PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF HINDI TRANSLATED VERSION OF VALUES IN ACTION INVENTORY OF STRENGTHS (VIA-IS)

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1 ISSN: Vol. 4, No. 1, September, 2009 PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF HINDI TRANSLATED VERSION OF VALUES IN ACTION INVENTORY OF STRENGTHS (VIA-IS) Kamlesh Singh* and Rajneesh Choubisa** ABSTRACT Numerous implicit attempts have added explicitly to the understanding of the researchers thoughts, beliefs, and actions that foster knowledge in the growing field of positive psychology. Therefore, in a submission to support the conception behind thse formulation of Values in Action, present research has established the psychometric properties of Hindi translated version of Values in action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) by using a sample of (N=186) undergraduate students from Delhi and Rajasthan. This article unveils the psychometric properties especially the correlations and factor structure of the translated version and in addition, the internal consistency reliability statistics (Cronbach s alpha) with Comparative reference to the values obtained elsewhere. Finally, we got highly inter-correlated character strengths ( ) and factor analysis gave us a one-factor solution that is discussed herein. Key Words: Positive Psychology, Values in Action, Character Strengths The usual normal conversation between Seligman and his daughter developed the rudimentary aspect of an entirely different and new movement towards psychology that in collaboration from two significant psychologists namely Diener (2000) and Csikzentmihalyi (1998) gave the world a new vision to * Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities, and Social sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi , India, singhk@hss.iitd.ac.in ** ICMR-JRF, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi , India, rajneesh.choubisa@gmail.com, P

2 66 Kamlesh Singh and Rajneesh Choubisa psychology. This was how the science of positive psychology as a separate area of specialization came into existence a decade ago. Since then, a considerable amount of research upon the major components of positive psychology like Flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996), Subjective well-being (Diener, 2000), Optimal experience (Massimini & Della-Fave, 2000), Positive emotions (Taylor, Klein, Lewis, Gmenewald, Gurung & Updegraff, 2000) Optimism (Peterson, 2000) etc. has been undertaken. The characterization and evolution of character strengths and virtues classification by Peterson and Seligman (2004) has further strengthened the overall structure of positive psychology and its underlying components. The phenomenal discovery in this field is the development of instruments that are effective and efficient enough to precisely and easily measure the variables, like strengths of character, that every individual show in varying degrees. Initially, to measure the character strengths various kinds of measures were in trend (Cawley, Martin & Johnson, 2000; Greenberger, Josselson, Knerr & Knerr, 1975; Ryff & Singer, 1996). But, we have dealt with the values in action inventory of strengths (VIA-IS) which is precisely meant for measuring character strengths of adult respondents and consists of about 240 items in total, 10 each for the 24 character strengths identified in the Character strengths and Virtues classification called Values in action. TABLE 1 Classification of 24 Character Strengths and 6 Virtues (Peterson and Seligman, 2004) Virtues Wisdom & Knowledge Courage Vol. 4, No. 1, September, 2009 Character Strengths Creativity- Thinking of novel and productive ways to do things. Curiosity- Taking an interest in all of ongoing experience. Open-mindedness- Thinking things through and examining them from all sides. Love of Learning- Mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge. Perspective- Being able to provide wise counsel to others. Bravery- Not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain. Persistence- Finishing what one starts. Integrity/Authenticity- Speaking the truth and presenting oneself in a genuine way. Vitality/Zest- Approaching life with excitement and energy. The above classification as adapted from Peterson and Seligman (2004) shows that the strengths are similar in that they all involve the acquisition and use of knowledge, but they are also distinct. They regard these strengths as ubiquitously recognized and valued, although a given individual will rarely, if ever, display all of them (Walker & Pitts, 1998). However, different conceptualizations of character strengths and virtues exist, and many promising definitions of the terms are in apparent usage as is evident from the existing literature. A character strength or virtue is any psychological process that

3 Psychometric Properties of Hindi Translated Version of Values consistently enables a person to think and act so as to yield benefits to him/her and society (McCullough & Snyder, 2000). The difference between the terms Character strengths and Virtues in Positive psychology literature is unclear inspite of different definitions except that virtues are simply the clusters of specific character strengths. In other words, character strengths are the psychological component, processes, or mechanisms that define virtues (Sandage, Hill, & Vang, 2003). Although, the character strengths and virtues were the central aspect of scholarly enquiry since times immemorial, but they were lacking such viewpoint until the recent emergence of positive psychology as a scientific specialization and with this they are back in business. Positive psychology has focused on character strengths as central to a life of engagement, absorption, and flow (Seligman, 2002; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Besides, it has faced criticisms for focusing excessively on western notions of optimal human functioning, failing to consider multicultural conceptualizations of strengths and paying insufficient attention to the interface between latent oppression in society and corresponding development of strengths. (D Andrea, 2005; Constantine & Sue, 2006). The Values in Action (VIA) Classification of Strengths describes 24 positive character strengths, which are hypothesized to be ubiquitous across culture and history (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Preliminary and continuing investigations across various nations have demonstrated acceptable reliability and increasing validity subsequently of the original version and translated versions of VIA-IS. Several studies (Otake, Shimai, Utsuki, Ikemi, Peterson & Seligman, 2003) show the presence of translated versions for validating the classification scheme proposed by Peterson & Seligman (2004). An important and necessary step in this process of understanding development of character strengths was factor structure and methodical validity and reliability of VIA-IS in Indian context. Social scientists have realized that insufficient information exists on possible cultural differences in the development, prescription, and propagation of character strengths. Thus, this study would fill out the gaps by contributing to the existing database of the character strengths and virtues research. In addition, gender differences and mean comparisons with normative data have also been examined for evaluating the existence of potential cultural differences. METHOD Sample: Participants were, 120 Male (64.5%) and 66 Female (35.5%), undergraduate students from Delhi and Rajasthan, All the participants in the study were in the age range of years (Mean=19.44 and SD=1.5). A major portion i.e. 85% of them belonged to urban areas while 15% were from rural background, with nuclear to joint family ratio of 61.30% and 38.70%, respectively. Journal of Indian Health Psychology

4 68 Kamlesh Singh and Rajneesh Choubisa Tool: For measuring Character strengths and virtues the VIA-IS (Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2004) self-report inventory was used which consists of about 240 items on a 5-point Likert scale to indicate whether the item is very much like me (5) or not like me at all (1). It contains 10 items on each of the 24 strengths (cf. Table 1) measuring all the constructs in equivalent manner. Scores for each of the 24 strengths have a potential range of 10 through 50, with higher scores indicating a greater endorsement of the strength. For our purpose, this standardized inventory was translated into Hindi, back translated in English following a standard translating procedure by the experts, and gaining subsequent approval by three psychologists on its accuracy and precision. The alpha reliability were greater than (α =>.70) for the subscales (Park, Peterson & Seligman, 2004). In the present research, Cronbach s alpha for all scales were obtained in range of α = 0.65 to 0.84 and α = 0.98 was for overall scale. Procedure: All the participants who have filled the translated version of the questionnaire VIA-IS. The inventory was distributed to the participants in the classroom during class-hours in the presence of research investigators with standardized instructions. Participants in the sample filled the forms of VIA-IS between September 2007 and January The time taken for completion was averaging between minutes. RESULTS The descriptive statistics (Mean & SD), internal consistency (Cronbach s alphas reliability), correlation coefficients, and factor solutions and t-values for gender comparison were obtained by using Statistical Package in Social Sciences (SPSS) version-15. TABLE-2 Descriptive statistics of VIA-Hindi (N=186) and comparison with Normative Data Character Mean ± SD Mean ± SD t-value Normative Data** Strengths (Males) (Females) Mean ±SD obtained for U.K sample(21-24 yrs) Male Female Creativity 3.50± ± ± ±.65 Curiosity 3.53± ± ± ±.59 Love of Learning 3.31± ± ± ±.62 Open Mindedness 3.46± ± ± ±.51 Perspective 3.42± ± ± ±.56 Authenticity 3.61± ± ± ±.47 Contd. table 2 Vol. 4, No. 1, September, 2009

5 Psychometric Properties of Hindi Translated Version of Values Contd. table 2 Bravery 3.48± ± ± ±.61 Persistence 3.45± ± ± ±.68 Zest 3.35± ± ± ±.64 Kindness 3.57± ± ± ±.49 Love 3.53± ± ± ±.61 Social-intelligence 3.40± ± ± ±.55 Fairness 3.57± ± ± ±.48 Leadership 3.52± ± ± ±.51 Teamwork 3.52± ± ± ±.51 Forgiveness 3.36± ± * 3.46 ± ±.67 Modesty 3.39± ± ± ±.60 Prudence 3.42± ± ± ±.57 Self- regulation 3.31± ± ± ±.58 AOB &E 3.45± ± ± ±.67 Gratitude 3.51± ± ± ±.57 Hope 3.54± ± ± ±.70 Humor 3.49± ± ± ±.61 Religiousness 3.49± ± ± ±.84 **Linley, Maltby, Wood, Joseph, Harrington, Peterson, Park, & Seligman, (2007) *Forgiveness is significant at 0.05 level (2-tailed) In Table-2, the scale means, standard deviations, and t-values of the male and female population of the study were grouped to report gender differences. The means and standard deviations calculated here are scale means and scale standard deviations (Linley et al., 2007). If we see the overall trend in the male and female population then it becomes clear that females score higher on creativity, open-mindedness, persistence, zest, social-intelligence, fairness, leadership, modesty, prudence, self-regulation, gratitude while males scored higher on other strengths. Nevertheless, none of the strengths except forgiveness was significant reflecting that all the character strengths were present in both the gender in equivalent proportions. As females have scored higher on forgiveness (p< 0.05), it shows that they are generally forgiving in nature and usually do not carry grudges and feelings of retribution. In both studies, mean range was more than three and less than four and there were ostensibly insignificant differences except Religiousness, where Indians have higher level than normative data (Total Mean=3.51 vs.2.83). Journal of Indian Health Psychology

6 70 Kamlesh Singh and Rajneesh Choubisa Vol. 4, No. 1, September, 2009 TABLE-3 Reliability statistics of VIA-Hindi Character Cronbach s Constituting Items(VIA-IS) No of Cronbach s Strength Alpha Items alpha** (VIA-IS- (Previously Hindi) reported)via- IS-English (UK sample) Creativity.78 4,28,52,76,100,124,148,172,196, Curiosity.78 1,25,49,73,97,121,145,169,193, Love of Learning.76 2,26,50,74,98,122,146,170,194, Open Mindedness.80 3,27,51,75,99,123,147,171,195, Perspective.72 6,30,54,78,102,126,150,174,198, Authenticity.77 9,33,57,81,105,129,153,177,201, Bravery.76 7,31,55,79,103,127,171,175,199, Persistence.84 8,32,56,80,104,128,152,176,200, Zest.70 23,47,71,95,119,143,167,191,215, Kindness.78 10,34,58,82,106,130,154,178,202, Love.68 11,35,59,83,107,131,155,179,203, Social-intelligence.76 5,29,53,77,101,125,149,173,197, Fairness.80 13,37,61,85,109,133,157,181,205, Leadership.82 14,38,62,86,110,134,158,182,206, Teamwork.81 12,36,60,84,108,132,156,180,204, Forgiveness.80 24,48,72,96,120,144,168,192,216, Modesty.65 21,45,69,93,117,141,165,189,213, Prudence.75 16,40,64,88,112,136,160,184,208, Self regulation.70 15,39,63,87,111,135,159,183,207, AOB.76 17,41,65,89,113,137,161,185,209, Gratitude.67 18,42,66,90,114,138,162,186,210, Hope.74 19,43,67,91,115,139,163,187,211, Humor.76 22,46,70,94,118,142,166,190,214, Religiousness.78 20,44,68,92,116,140,164,188,212, Total Character strengths 0.98 ALL *Overall value of character strength of VIA-IS-Hindi is average of the scales values. ** Based on the large internet sample study in UK by Linley et al. (2007).

7 Psychometric Properties of Hindi Translated Version of Values TABLE-4 Correlations of the 24 Character strengths of VIA-Hindi (N=186). VARI CU CR LOL PE OM AUT BR PC ZS KD LVE SOI FR LHP TW FG M PR SRG AO GR HPE HU -BLES R E R D V E T S S K S OD U B T M CUR - CRE.74 - LOL PER OMD AUT BRV PCE ZST KDS LVE SOI FRS LHP TWK FGS MOD PRU SRG AOB GRT HPE HMR ; REG *All Correlations are significant at the 0.01 level (1-Tailed) Journal of Indian Health Psychology

8 72 Kamlesh Singh and Rajneesh Choubisa (Acronyms have been used in place of Curiosity (CUR); Creativity (CRE); Love of Learning (LOL); Perspective (PER); Open Mindedness (OMD); Authenticity (AUT); Bravery (BRV); Persistence (PCE); Zest (ZST); Kindness (KDS); Love (LVE); Social Intelligence (SOI); Fairness (FRS); Leadership (LHP); Teamwork (TWK); Forgiveness (FGS); Modesty (MOD); Prudence (PRU); Self-regulation (SRG); Appreciation of Beauty (AOB); Gratitude (GRT); Hope (HPE); Humor (HMR) and Religiousness (REG) The internal consistency reliability statistics (Cronbach s Alpha) values for all the 24 character strengths have been calculated and displayed in Table-3. Individual alpha values have been entered along individual strength dimension horizontally and is compared with previously reported values of VIA-IS, (Linley et. al, 2007). Almost all the values are approximately.70, which is standardized alpha value (Except love, modesty and gratitude (Alpha Range ) and is corresponding well with facets of the full scale. Further correlations (Table-4) were obtained for all the 24 character strengths which suggest that all the character strengths are highly inter-correlated with each other (.51 p=0.01). The high inter-correlations between the character strengths might be due to similarities in the comprehension of the items of VIA- IS-Hindi self report measure. Theoretical model also proposed a positive correlation among 24 character strengths, that is why, one tailed hypothesis had taken and verified herein. By using a Principle Components analysis with a Varimax rotation, single factor solution was obtained with an eigenvalue, and it described 68.38% of total Variance. TABLE-5 Factor Analysis and Communalities Scale Extraction Communalities Factor Loadings Creativity Curiosity Love of Learning Open Mindedness Perspective Authenticity Bravery Persistence Zest Kindness Love Contd. table 5 Vol. 4, No. 1, September, 2009

9 Psychometric Properties of Hindi Translated Version of Values Contd. table 5 Social-intelligence Fairness Leadership Teamwork Forgiveness Modesty Prudence Self regulation Appreciation of beauty and excellence Gratitude Hope Humor Religiousness *Principal component one factor solution. Figure A: Scree Plot for Single Factor solution with Varimax rotation The factor loadings obtained from the principal component factor analytic solution of the data suggests a one-factor solution (Eigen value >1). The results show higher factor loadings owing to high inter-item correlations. DISCUSSION In the present study, there were no significant differences on character strengths in males and females, except forgiveness, which was higher in females. Journal of Indian Health Psychology

10 74 Kamlesh Singh and Rajneesh Choubisa Their higher score on forgiveness (p>0.05) shows that they are generally forgiving in nature and usually do not carry grudges and similar associated feelings of retribution. In Linley s et. al., (2007) research, analysis of gender differences showed that women typically reported higher scores on the Strengths measures than did men, with the exception of creativity. However, these effects were very small, and four of the five signature strengths reported overall by men and women were the same (open-mindedness, fairness, curiosity, and love of learning). Scores for kindness and love were higher for women, and showed the strongest effect sizes for gender differences (together with gratitude). Even, they observed that there were overall more similarities than differences between genders, so gender differences in character strengths should not be overstated, and are consistent with the findings of present study. In both studies, mean range was more than three and less than four and there were ostensibly insignificant differences except Religiousness, where Indians have higher level than normative data (Total Mean=3.51 vs. 2.83). Adam and Peter (2007) proposed the theory that religious cultures vary in individualistic and collectivistic aspects of religiousness and spirituality. Nature of culture (individualistic vs. collectivistic culture) might intertwine in the present study. Thus, there is need to explore this phenomena more in further researches. This study was devoted to the development, empirical validation of Hindi translated version of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for establishing its reliability statistics and studying its factor structure. The alpha co-efficient (a=0.98) for all 240 VIA scale items taken together was concomitant to MacDonald, Bore and Munro (2008) findings (a=0.96). They affirmed that this showed that the behaviors related to the character strengths were responded to in a highly consistent fashion regardless of the separate scales with which they are theoretically associated. This overall measure was included in subsequent analysis as a variable called Total Character Strength. In addition, they produced one, two, three, and four component solutions of the 24 character strengths; each of these solutions also had multiple character strengths cross loading on different factors in the present study. The 24 character strengths were well represented by both a one and four-factor solution, (MacDonald et. al., 2008). Aligning with present research, MacDonald et. al., (2008) obtained a single component solution and all character strengths except two (Prudence and Modesty) loaded strongly. The idea that the character strengths are best represented by one overarching factor was further supported by the very high Cronbach s Alpha coefficient that was obtained for the Total Character Strength score. Although this variable is not the one suggested for the VIA scale by Peterson and Seligman (2004), it may provide a useful addition to the theory of character. There might be master virtue over and above the existing character strengths which controls the overt manifestation of the strengths in particular situations like Aristotle ((1999) had first conceptualized it originally (Schwartz & Vol. 4, No. 1, September, 2009

11 Psychometric Properties of Hindi Translated Version of Values Sharpe, 2006) for euadaimonia which is structural equivalent to the Seligman s conception of authentic happiness (Seligman, 2002). It might be due to this master strength, which seems prominent in our sample and might be responsible for covertly controlling the expression of other character strengths deliberatively when called upon for action. Finally, after having a look at the paper, one can identify the trend which is taking place in the paradigm shift concerning the measurement of the ubiquitous character strengths that are present in individuals across civilizations and cultures (Biswas-Diener, 2006) as they have different patterns of existence, desirability, development, and manifestation. Directions for future Research As an important suggestion, the authors suggest that a broader exhaustive study with a large sample,for example size of 1000 should be done with the different versions of the measure to obtain more valid factor analytic results. Acknowledgements: We acknowledge with sincere gratitude to Martin Seligman and allied Researchers working on values in action and simultaneous technical and academic support in relation to the research described here. Note: The Hindi version of VIA-IS may be requested for usage either from the original authors at University of Pennsylvania or from the authors of this paper for research purposes. REFERENCES Adam, C.A., & Peter H, C. (2007) Religion as Culture: Religious Individualism and Collectivism among American Catholics, Jews, and Protestants. Journal of Personality 75, Aristotle, (1999) Nicomachean Ethics (M. Ostwald, Trans.), Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ Biswas-Diener, R. (2006). From the equator to the North Pole: A study of Character strengths, Journal of Happiness Studies, 7, Cawley, M. J., Martin, J. E., & Johnson, J. A. (2000). A virtues approach to personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 28, Constantine, G, M., & Sue, W, D. (2006). Factors Contributing to Optimal Human Functioning in People of Color in the United States, The Counseling psychologist, 34, Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper Collins. Csíkszentmihályi, M. (1998). Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life. Basic Books. Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Csikszentmihalyi, I, S. (2006). (incomplete in text) A life worth living: Contributions to positive psychology, Oxford University Press Inc. D Andrea, M. (2005,). Reclaiming positive psychology from a multicultural perspective: Combating new forms of racism and ethnocentrism in psychology: Paper presented Journal of Indian Health Psychology

12 Kamlesh Singh and Rajneesh Choubisa at the annual meeting of the National Multicultural Conference and Summit, Hollywood, CA. Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a National Index, American Psychologist, 55, Greenberger, E., Josselson, R., Knerr, C., & Knerr, B. (1975). The measurement and structure of psychosocial maturity. J. Youth Adolescent, 4, Linley, P, A., Maltby, J., Wood, A, M., Joseph, S., Harrington, S., Peterson, C., Park, N., & Seligman, M. (2007). Character strengths in the United Kingdom: The VIA Inventory of Strengths, Personality and Individual Differences, 43, MacDonald, C., Bore, M., & Munro, D. (2008). Values in Action Scale and the Big 5: An empirical indication of structure, Journal of Research in Personality, Journal of Research in Personality, 42, Massimini, F., & Delle Fave, A.(2000).Individual development in bio-cultural perspective, American Psychologist, 55, McCullough, M. E., & Snyder, C. R. (2000). Classical sources of human strength: Revisiting an old home and building a new one. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19, Otake, K., S. Shimai, N. Utsuki, A. Ikemi, C. Peterson, and Seligman, M.E.P. (2003). Development of the Japanese version of the Values in Action (VIA) Strengths Scale: Validity and reliability. Poster presented at the Second International Positive Psychology Summit, Washington, DC. Park, N., Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Strengths of character and wellbeing. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, Peterson, C. (2000). The future of optimism. American Psychologist, 55, Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, Oxford University Press. Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (1996). Psychological well-being: Meaning, measurement, and implications for psychotherapy research. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 65, Sandage, S. J., Hill, P. C., & Vang, H. C. (2003).Toward a multicultural positive psychology: Indigenous forgiveness and Hmong culture. Counseling Psychologist, 31, Schwartz & Sharpe (2006). Practical Wisdom: Aristotle meets Positive Psychology, Journal of Happiness studies, 7, Seligman, M. (2002) Authentic happiness. New York: Free Press. Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, Taylor, S. E., Klein, L. C., Lewis, B. P., Gmenewald, T. L., Gurung, R. A. R., & Updegraff, J. A. (2000). Biobehavioral responses to stress in females: end-and-befriend, not fight-&flight. Psychological Review, 107, Walker, L. J., & Pitts, R. C. (1998). Naturalistic conceptions of moral maturity. Developmental Psychology, 34,