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Solitude: An Exploration of Benefits of Being Alone
Abstract
Christopher R. Long and James R. Averill, Solitude: An Exploration of Benefits of Being Alone, pp. 21–44.
Historically, philosophers, artists, and spiritual leaders have extolled the benefits of solitude; currently, advice on how to achieve solitude is the subject of many popular books and articles. Seldom, however, has solitude been studied by psychologists, who have focused instead on the negative experiences associated with being alone, particularly loneliness. Solitude, in contrast to loneliness, is often a positive state—one that may be sought rather than avoided. In this article, we examine some of the benefits that have been attributed to solitude—namely, freedom, creativity, intimacy, and spirituality. In subsequent sections, we consider the environmental settings and personality characteristics conducive to solitude, how time spent alone is experienced differently across the life span, and the potential dangers related to the attractiveness of solitude. We conclude with a brief discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of solitude.
... Solitude is widely known to support holistic wellbeing, with philosophers, psychologists, and social theorists noting its potential to enhance self-reflexivity, selfexpression, and self-development (Hammitt 1982;Long and Averill 2003;Epictetus 2015). The Loneliness New Zealand (2022) website further states that, in the context of resettlement, 'Solitude is very important for people to reflect and to come to grips with their situation'-suggesting that spending time alone may be conducive to managing grief and stress and healing. ...
... However, solitude can also refer to a mental distancing from other people (i.e. a subjective experience of aloneness) (Long and Averill 2003;Weinstein et al. 2022). This mental distancing may involve being in a public place where other residents are nearby but not necessarily interacting; ignoring phone calls and virtual communication (Campbell and Ross 2021), or avoiding crowded spaces to spend intimate time 'alone together' (Hammitt 1982) or in 'companionable silence' (Weinstein et al. 2022) with loved ones. ...
... These sensory deprivation practices are common when meditating; however, in everyday contexts it is more likely that individuals will seek out or create places that are imbued with pleasant sensory qualities, and pursue activities that make them feel relaxed, happy, or inspired (Champagne 2004). Thus, solitude may also offer an opportunity, to structure one's environment, express oneself, and be creative (Altman 1975;Long and Averill 2003). ...
In this article, I draw upon a participatory research project to explore how solitude enhanced a sense of place-attachment and wellbeing for former refugees in Aotearoa New Zealand. Solitude is overlooked in refugee resettlement research, which instead prioritizes theories of social participation and integration. However, positive experiences of aloneness enabled participants to freely regulate their emotions, express their identities, restructure their surroundings, and build meaningful place-attachments. Such emotionally transformative experiences are central to feeling well in new places, and I therefore argue that solitude requires researchers and policymakers’ attention as part of a more balanced resettlement approach; where the stressful work of social participation and integration are tempered with the necessary time and space for individuals to rest, reflect, and rejuvenate. In particular, resettling refugees could benefit from more research on the intersectional nuances of solitude and enhanced access to local knowledge, space, and resources to pursue meaningful solitary activities.
... Some regard solitude as an objective state of being alone, with a strict absence of all aspects of social interaction (Burger, 1995;R. W. Larson, 1990), while others consider it as a state of being alone with oneself, either with or without the presence of others (Long & Averill, 2003;Pauly et al., 2018). Regardless of its definition with respect to physical proximity, what is imperative to the understanding of solitude is the distinct conceptual differentiation it has to the constructs of social isolation and loneliness, with which it can often erroneously be conflated. ...
... On the surface, positive solitude can bolster psychological well-being through empowering one with the freedom to select one's mental and physical activities without being subjected to inhibiting social burdens (Long & Averill, 2003;Nguyen et al., 2019). Positive freedom of choice and autonomy, coupled with negative freedom from the typical obligations of everyday life, are a combination that has been found to reduce stress and facilitate psychological well-being through elevating feelings of authenticity and of a greater life purpose. ...
... Taking this understanding further, the self-transformational qualities of positive solitude may be uncovered. Through the removal of oneself from the larger social environment that typically contextualizes and defines identity, solitude offers the opportunity for reconceptualization of the self through the loosening, deconstruction, and ultimately, restructuring of cognitive structures (Long & Averill, 2003). By active, meaningful engagement with one's thoughts and feelings through the processes of purposeful introspection and self-chosen pursuits, the "self-enhancing" functions of solitude become accessible, therefore nurturing higher levels of self-acceptance, personal growth, and psychological well-being (Thomas & Azmitia, 2019). ...
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) national lockdowns profoundly affected the lives of many, as significant portions of the U.K. population were involuntarily sequestered away from their usual social landscapes into newfound states of solitude. Many millennials (those between the ages of 25 and 40 at the point of study), having lived in an age of constant connection, found themselves in an extended period of solitude for the first time. The current qualitative study explores through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) how some UK millennials were able to harness the unique self-transformative properties of positive solitude during the COVID-19 national lockdowns. Analysis revealed a narrative of self-discovery, as domains of positive solitude granted the participants freedom from the demands of performative social burdens and encouraged opportunities to engage with mindfulness and meaningful introspection. These activities, within the experience of solitude, encouraged an alignment of inward beliefs and outward behaviors for the participants, thus helping them to cultivate a more congruent self-concept and subsequently a heightened sense of authenticity and enhanced psychological well-being. Clinical implications leading on from the current study highlight the importance of mindfulness and other solitude-promoting interventions as a method to ameliorate depressive symptoms and improve psychological well-being.
... Solitudinea este decuplarea de la cerințele imediate ale altor oameni -o stare de inhibare socială redusă și libertate sporită de a selecta activitățile mentale sau fizice ale unei persoane [21]. Cercetătorii au descoperit că timpul cu sine poate permite o autoreflexie valoroasă, perspective creative și o perioadă de restaurare între întâlnirile sociale [7]. ...
... "Solitudinea ne permite să ne ordonăm prioritățile în acord cu ceea ce ne dorim noi. Paradigma solitudinii este caracterizată prin dezangajarea de la ceea ce ne cer cei din jur și angajarea într-o de libertate sporită pentru a-ți selecta activitățile mentale și fizice", potrivit cercetătorilor Christopher Long și James Averill [21]. ...
People always interact and accumulate experience. The experience makes us stronger, more resilient by knowing our resources, developing constructive behaviors for potentially traumatic situations. The ability to face unfortunate events (losses, traumas, crises, disability, continuous stress, etc.) is the resilience that we all possess, that state to recover and move on, to face challenges and overcome difficulties in a positive and resilient way. How we develop our individual psychological resilience is determined by a multitude of factors: our ability to adapt to change, accept change and continue to interact positively socially, by the individual tools we use in adverse situations, by social support network, contextual social factors, etc. Resilience and loneliness can be interconnected in several ways. While resilience refers to an individual's ability to bounce back or recover from adversity, solitude refers to the assumed and conscious state of being alone with oneself in a willful, not accidental, way. Solitude provides individuals with a space to engage in cognitive processing and problem solving. When alone, people can focus their attention on complex problems or stressful situations, allowing them to analyze the situation, generate potential solutions, and make decisions without external distractions. This cognitive processing and problem-solving capacity can enhance resilience by helping individuals develop effective strategies to overcome challenges. Solitude can serve as a means of rest and recovery, which are essential components of resilience. Taking time for oneself, away from the demands of others, allows individuals to recharge their mental and emotional resources. This recharging of energy and restoration of well-being through solitude can contribute to an individual's ability to recover from stressors and setbacks. It is important to note that while solitude can be beneficial for resilience, excessive or prolonged isolation can have negative effects on mental health. It is essential to find a balance and ensure that individuals have access to social support networks, as human connection that also plays a significant role in building resilience.
... Se han identificado lugares públicos como los cafés, bibliotecas y museos, hasta los centros comerciales, como entornos de soledad. (Long & Averill, 2003). El aislamiento social es un concepto que se entiende de dos formas, la sensación subjetiva de soledad y el dato objetivo de apoyo social. ...
... Por otro lado, varios autores han argumentado que sentir soledad, ocasional o transitoriamente, puede ser saludable y productivo, permitiendo a las personas recargar o enfocarse mejor. (Long & Averill, 2003). Es por esto que en algunos países se ha catalogado el fenómeno como "Soledad No Deseada" (Buenas Prácticas Contra La Soledad Desde La Comunidad. ...
La tarea de vivir en comunidad se ha retado en un mundo que complicado con la resurgencia de un contagio viral global. Para algunos obligación moral y social, el vivir en comunidad nunca ha sido más importante para el sector envejeciente, que cada vez es mayor en prácticamente todas las sociedades del mundo. Se requiere explorar las dificultades y barreras para crear comunidad, inclusive con la expansión en tecnología digital. Existen algunos modelos basados en integración comunitaria de pacientes mayores con y sin demencia, por ejemplo: las comunidades amigables a la demencia, y las escuelas de juego intergeneracional. En estos y otros modelos de intervención no-farmacológicos buscamos soluciones dedicadas s a prevenir y combatir problemas de salud mental, sensación de soledad y sentimientos de aislamiento, a medida que experimentan las transiciones de la vida. El compromiso social puede mejorar la calidad de vida, tanto de los pacientes que viven con demencia como de jóvenes que carecen de contacto seguro en la comunidad.
... Adolescents may seek more solitude due to various reasons (5,8), and one of these reasons may be their increasing need for autonomy and independence (9)(10)(11)(12). The normative growth of PFS during adolescence may be a result of balancing the need for social affiliation and the need for autonomy and independence. ...
... On the one hand, individuals spend more and more time with peers from middle childhood to late adolescence (20). On the other hand, as individuals enter adolescence, they may have increasing need for personal space and may voluntarily use their time in solitude for creative activities, emotional regulation and identity development (10)(11)(12). Establishing a balance between the need for social affiliation and the increasing need for independence and autonomy is an important developmental task for adolescents (21,22). The normative growth of PFS may reflect how such a balance change during adolescence. ...
Introduction
As individuals enter adolescence, their preference for solitude (PFS) increases with age, which may be a result of balancing the need for social affiliation and the need for autonomy and independence. These needs are shaped by the social-cultural contexts, and thus the growth rate of PFS may differ across social-cultural contexts.This study examined to what extent the developmental trajectory of PFS differed between urban and rural Chinese adolescents.
Methods
Adolescents in urban (n = 326,168 boys, Mage =12.00 years, SD = 0.61) and rural (n = 449, 198 boys, Mage =11.82 years, SD = 0.58) regions in China reported their PFS and shyness each year from Grade 6 to Grade 8. Longitudinal measurement invariance of PFS was established between the urban and rural samples. Location and gender differences in the intercept and the slope of PFS were examined using a latent growth model, while controlling for shyness at each time point.
Results
The analyses revealed that adolescents in both urban and rural regions showed an increasing trajectory of PFS. Although urban and rural adolescents did not differ in the initial level of PFS at Grade 6, urban adolescents’ PFS increased faster than that of the rural adolescents. The urban-rural difference in the slope of PFS remained significant after controlling for the associations between the intercept and the slope of PFS and shyness at each time point. In addition, in the rural region, boys showed a faster increase of PFS than girls, yet gender differences in the initial level of PFS and the developmental trajectory in the urban region were nonsignificant.
Discussion
The findings reveal a normative increasing trend of PFS during early adolescence and faster increase for urban than rural adolescents. To promote adolescents’ psychological well-being, parents, teachers and practitioners need to help adolescents establish a good balance between social interaction and solitude. When deciding what is a good balance, it is important to consider the social-cultural context.
... Solitude is defined as a state in which individuals do not interact with others, either inperson or in virtual environments (1). There has been a long-time debate about the costs and benefits of solitude, and individuals can experience solitude both positively and negatively (2). ...
... There has been a long-time debate about the costs and benefits of solitude, and individuals can experience solitude both positively and negatively (2). On the one hand, solitude was found to be associated with negative feelings, such as loneliness and depressive symptoms (1,3,4). On the other hand, it was believed that positive experiences with solitude could promote self-discovery, creativity, and self-reflection (1). . ...
Objectives
From the perspective of person-centered research, the present study aimed to identify the potential profiles of solitude among late adolescents based on their solitary behavior, motivation, attitude, and time alone. In addition, to echo the paradox of solitude, we further explored the links between solitude profiles and adjustment outcomes.
Methods
The participants of the study were 355 late adolescents (56.34% female, M age = 19.71 years old) at three universities in Shanghai, China. Measures of solitary behavior, autonomous motivation for solitude, attitude toward being alone, and time spent alone were collected using adolescents' self-report assessments. The UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Basic Psychological Needs Scales were measured as indices of adjustment.
Results
Latent profile analysis revealed four distinct groups: absence of the aloneness group (21.13%), the positive motivational solitude group (29.01%), the negative motivational solitude group (38.03%), and the activity-oriented solitude group (11.83%). Differences emerged among these four groups in terms of loneliness, depressive symptoms, and basic needs satisfaction, with adolescents in the negative motivational solitude group facing the most risk of psychological maladjustment.
Conclusion
Findings revealed the possible heterogeneous nature of solitude among Chinese late adolescents and provided a theoretical basis for further understanding of adolescents' solitary state.
... Prevailing studies mainly inform how solitude is experienced in extreme settings with absolute silence and physical isolation. However, solitude is also experienced in the presence of others (Detrixhe et al., 2014;Long & Averill, 2003). Long (2000) identified public places such as coffee shops, libraries, museums, and malls as settings for solitude. ...
... Solitude can be experienced in both physical isolation and the presence of others, provided the solitudeseeker is not being observed or is choosing not to interact (Detrixhe et al., 2014;Long & Averill, 2003). Past travel-related research has examined the solitude experience in extreme settings like the wilderness (Dawson, 2004;Naor & Mayseless, 2020) and for types of travellers like motor tourists (Jacobsen, 2004) and frontiers (Laing & Crouch, 2009). ...
Solo female travelling is a rising trend in travel and tourism across the globe. This study draws on the travel experiences of solo female travellers (SFTs) to examine how solitude as a travel need is realised during solo travels in Asia. In realising the need for solitude, intentionality in seeking solitude and the solitude setting play a vital role. This study reveals how certain service encounters and settings may influence SFTs in fulfilling their distinctive travel needs. The findings are explained by consumer territorial behaviours and contribute to the academic literature by highlighting service intrusions and also highlighting dissatisfaction as an emotional territorial response in the solo female travel context. Practical recommendations are given for destination management organisations to identify the distinctive solitude needs of SFTs and create a non-intrusive and conducive atmosphere for solitary consumption.
... Moreover, all types of relationships add some sense of personal meaning to one's life (Wong, 2015; see also Copeland, 2018). 67 Baker, 2017;Dahlberg & Mckee, 2014;68 Coyle & Dugan, 2012Hughes, Waite, Hawkley, & Cacioppo, 2004;Matthews et al., 201669 Hawkley et al., 2008Peplau & Perlman, 1982;Victor et al., 200070 Bergland et al., 2016Crane, 2017;Dahlberg, 2007;Harris, 2017;Long & Averill, 2003;Storr, 1988;Taube et al., 2016. With age, people appear to become more comfortable with time spent alone (Pauly, Lay, Nater, Scott, & Hoppmann, 2017). ...
... 471 462 Rook, 1984b463 Miller, 1997Rook, 1984a;Stevens, 2001;Weiss, 1973464 Bereznai, 2006Burns, 1999 (chapter 12, "The Love Addiction") 465 Dykstra & Fokkema, 2009;Sarner, 2018;Weiss, 1973 466 Cited in Expatica, 2007 467 Hobbes, cited in Savage, 2018468 Perlman & Peplau, 1981 Some would rather receive electric shocks than be alone with their thoughts (Wilson et al., 2014). 470 Bergland et al., 2016;Dahlberg, 2007;Graneheim & Lundman, 2010;Harris, 2017;Long & Averill, 2003;Storr, 1988;Taube et al., 2016471 Rook, 1984a Interestingly, as people develop greater comfort with solitude, their relationships often improve, perhaps because their social interactions becomes less fearful, urgent, or otherwise counterproductive. 472 ...
... Around the world, people describe loneliness as a painful, sometimes agonizing, experience 2 . Loneliness is conceptually distinct from being alone (a momentary state of objective absence of other people), solitude (when being alone is perceived as pleasant and sought out intentionally) 3 and social isolation 1, [3][4][5] (the objective lack of social relationships and social contact 1 ). ...
... Around the world, people describe loneliness as a painful, sometimes agonizing, experience 2 . Loneliness is conceptually distinct from being alone (a momentary state of objective absence of other people), solitude (when being alone is perceived as pleasant and sought out intentionally) 3 and social isolation 1, [3][4][5] (the objective lack of social relationships and social contact 1 ). ...
People feel lonely when their social needs are not met by the quantity and quality of their social relationships. Most research has focused on individual-level predictors of loneliness. However, macro-level factors related to historical time and geographic space might influence loneliness through their effects on individual-level predictors. In this Review, we summarize empirical findings on differences in the prevalence of loneliness across historical time and geographical space and discuss four groups of macro-level factors that might account for these differences: values and norms, family and social lives, technology and digitalization, and living conditions and availability of individual resources. Regarding historical time, media reports convey that loneliness is on the rise, but the empirical evidence is mixed, at least before the COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding geographical space, national differences in loneliness are linked to differences in cultural values (such as individualism) but might also be due to differences in the sociodemographic composition of the population. Research on within-country differences in loneliness is scarce but suggests an influence of neighbourhood characteristics. We conclude that a more nuanced understanding of the effects of macro-level factors on loneliness is necessary because of their relevance for public policy and propose specific directions for future research. People feel lonely when their social needs are not met, which can lead to long-term health issues. In this Review, Luhmann et al. summarize empirical findings on differences in the prevalence of loneliness across time and space and consider macro-level factors that might account for these differences.
... This possibility of interruption is an opportunity to address oneself. Many studies in which solitude has been considered a factor in increasing self-awareness and relaxation confirmed this result (Long & Averill, 2003;Lay et al., 2019). ...
Although many studies have defined the concept of “sense of place” (SOP), only a few have investigated the impact of different behavioral types on the degree of autonomy. Based on the existing literature, behaviors have been categorized along a spectrum ranging from spontaneous to controlled forms. This study aims to examine the effect of three behavioral types, namely autonomous, normative, and controlled, on the SOP in the front yards of homes in Ahwaz city, Iran, using a mixed-method approach. To begin with, the researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with sixteen residents to identify and understand various behavioral types. Subsequently, a survey was administered to 248 participants who owned homes with front yards oriented in the north–south direction. The validation and predictive capability of the structural model were assessed through the R-squares coefficient (0.564), indicating an acceptable fit for the endogenous structures in the model. The findings of this study reveal that autonomous behavior had the most significant impact on shaping the SOP. In contrast, control behaviors, which stem from external or forced stimuli, showed only a marginal effect on the sense of place. Normative behaviors, with a moderate level of control, had a more considerable impact on the SOP, second only to autonomous behavior. Consequently, the results emphasize that factors such as the flexibility and adaptability of individuals in response to situational changes, stemming from voluntary behaviors, significantly contribute to the development of a SOP.
... Loneliness is not the same as being alone: individuals may be alone, but not feel lonely (Laursen and Hartl, 2013). In fact, being alone is often viewed as positively, providing an opportunity for rest and recuperation (Long and Averill, 2003). Loneliness is a subjective experience; whilst environmental factors may give rise to loneliness, whether or not someone feels lonely in a situation is dependent upon their perceptions, wants, and needs (Galanaki, 2004). ...
Previous qualitative research has explored how adolescents conceptualise loneliness, but, there is currently no examination of whether loneliness is understood differently by adolescents in different countries. To address that gap, the current study used semi-structured interviews to explore what loneliness is, and how to cope with it, from the perspectives of 29 adolescents (15 male, 14 female), aged 14–16 years from Lithuania ( n = 6), Poland ( n = 5), Portugal ( n = 6), Serbia ( n = 6), and Turkey ( n = 6). Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants via project partners. Participants were included if they were aged 14–16 years, attended a school, youth centre, or foster home included in the Fit to Belong Erasmus+ Project, and did not have any disabilities or impairments that would impact their participation or understanding of the research activities. Thematic Framework Analysis (TFA) was used to analyse interviews with the adolescents and develop themes that reflected adolescents’ nuanced accounts of loneliness. Themes and subthemes described loneliness as a negative emotional experience involving a lack of belonging to one’s social environment and difficulty opening up to others. Themes recommended coping strategies for loneliness. Adolescents in the different countries described loneliness similarly: they understand it to involve negative emotions, and a lack of belongingness to one’s social environment, often due to social exclusion. Future research should explore the appropriateness of current measures and interventions that are used to address loneliness in youth and how those can be enhanced by including youth perspectives in the development process.
... However, loneliness was positively correlated with QOL six months later, which is not consistent with some of the previous findings (Beridze et al., 2020;Tan et al., 2020). One reason may be that loneliness also includes positive elements such as solitude (Tornstam, 1990), which may be beneficial for older adults (Adams et al., 2004;Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008;Long & Averill, 2003). Another reason may reside in the special sample in the current study. ...
Since the pace of population aging is getting faster than in the past, the population aging has been a serious social concern. The Quality of life (QOL) of the older adults, especially the oldest old, and their mental health problems need more public attention, for the purpose of enhancing their late well-being. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate the longitudinal relationship between loneliness to quality of life and mental health problems, considering the moderation effect of mindfulness among the oldest old. A total of 457 Chinese oldest-old completed questionnaires measuring mindfulness, loneliness, QOL, and mental health problems at baseline, and completed QOL and mental health problems again at six-month follow-up. Results showed that the longitudinal positive association between loneliness and mental health problems was significant (r = .401, p < .01). Nevertheless, loneliness was positively correlated with QOL (r = .242, p < .01). Additionally, mindfulness significantly moderated the association between loneliness and mental health problems. Specifically, higher mindfulness was associated with a weaker longitudinal relationship between loneliness and mental health problems. However, mindfulness did not moderate the relationship between loneliness and QOL. These findings indicated that loneliness can be a risk factor of mental health problems, and mindfulness can buffer the adverse effect of loneliness on mental health problems among the oldest old. Limitations and implications were discussed.
... More specifically, loneliness is an unpleasant subjective feeling that occurs when individuals perceive their network of social relationships as deficient in a quantitative or qualitative way (Perlman & Peplau, 1981). According to Long and Averill (2003), loneliness is different from being alone (i.e., aloneness), which is the objective experience of being without company, since individuals may feel lonely when alone, but also when they are surrounded by other individuals (Maes et al., 2016). MJCP|10, 3,2022 Loneliness, stress, and mentalization in adolescent gambling 3 Although studies on the relationship between loneliness and gambling are not always directly comparable due to the different instruments used to assess loneliness (with some studies using only one or few loneliness questions and others using multidimensional measures), evidence from the literature suggests that loneliness is one of the contributing factors for problem gambling (e.g., Botterill still unclear to what extent loneliness is a predisposing condition for problematic gambling or an outcome, since "pre-existing loneliness may be exacerbated by the shame and secretiveness felt when financial or control problems arise in the course of gambling" (Trevorrow & Moore, 1998, pp. ...
Background: The causes and consequences of youth problem gambling have become an area of increasing research interest. The present study investigated the role of loneliness, negative affective states, mentalization, and alcohol use among adolescent gamblers, exploring the relationships between the study variables utilizing path analysis. Methods: A sample of 352 adolescents aged between 16-19 years were administered the (i) South Oaks Gambling Screen Revised for Adolescents, (ii) Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents, (iii) Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, (iv) Reflective Functioning Questionnaire, and (v) Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test to assess gambling severity, loneliness, negative affectivity, mentalization, and alcohol consumption. It was hypothesized that: (i) female adolescents would be less likely to report gambling-related problems than male adolescents; (ii) loneliness, negative affectivity, deficit in mentalizing, and alcohol misuse would all be associated with gambling severity; and (iii) loneliness, negative affectivity, deficit in mentalizing, and alcohol misuse would all predict gambling severity. A further aim of the study was to explore the relationships between the study variables utilizing path analysis. Results: The regression analysis indicated that male gender, affinity for loneliness, hypomentalizing, and alcohol use significantly predicted adolescent gambling severity. Path analysis showed that stress contributed to gambling severity directly as well as indirectly (via hypomentalizing). Analysis of direct and indirect effects showed that unbalanced mentalizing strengthened the effect of stress on gambling severity. Conclusions: Given that loneliness and stress contribute to adolescent problematic gambling through the mediating role of hypomentalizing, clinical interventions should enhance adolescent gamblers' ability to process mental states in order to contribute to changing the trajectory that leads stressed and lonely adolescents to resort to gambling to improve their psychological wellbeing.
... R. Long and James. R. Averill, in their article, -Solitude: An Exploration of Benefits of Being Alone‖ put forward that, loneliness marks the idea of social exclusion even when the person desires connections, whereas solitude involves taking the productive 'me time' at regular intervals (7). Though solitude is devalued among a lot of people, who are hell bent on avoiding it, many great intellectuals have cherished the benefits of solitude. ...
Pablo Picasso’s words, "Without great solitude, no serious work is possible” rightly points to the gravity of Solitude. The glory of Solitude finds a place in the receptacle of literature. In American Literature, Solitude has been the bedrock for the movement of Transcendentalism and the ideology of Individualism. Solitude, rather than an essentially distraction free peaceful environment, is a serene disposition of the mind, where a person separates himself/ herself from his/her usual community attachment to discover the self. It is real powerful that it can give a person his/ her predicament in this universe. Mental Detox is moving past trauma caused by thoughts, emotions and the external world to a brand-new reshaped identity. These ideas have been well supported in the selected poetry of Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost with the application of Thoreauvian Philosophy and Roger’s Self-theory of Personality. This study elaborates how Solitude can function as an avenue for Mental Detox to Reconfigure the Self by applying Thoreauvian Philosophy, Roger’s Self-theory of Personality and the concept of Mental Detoxification to the analysis of selected American Poetry.
... Además, suelen tener mayor capacidad de expresar emociones complejas de forma simbólica a través de palabras y expresión gráfica (Averill, 2001;Averill & Thomas-Knowles, 1991). La creatividad emocional tiene una correlación alta con la apertura a la experiencia y con la capacidad de beneficiarse de la soledad, lo cual ha sido ligado a la producción creativa (Long & Averill, 2003). Finalmente, las investigaciones sugieren que las personas con mayor creatividad emocional tienen más mecanismos de adaptación. ...
Basado en un estudio cualitativo llevado a cabo con tres profesoras de inicial en una escuela de Lima (Perú), el presente artículo investiga los aspectos formativos que contribuyeron (o inhibieron) el desarrollo de la creatividad emocional de las participantes. En esta publicación se desarrolla el caso de una de ellas (Súper Keka). A partir de diversas teorías de la creatividad, una visión fenomenológica enmarca el trabajo autobiográfico usando la investigación a través del arte como vehículo de investigación. Esta exploración sugiere la importancia del trabajo colaborativo de memoria para otorgarle un sentido a la práctica docente, promoviendo la transformación de esquemas rígidos de pensamiento que han sido instaurados estructuralmente a causa de un modelo educativo que hoy en día ya no resulta útil. La llamada educación para el siglo XXI exige una revolución sustancial de la enseñanza, comprendiendo que el rol del docente no se puede reducir a la transmisión de conocimientos, sino a la capacidad de despertar y nutrir la capacidad de aprender. Para lograrlo es necesario que los educadores revisemos nuestra propia historia formativa, aprendiendo a desaprender. En este viaje, la creatividad emocional resulta un sistema sencillo y flexible para desarrollar los aspectos que nos permitan transformar nuestros paradigmas y desarrollar nuestra resiliencia.
... It is different from feeling alone, which can be beneficial. Being alone can provide young people with a sense of freedom from judgement [2] and a feeling of being able to make their own decisions, which in turn can develop personal autonomy. Being alone allows for honest self-reflection including around previous interpersonal interactions, which is important for young people to learn and grow. ...
... It is different from feeling alone, which can be beneficial. Being alone can provide young people with a sense of freedom from judgement [2] and a feeling of being able to make their own decisions, which in turn can develop personal autonomy. Being alone allows for honest self-reflection including around previous interpersonal interactions, which is important for young people to learn and grow. ...
... Buchholz (1997) benzer şekilde tek başınalığı, yaşam boyu gelişim adına bağlanma ile eşit derecede önemli bir kavram olarak ele alır. Bu noktada tek başınalık ve ilişki halinde olmanın birbirini tamamlayan iki durum olduğu vurgulanmakta (Knafo, 2012) ve bu tecrübenin özgürlük, yaratıcılık, kendini keşfetme gibi faydalarını inceleyen araştırmalar bulunmaktadır (Long ve Averill, 2003;Storr, 1988). Sağlıklı bir kişilik gelişiminde sözü edilen faydalarına rağmen tek başınalıkla ilgili yapılan bazı deneysel çalışmalar çelişkili sonuçlar ortaya çıkarmıştır (Burger, 1995;Larson ve Lee, 1996). ...
Araştırmanın amacı, Tek Başına Olma Motivasyonu Ölçeği- Kısa Formunun (TBOM- KF) Türk kültüründeki geçerlik ve güvenirliğinin incelenmesidir. Araştırma grubu 717 (Kadın= 466, %65, Erkek= 251, %35) kişiden oluşmaktadır. Araştırmanın verileri, Bilgi Toplama Formu, Tek Başına Olma Motivasyonu Ölçeği-Kısa Formu, Çok-Yönlü Eylemli Kişilik Ölçeği (ÇEKÖ) ve UCLA Yalnızlık Ölçeği-Kısa Formu ile toplanmıştır. Ölçeğin geçerlik işlemleri kapsamında açımlayıcı ve doğrulayıcı faktör analizlerinin yanı sıra ölçüt bağıntılı geçerlikten yararlanılmıştır. Açımlayıcı faktör analizi (AFA) sonucunda modeli %48,07 oranında açıklayan iki faktörlü (tercih edilen ve tercih edilmeyen tek başına olma) bir yapı elde edilmiştir. Doğrulayıcı faktör analizi (DFA) sonucunda ise modelin veri ile uyumunun iyi düzeyde olduğu bulunmuştur (X2/sd= 1,82, CFI= 0,95, GFI= 0,95, AGFI= 0,93, RMSEA= 0,05, SRMR= 0,05). Ölçüt bağıntılı geçerlik işlemlerinde tercih edilen tek başına olma faktörü ÇEKÖ’nün yaşam amacı ve öz yeterlilik faktörleri ile pozitif yönde; tercih edilmeyen tek başına olma faktörü ÇEKÖ’nün dört alt faktörü ile negatif, UCLA Yalnızlık Ölçeği ile pozitif yönde anlamlı ilişkiler göstermiştir. Ölçeğin Cronbach alfa iç tutarlık katsayıları AFA ve DFA örneklemleri için sırasıyla .81 ve .78, testi yarıya bölme güvenirliği AFA ve DFA örneklemleri için sırasıyla .83 ve .80 bulunmuştur. Tüm ölçeğin test-tekrar test güvenirliği 0.80’dir. Sonuçlar ölçeğin Türk kültüründe geçerli ve güvenilir bir ölçme aracı olduğunu göstermektedir.
... It is of great importance for us to distinguish between loneliness (which is generally negative) and solitude (which can be positive and beneficial) (Burger 1995;Long and Averill 2003). According to Stern (2021), "loneliness," "aloneness" and "solitude" for centuries had been barely differentiated from each other until the nineteenth century, and in languages other than English, there may be "one word covering all the various meanings of both solitude and loneliness", as in the Chinese 孤單/ 孤獨, or there may be "a range of different words and meanings covering negative, neutral and positive senses of the terms". ...
The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed people’s long-standing group life, and “less gathering” has become a popular slogan during this period. People will probably feel lonely when they are physically, socially, or mentally distanced and isolated or excluded, and they usually perceive a deficiency in the quality or quantity of their social relationships. Although loneliness is easily conflated with solitude, loneliness as an emotion is generally regarded as negative while solitude can be positive. There are various causes and effects of loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, and loneliness has been found to have significant impacts on poorer physical and mental health. Religiosity and spirituality are specifically proven to have a great impact on handling loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. When regarding belongingness as the opposite of loneliness and social isolation, religious belonging means a feeling of being “at home” and “connected”. In this paper, from a comparative approach, we attempt to investigate how the three most prominent traditions in East Asia, i.e., Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, can help manage the feeling of loneliness. Due to different understandings of loneliness, their coping strategies for loneliness also vary. Through a preliminary study of “benevolence and rites,” “wu-wei and freedom,” and “mindfulness and spiritual realization,” we can learn from the ancient wisdom about how to reduce loneliness and promote spiritual well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
... However, to date, the psychological and organizational sciences literatures have generally considered being alone to be undesirable, focusing on the negative consequences of social isolation and loneliness. Accordingly, the literature has neglected examining the potential draw and benefits of solitude or time to oneself (Long & Averill, 2003). Thus, our work also contributes more broadly to delineating contexts in which being alone may be desired and associated with more positive outcomes. ...
Most research on commuting has focused on its negative aspects and consequences (i.e., stress). However, some work has also begun to recognize that there may be positive aspects to commuting. In this paper, we develop a perspective that has so far received limited attention, highlighting how the commute can be experienced as desired and beneficial “me time”, due to the fact that it inhabits a “third space” that is less associated with work or home role requirements. Drawing upon and integrating theories and research on commuting, leisure, recovery, and identity, we first define this construct and then develop a theoretical model that aims to address key questions regarding predicting motivation to engage in “me time”, beneficial outcomes of “me time”, and potential moderators of these effects. Consequently, our proposed model offers both research and practical implications for commuting employees as well as their employers, families, and society.
Plain Language Summary
The majority of research on commuting has focused on its negative aspects and consequences (i.e., stress). However, increasingly, some work has also begun to recognize that there may be some positive aspects of commuting. Despite some scholars acknowledging the potential benefits of commuting, most still conceptualize the commute as simply a necessary transition between domains (i.e., work and home). In this paper, we seek to bring a new perspective to the literature, highlighting how the commute can be experienced as desired “time to myself”. We therefore develop a theoretical model that aims to address key questions surrounding this phenomenon, including what is “me time” during the commute, who is more likely to uses the commute for “me time”, what are the situational factors that facilitate or inhibit choosing “me time”, what positive outcomes can be expected when engaging in “me time”, and what conditions are likely to affect this process. We also discuss the underlying mechanisms for this process. As a result, our proposed model presents both research and practical implications for commuting employees as well as their employers, families, and society.
This article engages Göran Therborn’s conceptualisation of existential inequality to explore lived experiences of loneliness in later life. Existential inequality refers to unequal social distribution of personhood, from dignity to autonomy. We argue sociological approaches, like inequality frameworks, are critical to grasp the social nature of loneliness – often missing in related literature. Investigating how people perceive and respond to their loneliness provides a comprehensive understanding of the links between personal/agentic and social/structural dimensions. We apply the idea of existential inequality to two case studies with older people (aged 65+) reporting prolonged loneliness: one encompassing ethnographic data and interviews with care home residents, and a second focusing on diaries produced by older people living alone. Employing existential inequality to frame how older people define, experience and manage loneliness highlights an assemblage of stigmas and marginalisation.
Experiences of solitude are ubiquitous in childhood and adolescence, but there remains considerable debate as to the potential positive versus negative implications of spending time alone across these developmental periods. The goal of this study was to examine maternal beliefs about the costs and benefits of solitude in childhood and adolescence. Participants were 500 mothers aged 23–67 years (M = 41.54, SD = 7.12) of children (n = 246 girls, n = 254 boys) aged of 4–18 years (M = 10.10, SD = 4.58). Mothers rated how ‘beneficial’ and ‘problematic’ it was, overall, for their child/adolescent to spend time alone, and then described up to three specific costs and benefits of solitude at this age. Open-ended responses were categorized into codes reflecting a wide range of costs and benefits. Among the results, mothers most often described potential costs of solitude related to the mental health concerns and problems with peers, and potential benefits of solitude pertaining to promoting autonomy and restoration. Several significant differences in maternal beliefs were also found between mothers of younger children, older children, and adolescents, as well as a function of child gender and experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results are discussed in terms of the complex links between solitude and well-being in childhood and adolescence.
Society within the Brain provides insightful accounts of scientific research linking social connection with brain and cognitive aging through state-of-the-art research. This involves comprehensive social network analysis, social neuroscience, neuropsychology, psychoneuroimmunology, and sociogenomics. This book provides a scientific discourse on how a society, community, or friends and family interact with individuals' cognitive aging. Issues concerning social isolation, rapidly increasing in modern societies, and the controversy in origins of individual difference in social brain and behaviour are discussed. An integrative framework is introduced to explicate how social networks and support alleviate the effects of aging in brain health and reduce dementia risks. This book is of interest and useful to a wide readership: from gerontologists, psychologists, clinical neuroscientists and sociologists, to those involved in developing community-based interventions or public health policy for brain health, to people interested in how social life influences brain aging or in the prevention of dementia.
Research in psychological science has predominantly focused on the importance of social interaction to health and well-being, neglecting how solitude relates to optimal functioning. Although solitude is sometimes perceived as an aversive state associated with loneliness and ostracism, solitude can also serve as a time for self-reflection and spiritual awakening. The aim of the current set of studies was to examine if the experience of awe might serve as an important state influencing people’s attitudes toward solitude. We propose that experiencing awe makes people feel alone but not lonely—dispelling the myth that solitude incurs loneliness—and, importantly that awe leads to positive attitudes toward solitude. Seven studies, using complementary designs (big data analytics, experiments, experience sampling, and intervention), tested these hypotheses. We found that awe changes people’s preference for solitude via self-transcendence. Furthermore, we probed the downstream consequences of this effect, showing that a brief awe intervention enhanced spiritual well-being and peace of mind by augmenting positive attitudes toward solitude.
What leads to peaceful and enjoyable solitude? Little is known about which personality and mindset qualities benefit individuals during time spent alone. The current study was designed to build a foundation for future quantitative and qualitative research making a priori predictions about well‐being (e.g., relaxation) or ill‐being (e.g., loneliness) when individuals are in solitude. Semi‐structured interviews of n = 60 participants, aged 19–80, were analyzed into themes. Exposure to the benefits of solitude early in life and personality characteristics that cross life's domains (capacity for introspection and self‐reflection and optimism) were associated with enjoying solitude. Mindsets recognizing that solitude benefits self‐connection, as well as in situ factors of creativity and curiosity, appeared to play important roles. In a final theme, self‐compassion, a present focus and perspective taking helped to alleviate discomfort during difficult moments of solitude. These findings deepen our understanding of which qualities individuals bring forward to enhance their moments of solitude.
Objective:
What are the motivational underpinnings of solitude? We know from self-report studies that increases in solitude are associated with drops in approach motivation and rises in avoidance motivation, but only when solitude is experienced as non-self-determined (i.e., non-autonomous). However, the extent to which individual differences in solitude relate to neurophysiological markers of approach-avoidance motivation derived from resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) is unknown. These markers are Frontal Alpha Asymmetry, beta suppression, and midline Posterior versus Frontal EEG Theta Activity.
Method:
We assessed the relation among individual differences in the reasons for solitude (i.e., preference for solitude, motivation for solitude), approach-avoidance motivation, and resting-state EEG markers of approach-avoidance motivation (N = 115).
Results:
General preference for solitude was negatively related to approach motivation, observed in both self-reported measures and EEG markers of approach motivation. Self-determined solitude was positively related to both self-reported approach motivation and avoidance motivation in the social domain (i.e., friendship). Non-self-determined solitude was negatively associated with self-reported avoidance motivation.
Conclusion:
This research was a preliminary attempt to address the neurophysiological underpinnings of solitude in the context of motivation.
Thinking about the universe also includes thinking about hypothetical extraterrestrial intelligence. Two key questions
arise: Why are we thinking about them in the first place? And why are we anthropomorphizing them? One possible
explanation may be that the belief in extraterrestrials results from a subjective feeling of loneliness or the need for
closure. Results of an online questionnaire (N = 130) did not reveal a confident and consistent correlation between personal
feelings of aloneness or need for closure and belief in extraterrestrial life or intelligence. The same was true for the
anthropomorphic representation of extraterrestrial intelligence. The belief in extraterrestrial life was negatively linked
to frequent religious activity, and to a lesser and more uncertain extent, to the belief in extraterrestrial intelligence. As
evidenced by their parameter estimates, participants demonstrated an intuitive grasp of the probabilities inherent in the
Drake equation. However, there was significant variability in the solutions provided. When asked to describe hypothetical
extraterrestrials, participants mainly assessed them in terms connoted with physical appearance, neutral to humans,
and partially influenced by anthropomorphism. Given the severe limitations, we conservatively conclude that individual
loneliness is indeed individual and does not break the final frontier, that is, space.
Tek başına olma, yetişkinlerde olduğu gibi çocuklarda ve ergenlerde de olumlu şekilde deneyimlenebilen bir durumdur. Tek başınalığın bireyi geliştirici yapısı ve potansiyel olarak vadettiği imkanlar bu kavramın okullarda da kullanabileceği düşüncesini doğurmuştur. Araştırmalar öğrencilerin okullarda tek başına olmayı verimli şekilde yaşayabilmeleri için okul politikaları ve müfredatında düzenlemeler yapılması, okul personelinin ise bilinçlendirilmesi gerektiğini belirtmektedir. Türkiye’deki okulların rehberlik ve psikolojik danışma programları incelendiğinde de tek başına olma kavramının ihmal edildiği görülmektedir. Bu nedenle eğiticiler, okul psikolojik danışmanları ve öğrenciler tek başına olmanın bireye sunabildiği avantajları fark edemeyebilirler, öğrencilerin yaşantıları yalnızlık veya başka bir problemli sosyal geri çekilme olgusuyla karıştırılabilir. Bu da çocuğun tek başına olma durumunu verimsizleştirebilir, istenmeyen şekilde çocuğun potansiyelinden uzaklaşmasına sebep olabilir. Çocuk ve ergenlerin psikolojik gelişimini güçlendirmek için tek başına olmanın okullarda nasıl kullanılabileceği, bu sayede öğrencilerin nasıl daha yaratıcı, mutlu ve geliştirici tek başına olmayı deneyimleyebileceği konularına çalışmada yer verilmiştir.
Can self-esteem reduce the deleterious effects of solitude on adolescents' mental and social health? Solitude is twofold because it can be chosen (self-determined) or forced (not self-determined). When it is not a chosen behavior (e.g., social ignorance, exclusion, or fear of others' judgment), individuals experience higher levels of anxiety and depression and feel the deleterious effects of loneliness more. On the other hand, the level of self-esteem relates positively to lower levels of anxiety and depression as well as to good social relationships. We hypothesized that self-esteem moderates the effects of unchosen solitude. Eighty high school students participated in this study by filling out a self-report booklet of questionnaires. We first examine the links between unchosen solitude and anxiety, depression, loneliness, hopelessness, and quality of the connection to family and peers; next, we examine the moderating role of self-esteem in these links. Regression analyses confirm the classic negative effect of not-self-determined solitude on the health outcomes considered, and moderation analyses show that a good level of self-esteem decreases this effect, at least on depression, hopelessness, and connection to peers. We suggest further studies to complete and refine these results and propose to assess more systematically the adolescents' self-esteem and to reinforce it to prevent negative mental and social health outcomes.
Solitude is a rising phenomenon in the western world. The share of people affected by solitude has been rising for some time and the Covid-19 pandemic has further brought this trend to the fore. Yet, we know next to nothing about the aggregate subnational economic impact of the rise in solitude. In this paper, we analyse the consequences of solitude on regional economic performance across Europe, distinguishing between two of its key dimensions: alone living, proxied by the regional share of single-person households and loneliness, proxied by the aggregate share of social interactions. We find that solitude has important implications for economic development, but that these go in different directions. While alone living is a substantial driver of economic growth across European regions, high shares of lonely people undermine it. The connection of loneliness with economic growth is, however, dependent on the frequency of in-person meetings, with large shares of the population meeting others socially on a weekly basis, alongside a small percentage of people who never meet others, yielding the best economic returns.
This paper focuses on the advantages of pilgrimage for modern-day people, trying to find and describe phenomena that are integral to the pilgrim experience. The aim is to investigate this experience holistically, without any a priori focus on a specific phenomenon. The qualitatively-oriented research was based on semi-structured interviews conducted with seven Czech pilgrims, after their experience from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The textual analyses were performed using the grounded theory method. The main finding is that the most significant benefit of pilgrimage is Intense Self-knowledge as a product of six phenomena: Disengagement from Everydayness, Solitude, Company on the Pilgrimage, Spirituality, Pain and Walking in the Camino Environment. Understanding this phenomenon helps us, in return, to understand the need of post-modern individuals for seeking this unique mode of travel, in which they are jolted out of their routine over an extended period of time and are exposed to an environment associated with a Christian tradition which is based on the archetypal need to wander to find sacredness.
Pictorial and visual metaphors have been the subject of much conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) research since the 1990s, and possibly prior to this time. The graphic metaphor constitute one category of multimodal metaphor, and hence one that suggests and requires an understanding of abstract concepts in visual information (Forceville 1996). A picturebook, for example, is a distinct type of visual genre containing various such pictorial metaphors. It is also generally acknowledged that picturebooks have narrative value, and convey emotions, while also stimulating the development of intellectual and aesthetic affordances. Similarly, these semiotic repertoires also contribute to the mental capacities of people, not least of which is their health. As many people undergo loneliness and solitude in the spreading of the current pandemic, such semiotic banks provide such a service. This research examines the pictorial metaphors in Beautiful Solitude, painted by the Chinese picturebook artist, Jimmy Liao, following his survival from leukemia. The study employs Kovecses's three-stage emotional metaphor frame; emotional motives, emotional existence, and emotional expression. The study observes the visual design grammar of the paintings as a theoretical framework to analyse these pictorial metaphors of emotion. The results of the study include the impact that these visual metaphors have on the portrayal and treatment of mental health. This study contributes to work on pictorial metaphors and thus suggests ways in which individuals envisage self, other, and the world, when in pain and when they sense themselves as isolated from their surroundings and communities.
The relationship between solitude and well-being is complicated by heterogeneity in definitions and effects of solitude. This study offers an understanding of solitude that shifts focus from physical to social aloneness – unavailability to communicate with others through face-to-face or mediated channels – while situating it in Communicate Bond Belong (CBB) theory to predict which individuals experience its benefits or costs. The current study utilizes secondary data (N = 985) from participants in United States and China to test predictions derived from CBB theory. Findings suggest solitude may be beneficial for highly connected individuals in the United States but not China. In the United States (but not China), there were significant interactions between solitude and meeting up with others in-person, maintaining relationships through mobile media, and self-disclosure through mobile media to predict well-being. Critically, the interactions between solitude and self-disclosure through mobile media and solitude and friendship quality significantly differed between the United States and China. These results received full support for chosen solitude, but also partial support for unchosen solitude. The discussion offers theoretical implications for CBB theory and future research on solitude.
Einsamkeit spielt nicht erst seit der Corona-Pandemie eine bedeutsame Rolle. Obwohl die meisten Menschen im Laufe ihres Lebens von Einsamkeit betroffen sind, ist sie schambehaftet und wird im Alltag tabuisiert. Durch eine interdisziplinäre und multiperspektivische Betrachtungsweise wird die Vielfalt der Einsamkeitserfahrungen sowie deren persönliche und gesamtgesellschaftliche Bedeutung in diesem Sammelband greifbar - kognitiv wie emotional. Betroffenenperspektiven werden dabei mit wissenschaftlichen sowie praxisnahen Erkenntnissen vereint. Damit soll ein Beitrag geleistet werden, Einsamkeit innerhalb der Gesellschaft zu enttabuisieren und als soziale Herausforderung anzunehmen.
The slim but growing literature on solitude relies heavily on survey and experimental designs but lacks a substantive understanding of the lived experiences of time spent alone, and by extension, what those experiences might reveal about the psychological functions of time in solitude. Following Gibson’s (1979) theory of affordances, solitude was viewed as an environment that offers various meaningful possibilities for action. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 43 emerging adults who shared positive and negative experiences of solitude, motivations for being alone, and perceived benefits of time spent by themselves. Narratives were examined using thematic analysis, revealing five positive affordances (focused attention, restoration, reflection, freedom, transcendence), two negative affordances (loneliness, rumination), and one mixed affordance (emotional expression). Affordances as an interactive match between environment and person, and the importance of purpose and the capacity to perceive such affordances, are discussed in relation to the benefits of solitude for emerging adults.
Buku "KEPEMIMPINAN KEUSAHAWANAN untuk pemimpin pendidikan Dalam Mendepani Cabaran Dunia VUCA" ini merupakan sintesis pelbagai teori yang datang dari pelbagai disiplin ilmu seperti perniagaan, pendidikan, psikologi,sosiologi dan sebagainya. Matlamat utama buku ini adalah untuk memperkenalkan model kepemimpinan keusahawanan sebagai model yang boleh dijadikan panduan oleh pemimpin pendidikan dalam membangungkan kompetensi diri, pasukan dan organisasi terutama sekali dalam berhadapan dengan cabaran dalam persekitaran VUCA. Justeru, model bersepadu kepemimpinan keusahawanan yang diperkenalkan dalam buku ini memberi kefahaman baharu bagaimana dimensi kepemimpinan boleh diintegrasikan dengan orientasi keusahawanan dan diaplikasikan dalam konteks kepimpinan pendidikan.
This study explores cross-cultural integration of Chinese top-up students in a UK university from the perspective of loneliness. Existing research on integration has underplayed loneliness. This study used semi-structured interviews to collect data at three key transition points during the top-up year. The findings suggest that students experienced loneliness both within and beyond their group, notwithstanding a number of reasons why they might be expected to be less lonely than other international students. Loneliness seemed to have a significant impact on cross-cultural integration, and participants were also unable to form strong bonds within their cohort of Chinese top-up students, and unable to experience healthy solitude. There are implications for the pre-departure preparation of such students, for the institutions hosting such students, and for responses to the social and emotional challenges they experience
Socioemotional selectivity theory claims that the perception of time plays a fundamental role in the selection and pursuit of social goals. According to the theory, social motives fall into 1 of 2 general categories—those related to the acquisition of knowledge and those related to the regulation of emotion. When time is perceived as open-ended, knowledge-related goals are prioritized. In contrast, when time is perceived as limited, emotional goals assume primacy. The inextricable association between time left in life and chronological age ensures age-related differences in social goals. Nonetheless, the authors show that the perception of time is malleable, and social goals change in both younger and older people when time constraints are imposed. The authors argue that time perception is integral to human motivation and suggest potential implications for multiple subdisciplines and research interests in social, developmental, cultural, cognitive, and clinical psychology.
A new 4-group model of attachment styles in adulthood is proposed. Four prototypic attachment patterns are defined using combinations of a person's self-image (positive or negative) and image of others (positive or negative). In Study 1, an interview was developed to yield continuous and categorical ratings of the 4 attachment styles. Intercorrelations of the attachment ratings were consistent with the proposed model. Attachment ratings were validated by self-report measures of self-concept and interpersonal functioning. Each style was associated with a distinct profile of interpersonal problems, according to both self- and friend-reports. In Study 2, attachment styles within the family of origin and with peers were assessed independently. Results of Study 1 were replicated. The proposed model was shown to be applicable to representations of family relations; Ss' attachment styles with peers were correlated with family attachment ratings.
In all the world there is no desolation more complete than the polar night. It is a return to the Ice Age—no warmth, no life, no movement. Only those who have experienced it can fully appreciate what it means to be without the sun day after day, week after week. Few men unaccustomed to it can fight off its effects altogether, and it has driven some men mad. (Lansing, 1959, p. 51)
This chapter focuses on preliminary data obtained from two Antarctic pilot investigations. The first study investigated changes in imperviousness to distracting events, a personality variable termed absorption, as assessed by objective test measures. Absorption can also be defined as the capacity for deep imaginative involvement. The second pilot investigation employed structured interviews to assess changes in imaginative involvement.
The development of an adequate assessment instrument is a necessary prerequisite for social psychological research on loneliness. Two studies provide methodological refinement in the measurement of loneliness. Study 1 presents a revised version of the self-report UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Loneliness Scale, designed to counter the possible effects of response bias in the original scale, and reports concurrent validity evidence for the revised measure. Study 2 demonstrates that although loneliness is correlated with measures of negative affect, social risk taking, and affiliative tendencies, it is nonetheless a distinct psychological experience.
In order to explore the effects of solitary confinement (SC) on penitentiary inmates, data were collected from volunteer respondents at five U.S. and Canadian prisons. Besides a structured interview, measures of personality, intelligence, mood, subjective stress, and creativity were administered. A questionnaire was used to identify ways of coping with the SC experience. Although the prisoners as a group differed from standardization samples on some of the tests, there were no dramatic differences between convicts who had experienced SC and those who had not. These data, which are unusual in that they were collected from actual convicts who were responding to SC as it is normally administered in their institution (as opposed to volunteer subjects under special conditions), do not support the view that SC in prisons is universally damaging, aversive, or intolerable.
Understanding the way that policy translates into experiences, perceptions, and behaviors is important to managing recreation in wilderness. The limits of acceptable change (LAC) planning system was used to structure a relationship between three constructs: experience dimensions (goals), conditions of concern (condition indicators), and coping behaviors (actions) in wilderness recreation. The Wilderness Act of 1964 served as a conceptual basis, providing five descriptors: natural, solitude, primitive, unconfined, and remote; these were used to develop experience, condition, and behavior measures. Recreationists from two wildernesses in the southeastern United States were sampled and asked to participate in a mail survey. Results indicated that wilderness experience dimensions existed that reflected the five descriptors, and that these dimensions were congruent with the constructs representing perceived conditions and coping behaviors. Natural and solitude aspects of the recreational experience were most significant in the relationships among constructs. Results suggest that recreationists use behaviors to control and manage conditions, and thus their experience, in wilderness.
In 1981 and 1982, a psychological scale was developed for exploring the several meanings of privacy and solitude that wilderness recreationists find to be important. The scale was never field tested, however. The present report describes the results of a field test of the wilderness privacy scale among backpackers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1987. Factor analysis of 20 items characterizing various aspects of wilderness privacy produced the following five factors, ranging from most to least important: tranquility and natural environment, individual cognitive freedom, social cognitive freedom, intimacy, and individualism. One new factor (social cognitive freedom) that did not appear in the earlier laboratory development of the wilderness privacy scale resulted from the field test. Nevertheless, the most important aspect of wilderness privacy in the field test remained being in a natural, remote environment that offers a sense of tranquility and peacefulness and that involves a freedom of choice in terms of both the information that users must process and the behavior demanded of them by others.
Examined children's reasons for choosing peers for the withdrawal items on the Revised Class Play (RCP). 88 elementary-school children nominated peers they felt were best described by each RCP item. Reasons for their nominations were classified into 2 categories: passive withdrawal from and active isolation by the peer group. For 3 of the items ("Someone who would rather play alone than with others," "Someone who is very shy," and "Someone whose feelings get hurt easily"), the children's reasons were predominantly based on passive withdrawal, whereas for 3 other items ("Someone who is often left out," "Someone who has trouble making friends," and "A person who can't get others to listen"), they were predominantly based on active isolation. Reasons for the remaining item ("Someone who is usually sad") were split equally between both alternatives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Two studies examined whether the previously documented coping strategy of social withdrawal in response to chronic crowding is related to changes in social information processing. In both studies we found evidence that individuals residing in crowded homes in comparison to uncrowded homes were less cognizant of personal information about strangers in an incidental encounter under naturalistic, uncrowded conditions as well as under highly crowded conditions, occurring in the laboratory. Furthermore, we show in the experimental study that interference with this social withdrawal process has significant effects on social information processing. In study 2 we also demonstrate that social withdrawal in response to acute crowding is an effective coping strategy for reducing short-term stress for those who have learned to employ this strategy while living under chronically crowded conditions. All of these results occur independently of income levels.
The present investigation examined the stability and the concurrent and predictive correlates of different forms of social withdrawal in childhood. Eighty-eight Grade 2 children were observed during free play and were assessed by peers and teachers on measures of social withdrawal, popularity, and aggression. The children's perceptions of their social skills were also measured. In Grade 4, 81 children were assessed, 55 of whom had been in the original sample. In addition to the Grade 2 measures, children's reports of loneliness and depression were gathered. In Grade 5, 77 children participated, including 51 from the original sample; all measures taken in this grade were similar to
those in Grade 4, with the exclusion of behavioral observations. The data revealed at least two distinct subtypes of social isolation, passive-anxious and active-immature. Passive isolation was stable across the three grades; was consistently and concurrently related to peer rejection, internalizing difficulties, and negative social self-perceptions; and was generally unrelated to externalizing problems across all three grades. Moreover, indices of passive isolation in second grade tended to predict depression and loneliness in fifth grade. In contrast, active-immature isolation was infrequent and unstable. This form of isolation was more often associated with aggression and with externalizing rather than internalizing difficulties; however, active isolation was not predictive of subsequent problems in Grade 5.
Administered a questionnaire containing items of varied content believed to be related to hypnotizability to 481 female undergraduates. 2 subsamples of 142 and 171 Ss, respectively, also completed Block's Ego Resiliency and Ego Control questionnaire scales and the Group Scales of Hypnotic Susceptibility. Analysis of the combined questionnaire data yielded 3 replicated higher order factors: the familiar dimensions of Stability and Introversion and a 3rd factor, Absorption. Absorption is interpreted as a disposition for having episodes of "total" attention that fully engage one's representational (i.e., perceptual, enactive, imaginative, and ideational) resources. This kind of attentional functioning is believed to result in a heightened sense of the reality of the attentional object, imperviousness to distracting events, and an altered sense of reality in general, including an empathically altered sense of self. Only Absorption was consistently correlated with hypnotizability. Absorption appears to be of interest for the study of hypnosis and personality. (38 ref)
A hypothesized need to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships is evaluated in light of the empirical literature. The need is for frequent, nonaversive interactions within an ongoing relational bond. Consistent with the belongingness hypothesis, people form social attachments readily under most conditions and resist the dissolution of existing bonds. Belongingness appears to have multiple and strong effects on emotional patterns and on cognitive processes. Lack of attachments is linked to a variety of ill effects on health, adjustment, and well-being. Other evidence, such as that concerning satiation, substitution, and behavioral consequences, is likewise consistent with the hypothesized motivation. Several seeming counterexamples turned out not to disconfirm the hypothesis. Existing evidence supports the hypothesis that the need to belong is a powerful, fundamental, and extremely pervasive motivation.
Socioemotional selectivity theory claims that the perception of time plays a fundamental role in the selection and pursuit of social goals. According to the theory, social motives fall into 1 of 2 general categories--those related to the acquisition of knowledge and those related to the regulation of emotion. When time is perceived as open-ended, knowledge-related goals are prioritized. In contrast, when time is perceived as limited, emotional goals assume primacy. The inextricable association between time left in life and chronological age ensures age-related differences in social goals. Nonetheless, the authors show that the perception of time is malleable, and social goals change in both younger and older people when time constraints are imposed. The authors argue that time perception is integral to human motivation and suggest potential implications for multiple subdisciplines and research interests in social, developmental, cultural, cognitive, and clinical psychology.
Analyzing national and ethnic differences in individualism and collectivism, D. Oyserman, H. M. Coon, and M. Kemmelmeier (2002) showed that small differences in scales or samples produce markedly divergent results, challenging the validity of these constructs. The author examines the following limitations of research on individualism and collectivism: It treats nations as cultures and culture as a continuous quantitative variable; conflates all kinds of social relations and distinct types of autonomy; ignores contextual specificity in norms and values; measures culture as the personal preferences and behavior reports of individuals; rarely establishes the external validity of the measures used; assumes cultural invariance in the meaning of self-reports and anchoring and interpretation of scales; and reduces culture to explicit, abstract verbal knowledge.
Backcountry backpackers' norms concerning the maximum acceptable tolerance limits for visual-social contacts at three encounter sites (trailhead, trail, and campsite) were examined in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Actual encounter levels were examined by asking backpackers to report the number of parties encountered at each of these three locations. Although 83% of the respondents reported encountering more parties than their acceptable norms, only 34% of the respondents reported that the number of encounters detracted from their solitude experience. Overall, 61% of the respondents whose personal norms were exceeded at one or more of the three encounter sites indicated that the number of encounters did not detract from the trip experience. Possible explanations for this finding are: (a) many backcountry users do not have a clear or salient conception of what a tolerable number of encounters is, (b) visual-social encounters are only of minor importance in the overall solitude experience found in remote environments, (c) limitations in our measurements resulted in the apparent noncongruent relationships between norms and reactions, and (d) the number of encounters is important to respondents, but conformity of behavior to normative beliefs is not a certainty.
Information-processing theory is offered as a basis for understanding the issue of solitude and the many realms of privacy humans seek during wilderness experiences. It is suggested that wilderness users do not mean complete isolation when they speak of wilderness solitude, but rather, an environmental situation in which they have some control over the information they must process and the attention required of them to process it. An empirical test involving 109 wilderness campers lends support to the theory. Factor analysis of twenty items characterizing various aspects of wilderness solitude resulted in four factors, in which the "natural environment" that provides an element of "cognitive freedom" was found most important.
Various types of privacy behaviours are engaged in to achieve a desired level of access by others to one's self or group. Six types of privacy have been identified empirically—solitude, isolation, anonymity, reserve, intimacy with friends, and intimacy with family (Pedersen, 1979, 1982 a). Factors representing the basic psychological functions or needs met by each of these types of privacy have also been obtained (Pedersen, 1997). This study presents a consolidated 6×5 model for the attainment of five privacy needs for each of the six types of privacy. The five privacy functions were autonomy, confiding, rejuvenation, contemplation, and creativity. In accordance with the model, privacy need profiles were obtained from 123 participants. These profiles described the degree to which the five privacy needs were met through the six types of privacy. The patterns of the privacy needs met by the various types of privacy were unique and meaningful.
Emotional states are typically viewed negatively: Our fears, angers, and sorrows seem to outweigh our joys and pleasures. Yet, it is hard to imagine life without ostensibly negative emotions. The solution, Nietzsche suggested, is to spiritualize the passions, the negative as well as the positive. And what might that entail? Whatever else, spiritualizing the passions requires creativity. In this chapter, we explore how standard criteria for creativity (novelty, effectiveness, and authenticity) apply to emotional as well as to intellectual and artistic responses. In a similar vein, we show how characteristics commonly associated with spiritual experiences (meaning, vitality, and connectedness) apply to emotionally creative responses. Finally, data are presented that relate individual differences in emotional creativity to a spiritualization of the passions, at the high end of the creativity continuum; and to its opposite, a despiritualization of the passions (neurosis), at the low end.
Constructed a taxonomy of different varieties of the experience of aloneness, specifying the structure for each by reviewing dictionary definitions of words that refer to aloneness experiences, by categorizing examples of aloneness excerpted from 250 novels and 150 popular songs, and by conducting open-ended pilot interviews with 10 psychiatric patients and 10 staff members. Nine varieties of aloneness, each with a unique structure, emerged; a situation, transformation, instruction, and function of each is described. Results show that Ss experienced varieties of aloneness in different ways. There was no simple conventional organization. However, knowing what has been experienced provides insight into the personality and life experience of the individual. Certain structures of aloneness may defend against or preclude other structures. It is concluded that only qualitative research methodology could have illuminated the structure of these emotional experiences and the way in which the structures yield insight into personality organization and development. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The first section, "Overview of Attachment Theory," provides an updated primer on the theory. The second section of the volume, "Biological Perspectives," stems from J. Bowlby's reliance on ethology and primate research in the creation of attachment theory. The third section of the volume, "Attachment in Infancy and Childhood," contains 3 chapters that provide an overview of empirical research on patterns of attachment in infancy and childhood. The fourth section, "Attachment in Adolescence and Adulthood," contains chapters growing out of Bowlby's early contention that attachment characterizes humans "from the cradle to the grave." The fifth section of the volume, "Clinical Applications of Attachment Theory and Research," contains chapters that reflect the strong roots of attachment theory in clinical psychology and psychiatry, and the contributions that the theory and associated research can now make to clinical work. The final section of the volume,"Emerging Topics and Perspectives," provides a sampling of the wide array of areas into which attachment theory and research are being extended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This chapter will consider certain aspects of schizophrenia from a somewhat new point of view. The central thesis in the conceptualization to be proposed is that anxiety is the pre-eminent factor in the development of schizophrenia. This thesis itself is not, of course, new: on the contrary, it is quite widely held. What is new here is a particular interpretation of anxiety and an attempt to spell out just how anxiety, in terms of this particular interpretation, can lead to those behavioral characteristics which define schizophrenia. The general plan of this paper is as follows. The first two sections will be devoted to the development of a general conceptual framework, and the last six sections will concern the application of this theoretical formulation to certain problems of schizophrenia. Specifically, the purposes of the succeeding sections are: first, to describe the underlying theoretical orientation; second, to present an interpretation of the nature of anxiety; third, to show how this interpretation applies to the general problem of schizophrenia; fourth, to examine the problems of schizophrenic avoidance and withdrawal; fifth, to consider some of the problems of hallucinations; sixth, to consider distortions in reality perception in terms of the general theoretical orientation; seventh, to offer an interpretation of thinking disorder in schizophrenia; and eighth, to indicate and consider several general questions raised by the interpretation of schizophrenia presented in the earlier sections. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Examined the degree to which backpackers used 6 physical coping (PC) and 6 social coping (SC) behaviors to avoid encounters/interactions with other backpackers. PC behaviors were used more often than SC behaviors. Ss used SC behaviors infrequently, except for reducing social interactions with backpackers in other parties. The importance of solitude to Ss was significantly related to adoption of all 6 PC behaviors but to none of the SC behaviors. Ss who had lower encounter norms and who were more sensitive to actual encounters participated significantly more often in 10 of the 12 coping behaviors. Level of past experience had little influence on use of coping behaviors. Findings are interpreted in the context of coping behavior as a means of avoiding or adjusting to visitor encounters in wildland recreation areas. The role of such behavior in controlling environmental conditions and desired level of privacy is also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This book is a continuation of my Motivation and Personality, published in 1954. It was constructed in about the same way, that is, by doing one piece at a time of the larger theoretical structure. It is a predecessor to work yet to be done toward the construction of a comprehensive, systematic and empirically based general psychology and philosophy which includes both the depths and the heights of human nature. The last chapter is to some extent a program for this future work, and serves as a bridge to it. It is a first attempt to integrate the "health-and-growth psychology" with psychopathology and psychoanalytic dynamics, the dynamic with the holistic, Becoming with Being, good with evil, positive with negative. Phrased in another way, it is an effort to build on the general psychoanalytic base and on the scientific-positivistic base of experimental psychology, the Eupsychian, B-psychological and metamotivational superstructure which these two systems lack, going beyond their limits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
"A Personal Orientation Inventory utilizing scores of relative time competence, relative inner-and other-directedness, and 10 additional subscales has been developed. Validation studies show a definite trend in discriminating self-actualized, normal, and non-self-actualized groups on these dimensions." The mean for the self-actualized group was above the norm mean, whereas the mean for the non-self-actualized group was below. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Orientations toward privacy were identified and individual differences in orientation assessed by means of the newly developed Privacy Preference Scale. Principal components analysis of the PPS revealed six major factors from which subscales were constructed, their content centering on orientations toward noninvolvement with neighbors, seclusion of the home, solitude, privacy with intimates, anonymity, and reserve. In a suburban adult sample (n = 101), these orientations toward privacy were related by means of correlation, multivariate analysis of variance, and canonical correlation to density of past and present environments and to features of the physical environment affecting potential privacy.
Two investigations explored the psychometric properties of Burger's Preference for Solitude Scale (1995). In Study 1, both internal consistency and spit-half reliability estimates were adequate, although exploratory factor analysis suggested a multidimensional scale. Study 2 also demonstrated adequate reliability estimates and confirmed the stability of three subscales: Need for Solitude, Enjoyment of Solitude, and Productivity During Solitude. Results also revealed differential relations of these subscales to loneliness, self-concealment, self-esteem, and social anxiety. The utility of this scale and directions for further test validation are discussed.
Loneliness is a complex set of feelings encompassing reactions to the absence of intimate and social needs. Although transient for some individuals, loneliness can be a chronic state for others. We review the developmental, social, personality, clinical, and counseling psychology literatures on loneliness with an emphasis on recent empirical findings. Chronic feelings of loneliness appear to have roots in childhood and early attachment processes. Chronically lonely individuals are more likely to be high in negative affectivity, act in a socially withdrawn fashion, lack trust in self and others, feel little control over success or failure, and generally be dissatisfied with their relationships compared to nonlonely individuals. Loneliness has also been associated with a variety of individual differences including depression, hostility, pessimism, social withdrawal, alienation, shyness, and low positive affect; loneliness is also a concomitant of more severe disorders, such as clinical depression, borderline personality, and schizophrenia. Although loneliness affects a large number of individuals and is associated with numerous negative outcomes, relatively few investigations have examined the efficacy of treatments aimed at alleviating or preventing loneliness. Several investigations raise the possibility of treating loneliness, but the absence of appropriate comparison groups casts doubt on the efficacy of many of these treatments. Correlational studies also suggest that one close friend or romantic partner may be sufficient to buffer those at risk for loneliness. Research on causal processes is sparse, however, and more research is needed to delineate which factors are antecedents and which are consequences of loneliness.
Various types of privacy behaviors are engaged in to achieve a desired level of access to one's self or group. Six types of privacy have been identified empirically—Solitude, Isolation, Anonymity, Reserve, Intimacy with Friends, and Intimacy with Family. The psychological needs met by each privacy was investigated in this study. Each type of privacy was rated by 74 subjects according to the degree to which each of 20 privacy needs was achieved. A factor analysis of the ratings within each privacy type was completed to find types of privacy functions. Several privacy function factors were found. There was both commonality and uniqueness of the factors across the six kinds of privacy. The factors found were contemplation, autonomy, rejuvenation, confiding, creativity, disapproved consumptions, recovery, catharsis, and concealment. Mean factor scale scores were calculated to describe the relative amount of utilization of the various privacy functions for each type of privacy.
Past research suggests that solitude can have either a positive or a negative impact on a person′s well-being. How time away from others affects people may depend on the person′s general preference for solitude. We present a scale to measure individual differences in preference for solitude. Experiments 1 and 2 report on the development of the Preference for Solitude Scale and provide evidence of its reliability. Experiments 3 and 4 provide discriminant and convergent validity data for the scale. Experiments 5 and 6 use self-report data to demonstrate that scale scores predict the extent to which people spend time by themselves and with others. Experiment 7 uses scale scores to predict the amount of social interaction in a laboratory setting. Experiment 8 demonstrates that scale scores can predict the amount of time people spend alone beyond that predicted by introversion-extraversion. Taken together, the data indicate that the Preference for Solitude Scale assesses individual differences in the extent to which people prefer to spend time alone.
From childhood to old age people spend increasing amounts of their waking hours alone. This paper examines this enlarging solitary part of daily life as a distinct “experiential niche” having unique potentials and liabilities. The paper synthesizes a program of research in which people of different ages have provided reports on their experiences at random times during the day, including times when they are alone. Findings show that the immediate experience of daily solitude is usually one of loneliness and passivity. This is particularly true in adolescence; for older samples aloneness becomes both more common and less emotionally negative. At the same time, adolescents who spend at least some portion of their time alone appear to be better adjusted, perhaps because solitude facilitates the adolescent developmental tasks of individuation and identity formation, while in adulthood and old age, spending large amounts of time alone is more likely to be correlated with poor adjustment.
A new 4-group model of attachment styles in adulthood is proposed. Four prototypic attachment patterns are defined using combinations of a person's self-image (positive or negative) and image of others (positive or negative). In Study 1, an interview was developed to yield continuous and categorical ratings of the 4 attachment styles. Intercorrelations of the attachment ratings were consistent with the proposed model. Attachment ratings were validated by self-report measures of self-concept and interpersonal functioning. Each style was associated with a distinct profile of interpersonal problems, according to both self- and friend-reports. In Study 2, attachment styles within the family of origin and with peers were assessed independently. Results of Study 1 were replicated. The proposed model was shown to be applicable to representations of family relations; Ss' attachment styles with peers were correlated with family attachment ratings.
This research investigates the quantity and quality of time alone or "solitude" in the daily lives of older adults. A sample of 92 retired adults carried electronic pagers for 1 week and filled out self-reports on their companionship and internal states in response to signals received at random times. Analysis of the 3,412 reports indicates that those who were unmarried and living alone spent a majority of their waking hours alone and experienced low affect and arousal when in this dominant part of their lives. For the married, solitude was also a major part of daily life, filling 40% of their time, but, although it was related with somewhat lower affect, it was also related with higher arousal. These results suggest that being alone is not a wholley negative experience for this age group, especially for those who have the regular companionship of a spouse.
Adolescents spend one-quarter of their waking hours alone, yet the significance of this time is little understood. This study evaluates developmental changes in the experience of solitude between late childhood and early adolescence. Four hundred eighty-three European American fifth through ninth graders provided experience-sampling reports on their companionship and subjective states at random times over a week. The findings show, first, that time alone becomes more voluntary across this age period. Second, time-series analysis shows that for seventh through ninth graders, but not fifth and sixth graders, solitude had a positive after effect on emotional state. Third, adolescents, but not preadolescents, who spent an intermediate amount of their time alone were better adjusted than those who spent little or a great deal of time alone. As a whole, the findings suggest that, while continuing to be a lonely time, in early adolescence solitude comes to have a more constructive role in daily life as a strategic retreat that complements social experience.
The structure and correlates of emotional creativity were explored in a series of six studies, using a specially constructed measure of individual differences--the Emotional Creativity Inventory (ECI). Analyses of the ECI suggest that three facets of emotional creativity can be distinguished empirically as well as theoretically, namely, preparedness (understanding and learning from one's own and others' emotions), novelty (the ability to experience unusual emotions), and effectiveness/authenticity (the skill to express emotions adroitly and honestly). Women score higher than men on emotional preparedness and effectiveness/authenticity, but not on the novelty of their responses. People who score high on the ECI are considered by their peers to be more emotionally creative, presumably on the basis of everyday behavior. Associations between emotional creativity as measured by the ECI and a variety of other personality variables (including the Big Five personality traits, mysticism, self-esteem, authoritarianism, locus of control, alexithymia, and ways of coping) are examined, as is the relation between emotional creativity and prior traumatic experiences.
Solitude may be positive or negative, depending on situational and personal factors. From prior research, nine types of solitude were identified. Based on data from a questionnaire study of undergraduate participants, factor analysis suggests that these nine types can be reduced to three dimensions, two positive and one negative. These are, respectively, Inner-Directed Solitude (characterized by self-discovery and inner peace), Outer-Directed Solitude (characterized by intimacy and spirituality), and Loneliness. Personality and value correlates, as well as situational correlates, of the various types of solitude also were explored.
The Executive Management Committee Openness to absorbing and self-altering experi-ences ( " Absorption " ), a trait related to hypnotic susceptibility
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