Social Interest and Positive Psychology: Positively Aligned



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Social Interest and Positive Psychology: Positively Aligned Patrick J. Barlow, David J. Tobin, and Melissa M. Schmidt Abstract To investigate the influence of Individual Psychology on positive nnodels of mental health, the researchers examined the relationship betvvieen Individual Psychology and positive psychology by predicting that social interest would be correlated with the constructs of hope and optimism. Participants included 43 students from a graduate program in counseling. Social interest was significantly correlated with hope and optimism, and optimism was more significant than hope as a predictor of social interest. These results support the contention that social interest and positive psychology are positively correlated. Recommendations for further research are discussed. Alfred Adler is attributed with postulating a positive theoretical model of mental health that emphasized the healthy functions of personality (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1979). His position on the nature of personality "coincided with the notion that man can be the master, and not the victim of his fate" (Hall & Lindzey, 1970, p. 127). Adler offered a humanistic perspective that endowed man with altruism, humanitarianism, co-operation, creativity, uniqueness, and awareness, and restored a sense of dignity and worth that psychoanalysis had destroyed... and offered a portrait more satisfying, more hopeful, and far more complimentary. (Hall & Lindzey, p. 127) Individual Psychology, also termed Adlerian Psychology, is a humanistic approach that serves to benefit all of society. According to Adler, a central concept of personality theory was Gemeinschaftsgefühl, often translated as social interest. This concept referred to the capacity for social embeddedness and was described as "an innate disposition for spontaneous social effort" (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956, p. 145). The development of social interest results in feelings of identification, empathy, and connectedness. When fully developed, these feelings extend from the family unit to large groups, and eventually to all of humankind. Therefore, social interest toward other individuals or groups provides the capacity to meet tasks in life such as sympathy, occupation, and love (Ansbacher & Ansbacher). The Journal of Individual Psychology,\/o\. 65, No. 3, Fall 2009 O2009 by the University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819 Editorial office located in the College of Education at Georgia State University.

192 Patrick J. Barlow, David ). Tobin, and Melissa M. Schmidt Social Interest The Adierian concept of human nature emphasizes the potential and inclination toward social interest. The goal of social interest was to promote the "ascending development and welfare of all mankind" (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1979, p. 211). Maslow (1954) commented on social interest, and reported that the genuine desire to contribute to the human race was characteristic of a self-actualized person. In addition, Adler recognized the contribution of social interest to mental health and stated "one must sense that not only the comforts of life belong to one, but also the discomforts" (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956, p. 136). Adler viewed early childhood as a training ground for cooperation and the development of social interest (Adler, 1964). He considered sufficient social interest essential for an individual to meet the three tasks of life: occupation, social relationships, and love. Adler also believed that insufficient social interest resulted in misled striving for superiority, neurosis, psychosis, or suicide. It is evident that the development of social interest is related to positive mental health and constructive social interaction. Positive Psycholosy Increased interest has been generated for positive models of mental health, evinced in the recent positive psychology movement. Seligman and Csikszentmihaiyi (2000) emphasized the shift in psychology from a study of pathology to an amplification of strengths and a focus on "work, education, love, growth, and play" (p. 5). They also identified three major areas of scholarly work: subjective well-being, positive individual traits, and civic virtues supported by institutions within society. The expansiveness of the movement is evident from the volume of chapters within the Handbook of Positive Psychology (Snyder & Lopez, 2002a) and A Psychology of Human Strengths (Aspinwall & Staudinger, 2003). Recent efforts have focused on the measurement of positive psychological constructs (Lopez & Snyder, 2003) and development of a classification system of values, strengths, and virtues (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) as a juxtaposition to current mechanisms of identifying mental disorders. Models of optimism and hope have become central constructs of positive psychology as evinced by their inclusion in prominent works within the area (Aspinwall & Staudinger, 2003; Chang, 2001 ; Cillham, 2000; Linley & Joseph, 2004; Lopez & Snyder, 2003; Snyder & Lopez, 2002a) and also introductory texts about positive psychology (Bolt, 2004; Compton, 2005; Peterson,

Social Interest 193 2006). Carver and Scheier (2002) investigated the conceptualization and measurement of optimism. They defined optimists as people who hold positive expectations about the future. When coping with troubling events, they concluded that "optimists remained confident about the future even when dealing with serious disturbance" (p. 235). Snyder, Irving, and Anderson (1991) investigated hope theory with the underlying perception that human behavior is goal-oriented. Hope theory reveals a "positive motivational state, largely driven by agency; goal-directed energy and pathways; planning to meet goals" (Snyder et al., p. 287). Hope, in this framework (Snyder, Rand, & Sigmon, 2002), is reported to serve as a motivational factor that encourages the pursuit of goals. It is based on prior learning and situational factors that drive the ability of an individual to consider multiple routes to achieve goals (i.e., a pathways component) alongside an ongoing belief in their ability to pursue goals (i.e., an agency component). Numerous studies ííave verified a relationship and overlap between hope theory and other tenets of positive psychology, including: optimism, selfefficacy, self-esteem, and problem solving (Snyder et al., 2002). Hope and optimism, specifically, have demonstrated a significant positive relationship with reported correlations in the range of.60 to.50 (Gibb as cited in Snyder, Harris, et al., 1991; Holleran & Snyder, 1990; Magaletta & Oliver, 1999; Scheier & Carver, 1985). Both are conceptually tied to positive expectancies for the future. However, the hope construct adds an efficacy component that identifies the additional impact of an individual's belief in their ability to pursue their goals (Snyder, Harris, et al.; Snyder et al., 2002). The two constructs are linked yet separable as shown by the work of Magaletta and Oliver in which a factor analysis of the items of Scheier and Carver's optimism scale and Snyder, Harris, et al.'s hope scale loaded on unique factors and also predicted unique amounts of variance on a general well-being measure. The proliferation of this research and interest in positive psychology holds potential for a positive model of mental health. Individual Psychology and Positive Psychology According to Snyder and Lopez (2002b), "Positive psychologists refer to their field as an emerging new perspective in acknowledging human strengths; and declare independence from the weakness model in psychology" (p. 751 ). They further contend that "positive psychology has regrettably not previously contributed to our understanding of human strengths such as forgiveness, love, kindness, courage, hope, sharing, caring, cooperation, sacrifice, spirituality, and friendship" (p. 751). The contribution of Individual

194 Patrick J. Barlow, David J. Tobin, and Melissa M. Schmidt Psychology to these more positive aspects of mental health is not acknowledged in the literature on positive psychology. Cowen and Kilmer (2002) reviewed and critiqued the literature on positive psychology and criticized it for "a relative insulation from closely related prior work" (p. 449). Similarly, Mosak and Maniacci (1999) claimed that Individual Psychology has influenced contemporary psychology, but it has rarely been credited, especially in regard to positive psychology. Carlson, Watts, and Maniacci (2006) have reiterated the progressiveness of Adler and his emphasis on normal human development. They contend that many aspects of positive psychology are similar to the tenets of Individual Psychology; hence, "contemporary therapeutic perspectives are steadily progressing toward a position that is congruent with the Adierian perspective" (p. 40). The purpose of our study was to investigate the relationship of Individual Psychology and Positive Psychology. Recently, Leak and Leak (2006) concluded an empirical investigation into positive psychology and social interest. They predicted that social interest would be positively related to domains of healthy functioning and measures of prosocial behavior. Their sample population included 162 college students enrolled in psychology classes. Social interest was assessed with the Social Interest Index (Sll; Greever, Tseng, & Friedland, 1973). In study 1, they investigated the relationship between the Sll and 15 scales inferred as indicators of intrapersonal and interpersonal well-being, associated with positive psychology. Results indicated support for all of the predicted relationships. In study 2, they investigated the relationship between social interest and prosocial behavior tendencies associated with positive psychology. The results were varied but showed some significance for prosocial moral reasoning and a low correlation for hedonism. The authors found the Sll to be a valid instrument, consistent with prior reports of usefulness and validity (Bass, Curlette, Kern, & McWilliams, 2002). These data-based results provided speculation for the integration of social interest and positive psychology. Furthermore, they called for future research to "explicitly link these two research traditions to give us a more comprehensive picture of human strengths" (Leak & Leak, p. 220). We had also begun to speculate on the relationship between social interest and positive psychology. As researchers, we professed strong but separate interests in these previously unconnected theoretical constructs. Both social interest and positive psychology promote mental health, and they appear to exemplify higher human functioning and well-being. Our hypothesis and prediction was that social interest would be positively correlated with the important constructs of hope and optimism associated with positive psychology. We also hypothesized that evidence of positive psychology constructs would predict social interest.

Social Interest 195 Participants Forty-three graduate students in a community counseling program at a small private university in the eastern United States were recruited from their classes. Participants were asked to participate in the project during one of their regularly scheduled courses by a faculty member not affiliated with the community counseling program. Each participant was given an informed consent statement and the measure. The participants identified themselves as Caucasian (n = 41 ), Italian (n = 1 ), and Hispanic (n = 1 ). Participants reported a mean age of 29.6 years (5D= 9.00). Thirty-five (81 %) described themselves as female, and 8 (19%) described themselves as male. Measures Life Orientation Test (LOT). The LOT (Scheier & Carver, 1985) is an 8-item self-report measure, with four fil 1er items, that assesses generalized optimism for positive versus negative outcomes in life. Participants were asked to state their level of agreement with statements such as "In uncertain times, I usually expect the best" and "I hardly ever expect things to go my way," using a 5-point Likert scale from 0 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Item scores are totaled after reversing the scoring for the negatively worded items, with high scores representing greater optimism. Previous studies have found satisfactory internal consistency reliability indices, Cronbach's alpha of.76 and a test-retest reliability (4 weeks) of.79 (Scheier & Carver, 1985). Adult Trait Hope Scale. The Adult Trait Hope Scale (Snyder, Harris, etal., 1991) is a 12-item scale designed to measure two components of Snyder's conception of hope. These components include a sense of personal agency related to goal attainment (4 items) and the ability to recognize/ generate pathways to reach a goal (4 items). Four questions on the scale serve as filler items. Participants were asked to respond to the items using an eightpoint response scale ranging from 1 (definitely false) to 8 (definitely true). Two sample items would include "I can think of many ways to get out of a jam" (pathways component) and "I met the goals that I set for myself" (agency component). Scores are calculated by summing the ratings for the items related to the two components. Snyder et al. (2002) found acceptable internal consistency reliability estimates for the scale as a whole (a =.86) and when considered as scales representing the components of agency (a =.81) and pathways (a =.74). Studies have also given evidence for the convergent validity of the scale as shown by correlation with the Ceneralized Expectancy for Success Scale, r=.54 (Cibb as cited in Snyder, Sympson, Michael, and Cheavens, 2001) and its discriminant validity shown by correlations with

196 Patrick J. Barlow, David J. Tobin, and Melissa M. Schmidt the Beck Depression Inventory, r = -.42; Beck Hopelessness Scale, r = -.51 (Gibb as cited in Snyder et al., 2001 ) and Marloví/e-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, r=.30 (Snyder, Harris, etal., 1991). Social Interest Index. The Social Interest Index (Greever et al., 1973) is a 32-item scale designed to measure the Adlerian concept of social interest broadly captured by a total score. There are four subscales related to the life tasks of work, love, friendship, and self-significance v^ith eight items each. Participants were asked to rate their agreement with items using a 5-point response scale ranging from 1 {definitely false) to 5 {definitely true). Sample items included "I believe a man and a woman can be both lovers and friends" (love subscale), "1 feel jobs are important because they make you take an active part in the community" (work subscale), "My friends are very important to me" (friendship subscale), and "I feel I have a place in the world" (self-significance subscaje). Scores are summed for the entire set of items to produce a total score. The total score has demonstrated acceptable test-retest reliability (2 weeks, r-.81) and internal consistency (a =.79; Greever etal., 1973). Results Preliminary analyses. The participants' mean scores and Cronbach's alphas for the scales are listed in Table 1. The scales' internal consistency values were consistent with acceptable standards (Gable & Wolfe, 1993; Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994). Additionally, bivariate correlations were conducted among the scales (see Table 2). Social Interest Index scores were significantly correlated with both hope (r -.38, p <.05) and optimism Table 1 Means, Standard Deviations, Ranges, and Reliability Values for Measures Variable M SD Range a Items Life Orientation Test 30.42 4.40 16.83 8 Adult Trait Hope Scale 52.86 5.38 21.76 8 Agency 27.16 2.97 13.75 4 Pathways 25.70 3.31 10.61 4 Social Interest Index 131.91 9.13 44.75 32 Note. f7 = 43 for all values.

Social Interest 197 Table 2 Correlations Among Optimism, Hope, Agency, Pathways, and Social Interest Index Scales Scale Optimism Hope Agency Pathways Hope Agency Pathways Social Interest Index.33*.24.31*.44**.84**.87**.38*.47**.48**.20 Note, n = 43 for all analyses. Scales: Optimism = Life Orientation Test (Scheier & Carver, 1985); Hope = Adult Trait Hope Scale (Snyder, Harris, et al., 1991) Total Score; Agency = Agency Subscale of the Adult Trait Hope Scale; Rathways = Pathways Subscale of the Adult Trait Hope Scale; Social Interest Index (Creever et al., 1973). *ps.o3. **ps.o1. (r =.44, p <.01 ). Investigating the relationships further, we found the agency or self-efficacy component of the hope construct to be more strongly related to social interest (r=.48, p <.01 ) as compared to the pathways component (r=.2o, p>.05). Prediction of social interest using optimism and hope. To test the hypothesis that social interest would be related to constructs associated with positive psychology, we conducted a multiple regression with the hope and optimism scores predicting social interest (AR^ -.26, F(2,40) = 7.05, p <.01 ; see Table 3). Optimism (ß =.36, t = 2.49, p <.05) but not hope (ß =.27, t= 1.86, p >.05) was found to be a significant predictor of social interest index scores (Predicted Social Interest = 103.908 -i-.92 optimism). Following this result, we conducted a partial correlation between optimism and social interest total scores controning for hope. This first-order partial correlation value (r=.38, p <.05) was weaker than the zero-order correlation coefficient value (r=.44, p<.01) but remained significant. Discussion The results of this investigation support the primary hypothesis that social interest is correlated with the personality factors associated with positive psychology. Social interest is significantly correlated with both hope and

198 Patrick J. Barlow, David J. Tobin, and Melissa M. Schmidt Table 3 Regression of Hope and Optimism on Social Interest 95% confidence Scale B SE B Std. ß Sig. interval on B Optimism (Life Orientation Test).741.298.357.017 (0.138,1.343) Hope (AdultTrait Hope Scale Score).453.244.267.071 (-0.040, 0.945) Note. /?^ =.261. Although the hope variable is shown in the table, it is not a statistically significant predictor when n = 43. The simple regression equation is Predicted Social Interest = 103.908 +.92 optimism; R^ =.197. optimism. Further investigation into the two components of hope indicates that agency is more strongly related to social interest than the pathways component in terms of point estimates of the correlation coefficients. The results also support the hypothesis that positive psychology constructs will predict social interest. As a predictor of social interest, optimism was significant. The results of this study support the contention that social interest and positive psychology are positively related. Both positive psychology and Individual Psychology acknowledge human strengths and the potential for higher levels of mental health. The results of this study support the claims made by Adierian psychologists who stated that aspects of positive psychology are similar to Individual Psychology (Carlson et al., 2006) and that the ini'luence of Individual Psychology has not been properly acknowledged (Mosak & Maniacci, 1999). Furthermore, this study confirms the predictions made by Leak and Leak (2006) that a comprehensive understanding of human strengths could be rendered by further research on the link between these two traditions of psychology. An inherent limitation of this study may be its generalizability. Graduate students in counseling may not be generalizable to the greater population. We had expected that the graduate students would score relatively high on measures of social interest and positive psychology. It may prove interesting to compare these results with those of clinical populations. Although the Sll is deemed the most valued measure of social interest (Bass, et al., 2002), Leak (2006) has questioned the content validity of the items and subscales and has developed a short form (Sll-SF). He states that the SII-SF is not "psychometrically better, but is as valued as the original Sll, with a dramatic elimination of items that only marginally connect with the concept of social

Social Interest 199 interest" (p. 448). The use of the short form may prove to be a better measure when comparing scales of similar psychological constructs, such as hope and optimism. Despite the limitations, the preliminary investigation contributes to an area of inquiry that warrants further research. Limitations on the extrapolation of the results may exist with respect to gender and culture because most members of the sample identified as female and most members of the sample identified as Caucasian. Previous researchers have studied both gender and cultural differences on the measures of optimism and hope used in our study. Concerning the construct of optimism, initial evidence pointed to few gender differences in terms of the factor structure or reliability coefficients (Scheier & Carver, 1985). However, subsequent analyses (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994) indentified stronger correlations between optimism scores and measures of convergent and divergent constructs for women as compared to men. Cultural variations in the expression of optimism were reported in a study comparing Asian American and Caucasian college students (Chang, 1996). He altered the use of the Scheier and Carver optimism measure (1985) by creating two scales out of the items to provide separate optimism and pessimism scores. Mean score differences were found such that Asian American participants exhibited higher levels of pessimism yet equivalent optimism scores when compared with their Caucasian peers (Chang, 1996). The construct of hope has also been explored for possible gender and cultural differences. Snyder, Harris, et al. (1991) failed to find meaningful gender differences in their initial development of the measure. Chang and Banks (2007) conducted a study of hope across four racial/ethnic groups (European Americans, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans). Differences in hope scores existed across all participants; however. Latinos reported higher scores on the agency factor when compared to European Americans and African Americans but not Asian Americans. Scores on the pathways factor indicated both African American and Latino students held higher scores than their European and Asian American peers. They concluded that differences on the hope scores existed, but the construct functioned similarly across the four groups. Another study (Roesch & Vaughn, 2006) combined the investigation of gender and ethnicity and found that patterns of factor coefficients did not differ across either gender or ethnicity. Other aspects of the factor analysis did differ based on gender which indicated a need to consider this in the use of the hope scale (Snyder, Harris, et al.). Gender and cultural differences in optimism and hope seem to exist and may pose limitations on generalizing results. This is a recommended area for future research. The benefit of aligning Individual Psychology and positive psychology lies in their strength-based approach to mental health. Both Individual

200 Patrick J. Barlow, David J. Tobin, and Melissa M. Schmidt Psychologists and positive psychologists view behavior as goal oriented. Social interest helps people to meet life tasks, as does hope and optimism. Practitioners may discover a consistency of approach when employing these constructs within therapeutic interventions. By acknowledging the influence of Individual Psychology and recent contributions of positive psychology, researchers and clinicians from both models may more effectively promote positive mental health that exemplifies high levels of human functioning and well-being. References Adler, A. (1964). Social interest: A challenge to mankind. New York: Capricorn. Ansbacher, H. L., & Ansbacher, R. R. (Eds.). (1956). The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler. New York: Harper & Row. Ansbacher, H. L., & Ansbacher, R. R. (Eds.). (1979). Alfred Adler: Supe-. riority and social interest (3rd ed.). New York: W. W. Norton. Aspinwall, L. C, & Staudinger, U. M. (Eds.). (2003). A psychology of human strengths: Fundamental questions and future directions for a positive psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Bass, M. L., Curlette, W. L., Kern, R. M., & McWilliams, A. E. (2002). Social interest: A meta-analysis of a multidimensional construct. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 58, 4-33. Bolt, M. (2004). Pursuing human strengths: A positive psychology guide. New York: Worth. Carlson, j.. Watts, R. E., & Maniacci, M. (2006). Adierian therapy: Theory and practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2002). Optimism. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 231-243). New York: Oxford University Press. Chang, E. C. (1996). Cultural differences in optimism, pessimism, and coping: Predictors of subsequent adjustment in Asian American and Caucasian American college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 43, 113-123. Chang, E. C. (Ed.). (2001). Optimism & pessimism: Implications for theory, research, and practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Chang, E. C, & Banks, K. H. (2007). The color and texture of hope: Some preliminary findings and implications for hope theory and counseling among diverse racial/ethnic groups. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13, 94-103.

Social Interest 201 Compton, W. C. (2005). An introduction to positive psychology. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. Cowen, E. L., & Kilmer, R. R (2002). Positive psychology: Some pluses and some open issues. Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 449-460. Gable, R. K., & Wolfe, M. B. (1993). Instrument development in the affective domain: Measuring attitudes and values in corporate and school settings. (2nd ed.). Boston: Kluwer Academic. Gillham, J. E. (Ed.). (2000). The science of optimism and hope: Research essays written in honor of Martin E. P. Seligman. Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press. Greever, K. B., Tseng, M. S., & Friedland, B. U. (1973). Development of the social interest index. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47(3), 454-458. Hall, C. S., & Lindzey, G. (1970). Theories of personality {2n(i ed.). New York: John Wiley. Holleran, S., & Snyder, C. R. (1990). Discriminant and convergent validation of the Hope Scale. Unpublished manuscript. University of Kansas, Lawrence. Leak, G. (2006). Development and validation of a revised measure of Adlerian social interest. Social Behavior and Personality, 34(4), 443-450. Leak, G. K., & Leak, K. C. (2006). Adlerian social interest and positive psychology: A conceptual and empirical investigation. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 62(3), 207-223. Linley, P. A., & Joseph, S. (Eds.). (2004). Positive psychology in practice. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Lopez, S. J., & Snyder, C. R. (Eds.). (2003). Positive psychological assessment: A handbook of models and measures. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Magaletta, P. R., & Oliver, J. M. (1999). The hope construct, will, and ways: Their relations with self-efficacy, optimism, and general well-being. Journal of Clinical Psychology 55(5), 539-551. Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper & Brothers. Mosak, H. H., & Maniacci, M. (1999). A primer of Adlerian psychology: The analytic-behavioral-cognitive psychology of Alfred Adler. New York: Brunner-Routledge. Nunnally, J., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory New York: McGraw-Hill. Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. Peterson, C, & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

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