CEI-exploration subscale (r = 0.34) and to a lesser degree with the CEI-absorption subscale (r = 0.24); these correlations are similar in size to correlations observed between informant reports and self-reports of other individual differences that are mostly internal experiences with diverse behavioural manifestations (Kashdan et al., 2004).
Research on the CEI also confirmed convergent validity with other curiosity measures through positive correlations with the State Trait Cheerfulness Inventory (STCI) (0.56 for CEI-exploration and 0.42 for CEI-absorption), the Melbourne Curiosity Inventory (MCI) (0.71 for CEI-exploration and 0.57 for CEI-absorption) and the Work Preference Inventory (0.65 for CEI-exploration and 0.54 for CEI-absorption) (Kashdan et al., 2004). Furthermore, positive correlations were also found between the CEI and curiosity-relevant scales such as the Sensation Seeking Scale (Version V) (0.31 for CEI-exploration and 0.37 for CEI-absorption), the Boredom Proneness Scale (-0.41 for CEI-exploration and -0.19 for CEI-absorption) and the Need for Cognition Scale (0.54 for CEI-exploration and 0.41 for CEI-absorption) (Kashdan et al., 2004).
Discriminant validity was evidenced by negligible relationships between Absorption and Exploration with the behavioural inhibition system, extrinsic motivation and the Big Five factors of Conscientiousness and Agreeableness (Kashdan et al., 2004).
3.3.3 Empathy
The short form of the Empathy Quotient (EQ-short) was used as a measure of empathic tendency in individuals for the purpose of this study (Wakabayashi et al., 2006). The theory that this measure is based upon defines empathizing as “the drive to identify emotions and thoughts in others and to respond to these with an appropriate emotion”. The EQ-short consists of 22 items while the original EQ measure that the EQ-short is based on consisted of 40 questions (Lawrence, Shaw, Baker, Baron-Cohen & David, 2004; Wakabayashi et al., 2006). An example of an item on the EQ-short is “I find it easy to put myself in somebody else’s shoes”. Respondents are asked to rate their responses on a four point Likert scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”.
3.3.3.1 Psychometric properties of the Empathy Quotient (EQ-short)
The internal consistency of the original 40-item EQ measure was found to be very good in various studies (α = 0.87 to 0.88) (Hambrook, Tchanturia, Scmidt, Russell & Treasure, 2008;
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Wakabayashi et al., 2006). The internal consistency of the 22-item EQ-short used in the current study was also found to be very good (α = 0.90) (Wakabayashi et al., 2006). In order to confirm the validity of the EQ-short, correlations between the original form and the short form were calculated and a high positive correlation was found (r = 0.93) (Wakabayashi et al., 2006). The test-retest coefficient after 12 months of the original EQ measure was found to be very good (r = 0.84) (Lawrence et al., 2004) and Wakabayashi et al. (2006) also found the reliability of the EQ-short to be reasonable.3.3.4 Hope
The Adult Dispositional Hope Scale, based on Snyder, Irvin and Anderson’s theory of hope, was used to measure dispositional hope (Lopez et al., 2003). This theory defines hope as “a positive motivational state that is based on an interactively derived sense of successful (a) agency and (b) pathways (Snyder, Irvin & Anderson in Snyder, 2002, p. 250). Although the definition refers to hope as a positive motivational state, the items of this scale were developed related to agency and pathways thinking associated with dispositional hope and thus to measure hope as a trait (Lopez et al., 2003). The Adult Dispositional Hope Scale is a self-report 12-item inventory (Lopez et al., 2003). An eight-point Likert scale (1 = definitely false to 8 = definitely true) is utilized to record participants’ responses to items. An example of an item of the measure is “I can think of many ways to get out of a difficult situation”.
3.3.4.1 Psychometric properties of the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale
Cronbach alphas for the total score of this scale range from 0.74 to 0.84 for six samples of undergraduate college students indicating an acceptable internal consistency of the measure (Lopez et al., 2003).
Test-retest correlations for periods of longer than 10 weeks have been 0.80 and higher (Lopez et al., 2003). Scores on the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale have correlated highly with responses to scales tapping into similar psychological processes, justifying the validity of the scale (Lopez et al., 2003). These scales include the Life Orientation Test (Measure of optimism); the Generalised Expectancy for Success scale and the Self-Esteem scale (Lopez et al., 2003). The responses on the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale have also correlated negatively with scores on subscales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (Lopez et al., 2003). Lastly, Lopez et al. (2003) reports that the measure portrayed adequate discriminant validity when scores showed no correlations with scores on the Self-Confidence scale, which is believed to be unrelated to hope.
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3.4 ProcedurePermission was obtained from the lecturer of the first year mathematics module to request the students of the mentioned module to fill in paper and pencil questionnaires at the end of a lecture session. The front page of the questionnaire informs the students of the nature and purpose of the study and instructions on completing the questionnaire. The first section of the questionnaire requests the participants to share certain biographical information, followed by the self-report measures as discussed.
3.5 Research Hypotheses
The general hypothesis can be stated as follows:
Dispositional curiosity, empathy and hope will act as predictors of the Behavioural Approach System (BAS).
3.6 Statistical Analysis
Data will be captured using SPSS 18.0, a software package used for statistical analysis.
Pearson’s correlational analyses will be obtained in order to check the strength and direction of correlations between the variables studied (Greasly, 2008). A standard multiple regression will then be conducted to investigate the nature of each of the relationships between the BAS and curiosity, empathy and hope.
Multiple regression allows an exploration of the correlations amongst a set of variables with one dependent variable and a number of independent variables (Babbie, Halley & Zaino, 2007; Pallant, 2011). During a standard or simultaneous multiple regression, all of the independent variables are entered into the equation concurrently (Pallant, 2011). The three independent variables for this study were curiosity, empathy and hope and the purpose of the analysis was to determine how much unique variance in the dependent variable, namely the BAS, each of these independent variables could explain.
All statistical analyses were conducted by Statkon, a statistical consultation service provided to postgraduate students and researchers at the University of Johannesburg. For the purpose of this study, the significance criterion was fixed at 0.05.