Humor as a Regulator of Negative Emotions

The article presents research that aimed to answer whether humor regulates negative emotions. The studies were conducted in the paradigm of precedence. The first group was entered into a negative mood, in the second one however, a positive mood was induced. Afterwards, the respondents were presented with jokes, which were subjected to the evaluation of the degree of their funniness. The conducted observations indicate that the evaluation of jokes emerging at the beginning is consistent with the mood preceding their evaluation, and is higher in the group of people with a positive mood. It was noted however, that the exposure of subsequent humorous stimuli causes that the assessment of the jokes’ funniness changes and is higher among people in whom a negative mood was produced. This indicates that the regulation of emotions under the influence of humorous stimuli may occur along with the presentation of subsequent jokes.

About the Identity of Disabled People

There is a constant debate in the modern literature about the meaning of the individual and social factors influencing an individual identity. The identity is most often displayed as a construct of a dynamical process of social interaction consisted of various factors that describe the individual psychophysical characteristics of an individual and factors, which stand as an effect of a socialization process. Presented in this article overview of the theories explain the meaning of both the personal and social factors and the relationship with the socio-cultural environment influencing the development of intellectually disabled identity.

Disability and Rehabilitation in the Context of Life-Span Psychology

The article discusses another approach to the perception and understanding of disability and rehabilitation as well as to disabled persons themselves. Our discussion set in the context of life-span psychology makes it possible to combine several areas such as development, development support, disability, and rehabilitation in a common semantic space. This theoretical method, resulting from natural notions, may help us change how disabled persons are perceived, that is, only through their deficiencies. Life-span psychology enables one to approach disabled people by treating their rehabilitation as a living process that supports their development.

The City as a Spatial and Functional Structure, and as a Place Having Subjective Meanings

Nowadays, the issue of cities and their functions is an important topic in urban studies in geography, architecture, sociology, and, psychology. The social perception and the interpretation of material forms is what the city is for people, and what function it fulfils for them is particularly important. The aim of this study was to investigate the subjective perception of the city’s functions for the people living there. The article conducted research on a group of 228 subjects. The study qualitatively analysed the respondents’ free expressions.
The results showed that the city is frequently seen as a learning and work center, a place for meetings, entertainment, cultural events, and as a place of residence. The city also has many psychological functions related to a person’s identity, sense of attachment, the home, the little country, development, being brought up as a child, growing up, and going into society. Some respondents pointed to the city’s negative functions or to its lack of them. Women more often than men perceived the city as a place of rest and recreation, to learnand work, to development oneself, or to socialize, while men more often perceived it as without any functions or a negative place.

Catharsis in Poetry Therapy

I. 1. How poetry arises; I. 2. How poetry heals – catharsis ; II. Catharsis in Poetry Therapy oriented toward therapeutic effect; III. Catharsis in Poetry Therapy oriented toward moral ‘purification’; IV. Catharsis in Poetry Therapy oriented to- ward mystical experience; V. Catharsis in Poetry Therapy oriented toward strictly aesthetic experience; VI. Catharsis in Poetry Therapy oriented toward strictly hedonistic pleasure; VII. Ending.

Does Asthma Disturb Executive Functions and Self-regulation in Children?

Due to possible psychosocial and neurocognitive factors, asthma may present a risk to children’s executive functions and self-regulation, especially when it is poorly controlled. One hundred and one 8-11 year-old children (patients with asthma, ADHD and healthy peers) and their parents participated in the study. Four cognitive tasks measuring different executive functions and parent and child ver- sions of behavior regulation inventory were used. Children with asthma had more difficulties shifting their attention between tasks and exhibited more problems in self-regulation than their healthy peers, but their scores were better than children with ADHD. Patients with more intensive treatment, poor symptom control, a his- tory of acute asthma attacks and non-compliance had slightly more difficulties in executive functions and self-regulation.

Subjective determinants of social workers’ readiness to help in cases of domestic violence

The aim of study was comparing the level of readiness to intervene in domestic violence situations declared by welfare workers and laypersons and determining if such reactions depend on a person’s age, level of emotional empathy and social competence, and self-assessment of one’s actively reacting to situations where others need help. In this study took a part 120 welfare workers and 120 laypersons. To measure the readiness to intervene were used 72 short stories describing situations of domestic violence (based on the intervention stages of Latane and Darley model). The Social Competence Questionnaire (SCQ) by A. Matczak was used to gauge the participants’ social competencies and emotional empathy level was measured using the Emotional Empathy Scale developed by M. A. Epstein. Results of study showed among others that welfare workers declare higher level of general readiness to help than laypersons. The best predictor of probability to intervene for social workers was knowledge about appropriate forms of help, and for laypersons was sense of responsibility for reacting in such situations. Social competences were more significant to decision about intervene for laypersons than for welfare workers.

The Working Excessively Questionnaire (WEQ) – theoretical background

There is no widely accepted definition or conceptualization of workaholism. The primary purpose of this paper is to clarify some of these issues and define and contextualize excessive workload together with its negative consequences. Our study presents a more comprehensive understanding of workaholism and takes into account employee’s cognitive (beliefs) and personality factors (perfectionism and obsessive compulsiveness), situational factors of work environment, and person’s working style. A clearer understanding of the underpinnings of workaholism may allow the practitioners to assess and manage work addiction better.

Metareflection on decisions concerning career choice

In the article, the author presents the main theses of his Psychologia dążeń I skłonności zawodowych (Psychology of Vocational Strivings and Inclinations, Jarosiewicz, 2012). Empirically grounded, the study draws on career counselling practice, in particular on the provision of career diagnosis on the basis of multiple- choice tests (Achtnich, 2010). Analysing the assumptions behind such qualitative techniques, the author comes to distinguish the phenomenon of choice as such within a wider group of decision-making processes. He defines “choice” as settling on the object of wanting. Choice-making is informed by a person’s prior experiences and desires crystallized as strivings. A person tends to choose what s/he finds personally suitable, because the role of choice consists in subjective directing of one’s activity, that is in self-directing. The author contrasts the subjectivity of choices with the objectivity of decisions, and even with their objectivism in their role of directing things.

Sense of Body Boundaries Survey – construction and psychometric values

In fields of modern psychology and psychiatry there was a significant increase of researches on body subject. New instrument designed to measure body image and body-self are appearing. However, method for sense of body boundaries measurement have not been yet constructed. Sense of this kind is presumed to be a important body experience related to human personality and identity formation.
Authors of this article present phases of Sense of the Body Boundaries Survey construction, as well as current psychometric values. Method is designed to measure the means in which individual experience own body surface.
Questionnaire fills the gap in the list of empirical measurement methods in field of body psychology and may be a beginning for numerous interesting studies.

Supporting development of adult persons with intellectual disability living in the L’Arche in the life-span psychology

We approach the problem of possibilities of intellectually disabled persons development in the context of a specific experience which is the life in L’Arche communities. Empirical references constitute the research of a narrative type. Theoretical foundations are based on Jeana Vanier’s personalistic philosophy as well as in the context of development from the point of view of life-span psychology and development support.

Adaptive or maladaptive perfectionism? The analysis of correlates of the PWSS of the Working Excessively Questionnaire (WEQ)

This article presents the results of correlation studies on the Perfectionist Working Style Scale (PWSS) of the Working Excessively Questionnaire (WEQ), developed by Hornowska and Paluchowski (2007). The items of PWSS do not relate to consequences of excessive workload or work addiction, as much as to potential causes of these phenomena. The items pertain to a person’s way / style of preparing and conducting work activities, which is characterized by a person’s excessive strive for excellence. The aim of the study was to investigate the psychological correlates of the perfectionist working style. We formulated hypotheses that apply to the relationship between PWSS and constructs such as self-esteem, locus of control, temperamental traits, hope for success and need for achievement.

Analyzing correlates of the POOS of the Working Excessively Questionnaire (WEQ)

This article presents the results of correlation studies on the Perceived Oppressiveness of the Organization Scale (POOS) of the Working Excessively Questionnaire (WEQ) - developed by Hornowska and Paluchowski (2007). POOS consists of items referring to a person’s functioning within their work organization. Answers on this scale allow to point out the risk factors associated with workplace characteristics that may lead to work addiction. The aim of the study was to investigate the psychological correlates of the perceived oppressiveness of a workplace. We hypothesized that the POOS may be connected to constructs like locus of control, temperamental traits and self esteem. We also tested the demographic factors.

The values to which a person adheres shape one’s personality. The aim of our present project was to assess whether, and in what way, the crisis connected with high-risk pregnancy influences a woman’s system of values.
The study group consisted of 61 patients in the Department and Ward of Obstetrics and Pregnancy Pathology of the Medical University of Lublin in their first high-risk pregnancy. The control group was composed of 50 women in their first normal pregnancy. The average age in each group was 27.4. The majority of women were married and educated.
Method: sociometric survey and the Polish adaptation of Value Survey (VS) by M. Rokeach, 1973. Data was analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U Test.
The study showed no differences between the preferred terminal and instrumental values in either group. The terminal values included: Family security, Mature love, Wisdom, Self-Respect etc.; the instrumental ones included: Love, Responsibility, Honesty, etc.
Conclusions:
1. High-risk pregnancy does not affect a woman’s system of values.

Effectiveness of Different Virtual Reality Environments on Thermal Pain Distraction

This study investigated analgesia mechanisms by using virtual reality (VR) technology. We tested how the content of a virtual environment (VE) influences the in- tensity of experienced pain. Two different VE’s were used – relaxation and stimulation, and pain was triggered by heat stimuli. We used repeated experimental designs for the study. Thirty-two undergraduate psychology students participated, with each person being immersed in two VE’s while a heat stimulus was applied to their wrist. Objective and subjective pain measurements were collected on a visual analog scale (VAS) – the temperature of the heat stimulus and the participant’s assessment of pain intensity. Participants also filled in questionnaires designed to measure their temperaments and anxiety levels. We also recorded the subject’s respiratory rate. We found no significant difference between the two VE’s in their analgesic efficacy. Under both VR conditions participants endured significantly higher temperatures than under the no-VR condition. We found no significant differences in the influence of temperament or anxiety on a specific VE efficacy.

Coping strategies as predictors of health behaviour in chronic dermatoses

This study aims to measure health behaviour change in chronic dermatoses and to assess the predictive power of coping strategies for engagement in health behaviour. The research sample was comprised of 120 participants, which included a group of 60 patients with chronic dermatoses (30 patients with psoriasis and 30 patients with vitiligo) and 60 healthy individuals as controls. Instruments used in this study were Health Behaviour Inventory and Coping Orientations to Problems Experiences COPE. The study revealed that there is no difference in health behaviour between vitiligo patients and controls. Psoriasis patients more frequently engage in preventive behaviour than healthy individuals. Coping strategies can be used to predict health behaviour in chronic dermatoses.

Woman’s image in the menopausal period

Present studies on experiencing menopause by women emphasise the importance not only of hormonal and psychological variables but also of socio-cultural ones. This article presents the results of our research, whose aim was to analyse if and in what way age influences the image of a woman in her menopausal period. Forty women, ages 40-52, and 64 women, ages 20-35, participated in the research. Qualitative analysis indicates that age influences a woman’s image during her menopause. The young women perceived menopause more negatively, stressing its physiology in this life phase. However, the women in the menopausal period had either a positive or a negative image of it. The women with a positive image associated menopause mainly with a natural life phase, as a full-fledged woman who knew her strengths.

The aim of this study was to provide results of a preliminary evaluation of the BRIGE (Building Resilience through Intervention, Guidance, and Empowerment) prevention program. The program was designed for youths aging out of the foster care system in Poland and starting independent life. Prior research by our research team documented that these youth are at high risk for homelessness, mental health problems, and other poor outcomes in the years after exiting foster care. Research participants were the first 5 youths who entered the BRIGE program (in fall 2009). All were preparing to leave orphanages in Poland. Each youth was appointed a case manager who worked with the youth over a period of at least 18 months. Each youth was evaluated at 4 times of measurement: program entry (Baseline), 6 months (follow-up 1), 12 months (follow-up 2), and 18 months (follow-up 3). The results showed that, in terms of mental health outcomes on the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), there were reductions in most symptom areas.

Research so far and hypotheses about psychological aspects of perception suggest that attitudes towards objects can be affected by individual traits, especially temperament.
In this article the authors attempt to discuss whether attitudes towards architectural an object could be conditioned individually, at the level of temperamental differences. The authors reveal empirical findings on the relation of temperament to attitudes towards architectural structures featured in various shapes, colors and forms. The study included 389 persons. The fundamental issue was addressed using 3D architectural models (with variable controlled formal features) and the author’s Questionnaire on Attitudes to Architectural Objects. The obtained results are unambiguous: Temperament varies the attitude, but not unconditionally. Significant variation of attitudes due to temperament seems to affect architectural objects only with specific layouts of formal features. Nevertheless, the presented results can be treated as a premise for further research in this field of study.

Quality of Life and Therapy Effects among Alcoholics

The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlation between an alcoholic’s quality of life and the results of therapy which were defined as the ability to maintain abstinence for one year. The Life Satisfaction Questionnaire FLZ by Fahrenberg and others, and the the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) by Watson and others were applied in this study. The study was conducted at the be- ginning and end of therapy, one year after subjects started maintaining abstinence, with one group (n = 64) sustaining their abstinence and the second group (n = 81) relapsing into drinking. Results indicate that at the beginning of treatment the groups’ levels of life satisfaction and affect did not differ. When therapy ended, people maintaining abstinence were characterized by higher levels of overall satisfaction with life and satisfaction with health, leisure, and friends. Throughout the treatment, patients who remained abstinent experienced significant increases in several dimensions of life satisfaction, overall satisfaction, and positive affects. These were not observed among patients who relapsed into drinking.

Spousal Similarities in Self-differentiation and Corporal Self

The research aim is to verify the similarity that selected spouses demonstrate regarding their levels of self-differentiation and the strengths of their physical selves. Murray Bowen’s Family Systems Theory and Sakson-Obada’s model of corporal self constitute the theoretical basis for the examination. It is assumed that the level of spousal self-differentiation can be correlated; however, the spouses differ in this variable’s certain dimensions. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that partners are similar in the physical self’s strength with the exception of the attitude toward their own bodies. Research was conducted on 56 young couples married for five years or less. The hypotheses were confirmed to a large extent. The discussion focused on an analysis of dissimilar mechanisms used by wives and husbands in dealing with their marital tensions. In this context, possibly prevent- ing marital dissatisfaction via supporting spouses in developing self-differentiation and deepening an awareness of their corporeity is also discussed.

Job Stressors, Job Burnout and Work Engagement: Do Work-family Conflict and Type-A Behaviour Play Roles in Regulating them?

The objective of our study was to examine whether work-family conflicts and type A behaviour pattern mediate in the dependence between job stressors, job burnout, and work engagement. According to the job demands, we assumed that job stressors would influence job burnout and involvement by means of the variable of work-family conflict. Whereas type A behaviour pattern would moderate the effect of job stressors upon job burnout and work engagement. The examined group comprised medical staff (N = 282). The research results support the hypothesis to a large extent. The results confirm significantly the assumptions of the job demands – resources model, and they suggest developing the model.

This study explores accounts of Polish ERASMUS students who had taken part in a study abroad year in a British university. The objective was to investigate if prior knowledge of studying psychology in one country mediates the experience in another and to discuss how participants found the process of integration in relation to studying in a different country. Focus group interviews were analysed using a thematic anlaysis technique. Some challenging contrasting pedagogical and epistemological differences between the two systems emerged and integration between home and ERASMUS students was reported as being low level. Discus- sions about how these findings can be related to the aims of ERASMUS and the wider remit of internationalisation are offered.

Evolutionary concepts suggest the existence of special patterns of behaviors which are an effective way to achieve bonds (Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1987). The results of psychological research, using scenarios involving behavior consistent with social norms, confirm these suggestions. Such behavioral patterns indeed fulfill their bonding function, both in the initial phase of forming a close relationship (Kuczyńska, 1991, 1993.1999), as well as in maintaining it (Kuczyńska, 1998). They have a positive influence on the affective, cognitive and behavioral reactions of individuals to whom they are presented (Kuczyńska, 1998). The purpose of this research was twofold: to test whether these behaviors would also be so effective when they are inconsistent with social norms, and to determine what part social norms play in the affective, cognitive and behavioral reactions of people towards whom such behaviors are presented. One hundred sixty people took part in the study. A pair of specially trained researchers presented four types of behaviors: neutral and bonding behaviors consistent with social norms, and friendly and sexual behaviors inconsistent with social standards. The results prove that the subjects’ reactions depend on the degree of conformity between the behaviors and social norms and on the strength of their bonding.

Psychological gender and quality of life of women who have experienced mastectomy

The purpose of this article is to present the results of a correlational study on the relationship between three elements: psychological gender, quality of life and mastectomy. The research question was formulated as follows: “Do women of different psychological genders who have undergone mastectomies differ in their way of sensing their quality of life?” Results are based on our own empirical research on a group of 70 women between the ages of 41 and 72. In the past all of these women underwent mastectomies. Results reveal that in comparison with other persons surveyed, androgynous women may have a higher level of satisfaction and sense of ability/productivity in dealing with this disease. Interestingly, so- called “masculine women” do not appear within the researched persons’ gender identity types. Perhaps the breast cancer experience has caused a distinct focus on not only physical but also psychological, namely identity related, femininity attributes, contributing to identity-related compensation of one’s own femininity. The obtained results are a strong inspiration for further research.

The influence of positive “interpersonal” and “instrumental” feedback on declared self-disclosure with a new acquaintance was investigated in a group of 120 women and men. Results showed that low self-esteem men declared the most intimate self- disclosure after receiving interpersonal feedback. On the contrary, high self-esteem men were ready to disclose the most personal information after instrumental feed- back. In the female group low self-esteem women declared stronger self-disclosure in neutral conditions than after receiving positive feedback, and in turn high self-esteem women were ready to reveal themselves at the same level, regardless of conditions. The effects are discussed according to socialization processes, and specific, or nonspecific labeling influences on the subject’s behavior.

The aim of the research was to seek the family-grounded aetiology for adolescents’ defence strategies (aggression, avoidance, submission) of coping with social conflict situations determined by parental attitudes. The study used the Roe- Siegelman PCR III Questionnaire to examine the perception of parental attitudes and the Conflict Resolution Style Questionnaire (KSRK) by T. Wach. The empirical survey was conducted on a group of 126 adolescents (68 girls and 58 boys) at the age of 14–15. On the grounds of the research conducted it has been stated that improper educational attitudes characterised by emotional distance or emotional concentration of mothers and fathers towards an adolescent are a significant predictor of defensive strategies of coping in social conflict situations.

The article presents a systematic analysis of higher education restructuring. The analysis begins by explaining the competence approach, which provides for implementation of the health saving principle. It outlines the topical problem in circumstances where the health of the growing generation is worsening as a consequence of a difficult demographic situation.

The text discusses the social and cultural determinants of the increase of narcissistic personality disorder. Clinical perspective of developmental psychology was adapted here to examin the views of Donald Winnicott on the consequences of healthy and impaired mother-child relationship for the developing personality. In light of this analysis, the contemporary tendencies that hinder proper development of the relationship are indicated. Cultural factors that reinforce narcissistic disorder in the later stages of development are also mentioned. Such an arrangement of the image of narcissistic disorder conditions seems to be important for early prevention of this phenomenon.

This article is an attempt to describe a narcissist personality and to distinguish its sociological determinants. The focus and main subject is the phenomenon of self- addiction. The phenomenon of self-addition described here, whose social indicator is contact with a group and relations created within it, was discussed in the relevant literature only diversely and non-systematically. The understanding and sociological interpretation of this phenomenon is still open, while basic questions related to addiction “to oneself”, “through one’s ‘self”, and “within oneself” help to determine it as a socially generated pathology or deviation, where self-addiction is caused by weakening of group bonds and the disappearance of a sense of belonging to a group and loss of the “we” meaning.

Theoretical and empirical papers on the social functioning of people with border- line personality disorder and diagnostic criteria for these disorders suggest that they have weaker social competence than healthy people. However, there is no clear data which would allow one to determine whether they have adequate self-beliefs on the subject. The study attempted to find an answer to this question. The sample consisted of 168 university students of which 24 were characterized by features with BTD traits (“B +” group) and 144 persons normal controls (“B-“group). The study showed that in a safe situation (without direct, real participation in certain situations) where they can describe themselves and their reactions, people with BPD features have appropriate beliefs about their social competence.

The article presents arguments proving that dealing with material goods and resources in a household is a gendered activity. The arguments concentrate on consumer behaviour-related issues, such as shopping activity, the importance attached to material possessions and the materialistic orientation among men and women. The author also discusses the problem of materialism in men and women, showing its different nature in the case of both sexes. The differences are explained in terms of the “delegation hypothesis,” which is, based on the assumption that materialism in men and women is involved in the context of their relationship and gender roles. Women delegate men to be materialistically concerned, while they maintain the female social image as the non-materialistic, caring and benevolent part of human kind. The author presents empirical findings from the study of socalled psychological mercantilism supporting this hypothesis.

This article is a review of various authors’ research concerning the current state of research on the reasons for, the frequency of, and the essence of lying in women. It’s an attempt to answer the questions (1) do men and women differ significantly in the frequency of lying, (2) are women more willing to lie than to tell the truth, (3) do women lie for different reasons than men, (4) do women feel better than men while lying, (5) do women detect lies better than men and—finally—(6) is the closeness of a relationship related to well-being during lying. Findings described in this article are based both on experiments and declarations of both sexes.

The subject of the study is to define the relationship between biological sex, psychological gender, the attachment style and the form of commitment. Study variables: biological sex, psychological gender (femininity, masculinity, androgyny and lack of sexual identification), attachment style (safe, anxious–ambivalent, avoidance) and form of commitment (affective, normative and continuance).
The study was based on the Polish Version of Allen’s and Meyer’s Organizational Commitment Scale; Sheiver’s, Hazan’s and Bradshaw’s method of describing attachment styles; and Kuczyńska’s Psychological Gender Inventory. One hundred and sixteen individuals aged 20–50 were examined (64 females and 52 males). The study proved significant but with low dependence on psychological gender, attachment styles and forms of commitment, and compliance with social expectations towards male and female behaviour, resulting from sex stereotypes.

Marital life analysis of famous writers is an exemplification of creation and the role of marital union in the life and development of the human being. Marriage is considered to be an important step in the development of early adulthood (Havighurst, 1978). It is considered to be a long term interaction aiming at constant unity of two individuals, which is accomplished by reaching their goals and taking action. A close relationship stimulates the development of both partners of the dyad in sequential phases of their life. Marital interactions change feelings of protection, responsibility and self-acceptance. Famous writers were dedicated to their work, which demanded great intellectual effort. Happy marriage was considered to be a great value in their life; it allowed for writing at the expense of limited engagements into marital and parental duties. Concentration on their priority target resulted in exceptional development of their talents. The wives of famous writers, representing strong individuality and often representing a similar intellectual level, supplied their husbands with substantial support. Their share in the marriage and in the husbands’ career was appreciated socially, which is documented in biographies by Katherine Mann, Vera Nabokow and Nora James. Without losing their identity they would set their goal of life as supporting their outstanding husbands, that is, they would just ‘be wives’ instead of ‘having husbands’ as E. Fromm says. They showed maturity; as their husband’s popularity grew, they were able to adjust to their secondary position without losing their identities. Marital problems were typical for those wives who tried to compete with their husbands instead of complying with that secondary role in their lives.

The paper describes interpersonal relations from the point of view of contemporary megatrends presented by J. Naisbitt. Attention focusses on looking for characteristic features of interpersonal contacts in the context of contemporary social, economic, political, and cultural changes. The paper attempts to indicate values, goals and means for exerting a positive influence and shaping social participation and peaceful co-existence between nations and cultures. An important category described in the paper is hope. It is described as a phenomenon which directly and favourably intervenes into the life of a contemporary man, and can significantly change his/her sense of security and feeling of being lost (also in interpersonal relations) and favourably fit into the megatrends implementation plan.

The article contains a review of studies on sequential social influence techniques. A great body of research has proved that the foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face and low-ball techniques are effective tools for marketing and charity uses. On the other hand, there is also data showing some limitations in the practice of these strategies. The possible reasons for both successes and failures in implementing social influence techniques in practice are discussed.

This article describes a process of implicit learning and its practical implementations. It also shows methods which are used in testing this process.
Implicit learning as a field of study in cognitive psychology began with A.S. Rebers«s work on artificial grammar learning in the late 1960s. From this time a numerous experimental methods were found for testing the process of implicit learning. Many of them looked like hermetic and laboratory procedures, which is far from natural human behavior. The aim of this work is to show a few research attempts in which authors prove that these methods can be used in more natural human conditions.

Police personnel encounter stressful and unpleasant situations that could affect their mental health and also their leadership styles. The study examines the role of normal and pathological traits in police leader’s behaviour. The sample consists of 123 respondents, aged between 27 and 56 years, in different managerial positions in the Romanian Police. They completed MMPI-2, NEO PI R and Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire XII. Factor analysis revealed that the 12 dimensions of LBDQ might be reduced to three factors that would constitute leadership styles in a police organization. We performed two hierarchical regression analyses, with LBDQ’s three factors as dependent variables and the Five Factor Model as independent variables. We used NEO PI R as a normal FFM measure and MMPI-2 as a clinical FFM measure and analysed their relation with police leaders’ behaviour. The results show that both normal and pathological scales account for the variance of the leadership styles, but the normal FFM measure explain more of the police leadership variance.

The psychological profile of the research group was analysed on the grounds of Ch. Koch’s Tree Drawing Test and it was described in the following categories: sense of security, attitude to the environment, attitude to oneself, and attitude to the somatic sphere and emotional sphere, pessimism, sense of threat, feeling of outer pressure, extraverion, and introversion. The research results show that there are significant disorders of a sense of security among the examined individuals; their attention is concentrated unilaterally either in the somatic or emotional sphere. The group also suffered from a deep sense of outside pressure and threat.

The research project conducted in 2003/2004 by Anita Stefańska aimed at defining the effectiveness of theatrical activities in the process of developing a sense of dignity among slightly mentally disabled youth. The theatrical activities were based on a set of different activities which were repeated in a spiral cycle. In the research 21 pupils took part, who were selected from special classes at the Ostrów Wielkopolski vocational school.
The author assumed that a sense of dignity is connected with the evaluation of certain types of behavior, which result from the child’s will to realize some internal ethical norms leading to their undertaking certain activities (verbal or non-verbal) in situations with moral dilemmas. She assumed that the development of a sense of dignity depends on two factors: the first is the level of recognizing the social situation in which a moral status of the person is violated, and the second is the system of personal values. As the sense of dignity, she considers the relatively permanent and inseparable quality of autonomous human beings which enables them to use their minds to judge what is right and what is wrong, and react according to it. The specific structure of the theatrical activities should allow the child to show the core and range of these behaviors appearing in reality.
To achieve her research aim, she directed the theatrical activities so as to support the development of the subject’s abilities to understand and differentiate between dignified and undignified behaviors, as well as to plan their own actions with a sense of dignity according to their own system of values. To realize this aim the following actions, among others, were undertaken:
– Creating the possibility to behave with dignity, to present their own opinion and thoughts about the situation of moral choice, thus showing their personal values, sup- ported by real actions;
– Strivingtoactivatepersonaldignifiedbehaviorbyorganizingspecialtheatricalforms, co-creating these behaviors in scenic solutions;
– Creating straightforward plots for a performance, clear for the participants and accepted by them;
– Building strong personal relations among theatrical team members in a given task situation (responsibility for their own role and for the team, accepting the obstacles, difficulties, and feelings of others, ability to speak and listen to others).
Seven months of work resulted in the creation of a performance based on an improvised dramatization, in which each of its participants used different verbal artistic means to independently present their attitude towards the problematic situation. They gave their own opinions about the given situation, revealed their subjective attitude towards certain values, and finally found justification for their own choices.
The stages of realization of the performance included: practicing the general theatrical creativity, improvisations as a phase of preparation for creating certain roles, the analysis of content of tasks, working on building the scenic creations and real scenes, and realization of separate scenes as a whole. The performance consisted of eight pantomimic and scenic parts: The Lie, The Admission of a mistake, Defending one’s own way of reasoning despite others’ contrary opinions, Loyalty to others, Defending somebody in need, Flattery for one’s own profit, Boasting, and Acceptance of being humiliated.
In theatrical work an important issue is to define the circumstances arising from the performance and its subject matter. Searching and elaborating the artistic concept is a cumulative result of such factors as: performers’ emotions, problems, needs, their life experience, situation and personal relations, all of which have a significant influence on the final shape of the performance arising in a common creative process. The plot of the performance often changed under the performers’ authentic feelings created on the spur of the moment.
During the exercises the participants revealed some creativity in action, and discovered the importance of cooperation. The exercises had a positive influence on their emotions connected with kinesthetic experiences, and helped them to release stress and improve attention.
As a result of the research it was proved that a sense of dignity can be shaped and developed thanks to theatrical activities as shown by the data’s quantitative analysis.

The study was focused on relationship between personality and conflict management styles using both, person-centred and variable-centred, models. The synergy of this points of view allowed to understand studied problem deeper and more complex. It was hypothesized that, using nomothetic model, Big Five personality factors should correlate with five management styles, developed by Afzalur Rahim in Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory (ROCI II). Moreover, using idiomatic model, there should be correlation between main personality prototypes and conflict management styles confirm and complement to result of nomothetic analysis. In order to verify this hypothesis Polish version of ROCI II was prepared for this research and correlations between five conflict styles and five personality factors (assessed by NEO-FFI) questionnaire) were calculated. The results indicate that each conflict style is specifically related to Big Five personality traits and conflict management styles create bindings distinctive for each prototype.