality variables (Eberle, 2008, 2010; Fengler, 2009, 2010). Only little is known about the specific contributions that dispositional factors and individual information processing entail for such positive developmental impulses. Derived from theory and former research, we can assume that people with high or low levels in sensation seeking, self efficacy, proactive attitude as well as uncertainty avoidance • have a different attitude towards challenges in daily life and in outdoor education settings • experience challenging situations differently and cope with them differently in terms of changes in personality parameters THE STUDY AIMS 1. to identify personality correlates between self efficacy, proactive attitude as well as uncertainty avoidance and sensation seeking as potential resources for psychological health 2. to reveal variables which promote peoples’ willingness to leave their comfort zone 3. to find out about variables related to changes in personality parameters in the course of challenging situations 4. to uncover the impact of cognitive processes for health beneficial outcomes of challenging situations 5. to find out about the contribution of guided reflection on the outcome of experiential education courses Different scales of sensation seeking (SSS-V, Zuckerman, 1994; AISS-D, Arnett, 1994) will be compared with both a psychometric focus and their correlates to the construct of self efficacy (GSE, Jerusalem & Schwarzer, 1999), proactive attitude (Schmitz & Schwarzer, 1999) as well as uncertainty avoidance (UAI, Hofstede, Hofstede & Minkov, 2010). To find out about modifications in personality parameters, the self concept will be assessed (FSKN, Deusinger, 1986). Furthermore, qualitative methods will be applied. The research questions will be examined on different student samples. The conference presentation will focus on the theoretical framework and first results. Not only theoretical and empirical, also practical advancements will be achieved by this study. Key resources for positive personality development, health, quality of life and well-being as well as human strengths, psychological capital and personal potential will be identified. By that, psychosocial and educational interventions can focus empirically validated on the support of human beings in terms of self-determination, self-regulation and autonomy. Research is in progress, on conference first conclusions will be presented. PS 11-13. Beyond the action and state orientation: reflective orientation in self-regulation and self-control Elena Rasskazova, Olga Mitina Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia THE BACKGROUND The two-component model of self-control suggested by J.Kuhl (action versus state orientation) has received much attention in previous decades. While it is implicitly hypothesized that action orientation is the optimal variant of selfcontrol, the concept of state orientation seems to be ambiguous from the self-regulation and self-determination points of view. State orientation might reflect either self-regulation failure or an intentional choice of the person to take the time considering the whole situation. Thus, we suggest the third component of action control - a reflective orientation (Leontiev, 2011). The aim of this study was to operationalize and to test this hypothesis. METHODS In order to reveal the scale ambivalence in the Action Control Scale (ACS) we have changed ispative scaling (with two options) by selection the degree of choosing each of possible options using the Likert scale. Also additional options corresponding reflective orientation for each situation were added. 287 students filled modified Russian versions of the ACS, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Garnefski, Kraaij, 2002), Goal Disengagement and Reengagement Scale (Wrosch et al, 2004), Behavior Self-Regulation Style Questionnaire (Morosanova, 2004). To test ecological validity participants were asked to describe and appraise the situations in their lives when they have chosen and have rejected some important activity. RESULTS The state and action orientations were found to be moderately correlated to each other (r=–0,20 - –0,50, p<0,01) that means they are not perceived as opposite to each other. The new reflective orientation scale was shown to be reliable (Cronbach’s alpha 0,77 - 0,80). It was correlated to state orientation in planning and failure (r=0,38 - 0,40) and to action orientation in realization (r = 0,36). All the correlations were of medium size that means reflective orientation was distinct from other scales. Also new scale was shown to be the best predictor of planning, programming, focusing on the problem and positive reappraisal. Reflective orientation in failure and realization was the best predictor of goal reengagement capacity. There were no correlations between situations’ appraisals and all the three scales of selfcontrol. CONCLUSIONS Reflective orientation could be considered as a third component of the action control describing intentional choice of state acceptance and analysis of the situation. It is positive predictor of effective coping strategies under negative circumstances and better planning. Reflective orientation scale was shown to be reliable and valid. Further research is needed to clarify predictive and ecological validity of the new scale and it’s cross-cultural specific. PS 11-14 The Experiences and Process of Self-Healing Produced from Psychological Displacement Paradigm in Diary-Writing Su-Fen Lee Chinese Culture University, Taipei, Taiwan Psychological Displacement Paradigm in Diary-Writing (PDPD) is a writing form that uses different pronoun transforming—from first-person pronoun (I), second-person pronoun (you), third-person pronoun (he) and then returns to here-and-now first-person pronoun (I), as a subjective switching sequence to describe the same experience. The transformation produced from the PDPD writing form put self into a new perspective to observe oneself and it was called “Psychological Displacement” (Jin, 2005). After the researcher experienced PDPD herself, she was impressed by its self-healing strength. However, PDPD was a new concept without many empirical studies having been undertaken. Therefore, the study wished to discover the function and develop the implication of PDPD. The study aimed to understand the self-healing experiences and process of counselors after they used PDPD form to write their group counseling experiences. The study conducted the phenomenological approach of qualitative method to explore the essence of experience. The participants were 11 senior counselors whose counseling experience was over ten years. The data were collected from the participants’ weekly PDPD texts and from individual interviews that were taken eight to ten weeks after PDPD writing. A total of 102 diary texts and 22-hour individual interview transcripts were collected and analyzed by the researcher and two co-analysts according to principles of the phenomenological approach. THIS STUDY RESULTED IN TWO MAJOR DISCOVERIES I. The experiences of self-healing that were produced from PDPD created three contents, Self-Awareness, internal Self-Operation, and Self-Containment: Self-Awareness included ten awareness that were related to and being aware of family-of-origin experiences, the awareness of projection and counter-transference, emotional awareness, the awareness of self-expectation, self-evaluation and self-blame, the awareness of perfection pursing, the awareness of core self values and beliefs, the awareness of self-need, the awareness of one self’s consistence, the awareness of self-other relationship and the awareness of authentic self, personalities and characteristics. Self-Operation assisted individuals to achieve self-containment and this operation included self-empathy, self-containing and self-acceptance, self-comfort and self-care, self-reminding and self-encouraging, self-projection and self-confrontation, and others such as self-reframing, and clarifying discount etc. Self-Containment was the self-healing effectiveness produced from PDPD. This included self-confirmation, emotion releasing and containing, from self-blaming to self-liberating, and feeling hopeful, etc. 2. The Process of self-healing produced from PDPD indicated three contents—Self-Awareness, Self-Operation, and Self-Containment, and they were integrally related contexts. THESE THREE FOUND PROCESSES WERE: Process 1: Self-Awareness Self-Operation Self-Containment Self-Healing Process 2: Self-Operation Self-Containment Self-Healing Process 3: Self-Awareness Self-Containment Self-Healing THE STUDY RESULTS REACHED THE FOLLOWING CONCLUSIONS: 1. PDPD built up inner self-balanced strength that assisted to achieve Self-Healing. 2. PDPD produced self-awareness, self-operation and self-containment as to achieve self-healing. 3. The study indicated that through the analysis into self-healing process via PDPD, either self-awareness or self-operation assists to reach self-containment as to achieve self-healing. 4. Different pronouns respectively had their function and contribution to achieve self-healing. Finally, the suggestions for future researchers and practicers were provided. KEYWORDS psychological displacement, psychological displacement paradigm in diary-writing (PDPD), self-healing. PS 11-15. The positive role of the goal refusal and goal change in the structure of self-regulation Elena Rasskazova Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia THE BACKGROUND Different self-regulation models (H. Heckhausen, P. Gollwitzer, J. Kuhl, C. Carver, M. Scheier etc.) examine the processes of goal setting, goal achievement and to a lesser extent, choice of the goal. In such cases, refuse from the goal and change of activity are usually considered as a self-regulation failure. However, there are lots of examples when activity change is effective strategy both in clinical psychology and in personality psychology (Scheier, Carver, Wrosch) whereas rigid fi xation on the activity lead to negative outcomes in terms of performance, health and well-being. C.Wrosch has suggest and validated Goal Disengagement and Reengagement scale (GDRS) measuring capacity to refuse and change the goal. THE AIM of this study was to validate the GDRS in Russia and to study its’ role in effective self-regulation and coping. METHODS 287 students filled modified Russian versions of GDRS, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Garnefski, Kraaij), Action Control Scale (Kuhl), Behavior Self-Regulation Style Questionnaire (Morosanova). Then participants were asked to describe the situations in their lives when they have chosen and have rejected some important activity and appraise their feelings and satisfaction. RESULTS Factor analysis of GDRS data revealed two factors (explaining 58,4% of variance) according to the original model. Both disengagement and reengagement scales were reliable (Cronbach’s alphas 0,78-0,84). Goal disengagement was related to less self-blame, catastrophizing and ruminations in the stressful situations, action orientation in failure but worse planning skills. Goal reengagement correlated with better planning, programming and results’ appraisal, higher positive reappraisal, positive refocusing and focus on the problem and action orientation in planning. There was weak but positive correlation between Goal Reengagement scale and satisfaction with life situation after activity change. CONCLUSIONS Russian version of GDRS was shown to be reliable and valid. Both goal refuse and goal reengagement seem to play important positive role in the structure of self-regulation. Goal refuse prevent ruminations after failure although it might be related to impulsive decisions while goal reengagement predicts use of effective coping strategies and is related to better self-regulation in general. POSTERS PS 1.2. Meaning, Values, and Spiritual Accomplishments PS 12-01. Affiliation and power-related imageries in children books and crime rates Stefan Engeser University of Trier, Trier, Germany BACKGROUND Starting in the 50th of the last century, McClelland argued that the motivation on the level of whole societies could be use to understand the development of societies. He argues that the striving of a society influences the development (and not only the economic level, climate etc. alone). To test his assumption empirically, he had to devise a measure of the “strivings” of whole societies. On an individual level, implicit motive as an indicator of stable personal strivings were measured with the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; McClelland, Atkinson, Clark, & Lowell, 1953). In this instrument, research participants write imaginative stories about picture stimuli. The stories are then coded with a coding manual to assess the individual achievement motive. In principle, any kind of written text can be scored with this coding system. This is the approach that McClelland chose. In McClelland’s empirical analyses, representative textual material of different societies and time periods were scored. Results indicated, for example, that the achievement content of children’s books from 21 nations in 1925 was predictive of their economic achievement in 1950. In other than achievement domain less studies has been conducted, but the general picture shows that high level of affiliation imageries in the textual material and a low level of power imageries go along with lower conflicts between and within societies (McClelland, 1985; Winter, 2000). AIMS We want to extend the existing findings with analysis of children’s books and crime rates for different federal states within Germany. We expect, that affiliations related imageries were negatively and power related imageries were positively related to crime rates. METHODS The bestselling children’s books form seven federal states (or group of small states) of 1996 were coded by two independent coders according to the Manual for Scoring Motive Imagery in Running Text by Winter (1994). The manual allows the coding of the achievement, power and affiliation imagery and the scoring system has been validated and successfully used in various applications. RESULTS Results showed that high level of affiliation imageries in children books in a federal state goes along with low crime rates. This is true for the year 1996 as well as the following years. The opposite holds true for power imageries and high level of power imageries goes along with higher crime rates. The relationships are medium to strong and even reach marginal significant levels. CONCLUSION Imageries in children’s books proved to be good indicators for trends in the society. It may also be that children’s book introduce children to what are important strivings and that they follow this line (all their life) and this would put use in the position to foster pro-social behavior. But more research is needed to confirm the relationships and extend the design of empirical studies to get a solid understanding of the causal directions of the relationships between imageries in children’s books and trends in society. PS 12-02. Positive psychology in viewpoint of Mysticism Abdolazim Karimi Research Institute for Education, Tehran, Iran According to taught of Mysticism, life is to be full of joy and pleasure. From perspective positive mysticism, the source of happiness and pleasure is neither environmental elements nor external fabrications, but natural sources existing within. The human being is the very source of joy and the wealth of treasure. Human happiness is not to be imported from outside but to be extracted from within. The lifestyle of Mysticism requires living within the ‘treasure of the self’ and enjoying the internal wealth. Such an enjoyment is of the sort of internal excitement, liberty, intuition, self discovery, love, poise, dignity and pride. What has been presented in this article is but a glimpse of the lively and moving perspectives of Islamic Mysticism towards some aspects of life. In the age of globalization and electronic revolution; the age of the deconstruction of grand discourses and the revival of micro discourses; the age of the hegemony of satellites and computer networks; the age of human alienation and the dominance of the digital culture; and the age of ‘free slaves’ and ‘scattered identities’, an embracement of a poetic discourse and a metaphorical language may help us free human beings from the sense of dehumanization, alienation and de-individualization that are the outcomes of modern mechanical life and artificial and industrial education. KEY WORDS: Positive Mysticism, positive Psychology, Mysticism PS 12-03. The role of culture in creating a different human behavior and its impact on the use of space Amene Bakhtiar Nasrabadi, Hasan Ali Bakhtiar Nasrabadi, Aliakbar Taghvaei, Maryam Kamyar Isfahan, Iran Urbanism is intersection of culture and technology and art. Building space can be the concrete expression of values and beliefs of every tribe and nation. Compared Architectural and cultural characteristics to each nation express its ethnic identity and its architectural features. Designers are manifested values and ideas into the configuration of space and form. This value is often caused by factors beyond the scope design. Including factors: social, cultural, economic, technological and political inherited of cultures. Culture and space are interdependent, this is the reciprocating process. But how this process occurs and how culture is associated with urban spaces and the physical form or how culture is manifested in space? How Behavior occurs and what is the position of culture and space in behavior? How are the Behaviors that manifested in the design process? In this study researcher seeks to investigate the above questions with investigation on the literature of psychological and cultural factors in formation of culture and behavior and then elicit the important factor and principals of urban space design that of them will be affected. The result shows that Spaces can be designed so that the ability to effectively convey ideas, symbols, manner, and even lifestyle. They was part of the culture or their own create new culture. Urban areas are dealing with a variety of different behavior in the context in which it occurs and give meaning to these spaces. This behavior is a function of the cultural characteristics that the owners of these manners belong to it. So behavior patterns Determines and expressing how to use of people in spaces. KEYWORDS: culture, human behavior, urban space. PS 12-04. Basic Religious Beliefs and Positive Psychological States Alireza Rajaei Islamic Azad University, Torbat-Jam Branch, Torbat-Jam, Iran Religion and spirituality have important effects on mental and social human life. The early famous psychologists such as James (1902), Jung (1969), Allport (1950) viewed religion and spirituality as worthwhile topics of scientific research. In recent decades many psychologists have studied relationship between religiosity and mental health (e.g., Rajaei, Bayaze, Habibipour, 2009; Koening, McCullough, Larson 2001; Stefanek, McDonald, Hess (2005); Bergin, Master, Richards, 1987), religious interventions in psychotherapy (e.g., Pargament, 2007; Rajaei, 2010; Pargament, Saunders, 2007; Martinez, Smith, Barlow, 2007) spirituality and personality (e.g., Khoynezhad, Rajaei, Sarvarazemy, 2012; Alminhana, Moreira–Ameda, 2009; Ano, Vasconcelles, 2005; Maltby, Liza, 2001; McCullough, Tsang, Brion, 2003), religiosity and other variables such as self-regulation and self-control, lower rates of crime and delinquency and happiness (e.g ., McCullough, Brion, Willoughby, 2009; Bayier, Wright, 2001; Myers, 2000). If religion and spirituality have positive effects on human behavior, feeling and health, therefore It is good idea that positive psychology paid more attention to this phenomena. The present research studied the relationship between religious beliefs and positive psychological states. The Basic Religious Beliefs Questionnaire (Rajaei et al, 2009) were used for the measurement of three religious beliefs (human, existence and God). Positive Psychological States includes 13 components (trust on God, optimism, sense of efficacy, conscientiousness, self-control, purposivism, hope, meaning of life, satisfaction in life, positive mood and happiness, sociable, self-esteem, sense of relax, acknowledgment and forgiveness). The positive Psychological States Questionnaire (Rajaei et al, 2012) were used for the measurement of these components. 200 Iranian students in university were selected through random selection and they completed these two questionnaires. Correlation coefficient and regression analysis of data showed that there are a positive correlation between total scores of basic religious beliefs and positive psychological states (r = 0.50). From 13 components of positive psychological states only the sense of relax have no significant correlation with basic religious beliefs. Also the results of the regression analysis showed that basic religious beliefs can anticipate the positive psychological states (R2=0.42). The findings of this study showed that religious people have more positive psychological states and these good characteristics can help them to promote the quality of their life, happiness and well-being. PS 12-05. Consequential outcomes of the individual religiosity: the values-in-action perspective Eleonora Nosenko, Iryna Arshava, Darya Ternovska Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine An innovative approach to investigating the motivational system of personality, developed lately in the field of positive psychology, and comprehensive inventory “Values-in-action”(VIA-IS), designed for its assessment (Peterson, C., Seligman ,M.,2004), have opened up new vistas for studying the psychological consequential outcomes of the individual religiosity. The attention of researchers to the latter issue has been predominantly centered so far on defining the nature of the positive impact of individual religiosity on the feelings of well-being, happiness, and peace of mind, experienced by the “intrinsic” believers, for whom the religious belief has acquired an internal value. (V.Saraglou, J,Blogovska, J.P.Van Oudenhoven, A,Homayouni, 2010, to mention the few). The aim of this presentation is to extend an account of psychological outcomes of the individual religiosity and deepen the interpretation of their nature by viewing them from the values-in-action perspective. The method ,chosen for this purpose, was based on comparing the hierarchies of positive values and personality strengths of the ‘intrinsic’ believers(56 students of a Theological Seminary ), assessed with the help of VIA-IS, against those of the ‘extrinsic’ believers (60 students of the local university, aged 18-35) who turned to religion to cope with some personal problems and had an experience of creating some religious myths) and non-believers (60 university students of the same age).. The levels of the individual religiosity were operationalized in terms of the scores of the Religious Orientation Questionnaire (Y.Shcherbatyk,1996) and the scores of a specially designed interview). The correlation analysis (Pearson r –criterion) and the analysis of variance (Fisher F-criterion) of the empirical data of 176 participants have yielded the following results. The level of the individual religiosity significantly positively correlates with the values of: Transcendence (r =.758), Temperance (r= .739) and Humanity (r=.408), At the same time it significantly negatively correlates with the values of Courage (r= -.898) and Wisdom (r= -.872). There are significant differences between the three groups of research participant in all the positive values, presented below in the descending order of the F-criterion value: Courage, Transcendence, Wisdom, Temperance, Humanity and Justice. The differences between the groups of participants are also clearly revealed in the patterns of the top-five and bottom-five signature character strengths. Conclusion. The data obtained provide an ample information for specifying the consequential psychological outcomes of the individual religiosity. First of all, it does produce a humanizing effect on the personality of believers: suffice it to mention that the top-5 signature strengths of the intrinsic believers include: Hope, Spirituality, Forgiveness, Gratitude and Fairness. At the same time their intellectual character strengths (curiosity, creativity, openness to experience, love of learning are the lowest in the sample ,as well as those, representing the value of Courage: bravery, zest, authenticity, persistence. It implies low level of agency (self-initiated activity) and intellectual resources for its displaying as key prerequisites of achieving the individually set goals. Keywords: individual religiosity, positive values, character strengths. PS 12-06. Parent-child value similarity and family relations Małgorzata Najderska, Ilona Skoczeń, Jan Cieciuch University of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, Radom, Poland Nowadays, the most dominant value theory on the field of psychology is Schwartz’s circular value theory (1992, 2006). It presents values as a motivational continuum. The question we were asking ourselves was: “what kind of family relations are connected to value similarity between parents and children?”. We consider family as a system. In systemic theories all of the family members influence each other. During the developmental period which we were dealing with (late childhood, 10-12 years old) undeniably parents are people who have the greatest influence on a child. We have focused on the quality of parent-child relation as a main factor in parent-child value similarity. According to our assumption, we’ve included the measurement of family relations in our research. For that purpose we’ve used Nijmegen Family Relations Test (NFRT) created by Oud and Welzen (1989). Polish adaptation of this questionnaire (made by Skoczeń and Cieciuch, 2011) is a kind of a computer game, in which child answers how much he/she agrees/disagrees with presented sentences and marks proper spot on scales placed next to illustrations of child’s mother and father. NFRT examines how a child perceives relations between him/her and a parent. The theoretical basis for this questionnaire are systemic theories made by I. Boszormenyi-Nagy and H. Stierlin. NFRT measures such relations as: restrictiveness, affection, vulnerability, justice, recognition and trust. The survey was conducted for 10-12 year old children and their parents. N = 168. The results of analysis of regression shows that there is a link between results in NFRT scales and parent-child value similarity. Restrictiveness is connected with mother–daughter and father-daughter value similarity – the more the relationship between a parent and daughter is based on demands, prohibitions, and desire of control, the less similarity between declared hierarchy of values of parent and child. On the other hand, there was positive connection between the relation of vulnerability and father-daughter value similarity. It means that the more daughter is vulnerable to the problems of her father and shows willingness to help him, the higher similarity between declared hierarchy of values of parent and child. Interestingly, similarity between values of any parent and son had not been explained by any family relationship. This fact requires further research. PS 12-07. Psychosocial Development and Meaning in Life Somaye Ahmadi, Shahla Pakdaman Shahid Beheshti University, Evin, Tehran, Iran Meaning in life has been one of the most favored domains of research due to the growing attention to positive psychology and well-being factors. The relation between this concept and other well-being indices has been investigated in many studies. But lesser attention has been paid to the factors which affect the meaningfulness of people’s life. In this regard, the psychosocial development as a central factor which goes back to one’s psychological background seems to be a determinant variable. According to Erik Erikson, successful psychosocial stage resolutions results in the emergent of eight ego strengths. Based on the psychosocial theory these ego strengths, which are present throughout the life span, provide evidence of successful development. The absence of scholarly discussion on this topic in realm of meaning in life is significant. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which psychosocial development and its subsequent 8 ego strengths contribute to the prediction of meaning in life of students. 330 undergraduates from Shahid Beheshti university of Iran (135 males and 195 females, mean age: 22) completed the psychosocial inventory of ego strengths and meaning in life questionnaire. Presence of meaning and search for meaning served as dependent variables in regression analysis, and psychosocial development with its eight subscales (hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, care and wisdom) served as independent variables. Results of regression analysis showed that psychosocial development predicted the presence of meaning among students. From eight subscales of psychosocial development, “will”, “purpose” and “fidelity” predicted presence of meaning and among them “purpose” was the strongest predictor. Psychosocial development did not predict the search for meaning. These results indicate that the quality of psychosocial development determines the meaningfulness of one’s life. In particular, successful psychosocial stage resolutions results in a more meaningful life. Consistent with Eriksonian theory of development which suggest that ego strengths are indicative of an overall state of well-being, the results of this study show that those people with high scores on psychosocial development report much more meaningful life than those with lower scores on this variable. Keywords: psychosocial development, ego strengths, presence of meaning, search for meaning. PS 12-08. Qualitative study of grief experience of body donors’ spouses in Taiwan Chun-Kuan Shi, Wan-Lan Chen, Guo-FangTseng, Hwei-Ling Lai Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan Background. The shortage of human body for course of anatomy had been a serious problem for medical education in Taiwan before the ‘90s. Since Master Cheng Yen, the founder of Tzu Chi Foundation, advocated corpse donation in the 80s, more than 30,000 Taiwanese have signed consent form to donate their body to Tzu Chi Medical Simulation Center. Master Cheng Yen offered an alternative view of body donation by equating the donors as “silent mentors” who provided their bodies to medical students as teaching materials. Despite being more open-minded about corpse donation, traditional Chinese society in Taiwan basically view their bodies as a gifts of their parents, therefore the body should keep intact upon their decease. Did family members –particularly the spouse of the donors, who had participated in a procedure of the donation had troubles coping with the loss later on? There is a lack of empirical study to explore the psychological conditions of the donors’ spouses. This led Tzu Chi University to sponsor this study. The Aims of the Study. Its purpose was to explore the grief processes of widows whose husband had donate corpse for medical education. Methods. Eight female participants, whose husbands had donated corpse to Medical Simulation Center of Tzu Chi University, were recruited for the study. Once signing written consent, a semi-structured interview was followed for each participant. The interview focused on two main areas of interest: (a) their perceptions and reactions to the procedure of husbands’ body donation, and (b) participants’ experience of bereavement and their physical and psychological conditions after their husbands decease. Following the interview, the data were transcribed. Researchers analyzed data through line by line and open coding. A priori concepts were not used to develop the meaning units. The identified meaning units were organized into seven categories. This process was conducted using NVivo 9.0, a qualitative data analysis program. Results. The identified meaning units were organized into seven different categories (a) Isolation (b) feeling of guilt (c) longing for the past (d) repressed sorrow (f) seekng for new identity and social roles (g) re-establishing social support (h) exploring the meaning the living and dying. Coping strategies used by this study sample included spiritual practices, social support, and voluntary work. Based on our findings, elements of the dual process model (DPM) were evident. The DPM involves two styles of coping with grief, the first one is “loss oriented” coping—focusing on loss or cognitive restructuring, and the other is “restoration oriented” coping—engaging new tasks and relationships. The oscillation between the two orientation formed a dynamic coping process, which is necessary for adaptive grieving. Conclusions. The findings of this study suggest that bereavement is an ongoing experience that changes with the passage of time. For those who experienced loss of loved ones, feeling bonds with the deceased, while periodically oscillating between positive and negative affect were central mechanism in adjustment of bereavement. PS 12-09. Sociability and solitude in youth Zoya Perlova Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia This project is devoted to a very urgent problem of solitude in youth, but probably from another angle, than in majority of classical studies. Focusing on the specific community, this paper tends to reveal motivational features, that are typical for visitors of social clubs. Such aspects, as solitude and provision with contacts evoke particular interest separately, as their coexistence does. Introduction This part of the project presents the background of the study, statement of the problem, highlights the professional significance, defines main concepts of the study and determines the boundaries of the issue. Since recently, surge of activity among social organizations for young people conduces to become obvious, thus, such tendency could hardly be accidental. The absence of such kind of clubs seems to be less probable, because the necessity for them increases every year. Apparently, social clubs for free meetings in Moscow could be recognized as a appreciable occurrence in the up to date urban culture. Notwithstanding, there no researches, dedicated to the particularities of this excerpt. Fiction and philosophical literature presents plenty examples of reasoning about solitude (Dante, Dostoevsky, London, Hesse, Kafka, Salinger, Sartre, Yalom). At the same time, there are a lot of issues, concerning social-psychological dimension of solitude (Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, 1980, Staravoitova, 1995); cultural-historical aspects (Pokrovsky, 1985, Vetrov, 1995); and psychological particularities in juvenile (Kon, 1979) and student age (Kashirsky, 2008, Shagivaleeva, 2007). It seems to be necessary to analyze the audience of these clubs, disclosing basic motives of visitors and revealing possible therapeutic influences of situational communication. It might be helpful either for club`s organizers (to develop their work and show them possible positive/negative feedback), or for customers (to reveal their reflection and supply with the reliable information, not only advertising). This research pretends to help young people with their priority search, maximizing utility of their free-time. POSTERS PS 1.3. Positive Interventions PS 13-01. A positive psychology workshop increases positive affect, psychological wellbeing, happiness, and life satisfaction in preschool educators enrolled in a master degree program on neuroscience and education Nitsche Pia, Pedrals Nuria, Rigotti Attilio, Donoso Claudia, Bitran Marcela Pontificia Universidad Católica and Universidad Finis Terrae, Santiago, Chile Positive psychology (PP) offers new opportunities to study and increase subjective well-being, happiness and life satisfaction in people. The impact of PP-based interventions on different types of education professionals is just beginning to be analyzed. Objective: To evaluate the impact of a PP workshop intervention on different measures of subjective wellbeing, happiness and satisfaction with life in preschool teachers. Material and Methods: 12 pre-school teachers who were enrolled in a master degree program on neuroscience and education participated in weekly PP theory-and-practice workshop (6 sessions, 25 hours). Participants were assessed before and 2 wk after completing the workshop by applying a broad variety of quantitative tools, ranging from personal orientation toward happiness, affect, and psychological well-being scales to life satisfaction and happiness tests. Pre- versus post-workshop differences were evaluated by Student t test for paired samples. Results: After completion of the PP workshop, preschool educators reported statistically significant increases ranging from 6 to 29% in all components of personal orientation toward happiness, positive affect, self-acceptance and personal growth, subjective and overall happiness, and satisfaction with life. In contrast, no significant changes were found in negative affect, additional components of psychological well-being (autonomy, positive relationships, environmental mastery, life purpose) or work engagement. Conclusions: These results indicate that a short-term intervention based on PP principles and practices on preschool educators was associated with a significant and broad beneficial impact on personal wellbeing, happiness and life satisfaction. Given their key role in early education, improving psychological wellbeing in preschool teachers may translate into important positive effect on learning climate as well academic achievement and flourishing of very young children. PS 13-02. Act Well to Be Well: The Promise of Changing Personality States to Promote Well-Being Eranda Jayawickreme, Laura E.R. Blackie, Marie J.C. Forgeard, William Fleeson Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA The research on changing personality “states” to promote well-being is one of the most innovative and interesting intersections between personality science and positive psychology (Little, 2011), and can provide a robust empirical base for positive interventions. Despite the widespread belief that personality is stable, a large literature on normative personality trait change has revealed moderate, mostly positive, amounts of trait change across the lifespan (Roberts, Walton, & Viechtbauer, 2006). Given that non-negligible personality change occurs, it leaves open the possibility that individuals may be able to have an influence on how they change (Edmonds, Jackson, Fayard, & Roberts, 2008). Additionally, studies using experience sampling to study trait-relevant behavior in everyday life demonstrate a surprisingly high level of variability in behavior, with most individuals acting in ways that run the entire continuum of each trait dimension (e.g., Fleeson, 2001). Furthermore, individuals have the ability to convincingly change their trait-relevant behavior in the moment when instructed (e.g Fleeson, Malanos, & Achille, 2002). Of note, people can change their levels of happiness by simulating traits –that is, enacting personality states— associated with happiness, such as extraversion (Fleeson et al, 2002; McNiel & Fleeson, 2006; McNiel, Lowman & Fleeson, 2010; Zelenski, Santoro & Whelan, 2011). The notion of a personality state relies on the density-distributions approach and Whole Trait Theory (Fleeson, in press; Fleeson, 2001; Fleeson & Jolley, 2006). The approach starts with the concept of a “personality state” (Cattell, Cattell, & Rhymer, 1947; Fleeson, 2001; Fleeson et al., 2002; Fridhandler, 1986), which has the same content as a trait but for shorter duration. For example, an extraverted state has the same content as extraversion (talkativeness, energy, boldness, assertiveness) but accurately describes only a few minutes to a few hours rather than months or years. Although states and traits include some cognitive and affective features, their content is primarily behavioral (Pytlik Zillig, Hemenover, & Dienstbier, 2002). Fleeson et al. (2002) found that states and traits are isomorphic in some regards. Part of having a trait is simply acting that way (slightly) more often, and acting a certain way is similar to being that way. At a general level and in line with the “doing” view of personality (Cantor, 1990), individuals have flexibility and opportunity to act in different ways and bring about personally desired consequences. The robust between-persons relationship between extraversion and positive affect has always promised a possible applied intervention: individuals may be able to increase their positive affect by increasing their extraversion. Fleeson et al. (2002) show the success of a rather simple intervention, encouraging individuals to act more extraverted. This line of personality science research holds great promise. Already, recent research has shown that acting extraverted provides hedonic benefits regardless of whether one is highly extraverted or introverted (Zelenski et al., 2011) and promotes feelings of authenticity (Fleeson & Wilt, 2010). We outline and discuss interventions that induce moderating states to enhance happiness and decrease negative affect, increase pro-social behavior and facilitate posttraumatic growth. PS 13-03. Character strengths as mediators in Christian mindfulness-based intervention for recovery from addictive behaviour: an exploratory case study Sahaya G. Selvam Heythrop College, University of London, London, UK There is an increasing interest in studying the relationship between addiction and spirituality within the framework of psychology. For instance, an online bibliography on spirituality and addiction developed by Geppert and colleagues (Centre on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions, New Mexico) now has over 2000 entries. Interest in researching the effect of mindfulness on recovery is also on the rise. Generally, religiosity has been found to have some protective effect on addictive behaviour, and spirituality is said to sustain maintenance of recovery. There have been some, but limited, attempts at exploring the mechanisms and mediators of the association between spirituality and recovery from addiction. There is a lack, however, in finding a viable theoretical framework within which to interpret this relationship. Can the mediators of the association between spirituality and recovery from addiction be explored in terms of character strengths within the theoretical framework of positive psychology? This paper reports a case-study from a larger project that attempted to answer the research question in a two part empirical study carried out in Nairobi, Kenya. The first part looked at the correlation between addiction and character strengths through a survey, and the second part was an intervention study to test the efficacy of Christian mindfulness to boost up the salient character strengths and to facilitate recovery from addiction. The intervention that lasted ten weeks, with one weekend residential session and nine weekly sessions of ninety minutes each, consisted of training in a technique of Christian contemplative practice, labyrinth walking, and mindfulness journaling. The present case-study examines in some detail the experience of two participants from the intervention phase, who were selected by purposeful sampling. The data for the case-study were gathered through the journal entries, a semi-structured interview in the tenth week, and a follow up email correspondence four months after the end of the intervention, in addition to the pre- and post-test results of Values in Action- Inventory of Strengths (VIAIS ), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and the Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST). The qualitative data were analysed using an Interpretative- Phenomenological-Analysis approach. Emerging patterns show that while for the male participant (aged 27) recovery from dependent drinking took a path-way that featured the character strengths of self-awareness (personal intelligence and wisdom), humility, and spirituality leading to social responsibility, for the female participant (aged 20) reduced problem drinking and tendency towards sexual addiction took the pathway of self-regulation, spirituality, and forgiveness leading to social intelligence. These findings could be corroborated through triangulation involving a discussion with other published spirituality-recovery literature. The case-study suggests that the Christian mindfulness intervention seems to facilitate an emergence of a threedimensional spirituality that involves the self, God, and others. In general, the results indicate that the VIA offers a viable theoretical framework to explore the association between spirituality and recovery, though there is a need for a comprehensive but parsimonious quantitative measure of character strengths. PS 13-04. Effectiveness of early intervention for panic symptoms: randomized controlled trial Peter Meulenbeek, Godelief Willemse, Filip Smit, Pim Cuijpers GGNet, UTwente, Doetinchem, the Netherlands Introduction: Panic disorder (PD), is a serious DSM-IV axis I disorder affecting 2.2% of the Dutch population each year. It is associated with a large burden of disease, considerable medical consumption and extensive loss of productivity. A substantial proportion of the population suffers from subsyndromal PD and are at risk of developing a full-blown PD. We developed an early intervention for panic symptoms, called the ‘Don’t Panic’ course. The intervention consists of 8 weekly sessions of 2 hours each in groups of 6 to 12 participants following the protocol of the ‘Don’t panic’ course. It contains psycho-education about anxiety and panic attacks, changing life-style, managing stress, relaxation training, cognitive restructuring, interoceptive exposure, ‘in vivo’ exposure and relapse prevention. Method: A pragmatic, not-blinded, multi-site randomized trial (the course ‘Don’t Panic’ versus waiting list control group), with a baseline measurement and two follow-up measurements (at the end of the intervention and 6 months later). Subjects were recruited from the general population. A total of 217 subjects entered the study and were randomized to the experimental group (N=109) and the control group (N=108). Results: People presenting with subthreshold and mild PD benefit from this brief intervention: escalation toward more severe manifestations of PD is avoided, and panic symptom levels were much reduced. These beneficial effects were maintained over time. Discussion: The target group is known to be reticent in asking professional help and it is therefore good to see that a low threshold intervention is apparently effective and regarded as accessible and acceptable. PS 13-05. Effects of the self-affirmative task for self-compassion on self feelings, multiple mood states, and interpersonal relationships Ikuo Ishimura, Kenji Hatori, Naoki Kawasaki, Masahiro Kodama Tokyo Seitoku University, Funabashi, Japan, Hokusho University, Ebetsushi, University of Tsukuba, Tokyo, Japan In recent years, self-compassion has been seen as a powerful factor in predicting mental health. For example, there are indications that self-compassion increases brain and immune functions, alleviates symptoms such as shame, self-criticism, depression, anxiety, rumination and thought suppression, and has a positive correlation with feelings of satisfaction with life and social support. Thus, this research aims to develop new self-affirmation tasks that can increase one’s sense of self-compassion and to investigate the ways in which the effects of self-compassion can be characteristically seen through a method of intervention based on the perspectives of Self Feelings, Multiple Mood States and Interpersonal Relationships. Following a brief overview of the method of intervention, 41 university students (6 men and 35 women; Mean age of the participants is 21.34 years old) agreed to take part in this research. Over a period of four weeks, these students performed self-affirmation tasks daily at bedtime, where they were asked to write down five self-affirmative things each day. Measurements were then carried out using the Sense of Authenticity Scale, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, the Multiple Mood Scale and the Interpersonal Relationships Scale, both before and after intervention, as well as Forms of Self-Criticism and Self-Reassuring Scale every week. Furthermore, 40 university students (20 men and 20 women; Mean age of the participants is 20.25 years old) were selected at random as a control group and asked to answer the same questionnaire during the same one-month period as for the other students. Repeated analysis of variance of the two factors showed significant interaction in their self-criticising and selfreassuring thoughts, indicating that they attained their self-compassionate ideas during the first week and succeeded in decreasing their self-criticising ideas over a period of four weeks. Also, repeated analysis of variance of the two factors showed significant interaction in their sense of authenticity, sense of self-esteem, self-compassion, mindfulness and their sense of true self in interpersonal relationships, with the effect sizes through intervention being (Δ).57, .58, .58, .32 and .42, respectively. Moreover, all Multiple Mood States underwent significant changes, with effect sizes being (Δ) −.50 (Depression (Anxiety)), −.41 (Boredom), .27 (Liveliness) and .36 (Well-Being). From the above, the self-affirmation tasks for self-compassion in this research became one of the positive psychological interventions for students to reduce their self-attacking ideas and to develop their self-reassuring ideas. In addition to being effective in improving both positive and negative emotions, the self-affirmation tasks developed in this research enabled students to recognise their sense of authenticity and positive selves and indicated the possibility of contact with one’s true self in interpersonal relationships. Keywords: Self-compassion, Positive Psychological Intervention, Sense of Authenticity. PS 13-06. Emotional effects of remembering self-supportive words written mindfully as Japanese Sho calligraphy Naoki Kawasaki, Masahiro Kodama, Ikuo Ishimura Hokusho University, Ebetsushi, University of Tsukuba, Tokyo, Tokyo Seitoku University, Funabashi, Japan Sho is a form of traditional Japanese calligraphic art that involves writing beautiful sentences, or meaningful words mindfully on white paper, by using a brush and black ink. Kodama and colleagues (Kodama et al., 2011; Kawasaki et al., 2011) have shown that Sho is an effective, positive psychological intervention for Japanese students. It has been reported that positive emotions increased, negative emotions decreased and subjective benefits such as “being honest” and “ being gentle” increased when writing Sho (Kawasaki et al., 2011). However, investigations to date have only reported on the immediate and short-term effects of Sho. Therefore, we investigated the long-term effects of writing Sho and remembering it for a week as homework. Participants were Japanese undergraduate students (n = 23; 5 men and 18 women) that attend a Japanese culture sensitive, positive psychological intervention (Kodama et al., 2011). Sessions were held approximately once a week. Pre- and post- session positive and negative emotional states of the participants, such as joy, warmth, anxiety and irritability were assessed. The Sho work was conducted in the second of five sessions. After a psycho-educational lecture, participants remembered words that support them in their daily life and wrote these words as Sho. They rewrote the words freely until the written words were integrated with and represented with their feelings. After completing the Sho works, participants were asked to take a photograph of the words that they had written and to set the photograph as wallpaper of their mobile phones. Participants were also given the task of repeating the word aloud daily as homework. Reminders were e-mailed to the participants every morning, in which they were requested to report where they did the homework and its effectiveness, by using a score that ranged between 0 and 10. Examples of words that participants wrote included words of positive relatedness (“bond,” and“not alone”), self-support (“Don’t mind,” and “It’s OK”), self-regulation (“effort,” and “do it today not tomorrow”), and goals (“pass the exam,” and “level up”). Results indicated that the subjective rating of the effect of homework was significantly higher than the midpoint (M = 6.23, SD=1.45, 95 CI: 5.60 - 6.86). There was no difference in the subjective effect of Sho based on the meaning of the words. Emotional states of participants between pre- Sho session and post- homework week indicated no significant difference in positive emotions (t (22) = 0.35, n.s.), whereas negative emotions decreased significantly (t (22) = 2.49, p < .05). It is suggested that mindfully writing self-supportive words and remembering them has a long-term effect, by helping to cope with negative events and emotions. PS 13-07. Evaluating psycho-educational books for college students Diletta Marabini, Jane E. Gillham, Kaori Uno University of Bologna, Faenza, Italy Recently, several psychologists and educators have developed in-person (individual and group) interventions that teach skills designed to promote resilience and emotional well-being. Many of these programs have been found to increase life satisfaction and happiness and reduce feelings of distress. Despite the evidence that cognitive interventions and positive psychology programs are beneficial, these programs are not widely available. Psychoeducational interventions that are designed to be conducted in person are difficult to disseminate. This gap between evidence-based and practice has aroused an increase in programs that are easy to disseminate such as computer-based programs and books. Our study aims to fill these gaps by examining the potential benefits of books designed for a general audience. Potentially, any emphasis placed on promoting resilience and positive qualities may also be protective against psychopathology. This study investigates the role of bibliotherapy both in increasing positive dimensions as life satisfaction and happiness and in decreasing feelings of distress. A sample of college students was randomly assigned to one of three conditions: bibliotherapy that teaches cognitive resilience skills, bibliotherapy that teaches skills from positive psychology and no intervention (control group). Participants were assessed at baseline, after intervention and at 6 week follow-up. Each book’s effect is examined on positive mood, life satisfaction, optimistic thinking, self-efficacy, gratitude, attributional style, depression and anxiety symptoms and level of stress. The differential effect of CBT resilience bibliotherapy, positive psychology bibliotherapy in comparison with control group will be discussed. PS 13-08. Features of a French cognitive-behavioral chronic pain including the precepts of positive psychology C. Aguerre, M. Bridou, I. Vannier Université François Rabelais, Tours, France Psychological factors play a significant role in the experience, maintenance, and exacerbation of pain. For this reason, self-management of chronic pain appears as a complementary approach to his medical treatment. More specifically, it must be also noted that the benefits of behavioural and cognitive approach for chronic pain are now fully established (Morley & al., 1999). However, its effectiveness seems quite variable across individuals and the maintenance of therapeutic gains is sometimes problematic (Turk & Rudy, 1991). These findings can in part attributable to the fact these treatments are mainly focused on solving adaptive problems encountered. So, they focus on the negative aspects of pain experience (e.g. somatic damages, emotional distress, dysfunctional cognitions), rather than promote wellbeing and the best use of valuable psychological resources individuals (Zautra & al., 2005). Positive approach does not negate painful experience, but promotes self-help strategies that generate positive emotions, in order to strengthen the resilience of people chronically painful. More especially, it provides advice to chronic pain persons who tend to dramatize and lack of positive psychological characteristics (Ong & al., 2010). In order to assist these patients, we have developed an innovative cognitive-behavioural self-management of chronic pain integrating some guiding precepts laid down by the positive psychology. This intervention aims to help people with chronic pain to develop the skills needed to better manage their physical and mental suffering (mainly through learning coping strategies and efficient strengthening a sense of self-efficacy to pain), but also to cultivate a state of well-being protective. The potential effects of our wellness workshop for people with chronic pain are currently being evaluated in a French hospital (CHU Bretonneau, Tours, France). They will be highlighted with regard to literature data and some preliminary findings that we have established. PS 13-09. Longitudinal Results of an Intervention Program for Individuals with Cerebral Palsy Diana Brandão & José Luís Pais-Ribeiro Oporto University, Porto, Portugal Background. Cerebral Palsy (CP) describes a group of chronic conditions characterized by motor dysfunction, of which the main cause is non progressive brain damage, occurred during fetal development (UCP, 2001). It extends over the individual’s whole life, imposing upon them the adoption of a specific lifestyle, frequently, not goal-directed. Psychological Well-Being (PWB) is a multidimensional concept that includes (Ryff, 1989): Self-acceptance, Personal growth, Purpose in life, Positive relations with others, Environmental Mastery and Autonomy. Self-efficacy reflects the belief that one is capable of performing in a certain manner to attain certain goals (Bandura, 1995). Hope is “a cognitive set based on a reciprocally derived sense of successful agency (goal-directed determination) and pathways (planning of ways to meet goals)” (Snyder et al., 1991, p. 571). Aims. This study aims to evaluate the impact of a Psychological Group Intervention in promoting Psychological Wellbeing, Self-Efficacy and Hope in individuals with Cerebral Palsy. Methods. The sample consisted of 107 individuals with CP, aged between 16 to 38 years (M=24 ± 5 years), being 59% male and 41% female. All participants were single. 42 individuals have participated in Group Intervention (IG) and 65 belonged to the Comparison Group (CG). The intervention lasted 8 months, with 16 sessions of 1:30. PWB, Self-Efficacy and Hope were assessed before (T1) and after the intervention (T2), 6 (T3) and 12 months later (T4); using the Portuguese versions of the Scales of Psychological Well-Being (Ryff, 1989, adapted by Novo, Silva & Peralta, 2003), the Self-Efficacy Scale (Sherer & col., 1982, adapted by Pais-Ribeiro, 1995) and the Future Scale (Snyder et al., 1991 adapted by Pais-Ribeiro, Pedro & Marques, 2006). Results. For the IG, after the Intervention (T2) it was noticed an increase of Hope. 6 months later (T3), an increase of PWB and Self-Efficacy was noticed. 12 months after the Intervention (T4) it was again noticed an increase of PWB, Self-Efficacy and Hope. The CG showed no significant change over time. Statistically significant differences were not found between the IG and CG at any time (T1, T2, T3 and T4). Conclusions. These results suggest a positive impact of the Psychological Group Intervention in the PWB, Self-Efficacy and Hope, indicating that the benefits are maintained over time. PS 13-10. Positive Psychology Intervention Program for Personal Development: A Japanese Approach Masahiro Kodama, Naoki Kawasaki, Ikuo Ishimura University of Tsukuba, Tokyo, Hokusho University, Ebetsushi, Tokyo Seitoku University, Funabashi, Japan Background: Lack of self-esteem is often referenced as an underlying factor behind maladaptive problems. From the viewpoint of positive psychology, an important issue is the way in which healthy self-esteem is fostered. However, cultural differences must also be taken into consideration when discussing the ideal ways to foster self-esteem. In Japanese culture, the sense of self is strongly dependent upon the spirit of mutual cooperation. Therefore, it is important to incorporate a perspective of mutual cooperation based on the cultural context in developing positive methods of personal growth for a Japanese person. Nevertheless, positive psychological intervention programs that aim to strengthen one’s skills from cultural contexts are rare. Objective: This research aims to reaffirm the effect of our culturally sensitive positive psychological intervention program for the development of psychological resources (Kodama et al., 2011) using a multi-centre trial and develop an easy-to-use version of the program for the general population. Method: This research was conducted in order to use the program easily in a usual educational environment. From the five workshops developed initially, only three were selected (the Self-Talk, Discovering Your Strength and Reframing). Each workshop was conducted once a week (90-minute sessions). The workshops were structured around three activities: textbook-based lectures, individual works and activities involving cooperation and interaction. Furthermore, the program was conducted in two separate colleges with two different student groups. There were 35 participants in Group A (35 female; average age 22.4 years old) and 29 participants in Group B (22 male, 7 female; average age 19.9 years old). To measure the effectiveness of these workshops, the participants were measured across five psychological variables (sense of authenticity, self-esteem, psychological well-being, depression and hope) before and after the program, with an additional follow-up after a period of one month. Furthermore, the participants were asked to complete a mood and feeling evaluation questionnaire before and after each of the three workshops and also an evaluation questionnaire for each workshop as they were completed. Results: The results showed that, the participants generally tended to experience more positive and less negative emotions towards conducting workshops during their participation in the program. However, these results were more striking in Group A. Furthermore, statistically significant results showed that the intervention program affected sense of authenticity, self-esteem, psychological well-being (purpose in life) and hope (agency thought) in Group A participants; however, statistically significant results were not demonstrated in Group B. Conclusion: The results of this multi-centre trial show that the effect of this program was limited. Further research is necessary, with an increase in both the sample size and number of facilities, in order to determine the cause of this discrepancy. PS 13-11. Stress, Resilience and Reasons for Living between Suicide Ideators and Non-Ideators of Kashmir Valley Ulfat Jaan, Sheema Aleem Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India Background: The desire to live is instinctive in every one since birth. It is only through tragic and extreme circumstances that some lose touch with that instinct and choose instead to put an end to their existence by means of suicide. As suicidal behaviour has been seen as a process which involves a series of events rather than a single event, suicide ideation is the entry point into the suicidal process or the beginning of the continuum which starts with suicidal ideas and may or may not evolve to a more serious behaviour. It is important to study the possible risk factors that might lead to suicidal ideas. Along with this, studying protective factors, which are the positive aspects of human experience making life worth living, is also critical to formulate effective intervention strategies to prevent an individual from committing suicide. Aim: The present study is aimed to study stress (risk factor), resilience and reasons for living (protective factors or positive factors) among suicide ideators and non ideators in Jammu & Kashmir (India). Method: The study was conducted in the state of Jammu & Kashmir (India) on adults aged 25-35 years. Self report questionnaires were used to collect demographic characteristics, risk factors, protective factors and suicidal ideation of the sample. Data was taken from 100 suicide ideators and 100 non ideators which were further divided according to their gender. Data was analysed using ANOVA, t- test and correlations. Results: Suicide ideators and non ideators were found to differ significantly on stress, resilience and reasons for living with suicide ideators scoring higher on stress than non ideators. Non ideators were found to score higher on resilience and reasons for living than ideators. Gender differences were not found to be significant on these variables. Conclusions: Constructs like resilience and reasons for living may be helpful in preventing suicide ideation and other suicide related behaviours. Resilience is a two-dimensional construct concerning the exposure of adversity and the positive adjustment outcomes of that adversity. Reasons for living and resilience are a result of individuals being able to interact with their environments and the processes that either promote well-being or protect them against the overwhelming influence of risk factors. These processes can be individual coping strategies, or may be helped along by good families, schools, communities and social policies that make such positive constructs more likely to occur. PS 13-12. The Effect of Positive Psychological Interventions on Depression Atefeh Nekuii, Fatemeh Fathi, Hengameh Nazemroaya Isfahan, Iran Depression is a serious mental health problem, affecting people than ever before. This research reports on the shortterm effectiveness of positive psychological interventions on depression. A randomized, controlled trial was conducted with people who refer to clinical centers. Assessment tool was Beck Depression Questionnaire. The sample consisted of 60 people (30 male and 30 female) were selected. Results showed fewer depressive symptoms in the intervention group compared to the control group. This research indicates that positive psychologocal interventions can be effective in the short-term and can provide valuable skills to people. PS 13-13. The effectiveness of goal achievement training (GAT) Michał Szulawski Academy of Special Education Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland The majority of meaningful human behavior is purposeful; it is employed toward achievement of some goal. People intuitively set and pursue goals in their own ways to direct their behaviors towards the desired end. Positive psychology gives numerous clues how to make these strivings more efficient and more satisfying for the individual. The aims of the study were to test whether participation in GAT can predict the level of goal achievement. GAT is an author’s on-line training course based on the assumptions of positive psychology and research on self-regulation. The following method was used in the research: participants set their goals and then participated in GAT (experimental group). The training lasted two months and the participants evaluated the subjective achievement level of the aim four times (before, twice during and after the training). People who participated in GAT received six autosessions (e-mail instructions) in one-and-a-half week intervals. The control group also set and evaluated the level of goal achievement but without participating in GAT. Although the training is focused on achieving a certain goal, the intervention included numerous tasks which are in strict reference to positive psychology assumptions, such as: focusing on character strengths, gathering resources and looking for most satisfying moments while working (flow moments). The results showed that the level of achievement of the goal was significantly higher in the experimental group. The research was conducted as a pilot scheme. Two other pieces of research are being conducted with the use of GAT, in which the wellbeing of participants is tested before and after the intervention. PS 13-14. The efficacy of mood induction on psychological well-being in daughters of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder Maryam Esmaeili, Zohreh Latifi, Saeideh Mahdavi, Leila Esmaeili, Ali Reza Mahdavi, Ali Reza Mohammad Naderi University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran Introduction: Many studies showed that children of war veterans with (PTSD) have higher rate of emotional disorders. Therapists consider a special association between mental imagery and emotion. In cognitive behavioral therapy relevant cognitive processes include both verbal thoughts and mental images. Aim: the Aim of this research was to determine the efficacy of positive mental imagery on psychological well- being in the daughters of veterans with (P.T.S.D). Method: the Subjects were high school female students in Isfahan City who were assigned in two groups randomly (each group consist of 15 adolescents). The experimental group was under 8 sessions of positive mental imagery. Participants were asked to be relax and also imagine these positive events or to listen to the same descriptions while they are thinking about their verbal meanings. Results: We performed pre, post test and follow-up for experimental and control groups by psychological well-being questionnaire of Borumand, Molavi and Ryff, and demographical information questionnaires. Conclusions: The results of mancova analysis showed that there were significant differences between experimental and control groups. However the results showed that mood induction effects on psychological well-being in daughters of veterans with(PTSD).(P=0/004). Keywords: daughters of veterans with (P.T.S.D), psychological well-being, mood induction. PS 13-15. The Inverse Relationship between Depression, Stress and Thai Happiness indicators of Thai Youth Terdsak Detkong, Radtada Kornprasi Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi, Thailand Background. Mental Health is important for Youth. Severe Mental Health Problems associate with learning problem and discontinuation. Stress and Depression are mental health problems frequently found in youth. But youth usually reluctant to get help so that screening tool is need to help students’ Advisors know whether there students need any counseling. This study, Using Thai happiness indicators As a screening tool hoping that Thai Happiness Indicators should predict stress level as well as depression in youth. Purpose. The purpose of this study were to explore the relationship between Depression, Stress and Thai Happiness indicators of Thai youth . Methods. The sample included of 285, 93 male and 109 female from systematic sampling technique. Data were collected by using four questionnaires assessing personal data, Depression, Stress and Thai Happiness indicators. Data were analyzed by using frequency, percentage, and Pearson Correlation. Result. The results of this study indicated that 285 students in University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce had voluntarily attend the study. There are inverse relationships between Depression and Thai Happiness indicators at .01 levels of significance. Stress and Thai Happiness indicator also has inverse relationship at .01 levels of significance. Depression levels are correlate with Stress levels at 0.01 levels of significant. Conclusion. This suggested that Thai Happiness indicators could predict level of Depression and Stress amongst Thai youth and could be use as a screening test in the Supervisory system in University setting. PS 13-16. The role of eudaimonic well-being in psychotherapy for children with emotional and behavioral disorders Elisa Albieri, Francesca Vescovelli, Dalila Visani, Chiara Ruini University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy Backgrounds. Traditional psychotherapeutic perspectives aim to alleviate distress and repair weakness, but nowadays the diff usion of Positive Psychology movement has reframed the concept of “recovery from illness”, considering increase of well-being as important as the symptom reduction, particularly in pediatric settings. Well-Being Therapy (WBT) is a therapeutic approach where these two elements are proposed in a sequential approach, for a more complete recovery from illness and the enhancing of eudaimonic well-being. Aims. Considering the well-documented results obtained with WBT both in the treatment of several adult psychological disorders and in school settings with adolescents, a modified form of WBT has been tested on a child population of patients with mood, anxiety, and conduct disorders in order to test its effects in reducing symptoms and in improving psychological well-being and optimal human functioning, according to a eudaimonic perspective. Methods. 16 children (mean age=10,13 yrs; SD=1,78) referred to an Italian Neuropsychiatric Service underwent 8 sessions of WBT. Two sessions were also addressed to parents. Diagnoses were established using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children -Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). Before, after WBT and at 1 year follow-up, children were assessed using both self-rated and observer-rated instruments, in order to analyze psychological changes during the time. Self-rated battery include: Psychological Well-being Scales - adolescent version (PWB); Symptoms Questionnaire (SQ); Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS). Symptoms severity were established by two clinical psychologists who were not involved in the treatment, using the Kellner’s global rating scales for illness severity (GSIS) and for change after treatment (GSC). Results. According to self-report data, Anova for repeated measures shows a significant reduction in anxiety, depression, somatization and physical distress, which were maintained also at follow-up. Considering psychological well-being dimensions, self-acceptance resulted in a significant and lasting improvement. Clinician’s evaluations were analyzed using Friedman’s non-parametric test for repeated measures, which confirmed a significant improvement of children’s clinical status during the time. Conclusions. This study has obvious limitations, due to its very preliminary nature (small sample, lack of a control group), however these findings suggest that there is still substantial room for improvement in psychological treatments in youth and the feasibility of a clinical intervention, aimed to the promotion of eudaimonic well-being in children, could be an interesting innovation. PS 13-17. “I can’t do magic”: Development of an online well-being intervention for parents M. Haverman, L. Bolier, D. van der Linden, E. Fischer, I. Rosier, K. Martin Abello, I. Schulten Trimbos-instituut, The Netherlands Background. Parents have a major influence on the behavior and well-being of their children. Parents who are mentally fit are more capable of raising their children. At the same time, parents’ well-being is put to the test constantly. To take care of a child, parents have to offer a lot, and so their own needs are of secondary importance. Also, the combination of work and family can be a source of stress. Parenting thus brings a range of factors that impact the resilience of parents. Taking care of yourself as a parent, makes it easier to be patient and consistent. In this perspective we have developed “I can’t do magic”, an online intervention directed at improving well-being and resilience by increasing self-management of parents. As the name of the intervention makes clear, it also learns parents that they don’t have to be perfect as a parent. “I can’t do magic” is based on principles stemming from positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness. The intervention is developed in such a way that the dropout risk is limited (which is a common phenomenon in online interventions). Participants are invited to practice as much as possible, and read as little as possible. “I can’t do magic” contains tips, exercises, animations and so called ‘wellness’-rewards. Aim. This poster shows the process of developing this online well-being program for parents, and shows the results of each step within this process. Methods. A literature review was conducted to examine the importance of promoting parents’ well-being. Based on evidence based well-being interventions we have determined the content of the intervention. To make sure that the intervention would attract the target group, we started the development by creating persona’s. This is a marketing strategy to make sure the intervention is useful to people with different characteristics. We have organized a focus group in which we exposed our ideas and designs to the target group. Together with a web designer we have chosen an url name and have decided to create an online fairytale world to seduce parents to work on their mental fitness in an accessible and pleasurable way. Results and conclusions. The various steps in our development process each had consequences for the content of our online intervention. Exposing the results to a group of different parents as our target group, leads to useful findings. Also, the cooperation with an external creative partner (web designer) has resulted in an original concept of attracting parents. After the intervention is developed effectiveness research will be the next step. As part of the implementation strategy, “I can not do magic” will be embedded in a broader national parenting campaign. POSTERS PS 1.4. Positive Personality Development PS 14-01. A person of principles Nina Nizovskikh Vyatka State University of Humanities, Kirov, Russia The building of a “right” life can be realized by means of life’s principles (values). Using them a person has the opportunity to adjust own attitude toward themself, other people, the world as a whole. Life principles are wellknown. However psychology pays little attention to this problem. Life’s principles as psychological phenomena are ideas chosen by a person for determining his/her daily behavior and actions. The person creating own life according to conscious principles acts as a creating personality. The choice of this or that principles is very important because it opens some ways of the development of a person and closes other ways. Life’s principles can ensure the creative development of a person, but from the other side they may lead to stagnation and pathology. We rely here on the concept of L.S. Vygotsky about mediated character of the mental process and his proposition about speech as the main instrument for building a personality. The investigation of life’s principles is carried out in accordance with two plans. The first plan aims at studying life’s principles as a phenomenon reflecting public conscience. Respondents are offered to write down their life’s principles, to state the age when each of these principles was formulated, to identify the source of getting it and to estimate their following this principle in real life on a ten-points scale. Studies revealed that in life’s principles of some men and women positive values are presented along with the pessimism, negative values, and amorality. For example, “to love means to live!”, “in a person all should be fine”, “always tend to highest goal” versus “there is no love”; “all men are thieves,” “dog eats dog” “possible and necessary to tell lies,” “nobody should nothing to anybody” etc. The second plan represents studying of life principles as a phenomenon reflecting individual consciousness. The psycho-semantic methodology was used to cause attribution to life’s principles of a personality. (N.A. Nizovskikh, V.F. Petrenko). The main point of this methodology is building of semantic space on the basis of attribution of some causes to life’s principles aimed at reconstructing underlying meanings which mediated the process of self-development. The procedure is the following: in accordance with a number of unipolar scales formed by life principles, a respondent estimates the number of causes explaining the compliance with this or that principle in life by using a sixpoints Likert scale. Forming of a scale of measurement consists of formulating 30-35 respondent’s own life’s principles. 50 statements (motives) like “material interests”, “love to another person”, etc. were used as “objects” of scaling. Matrix of individual data was processed by factor analysis. The interpretation of sorted factors and building of semantic space is carried out. An advisory discussion is held with the respondent. The value of the method lies in the fact that it reveals the hidden values and motivational hierarchy, promotes awareness of the contradictions in the respondents’ life principles, thus contributing to the search for new trends of personal self-development. PS 14-02. Adolescents’ positive self-concept: Is parental behavior important for all its aspects? Marija Lebedina Manzoni, Martina Lotar Zagreb, Croatia Self-concept is a construct that refers to an individual’s perception of “self” that remains relatively consistent and stable over time, contexts and developmental phases (Harter, 1990). Positive self-concept is self-motivating and is affected by the fulfillment of own needs and expectations. Adolescents with positive self-concept and high selfesteem often use more effective and appropriate problem-solving skills and, hence, are less likely to develop different disorders, including anxiety, depression, delinquent behavior or eating disorders compared to adolescents with negative self-concept and low self-esteem. Development of self-concept and self-esteem is influenced by a variety of factors, such as interactions and relationships with significant others, i.e., parents, teachers and peers (Burnett & Demnar, 1996; Humphrey, 2003). The aim of this study was to determine which parental behaviors best explain different aspects of positive selfperception of adolescents. In sample of 926 elementary and high school students the following instruments were applied: The Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents (Harter, 1985) and The Parental Behavior Questionnaire (PBQ-29) (Keresteš, Kuterovac-Jagodić & Brković, 2009). The Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents is based on the assumption that adolescents can perceive one’s competence and functioning in multiple domains while simultaneously assessing one’s global self-worth. It includes following selfperception domains: Academic-scholastic competence, Social acceptance, Athletic competence, Physical appearance, Job competence, Romantic appeal, Behavioral conduct, Close friendship and General self-worth. The results of The Parental Behavior Questionnaire are formed on seven subscales: Acceptance, Autonomy, Psychological control, Monitoring, Positive Discipline, Negative Discipline and Permissiveness. Adolescents separately assessed mother’s and father’s behavior. Results have shown that parental behavior explains the greatest percentage of variance for behavior conduct, general self-worth and self-perception in close relationships. For adolescents’ self-perception is more important mother’s behavior. Higher mothers’ acceptance proved to be very important for adolescents’ positive self-perception in different domains. PS 14-03. Altruism and eudaimonic well-being Francesca Vescovelli, Emanuela Offidani, Chiara Ruini University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy Background. Altruism has been conceived to both underlying motivations, such as empathy and intentions, and good actions such as giving and benefiting others at some expense to oneself, without the expectation of personal gains. Some individuals voluntarily tend to frequently engage themselves in altruistic behaviours. This has usually been related to the presence of positive relations, empathy and cooperativeness. The majority of studies, thus, have investigated the biological, social and cognitive components and determinants of altruism. Fewer reports have explored psychological and personality factors that could influence the individuals’ engagement in altruistic behaviours. Aim. The aim of the study is to explore the associations between altruistic acts and psychological well-being, distress and personality factors. Methods. This cross sectional study involved 240 (F=79; M=161) volunteers of 4 Italian blood donor centers. They were administered the following questionnaires: The Self-Report Altruism Scale (SRA); Temperament and Character Inventory – Italian version (TCI); Symptom Questionnaire (SQ) and Psychological Well-Being Scales (PWB). Correlations between these questionnaires have been analysed with Pearson’s coefficient. To determine the predictive power of each dimension on SRA in the sample, a multiple linear regression analysis has been performed (method enter) with the SRA score as dependent variable. In the first regression model, age, gender and marital status were entered as independent variables. In the second and third models, only the significant positive and negative psychological correlates were entered as covariates respectively. Results. Significant positive associations have been reported between altruism and the PWB scales of autonomy and environmental mastery. Positive correlations have also been found between the SRA score and the TCI novelty seeking and the self-trascendence. Altruism resulted negatively linked to the SQ anxiety depression and TCI harm avoidance. Regression analysis highlighted that only PWB environmental mastery, TCI novelty seeking and TCI selftrascendence significantly predicted altruism scores. Conclusions. Even tough altruism showed significant correlations with different psychological variables, only the psychological well-being dimension of environmental mastery and the personality characteristics of novelty seeking and self-trascendence significantly predict people’s engagement in altruistic behaviors. Differently from previous reports, altruism seems to be better explained by spiritual and meaningful personality traits rather than dimensions related to positive relations and cooperativeness. Future studies are needed to investigate the specific role of eudaimonic well-being in altruistic behaviors. PS 14-04. An investigation of ego-resilience of university students A. Aykut Ceyhan Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey Introduction. University students as emerging adults are expected to accomplish some developmental tasks such as taking responsibility of himself/herself, making independent decisions, establishing and maintaining close relationships with others and so on. Besides, university students should deal with some issues such as sheltering, nutrition, economic problems, adjustment difficulties, future anxiety, distress caused by close relationships, courses and preparing to the profession, adjusting to rapid changes in society and technology during the years in university. To cope with all these tasks and difficulties effectively, the students should have strong personality characteristics like ego-resilience. Becoming resilient against multiple stressful life events is related to various factors such as interpersonal relations and problem solving skills, etc. An important factor in determining the quality of close relationships with individuals’ environment is attachment which develops depending on the quality of relationship established with significant others during infancy and childhood. Therefore, the students’ attachment styles are likely to be related to their resiliency. Purpose. The present study aims to investigate whether university students’ resiliency levels differ significantly in terms of attachment styles (secure, fearful, dismissing and preoccupied). Methods. The participants of the study were 108 students attending to the undergraduate program in Anadolu University in the autumn of 2011-2012 academic years. The data were collected with The Ego Resiliency Scale and Inventory of Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised. In the analyses of the research data, descriptive statistics, discriminant analysis and one-way analysis of variance with Tukey’s HSD post hoc test were used. As a result of the discriminant analysis run on the anxiety and avoidance scores obtained from the Inventory of Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised, the individuals were divided into four attachment styles (secure, fearful, dismissing and preoccupied). Results and Conclusion. The findings revealed that the means of resiliency calculated for the each of attachment styles were 41.60 (SD=3.84) for secure attachment, 39.41 (SD=5.38) for preoccupied attachment, 38.52 (SD=4.75) for dismissing attachment and 37.69 (SD=6.54) for fearful attachment, respectively. When these means were compared statistically, the findings demonstrated that the resiliency levels of the students who had secure attachment style were significantly higher than that of those who had fearful attachment style. However, there was no significant difference for any other possible pairwise comparisons between the attachment styles. Thus, the students’ attachment styles were related to their resiliency. As a result, the findings have pointed out that the attachment style would be an important factor for resiliency; especially the resiliency of students who had fearful attachment need to be strengthened. PS 14-05. Is there something positive about perfectionism? Martina Lotar, Zrinka Greblo, Marija Lebedina Manzoni Zagreb, Croatia Frost et al. (1993) were one of the first authors who empirically showed the existence of two fundamental dimensions of perfectionism, one of which contains positive and other which contains negative characteristics. The authors found two higher order factors of perfectionism. The maladaptive factor of perfectionism was positively related to negative affect and depression, and unrelated to positive affect. On the other hand, adaptive perfectionism was significantly associated only with positive affect and unrelated to negative affect and depression. Positive perfectionists are usually described as people who set high but realistic and achievable goals which are adjusted to the situation. Since their sense of self-worth does not depend on the task outcome, positive perfectionists are relaxed, but careful in their performance, they focus on proper task completion, and usually perform the task on time. After reaching the goal, people with high level of positive perfectionism feel satisfaction, while failure is associated with disappointment and further efforts (Enns and Cox, 2002). However, despite the empirical evidence, some theorists and researchers still doubt the existence of normal, adaptive, or positive aspects of perfectionism (e.g. Greenspon, 2001, 2008, Flett and Hewitt, 2002, 2005, Benson, 2003). For example, Flett and Hewitt (2006) stated that perfectionism should be perceived exclusively as pathological form of behavior and they emphasize that even positive perfectionism has a maladaptive side. According to all mentioned, the aim of this paper was to further investigate positive aspects of perfectionism. To achieve this goal, we conducted three studies on different samples of Croatian high-school and university students. In those studies we examined the relation between positive perfectionism (Slade i Owens, 1998) and self-esteem, students’ satisfaction with their academic achievement, self-discrepancies, self-handicapping, anxiety and depression. Results have shown that positive perfectionism is positively correlated with self-esteem, negatively with real-ideal and real-ought discrepancy, depression symptoms (N=200 students) and also with self-handicapping (N=337 students). There was no correlation with anxiety (N=647) and students’ satisfaction with their academic achievement (N=200 students). Due to the moderate positive relationship between positive perfectionism and self-esteem and its negative correlation with maladaptive aspects of self-image, experiences and behaviors, we can conclude that positive perfectionism has adaptive aspects that should be encouraged and developed among young people. Keywords: Positive perfectionism, self-esteem, psychological health PS 14-06. Making Creative mind and personality; new model of mental health promotion in children and adolescents Alireza Pirkhaefi, Mahnaz Ghezelbash Milad Islamic Azad University Garmsar Branch, Garmsar, Iran Objective: World Health Organization in recent years has much attention to mental health promotion programs for children and adolescents. These activities are under mental health programs primarily focused on children and adolescent care and education matters useful for nutritional, physical, environmental, and communication skills they have. However the field of mental health literature shows that due to rapidly changing social and environment the need for strategies that could improve the effectiveness and efficiency Method: One of the patterns fit the pattern in this area making creative mind and personality. This model by the researcher in a university sample in 1388 was investigated and its effectiveness in promoting mental health in experimental subjects was found. Results: The pattern is based on three main components (creativity, self efficacy and coping) and five operational level (Meta cognition, personality, linguistic, motivational, and behavioral) that the training capabilities at all levels of age and educational. Making Creative mind and personality contain components applied that high potential to mobilize inner capacities for creative and efficacy coping with injuries. Pattern is based on the assumption that with general making creative mind and personality can be bring creative efficacy and coping in people, especially children and adolescents in the age and gender appropriate training. Keywords: making creative mind and personality, mental health promotion PS 14-07. Perception of imaginative Social Representations in context to transform life situations Maria Shiryak Saint-Petersburg State University, Saint-Petersburg, Russia This is an integrative approach to the studying of psychological and aesthetic factors in analysis of Russian painting (XIX-XXI centuries) into two aspects: as social representation and as a source of creative imagination. The aim of my research is to display cognitive and regulative significance of perception of painting for the development of creative activity in order to positively transform life situations. Key words: perception of painting, integrative approach, social representation, opposite situations, aesthetic judgement, creative activity. The specific of research is comparative analysis of two opposite social situations to understand their emotional meaning. Aesthetic judgement about a picture was studied on three steps of situation, in correlation of cognitive, affective and personal parameters. The experiment’s method was used in this research. Other methods were: introspection method, questionnaire on esthetic judgement by Likert, Torrence’s test on creativity, content-analysis, inversion and projective methods. Stimulus was represented by 12 situations of interpersonal relations at neutral, conflict and positive orientation. Personal meaning of the picture: „The World of a men“, „The men in the World“. The 5 themes of pictures: “Two”, “Family Portrait”, “Nature and life”, “Weeks-days and holidays”, “Eternal values”. General Hypothesis. The painting wakes up an interest to contribute a development of aesthetic judgement and also an emergence of creative imagination and constructive mode of thinking. A pilot study covering children (9-10 years) shows the ability to apprehension and interpretation of the picture, the impact of aesthetic experience and practice on creative imagination using different projective methods. The results of research cover 110 adults aged from 20 to 64 (amateur artists and ordinary people, humanitarians and technically-inclined people, psychologists) obtained on the basis of statistic analysis and content-analysis were proposed and validated and show more evidence for cognitive factor as a determinant of empathic comprehension of the situation. In addition, the results of the studies confirm empirically the existence of implicit criteria of comprehension on different levels of social representation: content or concept. This is a “cognitive aesthetic” (Todd Lubart) approach to the studying of creative imagination into two aspects: as phenomenon of creativity and as ability to transformation. Use of inversion method shows connection of parameter at perceptive meaning and constructive aspect of imagination, impact of creative imagination on the development of creative activity at perception of social situations. A graphic test “Image of the World” is evaluated in context of personal goal and its reflection in the images of the future. Other important issue is the impact of associated quality of experience in terms of cognitive, affective dimensions on creative activity to transform the meaning of the situation and the correlation between aesthetic experience and quality of daily life of personality. Aesthetic experience and creative imagination contribute to positive evaluation of social situations resulting in satisfaction and emotional well-being. PS 14-08. Personality and Word Use: Positive and Negative Expressions of the Self Through Social Media Margaret Kern, H.A. Schwartz, J.C. Eichstaedt, S.M. Ramones, L. Dziurzynski, M. Kosinsk, D.J. Stillwell, M.E.P. Seligman, L.H. Ungar University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA The World Well-Being Project is developing an innovative method to measure well-being as expressed through social media. Since well-being and personality are correlated, it is important to study both. Further, personality influences emotional expression, most notably with extraversion tied to positive emotion words and neuroticism tied to negative emotion words. The Big Five model of personality (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness to experience) offers a conceptual framework for understanding individual difference in emotional expression. The five factors were originally derived from Galton’s lexical hypothesis (i.e., most important individual differences can be encoded as single words; Goldberg, 1993), and thus are well suited to textual analysis. As an increasing number of people connect through Facebook and similar platforms, personality is often expressed and further developed through text shared within online social networks. Using the five-factor framework, we examined the expression of the Big Five personality factors by over 55,000 Facebook users. Users completed personality items from the International Personality Item Pool (Goldberg, 1999) through the myPersonality application (Kosinski & Stillwell, 2011), and agreed to allow their status information to be collected for research purposes. Participants contributed over 10 million status updates. Through natural language processing, the words most predictive of each personality factors were determined. Notably, frequent words followed typical conceptions of each trait, including positive and negative emotionality. For example, high extraversion reflected social interactions and positive emotion (e.g., party, amazing, love, :), amazing, excited), whereas low introversion reflected individual activities and fewer emotions (e.g., computer, internet, anime, drawing). High agreeableness reflected more diverse components of well-being (e.g., grateful, wonderful, family, friends), whereas low agreeableness was characterized by swear words and negativity. High neuroticism reflected depression and loneliness (e.g., sick, depressed, :(, cry, stupid), whereas low neuroticism reflected family connections and activity (e.g., team, game, success). Whereas our understanding of personality and well-being is typically based on small studies of college undergrads, this very large scale study suggests that there are notable individual differences in common word expression. Ultimately, we hope to supplement self-reported questionnaires with such unobtrusive measures of word use, allowing more in-depth study of personality influences on well-being. By creatively taking advantage of social media, we can better understand how personality is developed and expressed within social networks, and the extent to which measures of well-being are influenced by individual differences. PS 14-07. Perception of imaginative Social Representations in context to transform life situations Maria Shiryak Saint-Petersburg State University, Saint-Petersburg, Russia This is an integrative approach to the studying of psychological and aesthetic factors in analysis of Russian painting (XIX-XXI centuries) into two aspects: as social representation and as a source of creative imagination. The aim of my research is to display cognitive and regulative significance of perception of painting for the development of creative activity in order to positively transform life situations. Key words: perception of painting, integrative approach, social representation, opposite situations, aesthetic judgement, creative activity. The specific of research is comparative analysis of two opposite social situations to understand their emotional meaning. Aesthetic judgement about a picture was studied on three steps of situation, in correlation of cognitive, affective and personal parameters. The experiment’s method was used in this research. Other methods were: introspection method, questionnaire on esthetic judgement by Likert, Torrence’s test on creativity, content-analysis, inversion and projective methods. Stimulus was represented by 12 situations of interpersonal relations at neutral, conflict and positive orientation. Personal meaning of the picture: „The World of a men“, „The men in the World“. The 5 themes of pictures: “Two”, “Family Portrait”, “Nature and life”, “Weeks-days and holidays”, “Eternal values”. General Hypothesis. The painting wakes up an interest to contribute a development of aesthetic judgement and also an emergence of creative imagination and constructive mode of thinking. A pilot study covering children (9-10 years) shows the ability to apprehension and interpretation of the picture, the impact of aesthetic experience and practice on creative imagination using different projective methods. The results of research cover 110 adults aged from 20 to 64 (amateur artists and ordinary people, humanitarians and technically-inclined people, psychologists) obtained on the basis of statistic analysis and content-analysis were proposed and validated and show more evidence for cognitive factor as a determinant of empathic comprehension of the situation. In addition, the results of the studies confirm empirically the existence of implicit criteria of comprehension on different levels of social representation: content or concept. This is a “cognitive aesthetic” (Todd Lubart) approach to the studying of creative imagination into two aspects: as phenomenon of creativity and as ability to transformation. Use of inversion method shows connection of parameter at perceptive meaning and constructive aspect of imagination, impact of creative imagination on the development of creative activity at perception of social situations. A graphic test “Image of the World” is evaluated in context of personal goal and its reflection in the images of the future. Other important issue is the impact of associated quality of experience in terms of cognitive, affective dimensions on creative activity to transform the meaning of the situation and the correlation between aesthetic experience and quality of daily life of personality. Aesthetic experience and creative imagination contribute to positive evaluation of social situations resulting in satisfaction and emotional well-being. PS 14-08. Personality and Word Use: Positive and Negative Expressions of the Self Through Social Media Margaret Kern, H.A. Schwartz, J.C. Eichstaedt, S.M. Ramones, L. Dziurzynski, M. Kosinsk, D.J. Stillwell, M.E.P. Seligman, L.H. Ungar University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA The World Well-Being Project is developing an innovative method to measure well-being as expressed through social media. Since well-being and personality are correlated, it is important to study both. Further, personality influences emotional expression, most notably with extraversion tied to positive emotion words and neuroticism tied to negative emotion words. The Big Five model of personality (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness to experience) offers a conceptual framework for understanding individual difference in emotional expression. The five factors were originally derived from Galton’s lexical hypothesis (i.e., most important individual differences can be encoded as single words; Goldberg, 1993), and thus are well suited to textual analysis. As an increasing number of people connect through Facebook and similar platforms, personality is often expressed and further developed through text shared within online social networks. Using the five-factor framework, we examined the expression of the Big Five personality factors by over 55,000 Facebook users. Users completed personality items from the International Personality Item Pool (Goldberg, 1999) through the myPersonality application (Kosinski & Stillwell, 2011), and agreed to allow their status information to be collected for research purposes. Participants contributed over 10 million status updates. Through natural language processing, the words most predictive of each personality factors were determined. Notably, frequent words followed typical conceptions of each trait, including positive and negative emotionality. For example, high extraversion reflected social interactions and positive emotion (e.g., party, amazing, love, :), amazing, excited), whereas low introversion reflected individual activities and fewer emotions (e.g., computer, internet, anime, drawing). High agreeableness reflected more diverse components of well-being (e.g., grateful, wonderful, family, friends), whereas low agreeableness was characterized by swear words and negativity. High neuroticism reflected depression and loneliness (e.g., sick, depressed, :(, cry, stupid), whereas low neuroticism reflected family connections and activity (e.g., team, game, success). Whereas our understanding of personality and well-being is typically based on small studies of college undergrads, this very large scale study suggests that there are notable individual differences in common word expression. Ultimately, we hope to supplement self-reported questionnaires with such unobtrusive measures of word use, allowing more in-depth study of personality influences on well-being. By creatively taking advantage of social media, we can better understand how personality is developed and expressed within social networks, and the extent to which measures of well-being are influenced by individual differences. PS 14-09. Semantic «roles» of loneliness Yaroslav Zalomov, Olga V. Mitina, Nina A. Nizovskikh Vyatka State University of Humanities, Kirov, and Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia The experience of loneliness is one of the most complex human experiences. Attitudes toward loneliness are ambivalent. Some authors point to the negative effects of loneliness, and associate solitude with pathology (Zilburg, Fromm, Reichman, Sullivan). Others emphasize the constructive role of loneliness (Winnicott, Hollenhorst, Yalom). From one side a personis “social creature” and needs can not live without other people. But “the life among others” in some cases becomes unbearable. “Other - this is hell” (Sartre). Loneliness in today society, paradoxically, is associated with technologization. The development of communication tools, allowing to establish communication with people anywhere in the world, at the same time leads to a decrease living communication. “The luxury of human communication” is gradually replaced by the need to “be in contact”. A person being «online», feels including in communication, but outside of real contacts is alone and distant from the others (Price). From the positive psychology perspective the questions how a person experiences loneliness, what it means for him/ her deserve attention. Can loneliness contribute to the well-being, happiness, life satisfaction, or it necessarily leads to depression, discoloration of life, etc.? We have established a method aimed to study types of feelings of loneliness. In the first stage people’s judgments about loneliness were collected and classified. Respondents were asked to express own opinion about the loneliness and attitudes in free form. Subjects were recruited on internet sites devoted to discussing different existential problems: young people aged from 16 to 35 years (1300ss), as well as older people from 36 to 50 years (180ss). Totally 1550 judgments were collected. Qualitative analysis “raw” statements about the loneliness confirmed hypothesis about multidimensional structure representation about loneliness. Here are some typical examples of statements: “loneliness creeps up from behind, like a wild beast”, “solitude gives me the strength to act”, “it’s like a hole inside me”. These statements were classified among the semantic categories (fear of loneliness, alienation, experience of distance and, etc.), which became the basis for the selection of diagnostic scales. After the initial generalization was received 360 items. In the pilot study respondents (n = 60) were asked to rate the degree of agreement with each of the statements using Likert scale. Indicators of correlation, skewness and kurtosis allowed to exclude non-working or ambiguous items. We received a list from of 150 items were included in the final list with judgments about loneliness. Based on the analysis of literary sources and the empirical studies described above 23 “complexes of symptoms” were allocated. They reflect experiences of alone people with differend attitudes towards it: For example, “a man who lives alone, and likes it”, “alone old man forgotten by own children”, “a man living in the family, but not feeling emotional closeness”. On the basis of symptoms’ complexes and respondents’ judgments about loneliness empirical types of feelings of loneliness and attitudes towards loneliness were analysed. Constructive and destructive components were revealed. PS 14-10. Structure and ontogenetic dynamics of human social abilities Olena Vlasova Taras Shevchenko National University, Kiev, Ukraine The object of this research are social abilities. System nature of our research was provided by consecutive coordinated creation of conceptual, operational and empirical models of emergence of human social abilities’ separate subsystems and their main determinants of development, with using of a shear organizational and methodical model of empirical research, that is adequate to the work’s tasks. The work was done taking into account the experience of the existing scientific and theoretical generalizations, contemporary, including author’s, psychodiagnostic means of collecting necessary information and of its static handling. Reasoning from theoretic analysis of contemporary scientific and psychological understanding of the phenomenon of social abilities, that we have made, it is possible to claim that the main ones among them are: 1. the ability to emotionally evaluate, differ, appropriately express and control one’s own emotions, to be responsible for their positive status – it is, in our opinion, the intraindividual subsystem of abilities to emotionally control vital activity and regulate the emotional life of a person, which forms his/her most intime level of social control and social self-regulation; 2. the ability to adequately perceive verbal and non-verbal information of social matter, both of static and dynamic nature, the ability to foresee as the apperception of development of social events taking into account their contextual conditionality and the results of developing. – it is the interindividual subsystem of activity of social and intellectual abilities, the object of analysis of which can be a person as a separate social object; 3) finally, creative ability of a person as the ability for problematization and for making dialectical synthesis of the often contradictory intraindividual and interindividual elements of a social situation, that are important for the majority of the subjects of activity, the result of which is a new productive decision that has features of a divergent, creative product which is acceptable for all participants of a social situation. It is the metaindividual subsystem of social and creative abilities of a person, which for its functioning demands the appropriate level of maturity of other subsystems that not only serve as psychological basis for its forming, but, feeling its system and operating influence, develop further on, allowing a person to effectively realize management of other people. Forming of social abilities as a system formation of a person is of heterochronous nature. General picture of the development of such a system is described by the tendency of consecutive dominative forming of its potentials as the person grows older: emotional (childhood), conative (younger school age and younger teen age), analytical (teen age and early youth), creative (youth, adulthood). At each ontogenetic stage at the basis of forming of the abovementioned potentials there is the development of other component social abilities, with further integration of all potentials into the whole system which as well contains personal and regulatory mechanisms of a person’s social activity: his/her social orientations, personal models and social activity strategies. PS 14-11. The role of personality, family factors and their interactions in straight and devious pathways in adolescence Semen Muhametkulov, Helena R. Slobodskaya Research Institute of Physiology SB RAMS, Novosibirsk, Russia Background: Although there is considerable evidence of the effects of personality and family factors on positive and negative life outcomes in adolescence (e.g. Bradshaw et al., 2010; Caspi, Roberts, & Shiner, 2005; Farrington et al., 2001; Hare & Neumann, 2009), recent findings suggest that children with similar predispositions, as well as and children from similar backgrounds, can develop quite differently due to a variety of interaction effects (Beauchaine et al., 2009; Belsky & Pluess, 2009). Aim: The present study aims to compare the contribution of personality traits, family factors and their interactions to the prediction of adolescent behaviour outcomes in offender and community samples. Method: A large community sample of Russian adolescents aged 14 to 17 years and a sample of incarcerated youths is assessed using self-reports. Behavioural outcomes is measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman et al., 2005) which assesses prosocial behaviour, emotional and behavioural problems. Personality is measured by the Inventory of Child Individual Differences (ICID, Halverson et al., 2003) which assesses fifteen mid-level traits and five higher-order factors, and by Junior Sensitivity to Punishment and Reward Questionnaire (SPSR-J, Torrubia et al., in prep.). Family factors are measured by the Life Style Questionnaire which assessed socioeconomic status, family structure, income, family cohesion, family violence, punishments, monitoring and social support. In addition, adolescents report on tobacco, alcohol and other drug use and also on family and peer substance use. Results: The study will compare family characteristics, substance use, mean levels of personality traits, prosocial behaviour, emotional and behavioural problems and their correlations in juvenile offenders and a community sample. The contribution of ICID and SPSR-J personality scales, family factors and their interactions to the prediction of SDQ prosocial behaviour, emotional and behavioural problems will be evaluated with hierarchical multiple regression analyses. The effects of significant predictors of adolescent behaviour outcomes in offender and community samples will be compared. Conclusions: The findings will shed light on developmental mechanisms leading to positive and negative life outcomes in adolescence and might have important implications for prevention and management. PS 14-12. Challenge: To Be. A group intervention program for the positive development of adolescents Teresa Freire, Ana Teixeira, Isabel Lima, Marta Araújo University of Minho, Braga, Portugal The recognition of the need for a greater focus on the scientific study of optimal human functioning, as suggested by the Positive Psychology movement, has contributed to a significant growth of intervention proposals centered on promoting the positive development of young people. Therefore, we present the program entitled Challenge: To Be+, aimed at promoting the positive development of adolescents, and the quantitative and qualitative assessment of its effectiveness. The program’s main purpose is to promote the optimal functioning and positive development of adolescents by intervening in three main areas that have been suggested in the literature as enhancer of the positive development: positive life experiences; individual positive traits and engagement; and optimal experiences and positive development. This program was implemented, with 104 high school students aged between 14 and 17 years, through 8 sessions. We used a quasi-experimental design with six experimental groups and one comparison group, evaluated before and after the intervention. We evaluated quantitatively some factors that have been associated to the positive development, in particular: the psychological wellbeing, satisfaction with life, self-esteem; and self-concept of adolescents. Furthermore, we evaluated qualitatively each session asking adolescents about what they liked more, what they didn’t like and what was the more important thing in the session; and the program as a whole asking adolescents about what they liked more, what they didn’t like and what were their main learning’s. Quantitative results indicated an increase in levels of psychological wellbeing, satisfaction with life, self-concept and self-esteem after the implementation of the program in the six experimental groups. On the other hand, qualitative results showed that the aspects most appreciated by adolescents were the activities carried out in the program and the acquisition of personal knowledge, making possible the occurrence of personal changes. In sum, either the quantitative or the qualitative results revealed an overall positive assessment of this program and its important contribution to promoting a positive development of adolescents, making them more aware of themselves as proactive agents of their own development and personal changes. PS 14-13. Relationships among Family of Origin, Teaching Styles and Creative Behaviors – The Complexity Approach Chia-Yu Liu, Wei-Wen, Lin National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei City, Taiwan The early years in any individual’s life play an important role in the way they are later going to turn out. For this reason, it is essential that early environment provide the psychological safety and the psychological freedom for developing habits and outlooks that will make complex development in later life possible. Csikszentmihalyi (1996) proposed complexity theory in family framework to confirm the importance of complexity traits to creative development in his study of later life creativity. The complexity theory here is that there being an order behind seemingly disordered enduring systems. This order is a foundation of every systems and states, and it is created through the processes of integration and differentiation (Csikszentmihalyi, 1993). All the complex systems, including biological, psychological, familial, and societal, tried to maintain continuing and stable state to seek integration (Damon, 1983). At the same time, these systems also strived for individuality and changed themselves by adapting new functions to seek differentiation. Systems that are both integrated and differentiated can be thought of as complex. The combination of the two dynamic forces provides the best conditions for development. Therefore, a complex family is expected to be the most effective family style to develop individuals’ talents and increase their learning motivations. Parents of complex family provide not only support and harmony to encourage children, but also involvement and freedom to stimulate them (Gute, Gute, Nakamura, & Csikszentmihalyi, 2008). Patterns of perception and experience assimilated at home are likely to be carried over to new contexts, such as school (Csikszentmihalyi, Rathunde, & Whalen, 1993). In school, teachers play a major role to promote students’ learning. Teachers with complex teaching style may use their abilities flexibly and maintain optimal balance between themselves and environment. Hence, they would perform higher creative behavior and intrinsic motivation than other teachers to enhance students’ learning. The main purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among the complexity of elementary teachers’ family of origin, their teaching styles, and creative teaching behaviors. Three hundred forty six teachers were selected by convenience sampling in Taiwan. The research instrument was composed of questionnaires including Complex Family Questionnaire modified from Rathunde (1988), Complex Teaching Style Questionnaire (Liu, 2010), Innovative Teaching Behavior Scale (Lin, 1997), and Intrinsic Motives in Creative Teaching Scale (Lin, 2002). The quantitative analysis of the collected data was conducted through descriptive statistics, factor analysis, reliability analysis, chi square, Analysis of Variance, Multivariate Analysis of Variance, and canonical correlation. Results showed that there is no significant difference on degree of complexity of family and teaching between genders, ages, seniority, diploma, and educational background. Teachers came from complex family performed higher innovative teaching behavior and intrinsic motivation of creativity teaching, suggesting that the more complexity traits in individuals’ families, the higher creativity they might perform in later life. In addition, complex teaching styles were significantly higher than other teaching styles on innovative teaching behavior and intrinsic motivation of creativity teaching among elementary teachers. PS 14-14. The assessment of psychological well-being in adolescence: Self-rated vs observer-rated measures Francesca Vescovelli, Emanuela Offidani, Elisa Albieri, Chiara Ruini University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy Backgrounds: Many studies have shown the relevance of well-being in adolescents’ physical and mental health. However, the majority of studies focused mainly on the evaluation of distress and symptomatology, rather than on the positive dimensions of adolescents’ functioning. Aims: The aim of the research is to compare self-rated and observer-rated instruments for measuring adolescents’ well-being. Methods: The sample included 150 adolescents of an Italian High school. Observed-evaluation was performed by two high school’s teachers using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Adolescents were administered the following self-report questionnaires: Psychological Well-being Scales (PWB) and Symptom Questionnaire (SQ). Student t test was performed to verify the presence of differences in PWB and SQ scores according to gender and age, and the differences on SQ and SDQ according to the levels of PWB (high/low). Pearson’r correlations were calculated between SQ and SDQ scores, and between PWB and SDQ scores. Linear regression was performed to examine which self-rated dimension better predict SDQ kind and helpful behaviour scale. Results: Significant differences between high PWB vs low PWB individuals emerged on some SQ subscales. PWB subscales significantly correlate with all SDQ dimensions, but SDQ emotional distress. Multiple linear regression showed that PWB environmental mastery and PWB personal growth are predictors of SDQ kind and helpful behaviour, and not positive relations with others. Conclusions: The study present obvious limitations due to its exploratory nature. Nevertheless, interesting findings have been found. Results highlighted the importance of using both self-report and observer-rated tools for a more comprehensive assessment of adolescents’ positive functioning. PS 14-15. Youth moral self-determination factors Anastasia Vorobieva The Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia Self-determination phenomenon was marked out by philosophers, especially existential philosophers (Abbagnano, Berdyaev, Hartmann, Kirkegaard, Ortega y Gasset, Sartre, Heidegger, Jaspers and others) and elaborated by outstanding russian and foreign psychologists (Bojovich, Fromm, Harre, Deci, Ryan, Tageson, Easterbrook, Rychlak). This phenomenon is generated by combination of freedom as definite form of activity and responsibility as definite form of regulation. Their mediation of definite value, spiritual meaning content is the principal moment for the confluence of freedom and responsibility in single self-regulated freedom of mature person. There are different kinds of self-determination. Some of them are not investigated quit well. One of them is the moral self-determinaton. A lot of modern philosophers and psychologists had appealed to the moral self-determination problem (Abulkhanova, Arkhangelsky, Bakshtanovitch, Bojovich, Guseinov, Valeev, Safin, Sherdakov, Chudnovsky). Rest upon them we understand moral self-determination as the prosess of person orientation in the system of moral ideals and values, among people and social groups which are the bearers of this system, also as the conscious process of searching, selecting and creating ones own moral standarts and ideals, and after that principles, values, norms and rules based on them. In moral self-determination structure four main segments could be picked out: 1. Self-determination to morality as the part of public conscience and social institute; 2. Self-determination to objects and phenomenons of surrounding and objective reality; 3. Self-determination to other people, groups and society in respect to morality; 4. Self-determination to oneself as a subject of moral relations. Moral development and self-determination has been realizing for all course of life. It’s stages are determined not so much by age, as by degree of social, intellectual, etc. maturity. The kind of normative and non-normative events which had happened with person by definite age has the greater influence on moral self-determination. Morality is the base personality characteristic. Future moral state of society depends on modern youth moral selfdetermination. It determined the goal of our research – the analysis of youth moral self-determination factors. Methods: questionnaire “Personality moral self-determination” (Vorobieva, Kupreichenko). Its structure based on the most fundamental regulations of moral conceptions of Bratus, Gilligan, Gibbs, Kohlberg, Platonov, Khvostov and others as well as on the main religious and secular ethic conceptions (utilitarianism, pragmatism, naturalism, immoralizm and others). It holds three meaning blocs: “conceptions of morality”, “moral strategies”, “individual moral orientations” Sample: youth of 18-35 years old (337 persons) was divided on 3 groups (18-23, 24-29 and 30-35). Results: The more positive moral self-determination is peculiar to youth of 30-35 years old in comparison with 18-29. It can be explained by aspiration for supporting status and by specific childhood experience. The results of our research had shown that youth realizes function of morality more if they have subject of care and responsibility (a couple or a child). Less positive moral self-determination is peculiar to youth which reconcile two kinds of employment (work and study). It could be explained by necessity to switch from norms of students group to norms of company which may result in moral pluralism. PS 14-16. Taiwanese adolescents’ strivings for autonomy in relation to parental connectedness in the context of hypothetical interpersonal dilemmas Sheh-Wei Sun National Taipei University, New Taipei City, Taiwan Positive development during adolescence is best fostered in a family context which strikes an effective balance between adolescents’ individuality and parent-adolescent connectedness. This study intends to explore Taiwanese adolescent’s expressions of autonomy strivings and parental emotional connectedness, solicited by various hypothetical personal/ interpersonal dilemmas presented to them, in a Chinese culture which in tradition tilts to the end of family connectedness. Seven personal/ interpersonal dilemmas were chosen, modified and pretested from Adolescent Problem Inventory (API, Freedman, Rosenthal, Donohoe, Schlundt, & McFall, 1978) on the basis of frequency of occurrence, being relevant to adolescents’ daily experiences, applicable for each gender and age (e.g., curfew, being grounded, parental disapproval of a friend, personal mood swing, peer pressure against parental demand, academic performance). In a survey study of parent-adolescent relationships and adolescent risk behavior and perception in Taipei city area (Sun, 2005), a representative sample of 1,035 junior- and senior-high school students who completed a questionnaire were further invited for an interview study. A total of 138 students volunteered to provide contact information. Adopting a stratified (gender and age) random procedure, fift y students (27 males, 23 females, ages 13 to 18) were eventually recruited for the present study . Each participant then completed an one hour to one-and-one-half hour tape-recorded interview in which each of seven dilemmas was presented in order, and open-ended questions were used to probe the teen’s responses. Following data collection with participants, each taped interview was transcribed and each transcript was coded by three coders independently for analyses. Techniques related to a grounded theory approach to research were employed, including open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. Also, indigenous concepts (from participants) and sensitizing concepts (from literature and the researcher) were used to structure a coding and re-coding process. The analysis of the transcripts including the following steps: 1. coding and analysis of responses to each dilemma within and across individuals by each coder independently; 2. constant comparison and discussion for consensus to obtain a common set of codes and concepts for each dilemma among coders; 3. identification of concepts, domains and themes across dilemmas. An initial list of codes, concepts, and domains was thus generated from 18 of the 50 transcripts and was used as a guiding structure for coding 20 more transcripts from the study. A revised and to be refined version of codes was then applied to the remaining 12 transcripts. At present, the findings from analyses are tentatively classified according to six domains: attributes of dilemma; autonomy-related expressions; connectedness, separation/distancing, parent-adolescent relationship quality, and parenting behavior. Themes related/specific to Chinese culture are yet to be analyzed and identified. POSTERS PS 1.5. Positive Psychology in Society, Communities, and Human Relationships PS 15-01. Gandhi’s sarvodaya and its socio-psychological aspect Bijay Gyawali, S. Sakuma International University of Health and Welfare, Graudate School Tokyo, Shinjuku, Japan Gandhi Known as ‘Mahatma’ (great soul), Gandhi was the leader of the Indian nationalist movement against British rule, and is widely considered the father of his country. His doctrine of non-violent protest to achieve political and social progress has been hugely influential. Gandhi has much to teach us. His ideas were a response to his time and need adapting for our time. They continue to inspire. Sarvodaya as discussed and used by Gandhi, which translates to the welfare of all (Boss, 1987) or uplift of all (bonddureant, 1965). Gandhi mainly focused on there main principles guided his writing and actions. The Sanskrit terms describing these principles are Satya (truth), Ahimsa (nonviolence), and Tapasaya (meditation or self suffering). Gandhi was a positive thinker and peace builder, all his principles’ focus on peace and positive life. During his lifetime, Gandhi mainly focuses on political and social issues but his Gandhi’s theory content all aspect of human life. This research mainly focus in different textbook analysis about Gandhi found in Nepali society, especially in school and university. Research mainly focuses on psychosocial analysis of sarvodaya. In this research there major element of sarvodaya, satya (truth), ahimsa (non violence) and tapasya (meditation) are analysis as positive aspect of life. The socio-psychological analysis of Gandhi’s sarvodaya is the main objective of this research. PS 15-02. Personal security and subjective well-being Ljiljana Kaliterna, Renata Franc, Vlado Sakic, Zvjezdana Prizmic Larsen Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences, Zagreb, Croatia Each individual has a basic need for personal safety and security which fulfilment might be important for subjective well-being. In the present study we were interested in how fear of crime and perception of crime were associated with subjective well-being. The survey was conducted in November 2008 by face-to-face interviews on a representative sample of Croatian citizens (N=4000). Fear of crime was assessed as feelings of safety in three specific situations at night (in neighbourhood streets, at home, and in public transport). Additionally, perceptions of the prevalence of different types of neighbourhood crime or incivilities (alcoholism, corruption, minor crime, domestic abuse, violent crime, drug abuse, delinquency) were measured. Subjective well-being measures included overall happiness and life satisfaction. In accordance with previous findings, results showed relatively low associations of demographic characteristics with fear and perception of crime. While controlling for demographic variables (age, gender, income, education level, urbanization level), higher life satisfaction and happiness were significantly but weakly predicted by higher feelings of safety and by perception of corruption in the local area. PS 15-03. Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Life Satisfaction and Role of These Two Constructs and Demographic Variables in Predicting Academic Achievement among Undergraduate Students Azam Moradi, Sahar Pazuhesh Isfahan, Iran Background: Individual differences in emotional intelligence (EI) have been the subject of a great deal of research throughout the last two decades (Mayer, Roberts, &Barsade, 2008). Much of research in this field has been interested in studying emotional abilities as predictors of psychological well-being, health and interpersonal functioning (Heck & Oudsten, 2008). One reason for this interest is that emotional intelligence is expected to be linked to a range of theoretically interesting outcomes. According to earlier reports, emotional intelligence components are considered as a main prediction for psychological well-being indicators (such as life satisfaction) (for example Ghorbanshiroudi and et al,2011, Rey, Extremera, and Pena, 2011, Salami,2010 and Extremera & Fernandez, 2005). On the other hand, emotional intelligence and psychological well-being (happiness, life satisfaction and depression) are important resources for enhancing students’ learning, success and quality in education (Salami,2010). Emotional intelligence (Salami & Ogundokun, 2009; Adeyemo & Adeleye, 2008; Tagliavia, Tipton, Giannetti & Mattei, 2006; Salami, 2004; Wong, Wong & Chau, 2001), and psychological well-being (Salami, 2008; Khramtsova, Sarrnio, Gordeeva, & Williams, 2007) have been shown to predict students attitudes and academic performance in higher educational institutions. Despite the growing popularity and cultivation of the EI concept into educational practice, and unlike other parts of the world where there are lots of EI studies (e.g., Gore, 2000; Bar-On & Parker, 2000; Bodine & Crawford, 1999; Finley, 2000), there is little local evidence directly relating the concept of EI to students’ performance or developments. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore relationship between emotional intelligence and life satisfaction among undergraduate Students of Shahrekord’ Payame Noor University and determining the share of emotional intelligence, life satisfaction and demographic variables (gender, economy status, age) in predicting academic achievement of these students. Method: For sampling, 60 undergraduate Students of Payame Noor University in Shahrekord City were selected by stratified random sampling method. Subjects’ emotional intelligence, life satisfaction and academic achievement were measured by Bar-On’s emotional intelligence scale, satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and average score respectively. Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise multiple regression was used for data analysis. Results: emotional intelligence was found to be positively associated with life satisfaction (P=0.039). Results of stepwise regression showed that gender, economy status, age and emotional intelligence are the best predictors of academic achievement respectively; but life satisfaction didn’t can significantly predicting academic achievement in undergraduate students. Conclusion: These findings extend previous studies which indicated that emotional intelligence was associated with higher life satisfactionin students and provide additional support for role of demographic variables and emotional intelligence in students’ performance. PS 15-04. Rich Women Vote: The Impact of Wealthiness on Political Participation Yen-Hsuan Huang, Yi-June Lin, Han-Wen Chen, Shin-Hua Lin, Wen-Chun Sun, Wei-Ting Jain, Dee Wu National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Political participation has long been deemed to be one of the most important building blocks of public’s well-being. Existing research shows that there are many factors related to people’s attitude toward political participation. However, few of the factors are examined with experimental method and, thus, imply causal impacts on political participation. Therefore, we manipulated people’s feeling of wealthiness and accessed their tendency to participate in politics in the current study. Our hypothesis was that stronger wealthiness may lead to higher political efficiency and, thus, people’s motivation to participate in political activities. The results of mediation analysis showed that the hypothesis was supported by female samples, but not by males. We discussed the findings in terms of female empowerment and gender differences in self-concept construction. Keywords: positive psychology, political efficiency, political participation, human sex difference PS 15-06. The good character and football: First evidence on the possible impact of a nationwide positive event on character strengths Fabian Gander, René T. Proyer, Sara Wellenzohn, & Willibald Ruch University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Various studies indicated that character strengths can play a role in the adaptation to adversity on an individual level; e.g., in post-traumatic growth, or in the recovery from physical illness, and psychological disorders. On a national level, there is preliminary evidence that events, which affect a nation as a whole, might have an impact on character: Peterson and Seligman (2003) reported an increase in theological virtues (i.e., faith, hope, and charity/love) in UScitizens following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The present study addresses the question, whether character strengths can also be affected by positive events. One such event on a national level could be the European Football (soccer) Championship 2008: This is a major event in the host country, which also affects those who are not interested in football (e.g., via extensive media coverage). In the framework of this study, it is seen as a nationwide positive event. Switzerland (co-)hosted the championship in 2008, and data on character strengths of N = 1,253 Swiss citizens were available at five different time periods: At two time periods before, the time span during the tournament, and at two time periods after the event. Results showed that the means for emotional, interpersonal, and theological strengths differed between the time periods. At the level of single strengths, fairness, modesty, and religiousness increased in the aftermath of the championship. Taking limitations of the study into account, the authors conclude that negative and positive events may have an impact on character on a national level. PS 15-07. Biological correlates of allostatic overload in a healthy sample Emanuela Offidani, Ruini Chiara University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy Modesty, downplaying and avoiding bragging about one’s own accomplishment, has always been conceptualized as one of the most important virtues in Chinese culture. However, in the current study, we argued that modesty is not always beneficial for one’s mental adaptation. Because it is a social strategy to avoid offending others, it may arouse one’s prevention orientation of behavior and, thus, the regret about that prevention. Our data supported the hypothesis by showing that the positive association between modesty and regret was totally mediated by preventionfocused concerns. We discussed the results in terms of its mechanism and its implications in the conflict between culture norms and individuals’ well-being. Keywords: positive psychology, modesty, avoidance. PS 15-08. Connection between experience of romantic relationships, representations about the partner, and optimism in Russian students Konstantin Bochaver Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia Background. Romantic behavior is explained in the aspect of connection to personality traits of partners, to the specific features of parental family, social and age-specific attitudes, cultures, referent group or life (Harper et al., 2004; Cavanagh, 2004; Amato & Booth, 2001; Conger et al., 2000; Carver et al., 2003; Shulman et al., 1997; Furman & Wehner, 1994). Little is known about connection between emotions, partner’s image, and relationships content. In the meantime, these variables seem to be very important and predictive for the prognosis of weaknesses, problems, and coping strategies in romantic partners. We expect that experience of romantic relationships (ERR) is positively connected with representation about him/herself, the partner, optimism level, and, thus, with coping efficacy, positive resolution of conflicts, and well-being. The young adults are most sensitive to romantic emotions and activities. This subject hasn’t been ever studied in Russia. Aims. Objectives of the current study were to investigate connections between listed above variables in the sample of Russian students. Method. Participants: 210 students (Mage = 18) from some Moscow universities. Measures: Timothy Leary’s Interpersonal Behavior Circle, Life Orientation Test of C.Carver & M.Sheier, Z.Rubin’s Love & Like Scales. In addition, a separate 7-point scale was used for the assessment of ERR (length): on the on pole were people who never have had a partner, on the other pole were people who have had relationships (RR) earlier, and have a long relationships now. Results. A strong positive correlation between experience of RR and evaluation of the person’s dominancy in the couple is revealed; this tendency is stronger in young men. Moreover, is shown a tendency to negative correlation between ERR and evaluation of partner’s dominancy. Russian students tend to think that the more experienced is a person the more dominative he/she is, and the more subordinate is his/her romantic partner. This result highlights the genesis of the power distribution conflicts in the couple. At the same time, there is a positive relation ERR to the optimism level: experienced in RR participants are more optimistic, those who don’t have a partner are frequently pessimists. Also were revealed gender-specific connections: a positive correlation between ERR and love level in young men (the more is length of acquaintance, the stronger is love) and a positive correlation between ERR and evaluation of cooperativeness of the partner (more experienced girls perceive their partners as more friendly). Conclusions. As our outcomes show, the assessment of actual RR, of the partner, and optimism level, on the one hand, and ERR, on the other hand, are in the mutual relations. These results may be predictive for the typical problems in RR. They help to understand more deeply the reasons why young men and women maybe pessimistic or tend to attribute hostility to the others. Our further research will be devoted to the connection between ERR, relationship assessment, and choosing the coping way in the conflict with the partner. PS 15-09. First impression and attraction in transient communication Alexey Ulanovsky, Michael Yang National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia The proccess of meeting someone is the first step in any communication. It is a very complex process. In order to establish a connection, a person needs to tell keypoints about hismself, listen to and question the words of his partner. He needs to present his strengths but not to sound too arrogant. It is hard to study directly the process, so retrospective self-reports is the most common method used by researchers. However, recently a more unmediated approach was developed. Some studies have employed the “speed dating” format to look more closely at the dyadic interaction of two unacquainted people (Finkel, Eastwick & Matthews, 2007; Luo & Zhang, 2009; Kurzban & Weeden, 2007). In a “speed dating” event men and women meeting and communicating with each other at the tables for just a few minutes, after that they change pairs and it starts all over again. Based on this format, we can treat it as original form of research of different communicative phenomena: first impression, affection, gender specific expectations, interpersonal attraction and everyday communication. The main hypothesis of our study was the assumption that the declared preference of personal qualities in a potential partner does not predict the actual choice of a person. In the first phase of the study during a special survey we identified key personality characteristics most important for men and women when meeting someone: intelligence, confidence, sincerity, sociability, sense of humor. Next, we asked subjects to rank their preferences in order of importance. After 2 weeks had passed we organized an experimental “speed dating” party where subjects had to fill a personality evaluation card after each round of communication. They had to rate previously identified key personality characteristics of the partner they had just talked to on a 10-point scale. After they rated these five qualities, they had to make their final choice - whether or not they want to meet that person again. To analyze and compare the declared preferences and real behaviour we used the subtraction of ranks. Subjects were 16 men and 16 women (N=32), we received a total of 272 judgments, the average total difference of μ = 8.15, and the standard deviation σ = 2.77. Results of the study suggest that our choice of partners is not correlated with our declarated statements of what psychological traits they must possess. These results complement the data of previous studies that there is no connection between our choice of partner, and our claimed preference in respect of their physical and social characteristics, such as: weight, height, age, number of previous marriages, children, education, nationality, religion (Kurzban & Weeden, 2007). In addition, during a postexperimental interview we have identified “winning” strategies of communication. For young men they were: non-typical approach to girls, initiative in the choice of themes, confidence and cheerfulness. More attractive strategies for girls included possibilities to create comfort and ease of communication, demonstrate an interest in the conversation and give creative responses. PS 15-10. Positive Display Regulation of Emotion Improves Goal Attainment and Well-Being in Social Interactions Elena Suen-Fei Wong, Franziska Tschan, Norbert Semmer University of Neuchatel, Switzerland Background. It has been well documented that positive emotion could lead to favorable outcomes psychological functioning and interpersonal consequences. Yet, less is known for how display regulation of emotion (i.e. showing emotion expression differently than how one feels) influence outcomes during work and private lives in the interpersonal sphere. Aim of study. Our research thus aims to establish the link between positive emotion to the outcome variable of goal attainment and well being in real life social interactions, while accounting for the two distinct yet confounding dimension of emotion. Due to the informative and functional account of emotion, and how emotion influence social relationships, first, we hypothesize that positive emotion could lead to higher goal attainment and well being after social interactions. Second, we hypothesize that the enhancement of positive expression (i.e. expressing more positive emotion than actually felt) could lead to higher goal attainment and well being, even in circumstances where there is no or little inner positive emotion experienced. Method. Event sampling methods are adopted in this study, in which 7 days of daily interactions and general measures are reported from 116 Swiss-French participants. More than 3400 social interactions where collected. Data analyses were performed using multilevel modelling method to allow for the control of individual variances. Result. Results, from multilevel analysis support our hypotheses. After controlling for individual variances such as gender and personality, moderated regression results revealed that: 1) both positive emotion experienced and positive emotion expression increases level of goal attainment after social interaction. 2) both positive emotion experienced and positive emotion expression increases level of well being sensation after social interaction, even after controlling for the confounding factors of goal attainment. 3) the enhancement of positive emotion expression improve goal attainment after social interaction, when little or no inner positive emotion were experienced. 4) the enhancement of positive emotion expression improve well being after social interaction after controlling for goal attainment, even when little or no inner positive emotion were experienced. Conclusion. In conclusion, positive emotion (felt and experienced) improves goal attainment and well being in interpersonal encounters. In circumstances where little or no positive emotion is internally experienced, the display regulation of positive expression could also lead to a higher goal attainment and well-being during social interactions. PS 15-11. Relation between relatedness and life satisfaction: What’s love got to do with it? Dragana Brdaric, Veljko Jovanović, Nikolina Tepić, Dajana Damjanović University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia The guiding idea of most theories dealing with the study of human motivation is that satisfying one’s basic psychological needs, is crucial for achieving life satisfaction, well-being and personal happiness (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Need to belong, namely to develop close, intimate relationships with significant others is proven to be one of the most important determinants of life satisfaction (Reis et al., 2000; Robak & Nagda, 2011). On the other hand, many studies have shown that people in romantic relationships are generally happier, have higher self-esteem and better health (Demir, 2008). However, the relations between life satisfaction, relatedness and romantic partnership remains vague. The main aim of this research was to explore whether the people who report higher levels of relatedness, would be more satisfied with their lives if they are involved in romantic relationship. The sample consisted of 1374 students (78% females) from University of Novi Sad, Serbia, with a mean age of 20 years. Fift y three percents of participants were in romantic relationship at the time of study conduct. The following instruments were used: Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985) and the Relatedness subscale of the Basic Psychological Needs Scale (Gagne, 2003). There was significant positive correlation between satisfaction with life and relatedness (r = .32, p < .01). Individuals engaged in romantic relationships showed higher levels of life satisfaction, compared to single people (t = 2.34, p < .05), while there were no significant differences in relatedness (t = .16, p = .88). Results showed that being in romantic relationship moderates the association between relatedness and life satisfaction. Individuals with lower scores on relatedness reported greater life satisfaction if they were involved in romantic relationship, as opposed to those who were single. On the other hand, persons with higher scores on relatedness had high life satisfaction, regardless of their romantic relationship status. The findings of this study highlight the importance of further research on the role of romantic relationships in the association between life satisfaction and interpersonal relationships. PS 15-12. Machiavellian orientation in terms of positive psychology Olga Mitina, Elena Rasskazova Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia The capability to influence on people plays an important role in social life. Machiavellianism (MACH) that enables person to manipulate others in order to reach his/her own goals always attracts researchers’ attention. Despite deep examination of this topic in many psychological approaches, MACH is poorly investigated in the terms of positive psychology. In the presence of a sufficient quantity of studies which are devoted to demonstration such characteristics of MACH-persons as a great management aptitude and prominent professional success, investigations of MACH- persons’ well-being level and their self-developing abilities are not numerous. In our study (N=175 (112 females & 63 males) citizens of Tashkent aged 13-73 years) we intended to analyze some basic aspects of the complex relationship between MACH and (a) motivation system, (b) affect-regulation styles, (c) emotional well-being level, (d) obedience to social norms. Method of plural identification, which allows to evaluate deep (even unconscious or covered by social desirable answer) and to reveal subjects’ representation about importance of MACH for achievement positive personal goals was used. Consistent with expectations, our results showed (1) dominance of drive for power in general structure of MACHs’ motivation system; (2) a connection between MACH and ineffective state orientation style of affect regulation; (3) mediated role of affect-regulation styles in interconnection between MACH and emotional well-being in different age groups; (4) disintegration and fragmentation of MACHs’ personality system; (5) MACHs’ cynical attitudes toward residual social norms and their ability to break them without any pronounced signs of subjective difficulty. For the interpretation of the results we used the concepts of J. Kuhl’s PSI-theory as well as other positive psychology explanatory models. As the result of our research, it should be noted that MACH may enable person to reach his/her aims successfully but only in short-term perspective. Lack of self-regulation mechanisms would block MACH-persons’ intentions to fulfill long-term plans. To illustrate this, E. Fromm’s conception may be used: MACH succeeds in “having”, but not in “being”. PS 15-13. The Effect of a Manualized Group Psychoeducational Program for Emotional Intelligence: How to Build Core Positive Psychology Competencies Laura Delizonna, Ted Anstedt, Bianca Davoodian, Matthew Williams, Andrew Davoodian Stanford University, USA Background. Emotional Intelligence is identified as the foundation of mental health. It is the ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a term coined by Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer in 1990. There is a dearth of studies demonstrating that EI can be taught as a manualized, group psychoeducational program. Likewise, few studies have examined positive psychology-based psychoeducational interventions. Flexibility in thinking is a marker of well-being and EI. Isen (1999) found a positive association between positive mood and cognitive flexibility. The more positive the mood one was in the greater cognitive flexibility they showed by an increase in a measure of creativity. Furnham and Petrides (2003) found a positive relationship between EI and happiness. Aims of Study. Few studies, to date, have examined the use of positive psychology techniques as a psycho-educational intervention. This study sought to assess the effectiveness of a group psychoeducational intervention in increasing levels of emotional intelligence and flexibility in thinking, an important factor in mental health. Methodology. Researchers assessed changes in flexibility in thinking and self-perceptions of increases in EI skills of participants enrolled in an EI workshop held at Stanford University in the winter of 2012. Participants learned EIenhancing techniques derived from positive psychology. The workshop consisted for 2 hours per week for 5 weeks. A supplemental handbook, developed specifically for the course as a psychoeducational intervention based on positive psychology theory, was given to each student. It is entitled Enhancing Emotional Intelligence. The Flexibility subscale of the Langer Mindfulness Subscale (LMS; Langer, 1989) was used to assess participant’s change in flexibility in thinking. The Pre-Course assessment was completed prior to attending the first workshop session and was comprised of the Flexibility Subscale of the LMS. The Post-Course Assessment, completed at the end of the last workshop session, comprised of the Flexibility Subscale of the LMS as well as a 10-item Likert scale (rating 1-7) self-report questionnaire on perceptions of skills related to emotional intelligence including positive emotions, abilities related to self awareness, and ability to manage emotions. Data were collected from 120 participants. Advanced EI Group Intervention Furthermore, a study was done on 20 participants whom enrolled in a 5-week follow-up workshop to learn to further enhance their EI skills. The workshop was held at Stanford University. It consisted for 2 hours per week for 5 weeks. The same handbook was used as in the initial workshop. Participants were taught more individualized techniques to improve their EI. Results. As hypothesized, participants in the initial workshop increased in flexibility in thinking and reported an increase in their EI skills. A T-Test was conducted on the Flexibility Subscale of the LMS showing a significant increase in participant’s scores. A majority of participants reported an increase in positive emotions and overall emotional intelligence after the five weeks that they participated in the workshop. Advanced EI Group Intervention In the advanced workshop participants’ self-assessment of their EI skills increased significantly from pre-assessment to post-assessment. They reported an increase in positive emotions and overall emotional intelligence after the five weeks that they participated in the workshop. There was no significant change in their flexibility in thinking as assessed by the Flexibility Subscale of the LMS. Implications. These findings suggest that a relatively simple psychoeducational intervention can help individuals increase flexibility in thinking, positive emotions, self-awareness and emotion management, as well as overall emotional intelligence. Our findings have implications for enhancing emotional intelligence as well as general wellbeing. This manualized program could be disseminated to paraprofessionals who teach mental health programs and help groups of individuals around the world improve in EI, general well-being, and mental health. PS 15-14. The relationship between gratitude and mental health in students Mahnaz Shirani Bidabadi, Amir Ghamarani, Azimeh Alsadat Fatemi University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran Background. Gratitude is an emotion which occurs after people receive aid which is perceived as costly, valuable, and altruistic (Wood, Maltby, Stewart, Linley, & Joseph,2008). Evidence shows the gratitude is related with the well-being (Adler & Fagley, 2005; Mc caluk et al, 2004), hope, optimism, life satisfaction, and vitality (Mc Cullough et al, 2002). Aim. This study investigated the relationship between gratitude and mental health of college student’s. Method. Sample included 60 subjects (16 boys and 44 girls) from University’s of Isfahan was selected randomly and responded to the gratitude questionnaires (Mc caluk et al, 2003;Ghamarani et al 2011) and mental health questionnaires (GHQ) . Results. The RESULT showed that the gratitude can predict the anxiety, disruption on social functioning and depression. Conclusion. Taken together the result of this study demonstrated the role of gratitude in the mental health of college students in Iran. Keywords: gratitude, mental health, student’s. PS 15-15. The experience of use of vignettes in the research of romantic relationships Konstantin Bochaver, Igor Vachkov Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow Background. In research of romantic relationships, many studies use scale and multi-scale questionnaires, i.e. quantitative methods. The same methods are used in studies of stress and coping behavior. Considering the lack of formalized qualitative methods, in the present study were used both interviewing and method of hypothetic situations, vignettes. According to Barter & Renold (1999), «the vignette technique is a method that can elicit perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes from responses or comments to stories depicting scenarios and situations». The development of the method included a primary survey of sample group, developing of stories pool, the control by experts, and the approbation of vignettes. Aims. The aim of present study is to create a method (repertory of hypothetic situations) which would reflect with high level of reliability the probable behavior of participants in difficult life situations, which disturb harmonious romantic relationships. Method. Sample: in the pilot study took part 50 students of humanities, science and mathematics aged from 17 to 22 years. In the approbation of the method 210 students of the same age and 10 experts participated. Measures: qualitative methods (essay, interview during the primary data collection), control by judges in the formation of the instrument. Example of vignette: “Your friend thinks that his girlfriend is still secretly dating her ex-boyfriend sometimes. Although your friend isn’t sure. You think that she is very attached to your friend and wouldn’t betray him. Once he asks you how to improve or to make clear their relationships. You advice …” Results. Based on analysis of essay “Difficulties and joy of love” made by judges there were identified fragments related to difficulties in relationships with romantic partner; content-analysis was realized, fragments were united into categories. Finally, 24 categories of difficulties (12 more popular and 12 less popular) were found. This list included social difficulties (e.g. peers’ or parents’ pressure), personality traits (e.g. infancy), system problems (codependence in the couple), life conditioned conflicts (lack of experience or negative experience in the past) etc. Relying on these categories, repertory of gender-specific vignettes including open questions and the assessment of the presence of similar episodes in personal experience was developed. According to the preliminary approbation, there are strong differences in the common strategies of coping-ways preferred by young men and women. This is connected both with personal experience and optimism level of the respondent, image of the partner and him/herself, and love strength. Conclusions. Some authors suppose that vignettes allow imagining preferable behavior in the actual situation. But we don’t know for sure how the real actions are connected with the hypothetic actions presented in the vignettes. Hence, it is very important to develop the method of vignettes and to control the results we should use it in multi-method batteries. Our results show that the use of vignettes combined with quantitative methods is highly productive. PS 15-16. Can being listened to make you happier? Dotan Castro, A.N. Kluger Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel Background. Active empathic listening was argued to have a “miraculous” power of changing the person being listened to (e.g., Rogers & Roethlisberger, 1991/1952). Active listening is characterized by the listener’s intent to support the speaker (Barnlund, 1962), empathy, letting speakers feel they are understood (Gordon, 1977) and by creating safe environment (Rogers, 1951). Contrary to Rogers’ ideas, it is suggested here that active listening may not fit all people. Specifically, that people’s attachment style moderates the positive effect of listening. According to Hazan & Shaver (1990), avoidant people prefer to avoid intimacy. Listening may be experienced by people with an avoidant attachment style as a threat to their inner working model of detachment from others. Thus, avoidant individual will not enjoy the beneficial effects of listening. Therefore, our goal is to test empirically the positive effects of listening and its possible boundaries. Method. Experiment 1 (N=66) tested the effects of listening on speakers’ feelings of being understood, personal relations and psychological safety. Experiment 2 (N=70) replicated Experiment 1 findings, while improving outcome measurement, allowing to test dyadic relations of the speaker and listener. In both experiments, participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: 6-minutes free conversation group and a listening group in which each participant was a listener for 3 minutes and a speaker for 3 minutes. In Experiment 1 listening was manipulated by asking participants to listen attentively without talking, and in Experiment 2 by asking participants to listen attentively and ask for clarifications. In both studies, participants asked to talk about a significant experience. The dependent measures in both studies are known antecedents of well-being and happiness, including bonding with the partner, feeling empathy and feeling understood (Lun, 2008). In both studies, the various dependent variables appeared to belong to a single second order factor which is labeled here psychological safety. Results. Experiment 1 results (N=66) showed that listening increased speaker’s psychological safety compared to free conversation (d = .46; p < .05; one-tailed). However, this effect was qualified by a marginally significant interaction with avoidant attachment style (F(1,62) = 3.37, p<.07). Experiment 2 results showed, again, that listening increased speakers’ psychological safety, (d = .53; p < .02) relative to control group (free conversation). However, this effect (again) was moderated by attachment style such that the positive effect of listening was found among dyads with nonavoidant attachment style, but not among dyads with avoidant attachment style. For dyads low in avoidance, active listening has a strong effect on psychological safety (d= 2.79; p<.01), but among dyads high in avoidance, the effect is the opposite (d=-.73; p<.06). This work supports Rogers’s theory, while exposing its boundaries. Conclusion. Listening benefits the well-being of the speaker’s in many ways such as feeling understood, empathy, psychological safety and building relations. However, people with avoidant attachment style may need different type of listening to have gains in well-being. POSTERS PS 1.6. Positive Psychology at Work & Organizations PS 16-01. A two-wave longitudinal analysis of the effects of workplace positive psychology intervention on positive affect, negative affect, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment Therese Joyce, Lea Waters University of East London, London, UK and University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Background A growing body of research calls for Positive Institutions to focus on strengths, values and added meaning at work (Peterson, 2006). Positive Interventions do not require a problem or deficit to be present and therefore were deemed appropriate for use at a successful international school where the managing Director was seeking to go from ‘good to great’ (Collins, 2001) Study aims To explore the long-term effects of a six month PP intervention with 20 staff of an international language school in Toronto. The average tenure is 4.8 years. 70% of staff are female. 50% are teaching staff and 50% administrative staff. All staff hold bachelor degrees and 25% hold post graduate qualifications. Methods Used •The six month program comprised workshops and 15 positive interventions including self-reflection, VIA character strengths and gratitude exercises. •A pre-test, post-test design was used to evaluate the effect of the positive psychology intervention on positive affect, negative affect, job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Data was collected at three points in time: preintervention, immediate post-intervention and six months post intervention. Qualitative data was also collected and a mixed method design was employed •Using grounded theory as the underlying paradigm and Glaser’s theoretical coding as the technique to extract themes from the data, the researchers investigated which positive psychology activities had lasting impact six to twelve months after the project completion. Results A one-way repeated-measures MANOVA was used to test for changes in positive affect, negative affect, job satisfaction and organisational commitment as self-reported by staff over three points in time. The Pillais trace test showed significant changes in scores on positive affect (F (2,18) = 54.78, p <.000); negative affect (F (2,18) = 34.36, p <.000); job satisfaction (F (2,18) = 9.11, p <.002); and organizational commitment ((2,18) = 7.48, p <.004) over time. •The qualitative analysis revealed the underlying themes of gratitude, the importance of self-reflection, improved relationships, positive emotion and perspective. For example, one employee stated: “Focussing on positive things made a big shift in my life in so many different ways. I don’t think that I even knew that I was focussing on negative things until I started consciously thinking about positive things... it really made a big shift for me, really huge” Another stated: “The gratitude letters made an impact on me. I still pause and think about different ways my colleagues help me and I try and thank them as often as possible.” Conclusion This study reveals the potential for creating a cultural transformation in the workplace and demonstrates the formation of an on-going positive spiral increasing the subjective wellbeing of staff through a new optimistic and constructive perspective. It also proposes suggestions for linking this positive spiral to on-going job satisfaction and organisational commitment and provides recommendations for further exploration. The study findings must be considered within the limitations of a small sample size and no control group. The use of a mixed methods design is a strengths and allows for a rich understanding of the employees ‘lived experience’ of the positive psychology intervention PS 16-02. And they lived happily ever after: The relationship between happiness and performance at work Shany Hadar, Oren Kaplan The College of Management, Rishon LeZion, Israel The current proposal is based on the results of a quantitative research that investigated the relationship between happiness and performance at work of call center customer service representatives in a large insurance company. The Barbara Fredrickson’s “Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions” provides the theoretical explanation for this positive relationship. The conceptualization of happiness and its measurement in the current study were based on the theoretical foundations of positive psychology. Employee performance measurement was based on the positive organizational psychology conceptualization. A team of fift y nine employees in a call center completed questionnaires for assessing trait-like dispositions (TLD) and work-related attitudes (WRA); their job performance was assessed by objective measures - number and length of calls handled by each representative, taken from a computerized system that tracks employee activity and work performance. Our measures of happiness followed Seligman’s notion that happiness is derived from a combination of past, present and future perception, e.g., a tendency for constructive thinking about the past, gaining optimism about the present, and hoping for the future. We collected therefore subjective evaluations of employees about their life experiences by checking their TLD regarding the past (e.g., gratitude, forgiveness), the future (e.g., optimism, hope), and their present feelings (subjective happiness [SH], positive affect [PA], and negative affect [NA]). WRA refer to the emotional aspect of an employee’s performance at work, both in terms of performance index in its own right (a dependent variable affected by TLD) as well as a mediator and/or independent variable that affects one’s objective performance. Exploratory factor analysis has led us to define four indexes: 1. Gratitude ability – gratitude, low NA. 2. Happiness – SH, high PA, hope. 3. Positive WRA – job satisfaction, PA at work, recommending a friend to join this workplace. 4. Negative WRA – burnout, NA at work. Main findings: Positive correlations were found between happiness to job performance, positive WRA, and gratitude ability, respectively. Negative correlations were found between negative WRA to gratitude ability, positive WRA and job performance, respectively. Controlling for happiness and gratitude revealed reduced and not significant correlations between WRA and job performance, suggesting that SH and TLD influenced both WRA and job performance, while WRA was probably a secondary predictor of the performance at work. These findings may resolve contradictory findings in literature about the relationship between satisfaction and performance at work, suggesting that the latter is dependent mainly by “holistic happiness” factors rather by WRA. PS 16-03. Applying the framework of challenge vs. hindrance stressors to self-employed and organization-employed workers Lior Oren Ariel. Israel Objectives. In several studies self-employed workers were found to be highly stressed and yet, highly satisfied from their work, relatively to organization-employed workers. Those findings are surprising, given the abundance of studies both in the psychological and medical literature that support a negative relationship between stress in general and job attitudes. The purpose of this study was to utilize the challenge–hindrance framework to examine the relationship between job stressors and job attitudes among self-employed and organization-employed professionals. Methods. A self-report questionnaire was administered that included specifically designed measures of job-related stresses and presence of preferred job characteristics in the work of self- and organization-employed professionals (Oren, 2004) as well as a burnout. The questionnaire was filled by self-employed (N = 149) and organization-employed (N = 159) professionals working as accountants, lawyers, pharmacists and psychologists. Results. Self-employed workers reported on mainly challenge stressors that had small (or positive) effect on their job attitudes. In contrast, organization-employed workers reported on mainly hindrance stressors that had negative effect on their job attitudes. Both challenge and hindrance stressors were positively related to burnout. Conclusions. The study contributes to the challenge–hindrance framework, emphasize the importance of employing measures that are specifically designed and, therefore, relevant to self-employed workers and focused on self-employed professional, a category that received scant research and theoretical attention. Implications are discussed, as well as limitations and directions for future research. PS 16-04. Best practices of mental health promotion at workplaces of Estonian public and private sector organizations Taimi Elenurm, Kaidi Kiis Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences, Tallinn, Estonia Workplace positive mental health is an important issue that reflects economic cycles but also changes initiated in organizations. According to the Survey of Health Behaviour 2010 among Estonian adult population increased the share of people, who feel themselves under stress or depressed at the period of last two years from 15% to 23%. The workplace can be an important social context, in which to promote employee positive mental health and wellbeing (Leka & Cox, 2008; Cox, Leka, Ivanov & Kortum, 2004). Antonovsky proposes to focus on positive variables, asking what maintains and promotes health and wellbeing (1979). The workplace can provide a healthy culture and environment that is psychologically supportive to the workforce (Knifton, Watson, Besten et al., 2011). The aim of this study was to collect and review good practices of mental health promotions in workplaces of Estonian public and private sector organizations. Methods: On 2011 the Estonian National Institute for Health Development mentors visited 42 organizations and interviewed 96 employees (mostly occupational health specialists and managers). The results were divided into 3 groups: requirements and success factors, challenges and barriers and innovative ideas. Results: In medium-sized and large organizations health maintenance and health promotion strategy is linked with management strategy and exists as part of personnel management. The holistic intervention approach is successful, when it consists of physical, mental and social activities. The most popular events are teamwork and cooperation trainings and joint training events. The main problems and challenges in large enterprises are management style mismatch, and lack of information about changes in organizations. The main question is: how to commit and involve the management to the mental health promotion. Several innovative ideas were proposed. Some of employees are trained in health issues and work stress, they are elected as representatives and experts in the field of occupational health. Regularly carried out training on how to deal with aggressive clients and co-vision groups for dealing with the problems at workplace. Many of the services offered events to employees’ family members as well. The comprehensive assessment of health state and lifestyle of employees is provided. In Estnia´s small businesses organization success factors in mental health promotion are flexible working arrangements and working time. These enterprises use instant meetings and discussions with the managers for getting support, they have positive and supportive communication practices. For creation of the positive attitudes and warm atmosphere have been used celebration achievements, cultural and health activities with families, health information sharing, organizing cooperation with the local community for common health activities. The new challenge are for small enterprises is to organize a joint training sessions for several small business organizations. The main barrier to implementation health promotion was financial. Conclusion: increase in workload, a busy schedule and a reluctance to engage in unfamiliar projects made in some organizations mental health promotion difficult. Promotion of mental health at work is the priority of the Estonian Labour Inspectorate in 2012. PS 16-05. Burnout among Serbian preschool teachers: relationships with optimism, self-efficacy, and empathy Nevena Stankovic, Ivan Panic, Jasmina Vuletic University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia Burnout syndrome as the result of long-term exposure to stress at work has damaging effects on intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning of an individual. The deterioration of social relationships accompanied by poor efficacy is evident in various areas of the affected person’s work life, as well as in their private life. Burnout in helping professions is being addressed as a major mental health issue by practitioners and researchers alike. Regarding the profession of preschool teachers, published studies of research of this kind are few in number. The purpose of this study was to identify relationships between burnout, optimism, self-efficacy and empathy among preschool teachers. A total of 409 female preschool teachers from 11 institutions in Serbia took part in the study. The instruments used to collect the data include the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1980), The Life Orientation Test – Revised (Scheier at al., 1994) and The General Self-Efficacy scale (Schwarzer and Jerusalem,1995). A logistic regression analysis was conducted to predict personal burnout, work-related burnout and client-related burnout from demographic characteristics (marital status, education level and work experience), optimism, self-efficacy and empathy. Participants who gained an average score of 50 or higher on the burnout scales were considered to be affected by burnout. The results show that work experience <=5 years compared to having work experience >20 years (OR= .39; CI(95) .20.75) and higher scores on optimism (OR= .83; CI(95) .77-.89) and self-efficacy (OR= .92; CI (95) .86-.97) significantly decrease the odds of being in the personal burnout group. The odds of being in the work-related burnout group are decreased by having a higher score on optimism (OR= .92; CI(95) .85-1.00). The odds of being in the client-related burnout group increase when the respondent is married compared to being never married (OR=3.72; CI(95) 1.47-9.41), has work experience >10 and <20 years compared to having work experience <= 5 years (OR=2.34; CI(95) 1.26-4.34), or has higher scores on fantasy (OR=1.75; CI(95) 1.08-2.83) and personal distress (OR=1.64; CI(95) .99-2.72). Higher scores on optimism decrease the odds of being in the client-related burnout group (OR= .90; CI(95) .83-.96). This study has proven optimism to be a significant protective factor for burnout. A better understanding of the protective role of personal resources in burnout can help build successful prevention and treatment strategies. PS 16-06. Can listening make employees happier? Dotan Castro, A. Dolev, A.N. Kluger Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel Background. The benefits of listening are acknowledged in many areas such as business (Covey, 1989), physicianpatient interactions (Boudreau, Cassell, & Fuks), performance appraisals (Kluger & Nir, 2010) and marketing (Drollinger, Comer, & Warrington, 2006), to name a few. Good supervisor listening was shown, in two Japanese studies, to correlate with lower subordinate stress. Specifically, subordinates who perceived their supervisors high in Person-Centered Approach, which is core attitude for Active Listening according to Rogers (1957; 1969), showed significantly less symptoms of stress than those who perceived their supervisors as low in on that scale (Ikemi, Kubota, Noda, Tomita, & Hayashida, 1992, Abstract). Mineyama et al., (1992) improved the design used by Ikemi at al. (1992) by measuring listening directly and by having the supervisors rate their own listening and workers report stress. Their result replicated Ikemi et al. (1992): Supervisor listening was negatively correlated with subordinate stress. However, these studies and others focus on stress reductions but not on the possible contribution of listening to employee’s wellbeing. Thus, testing the effects of listening on employee’s well-being is the first goal of this research. Second, we sought to explicate the mechanism through which listening may produce well-being. We hypothesized that the immediate consequence of good listening is feeling understood, and that feeling understood is the immediate cause of well-being. Indeed, feeling understood was found to predict well-being (Lun, Kesebir, & Oishi, 2008). Thus, the following hypotheses were tested: H1: Supervisors’ listening will be positively correlated with subordinates’ well-being H2: The effect of listening on well-being will be mediated by feelings of being understood. Method. To test H1, we collected data (N=140) regarding managerial listening skills (using the Facilitating Listening Scale; Bouskila-Yam & Kluger, 2011) and subjective well-being (Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffin, 1985). To test H1 and H2, we replicated Minyama et al. (1992) study (N=30 supervisors, 109 subordinates) while adding both subjective well-being (SWB) measure (Diener et. al., 1985) and PANAs scale (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) to measure the positive effects of listening. Results. Study 1 findings showed significant correlation (r=.17; p< .05) between the perception of listening manager’s and SWB. Study 2 showed listening to be significantly correlated with SWB (r=.25; p<.05), PA (.39; p<.05) and feeling understood (r=.83; p<.01). Regression analyses, suggested that the effects of listening on both subjective well-being, and on PA are completely mediated by feeling understood. These findings emphasize the role of listening not only in reducing stress but by increasing employee’s well-being in the workplace. Conclusion. The results support the hypothesis about the effect of listening on well-being and suggest a possible mechanism of the mediation of the feeling of understood. PS 16-07. Career stages and Self-efficacy, and Its Impact on Teacher Job Satisfaction Rituparna Basak, Anjali Ghosh Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, India Background. In the present scenario with the rapid pace of changes in the society teachers are the yardstick who help schools to adjust with these changes. They are dynamic force of the school. On him rests the most crucial role that is failure or the success of the system. Fulfilment of these crucial roles depends on how perfectly and satisfactorily they do their jobs. This satisfaction is influenced by the stages where the teachers belong i.e. career stages and along with this teachers’ belief about their ability to perform a specific task i.e. their self-efficacy. Aim of Study. The purpose of this study is to explore relationship of job satisfaction with career stages and self-efficacy in different groups of school teachers selected from different school of Kolkata, India. And another objective is also to see whether there is any demographic variable play any major role on the job satisfaction of the teachers or not. Methods. 160 data were obtained from the school teachers of Kolkata. Career Stage Scale developed by McCormick, & Barnett, (2008) and Paula Lester’s Teacher job satisfaction questionnaire (1982) were used in the study. Results. Results showed that job satisfaction is significantly and positively correlated with different career stages and self-efficacy. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that job satisfaction can be significantly predicted by selfefficacy and majority of career stages. Conclusions. This study gave an impact of different career stages on job satisfaction of school teachers and showed teachers in stocktaking stage are highly satisfied with their jobs. This study also highlighted importance of selfefficacy on job satisfaction. Teachers who have high self-efficacy beliefs are highly satisfied with their job. It helps to understand the importance of different demographic factors and the background reasons on job satisfaction of teachers. PS 16-08. Corporate Social Responsibility as a Tool to Increase Happiness among the Workers in the Company Ruth Wolf Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel Organizations today devote a great deal of resources to applying a ‘positive psychology’ approach in the workplace. Many studies point out that it is possible to increase employee motivation and made work in the company more efficient, and the principles of positive psychology reinforce this approach (Baker & Schaffli, 2008; Wright, 2003; Luthans & Youssef, 2007). An important point that can strengthen an employee’s positive outlook has to do with CSR (corporate social responsibility) ,the employee’s ability to involve himself in giving and contributing to the community, as it can increase his satisfaction at work. For individuals, this kind of activity can provide personal fulfillment and research indicates that the act of giving fills. Today more than ever, the positive influence of organizations and business on the community is emphasized. The phenomenon of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is well known and has expanded activities across the entire world. Organizations and companies today increasingly understand that the act of giving to another also has a personal and business value for the contributing the workers in the organization as well as in the community The basic idea behind CSR is that the business and community sectors are interconnected and share social, economic, and cultural reciprocity. Cooperation between these sectors is expressed in different ways, such that each side contributes to the other. Projects to help the community reflect the essence of compassion – to help those who are less fortunate. Helping is intended to promote the weak members of the community. The concept of compassion promotes understanding and identifying with the situation of weak and needy individuals and encourages the desire to provide help. This desire is expressed in the provision of assistance to others. PS 16-09. Emotional and cognitive factors to explain work engagement in health volunteers E. Garrosa, L.M. Blanco, B. Moreno-Jiménez, A. González, M. Fraca, M.J. Meniz Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain Background. Volunteers working in the health area often have to deal with difficult emotional issues. Previous research shows that the prevalence of burnout in this group is low, and conversely, tending to be satisfied. The attention given to health professionals in the study of the variables and positive states that occur within their organization, such as work engagement, does not correspond to the interest devoted to the volunteers from the same area. It´s too interesting to know why the volunteers, far from being burned at their task, feel full of energy, with dedication and absorbed in their task. There are few studies linking cognitive reappraisal with the engagement, as well as the three dimensions of sense of coherence with it. The reinterpretation of the situations on an emotional level, along with the perception that things are consistent, the manageable and the worth investing energy and effort into them can be important factors to explain volunteers work engagement. Aims. This study aims to determine the level of engagement of volunteers from an association that serves people with cancer and their families, and show some factors that could explain it, in particular, cognitive reappraisal and sense of coherence. Methods. The sample consists of 136 volunteers. Descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and hierachical regression analysis were conducted. Results and Conclusion. The results show a moderate level of vigor and dedication of volunteers, and a high level in absorption. Also observed direct effects of cognitive reappraisal and sense of coherence on engagement. Meaningfulness is the most important dimension of sense of coherence to explain engagement, consistent with previous research. In conclusion, cognitive and emotional aspects are important to explain engagement in the context of volunteering. PS 16-10. How does Core Self-Evaluations Enhance Creativity? The Mediating Effect of Intrinsic Motivation and the Moderating Effect of Transformational Leadership Tsung-Yu Wu, Xing-Wei Huang Taipei University of Education, Taipei, Taiwan Core self-evaluations (CSEs) is the fundamental assessments that people make about their worthiness, competence, and capabilities (Judge, et al., 2003). In recent years, CSEs receives a lot of researchers’ attention in the field of positive organizational psychology (Judge & Hurst, 2007), and many studies found that CSEs are positively related to job satisfaction and job performance. In spite of this, the relationship between CSEs and creativity is seldom explored in past literature. In addition, the moderator role that supervisor’s transformational leadership plays on the employee’s CSEs-creativity relationship is also unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate how CSEs are associated with creativity. Specifically, based on self-concordance model, we propose that CSEs will carry its effect on creativity through the mediating process of intrinsic motivation, and that transformational leadership will strength the above mediating process. Using questionnaire survey and creativity task test (Gifts for friends, Leung & Chiu, 2010), the study obtained dyadic data from 201 employees and 151 supervisors in Taiwan and China. The results of hierarchical regression showed that CSEs significantly predicted creativity. Furthermore, the intrinsic motivation mediated the relationship between core self-evaluations and creativity. However, transformational leadership doesn’t moderate the relationship between core self-evaluations and intrinsic motivation. The academic and practical implications for positive psychology in workplace were discussed at the end. Keywords: core self-evaluations, transformational leadership, intrinsic motivation, creativity, creative performance PS 16-11. Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Employee Well-being Elena Mandrikova, Tatyana Ivanova, Anna Gorbunova National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia Employees’ well-being as the main component of positive workplace becomes crucial at emerging markets when the demands to human factor have risen increasingly, as well as questions of job satisfaction, job motivation, and workplace conditions. As key component of employees’ well-being the work engagement is defined as a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. The exploration of employee’s well-being at Russian company from energetic industry – the most important industry at emerging Russian market – gives the cues for motivational programs and managerial solutions which could help to enlarge the potential of employees on different organizational levels. We conduct the research at fuel-generated Russian company (N=4708), there were participated employees of 8 organizational levels (from workers to executives) from 6 regions at the Central North Russia. The main aim of study was to explore the employee well-being, job satisfaction and organizational commitment at different regions and on different organizational levels, to compare it and develop the model of interaction of these constructs. For this purposes there were used several relevant scales: • Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) (Shaufeli, Bakker, 2003) to measure employee engagement, UWES there were used 8 items more relevant to our study; • Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) to measure employees’ satisfaction and level of involvement in the organization (Porter, Steers, Mowday, & Boulian, 1974); • Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (Batarshev, 2005), modified to the purpose of our research; • Some relevant to employee well-being scales and questionnaires like work-life balance, psychological climate scale, life satisfaction scale, work-related factors needed be improved as the set of organizational needs, and some questionnaires regarding personal resources (optimism, hardiness, self-efficacy). All scales and questionnaires were available in Russian; data was collected through electronic system specially developed for internal use in the fuel-generation company. Our study revealed that the results on organizational commitment and work engagement are significantly (p≤0.5) similar to each other in different regions and on all organizational levels. Job satisfaction occurs as a mediator in this model defining the influence of organizational commitment to employee engagement. The most valuable factors for job satisfaction are working conditions, salaries, professional achievements, and management style. The most significant (p≤0.1) factor correlate both with job commitment and job satisfaction is prestige of workplace (social positive image of organization) which gives input in work engagement. Resuming, the job satisfaction and organizational commitment influence on work engagement through the perceived social image of organization; these components underlie the employees’ well-being in the organization and should be in the focus of management solutions to enhance positive workplace. PS 16-12. Job satisfaction: structure and associations with work engagement and organizational loyalty Elena Rasskazova, Tatyana Ivanova, Evgeny Osin National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia The background. Traditionally organizational psychology conceptualizes job satisfaction as a single construct, investigating different objective components (like organizational structure) that contribute to it. Much less attention has been paid by researchers to the structure of job satisfaction itself and to the contribution of its different components to the overall feeling about organization and work. Based on the literature review, we suggest a three-component model of job satisfaction that includes social (satisfaction with the prestige of the organization and workplace), organizational (satisfaction with salary, work conditions and organization of the work process, executives and co-workers), and personal components (satisfaction with the process and content of work, status and achievements, as well as satisfaction with opportunities of personal development, career and self-realization). Aims. Our first aim was to develop and validate an instrument to measure different components of job satisfaction. As a second aim, we studied the contribution of different components to general work engagement and organizational loyalty. Methods. According to the theoretical model, first version of Job Satisfaction Components Questionnaire (JSCQ) was developed based on an already existing instrument by A.Batarshev. 4,701 workers and managers of a Russian energetic company participated in the study. Along with other questionnaires, the participants completed JSCQ, Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (Porter), and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli). To control possible social desirability effects the survey was administered anonymously. Results. Five reliable scales of job satisfaction (Cronbach’s alpha in the .66-.86 range) were developed: satisfaction with salary, work conditions, management, co-workers, and work process. The factorial structure was closer to the theoretical model in managers and top-managers, and it was more simple in workers and technicians, suggesting that cognitive complexity and education may play an important role in the structure of job satisfaction. In general, satisfaction with work process and with work conditions were the two main factors contributing to work engagement and organizational loyalty. Loyalty was also closely related to satisfaction with salary. However, the contribution of different job satisfaction components varied depending on employees’ positions in the company. Conclusions. The data supported the three-component model of job satisfaction and demonstrated the importance of differential approach to studying the association of job satisfaction with work engagement and organizational loyalty. The subjective structure of job satisfaction and its contribution to engagement and loyalty vary depending on objective factors like employee position that should be taken into account when planning applied research and interventions for job satisfaction. PS 16-13. People’s Relations to Their Work and Job Satisfaction Elżbieta Katarzyna Kasprzak Kazimierz Wielki University, Bydgoszcz, Poland Background. It is assumed that the job satisfaction is shaped by people’s relations to their work. Relation to work is a cognitive construct which is manifested in judgments, values, emotions, decisions and actions concerning work. It is a constant tendency of behavior at work.. According to the proposal of Wrześniewski et al. (1997), work can be seen as Job, Career or Calling. An employee who sees his/her work as a Job expects income, reluctantly goes to work, looks forward to the weekend, vacation, retirement. Work as a Career is a relation where an employee pursues to promotion (mainly vertical) and improves his/her own competences. In the case of work as a Calling it is a relation to work where a person looks for and finds the meaning of life, internal motivation and realises social values which might not always be pleasant. There are two aspects of job satisfaction: emotional and cognitive which are distinguished according to the definitions (Lock, 1976; Weiss, 2002). Aims. The first aim of this research is to identify which relations to work have determined job satisfaction. The second goal is to explore the main relation to work among blue-collars and white-collars employees. The last one is to find out how outcome, kind of work and type of vocational environment variables determine job satisfaction. Methods. Job satisfaction was measured by two single questions. The first one was built on Kunin’s Faces Scale relating to the emotional aspect of job satisfaction. The second one was based on Likert’s scale which contained five basic features of work. Respondents assessed how beneficial and satisfying these features were. This question measures a cognitive aspect of job satisfaction. The relation to work was measured by Professional Orientation Styles Scale (Kasprzak, in press) constructed on the basis of Work-Life Questionnaire University of Pennsylvania (Wrzesniewski et al., 1997). Results. Of the respondents, 33 people viewed work as a Job, 34 as a Career, and 27 as a Calling. Some associations between job satisfaction and work type, tenure, education, financial situation have been found. White-collars employees are more satisfied with work then blue-collars employees. ANOVA revealed differences in job satisfaction between people experiencing their work as a Calling or a Job. Work as a Career makes no distinction to job satisfaction. This result is important for assessing the job satisfaction in both aspects: emotional as well as cognitive. In a measure of job satisfaction in a cognitive aspect, work as a Job was found to account for 19% of variance. Conclusions. The idea of emphasizing relation to work as a factor determining satisfaction seems to be justified. Relations to work are asymmetrically associated with job satisfaction. The Job, Career, Calling distinction didn’t yield equal contribution to determination of job satisfaction. Only work as a Job determines job satisfaction negatively. Neither work as a Career nor as a Calling shape the job satisfaction. PS 16-14. Personal resources as a factor of work motivation Evgeny Osin, Tatyana Ivanova, Elena Rasskazova Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia The background. Despite a growing number of research supporting the role of positive psychological factors (optimism, hardiness, psychological capital etc.) in organizational context little is known about their relationship with the type of organization, situational factors (salary, work conditions, organization of the work process, social guarantees etc.) and employee position. Based on the literature review, we suggest that personal resources might play different roles in work motivation and job satisfaction depending on the structure of work motivation, kind of work the person is engaged and subjective appraisal of the organizational factors. Aim. To reveal the role of organizational factors and personal resources in the work motivation. We hypothesized that even after adjusting for organization factors personal resources would predict work motivation. Furthermore the strength of prediction would differ among employee position and motivation type. Methods. 4,701 workers and managers of a Russian energetic company participated in the study. They completed Situational Motivation Scale (Guay, Vallerand, Blanchard), Life Orientation Test (Scheier, Carver), Self-efficacy Scale (Schwartzer), Hardiness Survey (Maddi), Tolerance for Ambiguity Scale (MacLain). To assess subjective appraisal of organizational factors the checklist including 21 item (including salary, leadership style, social guarantees, sanitary conditions etc.) was created. Results. According to hierarchical regression analysis, subjective appraisal of organizational factors explained 10,1%-19,4% of the variance in intrinsic, identified, extrinsic work motivation and amotivation. Personal resources (optimism, self-efficacy, hardiness, tolerance to ambiguity) improves all the models significantly adding 8-15% to the variances explained. Predictive power of the organizational factors and the personal resources varied among employee positions. In top-managers personal resources were the only factor influenced motivation. In low-level workers and specialists organizational factors were more important for identified and intrinsic motivation while personal factors were helpful in the explanation of extrinsic and amotivation. In managers and high-level workers personal resources were main factors of intrinsic and identified motivation. Conclusions. Independent from organizational factors personal resources predicted significant amount of the variance in work motivation. The relative role of personal resources differed depending on the structure of work motivation and employee position. It was the highest for all the types of motivation in top-managers. In managers and high-level workers personal resources were influential factor of intrinsic motivation while in low-level workers and specialists they were more important for extrinsic motivation and amotivation. PS 16-15. Meaning at work: The German adaptation of the Work and Meaning Inventory Claudia Harzer, Michael F. Steger University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland The present poster reports about the progress in the German adaptation of the Work and Meaning Inventory (WAMI; Steger, Dik, & Duff y, in press) and its initial appraisal of its reliability and validity. The WAMI is aimed at measuring the three dimensions of the multidimensional model of work as a subjective meaningful experience proposed by Steger et al. (in press; p. 1), namely “experiencing positive meaning in work” (PM), “sensing that work is a key avenue for making meaning” (MM), and “perceiving one’s work to serve some greater good” (GG) in a self-rating. The three scales each contain three (MM and GG) to four (PM) items utilizing a 5-point Likert-scale (1 = absolutely untrue to 5 = absolutely true). The total score comprises of all 10 items. The WAMI showed good psychometric properties (reliability, factor structure) and all three scales were meaningfully associated with related measures (e.g., life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and meaning in life). The questionnaire was translated into German to use it for research in German speaking countries as 90.000.000 first-language speakers represent a large population for research purposes. The translation was done in several steps: translation, back-translation, check of back-translation by Steger, first modification, and initial use. Data collection is still in progress to gain data on test-retest reliability for one, three, and six months. However, until now 225 German-speaking adults (129 males, 96 females; age: M = 41.41 years, SD = 9.28, ranging from 19 to 70 years; educational level: n = 147 Master’s degree, n = 55 apprenticeship, n = 10 A-levels, n = 8 doctor’s degree, n = 5 secondary school) working in various occupations and diverse organizational contexts filled in the German WAMI among other measures via the Internet. Preliminary data-analysis showed reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s Alpha) of α = .79, α = .71, and α = .79 for PM, MM, and GG, respectively, and α = .84 for the total scale. Corrected item-total correlations ranged from .55 to .65, from .50 to .62, from .61 to .71, and from .48 to .61 for PM, MM, GG, and the total scale, respectively. Furthermore, the three-factor structure could be replicated in an exploratory factor analysis like the one reported in Steger et al. (in press; principal axis factoring with Promax rotation) as each of the items had the highest loading (loadings in pattern matrix ranged from .43 to .92) on the targeted factor. Correlation pattern to related measures as reported in Steger et al. (in press; e.g., life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and meaning in life) could be replicated. Like in Steger et al. (in press), PM showed a small correlation with age (r = .20, p < .01) indicating that older participants were more likely to report experiencing positive meaning in work. Gender and educational level were not related to any of the WAMI scales. The latest results on descriptive statistics, reliability, factorial structure, and validity will be presented. Finally, the status of and further steps for the adaptation will be discussed. PS 16-16. Teachers’ conceptualization of teacher-student relationships as a resource for their competence and well-being development Alexandra Bochaver, Vladimir Kasatkin Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia Background. School is usually more than a place for education. Socialization, identity formation, personality and communicational skills development of students are considerably influenced by school life. Teacher is not only an information provider, but a referent person and attachment object for the students as well. He or she creates the rules of behavior in class, regulates the teacher-student and student-student relationships, and constructs the models to be reaching or avoiding by children in further relationships. Society supports the idea that competent teachers should be competent communicators (Mahon, 2009). Earlier it has been shown that conflict at the workplace is a stressor (Oxenstierna, Ferrie, Hyde, Westerlund, & Theorell, 2005), and most teachers prefer compromising, avoiding, or accommodating conflict styles (Mahon, 2009). All teachers’ activities are determined by their values and beliefs about education, its goals and mechanisms. These values and beliefs are expressed in metaphors teachers use to describe their professional reality (Cook-Sather, 2001; Martinez, Sauleda, Guenter, 2001; Saban, Kocbeker, Saban, 2007; Mahlios, Massengill-Shaw, Barry, 2010; Sibii, 2010). Our research was based on the cognitive theory of metaphor (Lakoff, Johnson, 1980). We assumed that the teachers describe their relationships by metaphors reflecting most important aspects of professional life and personal problems. What are metaphors and beliefs that construct teachers’ practices in class? How teachers build teacher-student relationships? Which aspects of them are used for educational goals, what weaknesses and resources are activated within these relationships? And how the types of classroom practice are linked with teachers’ professional effectiveness? Aims. The aims of this study were: - to explore how the teachers construct and conceptualize their relationships with students; - to explore links between relationships metaphors and teachers’ a) weaknesses, b) resources, c) competence. Methods. Semi-structured interviews with 15 teachers (women; aged from 25 to 64; Mage =40) working in Russian regular schools were performed. The main topics were: communications with children, weaknesses, problems, skills of psychological ‘self-protection’, and resources. Content-analytical techniques and expert assessment were used. The subjects of assessment were: metaphors; weaknesses; methods of psychological self-protection; competence vs. incompetence. Results. We have found that the individual interpretations of ‘expected communicational competence’ and teachers’ personal meanings of the ‘teacher-student’ relationships are extremely various in Russia. Russian teachers often describe themselves as power representatives (commander, guide, orchestral conductor etc.), and relationships with students – as relations of power. Teachers in Russia tend to conceptualize the process of teaching as people management, where the most ‘popular’ weakness is the lack of power, and the main resource – work satisfaction and pleasure of students’ achievements. Conclusion. When the power is not a goal but the unquestionable feature of the relationships, teachers use it to make the teaching process more well-organized and effective, and their subjective well-being is higher. But when this power becomes an independent goal, the teachers suffer from the lack of power and begin working ineffectively. The implications of different power positions for teachers’ professional competence, effectiveness, stress-resistance, subjective well-being, and relationships construction are discussed. PS 16-17. The effects of service worker emotional labour on service performance and sabotage: The moderating effects of service worker personality and the mediating effect of customer moods Nai-Wen Chi National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung ,Taiwan With the coming of “service-oriented” trend, service organizations require service workers to display positive emotions during the service processes in order to enhance customers’ satisfaction. Therefore, service workers have to display appropriate emotions toward customers during the service encounters. “Emotional labor” (EL) refers to the processes in which service workers regulate or suppress their inner feelings in order to show the required emotions of organizations, and includes two types of regulation strategies: deep acting (DA) and surface acting (SA). DA refers to service workers modify their inner feelings to match the emotion expressions the organization requires, while SA refers to service workers only fake their emotional expressions without changing their inner feelings. Although EL researchers believe that EL is beneficial for service performance, several research gaps remain in the EL literature. First, past studies found that the relationship between EL and service performance was not consistent. Thus, the “boundary conditions” of the EL-performance association remain unclear. Second, since EL drains service workers’ inner resources when regulating their emotions, it is plausible that EL also reduces service workers’ resources to control their behaviors. However, the association between EL and negative service behavior (i.e., service sabotage) has not been tested in the empirical literature. Third, although recent studies have attempted to clarify the mechanisms linking EL and service outcomes, if EL influences service performance and sabotage through customer moods have not been explored in previous studies. Based on the individual difference perspective of emotional regulation and emotional contagion theories, the present study is designed to clarify the boundary conditions and mechanisms of the EL-service performance/sabotage relationships. Specifically, we examine if service workers’ personality traits (extraversion and conscientiousness) moderate the relationships between EL and service performance and if customer positive and negative moods mediate these moderating effects. By applying the experience-sampling method, we collected data from 61 front-line servers from 13 restaurants in Taiwan. We collected the data from servers and their customers after each service delivery (5 times per server; serverlevel N = 61; service delivery-level N = 305). The results of hierarchical linear modeling analysis showed that servers with high extraversion strengthened the positive relationship between DA and positive affective delivery (PAD) through customer positive moods. In addition, servers with high conscientiousness weakened the negative association between SA and PAD via customer positive moods. In terms of the service sabotage behaviors, we found that servers’ SA positively predicted service sabotage behaviors and servers’ conscientiousness buffered this association through customer negative moods. Finally, we also discussed how our findings can contribute to the EL and moods at work literature and how our findings can help service organizations to design human resource practices for selecting and training front-line service workers. Keywords: Emotional labor, Moods, Personality, Service performance, Service sabotage PS 16-18. The meaning in life and the recovery experience as protective resources of the workplace aggression: a diary study E. Garrosa, L.M. Blanco, I. Carmona, B. Moreno-Jiménez Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain The different ways of workplace aggression (i.e., incivility and verbal abuse) that workers suffer daily affect their daily well-being. However, there are not enough research on daily consequences of those kinds of aggressions and the protector role of the meaning in life and recovery experiences. This meaning in life and these recovery experiences could help to restore the energy level and generate positive emotions. The aim of the research is analyzing the impacts of the workplace aggression within the daily well-being of workers, as well as the effects of the meaning in life and the recovery experiences after work as protective factors. There were 105 employees from service sectors in Spain that completed a general survey and three daily surveys over the course of one workweek. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that the presence of the meaning in life in the morning, the recovery strategy “relax”, as well as the presence and search for meaning in life in the evening were showed as significant variables in the explication of negative affect during the evening. It also showed that emotional exhaustion, the recovery strategy “enriching activities”, as well as the presence of meaning in life in the evening were significant variables in the explication of positive affect during the evening. In conclusion, the verbal abuse has an impact on workers negative emotions. In the same way, the one’s emotions that frequently feel, the meaning in life and the recovery experience, affect to ours affects, suggesting daily fluctuations related with the presence of these variables. PS 16-19. The Roles of Mentor Humor and Protégé Core Self-evaluations in Supervisory Mentoring Chun-Chi Yang, Changya Hu Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan The purpose of this study was to examine the antecedents and protégé outcomes of mentoring functions protégé received in supervisory mentoring relationships. Specifically, two overlooked antecedents of mentoring functions were examined: mentor humor, protégé core self-evaluations, and their interaction. This study also investigated the relationship between mentoring functions protégé received and three protégé outcomes: career satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and intention to quit. Using data collected from 184 employees at two time points (two month apart), the regression results indicated that both mentor humor and protégé core self-evaluations, but not their interaction, were positively related to the mentoring functions protégé received. Furthermore, mentoring functions protégé received related significantly to protégé outcomes that were collected at the second time point: career satisfaction (positive), emotional exhaustion (negative), and intention to quit (negative). A discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of these findings was offered. Keywords: Mentoring, humor, core self-evaluations, career satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, intention to quit. PS 16-20. Wealth and Employee Well-Being: A Cross-Cultural Study of the World Value Survey 1990/2007 Haiyin Chen, Ulrikke Johansen BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway The current study explores the dynamic relationship between wealth and employee well‐being in China and Norway utilizing the World Value Survey data from 1990 and 2007. Building upon previous studies, we developed three hypotheses, exploring the presumed predictive power of income on life evaluation, and that of job autonomy on positive and negative feelings. In contrast with the findings from a Gallup World Poll study (Diener, Ng, Harter, & Arora, 2010), household income was not a significant predictor for life satisfaction over time, nor was job autonomy for feelings. Yet satisfaction with income was generally established as a mediator between income and life satisfaction. The study demonstrates the increasingly important role of income and satisfaction with income, challenges the universality of the job autonomy construct, and reveals the ambiguous relations between positive and negative feelings across cultures. Diener, E., Ng, W., Harter, J., & Arora, R. (2010). Wealth and Happiness Across the World: Material Prosperity Predicts Life Evaluation, Whereas Psychosocial Prosperity Predicts Positive Feeling. Journal of personality and social psychology, 99(1), 52‐61. Additional material for evaluation Key concepts in the research model:c Method: Regression analysis using SPSS 18.0 Key findings: - From 1990 to 2007 income has become more important in predicting life satisfaction both for China and Norway. - Satisfaction with income has played a more important mediator role (between income and life satisfaction) from 1990 to 2007 for both countries. - Whereas for the 1990 Chinese sample, job autonomy predicted feelings more strongly than income, this did not hold for Norway. - There was lack of a significant link between job autonomy and life satisfaction for the Chinese sample in 2007, while it held for Norway. PS 16-21. Work engagement, organizational commitment, job resources and job demands of teachers working within two former model c high schools in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa Joey Buitendach, Ruwanda Petrus, L.K. Field South African Republic During the last two decades the education system in South Africa has undergone enormous changes (Rothmann & Jordaan, 2006). During the mid-1990s, when South Africa was a newly formed democracy, one of the key issues that the new government was faced to deal with was the restructuring of the education system, which in the past was extremely divided and fragmented (Asmal & James, 2001). The study firstly aimed to determine the relationship between work engagement, organisational commitment, job resources and job demands of teachers, and secondly to determine secondly to determine whether work engagement mediates the relationship between job demands and resources. A cross sectional design was used (n=117). A demographic questionnaire; the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) (Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonzalez-Roma & Bakker, 2002); Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) (Allen & Meyer, 1990); and, the Job DemandsResources Scale (JDRS) (Jackson & Rothmann, 2005) were used to collect data from the participants. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program (version 19) was used to carry out statistical analysis (SPSS, 2003). Firstly, exploratory factor analysis was undertaken in order to determine the factor structure of the UWES, OCQ as well as the JDRS; the factor structure was tested in a path analysis following a two-step procedure. In the first step, a simple principle components analysis was conducted on the constructs which form part of the proposed model, including work engagement, organisational commitment as well as job demands and job resources the eigenvalues and scree plots were then studied to determine the number of factors. Secondly, descriptive statistics were used to explore the data that was collected from the participants. Thirdly, Cronbach alpha coefficients (α) were then used to assess the internal consistency of the measuring instruments. Fourthly, Pearson product-momentum correlation coefficients were used to specify the relationship between the variables in the present study. Effect sizes (Cohen, 1988) were used in addition to statistical significance testing in order to determine the significance of relationships. Fift hly, multiple regression analysis was conducted in order to determine whether job resources held predictive value for work engagement. Lastly, in order to test the hypothesised meditational relationships of the present study, a series of multiple regression analyses were carried out. Findings indicated job reources and challenge job demands to be positivly related to work engagement, while hindrance job demands were found to be negativly related to work engagement. The results showed that organisational support and growth opportunities can both be viewed as predictive of work engagement (F=35.09; R2=0.38; p≤0.01; medium effect). Further, these job resources were found to explain 38% of the variance in work engagement. Further, it was found that work engagement mediated the relationship between job demands and organisational commitment. The findings suggest that job resources, as well as job demands, impact upon the levels of work engagement and organisational commitment of the teachers. PS 16-22. The German adaptation of the Calling Scale Claudia Harzer University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland The amount of positive experiences at work (here: job satisfaction, pleasure, engagement, meaning) was supposed to be a function of the extent to which the situational circumstances at the workplace allow for the application of an individual’s signature character strengths. For the description of the individual a reliable and valid instrument already existed, but not for the environment. Therefore, the Applicability of Character Strengths Rating Scales (ACS-RS; Harzer & Ruch, 2010) was developed. The present poster demonstrates its reliability and validity. A sample of 1,111 adults filled in the ACS-RS, the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS; Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005), and measures for the positive experiences at work. The ACS-RS assesses the extent to which each of the 24 character strengths of the VIA classification (Peterson, & Seligman, 2004) is applicable in a) private life and b) at work. For each of the character strengths, short paragraphs are provided describing character strengths-relevant behavior based on the definitions by Peterson and Seligman (2004). These behaviors are rated on a 5-point Likert-scale (1 = never though 5 = [almost] always) for four different situational influences on actual behavior derived from literature review: (a) normative demands of a situation (actual wording: “it is demanded”), (b) appropriateness of the behavior (“it is helpful”), (c) perceived presence of factors that may facilitate or impede the behavior (“I do it”), and (d) intrinsic motivation to show it (“it is important for me”). In the instruction an example highlights the differences between those ratings and that the answers might differ across those ratings. Different environments are rated independently from each other. For each environment a total of 96 items measures the applicability of the 24 character strengths with the 4 ratings for each of the strengths. The ACS-RS was reliable by means of internal consistency (ranging from <= .76 to <= .94 with median <= .84 and ranging from <= .71 to <= .90 with median <= .80 for private life and at work, respectively) and inter-rater agreement (<= .80, .68, and .80 for administrative officials, inspectors of construction material, and teaching and research associates, respectively). The ACS-RS proved to be valid in several ways being sensitive to: a) the differences in the applicability of trait-relevant behavior in formal vs. informal situations by showing higher applicability of the character strengths in the latter; b) the differences between traits regarding their applicability across situations; c) people’s disposition to choose situations fitting their dispositions by showing positive relationships between the degree of possession and applicability. Moreover, correlations between applicability of strengths and positive experiences increased with the individual centrality of the strengths. The more signature strengths were applied at the workplace, the higher the positive experiences at work. The main conclusions of this study are that the ACS-RS is a reliable and valid measure for the applicability of character strengths in a certain environment and that strengths-congruent activities are important for positive experiences at work. POSTERS PS 2.1. Human Strengths, Psychological Capital, and Personal Potential PS 21-01. An Explorative Study of Personal Strengths and Weaknesses among Japanese College Students – On a Perspective of Using Strengths for Other People Asami Komazawa, Ikuo Ishimura Tokyo Seitoku University, Setagaya-ku, Japan Knowing and using one’s own strengths are said to be beneficial to live better. Precedent studies show that some strength are related to happiness, life satisfaction, health, and so forth. Strengths assessment tools are available and widely used, and a number of exercises are developed to use and maximize the benefit of them. However, it is not clear whether people are ready to live in a strength-based way, especially in some collective country like Japan. Even though it is said Japan is in “an age of individuality”, there seems to be a strong tendency to be like the people around them. This tendency to be like others and not to be outstanding could influence Japanese people’s view of strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, it seems to be important and also beneficial for them to know and use their strengths not only for themselves but for others. Therefore, one aim of the study is to investigate how Japanese people view strengths and weaknesses as well as the attitude or readiness toward using and developing their strengths. The other is to figure out if they use or willing to use their strengths for others. 66 Japanese college students (30 males and 36 females; mean age was 19.89 years old) participated. Those who agreed to take part in this study completed the questionnaire, asking about whether they knew their strengths and weaknesses, whether they were willing to use their strengths for others, if they have psychological resistance to use their strengths in their daily lives, and so forth. The data collected were analyzed using qualitative research methods. We found out that only 36.4% of our participants knew their strengths whereas 69.7% knew their weaknesses. Chi-square test was conducted, and a significant difference was found between the numbers of participants who knew their strengths and those who knew their weaknesses (x2(2) =17.971, p<.01). The result of residual analysis showed that there were not so many participants who knew their strengths (d=-4.200, p<.01). Only 40% of those who knew their strengths recently used their strengths for others’ benefit, even though they do not seem to have high resistance to use their strengths both for themselves and for others (93.9% and 87.9%, respectively). 25.8% participants showed interest to develop their own strengths whereas 42.4% were interested in overcoming their weaknesses, and 31.8% were interested in both. These results may reveal that there are not so many people who already know their own strengths even though most of them do not seem to have high resistance to use their strengths. This may suggest that there is a need to realize what their strengths are at first to make the benefits from them. Further, some participants had weaknesses which seemed to appear in their relationship with others, and few participants actually recently used their strengths for others in their daily lives. So there could be a need to intervene or to develop exercises to help them use their strengths for others. PS 21-02. Character strengths and life goals Fabian Gander, Sara Wellenzohn, René T. Proyer University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Peterson (2006), in his introductory book on positive psychology, raised the question on what goals to pursue for a morally good life. A sample of 266 adults (aged between 18 and 65) German language version of the Values-in-ActionInventory of Strengths (VIA-IS; Ruch, Proyer, Harzer, Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2010) and the German adaptation of the Aspirations Index (AI; Klusmann, Trautwein, & Lüdtke, 2005) to assess different intrinsic and extrinsic life goals. The results supported the notion that character strengths are positively related to the importance and likelihood of intrinsic aspirations (i.e., personal growth, meaningful relations, community contribution, health). Especially, emotional and interpersonal strengths demonstrated robust relations. A question for future research is whether cultivating emotional strengths such as hope or social intelligence increases the endorsement of intrinsic life goals. In terms of the Self-determination theory, it is argued that the pursuit of intrinsic aspirations enables the satisfaction of basic needs. One might further argue that strengths-enhancing interventions may serve as a way to boost psychological and physical well-being through inducing changes in life goals. This, however, needs to be tested experimentally; the present study breaks the ground for further research on the relations between character strengths and different life goals and aspirations. PS 21-03. Exploring cognitive and emotional correlates of self-control in sport contexts: A study with young Portuguese soccer athletes Jose Fernando Cruz, Joana Osorio, Rui Sofia University of Minho, Gualtar, Portugal The study of self-control is a growing domain of research across several life domains and a major topic in selfregulation literature. The evidence for its role as central feature of cognitive, emotional and behavioral processes in a variety of achievement domains and everyday life is emerging in several applied fields of psychological science. In fact, the power and association of self-regulatory processes with the performance of desired behaviors, perseverance, efficient goal pursuit and positive outcomes, as well as with the inhibition of risky or undesired behaviors, is well documented (e.g., de Ridder et al., 2011; Duckworth et al., 2011; Tangney et al., 2004; Vohs & Baumeister, 2010). Since, research in different achievement and interpersonal domains has documented its role and impact, the main purpose of this study in was to explore the links between cognitive and emotional constructs and individual diferences in selfcontrol in a context where research on such dispositional trait has been rare. Method and aims: In a cross-sectional exploratory study, adapted versions in Portuguese language of measures of selfcontrol, cognitive beliefs, cognitive appraisals, goal orientations and emotional regulation during sport competition, were administered to a sample of 205 young male soccer athletes (14 to 26 years old), competing in their main age level national leagues. Results: Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that beliefs (implicit theories of emotions, core self-evaluations, threat and challenge appraisals), emotional traits (anxiety and anger) and specific emotional regulation strategies (tension reduction, reappraisal, wishful thinking and problem-solving efficacy) were significantly and differentially associated with self-control, contributing also to the successful discrimination between high and low self-control groups. Conclusions: Overall, our results suggest the advantages of the combined study of cognitive, motivational and emotional individual diferences associated with dispositional self-control, toward a better comprehension of the “adaptive and optimal functioning” under the growing competitive pressures in youth sports. In addition, the results also provide some potential avenues for future theoretically-oriented research of self-control processes in achievement domains, providing also some practical implications for the design of positive psychological interventions with young athletes. Such interventions should aim the promotion of the athlete´s personal potential, well-being, and performance, with self-control resources and skills serving as core strenghts, necessary for successful emotional regulation, for resistance to desires and temptations in adverse life situations, as well as .for excellence in sport and achievement domains. PS 21-04. Exploring the role of social comparison in moral elevation Dorin Nastas, Ioana Tcaciuc, Carmen Poalelungi, Octavian Onici, Claudia Gherghel Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Iasi, Romania Although the positive emotion of moral elevation has been introduced more than a decade ago within the mainstream positive psychology by Jonathan Haidt (2000), empirical evidence started to arise only a few years ago, and much about it awaits to be discovered. The primary goal of our research team is to explore the structure of elevation experiences and settle the ground for empirically investigating various factors that influence or are influenced by it. In order to accomplish this we conducted a series of preliminary, exploratory studies, seeking to capture the flavor of elevation experiences of the local population. The majority of these trials were aimed at collecting unconstrained, free narratives about elevation experiences. A fugitive analysis of the first waves of these preliminary explorations suggests that quite a big part of the narratives contain spontaneous social comparisons. Besides the overall positivity associated with elevation episodes, many of these upward social comparisons brought also a negative outcome, triggering negative emotions like guilt, shame or sadness. These negative emotions emerge upon participants’ realization of being unable to meet the high moral standard of exemplars showing outstanding moral excellence and beauty. The possibility that behind the positive experiences of elevation could be found negative reactions triggered by upward social comparison within the moral domain was recently suggested both theoretically (e.g., Monin, 2007) and empirically (e. g., Algoe & Haidt, 2009). However, to our knowledge, nobody explored this issue in detail. In fact, Algoe and Haidt (2009) reported that they “ignored the negative emotions sometimes produced by witnessing excellence in others” (p. 134) by systematically removing those records from their analysis. On the contrary, we singled out those instances of ambivalent or incomplete elevation (containing positive emotions toward moral exemplars and negative emotions for self) to analyze them in detail. Based on our preliminary data analysis we suggest that, while witnessing first hand an elevation episode, the simultaneous experience of upward social comparison has two major outcomes. First of all, it has blocking properties on the prosocial tendencies that elevation is supposed to trigger (Haidt, 2003). By experiencing negative self-related emotions and perceiving low self-efficacy in emulating the moral exemplar the prosocial tendencies should be weaker or absent compared to instances when elevation experience is not accompanied by social comparison. Second, the presence of social comparison could be interpreted as an appraisal marker signaling the moving of the whole emotional experience “a little closer to awe and a little away from elevation”. The perception of an immense distance between the “greatness of the moral other” and “the smallness of the morally weak self” could resemble one of the main dimensions of awe – vastness (Keltner & Haidt, 2003). Future research including elevation induction with and without triggering social comparison will need both to refine and verify these propositions PS 21-05. Hope as mediator between curiosity and subjective well-being Veljko Jovanović, Dragana Brdarić University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia The model of curiosity by Kashdan and colleagues defines curiosity as a positive emotional-motivational system, which is presumed to represents one of the core mechanisms towards achieving social, psychological and subjective well-being (Kashdan & Silvia, 2009). Trait curiosity refers to behaviors such as seeking out new experiences and information, and readiness to accept the unpredictable nature of everyday life. A growing number of recent findings showed that curiosity was positively associated with various indicators of well-being and that there are a number of potential mechanisms through which curiosity influences well-being (e.g., Gallagher & Lopez, 2007; Kashdan et al., 2009). The main aim of this study was to test the mediating effect of hope in the relation between trait curiosity and subjective well-being (hedonic balance and life satisfaction). A total of 408 high-school students (aged 15-19 years) completed measures of curiosity (Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II), hope (Children’s Hope Scale), positive and negative affect (Serbian Inventory of Affect based on the PANAS-X) and life satisfaction (Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale). The criteria for conducting mediation specified by Baron and Kenny (1986) were met. The results of the Sobel test indicated that hope was a partial mediator of the relationship between curiosity and both affective (z = 7.87, p < .001) and cognitive components of SWB (z = 7.10, p < .001). High trait curiosity was associated with the increased use of hopeful thinking, which, in turn, led to a higher subjective well-being. The results of this study are in accordance with previous research which showed that engagement in novel and challenging activities enable curious individuals to build personal resources leading to greater well-being (Silvia, 2006). One of those resources accompanying individuals high on curiosity might be hopeful thinking and positive expectancies generally. Future research should address through which mechanisms curious individuals develop the sense of personal agency and self-efficacy, which were proved to have beneficial role for pursuit of well-being. PS 21-06. Hope, gratitude, meaningfulness and well-being in Czech students Alena Slezackova Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic The study focuses on examining of the moderating role of particular character strengths (hope, gratitude, meaningfulness) in subjective well-being in Czech students. The main aim of the study was to identify the relationships between psychological well-being and hope, gratitude and meaningfulness of life. The other aim was to analyze the correlation rate between hope, gratitude and meaningfulness of life, and also to compare the results of Secondary School students and University students. The Czech version of the PWBS, Hope Scale, GQ-6 and PIL were administred to the sample of 350 respondents. The sample consisted of 175 Secondary school students and 175 University students. Cronbach’s alfa was calculated to prove reliabilty and internal consistency of the methods. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, regression and correlation analysis. There are differences between Secondary school students and University students in rates of well-being and hope. The results of this study on positive relationships among variables are similar but not identical with the results of foreign studies. PS 21-07. Joining optimism and pessimism in predicting employees’ creativity Arménio Rego, Miguel Pina e Cunha Bru-Unide, ISCTE-IUL, Lisboa, Portugal The study illustrates how the employees’ optimism/pessimism (O/P) ratio (the ratio between optimism and pessimism) predicts their creativity. Borrowing on data from Rego, Sousa, Marques, and Cunha (2011), we consider optimism and pessimism as different constructs (the two-factor model fits the data better than the single-factor model) and show that the relationship between the O/P ratio and creativity is curvilinear (inverted U-shaped). Beyond a certain level of the O/Pratio, the positive relationship between the ratio and creativity weakens, suggesting that the possible positive effects of (high) optimism may be weakened by a very low level of pessimism. PS 21-08. Optimism – A Literature Review Micheline Bastianello, J.P. Pacico, C.S. Hutz Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brasil Optimism from the point of folk’s wisdom, through the philosophical discussions to empirical studies in psychology is strongly associated with a positive outlook on life, especially in light of difficult and disruptive events. People with an optimistic disposition hold generalized positive expectations for success and fulfillment in the future. This paper presents two theoretical approaches and empirical research on optimism in the field of Positive Psychology. The prospect of Martin Seligman defines optimism as learned, related to explanatory style, while Michael Scheier and Charles Carver understand the optimism from a dispositional dimension, based on generalized expectations. Different theoretical and methodological assumptions of these theories are presented, and also studies from both theories in different cultures and with the variables self-esteem and personality. PS 21-09. Optimism/pessimism ratio as predictor of job performance Arménio Rego, Susana Leal; Miguel Pina e Cunha Bru-Unide, ISCTE-IUL, Lisboa, Portugal The study shows how the employees’ optimism/pessimism ratio (the ratio between optimism and pessimism) predicts their performance. Two hundred and thirty-five individuals reported their optimism/pessimism, as well as the other components of psychological capital (self-efficacy, resilience, and hope). Their supervisors reported their performance. The main findings are the following: (a) optimism and pessimism emerge as different constructs; (b) the optimism/ pessimism ratio relates positively with performance, although the relationship is nonlinear (inverted U-shaped). Explained variance is low, but the findings suggest that researchers should continue to explore (a) the dimensionality of optimism/pessimism, (b) the tension or “partnership” between positivity and negativity, and (c) nonlinear relationships between individual characteristics and performance. PS 21-10. Orientations to happiness, life satisfaction, and character strengths; A correlation among Irish college students Helen Tobin University College Dublin, Rathfarnham, Ireland The aim of this study was to study the correlations between character strengths, life satisfaction and three paths to happiness; meaning, pleasure and engagement. The study of wellbeing and what makes people happy is receiving increasing scientific interest, especially in the area of positive psychology. The Values in Action Inventory of Strengths was devised to rate respondents on 24 character strengths that arguably represent universal human virtues. The most satisfying strengths have been identified in two studies for US and Swiss respondents, with slight differences between these countries. However, further studies were needed to investigate this finding across cultures to explore the universalities and cultural differences in character strengths. The current study measured character strengths, life satisfaction scores and the degree of meaning, pleasure and engagement as paths to happiness for 40 Irish undergraduate students. The students responded to three online questionnaires and this data was used for analysis. The current sample was found to highly endorse pleasure and meaning as orientations to happiness, though not engagement. The highest strengths that emerged were kindness, humour and fairness, while religiousness scored lowest. Pearson’s product moment correlations were conducted, and the most satisfying strengths that emerged were hope, gratitude, zest, love and perseverance. This finding largely corresponded to previous research for Swiss and US samples, supporting the proposed universality of these strengths. In terms of the three orientations to happiness, the strengths most associated with meaning, pleasure and engagement contrasted with previous findings. A linear regression was calculated to investigate the levels of prediction between the variables. T-tests were conducted to study the effects of age and gender on findings, and also to compare the means of the current study to the previous literature. The results were discussed in relation to the previous literature, methodological issues and the implications for theory in this developing area. PS 21-11. Polish adaptation of the International Personality Item Pool – Values in Action (IPIP-VIA) Scales Małgorzata Najderska, Jan Cieciuch University of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, Radom, Poland Peterson and Seligman (2004) proposed classification of character strengths and virtues. Virtues in their approach are the core characteristics valued by moral philosophers and religious thinkers, while character strengths are the psychological ingredients, which the virtues are defined by. After an exhaustive process of searching and selecting virtues and character strengths Seligman and Peterson (2004) claimed that all virtues could be subsumed under six core moral virtues, that emerge across cultures and throughout time: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance and transcendence. The virtues are defined by 24 character strengths, which could be also measured by the measurements developed by Peterson and Seligman Values in Action – Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS). Peterson and Seligman (2004) admitted that the classification is not yet a finished product and can be further tested and improved. We think that one of the ways to test the classification is developing alternative measures of the character strengths and exploring their structure. The example of such measures are scales from International Personality Item Pool (IPIP, http://ipip.ori.org/, Goldberg et al., 2006) developed to measure 24 character strength as proposed by Peterson and Seligman (2004). Items from IPIP-VIA are free in public domain personality measures. Reliability of the Polish version of each scale was measured by Cronbach’s alpha and index of quality of Saris and Gallhofer (2007), which corresponds to the correlation between the latent variable and the observed variables. To calculate the index we created a model for each character strength separately. Validity was tested via exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis with parceling. Additionally, we tested measurement invariance across paper-and-paper and on-line conditions. We did this in three steps (configural , metric and scalar invariance) for the model created to calculate index of quality. The structure of character strengths and virtues was tested via exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). Results, suggesting some modification to the proposed structure of character strengths and virtues by Peterson and Seligman (2004), will be discussed. PS 21-12. Psychological Capital, Personal Potential, and Job Satisfaction of Russian Employees Elena Mandrikova, Evgeniya Chaika, Stanislav Skokov National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia Background. Psychological capital (PsyCap) is a positive state-like capacity which is defined as an individual’s positive psychological state of development that consists of efficacy, optimism, hope and resilience and when combined has been shown to represent a second-order, core factor that predicts performance and satisfaction better than each of the four factors that make it up (Luthans, Avolio, et at., 2007). The same integral construct – personal potential – a new theoretical framework proposed to explain the mechanisms of psychological well-being and achievement (Leontiev et al., 2007). It refers to a system of stable personality variables enabling people to act in ways that lead to desired outcomes in various life domains and to relate to life and job satisfaction. Aims. The research was devoted to explore the relationship between PsyCap and personal potential and between these constructs and job satisfactions and subjective parameters of performance outcomes. Methods. We explore our hypothesis on sample of Russian employees (N=250). For research purposes we use the set of questionnaires (mentioned at the order of appearance to participants), data were collected on Russian through on-line platform: • 7-point scales of job-satisfaction, life-satisfaction and general happiness (2 times: in the start and at the end of filling in set of questionnaires); • Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (Batarshev, 2005); • PsyCap Questionnaire (Luthans, 2007, in adaptation of Mandrikova, Chaika); • Self-determination Scale (Sheldon, Deci, 1996, in adaptation of Osin); • Trait Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1991, in adaptation of Osin); • Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli, Bakker, 2003, in adaptation of Leonova); • Self-efficacy Scale (Jerusalem, Schwarzer, 1981, in adaptation of Gordeeva); • Hardiness Questionnaire (Maddi, Koshaba, 2001, in adaptation of Leontiev, Rasskazova); • Ambiguity Tolerance (MSTAT-I) (McLain, 1993, in adaptation of Lukovitskaya); • Dispositional Optimism Test (LOT) (Carver, Sheyer, 2006, in adaptation of Gordeeva, Sychev, Osin); • Self-evaluation of productivity at work in percentage. • Socio-demo and formal data about position at organization level and type of work. Results. We have revealed the significant (p≤0.05) correlations between all components of psychological capital and personal potential of employees. Also the majority of components correlate with job satisfaction, work engagement and self-evaluation of productivity. For building the empirical model the SEM were used. Conclusion. Psychological Capital of Russian employees seems to be alike their personal potential. Both psychological capital and personal potential constructs closely connected with job satisfaction and could be its psychological determinants. PS 21-13. Subjective vitality as reflection of subjective well-being and a positive individual resource Lada Alexandrova, Anna Lebedeva Moscow State University of Рsychology and Еducation, Moscow, Russia The phenomenon of subjective vitality as a subject of scientific investigation is considered. We focused on the status and role of subjective vitality in personality structure. While it is traditionally treated as the derivate of personal autonomy and subjective well-being index, the results showed it to be more informative. Our data develops the concept of subjective vitality and prove it plays an important role in coping with live adversities and personal development being not only a measure of psychological wellbeing but an independent personal resource in coping process. The participants were a sample of physically challenged college and university students (N=88) and a control group of physically unrestricted students (N=146). We applied a number of well-being and personal potential measures. We studied satisfaction with life (Diener et al, 1985), subjective vitality (Ryan, Frederick, 1997), hardiness (Maddi, 2001), tolerance to ambiguity (McLain, 1993), coping-strategies (Carver, Sheier, Weintraub, 1989) and purpose in life (Leontiev, 1992). Surprisingly, no differences were found in subjective vitality between these groups. At the same time, we found the bright difference in satisfaction with life (p<0,05). It suggests, the phenomena these two scales measures, are different. Although we follow the idea of Ryan and Frederick of subjective vitality as a reflection of psychological well-being the results show the subjective wellbeing and vitality appeared to be only partially interchangeable. Further data analysis helped to make the matter clear. First, in both groups we found strong positive connections between subjective vitality and satisfaction with life. The same connections were found for all personal resources. It shows that satisfaction with life is inseparably linked with availability of personal resources and skills, e.g. subjective vitality, hardiness, tolerance to ambiguity, positive coping-strategies (active coping, positive reappraisal, seeking social support, humor, planning) and fullness with life purposes. Second, in both groups we found strong positive correlations between subjective vitality and all positive personal resources and skills, e.g. hardiness, tolerance to ambiguity, positive coping-strategies and fullness with life purposes. Moreover, the hierarchical regression analysis showed the subjective vitality is a mutual predictor for fullness with life purposes and hardiness in physically unrestricted students and a mutual predictor for fullness with life purposes in physically challenged ones. In physically challenged hardiness and fullness with life purposes mutually predicts each other, e.g. hardiness can be predicted by subjective vitality only through fullness with life purposes. The results showed the subjective vitality “works” in personality through individual fullness with life purposes, e.g. subjective vitality is inseparably linked with sense, which seems to be a key for all self-regulative processes, especially in physically challenged persons. The results seem to support the hypothesis that subjective vitality is on the one hand the partial reflection of subjective wellbeing and satisfaction with life and, at the same time the reflection of being full with personal resources, especially purposes of life, which in turn mediate the impact of adverse life circumstances and helps person to do his/her best in spite of external obstacles and internal restrictions. PS 21-14. The sense of Humor as an Emotional Character strength of a Virtuous Personality Eleonora Nosenko, Iryna Arshava, Olga Kharchenko Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine According to the recent empirical data of W.Ruch (2010) a factor analysis of the character strengths in a sample of 1274 adults yielded five factors, one of which, referred to as the “emotional strengths factor”, appeared to be loaded by :zest, hope, bravery, humor, and love. The potential of humor to cope with emotional stress , reported by one of the authors of this presentation (Nosenko,E. & Zayvaya,ECP 12,Groningen,2004) and other researchers, also suggests that it is reasonable to regard humor as an emotional character strength rather than just a “distinguishable route “ of displaying the virtue of transcendence. The aim of this presentation is to provide empirical data to support the assumption that the disposition of an individual to display humor to cope with emotional stress in interpersonal contexts and in dealing with one’s own inner conflicts is an emotional character strength of a virtuous personality. With the help of the method of cluster analysis (K-means algorithm) a sample of 135 young adults was split into three groups on the variables of :1) character strengths (VIA- IS , Peterson,C.,Seligman,M.,2004, translated into Ukrainian at the consent of IPPA by. Nosenko, E.,& Baysara ,L.), 2) some frequently claimed consequential outcomes of human positivity , like psychological well-being (Ryff,C.D.,1989,adapted by Shevelkova,T., Fesenko,P.,2005); satisfaction with life (SWLS,Diener .E. et al.,1999); self-esteem (Rosenberg.M.,1989); Positive and Negative Affectivity Schedule (Watson,D, Clark, L.A., Tellegen ,A.,1988); 3) Dark Triad Traits measures ( MACH–IV, Christie,R. & Geis,F.,1970, adapted by Znakov,V.,2000; Narcissism, Shamshikova,O., Klepikova ,N., 2010; Psychopathy , Scale 4 of MMPI, adapted by Sobchick,L.,1984 ) , and 4) several measures of the styles and forms of humor manifestation (HSQ,Martin ,R., and Doris, P., 2003,adapted by Zayvaya,O.,2005; CHS –Coping Humor Scale , Martin,R., Lefcourt,H., 1996,adapted by Zayvaya, O.,2005; PhoPhiKat-45, Ruch , W.,Proyer ,R.,2009, adapted by Stepanenko,E. et al., in press). The results showed that all the three clusters, into which the sample was split, appeared to significantly differ on the character strength variables, psychological well-being and other variables claimed to be consequential outcomes of the positive personality functioning. As predicted, the Dark Triad Trait variables appeared to differ in the opposite direction, except narcissism , the intercluster differences in which did not reach the level of fit.. As to the humor manifestation variables, the clusters significantly differed ,in the predicted direction, on :the coping humor variables, positive humor styles ( affiliative and self-enhancing humor ) and on the gelotophobia which was significantly lower , the higher was the level of the character strengths. There were no significant differences either on the negative humor styles (aggressive and self-deprecating humor ) or on gelotophilia and katagelasticism. Conclusion. Humor does deserve the status of an emotional character strength of a virtuous personality disposed to resorting to positive humor styles as coping resources, avoiding negative and sick humor manifestations (aggressive humor, gelotophilia and katogelasticism). being sure of one’s strengths and thus not fearing being laughed at . PS 21-15. Underestimating gelotophobes, overestimating gelotophiles, and realistic katagelasticists? Testing self- and peer-rated character strengths in their relation with dispositions towards ridicule and being laughed at Fabian Gander, Sara Wellenzohn, René Proyer, Willibald Ruch University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland It was hypothetisized that self- and peer ratings of morally positively valued traits (character strengths) demonstrate distinct correlational patterns with gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at), gelotophilia (the joy in being laughed at), and katagelasticism (the joy in laughing at others). A sample of 249 participants provided self- and peer ratings of strengths of character (using the German language version of the Values-in-Action-Inventory of Strengths, VIAIS; Ruch, Proyer, Harzer, Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2010) as well as self-reports on dispositions towards ridicule and being laughed at (PhoPhiKat-45; Ruch & Proyer, 2009). Overall, gelotophobia was negatively related to character strengths, gelotophilia yielded positive relations, and katagelasticism existed widely unrelated from character strengths. When comparing self-and peer-reports, a stable pattern emerged; i.e., gelotophobes underestimated and gelotophiles overestimated their virtuousness while katagelasticists seemed to have a realistic appraisal of their strengths. Results suggest that there is a robust relation between the way people deal with ridicule and being laughed at and their strength profile. Furthermore, the underestimation of the own potentials in gelotophobes may be a starting point for working with strengths-based interventions. PS 21-16. Validation of a French version of the Future Scale - preliminary analysis Charles Martin-Krumm, Y. Delas, C. Martin-Krumm, P. Fontayne, H. Lebars University of Western Brittany, Rennes, France Background and aims The purpose of this research was to validate the Future Scale (Snyder, Harris, et al., 1991) into French. According to Lopez et al. (2008), Hope is characterized as a human strength manifested in capacities to: (a) clearly conceptualize goals, (b) develop the specific strategy so reach those goals (pathways thinking), and (c) initiate and sustain the motivation for using those strategies (agency thinking). The Future Scale measure uses 9 items, 4 for the Pathways dimension and 5 for the Agency one. 4 of the items are fillers items and not used for scoring. The respondents are asked on a 6 points Likert response set how each item correspond to their thought (1) “Pas du tout d’accord” through (6) “Tout à fait d’accord”. Method and Results Vallerand transcultural validation methodology (1989) has been respected. At a third step, the entire questionnaire has been administrated to 461 participants (223, 238). The validity of the scale has been tested. Results showed that each factor was internally consistent, (Pathway, α=.51; Agency, α=.70; Overall Scale, α=.76 ). To test the construct validity of the scale, a confirmatory factor analysis was computed with Lisrel 8.54 (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 1993). The analysis supported a two-factor model. The results showed good fit to the data (GFI=.95; NFI=.91; CFI=.92; RMSEA=0.086; RMSEA CI [0.071 ; 0.10]). On-going research The purpose of on-going researches is to test the reliability of the scale. Test-retest procedure is in progress. Different studies are conducted. They are in concern with the links between trait hope and state hope, performance, wellbeing, satisfaction. In accordance with Lopez and Calderon (2011), hope may be involved in different processes dealing with wellbeing, health, and performance. On-going research are designed to answer the underlying questions. Conclusion The final version of the Future Scale in French with 13 items (5 for Pathways, 4 for Agency and 4 fillers) that emerged from these studies is psychometrically sound and can be used to continue the on-going researches, which have been described above. PS 21-17. Psychometric Properties and Correlates of the German Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth (German VIA-Youth) Marco Weber, Willibald Ruch, Nansook Park, Christopher Peterson University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland The Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth (VIA-Youth, Park & Peterson, 2006) is a self-report inventory assessing 24 character strengths among people between 10 and 17 years of age. The present research describes psychometric properties (e.g., M, SD, Alpha) and selected correlates of the German VIA-Youth. Several samples (in total N = 5494) were used involving participants from different German-speaking countries (i.e., Austria, Germany and Switzerland). About one third of them each filled in a paper-pencil version, and about two-thirds an online version (www.charakterstaerken.org). Overall, the German VIA-Youth demonstrated good psychometric properties and promising evidence for validity. The 24 subscales yielded high reliability (median alpha = .80, median corrected item-total correlations = .51) and exhibited stability across four months (median test-retest correlation = .72). There were small age effects, and small to medium gender effects of the VIA-Youth subscales (i.e., girls scored higher on beauty and kindness). Character strengths correlated with personality dimensions in a plausible manner (e.g., positively with Extraversion, and negatively with Neuroticism and Psychoticism). Correlations with measures of life satisfaction and domain specific satisfaction were found as replicating and extending findings from earlier studies of the English VIA-Youth and supporting the validity of the German VIA-Youth. Gratitude, hope, love and zest, were strongest predictors of young people’s global life satisfaction. Additionally, for example, perseverance was found to be relevant for satisfaction with school experiences, and humor for satisfaction with friendships. Furthermore, most of the strengths were strong predictors of general self-efficacy. All character strengths (except modesty) correlated positively with self-efficacy. To conclude, with respect to the encouraging psychometric properties and meaningful correlates, the German VIA-Youth can be recommended for the assessment of character strengths in German-speaking children and adolescents. PS 21-18. The Applicability of Character Strengths Rating Scales (ACS-RS) Claudia Harzer, Willibald Ruch University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland The amount of positive experiences at work (here: job satisfaction, pleasure, engagement, meaning) was supposed to be a function of the extent to which the situational circumstances at the workplace allow for the application of an individual’s signature character strengths. For the description of the individual a reliable and valid instrument already existed, but not for the environment. Therefore, the Applicability of Character Strengths Rating Scales (ACS-RS; Harzer & Ruch, 2010) was developed. The present poster demonstrates its reliability and validity. A sample of 1,111 adults filled in the ACS-RS, the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS; Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005), and measures for the positive experiences at work. The ACS-RS assesses the extent to which each of the 24 character strengths of the VIA classification (Peterson, & Seligman, 2004) is applicable in a) private life and b) at work. For each of the character strengths, short paragraphs are provided describing character strengths-relevant behavior based on the definitions by Peterson and Seligman (2004). These behaviors are rated on a 5-point Likert-scale (1 = never though 5 = [almost] always) for four different situational influences on actual behavior derived from literature review: (a) normative demands of a situation (actual wording: “it is demanded”), (b) appropriateness of the behavior (“it is helpful”), (c) perceived presence of factors that may facilitate or impede the behavior (“I do it”), and (d) intrinsic motivation to show it (“it is important for me”). In the instruction an example highlights the differences between those ratings and that the answers might differ across those ratings. Different environments are rated independently from each other. For each environment a total of 96 items measures the applicability of the 24 character strengths with the 4 ratings for each of the strengths. The ACS-RS was reliable by means of internal consistency (ranging from α = .76 to α = .94 with median α = .84 and ranging from α = .71 to α = .90 with median α = .80 for private life and at work, respectively) and inter-rater agreement (α = .80, .68, and .80 for administrative officials, inspectors of construction material, and teaching and research associates, respectively). The ACS-RS proved to be valid in several ways being sensitive to: a) the differences in the applicability of trait-relevant behavior in formal vs. informal situations by showing higher applicability of the character strengths in the latter; b) the differences between traits regarding their applicability across situations; c) people’s disposition to choose situations fitting their dispositions by showing positive relationships between the degree of possession and applicability. Moreover, correlations between applicability of strengths and positive experiences increased with the individual centrality of the strengths. The more signature strengths were applied at the workplace, the higher the positive experiences at work. The main conclusions of this study are that the ACS-RS is a reliable and valid measure for the applicability of haracter strengths in a certain environment and that strengths-congruent activities are important for positive experiences at work. PS 21-19. The Development of Adaptive and Maladaptive Perfectionism and Their Effects on Intrinsic Motivation After Success-vs.-Failure Feedback Thuy-vy Nguyen University of Rochester, Rochester, USA Several authors have suggested that maladaptive perfectionism, defined by excessive concern about mistakes and doubt of one’s actions (Vansteenkiste et al., 2010), develops through dysfunctional parent-child relationship, which involves parental approaches such as conditional approval and love withdrawal (cf. Hamachek, 1978; Burns, 1990). Assor, Roth, and Deci (2004) referred to these parental approaches as parental conditional regard, which can be exhibited as positive conditional regard (i.e., conditional love or approval), or negative conditional regard (i.e., love withdrawal). Therefore, the present study reveals further evidence of whether these two forms of parental conditional regard, namely positive and negative parental conditional regard, uniquely predict the development of maladaptive perfectionism. Additionally, the findings also show whether those who do not experience positive and negative parental conditional regard will, instead, develop adaptive perfectionism. Furthermore, the study also investigated further the impact of adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism on motivation, particularly intrinsic motivation, which is the experience of enjoying doing something “inherently interesting” (Ryan & Deci, 2000, p. 55). Since individuals with a maladaptive perfectionism tend to experience internal pressure and anxiety to pursue their high standards (Vansteenkiste et al., 2010), these factors can undermine their intrinsic motivation even for an interesting task (Ryan & Deci, 2000). As such, the present study demonstrates whether maladaptive perfectionism is negatively associated with one’s intrinsic motivation. And, because maladaptive perfectionists’ self-worth depends on the attainment of their high standards (Burns, 1980), they view failure as a negative feedback indicative of their imperfection (Hewitt & Flett, 1991; Stoeber & Becker, 2008), which has been shown to negatively impact intrinsic motivation (Deci & Cascio, 1972). Moreover, even when maladaptive perfectionists receive success feedback, their motivation toward success is accompanied with a lot of anxiety and doubts due to the pressure to avoid mistakes (Frost et al. 1990), and thus the motivation might not be fully self-initiated (Vansteenkiste, 2010). Nonetheless, because success is still a positive feedback (as compared to failure), the present study proposes that the experience of success feedback will not undermine the effect of maladaptive perfectionism on intrinsic motivation as much as the experience of failure feedback. To test this hypothesis, undergraduate students were recruited and randomly assigned into two groups, who both engaged in the same set of puzzles. In one group, namely the failurefeedback group, after the participants completed the task, they were told that they had finished only 39% of the total puzzles (cf. Koestner & Zuckerman, 1994). In the success-feedback group, participants were told that they had succeeded at 92% of the puzzles. The results will demonstrate whether receiving success-vs.-failure feedback after an interesting task moderates the degree to which maladaptive perfectionism affects intrinsic motivation for the task. On the other hand, because individuals with adaptive perfectionism strive for their high standards as a function of choice and volition in learning (Vansteenkiste et al., 2010), the present findings aim to show that adaptive perfectionism will be positively associated with intrinsic motivation for the task, and this relationship will not be affected by success-vsfailure feedback. PS 21-20. Adaptation and validation of the Hope Index for Brazilian adolescents Juliana P. Pacico, Micheline Bastianello, C.S. Hutz Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brasil According to Staats, hope refers to future events that individuals wish to happen, and is made up of two components, one affective and one cognitive. The cognitive component refers to the expectations that a future event is likely to occur. To evaluate the cognitive aspects of hope the Hope Index was developed. In The Hope Index, hope was defined as the interaction between wishes and expectations. This study reports an adaptation and validation (construct and convergent) of the Staats Hope Index for Brazilian adolescents. Participants were 450 high school students, 56% females, and aged 14 to 18 years. They responded to the Hope Index, Dispositional Hope Scale, Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale. A factor analysis extracted two factors, replicating the structure of the original scale. Cronbach’s alphas were .83 and .81, for each factor, respectively. The correlations of the Hope Index factors with dispositional hope, optimism and self- esteem were similar to the findings reported in the literature and indicated convergent validity. These results indicate that the Hope index is valid for use in Brazil and that hope is perceived similarly by Brazilians and Americans despite some cultural differences. POSTERS PS 2.2. Positive Resources and Life Challenges PS 22-01. Exploring gratitude in breast cancer patients Chiara Ruini, Francesca Vescovelli University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy Background: An increasing number of studies has documented the positive effects of gratitude in coping with traumatic events, facilitating psychological well-being and in promoting physical health. However, none is addressed to patients with life-threatening illnesses such as cancer. Aim: The aims of this study are to examine the role of gratitude in a breast cancer sample and its correlations with post-traumatic growth, psychological well-being, and distress; and to compare patients reporting higher levels of gratitude (High Gratitude Individuals, HGI) versus those reporting lower levels (Low Gratitude Individuals, LGI). Methods: 67 breast cancer patients were assessed with: 1) Gratitude Questionnaire (GQ-6); 2) Post-traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI); 3) Psychological Well-being Scales (PWBS) 4) Symptom Questionnaires (SQ); and were divided into: 1) High gratitude individuals - HGI- (n = 27); 2) Low gratitude individuals - LGI (n = 40). Bivariate correlations between questionnaires and ANOVA between-group were calculated. Results: Gratitude was significantly and positively correlated to all of PTGI scales, to PWBS positive relations, to SQ relaxation and contentment, and negatively related to anxiety, depression, and hostility-irritability. HGI and LGI reported significant differences on the PTGI and SQ dimensions, but not on PWB scales, with HGI displaying higher levels of PTGI, positive affect and lower symptomatology. Conclusion: Also in breast cancer patients gratitude is strongly associated to post-traumatic growth, reduced distress and increased positive emotions, but surprisingly not to psychological well-being. Since the majority of patients reported low gratitude levels, the results suggest the importance of developing interventions to clinically increase them also in oncology. PS 22-02. Perfectionism as a personal resource and its measurement Alena Zolotareva National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia Perfectionism attracted the interest of psychologists as an ambivalent phenomenon, the importance of which is changing in the context of the development of concepts of personal resources in today’s volatile world. In psychology there are normal and pathological types of perfectionism. Normal perfectionism is a phenomenon, with the desire to succeed and to take account of one’s own resources and restrictions, setting realistic goals and adjusting to the life situation. Pathological perfectionists are driving by fear of failure and perfectionistic strivings, focusing on unrealistic standards and feeling of guilt for the own failure. We were developed the method of «Differential Perfectionism Inventory» on other two thousand subjects. For validation we also used are the measurements of perfectionism, as well as other personal characteristics, psychopathological disorders, psychological well-being and sound self-regulation. The original method of «Differential Perfectionism Inventory» has successfully passed the test of test-retest reliability (p=0.753, r=0.000 fot the scale of normal perfectionism and p=0.718, p=0.000 for the scale of pathological perfectionism), internal consistency (0.61 for the scale of normal perfectionism and 0.69 for the scale of pathological perfectionism), constructive validity, content validity, internal validity and can be used as a method of differential diagnostics of normal and pathological types of perfectionism. In particular, the scale of normal perfectionism revealed significant correlations with such variables as resilience, autonomy, self-expression, perpors in life, personal dynamism, tolerance to ambiguity, autonomous causality orientation, systems self-reflection, orientation to the future, sense of coherence, subjective vitality, optimistic disposition, psychological well-being, self-efficacy, satisfaction with life, subjective evaluation of happiness. The scale of pathological perfectionism revealed significant correlations with such variables as orientation to the negative last and fatalistic present, sensation of loneliness and psychopathological infringements. Unexpected results have been received at comparison of normal and pathological types of perfectionism in clinical and control groups. So, it was revealed that level of normal perfectionism in control group above, than in clinical group. However level of pathological perfectionism significantly doesn’t differ. The obtained data has allowed to make the assumption that normal perfectionism is a personal resource. Thus, the original method of «Differential Perfectionism Inventory» allows to diagnose the individual personality, which is a personal resource associated with the sound self-regulation and positive personal qualities. PS 22-03. Hope of Success among Polish Youth: The Polish National Panel Study of Adolescents Marek Smulczyk, Kamila Dobrenko, Tomasz Zoltak Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa, Poland The Polish National Panel Study of Adolescents was conducted on a representative sample of secondary school students in Poland in 2009-2011. Participants (N = 3571, mean age = 17.5, SD = 0.5) were students from 106 high schools, 54 technical high schools and 40 vocational schools. The study was conducted within the project: “Development of a methodology for the estimation of the educational value added index (EWD)”. The poster presents the results of psychometric analysis of the hope variable. Data were obtained with the Polish version of the Adult Hope Scale (AHD) (Snyder et al., 2000, quoted by Laguna, Trzebinski & Zieba, 2005). According to E. Erikson (1997), hope is the belief in a meaningful and supportive world. The set of relatively enduring convictions based on this belief indirectly affects the functioning of the individual in the world. The AHS measures Snyder’s cognitive model of hope which defines hope as “a positive motivational state that is based on an interactively derived sense of successful (a) agency (goal-directed energy), and (b) pathways (planning to meet goals)” (Snyder, Irving, & Anderson, 1991, p. 287). The basic psychometric parameters of the AHD are presented. The results of correlation analysis (a measure of theoretical accuracy) with other variables that were measured in a different part of the panel are also presented: anxiety - state and trait (STAI, Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene (1970), Polish adaptation by Wrzesniewski, Sosnowski, Jaworowska & Ferenc (2006)), self-esteem (SES, Rosenberg), and social competence (KKS- Social Competences Questionnaire by Matczak, 2007). The effect of Sex differences in the intensity of hope and Socio-Economic Status are tested. PS 22-04. Personal optimism – Resource or consequence in coping with stress Nevena Berat, Tatjana Avramov, Dragana Jelić, Dragan Žuljević Novi Sad, Serbia The goal of this research was to examine the relations between personal optimism and coping strategies. The basis for this paper are in the previously conducted meta-analysis, examining the impact of dispositional optimism on the usage of coping strategies (Soberg Nes & Segerstrom, 2006). The main problem was getting the answer whether the optimism is antecedent or consequent of coping strategies. The research included 1374 participants, students of University of Novi Sad, 78.5% of them female and 21.5% male gender, with average age of 20 years. Two questionnaires, The Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI; Amirkhan, 1990) and Personal Optimism and Social Optimism-E-8 (POSO-E-8; Schweizer & Koch, 2000), were administered. Firstly, we wanted to examine how people with different level of personal optimism differ in the usage of coping strategies. The Regression analysis (SPSS 17), which is used to examine the relations between these variables, gave the following results. The results idicate that people with higher level of personal optimism use problem solving strategies (R= .22, p<.01), as well as social support seeking strategies (R= .19, p<.01) more often than people with lower level of optimism. In addition, people with lower level of personal optimism use avoidant strategies more often (R= -.33, p<.01). Secondly, we wanted the examine the relations between the same constructs vice verse. The same analysis indicated that the people who use problem solving (R=.15, p<.01) and support seeking strategies more (R=.11, p<.01), as well as those who use avoidant strategies less often (R= -.3, p<.01), are the ones who reached higher scores on the scale of personal optimism. These results support findings from the previous studies. In line with the predictions, a reciprocal relationship between optimism and coping strategies was found. The hypothesis that optimism is a resource for coping strategies has been confirmed, as well as the hypothesis that the usage of coping strategies increases level of optimism in reverse. Further studies should include a wider sample range regarding age of the participants, as well as their education level. In addition, the sample should be better represented by gender. It is believed that including social and self-efficacy optimism in the research design would gain more foresightful findings about basic relations and latent dynamics of these contructs. Finally, it should be examined whether there are any moderator in the relations of these constructs. PS 22-05. Post traumatic growth: different predictors for different traumatic events Chiara Ruini, Francesca Vescovelli, Elisa Albieri, Emanuela Offidani University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy Background: Post-traumatic growth (PTG) has been often correlated with indices of positive functioning (e.g., psychological well-being) or symptomatology (e.g., depression, anxiety) and not with clinical indexes of physical wellbeing, and psychosocial distress. Further, PTG has been rarely compared in individuals reporting different stressful events . Aims: The aims of the study are to: a) investigate the relationships between psychosocial distress, symptomatology, psychological well-being, and post-traumatic growth in patients with different traumatic experiences: breast cancer survivors versus healthy controlled subjects who reported other stressful events; b) analyse possible predictors of PTG in both groups. Method: Sixty breast cancer patients (mean age = 56.31 years) and 60 healthy women (mean age = 56.52 years) reporting other traumatic events completed the following scales: Post-traumatic Growth Inventory, Psychological Well-being Scales, Symptom Questionnaire and Psychosocial Index. Statistical analyses included linear regression and bivariate correlations between scales. Results: Only in the Bc patients was PTG more highly and negatively correlated to symptoms and distress scales than to psychological well-being. Age and hostility negatively predicted PTG score in the BC patients, whereas time since traumatic event, marital status and personal growth positively predicted PTG in the control group. In both groups, the main predictors of PTG were physical well-being and personal growth. Conclusions: These results may have important implications for clinical practice and psychotherapy. The development of a sensitive and complete assessment methodology, encompassing indicators of mental and physical health, as well as indicators of affective, and eudaimonic well-being is needed to deeply understand and promote the complex phenomenon of PTG. Only in this way could a specific treatment program be developed and tailored to patients’ specific needs. PS 22-06. Posttraumatic Growth and Psychological Well-being among the Caregivers of HIVinfected, Cancer and Heart Patients Naved Iqbal, Sheema Aleem, Machiano Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India The background: Stressful life events are found to be linked to physical and mental illnesses. But now there is growing realization that in some people it can bring positive change or posttraumatic growth and some psychological wellbeing. The aims of the study: In view of this, present investigation was planned to study posttraumatic growth and psychological wellbeing in the caregivers of HIV, cancer and heart patients. Method: The sample of the present study comprised 75 subjects, 25 each in three categories, i.e., caregivers of HIV infected people, caregivers of cancer patients and Heart patients caregiver. Sample was collected from different hospitals and NGOs of Delhi. Posttraumatic growth was measured by Posttraumatic growth inventory developed by Tedeshi and Calhoun and it had the dimensions of New possibilities, Relating to other, Personal Strength, Spiritual Change, and Appreciation of Life. Psychological wellbeing was measured by Ryff ’s scale of psychological wellbeing and it had the dimensions of Self-acceptance, Positive relations with others, Autonomy, Environmental mastery, Purpose in life, and Personal growth. Obtained data was analyzed with the help of one way ANOVA and post hoc (scheffe) test. Summary of the results: Results showed that significant difference was observed among three groups only on new possibilities dimension of posttraumatic growth. On this dimension, significant difference was found between caregivers of cancer patients and HIV infected caregivers and between cancer and heart caregivers. Significant difference was found among three groups on Autonomy, personal growth and purpose in life dimensions of psychological wellbeing. Caregivers of cancer and heart patients differed on autonomy and personal growth. Cancer caregivers differed from HIV infected and heart caregivers on purpose in life. Conclusion: In sum, caregivers of cancer patients experienced more posttraumatic growth and psychological wellbeing than caregivers of HIV infected and heart patients. PS 22-07. Stability and change in well-being and psychological distress Ragnhild Bang Nes, Lars Johan Hauge, Espen Røysamb, Tom Kornstad, Markus Landholt, Lorentz Irgens, Leif Eskedal, Petter Krsitensen, Margarete Vollrath Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Asker, Norway Objectives: The birth of a child with severe medical problems exposes parents to a sudden stressful event as well as ongoing challenges over time. Despite numerous studies showing pediatric medical stressors to have long-term impact on maternal psychological distress and adjustment, research indicates that major life stressors commonly have shortterm effects on measures of well-being, primarily causing temporary displacement from stable affective levels. However, the impact of maternal disability-related stressors on wellbeing has been studied to a limited degree only. Methods: This study explores stability and change in psychological distress (PD) and life satisfaction (LS) simultaneously using data from a prospective pregnancy cohort (n = 73,000) including data from five assessments from early pregnancy to 36 months post partum. Participants were divided into mothers having infants with i) Down’s syndrome (DS), ii) cleft lip and/or palate (CLP), and iii) no disability (ND). Responses on the Satisfaction With Life Scale and a short version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist were analyzed using Mplus. Results: Twenty-five percent of DS mothers report significantly elevated PD, scoring above the standard cut-off point at all post partum assessments. Longitudinal modeling show a unique effect from DS on maternal PD at 6, 18 and 36 months (Cohen’s d: .33-.44) and on LS at 6 months and 36 post partum (Cohen’s d: .51 -.29). Whereas LS levels among DS mothers improved from 6 to 36 months, PD remained largely stable. Stratification by parity showed DS to impact on PD in mothers who had one or more children from before (Cohen’s d: .50-.67), but not in mothers having their first child. CLP mothers did not differ from ND mothers on either PD or LS. Conclusions: Having a child with Down’s syndrome uniquely affects maternal PD and LS over time, whereas a reversible condition like CLP has no unique influence on maternal PD or LS. PS 22-08. The subjective quality of choice in real life situations of different scale and its personality correlates Anna Fam National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia The basis of our research is a definition of choice as an inner self-orientation activity including, but nonreducible to cognitive evaluation of alternatives. There may be both reduced and more complex forms of this activity depending on the importance of choice situation and the person’s individual pecularities. The object of our study was the subjective quality of choice – a person’s attitude to the choice he/she is making irrespective of its result. We have hypothesized that the quality of choice process as reflected through subjective evaluations might differ depending on some personality variables and predict the satisfaction with choice and other outcome variables. We also supposed that the choice structure is not the same in real choice situations of different subjective importance (or scale); therefore, making good decisions in the significant and, on the other hand, occasional life situations would be predicted by different personality variables. Our assumptions have been proven in a study with undergraduate psychology students (N=74) who were asked to reveal two choice situations of different scale (so called ‘fateful’ and ‘everyday’ choices) from their experience, to evaluate these situations by a number of scales, and to fill a number of well-being scales and personality inventories. As a measure of a person’s attitude to both choice situations, we used a special questionnaire – the Subjective quality of choice technique (SQC; Leontiev, Mandrikova, Fam, 2007) that allows to register the four qualitative dimensions of choice: mindfulness of choice, emotional sign, self-determination and satisfaction with the choice actually made. The test has also the general score of choice quality. As we hypothesized, all parameters of the SQC technique revealed systematic significant (p<.05) correlations with personality variables, and, in turn, predicted the emotional outcomes. In particular, in both cases mindfulness of choice significantly positively correlated with achievement orientation (.35 for ‘fateful’ choice and .32 for ‘everyday’ choice), orientation to novelty (.24; .27) and purpose in life (.27; .29); positive emotion regarding the choice significantly correlated with inner locus of control (.24; 35), and self-determination significantly positively correlated with orientation to novelty (27; 40). So, these variables can be called universal personality predictors of good choice capacity. We have also found some specific predictors of successful ‘fateful’ choice (inclination to risk) and successful ‘everyday’ choice (autonomy, rationality, meaning of the future and of the past ). The quantitative data analysis indicates the essential phenomenological differences between choice situations of these two types by the following parameters: content of choice and general context of the situation, emotional attitude to the choice process and satisfaction with its result, mindfulness, self-determination and subjective difficulty of choice. The data obtained in the study so far confirm our hypothesis about the differences in phenomenology and personality predictors of choices of different scales. PS 22-09. Tolerance to ambiguity as a coping resource Elena Lvova, Elena I. Shliagina Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia Nowadays, interpersonal and intergroup relations are becoming progressively widespread and diversified. Social instability increasing on a daily basis threatens human well-being, challenges our abilities to resist such instability and demands us to use all our resources to maintain balance and harmony within our environment. Thus, it is crucial to study characteristics of coping and personality psychological resources. The aim of this study is to examine relations between personality psychological resources and preferred coping strategies. One of such key resources was found to be the tolerance to ambiguity which is one of the most principal components of the resource system of self-regulation. Considered to have a complex multilevel attitudinal structure, tolerance to ambiguity is defined by us as one of the most important resources involved in preferring constructive coping strategy one to another. To examine the tolerance to ambiguity we used such methods as a questionnaire and a projective method. The combination of two different types of methods made it possible to identify study participants’ subjective ideas about their own tolerance to ambiguity and a variety of characteristics on unconscious levels of self-regulation. The results are that most of subjects show a disagreement between content of their conscious and unconscious levels of tolerance to ambiguity. It can be explained as a declarative character of tolerance to ambiguity among these subjects. The analysis of the relations between tolerance to ambiguity and coping strategies and also the analysis of characteristics of preferred coping strategies in connection with a disagreement between the meaning of conscious and unconscious levels of tolerance to ambiguity show that the strategies are traditionally perceived as constructive/ unconstructive or correct/incorrect, but, in fact, may not be that. Due to this fact, a new concept – “tolerant coping strategies” – was suggested. Any participant in coping process can use such “tolerant coping strategies” harmlessly, regardless of its effectiveness. Bringing the concept “tolerant coping strategies” into scientific usage emphasizes the ongoing development and construction of a genuine tolerance to ambiguity. PS 22-10. Social support for disabled students in inclusive education as personal positive resource Tatyana Silantieva, Anna Lebedeva Moscow State University of Psychology & Education, Moscow, Russia Social support is defined as the provision of both psychological and material resources with the intention of helping the recipients to cope with stress (Cohen, 2004). Cohen and Wills (1985) proposed that social support is related to well-being because it offers positive emotions, a sense of self-worth, and predictability in life; it also functions as a stress buffer by reinforcing self-esteem, self-efficacy, and problem solving behaviors. Sources of support vary along a broad spectrum, beginning with the family unit and moving outward to more distal and often structured resources. The aim of study was to describe a social support system as a positive recourse in situation of inclusive education. The participants were 48 physically challenged students of Moscow State University of Psychology & Education and 106 their apparently healthy classmates (control sample). They represented two education levels: university (IT department) and social-educational college (age range: 16-25 years; 116 females and 94 males). Instruments: Satisfaction with Live Scale (SWLS), Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ; Sarason, include scales- close relations, social network size and satisfaction of support), Noetic Orientation Questionnaire (D. Leontiev), General Self-efficacy Questionnaire (Bandura), COPE (Carver, Scheier). We have used Mann-Whitney U test for finding differentiations in presence of positive resources between two subgroups by criteria higher and lower satisfaction with support , number of close relationships and network size in personal social network in both groups of healthy and physically challenged students. Our findings are: healthy and disabled students with high satisfaction with support were more satisfied with life, had more meaning in life, higher self-efficacy and used more positive reappraisal coping. Basing on regression data analysis we conclude that noetic orientations predicted satisfaction with live and happiness in both groups. And specific predictor of positive reappraisal in disabled students is the breadth of close relationships in personal social network. For healthy students satisfaction with support is the main predictor of positive reappraisal is. Satisfaction with support is also the special predictor of happiness in the disabled sample. POSTERS PS 2.3. PP in Family and Education PS 23-01. «The more you hope the more you know, the more you fear the less you know». Hope of success and anxiety as differentiators of academic skills in secondary school students Marek Smulczyk, Kamila Dobrenko Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa, Poland The main goal of the presented analysis was to find out whether level of hope and level of state and trait anxiety differentiate students’ academic skill outcomes and to determine the relationship between hope and anxiety. The study was conducted in 2009 and 2010 within the project “Development of a methodology for the estimation of the educational value added index (EWD)” It was conducted on a representative sample of students who began to attend secondary schools in Poland in 2009 (N = 3571, mean age 17.5, SD=0.5). The sample was selected in two stages. In the first stage 106 high schools, 54 technical high schools and 40 vocational schools were randomly selected from all secondary schools in Poland. Then, within each school, one class was randomly selected for the study. Within school exclusions were done in accordance with IEA standards The psychological tools and educational skill tests were administered. Level of hope was measured with the Polish version of the Adult Hope Scale (AHC) (Snyder et al., 2000, quoted by Laguna, Trzebinski & Zieba, 2005). The AHS measures Snyder’s cognitive model of hope which defines hope as “a positive motivational state that is based on an interactively derived sense of successful (a) agency (goal-directed energy), and (b) pathways (planning to meet goals)” (Snyder, Irving, & Anderson, 1991, p. 287). The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) by Spielberger, Gorsuch, and Lushene (1970), Polish adaptation by Wrześniewski, Sosnowski, Jaworowska and Ferenc (2006), was used to measure anxiety. The questionnaire contains two scales: Trait Anxiety, defined as a relatively stable individual predisposition to respond emotionally to various environmental stimuli, perceived as signals of danger, and State Anxiety, defined as a condition associated with the reaction to the current situation, often measured in conditions which may trigger an anxiety response. Polish adaptations of PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) were used to measure academic skills. This is a 2-hour rotated test format that includes an extensive test on the major domain (in 2009: Reading,) and smaller subtests of minor domains (mathematics, science). All domains are linked through the use of common test items across booklets and plausible values are computed as student proficiency estimates. Students’ academic skills were measured twice with a one-year interval. Significant differences in PISA test results between groups of students with low and high rates of hope were obtained. Students from the high hope group achieved higher scores in all three domains of measured academic skills (reading, mathematics, science). In addition, students with high hope scores had significantly lower levels of anxiety, both state and trait. PS 23-03. Gratitude emotion, gratitude expression, and marital satisfaction Tsui-Shan Li, Yin-Ling Hsiao Fu-Jen Catholic University, Taipei City, Taiwan Introduction Emmons & Crumpler (2000) first indicated that gratitude is a human strength which is associated with individual’s well-being and effective functioning. In the handbook of Positive Psychology, Emmons & Shelton (2005) further pointed out that the experiences of gratitude and expression of gratitude, across cultures and time spans, are both basic and desirable aspects of human personality and social life. In a recent study, Lambert, Clark, Durtschi, Fincham and Graham (2010) proved that expressing gratitude to a relationship partner enhances one’s perception of the relationship’s communal strength. This evidence leads us to believe that expressing gratitude is not only beneficial to the recipient, it may also increase the expresser’s satisfaction of the relationship. Along this line of thought, this study attempted to investigate the relationship between gratitude and marital satisfaction among Chinese couples in Taiwan. Three hypotheses were formed: first, there is a positive effect of gratitude emotion on marital satisfaction. Second, expressing gratitude to a marital partner enhances one’s satisfaction of marriage. Third, gratitude expression mediates the effects of gratitude emotion on marital satisfaction. Method The data reported here was the 3rd wave data from a longitudinal panel study of Work & Family Stress (Chen & Li, in press). The original 654 members of the WFS project were first investigated in 2009. They were Chinese couples living in a metropolitan area of Taiwan. In the present study, we limited our analysis to individuals who met 2 criteria: (1) only wives were selected; and (2) they were legally married and living together with their spouses. Using these criteria, 312 individuals were retained in the study. The mean age of the participants was 38. More than three-fourths of them (78%) had two children or more. About 71.8% of them lived in a nuclear household, while 28.2% of them lived with additional family members. As for education, 84.5% of the respondents had obtained a bachelor’s or postgraduate degree. Lastly, 69.8% of them have a full-time job. Gratitude emotion was evaluated with the 3-item Feeling of Gratitude subscale in Marital Affection Scale (MAS) (Hsiao & Li, 2009). The MAS was originally designed by Li (1999) and was used in studies of Chinese married couples. To assess Gratitude Expression, we adapted the 3-item Expression of Gratitude in Relationship scale developed by Lambert, Clark, Durtschi, Fincham, & Graham (2010). Marital Satisfaction was assessed by the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (KMSS, Schumm, et al., 1986). It was considered a global evaluation of the couple’s marriage and was proved to be a reliable and valid measure. Result Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to test our hypotheses. Results indicated that wives’ gratitude emotion significantly predicted their marital satisfaction (ß= .49, þ < .001). It explained 24% of the variance in marital satisfaction. When wives’ gratitude expression was added into the regression equation, the ß value of gratitude emotion significantly dropped to .40. Wives’ gratitude expression also significantly predicted marital satisfaction (ß= .16, þ < .01) and increased 1.9% of explained variance in marital satisfaction. Given that wives’ gratitude emotion also significantly predicted her gratitude expression toward spouse (ß= .55, þ < .001), the hypothesized mediating effect of gratitude expression on the relationship between gratitude emotion and marital satisfaction was confirmed (Sobel test statistic = 2.25, þ < .05). PS 23-04. Making positive: the expert teaching in gifted education Chin-Hsieh Lu, Yu-Yun Lin National Taipei University of Education, Taipei, Taiwan Education is the most powerful tool to make our life good. What will make students, especially gifted, willing to take challenge, make differences of their learning, their achievement and their life? In review of literature, it is easy to find out that we pay lots of attention at the theory of individual differences and teaching strategies for the last two decades. We seldom investigate how great teachers will make differences on this concern. However, in teaching practice, we realize that teachers’ appreciation is a powerful engine to inspire and motivate students to be good and to be successful. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the expert teachers inspire and motivate gifted students to pursue higher level achievement and to be good to others. What positive behaviors do the expert teachers expect from gifted students and how do they nurture students’ positive thinking in the classroom? There were three expert teachers participated in this study. The expert teachers were invited by two considerations. Most of the gifted students are willing to pay extra effort to learning because of them and they are also good teachers to other teachers and parents as well. The data we used to understand how these expert teachers educated students were collected by in-and-out classroom observations, in-depth interviews and related documents. Every expert teacher’s teaching were analyzed qualitative and described case by case. Through integrating the theme of expert teaching across the three cases, we find that the teachers’ expertise of subject matter and the enthusiasm to life are the substantial for modeling student’s behaviors. These expert teachers aware that they have the power over a child’s life, but how they could make power over students were infected by the partnership between them and gifted students. They aware their responsibility for students’ learning and they make mistakes every day. What makes these experts struggle every day most is that they never sure what and how will make for a flourishing life for gifted students. But they are confident to believe in what is a worthwhile life for a person and this believe guide the gifted and themselves as well. The more in-depth analyses will be presented in the story of these expert teachers’ teaching. PS 23-05. Measuring whole-school student wellbeing: The St Peter’s College Student Well-being Survey Mathew White, S. Murray St Peter’s College, Adelaide, Australia In his heralded book ‘Flourish’ (2011), Seligman shifted the focus of positive psychology away from happiness and on to wellbeing. In his wellbeing theory, he argues that no single measure can be used to operationalise wellbeing. Instead, he puts forward five elements that contribute to wellbeing: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment (PERMA). In keeping with the latest thinking and science in the field of positive psychology, St Peter’s College, Adelaide, Australia has incorporated PERMA into its new strategic direction to supports it mission to provide ‘an exceptional education that brings out the best in every boy.’ During 2011 and onwards, PERMA has been embedded into the school’s new strategic direction in the areas of academic life, wellbeing, co-curricular, culture, infrastructure and financial sustainability. The aim is to create a school culture that allows each student to seek out and experience positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment. The vision of St Peter’s College, Adelaide, is to be a ‘world-class school where boys flourish.’ Adopting an evidence-based approach to wellbeing has been a central part of the school’s new strategic direction. As such, the school has worked with a team of university researchers (Associate Professor Lea Waters, University of Melbourne, Dr Peggy Kern and Mr Alejandro Adler, University of Pennsylvania) to develop a wellbeing survey that assesses aspects of each of the five elements of PERMA. The survey includes measures of: optimism, gratitude, positive affect, negative affect, engagement, healthy pathways, school engagement, relationships, social-responsibility, grit, mindsets, hope and flourishing. The survey also includes the EPOCH scale that was developed by Dr Peggy Kern. This paper reports on the result of the baseline measure completed by 515 students (ages 12-17 years) in October 2011. This presentation will highlight future directions at the school based on the analysis of data. The PERMA wellbeing student survey provides critical data to enable St Peter’s College to achieve its vision to be a world-class school where all boys flourish. PS 23-06. Parenting stress in economic disadvantaged families effect of social support and parental resilience Chih Yun Liao, Tsui-Shan Li FJU, Taipei, Taiwan The gap between the rich and the poor has led Taiwan into a M-shaped society, and the number of low-in-come population is rising in these years. To a family, economic resources are essential and practical, but for a parent in economic disadvantaged family, they have to face more parenting stress which results from trial and errors. Pervious studies show that social support may reduce parenting stress, but we can not neglect the internal belief and strength. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the parenting stress in economic disadvantaged families and further to explore the effect of backgrounds, social support and parental resilience on parenting stress. In this study, data were collected from 261 individuals of economic disadvantaged families identified by social welfare association. They are native parents with children of school age in Taipei City and New Taipei City, and with an average age of 39.7. About 44% of them live in single-parent families, 42% of them are part-time job workers or temporary workers, and 85.8% of them have more than 2 children. The correlations indicated that emotional support was negatively related to four domains of parenting stress. Instrumental support and parental resilience were both negatively related to domains of parenting stress including self-ability or resource, external environment, and child behavior problem. Hierarchical regression indicated that backgrounds, social support and parental resilience significantly predict selfability or resource, external environment, and child behavior problem of parenting stress. Besides, parental resilience significantly and negatively predicted self-ability or resource domain of parenting stress(β=-.251p.001). Emotional support significantly and negatively predicted child behavior problem domain of parenting stress(β=-.162p.05). The interaction of parental resilience and emotional support significantly and negatively predicted parenting stress(β=-.17p.001). PS 23-07. Personality traits and social anxiety in students of Secondary Education Jose Manuel Garcia-Fernandez, Beatriz Delgado, Cándido José Inglés, María del Carmen Martínez-Monteagudo, María Soledad Torregrosa University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain Background: Social anxiety is one of the most prevalent social maladjustment in adolescents and causes considerable difficulties and social distress. However, to date no studies have explored the impact of personality traits on social anxiety in Spanish student population. Aim of study. To determine the degree to which personality traits predict social anxiety scores, and conversely, to examine the degree to which social anxiety scores predict extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism in students of Secondary Education. Method: Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI, Turner, Beidel, Dancu, and Stanley, 1989) and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ, Eysenck and Eysenck, 1997) were administered to 2,022 Spanish students from grades 7 to 10, ranging in age from 12 to 16 years (M = 13.81; SD = 1.35). Bidirectional predictive relationships between social anxiety and personality traits were examined using logistic regression analyses, following the stepwise regression procedures based on the Wald statistic. Results: Personality traits significantly predicted the appearance of social anxiety during adolescence, with neuroticism being a positive predictor or risk factor and extraversion a negative predictor or protective factor. Likewise, high scores in social anxiety predicted a greater probability of scoring high on neuroticism and a lower probability of scoring high on extraversion. Conclusion: Neuroticism was a significant positive predictor of social anxiety, while extraversion was a significant negative predictor of social anxiety. High scores in social anxiety positively predicted neuroticism and negatively predicted extraversion. PS 23-08. Quality of family interaction: Assessment and intervention Lidia Dobrianskyj-Weber, Ana Paula Salvador, Claudia Ton Federal University of Parana, Curitiba, Brazil Interactions between parents and children have been object of systematic and frequent studies by researchers over recent decades. Currently, it is understood that family is a fundamental determining factor in the development of children and therefore its dynamics can be factors of both protection and risk. The understanding of these social relations and their determinants has certainly contributed towards designing prevention strategies and better adjustment to the development and socialization of children and adolescents. It is the aim of researchers to disseminate positive and effective ways of bringing up children to be competent in as many different domains as possible and thus preventing serious behavioral and psychological problems, by means of an affectionate and consistent family atmosphere. The purpose of this study was to verify the relationships between parenting educational practices, self-esteem and symptoms of depression in children and adolescents. Participants were 1200 middle and high school students, aged between 12 and 18 year Students completed the following measures: Family Interaction Quality Scales-FIQS (Weber, Prado Viezzer & Brandenburg, 2008); Self-esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) and Children Depression ScaleCDI (Kovacs, 1992). A hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward’s Method) the parent’s disciplinary practices and the youth’s social skills revealed five groups of mothers and four groups of youth grouped by self-esteem and depression symptoms. As hypothesized, the family dimensions assessed interacted significantly with youth self-esteem and depression with some positive correlations with depression, which were labeled as risk factors (corporal punishment, family conflict, negative communication and negative marital climate) and negative correlations with self-esteem, labeled as protective factors (involvement, children’s feelings, affective relationship, parental model, rules and monitoring, positive communication, positive marital climate). The results emphasize the relation of peer victimization and psychosocial adjustment, and also suggest the importance of the family as a context that is significantly related to the adolescents peer interactions. These results indicated the relevance to elaborate a parent guidance and training program: the Family Interaction Quality Program (FIQP), aiming to assist parents in developing positive parental educational skills and in functional understanding of their children’s behavior. The program is comprised of 8 meetings involving group experiences, information and training. The FIQP was applied with 300 parents and the analysis of the intervention using pre and post-test revealed an improvement in parental behavior between the beginning and the end of the program, showing the need for preventive activities with parents in order to ensure the positive development of children and teenagers. The quantitative data, obtained though an evaluation form, revealed high parent satisfaction. The qualitative analysis of the accounts given by the parents demonstrated that they had gone through an intense process of self-knowledge and had presented some changes, such as: increased parental participation and involvement in their children’s lives, establishment of clear and consistent rules, the giving of greater recognition to adequate child behaviors with increased frequency of parental praise and reduced or discontinued corporal punishment. The program met its objectives, affirming that prevention and intervention work with parents is necessary to achieve increased quality of family interaction. PS 23-09. Relationship between forgiveness and family function in couple referred to Family Therapy Centers in Iran Amrollah Ebrahimi, Ensie Haghighipoor, Mohamad Reza Merasi, Batoul Aminolsarbian, Hamid Nasiri, Mostafa Arab Psychosomatic Research Center, Isfahan, Iran Background: It is assumed that Forgiveness as a one of the positive psychology components is related to family healthy relationship. The aim of this study was to identify relationship between family function and forgiveness in couple relationship referred to the Family Therapy Centers in Isfahan. Methods: In cross-sectional design, 68 married people with relation problems, who have referred to Family Therapy Centers in Isfahan from March 2010 to March 2011 , were recruited. Participants completed questionnaire include Family Forgiveness Scales(FFS) and Family Assessment Device (FAD).Data was analyzed by SPSS-16 soft ware with used Pierson correlation and stepwise regression methods. Results: Results revealed that there are significantly correlation between forgiveness in scores and Family Assessment Device scores (r=-0.49 and P <0.05). Another correlation found between family function and recognition (r=-0.56), reparation (r=-0.35), resolution(r=-0.48), and restitution (r=-0.36). Finally findings revealed that family function could be predicted by family forgiveness scale scores. Conclusions: Result revealed that there is a positive relation between forgiveness as a new concept (positive psychology) in family therapy and family function. These findings suggest forgiveness therapy must be integrated to family therapy protocols. PS 23-10. Social self-concept and self-esteem in Spanish students with social anxiety Jose Manuel Garcia-Fernandez, Beatriz Delgado; Cándido José Inglés; María Soledad Torregrosa; María del Carmen Martínez-Monteagudo University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain Background: Social anxiety is one of the most prevalent maladjustment in adolescents and causes considerable difficulties and social distress. However, to date very few studies have explored the impact of social anxiety on personal adjustment in student populations. Aim of study: To determine whether students with social anxiety differ from their peers without social anxiety in social self-concept dimensions and self-esteem. Method: Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI, Turner, Beidel, Dancu, and Stanley, 1989) and Self Description Questionnaire (SDQ-II, Marsh, 1992) were administered to 2,022 Spanish students from grades 7 to 10, ranging in age from 12 to 16 years (M = 13.81; SD = 1.35). Descriptive analyses and t tests for differences between means were used. Cohen’s d was included to assess the effect size of differences. Results: Social anxious students showed lower self-esteem and a lower self-concept in social situations like relations with their parents (d =.27), with people of the same sex (d =.45), and with people of the opposite sex (d =.46) than students without social anxiety. Conclusion: Students with social anxiety considered themselves to be less socially competent and showed poorer selfesteem than students without social anxiety. PS 23-11. Soft Skills Development as Positive Education for University Students Elena Mandrikova National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia “Soft skills” are personal attributes that enhance an individual’s interactions, job performance and career prospects. Unlike “hard skills”, which are about a person’s skill set and ability to perform a certain type of task or activity, soft skills are interpersonal and broadly applicable. “Soft skills” are often described by using terms often associated with personality traits, such as optimism, common sense, responsibility, a sense of humor, integrity; and abilities that can be practiced such as empathy and emotional intelligence, teamwork, leadership, communication, negotiation, sociability, ability to give and gain feedback, creative thinking, learning agility, and other positive states and phenomena. From the broad range of soft skills the communication / interaction skills play the more important role/ They are essential to successful career in current competitive environment as well as professional skills and knowledge because of working in joint (often multicultural) teams, negotiating and building long-term relations (with Clients and team members), virtual/telecommuting communications, and for demands of effective internal and external communications/interactions in current global learning / working environment. These “soft skills” are crucial for university students because of their significant role at employment selection assessment (testing, assessment centers, behavioral / competency interviews, self-presentation), competition in learning / working groups, leadership issues, teamwork at innovative economic environment, employment at trans-national corporations. However, for some types of students, especially from non-humanitarian programs, soft skills need to be learned and developed. Aims We suggest establish practically oriented course of soft skills development for bachelor level students to work on realistic contextualized tasks with the aim of developing communication/interaction strategies to meet the academic and entry-level professional requirements. This course is designed to introduce principles of effective learning/working communications/interactions based on recognizing and appreciating individual personality differences, increasing self-awareness and emotional competency and covering following topics. • Introduction to the Soft Skill Development. • Communication / Interaction Skills • Influencing Skills. • Building Collaboration. • Handling Conflict. • Facilitating Group Interaction. • Stimulating Creative Thinking in Communications. • Working at Multicultural Environment. Methods. For these purposes in the course the common methodology of individual differences with the base on Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) approach is used as the most common methodology used in the selection assessment process at, mostly, international and even Russian profit and non-profit companies. MBTI was the main methodology in current course; however besides it students will become familiar with other approaches, tools and technics for soft skills development. We have worked with 2 groups of students from soft ware engineering school (N=64) and for economics & finance students (N=18). To measure the efficiency of suggested program the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (24-item questionnaire to evaluate needs for development at group discussions, meetings, interpersonal relationships, and public speaking) and self-evaluation of soft skills model (10-point scale) were used. Results. Upon successful completion of this 10-weeks course, students show significant (p≤0.05) decrease of communication apprehension scales and were able to understand their strengths and weaknesses, type of personality, work preferences, style of communication at learning/working context. PS 23-12. The effectiveness of life skills training on the happiness of spouses of veterans (war wounded) Kamal Solati Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran Background: Today, despite the deep cultural changes and changes in life style, many people lack key capabilities which are essential in dealing with life’ problems, thus they are more vulnerable to stress when coping with everyday problems and issues. For this reason, life skills training as a master plan could promote effective mental health and increase their abilities. Aims of study: The present study investigated the effect of life skills training on the happiness of veterans’ wives. methods used: This study was a quasi-experimental with a randomized control-group pretest-posttest design. Using easy sampling method, 102 participants were selected among Spouses of veterans(war wounded) referred to counseling center affiliated to the martyr Foundation in the city of Shahrekord. These participants were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Experimental groups had eight two-hour sessions for 8 weeks of training in life skills and stress management, problem-solving skills, decision making skills and communication skills. Research tools included the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) and the Check list of features of democratic life. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed using SPSS-16 soft ware. Results: Results showed a significant difference between the posttest mean scores of happiness between experimental and control groups but this difference was not significant during the follow-up period. Conclusion: This study suggests that life skills training may alleviate Stress and the problems of war and reduce the negative consequences on the veteran’s spouse. Since many studies have demonstrated that spouses of people affected by war suffer a lot of stress and mental disorders are more likely among them, therefore, in order to reduce and prevent problems of these families, teaching life skills needs to be provided continuously. PS 23-13. The Examination of the Psychometric Properties of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) on Parents of Children with Autism in Turkey Bekir Fatih Meral Sakarya University, Hendek/Sakarya, Turkey The aim of this study is to examine psychometric properties of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & et. all., 1988; Eker, Arkar, & Yaldız, 2001) on parents of children with autism in Turkey. Participants were 806 mothers of children with autism in Turkey. In this study, confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor anaysis, criterion validity, Cronbach alpha correlation coefficients and corrected item-total correlations of the MSPSS form were examined. For the validity and relibility analysis of MSPSS, Paws Statistics 18.0 (SPSS Statistics) and LISREL 8.71 programs are used. According to confirmatory factor analysis results, this study have a goodness of fit (x2/df = fit; 121.31/47=2.58). It is seen that fit index values and 3 factor model of MSPSS are fit (RMSEA=.004, SRMR=.002, GFI=.98, AGFI=.96, NFI=.99, NNFI=.99, CFI=.99, IFI=.99 ve RFI=.99). For criterion validity of MSPSS, Family Social Support Scale (FSSS) (Kaner, 2004) is used. It is determined that there is significant and positive relationship (p<.01) between the both MSPSS and FSSS. The total and sub-areas of Cronbach alpha values in MSPSS are high (total=.91, family=.90, friends=.91, significant other=.89). Corrected item-total correlations upper than .40 in MSPSS. Results showed that the scale called Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) as a valid and reliable instrument can be used in the fields of autism and special education. PS 23-14. Validation of a Portuguese Version of the Gallup Student Pool on Engagement Susana Marques Marques, Shane J. Lopez, Anne Marie Fontaine, Susana Coimbra Porto University, Porto, Portugal Despite the interest in assessing well-being issues among adolescents, there is limited research on domain-specific life satisfaction. Life satisfaction, defined as an overall evaluation by the person of his or her life and/or specific life domains has been determined to play a key role in the lives of adolescents. This study describes the development of the Portuguese version of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS) and the examination of its psychometric properties. A total of 682 adolescents (ages 11-17, 53.51% females) completed the Portuguese-language version of the BMSLSS, along with self-reported measures of global life satisfaction, hope, self-worth, mental health, and school engagement. Grade point average was obtained from students’ school records. The first step included translation, back-translation, inspection for lexical equivalence and content validity, and cognitive debriefing. Consistent with the English language version, the results indicated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach alpha of .79), moderate one-year stability coefficient (r=.50), and moderate, but robust cross-sectional and longitudinal correlations with hope (r =.45, r =.41), self-worth (r =.41, r =.36), mental health (r =.49, r =.45) and student engagement in their schooling (r =.37, r =.33). Also, the multidimensional life satisfaction correlates strongly with global life satisfaction (r =.62), but weakly with grade point average (r =.19). Principal axis factor analyses have indicated one higher-order, general factor and modest magnitude of zero-order correlations among the domains. Mean overall scores did not differ significantly by gender or year in school. These findings offer preliminary support for the Portuguese version of the BMSLSS and may provide a useful reference for researchers engaged in well-being research with adolescents. PS 23-15. Students’ adjustment to higher education: What is the role of self-efficacy in this process? Isabel Silva, Verónica Fernandes, Rute F. Meneses Universidade Fernando Pessoa and Fundação Fernando Pessoa, Porto, Portugal Purpose: The mass phenomenon that has been installed in higher education in recent years has put in evidence the issue of students’ adjustment to this new academic environment. The entry into higher education is viewed by most students as a new stage characterized by multiple challenges at various levels, associated to the possibility of building a new identity, new relationships, and increased responsibilities and opportunities for exploration, experimentation and commitment. To understand the process of transition to higher education, it is important to understand the relationship between adaptation to higher education and the perception of self-efficacy. Thus, the present study intended to analyze the relationship between academic adaptation and the perception of self-efficacy in university students in the 1st cycle of studies. Methods It was studied a cohort of 264 students, that answered to the Questionnaire of Academic Experiences – short version and the Self-efficacy Scale. Results and Discussion Preliminary results indicate the existence of a positive and statistically significant correlation between self-efficacy and adaptation to higher education. Self-efficacy in this academic context acquires a special importance due to the numerous personal and external challenges to which students are confronted, that test their internal resources and ability to cope with competition, ambiguity and uncertainty. The university constitutes a less structured context of global learning and psychosocial development, which requires that students develop a high degree of self-regulation, enhancing the expression of differences in motivation and self-efficacy. POSTERS PS 2.4. Quality of Life, Flourishing, and Well-being PS 24-01. Adaptation to University life: stress and well-being Laimute Bulotaite, Birute Pociute, Remigijus Bliumas Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania Transformation of national higher education system and continued reforms in this sector are the main features of Lithuanian universities life in the last two decades. The first year at the university is a challenge for students as it can influence academic achievement and future career. The first-year students are just in the crucial stage from the adolescence to the adult. Young people face a great number of changes in their life and if the freshmen cannot adapt to the new environment quickly, they may have difficulties in psychological development. The 4th year – new challenges: preparation for transition from university to work or continuation of studies, problems of employment and unemployment. The results of different research revealed, that difficulties of adaptation can cause health problems and willingness to drop out from studies. The aim of this study was to analyse and compare stress factors and psychological well-being of the 1st and 4th year students of Social Science at Vilnius University. 213 university students participated in this study (131- 1st year and 82 - 4th year students of Psychology and Social work). Specially designed questionnaire intended to reveal sociodemographic characteristic, stress peculiarities, health status of students and Ryff scales of Psychological Wellbeing were used in the research. The results of this study exposed the most stressful areas of 1st and 4th year students life. A significant relation between stress and health status of students was detected. The results revealed, that psychological well-being is connected to satisfaction with selected study program and subjective health status of students. The main factors, influencing psychological well-being of students also were identified. The findings of this study were treated as the starting point for longitudinal research program. PS 24-02. Adolescents’ Happiness-Increasing Strategies and Well-Being Danilo Garcia University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg , Sweden Background: In order to intentionally pursue happiness people seems to use different strategies. Tkach and Lyubomirsky (2006) have identified, using first an open-ended survey, 53 happiness-increasing strategies used by undergraduate students. Through factor analysis eight clusters were found: Social Affiliation (e.g. ‘‘Support and encourage friends’’), Partying and Clubbing (e.g. ‘‘Drink alcohol’’), Mental Control (e.g. ‘‘Try not to think about being unhappy’’), Instrumental Goal Pursuit (e.g. ‘‘Study’’), Passive Leisure (e.g. ‘‘Surf the internet’’), Active Leisure (e.g. ‘‘Exercise’’), Religion (e.g. ‘‘Seek support from faith’’) and Direct Attempts (e.g. ‘‘Act happy/smile, etc.’’). This happiness-increasing strategies accounted for 52%, while the Big Five personality traits for 46% of the variance in happiness. However, the strategies’ relations to happiness varied to a great extent. To investigate which strategies adolescents use pursuing happiness is important because engaging in certain type of behaviors may actually lower their level of happiness. Aims: The aim of the present study was to examine the eight clusters of happiness-increasing strategies and their relationship to adolescents’ well-being. Method: A total of 103 Swedish high school pupils participated in the study. Participants were asked to rate how frequently they used the 53 strategies to increase or maintain their happiness. Participants were also asked for other strategies they use and to rate how often they use them as well. Well-being was assessed by self-reports of positive and negative affect (Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule), life satisfaction (Satisfaction with Life Scale), and psychological well-being (Ryff ’s Psychological Well-Being Measure). The structure of the 53 strategies was analysed through factor analysis and their relationship to well-being was analyse using Structural Equation Modelling. Results: The eight factor structure found by Tkach and Lyubomirsky (2006) was replicated. Furthermore, the strategies of Mental Control, Direct Attempts, Active Leisure, and Instrumental Goal Pursuit were related to wellbeing. Conclusions: The 53 strategies seem to be valid in the study of well-being among adolescents. Strategies such as cultivating a bright outlook, and that sacrifice possible instant reward (e.g., attempt to achieve full potential, organize life and goals) should be encouraged, at least in the context of adolescents. PS 24-03. Basic trust and narrative processes in the positive self-transformation after experience of organ transplantation Mariusz Zieba Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland Traumatic and critical life experiences constitute a challenge to the narrative construction of identity. Empirical data suggest that positive changes in how people narrate various aspects of their life stories may actually cause corresponding improvements in several aspects of wellbeing including physical health (Pennebaker & Seagal, 1999) and positive self-transformation (Pals, 2006). Basic Trust is a presumption that the world has unchangeable order and meaning and is generally positive towards human beings (Erikson, 1950; Trzebiński & Zięba, 2004). The results of several studies on oncology patients indicate that the level of Basic Trust is positively related to the challenge approach, positive reinterpretation of new life situations, and to posttraumatic growth. In presented study we asked patients after kidney (N=20) and liver (N=20) transplantation to speak about three high points in life: two before transplantation and one after. Each episode was coded for the presence or absence of both integrative and intrinsic themes (Bauer, McAdams, & Sakaeda, 2005) and for redemption and contamination sequences (McAdams et al., 1997). Finally, we compared these narrative measures with self-report measures of basic trust (Trzebinski & Zieba, 2003) and hope (Snyder et al., 1991). The results indicate that the basic trust is correlated significantly with both intrinsic and integrative memories. In addition, redemption sequences in life narrative accounts were positively associated with measures of basic trust and hope. The results are discussed with respect to role of the basic trust and narrative construction of critical life experiences in stress-related growth PS 24-04. Best practices of mental health promotion at workplaces Taimi Elenurm Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences, Tallinn, Estonia Workplace positive mental health is an important issue that reflects economic cycles but also changes initiated in organizations. According to the Survey of Health Behavior 2010 among Estonian adult population the share of people, who feel themselves under stress or depressed at the period of last two years has increased from 15% to 23%. The workplace can be an important social context to promote employee positive mental health and wellbeing (Leka & Cox, 2008; Cox, Leka, Ivanov & Kortum, 2004). Antonovsky proposes to focus on positive variables, asking what maintains and promotes health and wellbeing (1979). The workplace can provide a healthy culture and environment that is psychologically supportive to the workforce (Knifton, Watson, Besten et al., 2011). The aim of this study was to collect and review good practices of mental health promotions in workplaces of Estonian public and private sector organizations. Methods: In 2011mentors of the Estonian National Institute for Health Development visited 42 organizations and interviewed 96 employees (mostly occupational health specialists and managers). The results were divided into 3 groups: requirements and success factors, challenges and barriers and innovative ideas. Results: In medium-sized and large organizations health maintenance and health promotion strategy is linked with management strategy and exists as part of personnel management. The holistic intervention approach is successful, when it consists of physical, mental and social activities. The most popular events are teamwork and cooperation trainings and joint training events. The main problems and challenges in large enterprises are management style mismatch, and lack of information about changes in organizations. The main question is: how to commit and involve the management to the mental health promotion.Several innovative ideas were proposed. Some of employees are trained in health issues and work stress, they are elected as representatives and experts in the field of occupational health. Regularly carried out training on how to deal with aggressive clients and co-vision groups for dealing with the problems at workplace. Many of the services offered events to employees’ family members as well. The comprehensive assessment of health state and lifestyle of employees is provided. In Estonia, small business organizations’ success factors in mental health promotion are flexible working arrangements and working time. These enterprises use instant meetings and discussions with the managers for getting support, they have positive and supportive communication practices. For creation of the positive attitudes and warm atmosphere have been used celebration achievements, cultural and health activities with families, health information sharing, organizing cooperation with the local community for common health activities. The new challenge are for small enterprises is to organize a joint training sessions for several small business organizations. The main barrier to implementation health promotion was financial. Conclusion: increase in workload, a busy schedule and a reluctance to engage in unfamiliar projects made in some organizations mental health promotion difficult. Promotion of mental health at work is the priority of the Estonian Labour Inspectorate in2012. PS 24-05. Cross-lagged relations between dispositional gratitude and adolescent athlete burnout Lung Hung Chen National Taiwan Sport University, Taipei, Taiwan Research on gratitude had demonstrated its positive effect on well-being indicators in several life contexts such as work, intimate relationship, and clinical patient. However, gratitude is a topic rarely discussed in the sport psychology. Given its potential to enhance athlete’s well-being, the current study aims at investigated the cross-lagged relationship between dispositional gratitude and adolescent athlete burnout. Grounded on the Broaden-and Build Theory of Positive Emotions, the author expected that dispositional gratitude at time 1 would negatively relate to athlete burnout at time 2 after controlling for the time 1 dispositional gratitude. This study recruited adolescent athlete from Taiwan. Data was collected at two time point with three months time lagged and analyzed by structural equation modeling. Contrary to theoretical expectation, dispositional gratitude at time 1 did not predict athlete burnout at time 2 after controlling for the dispositional gratitude at time 1. However, this study supported a reverse relationship indicated that athlete burnout at time 1 negatively related dispositional gratitude at time 2 after controlling for the dispositional gratitude at time 1. Current finding suggested that athlete who high in burnout at beginning would decrease their dispositional gratitude gradually. Results were discussed in term of Broaden-and Build Theory of Positive Emotions and burnout related theories. PS 24-06. Development of Emotional Intelligence: experimental study Tatiana Kiseleva, Elena Khlevnaya International center «Consulting. Training. Coaching», Moscow, Russia The problematic of Emotional intelligence attracts the attention not only in the scientific community. Business practitioners and specialists in different fields of social life also consider it as the prospective and interesting one. Many consulting companies put the trainings for Emotional intelligence development on the list of serving. Along with this fact, there is no even one program on the market that has clear scientific basis of the statement about the possibility to develop the Emotional intelligence both in whole and particularly, with the help of this learning program. So, the question of the possibility in principle to develop the Emotional intelligence remains open nowadays. In the works of E.S. Asmakovez, S.P. Devyatko, M.A. Manoylova, D. Gowlman, E.V. Sidorenko, A.A. Pankratova, C.Sarny, StevenA. DeLazarri different concepts of personality emotional intelligence development based on the use of exercises and training techniques are presented. However, strict measurements were not carried out. The main concept of our research: the rise of emotional intelligence level is possible by the way of the organization of purposive external (training) action on each of four components of this construct within the scope of cognitive capabilities model. “Forming” experiment was organized and carried out for this hypothesis testing, within the scope of which the program of psychosocial training aimed at the emotional intelligence development of those people, who occupy themselves with managerial activity, was developed and implemented. For carrying out the forming experiment two test groups were formed: 1. Experimental group (68 people- 29 women and 39 men; middle age-34 years). The members of this group took part in the cycle of trainings for Emotional intelligence development in the course of six months. Training was conducted in the format of four units with the distance of 1, 5 month at the average, which enables participants to employ learned in the process of unit skills in daily life. Each unit includes three-day training (8 hours per day), supervision (4 hours) and individual two-hour consultation of each participant between units. The content of each unit was based on short lectures, role-playing, group discussions, buddy system. Participants should also have kept a personal diary. Participants of the program were tested three times: during the first experiment stage - before the first unit, at the end of the fourth unit and after six months in order to estimate the long-term prospect of received changes. 2. Control group (68 people- 32 women, 36 men; middle age- 35 years), participants of which were not taught, but also were tested thrice at the same time with the members of the experimental group. The Russian-language test version of J. Mayer, P. Salovey and D. Karuzo MSCEIT V2.0 was used for the Emotional intelligence measurement. The adaptation of the methods was carried out by E.A. Sergienko, I.I Vetrova, A.A. Volochkov and A.Y. Popov. After the program implementation estimate of its efficiency was carried out. For this purpose comparative data analysis in experimental (trainings were conducted) and control (trainings were not conducted) groups was used. After training program we got positive results both concerning the general level of Emotional intelligence and the levels of its third and fourth components. In comparison with the control group, learning group showed the considerable increase of indicators by the scales “emotions identification”, “emotions use on problem solving”, “conscious emotion modulation”. There was no improvement by the scale “analysis and understanding of emotions”. All positive changes remain quite stable in six months after training. PS 24-07. Development of the Lithuanian Psychological Well-Being Scale: Theoretical and Empirical Considerations Ieva Urbanaviciute, A. Bagdonas, Antanas Kairys, Audrone Liniauskaite Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania3 Background. Psychological well-being is a widely investigated construct thought to be an important factor contributing to one’s feeling of happiness, and related to other indicators of human life quality. It has been long known that psychological aspect of well-being relates to one’s health, life expectancy, work performance, interpersonal relationships, and the quality of social life in general (Huppert, 2009; Ratelle et al., 2004; Diener, Ryan, 2009; Deci et al., 2001). The recent years have shown an increasing interest in using well-being indicators in the area of social policy research as well. Therefore, instruments measuring psychological well-being are considered as having a very high applied value. At the same time, obtaining a well-developed and universally valid instrument is still a challenge due to quite vague theoretical background in the field and, partly, because of cross-cultural differences. Up to date, in Lithuania psychological well-being has been measured mainly by adapting foreign scales or by reducing its definition (and measurement) to a few dimensions only. Yet, there is a growing need of a valid instrument that would be adequate to the Lithuanian cultural context and that would cover the multidimensionality of the phenomenon. Research goals. This research study has set the following goals: 1) to identify the main dimensions of psychological well-being in the Lithuanian population; 2) to develop a valid instrument covering these dimensions. Method. After conducting an extensive analysis of theoretical and empirical approaches on psychological well-being, a pilot questionnaire version consisting of 117 items was developed. The development of the questionnaire was based on multidimensionality and universality principles, i.e. a variety items covering broad range of areas of life experiences were included. Each item had to be rated on a 5-point Likert scale (from 1 – strongly disagree to 5 – strongly agree). In total 226 respondents took part in the study (75% female, 25% male), age ranging from 18 to 45 years (mean age – 24 years). Results and conclusion. After conducting exploratory factor analysis, a 9 factor solution explaining 55% of variance was retained. The results provide two main insights and implications for further scale development: 1) the emerging factors form a certain pattern showing the “contents” of psychological well-being. Broadly, they could be categorized into the “subjective” (such as subjective life control, optimism, etc.) and “objective” (health ratings, experience of discrimination, etc.) side of well-being; 2) the preliminary scale version has proven to have a multidimensional structure. Moreover, based on the results of this study, it may be implied that the construct of psychological well-being might have a more complex (for example, hierarchical) structure. The latter implication sets important guidelines for further investigation on the topic and provides empirical basis for the development of the final version of the Lithuanian Psychological Well-Being Scale. PS 24-08. Drumming to De-Stress: The effects of Mindfulness HealthRhythms® on Psychological Well-being Patricia Glascock, Irina Khramtsova, Alicia Halfacre, Jonathan Owen Arkansas State University, Arkansas, USA The current study investigated the effects of HealthRhythms® on perceived stress and overall functioning. The HealthRhythms® Group Empowerment Drumming protocol was developed by Remo Belli, the founder of Remo Drums and Dr. Barry Bitterman, the CEO of Mind Body Wellness (http://www.remo.com/portal/hr/index.html). The HealthRhythms® protocol included a mindful breathing exercise, drumming introduction, drumming one’s name, entrainment, personal sharing, guided imagery using rhythm, another mindful breathing exercise, and application of learning for the session. The recommended length for the HealthRhythms® protocol is fift y minutes. However, due to scheduling constraints, the format of sessions involved participants engaging in a shortened (30 minute) protocol. Participants in the study were students, faculty and staff members at Arkansas State University. The group was facilitated by a licensed counselor who was also trained as a HealthRhythms® facilitator. Open group sessions were held weekly for 30 minutes. The study was conducted over a period of 12 weeks during the fall semester of 2011 with a total of 121 participants. Some of the participants came only once, some came a few times and 8 -10 participants attended most weeks. At the beginning and at the end of the 12-week study the participants filled out the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) for adults (Keyes, 2006), a 14-item scale that is designed to assess emotional, social, psychological and overall functioning. Additionally, each session started and ended with the participants’ filling out a short questionnaire consisting of two parts: the first one was filled out before the session and the second part – after the session. Both pre- and post-scale questions evaluated their self-perceived-levels of stress on a Lickert scale (1 = low stress and 5 = high). Additional questions in the second part included self-perceptions of connectedness, using a Likert scale (1 = disconnected and 5 = extremely connected). Also, participants rated overall enjoyment of the session on a Likert scale (1 = no enjoyment and 5 = extremely enjoyed). The results indicated statistically significant lower self-perceived stress levels following the use of the shortened HealthRhythms® protocol (Pre-stress M=2.4, SD=1.08; Post-stress M=1.67, SD = .944; t(78)=6.34, p=.000- two tailed). Also, most participants indicated that they enjoyed (21.4%) or extremely enjoyed the session (70%) and most reported feeling connected (12.5%) or very connected (84.5%) to others. Whereas only 4 participants completed both the pre- and post- MHC-SF survey data revealed modest improvements in all MHC-SF subscales, that is, in emotional, psychological, social and overall functioning. Further studies should be done to explore the benefits of the HealthRhythms® protocol on psychological well-being. PS 24-09. Effect of cognitive behavioral therapy with problem-solving skills training on reduction of symptoms of test anxiety in high school girls Fereshteh Baezzat, Mohsen Sadinam Mazandaran University Babolsar, Iran Objective: In this research, the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy with problem solving skills training on reduction of symptoms of test anxiety in high school girls has been taken. Method: This research method is a kind of experimental research (pre-test-[ast-test with control group). The community of statistical consists of the whole students from one to third grade of high school of Fereydoonkenar (Mazandaran). In order to do the research, first of all thirty students with test anxiety disorder took identical tests (Test Anxiety Inventory), and then they were chosen randomly according to simple sampling method. The evaluated sample was then randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. Experimental group received cognitive-behavioral therapy with problem solving skill training in 10 sessions but control group did not received any intervention. Data was analyzed through covariance analysis (ANCOVA). Results: Research findings indicate that the symptoms of test anxiety of experimental group decreased in compare with control group. Conclusion: results indicate that cognitive-behavioral therapy with problem solving skills training is useful and efficient strategies for reduction of test anxiety and improvement of academic performance of Students with test anxiety. It is recommended that counselors, psychologists and teacher administer cognitive-behavioral therapy with problem solving skills training for the reduction of symptoms of test anxiety and improvement of academic performance of test anxious students. PS 24-10. Emotional intelligence as a potential predictor of well-being of employed and unemployed Katarzyna Knopp Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland In the article there are presented the results of research which aimed to answer the question on relation between emotional intelligence and the condition of mental health of unemployed people, and also comparison of the unemployed with the employed as regards mentioned characteristics. 160 unemployed people participated in the research. They were at the age between 35 and 45 years (85 women and 75 men) with secondary and higher education and 1 to 2 years of unemployed status. The control group consisted of 157 employed people (85 women and 72 men) at the same age group and with similar education level. For the emotional intelligence measurement there was utilized Two-dimensional Inventory of Emotional Intelligence (DINEMO) by A. Jaworowska, A. Matczak, A. Ciechanowicz, J. Stanczak and E. Zalewska. The General Health Condition Questionnaire GHQ by D. Goldberg in the Polish adaptation of Z. Makowska and D. Merecz was used for the assessment of mental health. The results of the research disclosed differences in scope of emotional intelligence and mental health between the unemployed ant the employed. Furthermore, there was affirmed that unemployed men with higher emotional intelligence characterize better condition of mental health than men with low emotional intelligence. Such dependence did not exist in the group of unemployed women. PS 24-11. Flow experiences, well being and loneliness in older age Maria José Ferreira, Teresa Freire University of Minho, Braga, Portugal Background: In a unique period of the history of humankind, in which older adults are such a high proportion of the world’s population, there has been a renewed interest from the scientific community to study which factors promote successful aging and positive advanced age. Positive psychology has strengthened the need to broaden the scope of scientific research to study individuals’ diverse life dimensions, highlighting the positive characteristics of human achievement and functioning. According to empirical research, well-being is a psychological construct associated with better coping, lower morbidity and lower mortality. Because of that, in older age well-being acquires an increased importance. Some scholars defended that well-being is a multifaceted construct composed by an eudaimonic dimension, which focuses on meaning and selfrealization, and an hedonic dimension, which focuses on happiness and on pleasure attainment and pain avoidance. The flow theory, on the other hand, postulates that “a good life is one that is characterized by complete absorption in what one does” and flow is defined as a psychological state in which the individual feels cognitively capable, motivated, and happy. In contrast, continuous feelings of loneliness and poor social adjustment contribute to lower levels of positive affect and higher levels of negative affect, with damaging consequences to the physical and psychological health. Despite the importance these dimensions have in the process of positive aging, there are still few studies that relate flow experiences, well-being, and loneliness in advanced ages. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to investigate the relations between flow experiences, life satisfaction, psychological well-being and loneliness perceptions of a group of older adults. Methods and materials: One hundred and two older adults participated in this study and were recruited on Portuguese senior associations. Data were collected using selfreport measures (Portuguese versions), namely the Flow Questionnaire, a reduced version of Scales of Psychological Well-Being, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Results: Results showed significant correlations between life satisfaction, psychological well-being, and loneliness. We found a positive significant correlation between the intensity of the flow experience and psychological wellbeing. Also, multivariate tests of differences demonstrated a significant effect of the intensity of flow on psychological well-being levels. We observed that satisfaction with life and feelings of loneliness were significant predictors of psychological well-being. However, we found that feelings of loneliness lost its significant association with psychological well-being if the associations between the intensity of flow, loneliness, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being were investigated only amongst participants that reported flow experiences. Conclusion: Findings broaden the knowledge about the relationships between flow experiences, well-being and feelings of loneliness. The importance of flow in the wellbeing of older adults, particularly in the eudaimonic well being, and the potential protector role of flow experiences in the impact of the loneliness experiences in older adults well-being are highlighted and discussed. PS 24-12. Happiness and Personal Growth Initiative among University Students in the UAE Amber Haque UAE University, Al Ain, UAE Background: The United Arab Emirates with its rich oil reserves is ranked among one of the highest GDP per capita nations in the world. The nationals of this country enjoy facilities including free or subsidized housing, health, education, and opportunities for employment provided by the government. However, the social issues are on the rise and attributed mainly to uncontrollable effects of modernization and globalization. Divorce, late marriage, unemployment and college dropout rates are increasing and so is the lack of motivation to do well in the University. The nationals comprise about 10% of the total population and have to compete with the foreigners for jobs and the generation gap in the nationals is also widening. The elderly nationals are concerned about identity issues of younger Emiratis and many are left behind in this increasing rat race that goes against the local culture. Despite this scenario, there is no research available on how the younger generation perceives their meaning in life, assess their level of happiness, and motivation for personal growth. This paper aims to explore how the young nationals identify their meaning in life, if and to what extent they find satisfaction with their present life conditions, what is their level of happiness and what personal growth initiatives these young people take to meet the existing challenges. The paper also aims to find age or seniority in University and gender differences in response to the research questions. 100 male and 100 female University students are administered the following four scales: Meaning in Life Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Subjective Happiness Scale, and Personal Growth Initiative Scale. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA is used to analyze test data. The scales are psychometrically strong and developed by the University of Pennsylvania Positive Psychology Center. This research is an original study has many important implications for the country influencing future research, social policies and planning, educational interventions, etc. PS 24-13. How does life stress affect life satisfaction? Short- and long-term effects Gunvor Marie Dyrdal, Espen Røysamb, Ragnhild Bang-Nes, Joar Vittersø University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Background: The present study investigated how life stressors affected life satisfaction judgments in a large cohort study. Aims: The effect of ten major life stressors on short (T1) and long-term (T2) life satisfaction was explored. Methods: Data was obtained from the longitudinal Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Two waves of data were used (N=48,032). Data on life stressors was collected at T1, and satisfaction scores were reported at T1 and at T2 (3 years later). Results: Results showed that 28,400 participants reported one or more major life stressors during the past 12 months. Regression analyses showed that experiencing major life stressors predicted lower current and future life satisfaction, even after controlling for T1 satisfaction levels. Experiencing multiple stressors added to the negative effect, with each additional stressor significantly reducing short and long term satisfaction. Conclusions: The experience of life stressors negatively affect life satisfaction, and the effect of certain stressors can be long-lasting. PS 24-15. How Self-Concept Clarity Relates to a Better Work Satisfaction: Mediation Effect of Internal Entrapment Lung Hung Chen, I An Su National Taiwan Sport University, Taipei, Taiwan Self-concept clarity (SCC) has long been found to be associated with an individual’s work satisfaction. However, it still remains unclear why the SCC, which accounts only for the structure of self, can spread out to affect the content of self, e.g. work satisfaction. We therefore proposed in the study that the SCC increased an individual’s satisfaction because the individual was less confused, internally entrapped, and, thus, performed better when they were clear about themselves. Our empirical results supported the hypothesis by showing that students’ SCC and the satisfaction of academic performance was totally mediated by their feeling of internal entrapment. We further found that the results remained when we controlled the students’ inclination to answer the questionnaires in accord with social expectation. The results were discussed in terms of its implication for life/work satisfaction and the interaction between the form and the content of self. PS 24-16. Life satisfaction and adjustment to illness as predictors of anxiety and depressive symptoms in male patients post-infarcted Angeles Ruiz, Pilar Sanjuán, Ana Pérez-García Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain Introducction Anxiety and depressive symptoms are common among patients who have just suffered a cardiac episode (Goodwin, Davidson & Keyes, 2009; Koivula, Helme & Astedt-Kurki, 2010). Since these symptoms worsen the prognosis of the illness (Rozanski & Kubzansky, 2005), it is important to detect them and understand the psychosocial variables that have an impact on their development. From the positive psychology perspective there is currently a growing interest in researching, in connection with health psychology, how some positive phenomena may influence the etiology, progression and disease management (Aspinwall & Tedeschi, 2010). The main goal of the present work was to study the relationships among life satisfaction, diverse strategies of adjustment to illness, and anxiety and depressive symptoms in a sample of male patients who had recently suffered a first cardiac episode. Method Fift y two men (mean age= 53.8, SD = 10.95, and age range between 31 and 69 years) who had suffered a cardiac episode for the first time reported the degree of satisfaction with their life, the strategies used to adjust to the illness, and the symptoms of anxiety and depression felt. Results The results showed that anxiety and depressive symptoms were negatively related to life satisfaction and the use of positive adjustment strategies (positive attitudes towards the illness and coping actions to deal with it, such as active coping, positive reappraisal, and sense of humor), and positively associated with the use of negative adjustment strategies (perception of lack of control over the illness, passive delegation of control to others, denial, and focusing on negative feelings about the illness). The results also showed that life satisfaction and adjustment strategies had an direct effect on symptoms since adjustment did not mediate the relationships between life satisfaction and symptoms. Discussion The results suggest that intervention programs should not only aim to reduce negative symptoms (negative adjustment strategies, symptoms of anxiety or depression) but also to promote positive aspects such as life satisfaction, positive emotions, positive adjustment. PS 24-17. Manage your loneliness: Time management as a predictor of loneliness Lung Hung Chen, Hao-Jan Luh National Taiwan Sport University, Taipei, Taiwan Loneliness has long been one central topic in positive psychology. However, the literature has mainly focused on how social relatedness buffers individuals’ loneliness and overlooks what they can do for themselves. We hence explored this possibility in the current study and hypothesized that, via giving people more mental resources to be mindful to the environment, time-management ability reduces individuals’ feeling of alienation and loneliness. The results of mediation analysis supported the hypothesis by showing that the negative association between people’s time-management ability and loneliness was completely mediated by their mindfulness tendency. Higher the timemanagement ability, higher the mindfulness and lower the loneliness. We discussed the findings in terms of the relationship between mental adaptation, self-discipline, and mindfulness. PS 24-18. Political Participation, Civil liberty, and Quality of Democracy as predictors of Life Satisfaction Bagus Takwin, Alfindra Primaldhi, Sahat K. Panggabean Depok Universitas, Indonesia This study examines the relationship between quality of democracy and life satisfaction. The quality of democracy indicated by political participation and degree of civil liberties. The study was conducted using a correlational design involving 310 participants (Male = 161, Female = 139, Mean Age = 34) from four regions in Indonesia, e.i. Batu, Lhokseumawe, South Jakarta and Jayapura. The theoretical model used in this study revealed Ringen (2010) regarding the quality of democracy. Analysis of the quality of democracy be done in three levels. The first level, an analysis of the democratic system. The second level, an analysis of individual democratic life. The third level, an analysis of the interaction between the democratic system and democratic life in producing the quality of democracy. By using principal component analysis found latent variables of the democratic system and democratic life that measures the quality of democracy. Then, based on the results of three levels of analysis that examined the role of the quality of democracy in subjective well-being. Result indicate that both in level democratic sistem and democratic life, political participation and degree of civil liberties corelate with life satisfaction. Regression analysis confirm that quality of democracy is a predictor of life satisfaction (adjusted R2 = .212). The results of this study also suggest that political participation and the fulfillment of civil liberties contribute to subjective wellbeing. PS 24-19. Prevalence of Depressive Disorders in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiary Province of Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Palahang, F.Safian Shahrekord, Iran Introduction: Depression is a common disorder among people. It is usually accompanied with low energy, hopelessness, helplessness, and suicide. It causes disturbance in job performance, interpersonal and social relations. The purpose of this research was to study the prevalence rate of depressive disorders and symptoms among Chaharmahal va Bakhtiary Province population ages 15 and above in 2011. Methods: 1032 population of Chaharmahal va Bakhtiary Province were selected by random cluster sampling method and then they participated in screening depressive test (Beck Depressive Inventory). Findings: The results showed that depressive disorders are about 15.3 % of subjects. Furthermore, this study showed that hopelessness with 69.5 % is a most prevalent symptom in population. Conclusion: The high prevalence of depressive disorders and some of depressive symptoms such as hopelessness and loss of pleasure among population suggest a broader investigation and prevention programs such as positive psychology and family happiness strategies by mental health authorities. Key words: prevalence, depressive disorders, hopelessness, positive psychology, family happiness, Iran PS 24-20. Primary school pupils’ character strengths as predictors of their quality of life Eugenia Volchegorskaya Chelyabinsk State Pedagogical University, Chelyabinsk, Russia The problems of subjective quality of life (SQOL) in children often get into the focus of scientific research. It’s caused by the increasing interest in discovering the basis of internal feeling of life satisfaction in children. Martin Seligman the author of “authentic happiness” concept became the first to propose the development of life satisfaction in children under the influence of their strongest positive personality traits or so called “character strengths”. The aim of our research was to identify the relationship between development of personal character strengths and different SQOL indices in primary school pupils. Our study involved 154 children aged 9-10 years. We used the following tools: • “Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory”, which reflects 4 main components of child’s wellbeing (physical, emotional, social and scholar) and integrative (general) SQOL. • “Character Strengths Survey for Children”, which studies self-representation of child’s character strengths on 24 scales, combined into six groups (wisdom and knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, temperance and transcendence). Statistical processing was performed using SPSS for Windows. Relationships between parameters were studied using correlation analysis. Statistical hypotheses were tested with a critical significance level of P ≤ 0.05. SQOL questionnaire revealed the highest rates of physical (81.6 ± 15.8) and social wellbeing (81.4 ± 16.8) and the lowest rates of emotional functioning (68.9 ± 18.8) in studied group of children. “Character Strengths Survey” revealed high levels of optimism (8.89 ± 1.6 points), ability to love (8.57 ± 2.0 points), and enthusiasm (8.60 ± 1.9 points), with the significantly lower indices of self-regulation (5.43 ± 1.9 points), humility (5.64 ± 1.8 points) and leadership (5.76 ± 2.5 points). We found only one (negative) correlation between physical wellbeing and character strengths in children: lower levels of humility correlated with higher indices of physical health. We also found positive correlation between levels of emotional wellbeing and ability to forgive in children. Even closer relationship existed between emotional wellbeing and enthusiasm. This index directly correlated with all SQOL scales, including social, scholar, psychological and general wellbeing of a child. Social functioning depended upon pupil’s ability to communicate, their kindness, leadership, optimism and humor. Children with high levels of curiosity, ability to forgive and recognize the uniqueness of every person felt themselves more comfortable with peers. As for the scholar wellbeing as an important component of SQOL, it was higher in those who performed love of learning, persistence and social intelligence. Study of relationships between character strengths and integral SQOL index led to conclusion that love of learning, enthusiasm, kindness and fairness are the key features for personal wellbeing in children (P <0.05-0.01). Thus, our results allow us to consider pupils’ character strengths as the important basis for their SQOL. The strongest dependence of SQOL indices upon character strengths was revealed for emotional, social and scholar wellbeing. Physical wellbeing performed the lowest level of dependence upon child’s personal merits, with a single exception of “humility” as the only significant negative predictor of physical wellbeing. PS 24-21. Psychological Capital and Well-being as predictors of job satisfaction of government and private sector employees Samina Bano, Sheema Aleem, N.Hasnain, Avneet Kaur Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, India Background: Positive psychology assumes that individuals can change and develop character strengths and virtues that can make the “good life” possible (Peterson & Seligman, 2004; Seligman, 2002). By building competencies in human strengths, such as courage, hope, and perseverance, positive psychology can promote well-being and prevent mental illness (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).The recently recognized core construct of psychological capital (Luthans, Youssef, and Avolio, 2007), consisting of the positive psychological resources of efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience has been demonstrated to be related to various employee attitudinal, behavioral, and performance outcomes. Aim: The purpose of the research is to explore psychological capital and well-being as predictors of job satisfaction of government and private telecom sector employees in the context of Indian Telecom services. Method: A sample of 120 participants were approached to collect the data, which was divided into two groups of 60 participants in each of the sectors (government and private sector organization) residing in Delhi, India, above the age of 25 years. Psychological Capital Questionnaire (Luthans et al., 2007), Well-Being Scale (Friedman, 1994) and Job Satisfaction Scale (Singh and Sharma, 1999) were used for data collection. Data was analysed with the help of t test and multiple regression analysis. Results: Significant differences were found between government and private sector on wellbeing and job satisfaction but not on psychological capital. Results of multiple regression showed that well-being is a significant predictor of job satisfaction in both the sectors. Whereas, psychological capital predicts only in case of private sector employees. Out of the four dimensions of psychological capital; self-efficacy and hope explained significant variance on the measures of job satisfaction. Conclusion: Wellbeing emerged as the most promising variable for job satisfaction and psychological capital partially for private sector. The virtue of hope and optimism can change a person’s approach by taking failure as a challenge, provides a vision to overpower difficulties, thereby leading to a better performance. Psychological well-being enables the individual to function psychologically well enough to realize ones’ true potential. Cultivating psychological capital and wellbeing among employees can bring out best in person that affects organizations in large. PS 24-22. Psychological predictors of survival after heart transplantation: A 6-year follow-up, prospective study Silvana Grandi, Luciano Potena, Marco Masetti, Laura Sirri University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy Background: Clinical observations and some preliminary studies have suggested that an inadequate psychological adjustment to heart transplantation may increase the risk of poor clinical outcome. The few studies on this topic examined the role of psychiatric symptoms and disorders, such as depression. So far, the prognostic role of measures of positive psychology has been neglected. Aim: The aim of this study was to test the predictive value of a set of psychiatric and psychological variables, collected at mid-term after heart transplantation, on the subsequent 6-year survival status. Both measures of psychological distress and well-being were included. Methods: Ninety five heart transplanted patients (83% males, mean age 56 ± 10.1 years, 80% married or living as married) at 4.4 ± 3.2 years from transplantation underwent the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and the Structured Interview for Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR). Patients also completed Kellner’s Symptom Questionnaire (SQ) (anxiety, depression, somatization, hostility), Ryff ’s Psychological Well-Being Scales (PWB) (autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life, positive relations, self-acceptance) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) (physical, psychological, social and environmental quality of life). For each patient demographic characteristics and several clinical parameters, especially immunosuppressive-related problems, were also collected. At a 6-year follow-up, survival status was recorded. Results: Analyses of survival showed that low scores on PWB purpose in life scale (p=0.01), high levels of hostility (SQ) (p=0.04) and depression (SQ) (p=0.04), the occurrence of at least one cardiac event (p=0.05), chronic renal insufficiency (p=0.04), diabetes (p<0.01), a high number of drug prescriptions (p=0.04), a NYHA Class equal or higher than II (p=0.01) and ischemic origin of the cardiopathy (p=0.05) significantly predicted a reduced subsequent survival duration. Multivariate analyses found high levels of hostility (p=0.04) and the presence of diabetes (p<0.01) as the independent predictors of survival status. Conclusions: Reduced length of survival was found to be significantly predicted not only by increased psychological distress, especially hostility and depressive symptoms, but also by poor psychological well-being, in particular the dimension of purpose in life. Diminished levels of purpose in life may result in a decreased motivation to adhere to the complex therapeutic regimens after transplantation leading to a worse outcome. These findings pose the basis for the evaluation of whether the amelioration of empirically identified psychological risk factors, through psychotherapeutic interventions, may result in a better long-term outcome. PS 24-23. Psychological well-being in orphanage wards Elena Belonogova, E. Lobanina Kemerovo Regional Center of Valeology and Psychology, Kemerovo In the Kemerovo region lives 18, 6 thousands of children-orphans. Majority of them are fostered in orphanages. More than third of these children have the weakened health - e.g. chronic somatic diseases and nervous system disfunctions. More than half have behavioral problems and learning difficulties The research was carried out in orphanage №1 in Kemerovo, Russia, where special attention to quality of physical and social environment was given due to state funding and grants. The participants were 55 orphanage wards, 9 - 13 years old. The following techniques were used: 1) Graphic projective scale of satisfaction with life (Andrews, Withey, 1976), 2) Short multidimensional scale of satisfaction with life (Zullig, Huebner, Gilman, Patton, Murray, 2005), 3) Success’ generalized expectations scale (Fischer and Leitenberg, 1986), 5) learning internal motivation scale (Harter, 1981), 6) General self-efficiency scale (Shvartser, Erusalem, Romek, 1996). We estimated the indicators of psychological well-being and personal potential in orphanage wards. Results of the descriptive qualitative-quantitative analysis showed there were more children having high level of psychological well-being, than those with high level of personal potential. The percentage of children with high level of indicators was following: - Satisfaction with the place of residence – 70,9 % , - Integrated satisfaction with life – 65,5 % , - Satisfaction with school – 65,5 % , - Satisfaction with friends – 58,2 %, - Satisfaction with self – 58,2 % , - The general satisfaction with life – 49,2 % , - Optimistic expectations – 40,0 %,` - Interest for knowledge – 20,0 %, - Preferring of difficult tasks – 15,4 %, - The general self-efficiency – 12,8 %, - Independent mastery – 11,0 %, - Internal criteria – 9,2 %, - Independence in judgments – 5,5 %, - Internal motivation of learning – 1,8 %. About 2/3 children felt themselves fully satisfied with place of their residing and training, nearby 3/5 – satisfied with friends and themselves. The general satisfaction with life was high almost in half of orphanage wards, and low – only in 7,3 % of them. It showed their high level of psychological well-being. For children deprived of a family and parental love and care, it was rather high indicator. But often it was not accompanied with the same quality of children’ personal development. It was found that the majority of orphanage inmates fail to develop some personal resources necessary for successful life in modern society. The indicator of internal motivation in learning was the lowest one. High results in such indicator as «independence in judgments» were revealed at 3 inmates. More than 1/4 of inmates had low level of such indicators as «internal criteria», «independent skill» and «preference of difficult problems». The indicator of the general self-efficiency showed the sufficient level only in 13 % of subjects. The results suggest the necessity of working out facilitating programs to improve personal potential development in orphanage wards including special training for teachers and orphanage stuff aimed on developing the social and pedagogical environment to foster the activity, autonomy and self-determination in children. PS 24-24. Relationships between Quality of Life and Internet Use Esra Ceyhan Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey Introduction Unemployment has a potential to affect all aspects of individuals’ life negatively. Unemployed individuals, especially graduate young adults can have psychological distress, depression, low self-esteem, hopelessness and poor psychological well-being. All these can lead to a decrease in the quality of life of unemployed young adults. In addition, it is possible they can spend time on internet excessively and use very various internet applications severely because they have too much free time in daily life. Besides, internet is likely to turn into a port that provides temporary sheltering or a medium for unemployed graduate young adults to escape from unpleasant situation as well. Thus, the negative experiences related to internet use can appear in unemployed graduate young adults’ life. Therefore, investigating relationship between unemployed graduate young adults’ quality of life (QOL) and their internet use behavior can provide important contributions to clarify this subject well. Aims The present study aims at determining relationships between unemployed graduate young adults’ quality of life and their internet using behavior. Hence, the study firstly described unemployed graduate young adults’ quality of life in terms of gender. Subsequently, the relationships between the young adults’ duration of internet use and problematic internet use level and quality of life were also examined. In addition, whether the young adults’ qualities of life differ with respect to their basic internet use purposes significantly was also investigated. Methods The study was carried out with 124 young adults who have no job after having Bachelor’s degree. The research data were collected with Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOL-BREF(TR)), Problematic Internet Use Scale and Information Questionnaire. For the analysis, descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, t test and analysis of variance were employed. Results and Conclusion The findings revealed that the means calculated for the unemployed young adults’ all domains of quality of life are at a medium level in general. However, psychological and environmental domains of QOL were lower than the physical health and social relationships domains. The findings of QOL in terms of gender also had similar characteristics with these findings. Additionally, male unemployed young adults’ psychological and social relationships domains of QOL were lower than female unemployed young adults significantly. The findings indicated that relationships between the young adults’ duration of internet use and quality of life were -.39 for psychological, -.30 social relationships and -.28 environmental domains significantly. Relationships between the young adults’ problematic internet use level and quality of life also were -.20 for physical health, -.31 for psychological, -.45 social relationships and -.40 environmental domains. Additionally, the young adults’ qualities of life did not differ with respect to their basic internet use purposes significantly. As a result, the findings point out remarkable results about exploring the nature of the unemployed graduate young adults QOL. Moreover, the findings reveal that the young adults’ QOLs have a significant medium relationships with duration of internet use and problematic internet use level negatively, while no difference for basic internet use purposes. Thus, their QOL levels decrease while the young adults’ duration of internet use and problematic internet use level rise. PS 24-25. Religious and Secular Well-Being and Hardiness: The Common Factors Illya Yagiyayev, Nadiia Kozhar Taras Shevchenko National University, Kiev, Ukraine Past studies of relationship between subjective well-being (SWB) and religiosity revealed that the religious, on average, have higher subjective well-being. Researches emphasize that the associations of religiosity and SWB might be mediated by different factors. S. Lyubomirsky differentiates such factors: emotional and social engagement, feeling respected, feeling of control, possibility to take a challenge, purpose and meaning in life. These factors may be exhibited by such variables: engagement, control, challenge, autosympathy, purpose or meaning in life. Some researches emphasize that not only religion may provide these factors but secular activities too – and leads to happiness as well. According to S. Maddi’s research, there is a moderate positive correlation between hardiness (engagement, control, but not challenge) and religiosity. The main purpose of our study is to research relations between engagement in religious and non-religious activity and connections with factors of SWB and hardiness. We address the hypothesis: Engagement in valuable activity (religious or secular) associates with higher SWB and hardiness in both religious and non-religious samples. SWB and hardiness of persons without valuable activity (both religious and non-religious) tend to be lower. In pilot study (N=54) we analyzed representative samples (both sexes, from 18 to 32 years) from Ukraine and Russia. There were 4 groups: religious, representatives of martial arts (aikido, non-contact karate), followers of yoga and persons, who are not engaged in valuable activities (control group). Religiosity was measured using a single yes-or no item: “Is religion an important part of your daily life?” Church attendance was necessary too. Engagement in other activities was measured with the same method, the question about importance of activity and frequency of training attendance. SWB was assessed by Diener’s Life Evaluation and Lyubomirsky’s Subjective Happiness scales (adapted by E. Osin); hardiness (used as including engagement, control and challenge factors) – by Hardiness Survey, adapted by D. Leontiev, E. Rasskasova; purpose and meaning in life – by C. Ryff ’s Scale of Psychological Well-Being, adapted by T. Shevelenkova, P. Fesenko (the scale “Purpose and meaning in life”); autosympathy – by Self-actualization Questionnaire (A. Lasurkin, adapted by N. Kalin) – “autosympathy” scale. As it was expected, statistical processing of data (SPSS for Windows was used) showed direct and weak significant correlations between all the factors and significant differences between groups by main factors and clastorization by groups in addition. Religiosity associates with higher control, yoga – with higher challenge etc. Control group differentiates from other extremely, in all scales. Hypothesis is that religiosity association with SWB and hardiness may depend on whether the persons may be engaged in valuable form of activity. Different factors of SWB may be provided not only by official religion, but by secular activity too. Findings confirm hypothesis about similar origins of secular- and religious-based well-being and it will be explored deeply in main part of study – that one we plan to present on ECPP. PS 24-26. Resilience among children and adults from disadvantaged section of society Mrinalini Purandare Sndt Women’s University, Mumbai, India The aim of the present study is to investigate the differences in resilience between children and adults living in slums of Mumbai city. The living conditions of these individuals are most unhygienic, crowded, and poverty stricken. Due to such conditions of living as well as lack of resources, these people are exposed to high stressors in everyday life. In spite of it, individual’s manifest capacity to withstand stressors and not succumb to psychological dysfunctions such as mental illness or persistent negative mood in other words manifest resilience. Resilience is defined in terms of a person’s capacity to avoid psychopathology despite difficult circumstances. The total sample of the study was 176, (88 children between the age range of 9-15yrs and 88 were 21yrs and above). The respondents were administered Resilience Assessment Questionnaire developed by The Centre for Organization Health, United Kingdom. This is a 32 item questionnaire measuring 8 specific areas of life, such self assurance, personal vision, flexible and adaptable, organizing skills, problem solving, interpersonal competence, socially connected, and active. In addition to this a structured interview with 13 questions aimed at understanding the perception of life’s problems of slum children and adults was administered. The results of the study showed higher Mean scores of Children (Mean 114.32, SD-20.08) compared to adults(Mean 101.26,SD-28.61) and this difference was found to be statistically significant.(t 12.77,df 175, sig.001).Therefore children were found to be more resilient than adults. The results also showed significant difference between children and adults in all the dimensions of resilience except on the dimension of personal vision. The structured interview results also showed some differences between children and adults in terms of perception of life’s problems and ways of dealing with them. PS 24-29. Share of Demographic Variables in Predicting Quality of Life of Young Physically Disabled Persons in Shahrekord Azam Moradi, Soghra Taheri Isfahan, Iran Background: quality of life is a complicate and multi-dimension construct and is influenced by numerous variables; two main dimension of quality of life are objective and subjective dimensions. Amongst objective factors that influence quality of life are demographic variables. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determining the share of demographic variables (gender, economy status, education level and age) in predicting Quality of Life of Young Physically Disabled Persons in Shahrekord. Method: For sampling, seventy 18-32 years members of Society of Disables in Shahrekord were selected randomly in spring of 2011. Subjects’ quality of life was measured by WHOQOL-BREF. For assessing demographic characteristics, a researcher-made questionnaire was used. Descriptive statistics and stepwise regression was used for data analysis. Results: Results of stepwise regression showed that economy status can significantly predict the rate of quality of life in Young Physically Disabled Persons (P=0.017); but adding each one of gender, education level and age to economy status can not increase significantly the predicting power of quality of life in Young Physically Disabled Persons. Conclusion: economy status has an important role in explaining quality of life of Young Physically Disabled Persons in Shahrekord. PS 24-30. Styles of affective regulation as predictors of positive expectations and positive and negative affect Vesna Gavrilov-Jerkovic, Darja Radovic, Stanislava Porobic University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia There is growing evidence that the positive affective-cognitive style is correlated with adaptive functioning. Research results show that a person’s ability to develop positive expectations about the future or to generate positive affect are protective factors while negative expectations and negative affect contribute to person’s vulnerability to develop different forms of disfunctional behavior (Scheier & Carver, 2010; Watson, 2005). Also, findings suggest that style of emotional regualtion is an important risk or resillience factor (Hofmann & Kashdan, 2010). The way a person emotionally and cognitively regulates emotions is associated with various degrees of distress and psychological well-being. According to these findings, the assumption in this research is that the styles of emotional regulation are significant predictors of positive expectations, and positive and negative affect. The aim was to determine whether emotional regulation style contributes to variations in expectations and affect as important factors of maintaining mental health. In this study participated 1362 students of University of Novi Sad (75% females). Averige age was 20 (SD = 1,86). Styles of emotional regulation were examined by Affective Style Questionnaire (Hofmann & Kashdan, 2010). This scale measures three styles of regulation: Concealing (emotional response suppression, concealment and avoidance of emotions after they arise), Adjusting (modulation of emotional experience and expression in accordance with contextual demands) and Tolerating (accepting and tolerating emotional excitement as it is). Positive expectations are operationalized as a measure of generalized optimism and measure of self-efficacy. Optimism was measured by the scale POSO-E-8 (subscale of the scale Personal Optimism and Social Optimism – E, Schweizer & Koch, 2000). Self-efficacy was measured by GSE (General Self-Efficacy Scale; Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995). The Serbian Inventory of Affect, based on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-X (SIAB-PANAS; Novovic & Mihic 2008) was used to measure the positive (PA) and negative (NA) affect. Four multiple regression analysis were conducted with the three styles of emotional regulation as predictors, and optimism, self-efficacy, PA, and NA as the criteria variables. Results show that predictors achieve significant medium correlation with criteria (R = .514, R = .457, R = .450, and R = .494, respectively). Adjusting proved to be the best predictor. People who use this strategy are more likely to be optimistic, to have higher self-efficacy, and to develop a positive rather than negative affect. Relying on the Concealing strategy is associated with negative affect, low positive affect and reduced optimism. Relying on the Tolerating is significantly positively low associated with evaluated criteria, except with the negative affect. The results confirm the initial hypothesis that different styles of emotional regulation are significantly related to expectations and affect. The strategy that was shown to be the most functional is Adjusting. PS 24-31. Comparison of perceived competence and stress in shahed and normal students in Tehran and the effect of life skills training Mohammad Hatami, Jevad Kavosyan Tehran, Iran The purpose of this study compared the perceived competence and stress in control and normal students in Tehran and was impact of life skills training on them. This study was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, 740 students were selected by using multistage cluster sampling and were studied by Desi and colleagues (2001) scale means of basic psychological needs and stress scale of Lavibando Laviband (1995). In the second stage, by using pretest - posttest pilot from all boys and girls students of control high schools, a sample of 100 persons (25 boys and 25 girls for the control group, 25 boys and 25 girls for the test group) were selected. Life skills to the test group were trained in 12 sessions. Research tools were: Desi and colleagues (2001) scale means of basic psychological needs and stress scale of Lavibando Laviband (1995)Lavybandv Lavyband Stress Scale (1995). Results of first stage showed that there are significant differences among different groups of control and normal students in variable perceived competence and stress. Average of control and normal boys is more than control girls. Also the average of stress for normal and controls girls is more than normal boys. Also training life skills statistically has a meaningful impact on reduce stress in control students, but there was no meaningful effect in perceived competence of students in the experimental group. So, at least the training life skills for strengthen perceived competence was not effective in the present study. PS 24-32. The effect of quality of life therapy on happiness of patients referred to a counselling centre Mohammad Reza Abedi, Zahra Padash, Salar Faramarzi University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran The purpose of this study was evaluating the efficacy of training according to quality of life therapy style on happiness of patients referred to counseling center in the city of Isfahan. This was a semi experimental research with pretest and post test with control group. Statistical population of this research included men and women who referred to Alefbay Zendegy counseling center in spring and summer of the year 1389. Research sample included 32 married men and women who were selected among available people and assigned in control and experimental groups. Married men and women of experimental group were trained according to quality of life therapy style and after 8 weeks both control and experimental group answered the post test. The measurement instrument was Oxford Happiness Questionnaire. Data were analyzed with Covariance analysis through SPSS. The results showed that there were a significant difference between happiness scores in control and experimental groups. This means that quality of life therapy was effective in happiness of married men and women (p<0.01). PS 24-33. The Fallacy of Misplaced Concreteness: How the reification of Western cultural ideals, constructs, and conventions affects aspirations, materialism, and psychological well-being Brad Elphinstone Swinburne University of Technology, Glen Waverley, Australia From an existential perspective, it is proposed that meaning in life is created through one’s own subjective experiences and understanding (Kierkegaard, trans. 1968). The views of one’s culture and society however, are likely to influence what is considered to be important, ‘normal’, and the sorts of goals that one aspires to (e.g., Gare, 1996; Kasser, 2004; Kasser & Ryan, 1993; Maslow, 1968, Ryan, 1995). In Western society in particular, the dominant world view is that of ‘mechanistic materialism’ (Gare, 1996). This view emphasises economic markers as signs of personal and societal success, and thus the pursuit of extrinsic goals such as financial and material gain (Gare 1996; Kasser, 2004). Extrinsic goals however, are defined by abstract connotations and ideals which have developed over time. The Fallacy of Misplaced Concreteness (FoMC; Whitehead, 1964) is said to occur when individuals reify abstract, socially constructed ideas and situate them as important, core components of life. Previous research suggests that a greater focus on extrinsic, culturally created goals versus evolved, innate human needs impacts positively on one’s level of materialism and negatively on psychological well-being (e.g., Deci & Ryan, 1985; Kasser & Ryan, 1993, 1996; Richins & Dawson, 1992). It is believed that the extent to which one reifies abstract, cultural ideas and thus commits the FoMC, can be predicted by their epistemic orientation. Epistemic Style (Eigenberger, Critchley, & Sealander, 2007) suggests that individuals are primarily oriented towards either Default Processing (DP) or Intellective Processing (IP). Individuals high in DP tend to be pragmatic thinkers who prefer well-defined outcomes and often accept dominant norms. Individuals higher in IP however, tend to be more philosophical and have a greater willingness to question norms and accept ambiguity. It is therefore expected that individuals higher in DP will be more likely to commit the FoMC than those with a dominant IP orientation, and will thus have higher scores on Extrinsic goal striving and materialism. In addition, they are also expected to experience a greater degree of Controlled Regulation, as they place greater importance on acquiescing to societal demands. Data collection via both online and paper questionnaires is nearing completion. The current sample (N = 441) appears to represent a sufficient cross-section of the Australian populace, consisting of 185 male and 256 female respondents with an age range of 18 to 89 (M = 37.16, SD = 17.34). A preliminary Structural Equation Model appears to fit adequately with the data, (χ2(17) = 78.19, p < .001, GFI = .96, IFI = .93, CFI = .93, RMSEA = .07) and suggests that both IP and DP are significantly and positively associated with Intrinsic and Extrinsic aspirations to varying degrees. IP significantly accounts for 17% of the variance in Intrinsic aspiration and 7% of the variance in Extrinsic aspiration. Default Processing significantly accounts for 4% and 29.5% respectively. As expected, the model suggests that individuals higher in DP have higher scores on Extrinsic aspirations, materialism and Controlled Regulation, and significantly lower well-being than individuals with a dominant IP orientation. PS 24-34. The relationship between psychological well-being and perceived social support in long-term heart transplantation survivors Silvana Grandi, Laura Sirri University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy Background: Most of the studies on psychological adaptation to heart transplantation are focused on distress, while measures of positive functioning have been neglected. Social support and psychological well-being are among the most important constructs of positive psychology and may motivate cardiac recipients to adhere to complex therapeutic regimens. However, their role in this population has been insufficiently explored. Aim: We examined the associations between psychological well-being and perceived social support of patients at longterm after cardiac transplantation. Methods: Sixty six patients transplanted from 10.2 ± 3.3 years completed C. Ryff ’s Psychological Well-Being Scales (PWB) and the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL, by S. Cohen, R. Mermelstein, T. Kamarck & H.M. Hoberman). The PWB are six scales assessing the dimensions of psychological well-being identified by Ryff ’s model: autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life, positive relations, and self-acceptance. The ISEL provides a total score of perceived social support and it includes four subscales concerning the following functions of social support: appraisal, belonging, tangible, and self-esteem Results: PWB environmental mastery, positive relations and purpose in life were positively related to all the ISEL scores (all p<0.01). PWB autonomy was higher in patients more satisfied for total social support (p<0.01) and for ISEL dimensions regarding appraisal, belonging and tangible support (all p<0.05). Personal growth was positively associated with ISEL appraisal (p<0.01), self-esteem (p<0.05) and total social support (p<0.01). PWB self-acceptance positively correlated with all the dimensions of support, with the exception of ISEL tangible support (all p<0.05). Conclusions: Psychological well-being and perceived social support were found to be strictly associated each other. Yet, the cross-sectional nature of our data did not let us determine the direction of this relationship. Social support may play a protective role against psychological distress and promote positive functioning. It can also be inferred that diminished psychological well-being worsens patients’ satisfaction for their interpersonal resources. Future studies should evaluate whether the provision of psychotherapeutic strategies for the amelioration of psychological functioning, such as the Well-Being Therapy, may also result in a better social support perception. PS 24-35. The Russian version of the Authenticity Scale Sofya Nartova-Bochaver, Vasilij Bardadymov Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia Introduction. Authenticity is considered a very important factor determining and marking well-being and personal growth. However there are few convenient instruments to measure this construct until now. After Barrett-Lennard (1998) and Wood et al. (2008), we have followed the tripartite model of authenticity including Authentic living, Accepting external influence, and Self-alienation. Objective. The aim of the current presentation was to adapt the Authenticity scale by Wood et al. (2008) on the Russian sample. Procedure. Participants were 376 Russian volunteers, 79 males, 297 females, aged from 12 to 56 (Mage = 21), citizens of Moscow predominantly. We used 12-item Authenticity Scale by Wood et al., 75-item FFPQ by Тsuji and Khromov (2000), 67-item Personal Psychological Sovereignty Questionnaire (PPSQ-2010) by Nartova-Bochaver (2011), and Russian version of 14-item Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) (2007). The translation of the scale was realized by three judges-psychologists who have chosen the most correct variant after discussion. This variant was tested about answer spread. We have found that answers to Authentic living subscale items were homogeneously high what might be influenced by the characteristic property of the Russian mentality considering authenticity a very important value. We had edited these items four times to no effect, and had to reverse them; this helped to get a well distribution. After this Authenticity scale was checked about consistency, convergent and divergent validity. We computed Student’s r. Results. We have got intercorrelations between subscales confirming the scale structure in original version: Authentic living/Accepting external influence rs=-0.49, Authentic living /Self-alienation rs=-0.42, Accepting external influence / Self-alienation rs= 0.38, p<0.01. Cronbach’s alpha for subscales are respectively 0.59, 0.54, and 0.70. Divergent validity was checked due to the comparison of Authenticity scale with FFPQ and with PPSQ-2010 on the sample of N=183. There was showed that only connections between Authenticity subscales and Emotionality – Unemotionality turned out quite strong (rs=-0.33, rs=0.28, rs=0.36, p<0.05). This means that less emotional people tend to feel more authentic, to be more stable against external influence, and to feel less self-alienated. Another interesting result was that Accepting external influence is positively connected with Attachment – Separateness facets. Other correlations with traits and facets were not significant. This allows concluding that authenticity trait cannot be directly reduced to the FFP traits. Comparison with PPSQ has found some significant connections: PPS/ Accepting external influence rs= -0.22, PPS/Self-alienation rs= -0.19, p<0.05. This link shows that both authenticity and sovereignty are positive phenomena that are evidence of trust in the world and feeling of ontological security. Convergent validity was examined due to the comparison of Authenticity scale with WEMWBS on the sample of N=192. There was revealed that all three subscales are connected with well-being: Authentic living/WEMWBS rs=0.44, Accepting external influence /WEMWBS rs= -0.23, Self-alienation /WEMWBS rs=-0.54. Conclusions. Authenticity scale has preliminarily shown well psychometric characteristics and can be recommended for research studies. Further investigations will be devoted to its use in clinical groups and in psychotherapeutic clients. In addition, the scale needs to be standardized. PS 24-36. The study of the effect of optimism trainig on psychological and physical health among dormitоry female students at Isfahan Medical Students Fatane Alibake, Morteza Alibake, Ahmad Abedi Medical University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran Psychological and physical health are significant issues among dormitory students which is frequently related to severe problems and disorders and also related to decline in educational performance. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of optimism training on enhancing Psychological and physical health among dormitory female students at Isfahan Medical University. The instrument of this study was the sub-scales of psychological and physical health of WHOQOL-100 questionnaire completed by 200 students in the pretest phase. Then, among the students with the lowest score, 60 students were selected randomly and then assigned into two, experimental (30 students) and control (30 students) groups. Optimism was taught to experimental group during twelve sessions. At the end of the course, post-test was performed on both groups, and the follow-up test was also performed on both groups one month later. The data was analyzed by Covariate Analysis of Variance. The results of analysis of covariate showed that the mean score of Psychological and physical health in experimental group was significantly higher than control group in post-test and follow up (P<0/001). In general, findings showed that optimism had positive effects on enhancing Psychological and physical health and all its dimensions among dormitory female Isfahan Medical students. PS 24-37. The Underlying Mechanism of Integration and Influence on Psychological Adjustment Weifang Lin, Yicheng Lin, Chinlan Huang National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan How to handle interpersonal conflict is an important issue which affects both interpersonal relationship and individual life satisfaction. Previous research indicated that the more individuals used integrating and compromising strategies, the better relationship they have. Besides, integration style also helped individual coping with extreme stress and recover from negative experience. It is, however, still remain unclear how one could successfully integrate different values, opinions, and self-views which may seemly conflicting together. Thus, the present study focus on clarify the progress of integration. The authors expected that gratitude and Zhong-Yong thinking style to be the underlying mechanism that leads to successful integration. To examine our hypotheses, participants completed the Rahim Organization Conflict Inventory-II (ROCI-II), Life satisfaction (LS), Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS), Gratitude Questionnaire-Six Item Form (GQ-6) and the Zhong-Yong thinking style (ZY). We used cluster analysis on ROCI-II to focus on the pattern of different conflict coping strategies. Cluster result shown that there are three different groups, integrating-compromising group, obliging-avoiding group, and dominating group. Consisted with our hypotheses, the group effect is significant on LS, RAS, GQ6 and ZY. Furthermore, after controlling the GQ-6, the group effect became no longer significant. That is, gratitude may be a key component to integration. Our findings were discussed in terms of the integration mechanism and why it improves individual psychological adjustment. PS 24-38. Utilization of the Competence Scale for Counselling Shinichi Sakuma, T. Kimura, B. Gyawali, T. Katsumata International University of Health and Welfare Graduate School, Tokyo, Taukuba, Japan The Kumamoto University Competence Scale (the KUCS) was constructed by Katsumata for school children in 2000. This questionnaire inquires about five factors: cognitive, physical, social, survival and general self-esteem competences. Sakuma used the KUCS and ensured its reliability and validity for adult people in 2010. By using the KUCS, we can know that the client is now in positive state or not. We discussed each other about our therapies assessed by the KUCS. The purpose of this presentation is proposing the utilization of the KUCS for a successful interview. SUBJECT AND METHOD: Our therapies were performed for clients with social anxiety in a 43 year-old man (Case A), with withdrawal in a 20 year-old man (Case B), and with withdrawal in a 35 year-old man (Case C). These sessions continued till the 7th, the 17th and the 25th interview, respectively. Each therapy was ended, because each goal for the client was accomplished. The KUCS was applied at the beginning and end-stage of each interview. RESULTS: At the end of the interview, the scores rose in all the five factor competences. The general self-esteem competence was remarkably enhanced. The general self-esteem competence factor consists of components about emotional stability (affection, acceptance, approval) and self-confidence (sense of competence, sense of efficacy). Though interviews are finished by agreement between a therapist and a client, the arising of competence scores ensure the successful works, which enable a client to a positive state. DISCCSION: We consider that the therapy is to functionalize client’s dysfunctional competences. In the therapy of Case A, the five-step interview by Ivey was used, and the purpose of interview was to clarify the client’s life-goal. The therapist encouraged him to think possible selection of his work forward the future. His shrinking competences were changed to positive one. In the therapy of Case B, the memory training was introduced to the sessions. The client concentrated his mind on the memory training. He felt the power of concentration, sense of accomplishment, sense of autonomy, and so on. He could decide his next goal; he started to prepare the entrance examination of University. In the therapy of Case C, the therapist recommended “Thank you Therapy” for the depressed client. Urged by the therapist, he began to say “Thank you” to his children, and write “Thank you for my wife” in a daybook. After that he also received the word of “Thank you” from his family. He felt affection, acceptance, and approval. The client began to take back confidence. The therapy should be a process of activating the client’s competences. From the results of our interviews, we should firstly treat with the general self-esteem competence of the client. These enhanced competences would moreover effect on other factors of cognitive, physical, social, and survival competence. CONCLUSION: The KUCS is useful to assess the client’s positive state. It seemed to be necessary to enhance the general self-esteem competence for a successful interview. PS 24-39. Validation of a Portuguese Version of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale Susana Marques Marques, Shane J. Lopez, Anne Marie Fontaine, Susana Coimbra Porto University, Porto, Portugal Despite the interest in assessing well-being issues among adolescents, there is limited research on domain-specific life satisfaction. Life satisfaction, defined as an overall evaluation by the person of his or her life and/or specific life domains has been determined to play a key role in the lives of adolescents. This study describes the development of the Portuguese version of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS) and the examination of its psychometric properties. A total of 682 adolescents (ages 11-17, 53.51% females) completed the Portuguese-language version of the BMSLSS, along with self-reported measures of global life satisfaction, hope, self-worth, mental health, and school engagement. Grade point average was obtained from students’ school records. The first step included translation, back-translation, inspection for lexical equivalence and content validity, and cognitive debriefing. Consistent with the English language version, the results indicated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach alpha of .79), moderate one-year stability coefficient (r=.50), and moderate, but robust cross-sectional and longitudinal correlations with hope (r =.45, r =.41), self-worth (r =.41, r =.36), mental health (r =.49, r =.45) and student engagement in their schooling (r =.37, r =.33). Also, the multidimensional life satisfaction correlates strongly with global life satisfaction (r =.62), but weakly with grade point average (r =.19). Principal axis factor analyses have indicated one higher-order, general factor and modest magnitude of zero-order correlations among the domains. Mean overall scores did not differ significantly by gender or year in school. These findings offer preliminary support for the Portuguese version of the BMSLSS and may provide a useful reference for researchers engaged in well-being research with adolescents. PS 24-40. FlourishWell4Life: Personalised Conditioning e-Programmes to Enhance and Track Wellness, Success and Flourishing Alten Du Plessis, C.D. Ciliiers, H.L. Botha Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South African Republic Background Stellenbosch University’s Student and Academic Support Division (SAS) not only supports students to be academically successful, but also to optimise their enormous potential, and to flourish! Within SAS comprehensive expertise exist on wellness(S1), positive psychology(S2), mediation(S3), mentoring within student communities(S4), and the innovative utilisation of internet and multimedia-based programmes to support, track and personalise potential development(S5). Research and prediction models have identified wellness variables as predictors of success – influence them positively and the success and wellness of students will be impacted positively. A large project on flourishing that utilizes the above-mentioned local expertise(S1-S5) and that is strongly driven by this research results was launched in 2011. This paper focuses on one element of this project: Personalised conditioning e-programmes to enhance and track wellness, success and flourishing, aiming to enhance flourishing for life, and to do it well in all dimensions of wellness (FlourishWell4Life)! Aims The following eight principles(P1-P8) were important to use in the design of FlouishWell4Life: 1. Expert knowledge and research on wellness, success and flourishing; 2. Accelerated learning principles; 3. Personalisation and tracking; 4. The transtheoretical model of change; 5. Interventions that work, specifically those from Positive Psychology; 6. Deliberate practice; 7. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy(CBT) type homework assignments; and 8. Practice of journaling and morning and evening questions. Description Internet- and multimedia-based products on wellness, success and flourishing (applying P1), were developed and made available on the university’s intranet. Each product consists of a number of “Inspire-U-2-Have-Characteric”-modules specifically designed to develop the various aspects of wellness, success and flourishing, interventions(P5,P7,P8), a tracking component(P3) and individualized webpages for each student(P3,P6). Each Inspire-U-2-module contains powerful quotations that inspire students to develop a specific characteristic. Approximately 10000 quotations are incorporated in total. Each product is available in ebook, multimedia slideshow, web-based flash and text formats. The multimedia versions contain voice, music and pictures (based on themes) and use accelerated learning principles(P2). They have been in use for the last five years. Trackable interventions that work(P5), CBT and journal-type activities(P7,P8), and wellness, success and flourishing assessments are also integrated in order to facilitate change(P4) and encourage deliberate practice(P7). Each student’s interaction with the various products is tracked via web forms(P3): The student must indicate which type of modules he/she consulted on which date and for how long, provide his/her opinion about the quality and meaning of the modules, indicate to what life areas he/she is going to apply the lessons learnt and compile an action plan on integrating the lessons learnt in his/her life. All students have access to their own personalised and secure webpages that contain a complete record of their interactions with the various products and also summarise statistically how they have utilised the various products. This information is also used by the system to automatically decide if a student has fulfilled the minimum requirements to be certified as a FlourishWell4Life graduate - strict requirements that encourage deliberate practice (P6) and conditioning are set. See http://www0.sun.ac.za/flourish/ecpp2012.htm. PS 24-41. Well-being of students studying abroad Monika Bilas-Henne Warsaw School of Social Psychology and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland BACKROUND: The study explores adaptation processes of European students going abroad within the Erasmus Lifelong Programme. The main concept of the study is so called multicultural and multilingual buffer. It refers to a group/community of sojourners who shield themselves from external reality of the host culture and cope with it through mechanisms of internal support. Usually it consists of representatives of various nationalities. We believe that through the buffer stress may be diminished what increases well-being but at the same time it inhibits acquisition of the host culture competences. AIMS OF STUDY: The consequences of being a part of a multicultural and multilingual group for psychological (well-being) and socio-cultural adaptation to the host culture were investigated. The second goal of the study is to investigate how do the preparation processes before the departure to another country affect the experience of studying abroad. METHODS: Three surveys were conducted in 31 European Union member and candidate countries, using the online methodology on the website www.qlabo.eu. There were more than 2300 participants in this study. In the first and second study students were studying abroad at the moment of completing survey questionnaires. Third study was longitudinal one and it included also measures applied before the sojourn. Only participants of Erasmus Lifelong Programme were involved in this project. RESULTS: The data bring strong evidence for the existence of multicultural which inhibits contacts with the local culture. The buffer well outnumbered and surpassed intensity of contacts with local students and other hosts, in general. These results give evidence to difficulties in penetrating local cultures, even when such interaction is regarded as highly desirable (what was found in the third study in the pre-departure survey) and facilitated by official policies of EU. More contacts with representatives of the host culture increase social support and well being of foreign students. Being part of a buffer ha also positive consequences for its members, it reinforce the transnationalisasion of international students. Being a part of multicultural group gives an opportunity to acquire transnational identity, practice multicultural skills and acquire competence in foreign languages. The survey also supports the importance of pre-departure preparations. Students who know more languages and have more multicultural knowledge adapt in a less sharp way and they evaluate their stay abroad in a more positive manner. It was also found that the communication rules within those multicultural and multilingual groups depend on its localization. In the host countries where the local language is a popular one, like for example France or Spain, the host country language is the dominant one during the communication within the buffer. CONCULSIONS: The results of our project can have many implications. It can support the improvement of the implementation of European educational projects, like the Erasmus one. We also find it very useful in building adequate preparation programmes for people going abroad and orientation/adaptation workshops for people working in a multinational and multilingual environment. SYMPOSIA SY 1. An exploration of the impact of graduate research and application-based projects on the field of positive psychology SY 1 An exploration of the impact of graduate research and application-based projects on the field of positive psychology Chair: Lea Waters University of Melbourne, Australia. A key distinguishing factor of the field of positive psychology, as compared to other movements that preference the positive (e.g, philosophy, humanistic psychology) is positive psychology’s emphasis on the use of science to advance the field (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Indeed, many of the key authors in positive psychology have reinforced the need for positive psychology to be researched using rigorous empirical methods (Gable and Haidt, 2005; Peterson, 2006; Seligman, 2011). This call for a scientific basis upon which to inform both research and practise is critical in ensuring the long term sustainability of our movement, in ensuring the highest possible outcomes are achieved within the field and in allowing the field itself to flourish. A growing number of Academic Faculty across the world, as well as a growing number of private and not-for-profit institutions, are now researching positive psychology topics. In this symposium, we explore another major channel via which rigorous positive psychology research is being conducted and/or put into practise: that of graduate research and graduate applied-projects. With the number of applied positive psychology graduate courses burgeoning across the globe, the field of positive psychology has the potential to be significantly influenced by the high quality research training that graduate students are receiving and the influential research studies and applied projects that these students are conducting. This symposium will hear from the Directors of four Positive Psychology Graduate Programs: Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Claremont University), Professor James Pawelski (University of Pennsylvania), Dr Kate Hefferon (University of East London) and Associate Professor Lea Waters (University of Melbourne). The Directors will discuss the scope and impact of the graduate projects that have been conducted within their schools. The presentation will include the industries within which the projects have been conducted, the topics of focus that have been applied (e.g., flow, character strengths, Appreciative Inquiry etc…), the level of target/analysis for the projects (e.g., individual, team ,organisation, community) and the outcomes. The intention of the presentation from the four Directors is to highlight the way in which graduate research and practice is building the field of positive psychology from a scientific basis. In addition to the Directors of four Masters programs, the symposium will include Raffaela Sartori, the Chair of the student IPPA organisation (SIPPA), who will give an overview of graduate work being done in positive psychology around the world. Having Raffaela on our panel lends support to the important work that students in positive psychology are conducting. This panel will be highly informative, the panel members are well-respected researchers within the field and the panel provides a global picture of the scientific inquiry occurring within the post-graduate arena of positive psychology studies. SY 1.1. Using graduate research to create positive change in schools’ Lea Waters University of Melbourne, Australia. The Master of School Leadership (MSL) is designed to develop the next generation of school leaders by building leadership knowledge and skills required for senior appointments in schools. The program follows a multidisciplinary approach drawing on fields such as education, psychology, organisational behaviour, sociology, and change management. The degree is run by the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, and is funded by the Victorian Government Education System as a sponsored course for teaching staff and school leaders within the public system. As part of the MSL, students are required to conduct a two-year long research project designed to institute positive change in their school settings. This research project is worth 25% of the overall grade for the Master Degree. To date, there have been 60 research dissertations completed. The majority of students use an action-research design and a smaller number use a pre-test/post-test experimental design. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies have been employed. Examples of the Positive Psychology Interventions that have been instituted via the Master in School Leadership include: the Virtues Language Project with 11th graders, a school-wide positive behaviour initiative in a rural high school (grades 7-12), a character strengths project (5th and 6th graders), a 10 lesson positive psychology curriculum designed to increase learning confidence in 10th graders, the use of gratitude letters, appreciation postcards and gratitude announcements to boost teacher moral, an appreciate-inquiry team building approach with a school’s leadership team, and the use of growth mindsets and character strengths to facilitate a teacher classroom observation program. The outcomes of the research evaluations include: significant increases in self esteem and life satisfaction between pre-testing and post-testing in year 11 students who conducted the virtues project, decreased behavioural issues (fewer detentions, fewer time-out room visits, fewer behavioural referrals to the principal) as a result of the schoolwide positive behaviour, increased results in ‘Attitude to School’ survey in year’s 5 and 6 who undertook the character strengths program, increased learning confidence in year 10 students as reported in the ‘Student Opinion Survey’ and so forth. The Positive Psychology Interventions aimed at staff have produced outcomes such as higher moral shown through the ‘Staff Opinion Survey’, staff feeling more valued as reported through qualitative interviews, less union action, greater team moral and greater use of strength-based language. Importantly, the effectiveness of these Positive Psychology Interventions has been evaluated via the research projects. The evidence-base that has been created by the students in the MSL, has created interest from other schools within the Victorian Government Education System and is assisting other schools within this system to aim to make positive changes. In this presentation, Associate Professor Lea Waters will share the range and depth of research projects conducted via the MSL and will present that major outcomes and benefits of the Masters research projects in creating positive change across the Victorian Public Education System, Australia. SY 1.2. Evidence of Positive psychology outcomes from Claremont graduate programs Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Claremont Graduate University, USA. The doctoral program at Claremont Graduate University, the first program to grant PH.D degrees in Positive Psychology in the world, has now concluded its fift h year of existence. Professors Csikszentmihalyi and Nakamura, co-directors of the program, will describe briefly the goals, curriculum, and pedagogy of the program. Although too soon to report on the contributions our graduates will make to the profession and to society, early reports suggest that a variety of exciting opportunities are going to be available to scholars well-trained in the developing domain of positive psychology. SY 1.3. MAPP at Penn: Advancing the Application of Positive Psychology James Pawelski University of Pennsylvania, USA. The Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program at the University of Pennsylvania was founded in 2005. Its mission is to advance the application of positive psychology by offering successful professionals and promising young scholars an education in the theory, research, and practice of positive psychology. The Penn MAPP program is a one-year, full-time immersion program designed to help leaders in a variety of fields apply positive psychology in their domains of expertise. Students enroll in two semesters of full-time coursework followed by a summer Capstone course. To date the Penn MAPP program has graduated six classes, totaling well over 200 students. Graduates have gone on to become leaders in the founding or transformation of schools, businesses, non-profit organizations, and university courses and degree programs. They have helped establish the new field of positive neuroscience, catalyzed changes in legal, medical, and business education, and brought positive psychology perspectives to government programs and the United Nations. They have published their work in scholarly journals and major news outlets, written a number of books, helped develop the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA), worked to organize national and international conferences on positive psychology, presented their work at those conferences, founded the Positive Psychology News Daily, delivered resilience training to educators and soldiers, and gone on to Ph.D., J.D., and M.D. programs. This presentation will give an overview of the Capstone projects these students completed while in the program. The Capstone project is designed to help students integrate what they have learned in their MAPP classes and use that knowledge to advance the practice of positive psychology. These projects have ranged from quantitative empirical studies to program evaluations, literature reviews, book proposals, workshops, and positive psychology curricula. Mention will also be made of the semester-long service-learning projects students undertake in the one of their Spring courses. Through these projects, students deliver positive psychology applications to a number of worthy non-profit organizations. SY 1.4. From hip-hop to homelessness: A review of MAPP’s (UEL) holistic approach to research and consultancy Kate Hefferon University of East London, UK. MAPP UK based at the University of East London has been running for just over 4 years. In that time, 80 dissertations have been successfully completed within the general population as well as several industries including: health, education, financial organizations, government/public policy and public sector/local councils. The majority of the dissertations focused on studying individuals followed by organisations/teams and communities/public policy. Our students have focused on a wide variety of topics, including: Correlates and predictors of Well-being (SWB/ PWB); Self Determination; Resilience; Locus of Control Theory; Inspiration; Character Strengths; Mindsets; Massage; Psychological Capital; Synchronicity; Posttraumatic Growth; Engagement; Creativity; Goal setting; Mindfulness; Positive psychology Interventions/Programmes; Fashion; Biofeedback; Altruism; Evolution and Performance Psychology. The research method designs have included: Quantitative [e.g. Experimental; Quasi-experimental; Survey; Interventions (RCT)], Qualitative [Interpretative Phenomenological analysis; Phenomenology, Grounded theory (constructivist and essentialist; Discourse Analysis; Action research; Narrative analysis; Thematic analysis; Content analysis), Theoretical and more recently Mixed Methods (Exploratory; Explanatory; Concurrent), demonstrating MAPP at UELs’ holistic approach to understanding positive psychology. In addition to the research project, our students undertake a 5000 words consultancy project which requires them to investigate and analyse an existing scheme or provision within an external organisation and develop a proposal for a piece of consultancy work using positive psychology ideas that could help them resolve a problem or improve their way of working. The results of these consultancy projects will be discussed in light of their impact on the organisations. In sum, the impact of the student’s dissertations has been aplenty, ranging from media and book writing to the creation of previously non-existent roles (e.g. wellbeing consultant within their organisation). Furthermore, we have a solid population continuing on to conduct PhD study in the areas of positive psychology (E.g. Emotional Intelligence; Eudaimonic well-being; Subjective Well-being; Positive Education; Post-Traumatic Growth; Self Esteem; Aesthetic experiences) as well as publishing in peer reviewed journals. Overall, we look forward to the widening impact of the dissertations as the number of completions increases. SY 1.5. The students’ contribution to positive psychology: The initiatives of the students international positive psychology association (sippa) Raffaela Sartori University of Milan, Italy. Raffaela Sartori, Rhea Owens, Jason van Allen, Hein Zegers, John Coffey and John Dulay (Executive committee of the Students International Positive Psychology Association (SIPPA) SIPPA is the student-focused division of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA), and currently consists of 565 members from around the world. The mission of SIPPA is to create a community for students of positive psychology by facilitating networking, collaboration, and mentorship. SIPPA aims to meet its mission by promoting and developing educational opportunities and providing a supportive atmosphere for connecting students to other students, practitioners, and researchers interested in positive psychology. In response to a survey administered to our membership, one of the most desired services requested by students was mentorship, particularly related to research. In response to this request, one initiative SIPPA has pursued is the development of a long-distance mentoring program. The program connects students interested in positive psychology with faculty members and other professionals who work within the field to help students delve into positive psychology and its applications. Currently, there are 32 mentor-mentee relationships formed around the world, and a large component of the mentoring program involves guidance and education related to student research.The large majority of students who are participating in the mentoring program have reported satisfaction with their mentors. In addition to working with SIPPA’s mentors, student members are working with their advisors and contributing to their body of work. Many students are also leading positive psychology studies to complete their master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation. Moreover SIPPA identifies superb students from around the world and shares their work among its membership through the newsletter and website. To mention few examples cases, a student in Spain is conducting research on education policy and teachers’ satisfaction. Another student in Canada is exploring the impact of positive psychological exercises on well-being through the evaluation of resilience among individuals with psychological disorders. Students from Sweden are studying the impact of educational classes based on positive psychological principles on the work environment of social workers and welfare officers, as well as the impact of integrating positive psychology into the lives of high school students. In Italy students are working in the domain of health psychology assessing the quality of everyday experience and well-being indicators among people with neurodegenerative diseases and their caregivers. Finally, the relationship between hope, health, academics, and psychosocial variables is evaluated by a Portuguese student. As seen, students around the world address a great variety of issues and involve diverse populations, such as individuals, groups, and workplaces. Students’ contribution to positive psychology research is certainly invaluable. AS PART OF THIS SYMPOSIUM, SIPPA WILL: 1) summarize the research being conducted by its members; 2) specifically highlight the research being conducted by within the long-distance mentoring program; 3) identify the areas of inquiry students are most interested in pursuing and learning about from others. SYMPOSIA Sy 2. Advances in Flow Research SY 2. Advances in Flow Research Chair: Stefan Engeser University of Trier, Germany. The symposium begins with an introduction to the flow concept together with a short outline of the historical lines, and the importance of optimal challenge for the flow concept will be highlighted. Optimal challenge is seen as the central precondition for the experience of flow and empirical results strongly support this assumption. On the other hand, optimal challenge does not explain the experience of flow alone, and research shows that situational factors and personality aspects are important as well. Data presented in the first talk also point in this direction. The second talk provides an overview and a conceptual framework of different psychophysiolocial domains related to flow experience. The conceptual similarities between the flow model and the stress model – both dealing with (optimal) challenge – are outlined. The results show that flow is related to psychophysiological parameters and could be seen as one way to cope with potentially stressful demands. Likewise, the third talk deals with coping with stress and demands, but from a different perspective. Evidence of the qualitative research presented in this talk strengthens the proposition that flow could be a way to cope with stressful and demanding situations. Ways of enhancing this coping mechanism and future research possibilities, including flow specific metacognitions, are outlined. The fourth talk is about optimal challenge in competitive games (e.g., chess) and suspense. Suspense is a state of not knowing what the outcome will be, which leads to being involved in the activity and staying engaged. This is an enjoyable experience – an aspect of intrinsic motivation which is not considered systematically yet. The last talk goes beyond the narrow concept of optimal challenge. The concept of optimal challenge seems to be more applicable for achievement situations, but flow experiences have been reported from very diverse activities. Therefore, the talk offers a broader understanding of challenge and argues that individual preferences may also play a crucial role. Data from a contest situation in which men competed against each other provide support for the theoretical outlines and offer new research questions. Finally these talks will be discussed by Csikszentmihalyi who introduced the flow concept. This will round up the symposium and stimulate the discussion regarding advances in the rich field of flow research. SY 2.1. The concept of flow and its central aspect of optimal challenge Stefan Engeser University of Trier, Germany. The talk will give an introduction to the flow concept with a short outline of the historical lines. It will highlight the importance of optimal challenge in the flow concept. Optimal challenge (a balance between demands and skills) is seen as the central precondition according to the flow model. Empirical data show strong support for this assumption (Moneta, in press). On the other hand, optimal challenge does not explain the experience of flow alone and research shows that situational factors and personality aspects are important as well. Data presented in the talk also point in this direction (Abuhamdeh, in press). Based on these general findings we specifically looked outcome importance as a moderator for the relationship between optimal challenge and flow. In general, the study aims to examine the factors moderating the relationship between optimal challenge and flow. Specifically, the study determines how the importance of the outcome serves as a moderator. Base on correlational relationship of perceived outcome importance by Engeser and Rheinberg (2008) we expect that for highly important and thus threatening - outcomes, optimal challenge will not lead to the experience of flow. In two studies (48 and 124 subjects) subjects played up to six rounds of the computer game Pac-Man with increasingly demanding levels. After each level, flow was measured with the Flow Short Scale. The importance of the outcome was manipulated by public or private social comparisons of the performance of the subject. The results only partly support the assumption. The importance of the outcomes does not undermine flow in optimal challenged rounds. Moreover, the importance even leads to more flow (for some individuals). Those results were found in both experiments. The importance of the outcome can support the experience of flow and foster enjoyment indicated by the flow experience. This means that the importance of the outcome of an activity does at least not hinder flow and, in this respect, undermine intrinsic motivation. It will be discussed whether this conclusion holds even for highly important and threatening outcomes. SY 2.2. Psychophysiological Correlates of Flow-Experience Corinna Peifer University of Trier, Germany. Flow – the pleasant and absorbing state of full concentration on task performance – has been introduced by Csikszentmihalyi in 1975. Since then, it has been studied in different contexts (e.g. sports, work, learning and computer context) and from different perspectives, including cognitive, behavioral and affective views. However, it has rarely been investigated from a physiological perspective. Only recently, interest has been growing, and researchers start to apply psychophysiological measures to study the concept. In this talk, I will report the state of the art concerning the physiology of flow-experience, and present a conceptual framework that has been developed from a comparison of flow-theory with Lazarus’ transactional stress model. The resulting link between the concepts of stress and flow helps to derive further hypotheses on physiological processes during flow. I propose that flow is associated with an optimal physiological activation, which is characterized by decreased activation in default networks of the brain and moderate sympathetic and endocrine arousal. Further, I will introduce physiological parameters and discuss them for their applicability in flow-research, including electrodermal activity, heart rate variability, cortisol, dopamine and brain processes. The talk will be enriched with results from our recent experimental studies on the relation between cortisol and flow-experience. The physiological investigation of flow helps to better understand the phenomenon, adds measurement possibilities and new research perspectives. Therefore, I aim to integrate the physiological approach into a comprehensive definition of flow-experience. I suggest to define flow as a positively valenced state (affective component), resulting from an activity that has been appraised as optimally challenging (cognitive component), characterized by optimal physiological activation (physiological component) for full concentration on coping with environmental / task demands (behavioral component). SY 2.3. Flow as a way of coping: A qualitative study of the metacognitions of flow Edith Wilson & Giovanni B. Moneta London Metropolitan University, UK. Flow is a state of intense task absorption and cognitive efficiency. Flow has been reported to occur during various everyday activities such as sports and leisure, but also during work. Being in flow was found to be associated with achievement in different domains (e.g. Jackson & Roberts, 1992; Schüler & Brunner, 2009; Bakker et al., 2011) and has also been linked to adaptive approaches to studying during academic examination preparation (Cermakova et al., 2010). More recently the importance of investigating the ‘metacognitions of flow’, i.e. self-regulatory aspects of the flow state, has been raised (Moneta, in press). Metacognitions of flow encompass people’s awareness and beliefs about flow, including awareness of flow as a state that fosters performance and the measures taken to create flow when necessary. Flow theory posits that this state is more likely to occur during perceived high-demand situations. As identified by Folkman and Lazarus (1984) people can employ different cognitive or behavioural processes, to deal or cope with stressful situations. Given the potential for flow to be self-regulated, being in flow could be theorized as an adaptive way of coping in challenging situations. Beer and Moneta (2010) were the first to provide empirical evidence for the adaptive effects of wider, non-flow specific, positive metacognitions on coping. This study focused on whether people use the flow state as a way of coping with demanding situations, and, in particular, explored flow specific metacognitions, i.e. people’s awareness of the flow-achievement link, the beliefs people hold about actively making the flow state happen and wider beliefs about flow. Method. Flow Questionnaires of a sample of 371 highly educated workers from the UK were analysed for their qualitative content on questions relating to the activity they were engaged in when experiencing flow, how the flow state started, how it felt during the activity and how they kept the flow state going. In addition, semi-structured interviews were held with 13 highly educated workers. Results and Discussion. Although the majority of activities during which flow occurred were not high demand situations, and hence did not give rise to coping efforts, a select number of respondents, particularly those with high job responsibility such as medical staff and some managers reported flow during stressful and demanding work related activities. Their accounts provided initial evidence that being in flow helped them cope with difficult situations and made them perform at their best. Given that participants were not specifically prompted to reflect on flow as state of coping, this finding is particularly interesting. In addition, flow specific metacognitions, including people’s awareness of the flow-achievement link were found. SY 2.4. Flow in Non-Achievement Situations - The Effect of the Power Motive on Flow Experience Anja Schiepe-Tiska TU München, Germany. Flow research has begun with the study of activities which often occurred in achievement situations. To this day, most research on flow still deals with achievement in the areas of sports, academia. This paper extends traditional flow theory by introducing the concept of implicit and explicit motives as personal needs in order to explain the occurrence of flow. Implicit motives are unconscious motivational needs that orient attention, and select and energize behavior towards specific classes of rewarding task-intrinsic incentives (Schultheiss & Brunstein, 2010). They preferentially respond to experiential, nonverbal incentives and influence automatic, incentive-driven, operant behavior. Explicit motives are consciously accessible evaluations of a person’s self-concept. Thus, they reflect the self-attributed view of a person’s implicit motives (McClelland, 1995). They respond most readily to verbal incentives and influence respondent behavior. The congruence between implicit and explicit motives enhances flow experience (Kehr, 2004; Rheinberg & Engeser, 2010). McClelland (1987) distinguished between the “big three” motives: achievement, power, and affiliation. Therefore, flow should not only occur in achievement but also in power situations. This paper aims to examine the impact of the implicit and explicit power motive on flow experience. The power motive is a recurrent concern for having impact on others or the world at large. In order to arouse the power motive, 60 male students competed against each other in a dominance contest. The contest outcome - victory or defeat - was experimentally varied. The implicit power motive was assessed using the Picture Story Exercise (Pang & Schultheiss, 2005); the explicit power motive was assessed using the dominance scale of the Personality Research Form (Jackson, 1984). Regression analysis with simple slope tests showed that winners low in implicit and explicit power motive, experienced more flow than losers low in implicit and explicit power motive. In addition, winners high in implicit but low in explicit power motive experienced more flow than losers high in implicit but low in explicit power motive. Moreover, simple slope differences tests yielded that after winning the contest, men high in implicit and explicit power motive experienced more flow than men high in implicit but low in explicit power motive. After losing the contest, the pattern was reverse. Additionally, after winning the contest, men high in implicit and explicit power motive experienced more flow than men low in implicit but high in explicit power motive. After losing the contest, there was no such difference. This paper introduces a broader theoretical framework to explain flow and shows first empirical data that flow can indeed occur in power situations. DISCUSSANT: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Claremont Graduate University, USA SYMPOSIA Sy 3. Happiness at the workplace: The case of South Africa SY 3. Happiness at the workplace: the case of South Africa Chair: Johanna Hendrina Buitendach University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South African Republic 1. Overall aim and research objectives. The aim of this symposium is to provide original and rigorous research aimed at a broader scientific understanding, from a human sciences view of happiness. This scientific information can be used to a) inform policy-makers about groups and situations where misery should be alleviated through government intervention; b) educate citizens about factors that will enhance their well-being; c) to place well-being in the spotlight so that economic impact is not the only topic under consideration when government policies are debated, and d) to provide information to leaders in organisation on the relationship between leadership style and happiness of workers, which can use the accounts to improve their performance. 2. Main research questions • How is happiness conceptualised in the South African context? • Which indicators of happiness can be used in South Africa? • How can happiness be measured in a reliable, valid, unbiased and equivalent way in a multicultural (South African) context? • What is the level of happiness of people in selected organisations in South Africa? • What is the relationship between leadership style and levels of happiness? • What are the antecedents of happiness in selected organisations in South Africa? • Specific objectives The first object is to conceptualise and explore which indicators of happiness can be used in selected organisations in South Africa. The second objective is to develop indicators of happiness that are reliable, valid, unbiased, and equivalent within a multicultural context. The third objective is to investigate the antecedents of happiness selected organisations in South Africa. The last objective is to develop and evaluate programmes that can be implemented to promote happiness in South Africa, on primary, secondary and tertiary levels of intervention. A further research object is to collaborate with an international research partner to embark on a longitudinal study after 2011. 4. Background to the study Currently, no nation or organisation regularly and systematically collects a full spectrum of happiness in the workplace. National accounts of happiness should be developed and should be used systematically (by nations, cities, business organisations). Furthermore, various forms of happiness , e.g. work and health satisfaction, life satisfaction, levels of enjoyment, depression, anger, and engagement should be tracked and recorded. Monitoring happiness at these levels will alert the citizenry to important information beyond economic growth that should guide policy and can improve quality of life. People may react with many positive feelings and experiences to what is happening in their lives and with few negative feelings and unpleasant experiences (emotional dimension). People may judge their lives to be satisfying and fulfilling rather than dissatisfying and unfulfilling (mental dimension). Economic and social indicators have limitations as indicators of quality of life. Gross Domestic product (GDP) (which is the chief gauge of economic success) can only reckon with monetary transactions, and omit life aspects which cannot be expressed in monetary terms such as trust, virtue, care for children and the elderly, close relationships. According to Cobb et al. (1995) the GDP “treats everything that happens in the market as a gain for humanity” and ignores well-being Very limited information regarding happiness and definitions thereof is available in the African context. There is also a lack of a systematic approach to the development of measuring instruments of happiness and its outcomes in African context, which results in a lack of information about validity, reliability, bias and equivalence of measuring instruments. Furthermore, antecedents of happiness in Southern Africa have not been rigorously studied and reported. Lastly, intervention studies regarding ways to deal with happiness in South Africa context are lacking. 5. Research methodology 5.1 Participants Participants will be researchers from different universities in South Africa and also students who will present their research findings. 5.2 Research instruments Various measures of subjective well-being was used. For example, interviews (in a qualitative design) was conducted to gather information about conceptualisations and experiences of subjective well-being. Second, various existing measures of subjective well-being was administered and evaluated. The Orientations to Happiness Scale was be used to assess the participants’ levels of pleasure, engagement and meaning in life. This 18-item measure consists of six items measuring the degree to which one endorses each of three orientations to happiness: engagement; pleasure; and meaning. Peterson et al. (2005) showed that these three subscales are for the most part reliable (α > 0,70) and empirically distinct. The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was used to assess the happiness levels of participants. The SWLS of Diener et al. (1985) consists of 5 items which measure the individual’s evaluation of satisfaction with his or her life in general. Research has established excellent psychometric properties for the SWLS (Diener, 1994). The measure is highly reliable and has a large network of sensible correlates. SWLS scores are typically skewed toward the right, meaning that most respondents are relatively happy, but in most samples there is nonetheless a range in life satisfaction. Work related outcome measures, such as job satisfaction, organisational commitment, work engagement, and wellbeing were also used. SY 3.1. Gender and happiness in the workplace Thandekile Sylvia Magojo Universityof KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South African Republic SY 3.2. The relationship between psychological capital, work engagement and organizational commitment amongst call centre employees in South Africa Janet Simons University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South African Republic The call centre environment is one of the fastest growing segments in the service sector in South Africa and internationally. The call centre environment presents with workplace demands that can result in high levels of stress for employees. Research has found that these occupational stressors reduce employees’ resources. This contributes to their feelings of burnout, disengagement and reduced organisational commitment. The development of positive psychological resources, such as, psychological capital (PsyCap), has been found to have an impact on positive work related attitudes and behaviour, such as work engagement and organisational commitment (Avey, Wernsing & Luthans, 2008; Shahnawaz & Jafri, 2009). Psychological capital (PsyCap) is a positive psychological state that is characterised by hope, optimism, resilience and self-efficacy. The development of psychological capital (PsyCap) contributes to call centre employee’s overall wellbeing. Psychological capital (PsyCap) influences the positive resource capacities of workplace attitudes, such as work engagement and organisational commitment. Several studies have found a positive relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap) and organisational commitment. Studies have also found positive resource capacities such as, self-efficacy, are positively related to work engagement (Roux, 2010). The aim of the study was to determine whether a relationship exists between psychological capital (PsyCap), work engagement and organisational commitment amongst call centre employees in a South African call centre. Further, whether psychological capital (PsyCap) and work engagement predict organisational commitment. The study aimed to identify the nature of the relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap), work engagement and organisational commitment amongst call centre employees. The study also aimed to establish the relationship between the sub-dimensions of psychological capital (PsyCap), work enagagement and organisational commitment. Including, identifying whether psychological capital (PsyCap) and work engagement predict organisational commitment. A cross-sectional survey design was used to answer the research questions. A non-probability sampling, specifically convenience sampling was used in a call centre in South Africa. A sample of 106 employees participated in the research. The measuring instruments administered were the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) and a biographical questionnaire. Consistent with previous research statistically significant positive relationships as well as practically significant relationships were found between psychological capital (PsyCap), work engagement and organisational commitment. Also, positive relationships were found between the four dimensions of psychological capital (PsyCap), work engagement and organisational commitment. This indicates that the higher levels of psychological capital (self-efficacy, resilience, hope, optimism) are associated with higher levels of work engagement and organisational commitment. This empirically confirmed the discriminant and convergent validity of the dimensions in a South African context. Hierachical multiple regression indicated work engagement as the only statistically significant predictor of organisational commitment. Psychological capital (PsyCap) plays an important role in positive oganisational outcomes such as work engagement and organisational commitment. Call centre management of human resources need to develop and implement workplace interventions that would increase psychological capital of call centre employees. Further, the use of a psychological capital (PsyCap) measure for call centre selection and retention strategies would be of valuable to create psychological strengths and resources that can be harnessed for the positive organisational outcomes, such work engagement and organisational commitment of call centre employees. The study has a contribution to the positive resource capacities of call centre employees within the South African context. The study adds to the existing literature of psychological capital (PsyCap) and the relationships with organisational outcomes of work engagement and organisational commitment. More specifically, the study highlighted the importance of the role of optimism in developing work engagement and organisational commitment amongst call centre employees. SY 3.3. The psychometric properties of the Orientation to Happiness Scale in selected organizations in South Africa Anna Meyer-Weitz University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South African Republic SY 3.4. Orientation to happiness and subjective wellbeing among teachers in Swaziland Rwanda Petrus University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South African Republic Teachers play a pivotal role in the education system and in society at large. With this in mind, the government should address their particular needs. In the context of positive psychology, issues of happiness and subjective well-being could lead to increased educational outcomes and general health. The purpose of the research was to determine the relationship between orientations to happiness and subjective well-being and to determine whether the orientations to happiness hold predictive value for satisfaction with life. A cross-sectional survey design was used for the study. A sample of 175 (N=175) teachers in Swaziland was used. Three demographic questionnaires were used: the Orientations to Happiness Questionnaire (OHS) (Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) to measure subjective well-being, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) (Goldman & Hillier, 1979) as well as a biographical questionnaire. Results indicated that pleasure and engagement (subscales of orientations to happiness) were positively correlated with satisfaction with life. General health subscales, somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, and severe depression had a negative relationship with satisfaction with life. Of the three orientations, pleasure was found to have predictive value for life satisfaction. Implications of the findings on the relationships between orientations and subjective well-being for helping teachers to promote a more satisfying life are discussed. SY 3.5. Psychological Capital and its relationship with Well-being and job satisfaction. Kreshona Pillay University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South African Republic The recently recognised core constructs of psychological capital or PscCap (consisting of self- and efficacy, hope optimism, resilience) has been demonstrated to be related to various attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. In the last few years minister’s wellbeing have become an important topic for both researchers and practitioners. Various studies focused on negative aspects such as stress and burnout, and very few on the positive antipode of a minister’s work. This study takes positive psychology from the domain of individual psychology and applies them to the ministries. The survey method was used with the following questionnaires: Biographical Questionnaire; Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PscCap) (as measured by of self- and efficacy, hope optimism, resilience); Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (as measured by affective, normative, continuous commitment); and the General Health Questionnaire (as measured by anxiety, insomnia, social dysfunction and severe depression). 850 questionnaires were either mailed or send via email to the targeted ministers. 191 completed questionnaires were returned, giving a return rate of 23%. Explorative and Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used. The factor analysis for the Psychological Capital Questionnaire resulted in a four factor solution, which explained 62% of the variance. With regards to the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire the factor analysis resulted in a three factor solution, which explained 52% of the variance. Lastly, the General Health resulted in four factors, which explains 57% of the variance. Pearson correlation coefficients indicated positive practically and statistically significant relationships between psychological capital and organisational commitment, and negative practically and statistically significant relationships with general health. The results also indicated that psychological capital mediates the relationship between general health and organisational commitment. This study provides a useful starting point and a potential of positive characteristics in the targeted churches. The study also adds to the positive institutions pillar of positive psychology in that it provides an insight into how churches can engender and support more positive behaviours from their ministers and promote growth. SY 3.6. Happiness amongst church ministers in South Africa Anna Meyer-Weitz, Joey Buitendach University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South African Republic In the last few years minister’s happiness and wellbeing have become an important topic for both researchers and practitioners. Various studies focused on negative aspects such as stress and burnout, and very few on the positive antipode of a minister’s work. This study takes positive psychology from the domain of individual psychology and applies them to the ministries. The survey method was used with the following questionnaires: Biographical Questionnaire; Approaches to Happiness (as measured by pleasure, meaning, engagement) Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (as measured by affective, normative, continuous commitment); and Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (as measured by intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction). 850 questionnaires were either mailed or send via email to the targeted ministers. 191 completed questionnaires were returned, giving a return rate of 23%. Explorative and Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used. The factor analysis for the Approaches to Happiness Questionnaire resulted in a three factor solution, which explained 56% of the variance. With regards to the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire the factor analysis resulted in a three factor solution, which explained 52% of the variance. Lastly, the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire resulted in two factors, which explains 59% of the variance. Pearson correlation coefficients indicated practically and statistically significant relationships between happiness, job satisfaction and organisational commitment. The regression analysis suggests that 21% of organisational commitment is explained by a combination of the two variables meaning and engagement, both of which exhibit highly significant positive relationships (p<0,01). The results also suggests that 14% of the variance of job satisfaction by a combination of all the three variables, whereby only meaning and engagement exhibit positive significant relationships (p<0,01), and pleasure is negatively related (p<0,01). This study provides a useful starting point and a potential of positive characteristics in the targeted churches. The study also adds to the positive institutions pillar of positive psychology in that it provides an insight into how churches can engender and support more positive beahviours from their ministers and promote growth. SYMPOSIA Sy 4. Mental Quotient test: Level of optimism in business environment and its influence on organizational performance SY 4. Mental Quotient test: Level of optimism in business environment and its influ¬ence on organizational performance Chair: Ekaterina Timokhina Team Training, Moscow, Russia The biggest challenge for managers today is to maintain their own credibility when motivating and developing their associates. With the ever-growing speed of changes and with growing unpredictability even managers may loose vision and faith. The question: “What should I say to people, when I am lost?” remains without answer. Our presentation highlights the results we achieved with MQ test development and its application within different companies and organizations. The program is designed to help managers and their co-workers to come out of learned helplessness, find their inner resources and become more proactive and creative in situations of ambiguity and stress. MQ test is based on the ASQ: Attributional Style Questionnaire used by Martin Seligman and his team at the Penn Resilience Program. MQ test provides the chance to measure the level of optimism in business environment. More than 2000 reports collected during past 3 years demonstrate a high rate of pessimism in our countries and support the need of a development program specified for boosting optimism and the amount of positive emotions. MQ Development Program provides a wide range of tools that managers can immediately apply in everyday business environment to enhance proactivity and self motivation. Our presentation will highlight the real experience in organizational development where we help our clients to evaluate the level of optimism in teams, to learn how to stop automatic thinking and how to change it to more optimistic, productive and more stress resistant approaches to work. SY 4.1. Why and how to translate Positive Psychology into daily business routine? Eszter Kovacs Profil Training, Hungary SY 4.2. Development and validation of the MQ test Martos Tamas Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary Mental Quotient (MQ) Test is an assessment tool to measure the concept of optimism as proposed by Seligman and to translate the concept into business environment. Test development occurred in two phases. First, an item pool was created and tested on more than 800 subjects. Factor analysis of the items showed adequate to moderate fit to the model. Therefore new items were created to make the test more reliable and valid. In an ongoing assessment (to be completed by the end of March 2012) 250 respondents are to be assessed with this new version of MQ Test, along with three measures of well being: Satisfaction with Life Scale, Rosenberg Self-esteem Questionnaire and SelfEfficacy Scale. Results are to be reported and discussed at the Conference. SY 4.3. The MQ developmental program – positive transformation of inner dialogue Ekaterina Timokhina Team Training, Moscow, Russia MQ (Mental Quotient) Development Program provides a wide range of tools that managers can immediately apply in everyday business environment to enhance proactivity and self motivation.The program is designed to help managers and their co-workers to come out of learned helplessness, find their inner resources and become more proactive and creative in situations of ambiguity and stress. In this part I’ll present the structure of the development program, and will give some firsthand experience about group activities. SY 4.4. Business application of the MQ test. Olga Mukhina Team Training, Moscow, Russia SYMPOSIA Sy 5. Positive psychology studies in the cyberspace Sy 5. Positive psychology studies in the cyberspace Chair: Alexander Voiskounsky Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia The Symposium is devoted to theoretical and empirical discussion of the use of flow experience, self-determination theory, etc. in the studies of video gamers, online learners and shoppers, etc. More particularly, the topics for discussion include (but are not restricted to) the topics such as: • Positive psychology in e-learning, online instruction, distant education; • Positive psychology in video/online/computer gaming, including multiplayer games; • Positive psychology in computer- and Internet-mediated communication, in social networking, in consuming the web media sources and online entertainments; • Positive psychology in web marketing, e-shopping, and business applications of web sources; • Positive psychology in web navigation, exploratory online behavior, and search of the content items on the web; • Positive psychology in illegal penetrations into cyberspace environments, in hacking, for example, and in computer security regulations; • Positive psychology in psychological rehabilitation by the means of the high-tech equipment and programs, such as in immersive systems of virtual reality; • Positive psychology in the measurement of the web-site attraction and its friendliness for consumers, as well as in usability testing and in the adaptation of web sources to target populations. SY 5.1. Persistent Re-engagement in Immersion: Essential Game Design Techni-ques for Serious Games Maja Pivec, Paul Pivec FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences (Austria) & CranberryBlue R & D Limited (New Zealand) For a Digital Video game to become successful, be it recreational or educational, it is dependant on the engagement of the player during the first and subsequent interactions. A literature search of desired game characteristics results in varied opinions, however they all suggest that the success of a game is increased when the immersive characteristics of that game focus the attention of the player. They state that when immersion occurs, meaning the loss of time through the complete focus on the task at hand, the game motivates the player to repeatedly engage in play. This type of motivation has been described in much of the literature as flow, and can be used to identify which computer games foster the persistent re-engagement of the player. However, although player enjoyment is central to modern video games, there is currently no accepted model of player enjoyment during gameplay. Unless the game scaffolds the player’s abilities, player immersion will be lost, the enjoyment will fade, and the game will fail. The scaffolded level of skill requirement is what creates the immersion and the player’s desire to engage. Research for this paper not only developed techniques for analysing player immersion, but also prototyped these techniques on newly developed commercial games, and subsequently validated them against the market perception on the same games upon release. An extended game flow evaluation matrix identifies essential game characteristics that are paramount for any computer game to be successful. The recursive loops of GBL model (Kearney & Pivec, 2007) is also useful for the analysis of both recreational and educational video games, and can be successfully applied as a design and evaluation aid during the development phase. This paper details how this can be achieved using research results and documented use cases. SY 5.2. Virtual Need Satisfaction: Motivational Elements and Gamification Richard M. Ryan, C. Scott Rigby, Andrew K. Przybylski University of Rochester, NY & Immersyve Inc., Orlando, Fl. USA Video Games are fast becoming a significant element in the lives of most European children and adults (e.g., ISFE report, 2007). Any literature search of psychological studies on video games reveals, however, that most investigators are heavily focused on their potential hazards (e.g., overuse, aggression desensitization, relation to sedentary behavior, etc.). In contrast, far fewer investigators have focused on what makes video games and virtual environments so compelling and attractive. We argue that understanding what makes people so motivated to play video games is highly important, both in grasping their capacity to reduce stress and create joy, and to extend the lessons of their motivational “pull” to educational and health-promoting applications. Accordingly, in this talk we will present our recent program of research based on Self-determination Theory (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2000), which demonstrates how opportunities to satisfy basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, both motivates video game engagement and accounts for the short-term enhancements in well-being associated with game play (e.g., Ryan, Rigby and Przybylski, 2006). Our results also show that need satisfaction predicts the differential appeal of specific games, and individuals’ behavioral persistence at them. Regarding the aggressive content of many games, we will review both experimental and survey research demonstrating that aggression and violence per se does not add to intrinsic motivation for video game engagement, which is instead accounted for by the need satisfactions often embedded within many games of war and conflict (Przybylski, Ryan, & Rigby, 2009). Furthermore, our evidence suggests that post-game increases in aggression that have demonstrated in past psychological studies can often be a function, not of aggressive game contents, but rather of frustrations of competence, effects similar to those found in other achievement-related domains such as sport (Przybylski, Deci, Rigby & Ryan, 2012). Regarding overuse, we will present the need density hypothesis derived from SDT (Rigby & Ryan, 2011) that suggests that because of the capacity of video games to densely and immediately supply experiences of mastery, freedom and relatedness, they are particularly compelling to those individuals experiencing basic psychological need frustrations in their everyday lives. We then apply this hypothesis to an understanding of the much-discussed issue of video game “addiction.” Finally we will discuss how this basic knowledge about the motivational characteristics of video games is being harnessed through the process known as gamification, in which the motivationally potent elements in video game designs can be used to create greater engagement in learning and health-related domains. In fact, we argue that rather than being exclusively focused on the negative aspects of virtual environments, positive psychology can understand their appeal and promise to use them for human betterment. SY 5.3. Flow experience in online video gaming: Empirical study Shi Lu Wang, Alexander E. Voiskounsky, Olga V. Mitina Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia In the recent years, video/computer/online games have acquired great popularity. A series of studies indicate that online gaming is tightly associated with the Flow experience, introduced by M. Csikszentmihalyi. In these studies, two additional characteristics of Flow experience have been identified as significant in online playing, i.e. interactivity and presence. The former is responsible for the enhancement of interactions in the game environments; the latter is responsible for the visual effects analogous to the “first-person point of view” in video game’s design, and finally – for inducing immersive experience in gamers. Besides, Flow is a reliable predictor of the acceptance of a new video game. Flow is one of the basic theoretical standpoints in studying internal and external motivation of video game players. At the same time, processes of playing video games represent a popular methodology for studying the phenomena of Flow, partly due to the easiness of controlling the Flow-related parameters. In numerous studies it is shown that the set of Flow characteristics may vary, dependent to specific tasks, personal abilities to gain success in doing particular tasks and missions, etc. Furthermore, the characteristics of Flow experience, as a social construction, supposedly may vary according to diverse cultural and social background. Empirical information referring to the culture related variations in parameters characterizing Flow, taken as an essential construct in the studies held in the cyberspace, is nevertheless limited due to fewness of cross-cultural studies. The current work is a part of a cross-cultural study being held within the last ten years, headed by A.Voiskounsky. In the study the scores of Flow are matched, using the same methodology, to demography, styles of playing and interaction patterns within samples of online gamers speaking Russian, French, and English. This paper refers to online gamers in the mainland China. The questionnaire, adapted to be administered within this sample, includes four items on demography and gaming experience, plus 24 items to measure Flow; it was administered both online and as paper_&_pencil sheets (N=1574). 64.7% respondents are males, 55.7% between 17 and 25, 60% played videogames over 3 years, 25.2% reported they play over 10 hours per week. The resulting level of Flow is rather low (2.90±0.03, while the expected mean value is 3.0); males experience Flow more frequently than females (p<0.000), adolescents – more often than adults (p<0.000); a chance to attain intrinsic motivation is a rare reason for Chinese gamers to play online. The shortage of positive experience is believed to be one of the reasons for rapid development of the Internet addiction among online gamers in the mainland China. The results can be put into the context of social ideals of collectivism, which are common for the traditional Chinese culture. According to these ideals and contrary to the Western culture, individuality is not encouraged. SY 5.4. Is ‘Flow’ a Positive State? Kyle W. Van Ittersum, Clive J. Fullagar Kansas State University, USA Although flow has consistently been conceptualized as a state of positive well-being (e.g., Henry, 2004), very little empirical research has been done to establish this. Fredrickson’s (1998, 2001) broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions provides a theoretical framework that suggests that positive states should be associated with positive affect, and that the consistent experience of positive affective states facilitate the development of personal resources that are important for long-term psychological and physiological well-being. This paper describes two empirical studies. The first establishes whether flow is a positive state by longitudinally tracking the association between the state of flow and positive affect. The second study investigated whether the experience of flow is associated with greater resilience when performing a particularly challenging task. The first study tracked 53 students as they played six songs on Rock Band®. This task was selected for two reasons. First, the challenge level of the song and the skill level of the performers can be manipulated to achieve challenge/skill balance necessary for flow. Second, the task provides objective performance measures, eliminating self-report bias. After performing each song, brief measures of flow and positive affect were taken. Results of this first study indicated that flow was consistently and significantly associated with positive affect after controlling for lagged flow and performance. The second study induced varied levels of flow in 75 participants after playing three self-selected songs in Rock Band®. Levels of flow and positive affect were assessed after performing these three songs. All participants were then required to perform an extremely challenging song. Performance throughout the entire song was video captured and flow and affect were again assessed. Resilience was assessed by having independent raters evaluate persistence and effort on the challenging song. Although affect was found to decrease after the challenging task, affect was more positive for higher levels of prior flow after controlling for performance. Furthermore, both effort and persistence were found to be higher for those participants who had higher flow prior to performing the challenging task. The results of these two studies provide compelling evidence that flow behaves like other positive states and consistent with broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 1998, 2001). Specifically positive affect appears to dissipate less when flow is moderate to high compared to when flow is low. Furthermore flow would appear to be associated with greater resilience when confronted with a challenging situation. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed within the broader context of flow at work and its potential to influence worker well-being. SYMPOSIA Sy 6. Positive psychology for vulnerable groups – a focus on resilience SY 6. Positive psychology for vulnerable groups – a focus on resilience Chair: Linda Bolier (Trimbos-instituut, the Netherlands) Many positive psychological interventions are aimed at the general public. However, for vulnerable groups in society, e.g. people with mental disorders, somatic diseases or people from lower social-economic backgrounds, positive psychological interventions could play a distinct role in empowerment and enhancing resilience and quality of life. Epidemiological research shows that these groups are more fragile as they have more difficulties in coping with daily hassles and stress and major life events such as divorce, the illness of a relative or death of a loved-one. As such, the enhancement of resilience in more vulnerable groups is highly recommended, next to a general public mental health strategy. Resilience helps people to bounce back and overcome stress and adversity in a successful way. In this symposium, we will present examples on how to raise resilience in vulnerable groups. SY 6.1. Effect «Recognition of acquired competences» for vulnerable volunteers: A randomized controlled trial. Manja van Wezep Trimbos-instituut, the Netherlands) Background RAC-v, Recognition of Acquired Competencies for volunteers, is an intervention which is based on the strengths of people. People with a ‘large distance’ to the labour market because of social and psychological vulnerabilities can determine their experience, skills and talents in a certificate. Contrary to regular vocational qualifications as included in a diploma, RAC-v is about identifying (extra) skills and competencies gained in volunteering or acquired in other settings , such as being active in an association or in the neighbourhood. In this study RAC-v is applied at rehabilitation or social agencies. Professional workers of these agencies are being trained in RAC-v to coach the participants. The procedure to complete RAC-v takes about 3 to 6 months, in which participants actively search for proof of their competences. A portfolio and certificate based on this proof is supposed to empower volunteers and help them get more recognition for what they can. Aim Our aim is to determine the effectiveness of this intervention: does it result in participants feeling more empowered and do they more often make a specific step towards employment ? In addition we are interested in how the participants of EVC experience the intervention and how this intervention works to their opinion. Methods Both the control and the experimental group are assessed three times (T0, T6, T12 months) by standardised questionnaires (e.g. empowerment, community participation, insight in competences and quality of life). Immediately after T0 participants are randomised to either EVC or a waiting list. All other (usual) guidance proceeds without modification for both groups. For answering the question how this intervention works we used qualitative methods, e.g. interviews with participants and their coaches. This is done in three rounds, with two intermediary phases of data analysis to give input for the next round. Results and conclusions In total 256 clients (126 EVC; 130 waitlisted) of 26 organisations were recruited between march 2010 and may 2011. The randomisation procedure was successful; no differences in demographic and clinical features were detected between the two groups. Mean age of the participants is 43 years (SD=12). More women are involved, 62% versus 38%. 88% of the participants have no competitive job. Of the participants, over 50% have psychological problems. Preliminary results of the qualitative part of the study suggest that EVC participants increasingly ask for feedback, think more positive about themselves, and become more aware of their competences. And such changes contribute to an experienced increase in self-confidence. At ECPP2012 we will present the main quantitative results regarding the outcomes of 6 months follow up (follow-up rate is 84%). Besides this, we will present the outcomes of the qualitative part more in-depth. SY 6.2. Happyles. A positive online stepped care program for young people with a low socio-economic status. Debbie van der Linden, Rianne van der Zanden, Geke Romijn, Simone van Oorspronk Trimbos-instituut, the Netherlands Background The prevalence of mental health problems (such as depression) in young people is high, especially in young people with a low socio-economic status. Indicators of a low socio-economic status are a low level of education and living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood. Therefore, we have decided to develop an online program to prevent depression in young people with a lower level of education and/or who are living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood. We decided to develop online lessons (part A of Happyles) based on positive interventions that have shown to be effective in reducing depressive symptoms and promoting mental wellbeing. Mental wellbeing is a protective factor against mental health problems. Therefore, promoting mental wellbeing is relevant for everyone. For young people who already have a (sub) clinical level of depressive symptoms, we expected that the e-learning lessons would not be intensive enough to reduce these symptoms. For these young people, we also developed an online group course in chatbox (part B of Happyles) that is guided by a mental health prevention worker. This online course is based on a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy and positive psychological interventions. Aims of the study This presentation shows some content of Happyles and the results of the evaluation of Happyles part A. It also presents the design of the pilot study of Happyles Part B that will start this year (2012). Methods A pre and post test design and a process evaluation measure: • Mental wellbeing with the ‘Mental Health Continuum – Short Form (MHC-SF)’ for young adults aged 16-25 years, and the ‘Warwick Edinburgh Mental WellBeing Scale (WEMWBS)’ for adolescents aged 14-17 years; • Depressive symptoms with the ‘Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression Scale (CES-D)’. • Satisfaction of teachers and students with Happyles part A. Results We found a significant increase in mental wellbeing in young adults (n = 52) after their participation in Happyles part A. As expected, we did not find a decrease in depressive symptoms in these young adults (n = 117). For adolescents (1417 years), we did not find significant results for the group as a whole (n = 130), but we did find a significant increase in mental wellbeing and a decrease in depressive symptoms in adolescents who had a (sub)clinical level of symptoms on pre-test (n = 30). Happyles part B will be evaluated in 2012. Conclusions The results of the two pre- and post studies with Happyles part A are promising. At this moment, we are preparing a pilot project to evaluate Happyles part B. Furthermore, a randomized controlled trial with a ‘no intervention control group’ is needed to further test the effectiveness of the Happyles program. SY 6.3. Evaluation study ‘Happiness route’. A practice-based multi-site RCT about a happiness - based intervention aimed at the socially isolated to increase positive mental health and decrease health care consumption. Laura Weiss University of Twente, the Netherlands Background Chronic health problems, both mental and physical, can lead to social isolation. Social isolation in turn, can lead to lower mental health and more health care consumption. Health care workers usually focus on problems or complaints. The ‘happiness route’ project, however, focuses on happiness, capabilities and possibilities. This does not only affect the well-being of the participants, but also their use of health care. Aims of study The intervention happiness route is aimed at people who have become socially isolated due to health problems. The project approaches these vulnerable citizens and helps them out of their isolation by steering them toward a more autonomous, purposeful and happier life. Methods The happiness route is a one-time only intervention. In this evaluation study, we will compare 130 participants of the happiness route with 130 people from a control group, who will receive two home visits from a professional to optimize their ‘care as usual’. The projects are runned by several local councils throughout the Netherlands. Participants receive between two and six home visits by a trained counselor, working through the five phases of the happiness route. After phase one – (where the counselor forms a picture of the problem situation) phase two sets the participants thinking: ”Let’s put the problems aside and start talking about how you want to live your life. What makes you happy?” Together, the counselor and participant explore and identify passions or interests, or a hobby the participant really enjoys doing. In phase three and four the participant will be encouraged to find and plan activities in accordance with their passion and they may spend up to € 500 to engage in this activity. Finally, an evaluation session will be held. There will be three points of measurements: during intake, three months after the intake and nine months after the intake. The primary outcome measure will be positive mental health, as measured with the Dutch Mental Health Continuum – Short Form. Secondary outcome measures are: loneliness, resilience, depression, health related quality of life, consumption of care and social participation. We will also investigate the influence of the participants’ characteristics, as well as the working style of the counselors. Summary of the results An initial pilot study showed that participants’ well-being increased by 40% and consumption of health care declined by 23% (effects were still found two years later). Conclusion It is likely that the happiness route improves positive mental health. The study will explore the effects of the project. SYMPOSIA Sy 7. Interventions to Improve Flourishing in the Population SY 7. Interventions to Improve Flourishing in the Population Felicia A. Huppert Cambridge University, UK Under the broad umbrella of Positive Psychology, numerous interventions have been developed to improve well-being. The majority of these have been individual focussed, and many have looked at the alleviation of symptoms rather than the enhancement of well-being. However, there is ample evidence that the well-being of individuals reflects the well-being of the group or population to which they belong. Even if an individual’s well-being is improved, it is difficult to sustain that improvement if those around them have a low level of well-being. Furthermore, if the average well-being of a group improves the number of individuals with very low well-being, including the common mental disorders of depression and anxiety is likely to be reduced (Huppert, F.A. A new approach to reducing disorder and improving well-being. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2009, 4(1), 108-111.). For all these reasons, the value of group-level and population-level interventions to improve well-being goes far beyond the value of focusing on individuals alone. The symposium showcases some recent and novel developments in interventions to promote well-being in group and population settings. SY 7.1. Delivering Happiness at Work Nic Marks Centre for Well-being, new economics foundation (nef), UK It has long been advocated that promoting happiness and well-being at work will deliver significant business benefits as well as simply creating better jobs for people. Interventions from a positive psychology (PP) perspective have tended to be individual focused through for example Strengths programmes or coaching. Organisation Development (OD) has tended to focus on system change as have many other forms of interventions. This contribution based on the presenter’s work with nef will share early experiences with a completely new tool – the Happiness at Work Survey (happiness@work survey). The happiness@work survey is a short instrument – 30 items – that uses the latest web technology to assess employees’ happiness at work. The tool is based on nef’s ten years of experience developing survey instruments in a policy context, for example their work on creating National Accounts of Well-being (NAWB) with the European Social Survey (ESS) rounds 3 & 6. NAWB was launched with a much acclaimed interactive website so interested parties could carry out simple analysis of the data in a visual and robust way. The happiness@work survey builds on this and takes it to the workplace context. Using specially commissioned web-based surveys, benchmarks have been calculated for both the UK and the US working populations. These are used to calibrate the tool so that users can instantly see whether they are scoring better or worse than their national average. In practice this means that all indicators are scored from 0 – 10 where a score of 5 represents the national benchmark. From a user’s perspective they fill in the short questionnaire online and as they finish they get feedback on their scores immediately. The results are also collated across the organisation and below is an illustration of how they are presented. SY 7.2. 21st Century Positive Education Programs: Improving flourishing through the strategic use of Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology in Schools Suzy Green Positive Psychology Institute, Sydney, Australia Evidence-based coaching (EBC) interventions and positive psychology interventions (PPIs) have been shown to be effective in reducing anxiety, stress and depression and increasing various facets of well-being and goal engagement (Green, Grant & Oades, 2006; Green, Grant & Rynsaardt, 2007; Grant, Green & Rynsaardt, 2010; Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). To date however, both approaches have been used mostly in isolation from each other with limited integration. Additionally, there have been no comparisons made between the efficacy of EBC and PPIs. This presentation will provide an overview of the findings from the first study to compare the relative efficacy of an EBC intervention and a PPI in enhancing well-being and self-regulation within a general adolescent population. This study involved 90 senior high school students (male & female) in two Sydney Selective High Schools who underwent either an EBC or PPI delivered by trained teachers over two school terms. Whilst EBC and PPIs may be effective interventions in their own right to improve flourishing, this presentation will make recommendation for and provide an example of the strategic integration of Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology in the school setting, namely Positive Education Programs that aim to improve the flourishing of students, teachers, staff, parents, school and community well-being. SY 7.3. The mindful way to flourishing Felicia A. Huppert Cambridge University, UK With growing evidence of its effectiveness, mindfulness training is rapidly becoming popular as an intervention to improve many aspects of well-being. The standard training programmes are known as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Although these were originally developed in a clinical setting to help patients with physical or mental health problems, they are increasingly being used to enhance the lives of people in the general population. Mindfulness is a way of paying attention. With mindfulness, we deliberately observe and accept what is happening to us in the present moment, in our bodies, minds, and external events. Rather than making instant judgements about our experience, mindfulness encourages an attitude of openness and gentle curiosity. Being consciously aware of what is happening allows us to see and experience things ‘as they really are’, and this gives us greater choice over how we respond. Evidence for the benefits of mindfulness training has been summarised in several major reviews and meta-analyses (e.g. Grossman et al, 2004, Mental Health Foundation, 2010). Mindfulness training improves focused and sustained attention, which has beneficial effects on learning, problem solving and other cognitive processes. It increases autonomy, self-determination, and self-efficacy through the increased ability to make choices. Mindfulness also has many benefits for mental health; it reduces stress, anxiety and depression, and increases positive affect through the savouring of ongoing experiences. Training in acceptance and non-judging leads to self-compassion, i.e. being kinder to oneself rather than being a harsh judge and overly critical. There are also benefits for inter-personal relationships. For example increased awareness of the behaviour and feelings of others can lead to greater appreciation of positive behaviours such as affection or generosity, as well as increases in compassion and empathy. This presentation will focus on new approaches to the use of mindfulness training in organisational settings. Particular attention will be paid to how mindfulness can be taught in a range of contexts, adapting materials and instructions as appropriate. Specific evidence of its benefits in the workplace and in schools will be presented. A study which will be described in more detail is the Mindfulness in Schools Project which is becoming widely used in the UK to help adolescents to flourish. The importance of rigorous evaluation will be emphasised, and future directions for mindfulness theory, research and practice will be discussed. Discussant: Dóra Guðrún Guðmundsdóttir Directorate of Health, Iceland SYMPOSIA Sy 8. Science, culture, and the humanities: Rethinking the question of well-being SY 8. Science, culture, and the humanities: Rethinking the question of well-being Chair: James Pawelski University of Pennsylvania, USA The question of well-being is one of the most central concerns in human experience. Throughout history and in cultures around the world, human beings have wanted to know what it means to live well. This question goes beyond the immediate daily concerns of finding food and shelter, of feeling good at any one time, or of getting one’s way in a competitive environment. It is not just about how we can have things the way we want them in this or that particular, but rather about the best overall kind of life to live. One of the most defining things about a culture is the answer it gives to the question of well-being. Traditionally in the domain of the humanities, the question of well-being is now being taken up more and more in the sciences. Positive psychology and other areas of empirical enquiry are yielding important new knowledge about the causes and correlates of human flourishing and are opening the way to a fresh consideration of the question of well-being. This points to the need for a robust dialogue between the science of well-being and the humanities as we seek new answers to the question of well-being. This dialogue can help us understand more deeply the ways in which culture defines well-being, how we can assess the well-being orientation of specific cultures, and how we might foster cultural evolution to support greater human flourishing. By focusing particularly on questions of culture, philosophy, literature, and education, this symposium seeks to further this important dialogue. SY 8.1. Culture, well-being, and the eudaimonic turn in literary studies James O. Pawelski University of Pennsylvania, USA The relation between culture and well-being is complex. Clearly, culture is important for well-being. In various ways, culture can substantially support or subvert levels of well-being. Conversely, well-being is important for culture. Surely one of the most important reasons culture exists is to foster well-being. Given the connection between culture and well-being, it seems apparent that well-being should be a criterion of cultural evaluation. Although well-being may not be the only concern of culture, all things being equal, an orientation toward well-being is a desirable characteristic of culture and of the fruits of culture. For the last 50 years, however, contemporary critique of these fruits of culture—we will focus on literary critique in this presentation— has become increasingly suspicious of connections to well-being, seeing in them subversions of autonomy and perpetuations of oppressive cultural power structures. Because of this suspicion, it has become difficult for defenders of well-being to be taken seriously in some literary circles. There are encouraging signs that this situation is beginning to change and that a eudaimonic turn may be under way in literary studies. A small but growing number of literary scholars are starting to publish books and journal articles on topics in well-being, defending its importance in this field. Among these publications is a forthcoming book, co-edited by the presenter and a literature professor (Donald J. Moores), titled “The eudaimonic turn: Well-being in literary studies.” It may be that literary studies is moving toward a more balanced perspective, just as psychology has been doing in the last dozen years. One reason for the significance of this shift is that well-being is itself a construct of culture. The removal of obstacles to the exploration of well-being in literary studies will position this field to play a larger role in the future in the understanding and cultivation of human flourishing. SY 8.2. What is positive in culture, and what
