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The Personality Research Form (PRF) was used to study the psychological traits of Lithuanian college of education students, teachers, and special education teachers. A sample of American college students was also used for comparison. Chi-square results indicated no statistical differences among the groups. Interpretations of the lack of significant results include: the PRF was unable to detect real differences; Lithuanian students, teachers, and special education teachers, and American college students are similar on the PRF scales. The authors discuss the value of psychologists, educators, and researchers testing their instruments on other cultures. Such studies can provide information into the robustness and validity of their instruments as well as offer insight into the learning and teaching process across cultures. (Contains 3 tables.)

This study examined longitudinal changes in coping and defense mechanisms in an age- and gender-stratified sample of 392 European American adults. Nonlinear age-related changes were found for the coping mechanisms of sublimation and suppression and the defense mechanisms of intellectualization, doubt, displacement, and regression. The change trajectories for sublimation and suppression showed that their use increased from adolescence to late middle age and early old age and remained mostly stable into late old age. The change trajectory for intellectualization showed that the use of this defense mechanism increased from adolescence to middle age, remained stable until late midlife, and started to decline thereafter. The defense mechanisms of doubt, displacement, and regression showed decreases from adolescence until early old age, with increases occurring again after the age of 65. Linear age-related decreases were found for the coping mechanism of ego regression and the defense mechanisms of isolation and rationalization. Gender and socioeconomic status were associated with the mean levels of several coping and defense mechanisms but did not moderate age-related changes. Increases in ego level were associated with increased use of the defense mechanism intellectualization and decreased use of the defense mechanisms of doubt and displacement. Overall, these findings in a European American sample suggest that most individuals showed development in the direction of more adaptive and less maladaptive coping and defense strategies from adolescence until late middle age or early old age. However, in late old age this development was reversed, presenting potential challenges to the adaptive capacity of older adults.

This article borrowed network analysis tools to discover how the construct formed by the set of all measures of creativity configures itself. To this end, using a variant of the meta-analytical method, a database was compiled simulating 42,381 responses to 974 variables centered on 64 creativity measures. Results, although preliminary, indicate the existence of a core dimension filled with variables that indicate novelty, which is surrounded by the paired dimensions of negative affect and social leadership, and high cognitive performance and positive affect. As for the measurement instruments, it was found that, although tests of divergent thinking, self-reported biographies, and composite scores are the most appropriate tools to gauge creativity itself, both attitude and personality inventories are best for diagnosing the different kinds of creators.

The University Students Leaving Relationships scale was developed to identify student concerns when contemplating dissolution of romantic relationships. Participants included 1,106 students who rated the importance of issues when deciding to leave relationships. Factor analysis produced three dimensions: Missing the Relationship, Social Embarrassment, and Fear of Harm. (Contains 4 tables.)

The aims of this article are to review the multiple relations between creativity and personality, exploring the measurement instruments that have been used to identify them. Specific personality characteristics and traits found in highly creative individuals and the interaction of these traits with the creative process are described. In addition, results of research projects conducted at the National Institute of Psychiatry Ramon de la Fuente in Mexico City are presented. These projects evaluated personality traits and behaviors present in productive and successful highly creative individuals. The association of these traits and behaviors with differential brain activation and molecular genetic variations in neurotransmitters systems were also explored, which suggested some neurobiological foundations for the creative personality. Finally, it is shown how certain developmental events are critical for personality formation and creativity maturation, pointing out the need for specific strategies in designing and producing programs and policies to provide quality education for all children.

Since 1935, Social Security has provided a vital safety net for millions of Americans who cannot work because of age or disability. This safety net has been especially critical for Americans of Latino decent, who number more than 50 million or nearly one out of every six Americans. Social Security is critical to Latinos because it is much more than a retirement program. In addition to protecting those that cannot work because they are too old, the program benefits disabled workers and their families as well as children and spouses of the deceased. Despite the importance and popularity of Social Security to Latinos, the past year has seen conservative politicians call for the program to be slashed. For example, some members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, colloquially referred to as the Supercommittee, have called for a chained consumer price index (CPI) benefit cut, which would slash benefits by drastically reducing the cost of living adjustment (COLA). Opponents of Social Security have tried to present the proposed adoption of the chained CPI benefit cut as a minor technical change, but it would have drastic consequences for Latinos. Another way opponents of Social Security have proposed cutting benefits is by increasing the normal retirement age past sixty-five. Opponents of Social Security have called for these devastating benefit cuts under the guise of deficit reduction. In this article, the author stresses that Social Security should be strengthened to further help Latinos and suggests that by eliminating the earning cap, treating all salary reduction plans like 401(k)s, and diversifying the trust fund into local and state infrastructure, Social Security can be strengthened for future generations. Policy makers should also make it easier for agricultural and household workers to qualify for benefits and reinstate the college benefit for "student children" of deceased and disabled parents. With these reforms, Social Security can continue to provide a vital safety net and better protect the Latino community.

The California Psychological Inventory's Dominance scale was investigated for inconsistencies in item-trait associations across four samples (one American normative and three culturally dissociated manager groupings). The Kim, Cohen, and Park procedure was used, enabling simultaneous multigroup comparison in addition to the traditional differential item functioning focus on paired-group contrasts. Framing comparisons within Hofstede's cultural dimensions, Dominance construct-item association inconsistencies were predicted to occur across Indian manager responses (when contrasted relatively with U.S. and U.K. responses). Results are consistent with the Hofstede predictions and have particular implications for empirically keyed assessments, multigroup contrasts, the cross-cultural expression of individual differences, and the generalizability of trait definitions across cultures. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

Drawing on the victim precipitation model, this study provides an empirical investigation of the relationship between cognitive ability and victimization at work. We propose that people high in cognitive ability are more prone to victimization. In this study, we also examine the direct and moderating effects of victims' personality traits, specifically the 2 interpersonally oriented personality dimensions of agency and communion. Results support the direct positive relationship of cognitive ability and victimization. The positive relationship between high cognitive ability and victimization is moderated by the victims' personality traits; agency personality traits strengthen the relationship of cognitive ability and victimization, whereas communion personality traits weaken this relationship. (Contains 2 footnotes, 3 tables, and 2 figures.)

Purpose: Teacher research (inquiry) has been characterized as practice improvement, professional development and action research, among numerous names and descriptions. The purpose of this paper is to support the case that teacher research is also a form of quality improvement known as continuous process improvement (CPI). Design/methodology/approach: The paper outlines the underlying characteristics, processes and sub-processes employed by teacher researchers. Next, the same approach is applied to the underlying characteristics, processes and sub-processes of CPI. Lastly, an analysis is performed to identify parallels between teacher research methodology and the methodology employed in CPI to support the case that teacher research is a form of CPI. Findings: It is believed that a defensible analytical case has been built that where teacher research is conducted, the teacher's practice and the education of the students is undergoing CPI. Practical implications: Schools and school administrators searching for techniques to improve the learning that takes place in their school should strongly consider and support teacher research as an effective means of quality improvement. Originality/value: The paper presents a different perspective and view of teacher research in the context of CPI, which was once considered the domain of businesses and corporations. (Contains 3 figures.)

This case study describes recent experiences with two classes of "Generation Me" psychology majors. The teacher compares the self-descriptions and behaviors of current college students with those of students from three earlier decades. Through self-critical reflections, he evaluates his instructional decisions with the two classes. He concludes that meaningful learning is best served by maintaining academic standards--even when there is some lessening of student and teacher comfort levels. (Contains 2 tables and 1 note.)

This study examined the potential contribution of self-compassion to perceived competence and mental health in master's of social work students (N=65). It was hypothesized that the components of self-compassion (i.e., mindfulness, common humanity, self-kindness, overidentification, isolation, and self-judgment) would impact perceived competence (sense of coherence), which in turn would mediate mental health (depressive symptom level). Students completed the Self-Compassion Scale, the Sense of Coherence Questionnaire, and the California Psychological Inventory-Depression Scale. Results showed that overidentification directly and indirectly (as mediated by decreased coherence) affected depressive symptom level. Implications for social work education are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)

The purpose of the research was to investigate gender similarities and differences in general creativity constructs with their preferences for creative persons. Data were collected from 247 participants (87 engineering, 24 psychology students with a psychology major, 51 psychology students with a major other than psychology, 30 English, and 55 music students) from a large Mideastern Big 10 university. All participants completed measures of general creativity (creative personality, creative temperament and cognitive risk tolerance) and a demographic questionnaire with the request to list 10 creative persons and their given field. Results indicated that males and females tended to have similar levels of general creativity, yet the most frequently listed creative eminent persons tended to be male. The most frequently listed creative person selections were in science and art, with the three most frequently selected eminent persons being in the science domains. The most frequent creative person selections, consistently selected by at least 10 participants, were Caucasian males. (Contains 3 tables.)

This study investigates the relationship between creative personality composition, innovative team climate, and team innovation based on an input-process-output model. We measured personality with the Creative Person Profile, team climate with the Team Climate Inventory, and team innovation through team-member and supervisor reports of team innovativeness. The personality composition in each of 29 teams in a television production company was operationalized by mean scores for each creative personality variable, as well as the combination of different creative personality variables within a team. The team climate variable "vision" mediated the relationship between the mean level of associative orientation in teams and team innovation. The team climate variable "support of innovation" mediated the relationship between the joint variables of mean level of ambition x mean level of motivation and team innovation. The results indicated that when there are relationships between creative personality composition and team innovativeness, they are mediated by an innovative team climate. (Contains 3 tables and 1 footnote.)

The internal and external validity of scores on the two-scale Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) and its recent revision, the Paulhus Deception Scales (PDS), developed to measure two facets of social desirability, were studied with three groups of forensic clients and two groups of college undergraduates (total N = 519). The two scales were statistically significantly related in all groups and for both versions of the inventory. A two-factor congeneric, orthogonal measurement model was rejected for all groups. However, a two-factor model that allowed cross-loadings among the items and correlation between the factors provided adequate fit. Concurrent validity data showed scores on both the Impression Management and Self-Deceptive Enhancement (SDE) scales to be satisfactory measures of their respective constructs and also of general social desirability, for both forensic clients and undergraduates. An exception was found in lower validity correlates for scores on the SDE scale in the PDS form. (Contains 6 tables.)

How do salaries of elementary and middle school principals compare with those of other administrators and classroom teachers? Are increases in salaries of principals keeping pace with increases in salaries of classroom teachers? And how have principals' salaries fared over the years when the cost of living is taken into account? This article provides reliable data to answer these questions. The data come from the "National Survey of Salaries and Wages in Public Schools," conducted annually since 1973 by Educational Research Service (ERS). Each year, local school systems throughout the nation report salary and wage data to ERS for 34 professional and support positions. For the school year 2006-2007, 550 school systems reported data. These comprise a stratified sample of large, medium, small, and very small school systems selected by ERS to represent school systems of various sizes across the nation. This information provides a national database for school management and policy decisions concerning staff compensation. For individual elementary and middle school principals, these data show how compensation in one local school system compares with that of other systems and with the U.S. Department of Labor's Consumer Price Index (CPI). (Contains 6 tables and 1 chart.)

The notion of item context effects implies that psychometric properties of an item or scale are altered by the presentation format, for example, blocked versus randomized. In an experimental study with high school students, the experimental group (n = 407) answered a four-dimensional academic self-concept questionnaire, in which the items were presented in a grid with eight identical item stems forming the rows and four academic subjects (math, physics, German, English) forming the columns, thereby maximizing potential blocking effects. The control group (n = 396) answered the identical items presented in a traditional randomized order. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated similar factorial structures (i.e., factor loadings, factor variances, and factor covariances) of the two versions. Scale means, scale homogeneities, and relations with grades in the corresponding and noncorresponding subjects were very similar. Practical implications of these results for economical measurement of educational and psychological concepts (i.e., using grids) are discussed. (Contains 5 tables.)

Nurturing positive values with youth often involves connecting with them during times of internal struggle and relating these struggles to external influences in their lives. Care and support provided by adults is crucial in these times, even when a youth's outward expression of struggles create conflict or concern. In this article, the author features Pastor Greg Van Dunk who began a program at All People's Gathering called Kids Working to Succeed (KWTS). Recognizing there was really no faith-based resource for a community in need, Greg Van Dunk ignited the spark that has fired a church with a neighborhood-focused ministry, where children are the first priority. In examining relevant ways to be a church in Milwaukee's inner-city community, All People's Gathering focused on providing a meaningful place for youth to develop a personal dimension of their own spirituality. The Kids Working to Succeed program is described. (Contains a list of 4 resources.)

This study extends prior work by examining how a different model of personality beyond the Big Five and interest are predictive of an important criterion variable, educational aspirations. This is the first study to investigate personality-interest convergence by examining the newly revised 2003 California Psychological Inventory with the 1994 Strong Interest Inventory. In general, the authors found that those personality scales and interest scales that were more related or applicable to educational aspirations were moderately correlated with level of educational aspirations. Also, hierarchical regression results showed that specific dimensions of personality and interests are related to college students' plans for future scholarly work. Similarly, the current study found that components of one's personality and interest may relate to aspiring to higher levels of education.

This study focuses on the relationship between the personality characteristics of entering law students and academic success in law school. The subjects (137) were entering law school students at Pepperdine University School of Law. Students were administered the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) as a measure of their temperament and character. The subjects' Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) scores and first-year law school grade point average were also obtained. On the CPI, subjects scored highest on the Self-acceptance, Flexibility, and Dominance scales and they scored lowest on the Self-control, Sense of Well-being, and Good Impression scales. The study found a non-significant positive relationship between LSAT scores and first-year grade point average. The study found a significant relationship between Achievement via Independence, Capacity for Status, and Psychological-mindedness scales on the CPI and first-year grade point average. The implications of these results for law school admission policies are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)

Results of the California Psychological Inventory and Career Development Inventory for 200 college students indicated that planful competence in career development is related to greater realization of one's potential and social adjustment. Mature attitudes toward career planning are related to extroversion and a positive orientation to social norms. (Contains 37 references.) (Author/SK)

My Vocational Situation, Career Decision Scale, and California Psychological Inventory (CPI) were completed by 149 students. Factor analysis reduced 20 CPI scales to Extraversion, Control, Flexibility, and Consensuality. Consensuality significantly distinguished high and low career indecision. Extraversion and Control had low to moderate correlations with Consensuality. (SK)