This chapter examines bias and fairness in employment testing in the Netherlands, addressing twenty key questions related to historical and cultural developments, legal frameworks, professional guidelines, and psychometric issues. Although equal treatment is a fundamental legal principle, perceptions of hiring discrimination remain widespread. The chapter explores demographic shifts that have shaped discussions on employment fairness and outlines the Dutch legal framework, focusing on the Equal Treatment Act and the role of the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights in handling discrimination complaints. It also highlights the relatively limited attention given to fairness in professional guidelines for practitioners. Furthermore, the chapter evaluates how psychological tests are assessed for bias, particularly through analyses of score differences, differential item functioning, and measurement invariance, while noting the scarcity of research on predictive bias. Emerging challenges, such as algorithmic bias, are also examined. Finally, the chapter discusses recent legislative efforts to promote fairness in employment testing, including a proposed law that was rejected in 2024.

What it means to flourish and to live well the life that is good for one to live is typically addressed in psychology by formidable research programs on the Big Three constructs of purpose, wisdom, and moral identity. Yet each construct fails to address, and so is unable to resist, what Kekes (1995) calls the permanent adversities of contingency, conflict, and evil. These adversities are inescapable features of human agency that will compromise good lives in pursuit of purpose, wisdom, and character unless the resources of moral wisdom are cultivated. This chapter first discusses why contingency, conflict, and evil are permanent adversities and how they constitute impediments to flourishing. The second part gives an account of moral wisdom and the means at its disposal for controlling permanent adversities. It will be seen that the work of moral wisdom is strongly metacognitive, involving both knowledge (declarative, procedural, and conditional) and regulation (planning, selection, control, monitoring, and evaluation) processes. The remaining sections will take up the implication of moral wisdom for the Big Three constructs of purpose, wisdom, and moral identity, and the theoretical modifications required of them to account for good lives lived well.

The 16-item Physical Appearance and State and Trait Anxiety Scale (PASTAS; Reed et al., 1991) assesses state and trait level body image anxiety. The PASTAS can be administered online and/or in-person to adolescents and adults and is free to use in any setting. This chapter first discusses the development of the PASTAS and then provides evidence of its psychometrics. More specifically, the PASTAS has been found to have a two or three factor structure within exploratory factor analyses with evidence of factorial invariance in male and female samples, as well as sports and non-sports practitioners. Internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and incremental validity support the use of the PASTAS. Next, this chapter provides the PASTAS items in their entirety, instructions for administering the PASTAS to participants, the item response scale, and the scoring procedure. Logistics of use, such as permissions, copyright, and contact information, are provided for readers.

Clinical trials are a cornerstone of evaluating new interventions. Although there are similarities between clinical trials across medical specialties there are specific issues that need to be considered when designing, running and evaluating clinical trials in mental health. The purpose of this chapter is to present an overview of the common principles and methods of interventional clinical trials with illustrations drawn from general psychiatry. The chapter provides a guide to understanding clinical trials from design to analysis, drawing on recent work to illustrate fundamental concepts and covers novel factorial and platform designs. outlining advantages and disadvantages of each. This chapter summarises essential steps of interventional clinical trials in psychiatry describing the process from initial hypothesis generation, the role of patient and public involvement, steps to prepare a trial protocol, statistical considerations dissemination of results. The aim is to provide the reader with the tools to be able to understand different methodologies and in design of clinical trial in mental health.

Part II sets out and elaborates a new theory of chilling effects – a conformity theory – a central contribution of the book. Chapter 3, the first chapter in Part II, lays the theoretical and empirical foundation for this new understanding by connecting chilling effects with a broader body of social science and behavioral theory, in particular, research on social influence, like conformity and compliance. The author begins with an illustration of the power of extralegal social surveillance, convention, and norms to police behavior – at times more effective than laws – and the role of conformity and compliance in these contexts.

The 12-item Perceived Benefits of Thinness Scale (PBTS; Flatt et al., 2022)] assesses an individual’s beliefs about how being thinner would positively influence aspects of their life including their self-esteem, satisfaction, mood, relationships, and professional success. The PBTS can be administered online and/or in-person to adults and is free to use in any setting. This chapter first discusses the development of the PBTS and then provides evidence of its psychometrics. More specifically, the PBTS has been found to have a single-factor structure within exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and incremental validity support the use of the PBTS. Next, this chapter provides the PBTS items in their entirety, instructions for administration to participants, the item response scale, and the scoring procedure. Logistics of use, such as permissions, copyright, and contact information, are provided for readers.

The 7-item Functionality Appreciation Scale (FAS; Alleva, Tylka, & Kroon Van Diest, 2017) assesses functionality appreciation, defined as appreciating, respecting, and honoring the body for what it is capable of doing, extending beyond mere awareness of body functionality. The FAS can be administered online and/or in person to adolescents and adults and is free to use in any setting. This chapter first discusses the development of the FAS and then provides evidence of its psychometrics. More specifically, the FAS has been found to have a one-dimensional factor structure within exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and has demonstrated gender invariance, invariance across sexual orientations, and invariance across countries (U.K. and Malaysia). Internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and incremental validity support the use of the FAS. To date, the FAS has been translated into 12 languages, with these strong psychometric properties upheld. Next, this chapter provides the FAS items in their entirety, instructions for administering the FAS to participants, the item response scale, the scoring procedure, and known translations. Logistics of use, such as permissions, copyright, and contact information, are provided for readers.

Although the research literature refutes the standard wisdom that schools kill creativity, there can still be some unfortunate exceptions. Some artists felt that their creativity not only did not help them do well on the standard metrics of traditional school performance, but it may have even impaired their scores. Other artists encountered truly terrible teachers who were rigid, intolerant, and prone to punish too much question-asking; a few even sucked the joy out of their art (at least temporarily).

The 15-item Appearance-based Rejection Sensitivity Scale (Appearance-RS Scale; Park, 2007) measures the degree to which individuals anxiously expect rejection from others based on their physical appearance. The scale presents 15 ambiguous scenarios in which individuals indicate (a) how anxiously concerned they would be about their appearance in each situation, and (b) their expectations of being rejected in each situation based on their appearance. There is also a brief, 10-item version of the Appearance-RS Scale and a 10-item version of the scale for use with adolescents. The Appearance-RS Scale can be administered online and/or in-person to adults and adolescents and is free to use in any setting. This chapter first discusses the development of the Appearance-RS Scale and then provides evidence of its psychometrics. The Appearance-RS Scale has been shown to have a one-factor structure and shows acceptable internal reliability, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and unique predictive validity. The chapter then provides the Appearance-RS Scale items, instructions for administering the scale to participants, the item response scale, scoring procedure, and translations available. Logistics of use, such as permissions, copyright, and contact information, are also provided.

The 20-item Appearance Schema Activation Word-Stem Completion Task provides an implicit measure of appearance processing. The Appearance Schema Activation Word-Stem Completion Task can be administered online or in-person to adolescents and adults of any gender. It is free to use in any setting. This chapter first discusses the development of the Appearance Schema Activation Word-Stem Completion Task within the media effects literature and then provides evidence of its psychometrics. More specifically, the Appearance Schema Activation Word-Stem Completion Task has been found to be reactive to external contingencies. Inter-rater reliability and convergent validity support its use. Next, this chapter provides the Appearance Schema Activation Word-Stem Completion Task in full, with items, instructions for administration, and scoring procedure. Adaptations and logistics of use, such as permissions, copyright, and contact information, are provided for readers.

Who am I? Where am I going? These are two of the most fundamental questions facing young people during the transition to adulthood. However, these two questions cannot be dissociated: identity resolution is incomplete without a sense of purpose, but finding a purpose in life is difficult without a growing sense of personal identity. Thus, purpose and identity can be seen as dialogic components in the transition to adulthood; they are the two legs young people need to move, in coordination but not necessarily in simultaneity, for personal development and positive life trajectories.

This chapter explores purpose as a resource for identity development in emerging adulthood, and identity achievement as a catalyst for a stronger sense of purpose in life. It is structured in four parts. First, we will introduce the concept of identity exploration and resolution. Second, we will review the literature on purpose in life and its association with well-being and mental health. Third, we will discuss the relationship between identity and purpose, through the lens of commitment, as a bridging element between both constructs. Finally, we close with a conclusion on the need to provide young people with a set of skills and resources to help them navigate the transition to adulthood, understood as the acquisition of a strong identity and sense of purpose.

This chapter examines employment testing bias and fairness in Japan. Japan’s hiring practices are shaped by its historical ethnic homogeneity, employer discretion, and a legal framework emphasizing procedural fairness over outcome equity. Anti-discrimination laws protect women, older workers, and people with disabilities, but issues concerning nationality, race, and minority groups such as the Ainu and Dowa have historically received less attention. Regulatory bodies, including the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, issue guidelines to ensure fair hiring practices, but these lack effective enforcement. Legal remedies for discriminatory hiring are rare due to the high burden of proof and limited application of disparate impact doctrine. Traditional aptitude and psychological tests remain central in employment selection, with the increasing emergence of artificial intelligence-based hiring practices raising new fairness concerns. In response, some employers are adopting blind procedures, including anonymized resumes. As globalization and labor shortages intensify, Japan’s employment practices face increasing pressure to evolve toward greater inclusion and equity.