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Sammenhengen mellom lidenskap for et område, tema eller ferdighet og personlighetstrekket planmessighet er et lite studert tema i psykologien. Egenskaper som kjennetegner lidenskap og planmessighet deler flere overlappende likhetstrekk rent teoretisk, videre er begge faktorene tett knyttet til høyt prestasjonsnivå. Problemstillingen denne studien søkte å besvare har vært; «hvordan er sammenhengen mellom lidenskap for et område, tema eller ferdighet og personlighetstrekket planmessighet?» For å besvare problemstillingen ble det benyttet en kvantitativ tilnærming med et kryss-seksjonelt design. Innhenting av data ble gjort via et anonymt spørreskjema, og utvalget bestod av totalt 228 respondenter. For å måle lidenskap ble det benyttet et instrument bestående av 8 spørsmål med hensikt å måle grad av lidenskap for et tema, område eller ferdighet. Planmessighet ble målt med et instrument bestående av 60 spørsmål, som måler skåren på seks underfasetter som inngår under hovedtrekket planmessighet. For å undersøke om det forelå støtte for hypotesene ble det gjennomført korrelasjonsanalyser og hierarkisk multippel lineær regresjonsanalyse, hvor det også ble kontrollert for kjønn og alder. Funnene fra analysen indikerte at det foreligger signifikante sammenhenger mellom lidenskap og planmessighet i varierende grad. Det ble funnet signifikante sammenhenger mellom lidenskap og det overordnede planmessighetstrekket, samt fasettene prestasjonsstreben, mestringstro, selvdisiplin og plikttroskap. Resultatet indikerte at fasettene samlet forklarer en betydelig større del av variansen i lidenskap, sammenlignet med bakgrunnsvariablene kjønn og alder isolert. Ettersom få studier har undersøkt studiens tema tidligere, bidrar denne studien med å danne et større kunnskapsgrunnlag om sammenhengen mellom lidenskap og planmessighet, samt sammenhengen mellom faktorer som er tett knyttet til prestasjonsnivå. Studiens resultater kan også ha praktiske implikasjoner innen ulike områder hvor egenskaper knyttet til lidenskap og planmessighet er viktig. Studien kan fungere som et utgangspunkt for videre forskning, som kan bidra til ytterligere kunnskap om temaet, og en potensiell generalisering av funnene. The relationship between passion for a theme, area or skill and the personality trait conscientiousness have not been studied much in psychology. Passion and conscientiousness share a lot of similarities theoretically, and the two constructs are closely related to high achievement. The question this study seeked to answer was: “How is the relationship between passion for an area, theme or skill and the personality trait conscientiousness”. A quantitative approach with a cross-sectional design was used to answer this question. To collect data respondents answered an anonymous survey. A total of 228 respondents was collected. A passion-scale consisting of 8 questions was used to measure passion for a theme, area or skill. Conscientiousness was measured through an instrument consisting of a total of 60 questions, that measures the six facets related to conscientiousness. To investigate support for this studies hypotheses correlation-analysis and hierarchical linear regression-analysis was used. In the regression model the facets was controlled for age and gender. The results indicated significant relationships between passion for an area, theme or skill and conscientiousness in various degree. Significant results was found between passion and the main trait conscientiousness, and the facets achievement-striving, competence, self-discipline and dutifulness. The results indicated that the facets explain a larger part of the variance in passion, compared to the control variables age and gender alone. Because few studies have been conducted on this theme before, this study contribute to additional knowledge between passion and conscientiousness, and relationships between constructs that are closely related to high achievement. This study can function as a base for future research that may contribute to additional knowledge, and a potential generalization of the results.

Sammendrag: Media har blitt en stor del av samfunnet vårt, og dagens barn og unge bruker mye tid foran elektroniske skjermer. Og med inntoget av nyere medieformer med mer interaktive brukerfunksjoner, er det en stadig voksende bekymring for hvilken betydning dette kan ha for barns sosio-emosjonelle utvikling. Barns mediebruk kan være skadelig på den måten at det stjeler tid fra andre aktiviteter; aktiviteter som blant annet fremmer læring og god helse. Tid brukt på medier kan medføre tid tapt for fysisk aktivitet og lek, lekser, lesing, og samspill med foreldre og jevnaldrende. Med utgangspunkt i dette, ble følgende problemstilling satt: «Hvordan kan ulike former for mediebruk påvirke foreldre-barn interaksjonen?» Tidligere forskning har typisk tatt for seg effekten av TV-titting på foreldre-barn interaksjonen, men lite forskning har blitt gjort på nyere medieformer, som også appellerer til en mer interaktiv mediebruk. Forskjeller i medieform og mediebruk (passiv versus interaktiv bruk) kan ha ulik effekt på foreldre-barn samspillet, og nettopp derfor blir det viktig å sammenligne de ulike måtene å anvende medier på. Med bakgrunn i tidligere forskning, tok vi utgangspunkt i at en interaktiv mediebruk trolig ville fremme kvaliteten- men (delvis) også kvantiteten på foreldre-barn interaksjonen, sammenlignet med passiv TV-titting og vanlig tradisjonell lek. For å undersøke dette gjennomførte vi tre ulike studier: to studier basert på ett randomisert kontrollert eksperiment, hvorav vi undersøkte den umiddelbare effekten av mediebruk på foreldre-barn interaksjonen, samt en prospektiv observasjonsbasert studie, hvor vi også undersøkte den langsiktige effekten av mediebruk på samspillet mellom foreldre og barn Gjennomgående viser studiene at det å spille spill sammen på nettbrett fremmer både kvaliteten, og til en viss grad også, kvantiteten på foreldre-barn interaksjonen, sammenlignet med TV og vanlig tradisjonell lek. Interaktiv nettbrett-bruk kan dermed være positivt for foreldre-barn samspillet. Vi fant heller ingen negative effekter av å det å se på TV sammen med barna, men vi fant heller ikke at det å se på TV sammen fremmer samspillet på en fordelaktig måte. Dessuten illustrerer funnene at barn som ser mer på TV blir mer passive i lek og interaksjoner enn barn som ser mindre på TV. Det gjelder imidlertid først og fremst for barn som ser TV alene og uten foreldrene. Å opprette et trygt ‘mediemiljø’ som stimulerer både kvaliteten og kvantiteten på foreldre-barn interaksjonen kan potensielt være med å lindre de negative effektene av mediebruk. Dette kan oppnås gjennom at foreldre og barn ser på TV sammen i fellesskap- og spiller nettbrettspill sammen i fellesskap, og at de ser på eller lar seg engasjere av medieinnhold som, i all hovedsak, er interaktivt. Summary: Media has a major role in contemporary society, and children and youth spend significant amounts of time in front of electronic screens. With the entry of new media platforms with more interactive capabilities, there are growing concerns on how media use may adversely affect children’s socio-emotional development. Children’s media use may displace more healthy and educational activities, such as physical activity and play, homework, reading, and interaction with parents and peers. Against this backdrop, the following research question was posed: “How can different forms of media use affect parent-child interactions? While research on how media use impacts children’s interactions with their parents has typically addressed the effects of TV viewing on parent–child interaction, there are fewer studies on the use of newer, more interactive forms of media. However, because differences in forms of media and media use (e.g. passive versus interactive) can prompt different effects on parent–child interactions, research comparing different ways of using media remains necessary. Based on past findings, we hypothesised that using interactive media promotes not only the quality but also the quantity of parent–child interactions, compared with passive TV viewing and traditional toy play. To test that hypothesis, we conducted three studies: two based on a randomised controlled experiment, in which we examined media use’s immediate effects on parent–child interactions, and a prospective community study, in which we examined media use’s long-term effects on such interactions. Overall, the studies revealed that playing games together on a tablet promotes the quality and, to some extent, the quantity of parent–child interactions compared with television viewing and traditional toy play. Interactive tablet use can thus have a positive impact on parent–child interaction. Furthermore, we detected no negative effects of co-viewing television, nor any evidence that co-viewing TV promotes those interactions. Last, the results additionally suggest that children who spend more time watching TV become more passive in play and in parent–child interactions, albeit primarily among children who watch TV alone and/or without their parents. Establishing a safe media environment that stimulates both the quality and quantity of parent–child interactions can potentially ameliorate the negative effects of media use on parent–child interactions. This might be accomplished by parents co-using media content with their children and watching and/or engaging in media content that is primarily interactive.

Although sleep and dreaming take up one third of our lifetime, their exact functions are not completely understood as of today. The study’s aim was to investigate how the relationship is between emotional and cognitive content in dreams and the post-sleep affective state. A total of 104 Norwegian speaking adults participated. Each morning for seven days participants answered a self-report questionnaire and registered their dreams. The dreams where further analysed by the text analysis program, LIWC. The results indicated that having dreams with positive emotional content were followed by a positive affective state post-sleep, and that many words used to describe a dream also correlated to positive affect. A visible relation was also observed between having negative emotions in dreams and a subsequent negative affective state post-sleep. Limitations of this study concern, amongst others, the methods used and the sample size and characteristics of the participants and dreams. In conclusion, both positive and negative emotions in recalled dreams were related to the affective state the following morning, which is in line with the continuity hypothesis. In future research one should focus further on the intriguing methods and perspectives regarding dreams, their content and relations to the post-sleep affective state. Denne masteroppgaven vil bli tilgjengelig 20.12.2021

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between sickness presenteeism, personality and work mastery among retail workers in Norway. There is a lack of studies investigating presenteeism in relation to personality dispositions. Taking personal differences into account can promote knowledge of why employees enact presenteeism and consequently, whether presenteeism should be viewed as a potential demand or resource. Mastery of work can demonstrate how employees perceive their work in the context of presenteeism. This cross-sectional study is part of a larger project at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), concerning sleep, work environment and health among retail workers. Through the use of electronic questionnaires, 203 retail workers gave information about demographics, presenteeism, personality and work mastery. Logistic regression analyses showed that neuroticism and extraversion was associated with increased odds of reporting presenteeism in the fully adjusted model, whereas high conscientiousness and mastery of work was negatively related to presenteeism in the minimally adjusted model. Further, the hierarchical regression analyses showed that work mastery was higher among presentees when reporting low neuroticism and high conscientiousness, with conscientiousness having the strongest relationship. In the sample containing non-presentees, only workers with a low degree of neuroticism reported higher mastery of work, suggesting that neuroticism among retail workers is associated with less mastery regardless of context. However, there was no moderation effects between personality and presenteeism on mastery of work. It is argued that conscientiousness and neuroticism operates in attendance behavior and perceptions of mastery through the health process. Future research should investigate how personality contributes to attendance behavior and perceptions of mastery using more complex measures of presenteeism and longitudinal designs.

The interest in psychosocial working conditions in relation to work related mental health has gradually increased in regard to its personal loss for individuals and the economical costs for society that follows. Little is known about the psychosocial working conditions within the Norwegian retail sector and how it affects their psychological well-being and mental health. This study aimed to examine the relationship between factors of the psychosocial work environment and mental health in the Norwegian retail sector by looking at how demand, control, social support and justice leadership impacts on symptoms of anxiety and depression. The study design was cross-sectional with measures of self-report. The survey consisted of validated scales from the General Nordic Questionnaire for Psychological and Social Factors at Work (QPSNordic) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The survey was undertaken by 224 participants from the retail sector in Norway (187 women, 37 men) ranging from 18-65 years old. Pearson’s r correlation analysis and multiple hierarchical regression was undertaken to address this relationship. The main findings of the study were the negative significant relationship between justice leadership and symptoms of anxiety. Contrary to earlier research there were found no significant relationships between demand, control, social support in relation to symptoms of anxiety and depression controlled for each other. These findings supports the notion that justice leadership is an important psychosocial factor that impacts on mental health.

Sleep is becoming an increasingly important topic in the study of mental and physical health. Several methods exist for measuring sleep duration and quality. Actigraphy has become one of the most applied methods due to its easy administration and non-invasive nature. A persistent problem with actigraphy is its struggle to distinguish inactive behaviour from time spent resting and attempting to sleep. This issue is apparent when the algorithm attempts to identify the rest interval. The rest interval onset and offset, however, can be changed manually. This thesis consists of two studies, both considering actigraphic data processing and practices for setting rest intervals. In Study 1, through a systematic literature review, we sought to identify common practices for processing actigraphic data and investigate whether standardized guidelines for setting the rest interval exist. We reviewed an extensive selection of research articles (N = 1,061). The results indicate that methods and reporting practices are inconsistent and that there is a need for an established standardized procedure for setting the rest interval. Therefore, we developed a stepwise and easily applied manual. It combines subjective sleep measures with objective actigraphic measures to either validate or change algorithmically defined rest intervals. Our manual includes a screening process that automatically identifies valid rest intervals. This process distinguishes our manual from existing procedures. In Study 2, we aimed to empirically test the manual for defining rest intervals developed in Study 1. The manual was applied to a dataset of 537 nights from the sleep study SLEEPIC. Participants (N = 55) were aged 19-33 (M = 22.69, SD = 3.024). The screening process successfully identified 37.1% valid rest interval onsets and 63.9% valid rest interval offsets. Three scorers independently applied the manual to the screened dataset, and agreement between scorers was high both in rest onsets (a = .975) and offsets (a = .998). Applying the manual to the dataset resulted in a shortening of the rest interval by 36 minutes and 19 seconds on average. There were significant changes (p < .001) in all sleep estimate outcomes after applying the manual. Based on the results, we conclude that the proposed manual saves scorers time by screening out a large proportion of the rest intervals. It is applicable with high agreement between scorers, produces significant changes to sleep variables, and it reduces noise in actigraphic datasets. Thus, the manual is a promising candidate for common practice.

Målet med denne studien er å undersøke sammenhengen mellom kjønn, alder og opplevd konflikt i instituttsektoren. Bakgrunnen for dette er at konflikter i arbeidslivet er en utfordring som rammer mange, og som kan gi store konsekvenser for enkeltpersoner, bedrifter og for samfunnet som helhet. Det er videre manglende forskning på konflikter i instituttsektoren. Samtidig er vi i dag vitne til et arbeidsliv i stadig endring med et økende antall kvinner, eldre og yngre arbeidstakere, noe som gjør det interessant å se på hvilken betydning disse faktorene har for opplevelsen av konflikt på arbeidsplassen. Datagrunnlaget for studien er innhentet i perioden 2015-2017 ved hjelp av spørreundersøkelsen AMIS som er spesielt utviklet for instituttsektoren. Totalt deltok 2655 ansatte fra fem ulike bedrifter innenfor instituttsektoren. Resultatene viser at det er en sammenheng mellom kjønn, alder og opplevd konflikt ved at kvinner opplever mer konflikt enn menn, og at de yngste og eldste aldersgruppene opplever mindre konflikt enn de middelaldrende personene i utvalget. Videre viser funnene at kjønnsratio i arbeidsgruppen har betydning for opplevd konflikt, ved at høy kvinneandel har en positiv sammenheng, mens høy mannsandel har en negativ sammenheng med opplevd konflikt. Det samme gjelder for aldersratio, ved at høy andel unge (20-30 år) eller høy andel eldre (over 60 år) har en negativ sammenheng, mens høy andel middelaldrende (41-50 år) har en positiv sammenheng med opplevd konflikt. Betydningen av kjønn og alder for opplevd konflikt er imidlertid relativt liten, og det vil være behov for mer forskning på flere faktorer for å få en bedre forståelse av forholdet mellom kjønn, alder og opplevd konflikt.

Sleep is important for normal healthy functioning, and sleeping less than recommended is associated with various negative consequences. Obtaining less-than-sufficient sleep is common in various populations, and thus considered important to investigate. The negative effects of sleep loss are especially pronounced for attention. Inter-individual differences in the vulnerability to sleep loss is recognized in the literature. Previous research has documented that the declines in attentional function is more pronounced for extroverts than for introverts. Objectives: The present study explored how participants’ attention was affected by sleeping two hours less than their habitual sleep length for three consecutive nights in their natural environment. Further, it investigated the contributing effects of the participants’ scores on the personality trait extraversion. Method: A within group multiple baseline experimental design was applied. A sample of healthy, young adults (n = 30, aged 19 to 35) underwent a procedure of partial sleep deprivation based on their habitual sleep lengths. Habitual sleep lengths were calculated based on one week of normal sleep patterns recorded by an actigraph, the Actiwatch Spectrum Pro ©. Participants’ attentional performance was measured by the use of CCPT-3 on five occasions in total. Personality was measured using the NEO-PI-3 at baseline. Statistical analyses were performed using raw scores of attentional performance in speed and accuracy from baseline, and comparing these to raw scores of speed and accuracy obtained after three days of partial sleep deprivation. Results: Statistical significant changes in speed and accuracy of small to moderate effects sizes were recorded after partial sleep deprivation compared to rested baseline. Participants’ reaction times were shorter after the sleep deprivation. Their responses were more prone to errors, suggesting a speed-accuracy effect. Individual differences in decrements in attention were not related to participants’ scores on extraversion. Conclusions: Healthy young adults exhibit more impulsive responding when partially sleep deprived, but their attentional impairment cannot be matched with deficits manifested in true attentional disorders. Limitations in the present study and directions for future research is discussed.

Relasjonen mellom stress og personlighet i forskjellige yrker har blitt viet noe forskningsinteresse, men stress og personlighet i kreative yrker har ikke blitt like godt kartlagt. Denne studien tok for seg stress hos 77 norske film-, TV- og reklameregissører, sett opp mot personlighetstrekk hos regissørene. Regissørene deltok i studien ved hjelp av et spørreskjema som ble distribuert til sentrale institusjoner i Norge hvor regissører er tilknyttet, blant annet fagforeningen Norske Filmregissører. Multippel regresjonsanalyse ble brukt til å analysere datamaterialet. Personlighetstrekkene nevrotisisme og åpenhet predikerte variansen i opplevd stress. Det at åpenhet forklarte varians signifikant var overraskende med bakgrunn i de noe sprikende funnene som tidligere er gjort på relasjonen mellom åpenhet og stress. Det ble videre funnet et høyt opplevd stressnivå hos regissørene som så ut til å være markant forskjellig fra andre normalpopulasjoner. I videre forskning vil det være interessant å se på interaksjoner mellom personlighetstrekk, mediatorer og mestringsstrategier for stress. Slik forskning vil kunne tenkes å være mulig å applisere over til andre kreative, utøvende yrker, og bidra til mer forståelse om stressopplevelse også i disse typene yrker og hvordan man best kan redusere og forebygge stress.

The aim of the present study was to investigate how dispositional resistance to change (RTC) and neuroticism could predict shift work tolerance (SWT) over a period of six months. Electronic questionnaire were completed by 74 shift workers employed in Trondheim municipality in January 2013 (T1) and in June 2013 (T2). The results showed that age, gender, neuroticism, and RTC were related to SWT. Age at T1 predicted better SWT at T2, while male gender predicted worse SWT at T2. RTC at T1 predicted better SWT at T2, while neuroticism at T1 predicted worse SWT at T2. The findings suggest that individual differences, especially neuroticism, can predict SWT over a period of six months.