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A social cognitive perspective on well-being in educational and work settings: Cross-cultural considerations

  • Hung-Bin Sheu
  • Robert W. Lent
Article
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Abstract

The article gives an overview of a social cognitive perspective on psychosocial well-being and adjustment (Lent, 2004), along with a model of educational and work-related satisfaction (Lent & Brown, 2006) that has been derived from it. The theoretical perspective integrates cognitive, behavioural, social, and personality variables hypothesized to jointly promote positive adjustment, both generally and within particular life domains, such as work and school. We also review initial findings testing these social cognitive models and consider their implications for cross-cultural practice and research.

Keywords

Well-being Life satisfaction Social cognitive theory Cross-cultural considerations 

Résumé

Une perspective sociocognitive sur le bien-être dans les contextes éducatifs et de travail: considérations interculturelles. L’article donne une vue d’ensemble d’une perspective sociocognitive sur le bien-être et l’ajustement psychosocial (Lent, 2004) selon un modèle de satisfaction qui en a été dérivé pour des contextes éducationnel et lié au travail (Lent & Brown, 2006). La perspective théorique intègre des variables cognitives, comportementales, sociales et de personnalité présumées favoriser conjointement un ajustement positif, à la fois en général et dans des domaines particuliers de la vie, tels que le travail et l’école. Les premiers résultats relatifs à l’examen de ces modèles sociocognitifs et la prise en considération de leurs implications pour la pratique et la recherche interculturelles sont également passés en revue.

Zusammenfassung

Eine sozialkognitive Betrachtung des Wohlergehens in Bildung und Arbeit: Interkulturelle Überlegungen. Dieser Artikel gibt einen Überblick über eine sozialkognitive Betrachtung der Bedingungen für ein psychosozial verstandenes Gefühl des Wohlergehens (Lent, 2004), in Verbindung mit einem Modell der Zufriedenheit in Bezug auf Bildungs- und Arbeitsumgebungen (Lent & Brown, 2006), welches aus ersterem abgeleitet wurde. Die theoretische Betrachtung umfasst kognitive, verhaltenswissenschaftliche, soziale und persönlichkeitsbezogene Variablen, von denen angenommen wird, dass sie gemeinsam eine positive Anpassung fördern, und zwar sowohl im Allgemeinen als auch in besonderen Lebensbereichen wie Arbeitsplatz und Schule. Weiterhin werden erste Ergebnisse zur Überprüfung dieser sozialkognitiven Ansätze vorgestellt, sowie daraus abzuleitende Schlussfolgerungen für die interkulturelle Praxis und Forschung.

Resumen

Una Perspectiva Socio-Cogntiva sobre el Bienestar en Contextos Educativos y Laborales: consideraciones cross-culturales. Este artículo presenta una panorámica general de la perspectiva socio-cognitiva aplicada al bienestar y ajuste (Lent, 2004), junto con un modelo de satisfacción educativa y relacionada con el trabajo (Lent & Brown, 2006) derivado de la misma. La perspectiva teórica integra variables cognitivas, de comportamiento, sociales y de personalidad que hipotéticamente promueven el ajuste positivo, tanto a nivel general como en ámbitos concretos de nuestra vida, como el trabajo y la escuela. Se han aplicado pruebas para probar estos modelos socio-cognitivos, se ofrecen aquí los resultaos iniciales y se revisan sus implicaciones para la práctica e investigación desde una perspectiva cross-cultural.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Division of Psychology in EducationArizona State UniversityTempeUSA
  2. 2.University of MarylandCollege ParkUSA

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