Writing Assignment 1 Nicholas Raposo Professor Terry Gaspard General Psychology 24 February 2 14 Writing Assignment !

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Raposo 1

$n 2 12% researchers from &'eden and Germany interested in the psychology behind communication in the healthcare field endea(ored to chart une)plored territory* The researchers had pre(iously studied 'or+s on the topic of healthcare interaction bet'een care gi(ers and residents of long term care facilities% 'hich re(ealed% generally% that such interaction could be ,challenging and demanding-* .o'e(er% they 'ished to dig deeper in order to disco(er a more profound psychological basis for these and similar results* The three scholars " one a professor of philosophy in Germany and the other t'o professors of nursing from &'eden " thus set off to study the ,professional caregi(er/s personality%- a factor that they belie(ed to be +ey in shaping the resultant interaction bet'een residents and caregi(ers* The trio of in(estigators% basing their research on the principle that personality ,is a primary determinate of our emotional reactions and beha(ior%- 'anted to understand ho' the relationship bet'een carers and residents 'as influenced by the carer/s personality% and ho' that influence factored into communication bet'een the t'o* They hoped to ultimately piece together and model the +ey characteristics possessed e)clusi(ely by caregi(ers of the elderly and to generali0e their findings on a global scale* Their aim% more scientifically% 'as to ,elucidate e1ualities and differences of personality characteristics- among professional caregi(ers in comparison to the general population* The research could be deemed a study on healthcare psychology 'ith a special focus on communication and caregi(er psychology* Additionally% the cross2cultural aspect of the study lends to its comparati(e basis and its global generality*

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The researchers hypothesi0ed that caregi(ers ha(e ,certain personality traits that enable them- to 'or+ efficiently in elderly care* $n order to test their hypothesis% the researchers designed and implemented a cross2cultural% correlational% sur(ey2based study supplemented by comparati(e analyses and (arious random% representati(e samples of pertinent populations* For their sample groups% the researchers randomly selected 34 &'edish caregi(ers and 5 German caregi(ers bet'een 'hom ,there 'as no statistical6ly7 significant difference- in age% years 'or+ed in healthcare% or years 'or+ed in elderly care* For each caregi(er% an indi(idual of the respecti(e general population ,matched by age and gender- 'as chosen for a comparati(e sample group* $n order to e(aluate% analy0e% and ,assess personality characteristics- of each sub8ect% the researchers administered the Temperament and 9haracter $n(entory% a ,24 2item true:false self2administered 1uestionnaire%- generally comparable to a sur(ey* Rather than manipulating an e)periment in order to determine cause and effect " a significant conflict of this study "% the researchers administered a sur(ey% indicating that this 'as a correlational study* The T9$ measured se(en distinct temperament and character dimensions; no(elty see+ing% harm a(oidance% re'ard dependence% persistence% self2directedness% cooperati(eness% and self2 transcendence* The sub8ects/ responses to the 1uestionnaire computed (alues relating to each indi(idual/s strengths and 'ea+nesses in regard to the (arious characteristics< such (alues 'ere indicati(e of a certain degree and interpretation of that trait as possessed by the indi(idual* The researchers then used those (alues to calculate means and standard de(iations for the sample groups* With such (alues in hand% the researchers 'ere able to conduct se(eral significance tests in order to determine 'hether their design had yielded any re(ealing differences bet'een and amongst the sample groups* They also constructed a multi(ariate analysis of (ariance in order to more coherently understand the relationships bet'een the identified (ariables and the effects that each had or did not ha(e on the o(erall results of their study*

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After obtaining all of the necessary data and computing all rele(ant (alues and statistics% the researchers 'ere able to (erify their hypothesis and conclude that professional caregi(ers do indeed posses specific personality traits% distinct from the general population% that enable them to 'or+ efficiently in elderly care* According to the T9$% both the &'edish and German careta+ers scored lo'er ,in no(elty see+ing and harm a(oidance- and higher in ,self2directedness and cooperati(eness- in comparison 'ith indi(iduals from the general population* #utcomes on the T9$ (aried further 'hen the &'edish and German caregi(er samples 'ere compared against each other% 'ith German caregi(ers e)hibiting more genuine and distinct traits than the &'edish " a result that% though unmentioned% could ha(e been influenced by the larger German sample si0e* =ased on the multi(ariate analysis of (ariance% the researchers 'ere able to conclude that neither years in health care nor years in elderly care had a significant impact on the emphasis of (arious traits and that age alone 'as the most significant co(ariant* Nonetheless% country% subsample% and a country2subsample combination also each had a significant effect on 'hich traits 'ere more pre(alent* The o(erall findings of the study suggest that ,professional caregi(ers are usually slo'er tempered% more stoic and reflecti(e% tolerant to monotony% and more systematic- than the general population* The researchers also inferred a ,more optimistic attitude in situations that might 'orry most people and confidence in social situations and in the face of danger and uncertainty- from their results* These conclusions are supported by the ,character of the professional caregi(ers/ 'or+%- 'hich in itself re1uires such a demeanor as described by the results* The researchers go on to suggest ,a 6possible7 self2selection process- that inclines one to 'or+ in elderly care< ho'e(er% they 'ere unable to decipher 'hether these ,mature character traits- 'ere a factor in or a conse1uence of the caregi(ers/ choice of profession* Further research% admit the scholars% is necessary in order to build upon these preliminary findings% 'hich though re(ealing and e)citing enough% only open the door for more 1uestions and research to come*