On the psychological meaning of information about competence: A reply to Ryan and Deci's comment on Butler (1987).

The comment by R. M. Ryan and E. L. Deci (see record 1989-34660-001) addresses a study (R. Butler; see record 1988-21628-001) in which I investigated the motivational effects of different kinds of information. Findings were related to several issues, including the different emphases of J. G. Nicholls's (see record 1984-28719-001) theory of task/ego involvement and their cognitive evaluation theory. Ryan and Deci's comment on my article reflects cognitive evaluation theory's emphasis on perceived autonomy as the major determinant of intrinsic motivation. I discuss certain methodological and conceptual limitations of their approach in understanding the impact of different achievement goals and competence strivings on intrinsically motivated behavior. I suggest that it would be fruitful to work toward a synthesis between cognitive evaluation theory and achievement theory that would clarify the relation between perceptions of autonomy and conceptions of competence. Such a synthesis should be helpful in achieving their common aim of promoting task-involved, intrinsically motivated learning in the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional maturity as manifested in ideational interaction.

It is proposed that emotional maturity is manifest in strivings for mutual satisfaction in groups and that inmaturity involves efforts for exclusive gratification. This theory is tested and generally confirmed on 6 pairs of men, of differential maturity, in a discussion group. Some specific findings are: (1) Statements classed as opposites, rejections, and contrasting-rejecting are more characteristic of immature men. (2) Statements oriented toward mutual satisfaction are characteristic of mature men. (3) On direct ratings, mature men had more mutual-satisfaction-strivings and fewer exclusive-satisfaction-striving scores. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender, politics, and psychology's ways of knowing.

Recent work on the psychology of gender has emphasized comparisons of men and women. Such comparisons rest on a view of gender as an individual difference or psychological attribute. Feminist theorists have challenged this view as limited and inadequate. In place of it, a variety of alternative conceptions of gender are emerging. These conceptions shift the focus of analysis from the individual to interpersonal and institutional arenas. Moreover, they dispute the idea of gender as static, unitary, and separable from other markers of social identity and status. In contrast to Alice Eagly (see record 1995-21141-001), I assert that the production of knowledge (whether by scientific procedures or other means) is not set apart from society, but rather is always and inevitably embedded within it. Therefore, I call for efforts to uncover the ways in which psychological knowledge is shaped by ongoing societal struggles and cultural politics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Abstract versus concrete goals: Personal striving level, physical illness, and psychological well-being.

Examined the relation between personal striving level and psychological and physical well-being. Level refers to the degree of generality vs specificity of one's goal strivings. In 3 studies, 188 Ss generated lists of their personal strivings, which were then rated on specificity level. High-level striving was associated with more psychological distress, particularly depression. Low-level striving was related to higher levels of physical illness. Correlations between striving level and self-reported symptoms were generally not as strong as those between level and the more objective illness indicators. High-level strivings were seen as more difficult and requiring more effort than low-level strivings. Results are interpreted in terms of control theory, goal-setting theory, and the repressive personality style. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal Control Strivings and Vulnerability to Negative Social Exchanges in Later Life.

Although negative social exchanges detract from well-being, little is known about the factors that influence older adults' vulnerability to such exchanges. Interpersonal control strivings were examined as predictors of 2 dimensions of vulnerability to negative social exchanges, exposure and reactivity, in a nationally representative sample of older adults (N = 916). Interpersonal control strivings refer to people's efforts to maintain harmony in their relationships and, when unsuccessful, to preserve their emotional health. The results revealed that interpersonal control strivings directed toward maintaining harmony were associated with less exposure, whereas interpersonal control strivings directed toward preserving emotional health when harmony is threatened were associated with less reactivity. Thus, complementary control processes play an important role in older adults' vulnerability to negative social exchanges. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analytic psychology and gender role conflict: The development of the fragile masculine self.

There is a need to undertake a comprehensive approach to understanding gender specific challenges and solutions. This includes understanding the gender role related conflicts men experience. It also includes a reexamination of some of the long-held beliefs regarding men and masculinity including a gender identity socialized to conceptualize a sense of self that emphasizes independence to the exclusion of relational strivings. There is also the emphasis in male socialization to avoid the "feminine" in hopes that this will enhance the masculine identity. It is argued here that for many men, following this course of gender socialization has led to the development of a fragile masculine self. The fragile masculine self is conceptualized from an analytic psychology perspective, integrating aspects of intrapsychic development with psychosocial aspects of O'Neil's gender role conflict paradigm. Combining aspects of the intrapsychic with that of psychosocial forces leads to the development of a new model for conceptualizing and working with men in individual and group therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Repetition of the remembered past: Patterns of separation–individuation in two generations of mothers and daughters.

Interviews with 72 mothers and their young adult daughters provided a transgenerational view of daughters' separation from mothers in early adulthood. Young adult daughters of mothers who remembered their own mothers as enabling autonomy described interdependent mother–daughter relationships based on mutual support. In contrast, daughters whose mothers gave incoherent accounts of their own mother's efforts to constrain autonomy strivings were highly dependent on their mothers. Finally, daughters whose mothers coherently described their own mothers as constraining were stridently independent, but their self-reliance appeared to be more defensive than proactive. The discussion considers how taking account of working models of separation–individuation, as conceptually distinct from models of attachment, may clarify issues in the therapeutic process, especially those associated with termination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Executive Growth Along the Adult Development Curve.

This article describes how principles of adult psychological development can inform executive coaching. An adult developmental perspective is used to identify key transformational tasks of adulthood that help shape executive role functioning. The correlation of psychological competencies with leadership competencies is outlined in more detail for the roles of senior vice president and executive vice president. Coaching case material is used to further illustrate how consultants can use an adult developmental framework to better align organizational life with personal strivings for meaning and growth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self and possible selves during the transition to fatherhood.

In this short-term longitudinal study, the social psychological concept of "possible selves" was integrated with constructs of adult development to examine differences in aspects of self and parenting among fathers-to-be and fathers of infants. Men's actual and possible conceptions of self were measured during their wives' last trimester of pregnancy and again when their infants were about 1 year old. Data are reported on 56 first-time fathers who completed pre- and postnatal assessments; main analyses focused on a subset of 32 men who completed a postnatal measure of the self. Men's ages ranged from 20 to 47 years (M?=?30.61, SD?=?6.57); most were White (83.5%) and middle class. Data were collected through interviews and questionnaires. Results indicate that how men view themselves before and after the birth of their 1st child is relevant for understanding their motivation for role change, their own psychological well-being, and their involvement with their infant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Getting older, getting better? Personal strivings and psychological maturity across the life span.

Measures of psychological maturity based on personal strivings (R. A. Emmons, 1989) were administered to 108 adults aged 17–82. On the basis of organismic-theoretical assumptions regarding maturity, age was hypothesized to be positively associated with K. M. Sheldon and T. Kasser's (1995, 1998) two goal-based measures of personality integration. E. Erikson's (1963) assumptions regarding maturity were the basis for the hypothesis that older people would tend to list more strivings concerning generativity and ego integrity and fewer strivings concerning identity and intimacy. Finally, on the basis of past research findings, maturity and age were hypothesized to be positively associated with subjective well-being. Results supported these hypotheses and also showed that measured maturity mediated the relationship between age and well-being. Thus, older individuals may indeed be more psychologically mature than younger people and may be happier as a result. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Information seeking and achievement motivation in middle childhood and adolescence: The role of conceptions of ability.

Two studies confirmed that maladaptive responses to failure in ego-involving settings depend on acquisition of the differentiated concept of ability (DCA) in early adolescence (J. G. Nicholls, 1984). Information seeking, performance, and interest in task versus ego-involving conditions were examined among 190 pupils in Grades 4 and 8 and 139 pupils in Grades 5–6 who had or had not acquired the DCA. Age and conception of ability had similar effects. Pupils who had acquired the DCA responded to the task condition with strivings to learn and requests for information relevant to acquiring mastery and to the ego condition with strivings to outperform others and requests for normative feedback. Failure undermined information seeking, performance, and interest in the ego condition only after acquisition of the DCA. Surprisingly, pupils who had not acquired the DCA responded to both conditions with strivings to assess normative success but displayed neither the costs of ego involvement nor the benefits of task involvement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Impossible projects": Men's illusory solutions to the problem of work.

Describes a specific type of work disturbance encountered in clinical practice with male patients. The "impossible project" is characterized by grandiose, boundary-less content, intense absorption in solitary activity, and difficulty formulating and sustaining goal-directed work. It is the man's attempt to "patch over" significant ego deficits without fundamentally reworking the traumatic identification with his mother and the emotional absence of his father. The project is fantasized as providing a hitherto elusive masculine identity but also partakes of feelings of fraudulence and impossibility. The cases of 3 men (aged 14, 41, and 40 yrs) exemplify the impossible project and highlight the typical family constellations and developmental deficits of these men. How best to respond to the patient's work strivings as well as common transference paradigms are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Resources, personal strivings, and subjective well-being: A nomothetic and idiographic approach.

The covariation of resources such as money, family support, social skills, and intelligence with subjective well-being (SWB) was assessed in 195 college students. Informant ratings provided an index of resources. Self-reports, daily experience sampling, and informant reports were used to measure SWB. The authors concluded that resources taken together are moderately strong predictors of SWB. This conclusion, however, was qualified by the fact that life satisfaction was more closely related to resources than was affective well-being and that social and personal resources were in general more strongly related to SWB than were material resources. The findings also supported the hypothesis that resources correlate more strongly with SWB when they are relevant to an individual's idiographic personal strivings. A tendency was found for people to choose personal strivings for which they have relevant resources, and the degree of congruence of individuals' goals with resources was predictive of SWB. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Power in Stereotypically Masculine Domains: A Social Influence Strategy X Stereotype Match Model.

This work examines the hypothesis that stereotypes of groups to which low-power people belong should influence the perceptions and behavior of powerful people only when those stereotypes are both contextually relevant (e.g., women in masculine domains) and provide information of relevance given powerful people's beliefs about the relation between subordinates and goal attainment. Findings across two studies supported predictions. In a masculine domain, when high-power men were attentive to subordinate weaknesses that may produce thwarts to goal attainment, stereotypes of women defined the contextually relevant shortcomings of women, and stereotype-consistent high-power behaviors ensued. In contrast, when powerful men were attentive to subordinate strengths that may enhance goal strivings, stereotypes of women were uninformative (i.e., did not contain information about relevant strengths); female and male employees were responded to and, in turn, performed and reacted similarly. The implications of these findings for theorizing on the relation between power and stereotyping are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fantasy: A consolidation.

Focuses on the pathologically conflicted aspects of sensual-sexual and aggressive strivings as well as the self-organizing and reparative aspects that contribute to fantasy formation. Key aspects of H. Kohut's (e.g., 1971, 1977, and 1984) thinking form the background for a self-psychological view of fantasy. Contemporary self-psychological positions on fantasy are highlighted, limitations of this single motivational focus are suggested, and research theory and data are presented that support the inclusion of sensual-sexual and aggressive strivings as contributors to fantasy formation and maintenance. Anecdotal and clinical vignettes are offered to suggest different pathways that specific motives take to initiate and sustain fantasy life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In the eye of the beholder: Views of psychological well-being among middle-aged and older adults.

Although the topic of psychological well-being has generated considerable research, few studies have investigated how adults themselves define positive functioning. To probe their conceptions of well-being, interviews were conducted with a community sample of 171 middle-aged (M?=?52.5 years, SD?=?8.7) and older (M?=?73.5 years, SD?=?6.1) men and women. Questions pertained to general life evaluation, past life experiences, conceptions of well-being, and views of the aging process. Responses indicated that both age groups and sexes emphasized an "others orientation" (being a caring, compassionate person and having good relationships) in defining well-being. Middle-aged respondents stressed self-confidence, self-acceptance, and self-knowledge, whereas older persons cited accepting change as an important quality of positive functioning. In addition to attention to positive relations with others as an index of well-being, lay views pointed to a sense of humor, enjoying life, and accepting change as criteria of successful aging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of father-absence on Norwegian boys and girls.

The effects of father-absence on boys and girls was investigated in Norwegian (sailor) families where the father was absent for 1 or 2 years and "compared with otherwise similar (Norwegian) families (of the same area) in which the father was present. The following hypotheses were made and generally supported by the findings:… father-absent boys… would show immaturity… . Being insecure in their identification with the father, father-absent boys would show stronger strivings toward father-identification… [and] compensatory masculinity… would demonstrate poorer peer/adjustment… [and] father-absent girls… would become more dependent on the mother than would father-present girls." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perverse Spite: The Possessive Gleam in the Mother's Eye and the Struggle to Own One's Soul: Reply to Stern (2004).

In this response to Jeffrey Stern's (2004) (see record 2004-21113-016) commentary on my article, "Giving the Devil His Due: Spite and the Struggle for Individual Dignity" (P. Shabad, 2000) (see record 2000-00917-004), I suggest that in emphasizing the conscious vindictiveness of explicit spite, Stern minimizes the perverse aspects of "cutting off one's nose to spite one's face" as a means of avenging oneself against powerful others. The underlying impetus of perverse spite is to break free from the prison of subtle developmental contingencies and unconscious seductions surrounding maternal possessiveness. When the child's self-assertive strivings are blocked because of the shame and fear of premature separateness, the inward obsessional churning of resentment becomes a fertile ground for perverse spite. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflict among personal strivings: Immediate and long-term implications for psychological and physical well-being.

We examined the influence of goal conflict and ambivalence on psychological and physical well-being through the personal striving framework. Eighty-eight undergraduates in two studies listed 15 of their personal strivings and rated them on the amount of conflict experienced between them and ambivalence experienced about each. Diary and experience sampling methods were used to assess positive and negative affect and physical symptomatology. Conflict and ambivalence were associated with high levels of negative affect, depression, neuroticism, and psychosomatic complaints. Conflict was also associated with health center visits and illnesses over the past year. A 1-year follow-up demonstrated that conflict and ambivalence ratings were stable and that these ratings predicted psychosomatic complaints over time. In a third study, undergraduates' thoughts and activities were randomly sampled over a 3-week period. Subjects were less likely to act on conflictful and ambivalent strivings but to spend more time thinking about these strivings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)