Perceived self-efficacy and everyday problem solving among young and older adults

This research tested the hypothesis that age differences in both self-efficacy perceptions and problem-solving performance would vary as a function of the ecological relevance of problems to young and older adults. The authors developed novel everyday problem-solving stimuli that were ecologically representative of problems commonly confronted by young adults (young-adult problems), older adults (older adult problems), or both (common problems). Performance on an abstract problem solving task lacking in ecological representativeness (the Tower of Hanoi problem) also was examined. Although young persons had higher self-efficacy beliefs and performance levels on the Tower of Hanoi task problem and the young-adult problems, this pattern reversed in the domain of older adult problems, where the self-efficacy beliefs and performance of older persons exceeded those of the young.

Using a knowledge-and-appraisal model of personality architecture to understand consistency and variability in smokers' self-efficacy appraisals in high-risk situations

The present research used idiographic methods for identifying intraindividual, cross-contextual patterns of consistency and variability in self-efficacy appraisal among smokers. Building on a knowledge-andappraisal model of personality architecture, the authors assessed (a) schematic self-knowledge, (b) beliefs about the relevance of high-risk smoking-related situations to those schematic attributes, and (c) appraisals of self-efficacy for smoking avoidance in specific contexts. The idiographic assessments of situational and self-knowledge robustly predicted patterns of intraindividual consistency and variability in self-efficacy appraisal. A response-time measure revealed that speed in making positive self-appraisals varied systematically across schema-relevant contexts. Results speak to the field's need for assessment strategies to detect, and theoretical models to explain, within-person, across-context variations in self-efficacy for avoiding addictive behaviors.

What underlies appraisals? Experimentally testing a Knowledge-and-Appraisal Model of Personality Architecture among smokers contemplating high-risk situations

We tested a theoretical model of personality structures underlying patterns of intra-individual variability in contextualized appraisals. The KAPA (Knowledge-and-Appraisal Personality Architecture) model was tested experimentally among smokers appraising their efficacy to resist the urge to smoke in high-risk situations. In a novel design, we assessed self-knowledge and situational beliefs idiographically and employed cognitive priming to manipulate the accessibility of self-knowledge experimentally. The results confirmed the unique KAPA-model prediction that priming would affect appraisals in a contextualized manner. Priming positively valenced self-knowledge enhanced self-efficacy appraisals specifically within that subset of situations that were relevant to the primed knowledge. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that systems of self- and situational knowledge underlie consistency and variability in appraisals.

Everyday challenges in context: the influence of contextual factors on everyday problem solving among young, middle-aged, and older adults

The authors examined the experimental effects of social context on everyday problem-solving performance by older, middle-aged, and younger adults. Participants were presented with six everyday problems constructed by framing two behavioral challenges in social contexts representative of the lives of older, middle-aged, and younger adults. As predicted, participants performed best when problems were situated in contexts representative of their own age group. Older adults also outperformed the other age groups on problems set in older adult contexts, suggesting that when problems are set in ecologically relevant contexts, one may not observe previously reported age-related declines in performance.

The Value of Removing Daily Obstacles via Everyday Problem-Solving Theory: Developing an Applied Novel Procedure to Increase Self-Efficacy for Exercise

The objective of the study was to develop a novel procedure to increase self-efficacy for exercise. Gains in one’s ability to resolve day-to-day obstacles for entering an exercise routine were expected to cause an increase in self-efficacy for exercise. Fifty-five sedentary participants (did not exercise regularly for at least 4 months prior to the study) who expressed an intention to exercise in the near future were selected for the study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) an Experimental Group in which they received a problem-solving training session to learn new strategies for solving day-to-day obstacles that interfere with exercise, (2) a Control Group with Problem-Solving Training which received a problem-solving training session focused on a typical day-to-day problem unrelated to exercise, or (3) a Control Group which did not receive any problem-solving training. Assessment of obstacles to exercise and perceived self-efficacy for exercise were conducted at baseline; perceived self-efficacy for exercise was reassessed post-intervention (1 week later). No differences in perceived challenges posed by obstacles to exercise or self-efficacy for exercise were observed across groups at baseline. The Experimental Group reported greater improvement in self-efficacy for exercise compared to the Control Group with Training and the Control Group. Results of this study suggest that a novel procedure that focuses on removing obstacles to intended planned fitness activities is effective in increasing self-efficacy to engage in exercise among sedentary adults. Implications of these findings for use in applied settings and treatment studies are discussed.

My Problems Are Solvable: Idiographic Methods Offset Age Differences in Interpersonal Problem Solving Among Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Adults

This study tested the hypothesis that older adults retain high levels of everyday problem solving performance when confronting problems of maximal ecological relevance, identified through idiographic methods. Younger, middle-aged, and older adults completed a daily challenge questionnaire (DCQ) in which they reported problems of maximal personal relevance or idiographic problems. The large majority of the problems reported were interpersonal. We then assessed performance on an everyday problem-solving task in which participants generated solutions for idiographic problems as well as problems generated by group matched research participants representing each of two other age groups (e.g., older adults received their own problems plus problems generated by matched younger and middle-aged adults). Performance was measured by computing the total number of safe and effective solutions provided. Results fully supported our hypothesis; adults of all ages showed higher performance when solving their idiographic problems.

Stability of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire for a cross-sectional sample

Factor comparability of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised was tested by contrasting three groups of people: young, adult, and elderly persons. Personality trait factors were significantly invariant among age groups. There was a significant age x sex interaction for Neuroticism scores.

Unidimensionality of life satisfaction and its relation to social desirability: a confirmatory study of a short form of the Life Satisfaction Scale

This study investigated construct validity of a short version of the Life Satisfaction in the Elderly Scale developed from an exploratory factor analysis in 1990 of the original version of Salamon and Conte's Life Satisfaction scale. First, a confirmatory factor analysis (maximum likelihood method) was conducted on 149 adult and elderly Italians to assess whether the latent variable of the Life Satisfaction Short Form scale was adequately represented by one factor. Analysis showed a good fit for the proposed unidimensional model, the items achieved good internal consistency on the scale, and no age differences arose in the score for the Life Satisfaction factor. Second, the correlations between the items measuring Life Satisfaction and the Eysenck 1985 Lie scale indicated that the items on the Life Satisfaction Short Form are largely independent of social desirability for younger and older adults.