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With the COVID-19 outbreak, the population was suddenly forced to 'stay at home'. Although research suggests that social isolation affects health and wellbeing, reactions may vary depending on individuals. The current study assessed the relationships between personality variables (preference for solitude and Big Five personality), mental health (anxiety, stress, loneliness), and creativity, and tried to determine whether the identified personality profiles affect individuals' mental health and creativity. French respondents (N = 430) filled in an online questionnaire during the first lockdown in Spring 2020. The results showed that the preference for solitude and personality variables of the Big Five predicted individuals' mental health and creativity. Moreover, a cluster analysis revealed three profiles of individuals: 'Affiliation', 'Emotionally Stable Lonely' and 'Emotionally Unstable Lonely'. Results showed that individuals with 'Affiliation' and 'Emotionally Unstable Lonely' profiles expressed higher stress and anxiety, and the latter performed better on a divergent creative thinking task. By contrast, those with an 'Emotionally Stable Lonely' profile expressed a lower level of loneliness, and performed better on a creative insight task. These findings reveal the importance of personality profiles in psychological reactions during lockdowns. With this knowledge, health professionals could develop appropriate interventions to accompany high-risk individuals in situations of social isolation., Author(s): Estelle Michinov [sup.1] , Nicolas Michinov [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.410368.8, 0000 0001 2191 9284, Laboratory of Psychology: Cognition, Behavior and Communication (LP3C), Department of Psychology, Univ Rennes, , [...]

The purpose of this research was to extend the validation of the short version of the Workgroup Emotional Intelligence Profile (WEIP-S), notably by examining its predictive validity for team performance. Six studies were conducted (N = 1810) to achieve this objective. In Study 1, the WEIP-S was translated into French and examined with respect to its factor structure and reliability (N = 311). In Study 2, the factor structure was validated in a sample of French employees in various occupations (N = 1141). Studies 3 and 4 (N = 106) examined the test-retest reliability and assessed the convergent validity. The predictive validity of the WEIP-S was examined in Study 5 (N = 80, 40 dyads) and in Study 6 (N = 172, 57 teams). The results indicate that the WEIP-S has a four-factor structure and can be reliably measured with 16 items. Moreover, it can be used as a predictive measure of team performance: groups with higher average levels of emotional intelligence performed better than those with lower levels. This research establishes the suitability of the WEIP-S for various occupations and offers researchers a short, validated measure to predict team performance., Author(s): Estelle Michinov [sup.1] [sup.2] , Nicolas Michinov [sup.1] [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.410368.8, 0000 0001 2191 9284, LP3C (Laboratory of Psychology: Cognition, Behavior and Communication), Univ Rennes, , Rennes, [...]

Peer Instruction is an active learning method widely used in higher education, whereby students answer a series of questions twice, once before and once after peer discussion. There is an ongoing debate as to whether a collective feedback should be given after the students' initial answer, and if so, how the frequently observed group conformity can be avoided. This study examined whether guiding on the use of this feedback can reduce group conformity and improve learning using an interactive learning environment to administer a new type of quiz using graphics, and delivering collective feedback to the whole class in a novel heatmap format. In the experimental group, the teacher told the students that the answer indicated by the heatmap was not necessarily the correct one; this information was not given to students in the control group. Results revealed that guided students were less likely to adopt the (incorrect) majority answer than the non-guided students, and consequently, they were more likely to improve their learning by reaching an agreement about the correct answer through discussion with their peers. These findings suggest that guiding students in their use of collective feedback may have a crucial role in Peer Instruction.

The job satisfaction of academics and researchers has been investigated recently, but the influence of different levels of social identification (organizational, workgroup and professional identification) has never been examined. The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between different levels of social identification, work engagement and job satisfaction. Our study involved researchers from a French public institute who responded to an online survey (N = 383). The results show that different levels of social identification are positively correlated with researchers' job satisfaction, and that workgroup explains the most variance, followed by professional and finally organizational identification. This study is also the first to show the mediating role of the dedication dimension of work engagement on the relationships between professional identification and job satisfaction. The implications of the findings for future studies in research institutes and universities are discussed., Author(s): Sophie Jeanson [sup.1] [sup.2], Estelle Michinov [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.470510.7, 0000 0004 4671 5167, INRA, UMR1253, Science and Technology of Milk and Eggs, , F-35000, Rennes, France (2) [...]

Numerous studies have examined the effects of gender diversity in groups on creative performance, and no clear effect has been identified. Findings depend on situational cues making gender diversity more or less salient in groups. A large-scale study on two cohorts (N = 2,261) was conducted among business students to examine the impact of the gender diversity in small groups on divergent thinking in an idea-generation task performed by synchronous electronic brainstorming. Participants were automatically randomized in three- or four-member groups to generate ideas during 10 min on a gendered or neutral task. Then, five categories of groups where the proportion of men/women in groups varied from three/four men to three/four women were compared to examine creative performance on three divergent thinking measures (fluency, flexibility, and originality). A Multivariate Generalized Linear Mixed Model (mGLMM) showed greater fluency in all-women groups than in other groups (except mixed-gender groups composed of two men and two women), and more specifically “solo” groups composed of a single woman/man among a majority of men/women. For flexibility and originality, the superiority of all-women groups was found only in comparison to “solo” groups composed of a single woman. As gender differences are more salient in “solo” groups than in other groups faultlines may appear in groups, leading to a deleterious impact on creative performance.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of people throughout the world participated in remote meetings in online groups using videoconferencing systems. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects on group synergy of a series of instructions based on constructive controversy delivered during online collaboration. After performing a decision-making task individually, 125 participants were randomly assigned to online groups to collaborate and reach a consensus using a videoconferencing system, either in "free discussion" or "instructed discussion" groups. Results revealed that groups with instructions outperformed their best members (strong synergy) at higher rates than groups without instructions. Moreover, participants reported higher epistemic conflict regulation when they received instructions than when they did not. These findings suggest that providing instructions based on constructive controversy during a collaborative task can boost synergy and epistemic conflict regulation in online groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embodied creativity research has begun to demonstrate that postures may boost creative performance depending on whether the creativity task requires either divergent or convergent thinking processes. Although a few studies have demonstrated that being in an expansive posture can benefit creative performance in a divergent-exploratory thinking task, empirical evidence is lacking on the positive effects of a contractive posture on creative performance in a convergent-integrative thinking task. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that sitting in a contractive posture requiring arm flexion to perform a convergent-integrative thinking task would lead to better creative performance than sitting in an expansive posture requiring arm extension. The results confirmed this hypothesis and suggest that creativity may be influenced by participants' sitting postures during a task. The findings provided new empirical evidence for embodied creativity based on the impact of body postures on creative thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between the three dimensions of transactive memory (coordination, credibility, and specialization) and performance of collaborating students. A total of 113 students, distributed into groups of two or three, participated in the study. They were required to complete a series of learning tasks during the semester and to write a joint report for each task to be evaluated by their instructors. Afterwards, they were asked to fill out a questionnaire including self-report measures of transactive memory. The results showed a well-established positive relationship between transactive memory and performance based essentially on coordination; also, performance improved linearly as members developed specializations within groups. Implications for future research in collaborative learning are discussed. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

This experiment was designed to examine the effects of gender role and task content on performance in learning dyads and to test the potential mediator effect of an intragroup process related to transactive memory. A total of 44 same-gender dyads participated in the study and were asked to collaborate on a stereotypically masculine or feminine task in a laboratory setting. Collective performance and transactive memory were measured. As predicted, the results showed an interaction between group gender and task content on group performance, with male dyads showing poorer performance on a masculine task than female dyads. However, contrary to expectations, this moderation effect was not mediated by transactive memory, which appeared as a simple mediator of the relationship between group gender and performance. The results are discussed in the framework of the social role theory, and implications for future research in small learning groups are proposed. (Contains 2 figures, 1 table and 5 notes.)

This paper describes some of the consequences of introducing a face-to-face contact during an online collaborative learning session. Previous research on the development of online groups has suggested a critical transition period at the midpoint of a collaborative task in which group members redefine their behavior. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether face-to-face contact between participants during this period influences the patterns of participation, interaction, affect and behavior over time. Results show that a face-to-face contact introduced at the midpoint of a collaborative task has a positive influence on participation. However, a time sequence analysis of interactions revealed a further transition which appears between the face-to-face contact and the deadline. This transition is characterized by a decline of participation and task-focused interactions. At the same time, the analyses revealed an increase of interactions oriented towards emotional regulation and coordination, as well as a greater need of face-to-face contact, desire to drop out, and use of synchronous communications. These findings are based on an in-depth and longitudinal examination of a small sample, which limits their generalizability, but they may have a number of implications for the design of blended learning programs and the facilitation of collaborative tasks in distributed learning environments.

The purpose of this study was to examine the structure of retirees' social identity and its impact on satisfaction with retirement. From social identity theory formulations, we assumed that (1) retiree-identity was comprised of three distinct components (cognitive, evaluative, and affective), and (2) only the affective component would play a role in satisfaction with retirement. Results of the present study conducted with 154 retired people in France revealed only two components of social identity: a "cognitive identity" which refers to self-categorization as "retired people," and an "affective identity" which refers to evaluation of the group and affective involvement. As expected, regression analyses results indicated that only affective identity was a predictor of satisfaction with retirement. These results will be discussed in the framework of social identity theory literature. (Contains 4 tables and 5 footnotes.)