Page No.269-274
Annalakshmi Narayanan
Bharathiar University, Coimbatore
The effect of probabilistic orientation on resilience among graduate students and
scientists was examined. Resilience connotes “bouncing back” to normalcy after
facing negative events: an individual’s capacity to withstand stressors and not to
manifest psychological dysfunction, such as mental illness or persistent negative
mood in spite of difficult circumstances. Probabilistic orientation refers to a typical
phenomenological perspective ordaining the individual personality. The probabilistic
orientation is construed by seven factors: Unbounded expectancy, Sensing unlimited
possibilities, Insight into Bias, Healthy Skepticism, Unconditional Acceptance,
Appreciation of chance, and Awareness of Probability. The sample consisted of 60
scientists and 65 graduates. They were administered the Probabilistic Orientation
Questionnaire and the Resilience Scale for Adults. Criterion groups representing
high and low levels of probabilistic orientation were constructed using median of the
distribution of scores of the sample on Probabilistic Orientation Questionnaire. The
quasi-experimental paradigm involved two levels of probabilistic orientation and two
categories of subjects. It gave rise to a 2 X 2 Factorial design. Analysis of variance
revealed that the group of graduate students had significantly greater resilience than
the scientists. The high group on probabilistic orientation did not differ from the low
group on probabilistic orientation with regard to resilience. No significant interaction
between probabilistic orientation and categories of subjects has been found in the
results.