Search

Understanding what motivates an organization's employees is central as it plays significant role in workplace behavior and performance. Despite the importance of motivation in the Nigerian workplace researchers placed more emphasis on extrinsic sources of motivations and personal incentive as antecedents of work motivation. In the tradition of Positive psychology of investigating variables which fosters positive self-image humans and emotions with less emphasis on extrinsic rewards. We investigate the role of Need for achievement and Positive growth initiative as covariates of employees work motivation. The study was a correlational design. on one's subjective experiences, individual traits, optimism and life events. Two hundred and fifty (250) employees were conveniently sampled from the nonacademic staff of Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa, Oyo-state. The average age was 32.13 (SD= 4.23) years. 53.2% were males while 46.8% were females. 65.7% have spent 5-10 years in the organisation, 13.4% have spent less than 1- 4 years while 20.9% have spent above 10 years in the institution. Data was collected via questionnaire containing standardized measures. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlation analysis (PPMC) and t-test for independence were used to analysed the data at p≤0.05 of significance. Need for achievement correlated positively with work motivation (r = 0.25; p < 0.01).Work motivation increased with personal growth initiative (r = 0.39: p < 0.01) among non-academic staff Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa. There was no significant difference between male and female employees in work motivation t (248) = 0.5, p> .05 The study concluded that persona growth initiative (PGI) and need for achievement were positive psychological antecedents of work motivations. The establishment of human resource Unit in the polytechnic to monitor and promote morale boosting activities in the organization was advised.

Teknolojinin gelişmesiyle orantılı olarak dünyadaki değişim rüzgârı da hızını artırmaktadır. Bu değişim herkesi etkilemektedir. Hayatta kalmak için değişime ayak uydurmak zorunluluk haline gelmektedir. Değişimi yakalayamayan gerilemeye mahkûmdur. Değişimi yakalamak için bireye, topluma, organizasyonlara vb. her türlü yapıya çeşitli görevler düşmektedir. Bu araştırmada yukarıda sayılan yapılardan birey ele alınmaya çalışılmıştır. Bireyin çağı yakalayabilmesi ya da bunun da ötesinde öncülerden olması için kişisel gelişimine önem vermesi gerekir. Kişisel gelişim süreci beşikten mezara kadar devam eder. Bu süreç içerisinde birey kendini geliştirmeye devam ederken ufku da o oranda gelişir, değişir. Bu durum, aynı zamanda kişinin kariyerini besler. Bu çalışmanın amacı, üniversite öğrencilerinin kişisel gelişim yönelimlerinin kariyer uyum yeteneklerine etkisini incelemektir. Bu amaçla hazırlanan anket formu 512 öğrenciye uygulanmıştır. Sonuçlara göre öğrencilerin kişisel gelişim yönelimlerinin kariyer uyum yeteneklerine anlamlı bir etkisi bulunmuştur. With the advancement of technology the winds of change in the World also get stronger. This change affects everybody in some way. Under these circumstances, it becomes necessary to keep pace with the changes. Those who cannot catch up these changes are doomed to regress. To catch these changes some resposibilities fall to all kinds of structures like individual, society, organization etc.In this research, the matter of individual was tackled among the structures mentioned above. The individual should place emphasis on his/her personal development to catch up with his/her age or to go beyond his/her age. Personal development process continues from craddle to grave. Within this process horizon of the individual broadens while he/she goes on to develop himself/herself. This also supports one’s career. The puspose of this study is to investigate the effects of personal growth initiative of university students on career adaptation skills. The questionnaire prepared for this purpose was applied to 512 students. According to the results, students' personal growth initiative had a significant effect on career adaptation skills.

We investigated the acculturation process of international students (N = 319, 162 female) from 62 countries who were residing in the Netherlands, using the acculturation framework by Arends-Toth and Van de Vijver (2007). We applied SEM to test the model that acculturation conditions (perceived cultural distance [PCD], personal growth initiative [PGI], proficiency in English and the host language, and length of residence) in conjunction with acculturation orientations as mediators (host, heritage, expatriate) predict psychological adjustment as acculturation outcome (acculturative stress, satisfaction with life, mental health problems). We found direct and indirect effects of acculturation conditions on adjustment; high PGI, high English and Dutch proficiencies, and low PCD were associated with better adjustment. Host orientation (predicted by high PGI, Dutch proficiency, and low PCD) was positively associated with adjustment. Heritage orientation (predicted by low English proficiency) was negatively associated with adjustment. As a novel aspect, we included expatriate orientation - an orientation towards other expatriates in the host community. Expatriate orientation was predicted by low Dutch proficiency and was positively associated with adjustment. We also observed direct links between acculturation conditions and outcomes: positive associations between PCD and acculturative stress and between length of residence and acculturative stress; and negative associations between PGI and mental health problems and between English proficiency and acculturative stress. We provide evidence that including expatriate orientation is relevant among international students: It is stronger than both host and heritage orientations, thereby underlining the importance of studying acculturation in a contextualized way.

This study explores measures of curiosity and autonomy as two motivation and personality predictors of personal growth initiative (PGI), an indicator of cross-cultural adjustment. The sample comprised 221 international graduate students. Structural equation modeling was utilized to identify the relations among self-perceived language skills, curiosity, autonomy, and PGI. The results indicate that perceived language skills and autonomy promote curiosity, which in turn facilitates PGI. Implications are suggested to facilitate the adaptation of international students.

The age range of traditional college students is known to be at the peak of experiencing potentially traumatic events (PTE; Breslau et al., 1999), and a study has found that about half of the college students were exposed to a PTE in their first year alone (Galatzer-Levy, Burton, & Bonanno, 2012). However, reaction after a PTE may vary, such that some may experience higher levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) whereas others are more resilient and may report minimal distress (Jones & Barlow, 1990). In coping with a PTE, although it was assumed that people favor a certain coping strategy, it is not uncommon that people utilize a combination of strategies (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Research found that flexible coping may lead to better outcomes as opposed to being rigid in choosing coping strategies (Cheng, 2001). However, the role of Personal Growth Initiative (PGI; Robitschek 1998, 1999; Robitschek et al., 2012), which is a person’s active, intentional involvement in changing one’s self, on coping flexibility is unclear. People with high PGI skills may encompass the cognitive ability necessary for coping flexibility, choosing various coping strategies that meet the demands of a PTE. However, it is also possible that people with high PGI skills may be more tempted to use their preferred coping strategies (Hardin, Weigold, Robitschek, & Nixon, 2007; Robitschek & Cook, 1999; Weigold & Robitschek, 2011), which may potentially bias the selection of coping strategies. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to identify subgroups in reported PGI and PTSS following a PTE and examine predictors of the identified subgroups by coping flexibility and trauma appraisals (i.e., threat, challenge, centrality, and controllability). Participants were 656 undergraduate students who experienced a potentially traumatic event (PTE) within the past five years. Finite mixture modeling indicated a three-class model (i.e., moderate PGI and low PTSS, moderate PGI and moderate Avoidance, and low PGI and high PTSS) as the best-fitting model. Coping flexibility and trauma appraisals were significant predictors of class membership. The current study provides a potential explanation of the inconsistent results between PGI and PTSS. Furthermore, it raises the importance of assessing the perceived threat of a PTE, anticipation of growth from a PTE, perceived importance of a PTE for individuals’ well-being, and their sense of present control. The current study fills the gap in the existing literature, examining the effect of coping flexibility and trauma appraisals in predicting subgroups based on PGI and PTSS.

We sought to identify teachers' personality-based antecedents that tend them toward an autonomy-supportive or controlling motivating style. We assessed both aspects of teachers' motivating styles at the beginning of the semester (T1, Time 1) and again after all teachers had completed a semester-long intervention (T2) to learn how to become more autonomy supportive and less controlling. At the start of the semester, 42 full-time elementary-grade teachers (25 females, 17 males) completed a packet of questionnaires to self-report their core traits (the big five) and eight surface traits (e.g., causality orientations , authoritarianism) that we hypothesized would predict one motivating style or the other, while their 633 students self-reported their autonomous motivation. Regression-based analyses revealed four findings: (1) High levels of openness to experience and agreeableness both individually predicted teachers' T1 autonomy-supportive motivating style; (2) high levels of control causality orientation and authoritarianism both individually predicted T1 controlling motivating style; (3) high levels of autonomy causality orientation and personal growth initiative both individually predicted a post-intervention change in T2 autonomy-supportive motivating style; and (4) high level of control causality orientation predicted a post-intervention change in T2 controlling motivating style. These findings suggest a robust relation between personality and teachers' motivating styles.

This study has been conducted with the aim of analyzing the relationship between Self-confidence and Personal Growth Initiative Scale levels of employees and managers. All the employees and managers are selected from big companies and schools which is in Istanbul and the rest of the employees participants are also selected by the using random selection method from small shops or companies. Such descriptive statistics as mean, standard deviation as well as reliability analysis, independent T test and correlation analysis have been made use of within the scope of the research. The results suggest that there are relationships between the self-confidence and Personal Growth Initiative levels of employees and managers. Although the data acquired is rather recent, it would not be wrong to claim that they are striking. This is the first time self- confidence and Personal Growth Initiative are investigated with level of employees and managers in a thesis therefore the research is important. As can be seen, between level of employees and managers, Self-Confidence and Personal Growth Initiative are positive according to gender. Some of the data acquired by means of the investigation seems to support hypotheses. That is, there are meaningful differences in terms of age as far as self-confidence and personal growth initiative of the employees and the manager are concerned.

The present study aimed to realize a systematic review of publications about personal growth initiative. A literature review was realized in Bireme, Index Psi, LILACS, PePSIC, Pubmed - Publisher's Medlme, Wiley Online Library, PsycINFO, OneFile, SciVerse ScienceDirect, ERIC, Emerald Journals, PsycARTICLES - American Psychological Association, Directory of Open Access Journals - DOAJ, SAGE Journals, SpringerLink, PLoS, IngentaConnect, IEEE Journals & Magazines and SciELO databases. The literature review was performed from December of 2014 to January of 2015, without stipulating date limits for the publication of the articles. It was found 53 studies, excluded seven, and analyzed 46 researches. The studies aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of personal growth initiative scale and personal growth initiative scale II. The relations of personal initiative growth and others constructs were also evaluated. Furthermore the studies investigated the impact of interventions to promote personal growth initiative. Results of these studies showed that personal growth initiative was positively related to levels of well-being, selfesteem and others positive dimensions, and negatively to anxiety, depression and others negative factors. El presente estudio busca realizar una revisión sistemática de publicaciones acerca de la iniciativa de crecimiento personal. Se realizó una revisión de literatura en las bases de datos Bireme, Index Psi, LILACS, PePSIC, Pubmed - PublisheFs Medlme, Wiley Online Library, PsycINFO, OneFile, SciVerse ScienceDirect, ERIC, Emerald Journals, PsycARTICLES - American Psychological Association, Directory of Open Access Journals -DOAJ, SAGE Journals, SpringerLink, PLoS, IngentaConnect, IEEE Journals & Magazines y SciELO. La revisión de la literatura se realizó a partir de diciembre de 2014 a enero de 2015, sin estipular límites de fecha para la publicación de los artículos. De los 53 estudios hallados, se excluyeron 7 y se analizaron 46. Los estudios se enfocaron en investigar las propiedades psicométricas de la escala iniciativa de crecimiento personal y de iniciativa de crecimiento personal escala II. Las relaciones de crecimiento personal iniciativa y otros constructos también fueron evaluados. Además, los estudios investigaron el impacto de las intervenciones para promover la iniciativa de crecimiento personal. Los resultados de estos estudios mostraron que iniciativa de crecimiento personal se relaciona positivamente con los niveles de bienestar, la autoestima y otras dimensiones positivas, y negativamente con la ansiedad, depresión y otros factores negativos.

Major life events require psychological adaptations and can be accompanied by brain structural and functional changes. The goal of the current study was to investigate the association of personal growth initiative (PGI) as a form of proactive coping strategy before childbirth, with gray matter volume after delivery. Childbirth is one of the few predictable major life events, which, while being one of the most positive experiences for many, is also accompanied by multidimensional stress for the mother. Previous research has shown that high stress is associated with reductions in gray matter volume in limbic cortices as well as the prefrontal cortex (PFC). We hypothesized that PGI before childbirth is positively related to gray matter volume after delivery, especially in the ventromedial PFC (vmPFC). In a prospective study, 22 first-time mothers answered questionnaires about their PGI level 1 month before birth (T1) and 1 month after delivery (T2). Four months after giving birth, a follow-up assessment was applied with 16 of these mothers (T3). Structural brain data were acquired at both postpartal measurement occasions. Voxel-based morphometry was used to correlate prenatal PGI levels with postpartal gray matter volume. Higher PGI levels before delivery were positively associated with larger gray matter volume in the vmPFC directly after childbirth. Previous structural neuroimaging research in the context of major life events focused primarily on pathological reactions to stress (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder; PTSD). The current study gives initial indications that proactive coping may be positively associated with gray matter volume in the vmPFC, a brain region which shows volumetric reductions in PTSD patients.

The face of the United States is changing as a result of immigration. Mexican-immigrants account for the majority of the country’s foreign-born population, and it is becoming increasingly important that researchers and therapists learn more about how the cultural transition process may impact these individuals. Knowing the relationship between acculturative stress and psychological distress, and the factors that could affect that relationship, is fundamental in understanding the psychological impact immigration can have. While previous research has primarily focused on examining postmigration issues among adult and adolescent populations, the current study focused on the experiences of individuals in the emerging adult stage of development. Participants were young adult Mexican immigrants and U.S. born individuals raised in Mexico who later returned to the U.S. (N = 97). They were recruited in the community and general university population. A moderated mediation model was analyzed to assess the relationships among family functioning, acculturative stress, personal growth initiative, and psychological distress among this population. Analyses revealed family functioning was associated with acculturative stress, which in turn, was related to psychological distress. There was no evidence that family functioning was linked to psychological distress independent of its effect on acculturative stress. Although, PGI was not a significant moderator in our hypothesized model, results suggested the possibility of PGI buffering the relationship between acculturative stress and psychological distress if we had a larger sample. The importance of these findings and implications for future research are discussed.

Research suggests that high self-esteem is positively associated with healthy psychological functioning and negatively associated with maladaptive functioning. Given self-esteem’s relationship with mental health, it is becoming increasingly important for psychologists to understand the factors that influence self-esteem, especially for members of disadvantaged groups, such as African Americans. This study sought to gain a better understanding of the ways in which ethnic identity and Personal Growth Initiative contribute to the resiliency of African American self-esteem. Participants were self-identified African American young adults (N = 331) from the community and the local university population. Consistent with the first hypothesis (H1), the constructs under study were positively related to each other. For the second (H2) and third (H3) hypotheses, two moderated mediation analyses were conducted. For each model, PGI served as the independent variable and moderator, stages of ethnic identity development (i.e., exploration, H2, and commitment, H3) served as mediators, and self-esteem served as the dependent variable. For individuals with very high levels of PGI and for individuals with moderately low levels of PGI, ethnic identity exploration mediated the relationship between PGI and Black self-esteem (H2). Contrary to the third hypothesis (H3), evidence for moderated mediation using ethnic identity commitment as the mediator was not found. However, a post hoc analysis did find simple, partial mediation using ethnic identity commitment. Implications of the study’s findings are discussed. Directions for future research are also suggested.

A presente tese agrupa quatro estudos que objetivam investigar as relações dos recursos pessoais com os índices de bem-estar dos indivíduos. Foi realizada uma revisão de literatura sobre a iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal, a fim de compreender em profundidade o construto de iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal. Posteriormente, foram desenvolvidos três estudos empíricos. O primeiro artigo empírico refere-se ao estudo de adaptação e avaliação das propriedades psicométricas da versão brasileira da Escala de Iniciativa ao Crescimento Pessoal – II (Personal Growth Initiative Scale – II, PGI-II). Foi observado que a versão brasileira da PGI-II constitui-se como um instrumento confiável para investigar os índices de disponibilidade para mudança, planejamento, comportamento intencional e uso de recursos, apresentando uma estrutura de quatro fatores de primeira ordem. O segundo artigo empírico avaliou se as relações das dimensões da iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal com os níveis de bem-estar subjetivo eram mediadas pela presença de sentido de vida. Foi observado que a presença de sentido de vida media o impacto das dimensões planejamento e comportamento intencional sobre os níveis de satisfação com a vida, afetos positivos e negativos. As dimensões disponibilidade para mudança e uso de recursos não estiveram relacionadas aos índices de presença de sentido de vida. As dimensões disponibilidade para mudança e uso de recursos estiveram negativamente associadas aos níveis de bem-estar subjetivo. O terceiro artigo empírico avaliou se as relações entre otimismo, pessimismo e autoestima com os índices de estresse, satisfação com a vida, afetos positivos e negativos eram mediados pelos níveis de presença de sentido de vida. Os resultados demonstraram que as relações entre o otimismo e autoestima com os índices de estresse, afetos positivos e negativos foram parcialmente mediados pelos níveis de presença de sentido de vida. Entretanto, as relações dos índices de pessimismo com estresse, satisfação com a vida, afetos positivos e negativos não foram mediados pelos níveis de presença de sentido de vida. Estudos futuros devem avaliar se as relações dos recursos pessoais com bem-estar subjetivo e estresse são replicáveis a outras amostras. A principal contribuição desta tese foi disponibilizar uma escala para investigar a iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal no contexto brasileiro. Além disso, os resultados deste estudo avançam o conhecimento sobre as relações entre os recursos pessoais e as dimensões de bem-estar. This thesis join up four studies that aims to investigate the relationship of levels of personal resources with well-being of individuals. A literature review on the personal growth initiative was carried out in order to understand in depth the construct of personal growth initiative. Later, three empirical studies were developed. The first empirical paper refers to the study of adaptation and evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale - II (Personal Growth Initiative Scale - II, PGI-II). It was observed that the Brazilian version of PGI-II was established as a reliable instrument to investigate the levels of readiness for change, planfulness, intentional behavior and using resources, with a four first-order factor structure. The second empirical research evaluated if presence of meaning in life mediated the relationships of the dimensions of personal growth initiative with subjective well-being. It was observed that the presence of meaning in life measured the impact of dimensional planning and intentional behavior on levels of satisfaction with life, positive and negative affect. The dimensions readiness for change and using resources were not related to levels of presence of meaning in life. The dimensions readiness for change and using resources were negatively associated with levels of subjective well-being. The third empirical research has evaluated if presence of meaning in life mediated the relationships of optimism, pessimism and self-esteem with levels of stress, life satisfaction, positive and negative affect. The results showed that the relationship between optimism and self-esteem with levels of stress, positive affect and negative were partially mediated by levels of presence of meaning in life. However, the relations of pessimism with stress, life satisfaction, positive affect and negative were not mediated by levels of presence of meaning in life. Future studies should evaluate if the relations of personal resources with subjective well-being and stress are replicable to other samples. The main contribution of this thesis was to provide a scale to investigate the initiative to personal growth in the Brazilian context. In addition, the results of this study advance the understanding of the relationship between personal resources and well-being.

Studentams neišvengiamai reikalingi tam tikri asmeniniai ištekliai, kuriais naudodamiesi galėtų adaptyviai funkcionuoti, nepaisydami karjeros kelyje kylančių sunkumų. Vienas iš potencialių asmeninių išteklių, prisidedančių prie gerovės ir karjeros sėkmės, yra asmeninio augimo iniciatyva, apibrėžiama kaip aktyvus ir tikslingas įsitraukimas į savęs keitimo procesą. Tyrimo tikslas. Tyrimo tikslas buvo ištirti asmeninio augimo iniciatyvos sąsajas su studentų akademine gerove, apimančia įsitraukimą į studijas, pasitenkinimą studijų pasirinkimu ir pasitenkinimą gyvenimu. Metodika. Tyrime dalyvavo 235 kolegijos ir universiteto studentai. Tyrimo dalyviai pildė anoniminį klausimyną. Rezultatai. Buvo rasti statistiškai reikšmingi teigiami ryšiai tarp tyrimo kintamųjų. Vienas iš asmeninio augimo iniciatyvos komponentų – tikslingas elgesys – statistiškai reikšmingai teigiamai prognozavo studentų įsitraukimą į studijas, pasitenkinimą studijų pasirinkimu ir pasitenkinimą gyvenimu. Išvados. Tyrimo rezultatai patvirtina, kad asmeninio augimo iniciatyva gali būti reikšmingas studentų, bepradedančių karjeros kelią, akademinės gerovės išteklius. Students inevitably need certain resources to adaptively function despite challenges in their career paths. One of the possible personal resources that contribute to individuals’ well-being and career success is the personal growth initiative, which can be defined as an active and intentional involvement in the self-change process. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to explore the links between personal growth initiative and students’ academic well-being, indicated by satisfaction with life, academic major satisfaction and study engagement. Method. 235 undergraduate university and college students participated in the study. The participants filled anonymous questionnaires. Results. Positive significant links between study variables were found. One of the components of personal growth initiative – intentional behavior – was a significant predictor of students’ engagement, academic major satisfaction and satisfaction with life. Conclusions. The results of the study suggest that personal growth initiative might be an important resource for students when they start their career path in an academic setting.

MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015 Industrial and organisational (I-O) psychology is a profession which entails a broad spectrum of working activities. One of these activities is workplace counselling which forms a significant part of the internship programme. However, interns often lack the necessary skills to provide counselling. In order to function in a counselling role, the I-O psychologist should have the necessary training to be equipped with counselling skills. It is evident from previous studies that I-O psychology practitioners often feel they lack the ability to counsel individuals sufficiently. Therefore it is important for I-O psychology students to focus on their development to become effective counsellors by focussing on their inter- and intrapersonal skills as part of the skills package as a counsellor. Personal Growth Initiative (PGI) is one way of measuring a person’s intrapersonal skills in terms of the individual’s intention to change and grow. The main aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of PGI among I-O psychology students. Participation in this study was limited to I-O psychology students (N = 568). The students differed in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, and language. The results provided the researcher with an indication of what the students’ intention to grow and develop as an individual entails in order to provide a basis for further research, namely to develop a training programme for I-O psychology students as workplace counsellors.. The PGI of the students were measured by means of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS). This is a nine-item instrument with a six-point Likert type scale ranging from 0 (definitely disagree) to 6 (definitely agree). The results indicated that PGI is prevalent among the I-O psychology students. Furthermore, the study showed that PGI is relevant to all gender and ethnic groups amongst I-O psychology students. Significant differences were found for the different ages and languages. From the results it is recommended that higher education institutions adapt training programmes to foster personal growth initiative amongst I-O psychology students. Future research can also make use of the PGIS-II to measure PGI as this is the latest version of the construct. In terms of the organisation it is recommended that I-O practitioners should be more growth focussed. Masters

Personal growth initiative, the active and intentional engagement in becoming a better person, allows people to more positively cope with life’s everyday challenges, be better problem solvers, and have more choices and tools available when working to change and improve themselves. There are no published accounts on ways to effectively increase PGI in regard to clinical samples. An intervention designed to increase PGI, Intentional Growth Training (IGT), demonstrated that PGI can be significantly increased over a 1-week period. IGT has been used only with college students needing to obtain course credit, and only effects over a 1-week period have been analyzed. This study examined if there was a significant increase in level of PGI and significant decrease in depression symptoms following IGT at 1-week, 2-weeks, and 4-weeks post-intervention. It was hypothesized that there would be evidence for statistical significance (H1 and H2), efficacy (H3 and H4), and clinical significance (H5 and H6) of IGT on level of PGI and depressive symptoms at each of the measured time points. A series of repeated measures ANOVAs, and comparisons of Reliable Change Indices revealed limited support for the hypotheses. Further research on the use of IGT with clinical populations is needed for support of the use of this intervention as an effective intervention in counseling. Implications for the research and suggested future directions are explored.

Özgüven bütün teorisyenler çerçevesinde de incelendiğinde görüleceği gibi, aslında kişinin kendisi için ve kendisi hakkında ne kadar olumlu, ne kadar pozitif düşünebildiğinin ve görebildiğinin bütünüdür. Özgüveni olan birey, kendi güçlü ve güçsüz yanlarını bilir, hayatını, hedeflerini ona göre çizer. Olumsuz ve güçsüz yanlarını bilir, ona göre davranış ve yönlerinde ya törpüleme yapar, ya da istediği fakat kendisinde var olmayan özellikleri edinmeye çalışır. Bunu yaparken diğer insanlarla da iletişim halindedir. Kişisel Gelişim inisiyatifi alma kavramı ise birebir incelendiğinde, deneysel sonuçlar da ele alınarak bakıldığında özgüven ile arasında olumlu ve anlamlı bir ilişki olduğu görülmektedir. Çalışma, yönetici ve çalışanların özgüven düzeyleri kişisel gelişim inisiyatifi alma becerilerinin karşılaştırılması ile aralarındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır. Araştırmanın amacı doğrultusunda, yönetici ve çalışanlara uygulanan anketlerin tamamı İstanbul'daki özel büyük ölçekli şirketlerde ve okullarda, anketlerin geri kalan kısmı ise rastgele yönetimi kullanılarak toplumun her kesiminden katılan küçük ölçekli iş sahibi bireylere uygulanmıştır. Araştırma kapsamında ortalama, standart sapma vb. tanımlayıcı istatistiklerden, bunun yanı sıra güvenirlilik analizi, bağımsız T testi ile korelasyon analizinden yararlanılmıştır. Yapılan çalışma sonucunda yönetici ve çalışanların özgüven düzeyleri ve kişisel inisiyatif alma becerilerinin arasında ilişkiler olduğu görülmüştür. Elde edilen bulguların oldukça anlamlı olduğu görülmektedir. Bir tezde ilk olarak yönetici ve çalışanlar özgüven düzeyleri ve kişisel gelişim inisiyatifi alma becerileri açısından incelenmektedir, bu yüzden araştırma önemlidir. Genel olarak yönetici ve çalışan olarak ayrı ayrı da bakıldığında görülmektedir ki, özgüven düzeyleri ve kişisel gelişim inisiyatifi alma becerileri arasında cinsiyete göre de olumlu bir etkileşim vardır. Araştırmadan elde edilen bulguların bazılarının hipotezlerde bulunan varsayımları desteklediği görülmüştür. Analizler sonucunda elde edilen bulgulara bakıldığında; yönetici ve çalışanların sosyal özgüven düzeyleri ve kişisel gelişim inisiyatifi alma becerileri açısından yaşlarına göre anlamlı farklılıklar elde edilmiştir., As can be seen, with all theorists who investigate with Self- confidence, in fact it encloses whole the positive thinking and positive seeing about a person and for a person. A person who has Self-confidence can realize his/her strength and weakness so he/she can draw his/her life and target. A person who has Self-confidence knows his/her negative and weakness ways. According to these, he / she can purificate themselves and their behaviours or if they want to have them, they try to obtain them. While people who try to do these, communicate with other people at the same time. Moreover as can be seen, when Adaptation of Personal Growth Initiative Scale investigates, experimental results show that it involves with Self- confidence positive and significant. This study has been conducted with the aim of analyzing the relationship between Self-confidence and Personal Growth Initiative Scale levels of employees and managers. To that end, all the employees ?levels of employees and managers- are selected from big companies and schools which is in Istanbul and the rest of the employees participants are also selected by the using random selection method from small shops or companies. Such descriptive statistics as mean, standard deviation as well as reliability analysis, independent T test and correlation analysis have been made use of within the scope of the research. The results suggest that there are relationships between the self-confidence and Personal Growth Initiative levels of employees and managers. Although the data acquired is rather recent, it would not be wrong to claim that they are striking. This is the first time self- confidence and Personal Growth Initiative are investigated with level of employees and managers in a thesis therefore the research is important. As can be seen, between level of employees and managers, Self-Confidence and Personal Growth Initiative are positive according to gender. Some of the data acquired by means of the investigation seems to support hypotheses. That is, there are meaningful differences in terms of age as far as self-confidence and personal growth initiative of the employees and the manager are concerned.

Background. The mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program has been provided in a variety of settings, and for a variety of individuals. Over two decades of research show that its effectiveness has been made plausible. However, the effects of MBSR interventions on highly sensitive persons (HSPs) have not been examined to date. Aim. This study investigated the effects of participation in a MBSR program on symptoms of stress, social anxiety, self-acceptance, emotional empathy, personal growth, and self-transcendence in HSPs. Sample. Forty-seven participants, 34 females (72%), enrolled in an eight-week MBSR program. Method. Participants were matched on sensitivity scores, the amount of experience in relaxation exercise, gender, age and level of education. Subsequently, they were randomly assigned to an experimental group (first trained group), and a control group (second trained group). The MBSR program, an intensive training in mindfulness meditation, consisted of eight sessions of two and a half hours each. Results. Findings showed that immediately after the eight-week program, as well as four weeks later, the participating HSPs suffered less from stress and appeared to have less social anxiety, whereas their scores for mindfulness, emotional empathy, personal growth initiative, self-acceptance and self-transcendence were significantly higher. Effect sizes ranged from medium (0.63) to very large (2.52). These effects persisted at 4-weeks follow-up and even improved significantly for stress, social anxiety and self-acceptance. Conclusion. The MBSR program has the capacity to help HSPs to deal with stress and social anxiety, as well as to develop their assumed greater capabilities for empathy, personal growth, and self-transcendence. MBSR could offer a meaningful supplement to therapies for HSPs.

This study aims to identify the learning context (public vs. private university, regular vs. distance programs, year of study) differences and relations between undergraduate university students’ needs for autonomy and competence, achievement motivation and personal growth initiative. The participants in this study were 400 undergraduate university students, from two universities in Bucharest, Romania (a public and a private one), aged 19 to 40 (M = 24.48, SD = 5.926). Data were collected with 3 self-report scales. The research results contribute to the development of an empirical database for a better understanding of nowadays university student populations.

Dissertação de Mestrado rapresentada no ISPA – Instituto Universitário de Ciências Psicológicas, Sociais e da Vida, para obtenção do grau de Mestre na especialidade de Psicologia Clínica. The main objective of this study is to analyse the association eudaimonic and hedonic orientations to well-being have with an active and intentional involvement in the process of developing and changing as a person (i.e., personal growth initiative). Also, the possibility of trait mindfulness having a mediating role between these variables will be investigated. Even if trait mindfulness has been widely studied over the past years, the relation it has with the orientations toward well-being, as well as with personal growth initiative is still fairly unknown. Intending to bridge this gap in research, associations were analysed in this cross-sectional study. The study was conducted in Portugal, and 281 fluent Portuguese speakers from the general population were recruited through convenience sampling. Each participant filled in an online survey that consisted of three scales for self-evaluation. Overall, the results indicated a positive and statistically significative correlation between the orientations (eudaimonic and hedonic), trait mindfulness, and each factor of personal growth initiative (readiness for change, planfulness, using resources, and intentional behavior). In addition, a partial mediating effect of trait mindfulness was detected between hedonic orientation and the cognitive component of personal growth initiative, namely the dimensions of readiness for change and planfulness. Further research is needed for a more detailed understanding of these associations, especially when it comes to the differences seen between hedonic and eudaimonic orientations, and the specific roles the personal growth initiative factors might have during the process of growth. O principal objetivo deste estudo consiste em analisar a associação que as orientações eudaimónicas e hedónicas têm com um envolvimento ativo e intencional no processo de desenvolvimento e mudança enquanto pessoa (i.e., iniciativa de crescimento pessoal). Adicionalmente, propõe-se a investigar a possibilidade de o mindfulness desempenhar um papel mediador entre estas variáveis. Apesar do mindfulness ter sido amplamente estudado ao longo dos últimos anos, a relação que possui com as orientações, bem como com a iniciativa de crescimento pessoal ainda é bastante desconhecida. Com a intenção de colmatar esta lacuna na investigação, foram analisadas associações neste estudo de caráter transversal. O estudo foi realizado em Portugal e 281 indivíduos fluentes em português da população em geral foram recrutados através do método de amostragem de conveniência. Cada participante preencheu um inquérito online composto por três escalas de autoavaliação. Globalmente, os resultados indicaram uma correlação positiva e estatisticamente significativa entre as orientações (eudaimónica e hedónica), mindfulness e cada fator da iniciativa de crescimento pessoal (preparação para mudança, planeamento, uso de recursos e comportamento intencional). Foi também detetado um efeito mediador parcial do mindfulness entre a orientação hedónica e a componente cognitiva da iniciativa de crescimento pessoal (preparação para mudança e planeamento). No entanto, são necessárias mais investigações para uma compreensão mais pormenorizada destas associações, especialmente no que diz respeito às diferenças observadas entre orientações hedónicas e eudaimónicas, e nos papéis específicos que os fatores de iniciativa de crescimento pessoal podem ter durante o processo de crescimento.