Psychological Thought

1-2

Authors: Paraskevi Theofilou

This article has been retracted due to violating Good Publication Practice and not complying to PSYCT's/PsychOpen's Ethical Guidelines on plagiarism and redundant or concurrent Publication. No abstract available.

27-40

Authors: Ivan Krastev

This paper deals with some social and economic factors influencing on customer’s behaviour – such as social class, social-economic status, occupation, education, income, referent groups, family, gender roles and marketing. Some comparisons are made between some factors influencing on customer’s behaviour in the U.S. and in Bulgaria.

53-61

Authors: Irina Roncaglia

The aim of this paper is to present a theoretical and practical understanding of transitions in young people with an Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) and to discuss ways in which support can be provided at different stages of their lives. It aims to propose and highlight some practical initiatives which can be adopted in the preparation of micro and macro transitions thus ensuring an understanding of the criteria behind such practices which can further support practitioners in the long-term aim of positive and empowering outcomes. Ashforth (2001, Role transitions in organizational life: An identity based perspective. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associate) proposes four motives: identity, meaning, control and belonging, which are discussed in the context of role-transitions. These transitions can often require an adjustment in an individual’s behaviour and relationships with their environment as well as people around them. Transitions occur throughout our lives and these key times can cause high levels of disorientation and anxiety more so in people with ASC. The impact of a range of transitions is also discussed and suggestions of ways in which individuals with ASC can be supported are also presented through examples of key resources which can be tailored to each individual’s needs.

75-89

Authors: Chinedum Amadi

Carl Rogers has become a legendary personage in the mental health field. Rogers (1957) “has been cited in the literature over a thousand times, in professional writings originating in 36 countries” (Goldfried, 2007, p.249). Clinicians in the behavioral health field (psychiatry, social work, counseling and psychology) are exposed to his teachings about human behavior. Of all the ideas propagated by Rogers, the concept of unconditional positive regard (UPR) has been elevated to the level of a doctrine (Schmitt, 1980). What then is unconditional positive regard? How can clinicians be faithful to the demands of unconditional positive regard in the face of other competing realities such as threat of suicide or terrorism? This paper seeks to discuss the impossible nature of Rogers' UPR, highlighting its inherent linguistic contradiction. Since psychotherapy is culturally normative, the doctrine of unconditional positive regard negates this fundamental principle. In this article, the author takes a critical look at the influence of American philosophy of education on Rogers--he was a product of his culture. Furthermore, this paper asserts that clinicians are guided by societal norms or 'conditions' which regulate clinical practice, including unconditional positive regard (Gone, 2011).

97-116

Authors: Zornitza Ganeva

Comparative analysis of the current status, own body perception and positive experience within a period of up to 1 year from diagnosing of women with breast cancer (N = 41; mean age 35.25) in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd stages of the disease progress, of Bulgarian origin, was made. Reliability and validity of the scales were described. They were analysed with respect to: 1) medical characteristics (partial or total surgery, surgical removal of lymph nodes, presence or absence of metastases in them), 2) classical therapies (chemotherapy, radiation therapy and hormonal therapy) administered or not and 3) application or not of alternative therapies (herbal medicine, physical load, administration of massage, lymph drainage, use of nutritional supplements, observance of diet). The results showed that the more therapies the persons surveyed were undergone the more unsatisfactory they assessed their current general status. The bigger the size of the surgery performed to remove the tumour the more positive idea of their own bodies they had. The more time after the surgical treatment passed the more the positive experience accumulated from the oncologic diagnosis grew.

124-139

Authors: Olukayode A. Afolabi

Due to dearth of research on prosocial behavior (PSB) among undergraduates in Nigeria, this study investigated the influence of five –factor personality factors (FFP), emotional intelligence (EI) and gender differences on prosocial behavior (PSB) among undergraduates in Nigeria. Cross-sectional survey design was adopted to tap information from 200 randomly selected undergraduates. They responded to a carefully designed questionnaire with 4 sections. Five hypotheses were tested. The results showed that there were significant relationships between the variables of study. The first step in the hierarchical regression showed that the independent and joint contributions of age, gender, religion and educational level on PSB were not significant. The second step which involved the FFP did not have significant independent and joint contribution on PSB except for conscientiousness [R2 = .34, t = 7.08; p < .01]. In the third step EI also had no significant contribution but the overall joint contribution (with other variables) to PSB increased to 35.3%. However, high EI increased PSB [t(198) = 12.36; p < .01] but gender did not have significant effect on PSB. The findings were discussed based on the existing literature and important recommendations were made.

153-165

Authors: Bolanle Ogungbamila

Studies on occupational burnout among health workers, especially in Nigeria have been at best isolated. No adequate inter-occupational comparative study on burnout among health workers, police personnel, and teachers has been conducted. This study, therefore, investigated the extent to which health workers were different from police personnel, and teachers in the manifestations of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, reduced personal accomplishment, and overall occupational burnout. Participants were 455 employees (203 males; 252 females) sampled from 3 service occupations (police = 139; health = 159; teaching = 157), whose ages averaged 35.94 years (SD = 7.93). Health workers reported higher levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and overall occupational burnout than either police personnel or teachers. Although health workers reported a higher level of reduced personal accomplishment than police personnel, results indicated that teachers felt as underachieving as health workers. The findings were discussed in terms of the perceived imbalance in the job demands-rewards ratio in the job situations.