How does the psychology of religion literature define the terms religiousness, spirituality, faith, and sacred? Despite the growing interest in and recognition of spirituality and religiousness in psychology, these faith constructs remain poorly defined. We conducted a literature review, comparing existing definitions of these 4 constructs, looking for a consensus, and presenting 4 preliminary working definitions based on the literature. We then undertook 3 studies to find out the prototype phenomena being used by peer-reviewed psychology of religion authors when they define these terms. All 3 studies used definitional content analysis, a procedure based on narrative analysis, grounded theory, and Consensual Qualitative Research. Study 1 examined how 34 articles defined the term spirituality. Study 2 examined how 36 articles defined the term religiousness. Study 3 examined how 471 articles defined the terms religiousness, spirituality, faith, and sacred. The results of these 3 studies indicate that these 4 terms are multidimensional, overlapping, and often poorly defined; nevertheless, the basic elements of their meanings can be discerned. Spirituality, religiousness, faith, and the sacred involve 20, 19, 20, and 9 discernible characteristics, respectively. We propose 4 research-based operational definitions for future research. Specifically, we propose that spirituality is a search for or relationship with the sacred; religiousness is ritual, institutional, or codified spirituality which is culturally sanctioned; faith is a synonym for spirituality and/or religiousness; and the sacred is manifestations of the divine, existential meaningfulness, or an ultimate concern as perceived by an individual.

The present research builds upon the extant literature as it assesses psychophysiological factors in relation to empathy, conflict resolution, and romantic relationship satisfaction. In this study, we examined physiological reactivity of individuals in the context of emotionally laden interactions with their romantic partners. Participants (N = 31) completed self-report measures and attended in-person data collection sessions with their romantic partners. Participants were guided through discussions of problems and strengths of their relationships in vivo with their partners while we measured participants' skin conductance level (SCL) and interbeat interval (IBI) of the heart. We hypothesized that participants' level of empathy towards their partners would be reflected by physiological arousal (as measured by SCL and IBI) and relationship satisfaction, such that higher levels of empathy would be linked to changes in physiological arousal and higher relationship satisfaction. Further, we hypothesized that differences would be found in physiological arousal (as measured by SCL and IBI) based on the type of conflict resolution strategy used by participants. Finally, we hypothesized that differences would be found in empathy towards partner and relationship satisfaction based on the type of conflict resolution strategies used by participants. Results partially supported hypotheses and were discussed in light of existing knowledge based on empirical and theoretical sources.

Multiple factors influence the ways in which men and women combine work and family roles. Career counselors and other career development professionals must be cognizant of the cultural shifts in gender roles and the unique perspectives of younger generations regarding work–family interface. Workplace characteristics, economic trends, and personal values converge to influence decisions related to career, family, and other life roles. Much of the existing literature addressing work–family interface has been conducted in the United States and may not generalize to international populations. In this conceptual article, the authors examine current empirical knowledge and culturally sensitive frameworks for understanding work–family interface across countries and cultures. The authors discuss implications and recommendations for practice based on an integrated conceptualization of the literature.

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