The perception of doability and how is it measured

Abstract

This article argues that the propensity to perceive impossible challenges as doable is a personality trait, and presents a method for measuring it. The name coined for this concept is “possibilitivity,” a portmanteau of “possible” and “creativity.” Possibilitivity is related to such personality traits as self-efficacy and locus of control. This article shows that this trait is embedded in individual cognitive processes, whilst targeting social issues; in this vein, it may be seen as an important mechanism facilitating change-making and transgressing the seemingly impossible. Methodology for assessing this trait is presented, i.e., the process of constructing and validating a questionnaire, its psychometric properties, and some comparisons within the sample (N = 1117). One of the findings is that women are significantly more prone to perceive difficult challenges as doable than men. Seeing this study as the first step, further research recommendations are presented, e.g., comparing possibilitivity between various segments of society, as well as analyzing potential correlations with other traits, e.g., empathy or ambiguity tolerance.

Peace-oriented mindset and how to measure it

“…Considering the tall order of peacebuilding (i.e., addressing often seemingly insurmountable conflicts), there is a need for yet another dimension: Belief that difficult challenges are doable, a category defined as possibilitivity (Praszkier, 2019(Praszkier, , 2021Praszkier & Zabłocka, 2022).…”

Three-dimensional delineation of Changers-for-Good: From practice to conceptualization

“…Along these lines, the Perception of Doability Questionnaire was constructed, based on projective tests (Piotrowski et al, 1993) and the Psychology of Life Stories approach (McAdams, 2001), proven, on a representative sample ( N = 1117), to have good psychometric properties. Interestingly, the same study documented that women have a significantly higher possibilitivity level than men (Praszkier & Zabłocka, 2021).…”

“…This property for perceiving challenges as doable is called possibilitivity —a portmanteau of “possible” and “creativity,” echoing the pronunciation of “realizability” (Praszkier, 2019). Each individual has a tendency to evaluate challenges somewhere on the spectrum between the two extremes, namely, “it is obviously undoable” and “it is obviously doable” (Praszkier & Zabłocka, 2021).…”

Historia idei Kazimierza Jankowskiego i zespołu „Synapsis”

“…Czerpiąc z inspiracji Jankowskiego, Praszkier zaangażował się w analizę tak zwanych pozytywnych dewiantów, czyli innowatorów społecznych. W tym nurcie zaproponował między innymi koncepcję stopnia, w jakim ludzie postrzegają trudne wyzwania jako wykonalne (Praszkier, Zabłocka, 2021). Obecnie zajmuje się badaniem tendencji jednostek do budowania pokojowych relacji międzyludzkich i międzygrupowych (zob.…”