Personality psychology as a truly behavioural science
Personality psychology has been accused of neglecting behaviour—of devoting insufficient attention to what people actually do. The current paper addresses four important issues regarding the study of behaviour as separate from other important psychological responses—the definition of behaviour, the importance of studying behaviour, the strengths and weaknesses of core methods through which behaviour is studied and the degree to which behaviour actually has been studied in personality psychology over the past 15 years (along with information about the use of specific methods of studying behaviour). Analysis of publication trends indicates that behaviour is not studied to the degree it merits; furthermore, it indicates that, when behaviour is studied, it is usually studied at a very generalized level relying on relatively weak methods. The current paper is offered as a starting point for focused discussion of these important issues, potentially enhancing the field’s standing as a truly behavioural science. [1]
Theories of Decision-Making in Economics and Behavioural Science
Recent years have seen important new explorations along the boundaries between economics and psychology. For the economist, the immediate question about these developments is whether they include new advances in psychology that can fruitfully be applied to economics. But the psychologist will also raise the converse question—whether there are developments in economic theory and observation that have implications for the central core of psychology. If economics is able to find verifiable and verified generalisations about human economic behaviour, then these generalisations must have a place in the more general theories of human behaviour to which psychology and sociology aspire. Influence will run both ways. [2]
Behavioural science and policy: where are we now and where are we going?
The use of behavioural sciences in government has expanded and matured in the last decade. Since the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) has been part of this movement, we sketch out the history of the team and the current state of behavioural public policy, recognising that other works have already told this story in detail. We then set out two clusters of issues that have emerged from our work at BIT. The first cluster concerns current challenges facing behavioural public policy: the long-term effects of interventions; repeated exposure effects; problems with proxy measures; spillovers and general equilibrium effects and unintended consequences; cultural variation; ‘reverse impact’; and the replication crisis. The second cluster concerns opportunities: influencing the behaviour of government itself; scaling interventions; social diffusion; nudging organisations; and dealing with thorny problems. We conclude that the field will need to address these challenges and take these opportunities in order to realise the full potential of behavioural public policy.[3]
Effectiveness of Animation and Multimedia Teaching on Students’ Performance in Science Subjects
This paper presents the effect of animation and multimedia teaching on academic performance of students in sciences.100 students were randomly selected from four secondary schools in Ado Ekiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State. The research design employed for this study was quasi- experimental research design of two groups’ pre test, post test control design. The study lasted for the period of six weeks due to the experimental nature of the research. The pre test was administered to all the participants in other to be sure of their homogeneity. The treatment was administered to the experimental class with the use of cartoon style animation and multimedia teaching and the second group was taught with conventional teaching approach. The pre-test and post-test scores of the students in the conventional and multimedia teaching group were used for the purpose of data analysis. The results were analysed using t-test, three hypotheses were postulated. The result showed that (i) t- calculated (1.89) < t-table value (2.01), (N=100, (x ) ̈( 19.50, 20.26), SD (5.02, 5.79), Df= 98) which confirmed the homogeneity of the two groups at the pre-test (ii) t-calculated (6.12) is greater than the t-table (1.98), (N=100, (23.92, 50.66), SD (4.73, 6.43), Df= 98 ) which confirmed the effectiveness of the treatment of animation on the performance (iii) t- calculated (0.09) is lesser than the t-table value (2.00) (N=50, (23.42, 23.92), SD (3.86, 4.73), Df= 48) which confirmed no significant difference in the performance of male and female students at 0.05 level of significance,. The findings therefore revealed that there was a significant different in the performance of students exposed to cartoon style multimedia teaching and those that are conventionally taught. It was therefore recommended that the use of cartoon style animation and multimedia teaching should be encouraged so as to complement other methods of teaching science in schools and colleges.[4]
Job Satisfaction and Motivation – What Makes Teachers Tick?
Aims: To find out the extent to which various factors affect the job satisfaction and motivation.
Study Design: The study used a questionnaire survey.
Place and Duration: The British University in Egypt, between April and May, 2013.
Methodology: Participants were 103 academic staff (27 male, 76 female) from four faculties and the English department. A 34-item questionnaire survey was used to collect data. Frequencies, descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to answer the research questions.
Results: The two most prominent intrinsic variables selected by teachers (N= 103) were a good relationship with people they work with (Mean 2.0291) and responsibility within the job (Mean 1.9903). Extrinsic factors which ranked the highest by over 50% of teachers were: students’ interest in the module (70.9%), the working environment (68.9%), and recognition by one’s boss and others (61.2%), sufficient positive feedback (56.3%) and pay/salary (55.3%). Factors related to job dissatisfaction by 50% or more teachers were: pay/salary (61.2%), university policy and administration (55.3%), lack of positive feedback (54.4%) and lack of time for family and home (51.5%). Males regard job security (P = .000) as being a major factor for their job satisfaction. For females, opportunities for training and development (P = .030), and recognition by one’s boss and others (P = .002) are important factors. When comparing status, there was a significant difference for associate professors (P = .001) as autonomy was found to be fundamental for their job satisfaction. For professors, heads of departments, and deans, job security is regarded as an essential factor for their job satisfaction (P = .018). There were no significant differences for job satisfaction variables and age.
Conclusion: Teachers are likely to be satisfied and motivated if a number of intrinsic and extrinsic factors were present in their job.[5]
Reference
[1] Furr, R.M., 2009. Personality psychology as a truly behavioural science. European Journal of Personality, 23(5), pp.369-401.
[2] Simon, H.A., 1966. Theories of decision-making in economics and behavioural science. In Surveys of economic theory (pp. 1-28). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
[3] Sanders, M., Snijders, V. and Hallsworth, M., 2018. Behavioural science and policy: where are we now and where are we going?. Behavioural Public Policy, 2(2), pp.144-167.
[4] Thomas, O.O. and Israel, O.O., 2014. Effectiveness of animation and multimedia teaching on students’ performance in science subjects. Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science, pp.201-210.
[5] Ghenghesh, P., 2013. Job Satisfaction and Motivation-What Makes Teachers Tick?. Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science, pp.456-466.