PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES
Year:2010 | Volume:5 | Issue:4|Papers Count:8

The purpose of the present research was to investigate validity and reliability of Empathy Quotient Scale. The research sample was 720 high school students from the city of Ardabil whom they were selected through random sampling. To gather the data of the Empathy Quotient Scale, Emotional Intelligence Scale, Stress, Anxiety and Depression Scale were used. Factors analysis showed that there were three factors in Empathy Quotient Scale: cognitive empathy (9 items), social skills (8 items) and emotional reactivity (9 items). The internal consistency coefficient of the Empathy Quotient Scale was 0.88. The test-retest reliability coefficient of the Empathy Quotient Scale, in 4- weeks interval, was 0.80. The validity coefficient of the Empathy Quotient Scale, with Emotional Intelligence scale, Stress, Anxiety and Depression Scale for total participants were 0.27 and -0.32, respectively. In sum, the research provides evidence for appropriate validity and reliability of Empathy Quotient Scale.

The aim of this study was to survey career needs and transferable skills of iranian blind and low vision students and compare it with their canadian counterpart. To survey career needs of Iranian blind students and compare it with Canadian blind students, 60 blind and low vision boys and girls from among 3 blind schools in Tehran: Narjes, Martyr Mohebbi and Abdol Azim and 12 blind and low vision Canadian students were voluntarily selected. The research method was survey and Data were gathered through a self-made questionnaire and were analyzed using X2 Findings indicated that Iranian blind students comparing with Canadian blind students did not have enough career information to make a proper educational and vocational choice and are not sure of obtaining their choice. They were also different In their evaluation of the role and effectiveness of their school guidance and counseling services regarding their career, adjustment and family problems. In other word, Iranian blind students were not happy with their school guidance and counseling program and believed that school has not prepared them for 'a relatively safe career choice. Therefore, regarding findings of this study, it recommended that a career education course, especially designed for blind students, be taught and valuated as to its usefulness. Also, special courses about familiarity with educational and vocational fields, in which visual impairment is not effective, should be offered for counselors of blind schools.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of students' perceptions of classroom structures on mathematics achievement through the mediating of motivational and cognitive variables. For this reason, 400 high school students (200males - 200females) were chosen randomly and completed a series of scales (perception of classroom, Blacburn, 1998, Achievement goals, Middleton, Midgley, 1997, self-regulated strategies, and perception of task usefulness, Miller et al, 1996).The results of path analysis showed that:1- Motivational (achievement goals, perceived instrumentally) and cognitive (self-regulated learning) variables have a mediated role between perception of classroom structures and mathematics achievement.2- Motivational tasks had an indirect effect on mathematics achievement through mediating role of achievement goals, perceived instrumentality and self-regulated strategies.3- Autonomy support had an indirect effect on self-regulated strategies and mathematics achievement by mediating role of achievement goals, perceived instrumentality;4- Mastery evaluation had a direct effect on mastery, performance achievement goals and self-regulated strategies and an indirect effect on mathematics achievement.

This study examined the role of children's appraisals of interparental conflict and emotion-focused coping on their physical and psychosocial health.We used a stratified random sampling procedure in recruiting 413 fifth grade school children in the city of Tehran (220 girls & 193 boys). Mothers responded to the Child Health Questionnaire-Parent Form (CHQ-PF28) and children responded to the Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict (CPIC) scale and the Security in the Family System (SIPS) scale. This was a correlation study that used regression analyses.Results indicate that children's appraisal of interparental conflict is predictor of their emotion-focused coping; and both are predictors of children's physical and psychosocial health. In addition, emotion-focused coping (preoccupation and disengagement) mediated the relationship between children's appraisals and health.These results develop and expand Cognitive Theory of Stress of Lazarus in childhood which is used for stress processing in adulthood.

How does hardiness effect interpersonal problems? The aim of this study was to examine the relation between hardiness and its three components including commitment, control, and challenge with interpersonal problems and six aspects of these problems including assertiveness, sociability, submissiveness, intimacy, responsibility, and controlling. Two hundred and seventy-three students (97 males, 176 females) from different faculties of the University of Tehran participated in this study. All participants were asked to complete Hardiness Scale (HS) and Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP). Analysis of the data involved both descriptive and inferential statistics including means, standard deviations, analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and regression analyses. The results revealed that hardiness and its components were negatively correlated with general interpersonal problems and problems of assertiveness, sociability, intimacy, and responsibility. Statistical analyses showed that changes of interpersonal problems were predicted by both control and challenge components of hardiness, while problems of assertiveness, sociability, intimacy, and responsibility were predicted by challenge only. Interpersonal problems are supposed to be influence by hardiness through positive evaluations, reinforcing the feeling of control and managing the situations; increasing self confidence; stress buffering; and positive interpersonal relationships (communicative variables).

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of emotional intelligence on quality of life and its dimensions in a group of Shiraz University students. To do this, 403 students were selected using a multistage cluster sampling method. Data were collected using the brief version of Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (petridse & Furnham, 2001), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life scale (1998), were applied. Analysis of data using multiple regression analysis revealed that emotional intelligence was a good predictor of students' quality of life and all dimensions of it, including physical health, psychological health, social relationship, quality of life environment.

This study was carried out to investigate the relationship between organizational justice and organizational commitment of the Staff of Central and regional Municipalities of Esfahan City. The sample consists of 223 employee of central and regional Municipalities of Esfahan city which were selected via simple random sampling. The instrument of the study was organizational justice (Niehoff, & Moorman, 1993) and Organizational Commitment (Meyer, Allen, & Smith, 1993) questionnaires which were handed out respectively. For analysis of the data, simple correlation coefficient and regression methods were applied. The result showed that there was a positive and meaningful correlation between organizational justice including three components, and each scope of organizational commitment (ie., affective, normative and continuance organizational commitment). The result of multiple regression analysis also showed that there was a meaningful multiple correlation between three types of organizational justice (i.e., distributional, procedural and interact ional justice) and organizational commitment.