Search Results (18)

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) and resilience should have distinct features due to their theoretical background, and yet their respective relationships with optimism have been consistently positive. Their relationships with pessimism have been understudied, which obscures how PTG and resilience may conceptually differ. We hypothesize that the differences may emerge whether optimism and pessimism are evaluated as cognitive expectancies or dispositional personality traits. The current study examined how optimism and pessimism would be distinctly associated with PTG and resilience, depending on whether optimism and pessimism reflect dispositional personality traits or cognitive expectancies. Midwestern United States university students (N = 347) completed an in-person survey that included measures examining optimism and pessimism as personality traits and a cognitive task estimating the likelihood of positive and negative future events happening to them and happening to others and re-estimating after obtaining novel information (i.e., belief update), in addition to PTG and resilience. Results indicated that dispositional optimism was positively associated with both PTG and resilience, whereas dispositional pessimism was negatively associated with only resilience. Furthermore, higher expectancy of positive events to be happening in the future was mostly associated with PTG whereas lower expectancy of negative events to be happening in the future was mostly associated with resilience. In addition, the perception that positive events would be more likely to happen to them than to others was only associated with resilience. Findings regarding the relationships with adjusted cognitive expectancies (i.e., belief update) were mixed. The current findings reveal potential distinctions between PTG and resilience by highlighting that they may have asymmetrical relationships with optimism and pessimism, depending on whether optimistic/pessimistic characteristics are considered as personality traits or cognitive expectations of positive and negative future events. Full article

This study examines the role of psychological factors on Greek K-12 teachers’ perceptions of the European Union (EU) and their readiness to integrate EU-related content into class-room practice. Grounded in self-determination theory and burnout literature, it focuses on the role of personality traits, psychological needs, self-efficacy, and mental health. A sample of 171 teachers (M_age = 47.67, SD = 8.61) completed validated instruments assessing EU perceptions, Big Five traits, psychological need satisfaction and frustration, well-being, self-efficacy, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and burnout. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the factorial validity of the instruments, along with proper indices for assessing their internal consistency. Cluster analysis identified three distinct teacher profiles: Skeptically Exhausted, Realistically Cautious, and Optimistically Engaged. These groups differed significantly in burnout, self-efficacy, and openness to EU programs. Teachers with high well-being and self-efficacy demonstrated stronger readiness to adopt EU-related pedagogy, while those experiencing elevated burnout reported low institutional trust and limited involvement. These findings highlight the psychological heterogeneity of the teaching workforce and suggest that differentiated, context-sensitive policy interventions are essential for fostering inclusive readiness for European initiatives. Enhancing teacher well-being and strengthening professional development pathways may serve as strategic entry points for promoting meaningful and sustainable EU integration in school curricula. Full article

The climate is expected to change substantially by the end of the current century. In response to climate change, species may disperse, adapt, or become locally extinct. We aim to assess how the climate changes predicted to occur by 2060 may affect the potential distribution of Tropical Mockingbird (Mimus gilvus antelius) and Chalk-browed Mockingbird (Mimus saturninus frater) within the Atlantic Forest domain, Brazil. Occurrence data for both species were compiled from the scientific literature and online biodiversity databases. A total of 118 georeferenced records were obtained for Tropical Mockingbird and 1080 for Chalk-browed Mockingbird. Species distribution models predicted that the two species would respond differently to the ongoing climatic changes. The Tropical Mockingbird will slightly expand its suitable habitat by 3.5% (3871 km²) under the optimistic scenario (minimum temperature increase by 2060; Representative Concentration Pathways-RCP 2.6) and 2.5% (2765 km²) in the pessimistic scenario (maximum temperature increase by 2060; RPC 8.5), relative to the 1960–1990 baseline. Chalk-browed Mockingbird will reduce its suitable habitat by 64% (70,780 km²) under RPC 2.6 and 65% (71,886 km²) under RPC 8.5. The two future climate scenarios suggest that sympatry between the two species will become increasingly rare, with a shift toward allopatry due to emerging climatically unsuitable areas separating their distributions. Our results highlighted the importance of environmental policies that incorporate local ecological contexts and species-specific traits to mitigate biodiversity loss under future climate conditions. Full article

Intelligent machines (IMs), which have demonstrated remarkable innovations over time, require adequate attention concerning the issue of their duty–rights split in our current society. Although we can remain optimistic about IMs’ societal role, we must still determine their legal-philosophical sense of accountability, as living data bits have begun to pervade our lives. At the heart of IMs are human characteristics used to self-optimize their practical abilities and broaden their societal impact. We used Kant’s philosophical requirements to investigate IMs’ moral dispositions, as the merging of humans with technology has overwhelmingly shaped psychological and corporeal agential capacities. In recognizing the continuous burden of human needs, important features regarding the inalienability of rights have increased the individuality of intelligent, nonliving beings, leading them to transition from questioning to defending their own rights. This issue has been recognized by paying attention to the rational capacities of humans and IMs, which have been connected in order to achieve a common goal. Through this teleological scheme, we formulate the concept of virtual dignity to determine the transition of inalienable rights from humans to machines, wherein the evolution of IMs is essentially imbued through consensuses and virtuous traits associated with human dignity. Full article

Workplace hazing remains a critical concern in the hospitality sector, known for its high-pressure environments and hierarchical dynamics. Drawing on transactional stress theory, this study explores the intricate relationships between workplace hazing, emotional exhaustion, and deviant behavior, with a focus on the moderating roles of hope and optimism. The research aims to examine how these psychological factors buffer the negative impacts of workplace hazing on employee behavior. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from 494 valid responses comprising employees and supervisors from four- and five-star hotels in Aqaba, Amman, and Petra, Jordan. Convenience sampling was employed, and the data were analyzed using SPSS 29 and AMOS 26. The findings reveal that workplace hazing significantly predicts emotional exhaustion and deviant behavior, with emotional exhaustion mediating this relationship. Hope and optimism were found to moderate these effects, suggesting employees who maintain an optimistic outlook are better equipped to handle stress, which, in turn, reinforces their positive mindset, ultimately fostering healthier workplace cultures. The study offers both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, it extends the transaction theory of stress by integrating emotional exhaustion and deviant behavior. Practically, it suggests that hospitality organizations should focus on mitigating hazing practices, addressing emotional exhaustion through support mechanisms, and fostering positive psychological traits like hope and optimism to enhance employee well-being and minimize deviant behavior. Full article

This study examined the relationship between school organizational climate and teachers’ organizational citizenship behavior, as well as the mediating role of teaching efficacy and the moderating role of optimistic traits. This study was based on social information processing theory, resource conservation theory, and the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. We conducted a comprehensive survey of 500 educators from Chinese primary and secondary schools using the Organizational Citizenship Behavior Questionnaire, School Organizational Climate Scale, Sense of Teaching Efficacy Scale, and Optimistic Traits Questionnaire as assessment tools. The results demonstrated that (1) school organizational climate significantly and positively predicted teachers’ organizational citizenship behaviors; (2) teaching efficacy partially mediated the relationship between school organizational climate and teachers’ organizational citizenship behaviors; and (3) optimistic traits moderated the second half of the mediation model in which school organizational climate influenced teachers’ organizational citizenship behaviors through teaching efficacy. Our findings indicated that school organizational climate was an important environmental factor affecting teachers’ organizational citizenship behaviors through their sense of teaching efficacy. Optimistic traits had an important protective effect on teachers’ organizational citizenship behaviors. Full article

The approach to ensure food safety (FS) has evolved, including the concept of FS culture, which has been shaped by both the legislation and the scientific literature. In this study, two companies that produce foods associated with potential risks of cross-contamination (gluten-free foods and frozen pastry, respectively) and are certified according to international voluntary FS standards, such as the British Retail Council Global Standard (BRC) and the International Featured Standards Food Version (IFS), were investigated to assess: (a) if the assessment of FS culture’s pillars can uncover unexpected critical areas; (b) if the scores of the FS culture’s pillars are related to personal traits, namely, age, seniority in the company and locus of control orientation, i.e., the beliefs that an event is the result of external factors (luck, destiny or superior beings), or the result of internal factors (human behavior). Questionnaires for the survey and the scoring system applied were selected from the literature. Results showed that all food handlers had an optimistic bias, which paradoxically could be the consequence of the rigorous application of hygienic procedures. The younger food handlers had significantly (p < 0.05) lower commitment than the older ones. Moreover, the segment of food handlers having an external locus orientation demonstrated weaker normative beliefs than those having an internal locus of control orientation. Results showed that the FS culture survey, which is related to the shared FS culture, could disclose unknown weakness in third-party certified companies, even if the well implemented principles of voluntary FS standards are aligned with the FS-culture pillars. Moreover, the segmentation of food handlers according to their age and the locus of control assessment could provide additional information on the individual orientation toward FS behavior. Hence these tools could assist the leaders in the management of the dynamic nature of human capital. Full article

Salinity poses a significant challenge to tomato plant development and metabolism. This study explores the use of biostimulants as eco-friendly strategies to enhance tomato plant tolerance to salinity. Conducted in a greenhouse, the research focuses on the Solanum lycopersicum L. behavior under saline conditions. Tomato seeds were treated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), compost, and their combination under both non-saline and saline conditions (0 and 150 mM NaCl). Plant height, number of flowers and fruits, shoot fresh weight, and root dry weight were negatively impacted by salt stress. The supplementation with compost affected the colonization of AMF, but the application of stress had no effect on this trait. However, the use of compost and AMF separately or in combination showed positive effects on the measured parameters. At the physiological level, compost played a beneficial role in increasing photosynthetic efficiency, whether or not plants were subjected to salinity. In addition, the application of these biostimulants led to an increase in nitrogen content in the plants, irrespective of the stress conditions. AMF and compost, applied alone or in combination, showed positive effects on photosynthetic pigment concentrations and protein content. Under salt stress, characterized by an increase in lipid peroxidation and H₂O₂ content, the application of these biostimulants succeeded in reducing both these parameters in affected plants through exhibiting an increase in antioxidant enzyme activity. In conclusion, incorporating compost, AMF, or their combined application emerges as a promising approach to alleviate the detrimental impacts of salt stress on both plant performances. These findings indicate optimistic possibilities for advancing sustainable and resilient agricultural practices. Full article

The continuous increase in life expectancy leads to progressive population ageing, especially in most developed countries. A healthy diet and better consumption of tailored functional foods may represent one of the strategies to postpone or slow down age-related decrements, thus increasing healthy ageing and reducing healthcare costs. This research aimed to explore elderly people’s (>65 years old) eating habits and assess their awareness of food-health correlation. In total, 511 Italian seniors answered a CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) questionnaire through a deep, telephone interview to collect information about dietary habits, healthy food awareness, and inclination for functional foods. The elderly were divided into four groups according to gender and age: Early Elderly Female (n = 130), Early Elderly Men (n = 109), Late Elderly Female (n = 157), and Late Elderly Men (n = 115). The groups provided a positive self-assessment of health status and individual diet healthiness, which were both considered over “good enough” (5 on 10-point scale) and showed food consumption habits in line with the Mediterranean Diet (MD) principles. The daily diet was based on fruits, vegetables, bread, and pasta, with extra virgin olive oil as the main fat source, all over “often” consumed (4 on 5-point scale). Old people also showed awareness of different food’s healthy properties. Specifically, females were more aware of food’s impact on health, considered close to “extremely healthy” (9 on 10-point scale), and strictly followed a MD. Participants also expressed optimistic expectations about functional food efficiency, evaluated as close to “extremely desirable” (8 or 9 on 10-point scale), against age-related problems, highlighting the most important as diabetes, overweight, intestine problems, and low mood. The interviewed elderly were also involved in virtual functional food co-creation, indicating through a basic matrix which, among the most familiar foods, could be the ideal functional food, focusing on fruitsand vegetables. A pleasant odor/flavor, a liquid texture, and a warm serving temperature rather than cold characterized the virtual functional food created. Other positive attributes were liquid and thickness, while acidity and bitterness were among the least desired traits. These findings show how elderly people, despite predictable age-related sensory and cognitive loss, when properly involved and guided, can help envision foods that fit their needs and desires. Full article

Positive psychology has attracted increasing attention from many scholars worldwide. There is a considerable body of knowledge on the relationship between optimism and subjective well-being (SWB). However, their mediation mechanism has not been fully studied, and most of the current conclusions were formulated within the context of Western culture, with a limited number of empirical studies specifically targeting Chinese people. Based on the theories of self-regulation and stress coping, our research aimed to validate the association between optimism and SWB among Chinese adults and further investigate the mediating effect of positive and negative coping in this relationship. In Study 1, using a national dataset from the Chinese General Social Survey (N = 12,582), we captured the direct positive relationship between optimism and SWB. In Study 2, taking a cross-sectional study (N = 272), we found the mediating effect of positive and negative coping in the relationship between optimism and SWB according to correlation and regression analysis. In Study 3, taking a cross-lagged study (N = 343), we reverified the results of Study 2 and found negative coping no longer played a role as a mediator after accounting for the factors of social desirability and state anxiety in the analysis. These findings are worthwhile for paying attention to Chinese people’s optimistic traits and the pathways to improving their subjective well-being using different coping behaviors. Full article

This study responds to the need to explore psychological predictors of COVID-19-related anxiety in vulnerable groups. An anonymous voluntary online survey was conducted (n = 520) with (a) working parents with young children (0–12 y.o.), (b) people with chronic physical conditions, (c) people with multiple vulnerability characteristics and (d) a control group (no self-reported vulnerability) in 2022. Findings showed that perceived stress of the parents and trait anxiety of the chronic sufferers were single weak positive predictors of COVID-19 anxiety. However, both psychological factors had a stronger effect on the pandemic-related anxiety for the group with multiple vulnerabilities. In the control group, trait resilience and optimistic expectations (combined with perceived stress) were moderate negative predictors of COVID-19 anxiety. The findings emphasize the importance of perceptions, expectations, trait anxiety as well as the need for intersectional research of vulnerability from multiple perspectives. Furthermore, they highlight the necessity of group-specific policies and interventions aimed both at handling the negative psychological tendencies of the vulnerable groups and at strengthening the positive tendencies of non-vulnerable groups, rather than tackling only emergent anxiety conditions in crisis times. Full article

To understand and assess vaccine reluctance, it is necessary to evaluate people’s perceptions and grasp potential reasons for generic apprehension. In our analysis, we focus on adolescents’ impressions towards anti-vaxxer behavior. The aim of the study is to figure out students’ opinions about vaccine reluctance, connecting possible explanations that motivate anti-vaxxer decisions with common specific personality traits. We further investigate people’s forecasts concerning the evolution of the pandemic. Between 2021 and 2022, we conducted a randomized survey experiment on a sample of high school individuals ($N=395$) living in different Italian regions. At that time, the vaccination campaign had already been promoted for nearly one year. From the analysis, it emerges that vaccinated people (92%), especially males, tend to be more pessimistic and attribute a higher level of generic distrust in science to anti-vaxxers. The results show that family background (mother’s education) represents the most influential regressor: individuals coming from less educated families are less prone to attribute generic distrust and distrust of vaccines as principal reasons for vaccine reluctance. Similarly, those who rarely use social media develop a minor tendency to believe in a generic pessimism of anti-vaxxers. However, concerning the future of the pandemic, they are less likely to be optimistic toward vaccines. Overall, our findings shed light on adolescents’ perceptions regarding the factors that influence vaccine hesitancy and highlight the need for targeted communication strategies to improve vaccination rates. Full article

This study examines the influence of joint information framing and personality traits on housing purchase decisions, specifically in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a between-subjects experimental design, we found that negative framing has a stronger impact on purchase decisions for optimistic participants compared with pessimistic ones. Additionally, high-price anchoring has a greater negative effect on purchase intention for pessimists, while low-price anchoring has a stronger positive effect for optimists. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the low-price real estate market has been less severely impacted by the pandemic than the high-price market. The real estate market seeks to minimize information asymmetry to achieve sustainable and healthy development. These results contribute to creating inclusive, safe, and sustainable cities. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a huge challenge for the modern world. How people perceive themselves and their coping abilities is important for their mental health and well-being. One of the traits that may be important in effectively coping with difficulties is positive orientation: a stable cognitive disposition that is the opposite of depression and is associated with a positive perception of oneself, one’s life, events, and the future. This study aimed to verify the role of positive orientation in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and perceived stress. A sample of 907 Polish people took part in this study. FOC-6, P Scale, and PSS-10 questionnaires were used in the presented cross-sectional study. The analysis showed that women scored higher in fear of COVID-19 and perceived stress scores than men (Cohen’s d indicated a moderate effect). There was no significant difference in the levels of positive orientation. P Scale results were significantly related to fear of COVID-19 (small effect) only for the whole studied sample, and not for women and men considered separately. Fear of COVID-19 was positively related to the perceived stress score (moderate effect). Positive orientation was negatively related to the PSS-10 scores (also moderate effect) for all tested groups. Fear of COVID-19 and positive orientation were significant predictors of perceived stress scores. The mediation effect of positive orientation was statistically significant, but the effect size was marginally small. Positive orientation is an important predictor of perceived stress, which could be related to the COVID-19 pandemic. People with a positive orientation better cope with the challenges of the pandemic and are optimistic about the future. Working on positive orientation can improve well-being and reduce tension, which is extremely important in difficult pandemic times. Full article

People who are more optimistic may experience better psychological health during stressful times. The present study examined the perceptions and emotions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic among American women who were experiencing fertility problems. We tested if dispositional optimism in these women was associated with less negative perceptions and emotions. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of patients from a single private infertility and reproductive clinic in an urban area in the Midwest, United States. Women, age 18 or older, primarily White and educated, who presented for an appointment to the clinic were invited to participate in an email-based survey. Respondents (N = 304) reported their perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on fertility treatment, emotions associated with this impact, and perceived stress and depressive symptoms. They also completed measures of dispositional optimism and expectations for a future pregnancy. Findings indicated that women perceived an overall negative impact of the pandemic on their treatment plans, which was associated with more negative emotions, lower expectations of future pregnancy, and greater stress and depressive symptoms during the pandemic. However, further correlational analyses revealed that being higher in trait optimism was associated with perceiving a less negative impact of the pandemic, experiencing fewer negative emotions, and less overall stress and depressive symptoms. Although women with fertility problems have perceived the pandemic as negative and disruptive, those who are higher in optimism may be less affected. Full article