Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Humans regularly face collective problems calling for cooperation. To solve such problems, people can establish public goods that require contributions from individual members and benefit the whole...Show moreHumans regularly face collective problems calling for cooperation. To solve such problems, people can establish public goods that require contributions from individual members and benefit the whole group, e.g. public health care and infrastructure. It has been suggested that in modern society people have become less dependent on the creation of public goods and more able to solve problems individually (Santos, Varnum, & Grossmann, 2017). Nevertheless, solving shared problems individually is tied to resources that are often unequally distributed between people. Inequality (Zelmer, 2003) and individualism (Gross & De Dreu, 2019) can complicate cooperation, however, their interplay is largely unknown. We confronted 50 groups (N = 200) with a public goods game with the additional option to solve a shared problem individually through a private solution. Across groups, group members had either an equal or an unequal resource distribution. The private solution allowed wealthier group members to leave the group and avoid contributing to the public good. This resulted in increased inequality. Specifically, the easier it was to opt for a private solution, the higher the inequality was. We further investigated voting preferences and fairness perceptions by having sixty-one impartial raters complete the task from a third-party perspective. The third-party players preferred a more equitable solution that would result in lower inequality. While group members dependent on the public solution voted for delegating allocation decisions to the third party, the wealthier, and thus, more independent members voted against it revealing self-serving motives. Our findings highlight unique problems emerging with self-reliance in the face of global issues, such as a pandemic and global warming, that require cooperation. Especially, when self-reliance is only affordable for some, collective action can fail and further increase wealth gaps.Show less
Background: Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems among older adults. Although there are interventions that effectively reduce late-life anxiety, anxious older adults often do...Show moreBackground: Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems among older adults. Although there are interventions that effectively reduce late-life anxiety, anxious older adults often do not receive adequate treatment and are less likely to benefit from psychotherapy, compared to younger adults. To enhance mental health services for the elderly, studies should explore which factors predict treatment outcomes, rather than solely focus on the overall treatment effectiveness. The aim of the present study is to investigate demographic (age and gender) and professional (years of working experience and geriatric education) therapeutic characteristics, as predictors of treatment outcomes (anxiety severity and treatment satisfaction) in anxious older adults. Methods: The study is a post-hoc analysis using data from a previous Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) on treatment effectiveness in older adults with anxiety complaints. We examined data from 275 patients (55-75 years old) and 33 therapists, who worked in general practices in the Netherlands. We developed two multilevel regression models and intercept-only models, for both therapeutic outcomes. Results: The analyses showed that none of the therapeutic characteristics significantly predicted anxiety severity and treatment satisfaction at posttreatment; the therapist factor explained 0% and 15% of the variance in older adults’ anxiety and satisfaction levels, respectively. Discussion: Possible lack of power in the study hinders the interpretation of the null-findings regarding the demographic and professional therapist characteristics. The therapist factor does not predict late-life anxiety, but does have an effect on patients’ satisfaction. Limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are discussed.Show less
Self-esteem is an accumulation of cognitive and emotional self-reflections. Perfectionism and self-esteem in adolescence are associated to later life (mal)adaptive development. Whereas self...Show moreSelf-esteem is an accumulation of cognitive and emotional self-reflections. Perfectionism and self-esteem in adolescence are associated to later life (mal)adaptive development. Whereas self-oriented perfectionists (SOP) aspire to an ideal standard for themselves, socially prescribed perfectionists (SPP) experience pressure from others. While striving traits of SOP (SOP-S) are associated with healthy adjustment, critical SOP (SOP-C) and SPP tendencies have been associated with maladjustment. It remains unclear whether intellectual giftedness, a high cognitive ability level, serves as a risk factor or a protective factor for self-esteem. Nevertheless, subgroups of gifted individuals seem vulnerable to maladaptive perfectionism. Therefore, this study investigated associations between perfectionism and self-esteem through multiple linear regression. SOP-S was assumed to have a positive relationship to self-esteem, whereas SOP-C and SPP, respectively, were predicted to have a negative relationship to self-esteem. Moreover, giftedness was hypothesized to be a moderator for all three relationships. Gifted and nongifted children, ages 10 through 12, completed the Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale (CAPS) and the Rosenberg Self- Esteem Scale (RSES). SOP-C was indeed negatively associated with self-esteem. Neither SOP-S or SPP appeared significantly related to self-esteem. No moderation effect of giftedness was found, suggesting a similar effect of SOP-C on self-esteem for gifted and nongifted students. The lack of associations for either SOP-S or SPP with self-esteem was not in line with past literature. The CAPS may have failed to capture the essence the SOP-S dimension and the developmental stage of participants might have influenced their experience of SPP. Future studies should include larger sample sizes and preferably additional measures of perfectionism. Multiple reporters would be beneficial.Show less
Increased smartphone use has been linked to a number of mental health problems, but little is known about whether limiting smartphone use could reduce mental health problems. In this intervention...Show moreIncreased smartphone use has been linked to a number of mental health problems, but little is known about whether limiting smartphone use could reduce mental health problems. In this intervention study among students, the relationship between change in smartphone use and change in depressive symptoms and burnout symptoms was investigated. We also investigated whether this relationship was mediated or moderated by self-esteem. Among 50 Dutch students (94% female, mean age = 19.4 years, SD = 1.4) a questionnaire was administered about smartphone use, depressive symptoms (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale), burnout symptoms (Utrechtse Burnout Scale), and self-esteem (Rosenberg Selfesteem Scale), after which they were either assigned to the intervention group or control group. The intervention group was given five tips to limit their smartphone use and the control group was told they would start the intervention in two weeks and could continue using their phone as usual. Two weeks later, all participants completed the same questionnaires again and were debriefed about the experiment. Our intervention did not lead to a decrease in smartphone use in the intervention group compared to the control group. The intervention did also not lead to a decrease in depressive symptoms or burnout symptoms and there was no significant relationship between change in smartphone use and change in depressive or burnout symptoms, hence we were not able to perform a mediation analysis. Self-esteem was also not a moderator in these relationships. In conclusion, our intervention on smartphone use does not lead to a decrease in smartphone use, neither does this lead to a decrease in mental health problems such as depression and burnout. However, this might be due to the lack of power and that we had less participants than anticipated, because of COVID-19.Show less
This study aimed to explore the relationship between indecisiveness, fear of negative evaluation and self-concept clarity in adolescence. Differences in indecisiveness levels between early (11 to...Show moreThis study aimed to explore the relationship between indecisiveness, fear of negative evaluation and self-concept clarity in adolescence. Differences in indecisiveness levels between early (11 to 14 years old) and late (18 to 21 years old) adolescents were explored as well. A sample of 160 healthy adolescents (74 males and 86 females) participated in the study. Most of the participants were Dutch-born and their ages ranged from 11 to 21 years old. Variables of interest were measured through self-reported questionnaires filled at home. The analyses showed evidence of a positive correlation between indecisiveness and both fear of negative evaluation and self-concept clarity. However, no differences were found in the indecisiveness levels between early and late adolescents. Likewise, an additional explorative analysis showed no interaction effects between FNE and SCC on indecisiveness. Although indecisiveness in adolescence is a complex -and hard to predict- phenomenon, this study added valuable information on this topic. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed, together with suggestions for future research.Show less
