A Three–Part Framework for Self–Regulated Personality Development across Adulthood

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Hennecke ◽  
Wiebke Bleidorn ◽  
Jaap J. A. Denissen ◽  
Dustin Wood
Keyword(s):  
European Association ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Behavioural Changes ◽  
Personality Changes ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
View Change ◽  
Over Time

Recently, researchers interested in personality development have begun to acknowledge the roles of motivation and self–regulation for why traits change across adulthood. We propose three preconditions under which individuals may change their own levels of a personality trait through self–directed efforts. Firstly, individuals need to desire changing their trait–related behaviours either as an end in itself or in order to achieve other goals. Secondly, they need to consider behavioural changes feasible and be able to implement the desired changes. Thirdly, behavioural changes need to become habitual in order to constitute a stable trait. After elaborating on these three conditions, we review evidence attesting to the importance of motivation and self–regulation for trait development. We conclude with a discussion of the mutual interdependence of traits and goals, as well as the limits of self–regulated personality change. From our framework, we derive why personality changes across adulthood tend to be small to medium only, namely because they may require that all three preconditions for self–regulated personality change are fulfilled. We provide reasons for why people might not view change as desirable, feasible or fail to maintain it over time. Finally, we propose ideas for potential study designs to research self–regulated personality change. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology

The ever-changing personality: revisiting the concept of triple-loop learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 499-512
Author(s):  
Florian Fahrenbach ◽  
Florian Kragulj
Keyword(s):  
Personality Development ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Organization Studies ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Over Time

PurposeConsidering personality as changeable through a bottom-up process of altering states, habits and traits, constitutes a shift in the predominant paradigm within personality psychology. The purpose of this paper is to reconsider Bateson’s theory of learning and organizational triple-loop learning in light of this recent empirical evidence.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a multi-disciplinary conceptual approach. Based on an integrative analysis of literature from recent work in personality psychology, four dimensions (process, content, time and context) are identified that allow linking personality change and triple-loop learning.FindingsIdentifying a bottom-up process of changing states, habits and traits as being central to change personality, allows for reconsidering Bateson’s theory of learning as a theory of personality development (Learning II) and personality change (Learning III). Functionally equivalent, organizational triple-loop learning is conceptualized as a change in an organization’s identity over time that may be facilitated through a change in responding to events and a change in the organization’s routines.Practical implicationsInterventions that change how organizations respond to events and that change the routines within an organization may be suitable to facilitate triple-loop learning in terms of changing organizational identity over time.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the discussion on Bateson’s theory of learning and organizational triple-loop learning. As interest in personality change grows in organization studies, this paper aims to transfer these findings to organizational learning.

scholarly journals Becoming More Conscientious or More Open to Experience? Effects of a Two–Week Smartphone–Based Intervention for Personality Change

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjam Stieger ◽  
Sandro Wepfer ◽  
Dominik Rüegger ◽  
Tobias Kowatsch ◽  
Brent W. Roberts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Association ◽  
Intervention Studies ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Total N ◽  
Personality Changes ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Experience Effects ◽  
Future Work

Research indicates that it might be possible to change personality traits through intervention, but this clinical research has primarily focused on changing neuroticism. To date, there are no established, proven techniques for changing other domains of personality, such as conscientiousness and openness. This research examined the effects of a two–week smartphone–based intervention to either change one facet of conscientiousness (i.e. self–discipline) or one facet of openness to experience (i.e. openness to action). Two intervention studies (total N = 255) with two active intervention groups for mutual comparisons were conducted. Results of self–reports and observer reports showed that people who wanted to become more self–disciplined were less self–disciplined at pretest. Similarly, people who wanted to become more open to action were less open to action at pretest. The results showed that people who chose the self–discipline intervention showed greater increases in self–discipline, and people who chose the openness to action intervention showed greater increases in openness to action compared with the other group. Changes were maintained until follow–up two and six weeks after the end of the intervention. Future work is needed to examine whether these personality changes are enduring or reflect temporary accentuation as a result of participation in the intervention. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology

A Framework for Testing Causality in Personality Research

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 254-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulio Costantini ◽  
Marco Perugini
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
European Association ◽  
Laboratory Research ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Causal Explanations ◽  
Personality Research ◽  
Conceptual Clarity ◽  
Candidate Target ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Over Time

Causal explanations in personality require conceptual clarity about alternative causal conditions that could, even in principle, affect personality. These causal conditions crucially depend on the theoretical model of personality, each model constraining the possibility of planning and performing causal research in different ways. We discuss how some prominent models of personality allow for specific types of causal research and impede others. We then discuss causality from a network perspective, which sees personality as a phenomenon that emerges from a network of behaviours and environments over time. From a methodological perspective, we propose a three–step strategy to investigate causality: (1) identify a candidate target for manipulation (e.g. using network analysis), (2) identify and test a manipulation (e.g. using laboratory research), and (3) deliver the manipulation repeatedly for a congruous amount of time (e.g. using ecological momentary interventions) and evaluate its ability to generate trait change. We discuss how a part of these steps was implemented for trait conscientiousness and present a detailed plan for implementing the remaining steps. Copyright © 2018 European Association of Personality Psychology

scholarly journals Personality and Psychopathology: A Stagnant Field in Need of Development

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 362-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Emily Durbin ◽  
Brian M. Hicks
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Psychopathology ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Causal Processes ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Dominant Paradigm ◽  
Spectrum Model

A dominant paradigm in psychopathology research proposes that individual differences in personality are centrally involved in the origins and manifestations of psychopathology, and structural models of personality and psychopathology have been extremely useful in helping to organize associations among many traits and disorders. However, these models merely describe patterns of covariation; they do not explain the processes by which these patterns emerge. We argue that the field is stagnated, as it is overly focused on the demonstration of concurrent associations and on confirming a spectrum model that proposes traits and disorders are manifestations of the same underlying constructs. We contend that if the field is to move towards an understanding of causal processes, it must integrate knowledge and principles of personality development and developmental psychopathology. To begin this integration, we review (i) normative trends in personality change, (ii) age–related changes in the prevalence of disorders, and (iii) the impact of onset and chronicity on the severity of disorders. We propose several developmental processes that may contribute to the co–development of personality and psychopathology. We then present novel empirical findings to illustrate how a developmental perspective on traits and disorders can inform new hypotheses and propose principles and hypotheses that should guide future research. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology

scholarly journals The Relation between Appraised Mismatch and the Duration of Negative Emotions: Evidence for Universality

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 481-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Verduyn ◽  
Iven Van Mechelen ◽  
Francis Tuerlinckx ◽  
Klaus Scherer
Keyword(s):  
European Association ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Central Aspect ◽  
Shame And Guilt ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Emotional Episodes ◽  
Over Time

Emotions are processes that unfold over time. As a consequence, a better understanding of emotions can be reached only when their time–related characteristics can be assessed and interpreted adequately. A central aspect in this regard is the duration of emotional experience. Previous studies have shown that an emotional experience can last anywhere from a couple of seconds up to several hours or longer. In this article, we examine to what extent specific appraisals of the eliciting event may account for variability in emotion duration and to what degree appraisal–duration relations are universal or culture specific. Participants in 37 countries were asked to recollect emotional episodes of fear, anger, sadness, disgust, shame and guilt. Subsequently, they were asked to report the duration of these episodes and to answer a number of questions regarding their appraisal of the emotion–eliciting event. Multi–level analyses revealed that negative emotions last especially long when the eliciting event and its consequences are perceived to be incongruent with the individual's goals, values and self–ideal, creating a mismatch. These relations are largely universal, although evidence for some limited variability across countries is found as well. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology

scholarly journals Longitudinal Experience–Wide Association Studies—A Framework for Studying Personality Change

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiebke Bleidorn ◽  
Christopher J. Hopwood ◽  
Mitja D. Back ◽  
Jaap J.A. Denissen ◽  
Marie Hennecke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
European Association ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Research Paradigms ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Work And Health

The importance of personality for predicting life outcomes in the domains of love, work, and health is well established, as is evidence that personality traits, while relatively stable, can change. However, little is known about the sources and processes that drive changes in personality traits and how such changes might impact important life outcomes. In this paper, we make the case that the research paradigms and methodological approaches commonly used in personality psychology need to be revised to advance our understanding of the sources and processes of personality change. We propose Longitudinal Experience–Wide Association Studies as a framework for studying personality change that can address the limitations of current methods, and we discuss strategies for overcoming some of the challenges associated with Longitudinal Experience–Wide Association Studies. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology

Sound Body, Sound Mind? The Interrelation between Health Change and Personality Change in Old Age

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna E. Kornadt ◽  
Birk Hagemeyer ◽  
Franz J. Neyer ◽  
Christian Kandler
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Regulation ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Twin Model ◽  
Measurement Occasion ◽  
Adult Twins

Personality development is characterized by increasing maturation, that is, people become more conscientious, agreeable and emotionally stable as they age. In late life, however, these trends seem to be reversed. Because many changes and transitions in older age are related to health, we investigated correlated changes in health problems and personality traits, the sources of health changes in later life and the directionality of effects. Our sample consisted of older adult twins, aged 64–85 years at time 1 ( n = 410; 135 male/275 female; 134 monozygotic/63 dizygotic twin pairs), assessed at two different time points about five years apart, and we ran bivariate latent change and latent change twin model analyses. Increasing health problems were associated with decreases in agreeableness, extraversion, emotional stability and conscientiousness. Changes in health problems were only due to environmental influences, implying that the association between health and personality changes was exclusively environmental. Directional effects were largely absent, but health and personality were significantly related at the second measurement occasion (age 69–89 years). Our results support the link between health change and personality change in late life and spark the assumption of normative personality adaptations to deterioration of health status as a means of developmental regulation. Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology

scholarly journals How do Personality and Social Structures Interact with Each other to Predict Important Life Outcomes? The Importance of Accounting for Personality Change

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Boyce ◽  
Alex M. Wood ◽  
Liam Delaney ◽  
Eammon Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Methodological Issue ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Personality Changes ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Type 2 Errors

Personality is important for a range of life outcomes. However, despite evidence that personality changes across time, there is a concerning tendency for researchers outside of personality psychology to treat measures of personality as if they are non–changing when establishing whether personality predicts important life outcomes. This is problematic when personality changes in response to outcomes of interest and creates a methodological issue that may result in misleading conclusions. We illustrate this methodological issue and suggest using measures before the outcome takes place to mitigate concerns. We then demonstrate, using data from Germany, that using post–event personality measures, as opposed to pre–outcome measures, to predict both occurrence of, and reactions to, socio–economic events results in inconsistent conclusions in the directions hypothesized and therefore increases the likelihood of Type 1 and Type 2 errors. This has implications for research investigating the importance of personality for psychological, behavioural, and socio–economic outcomes. Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology

scholarly journals Causal Unity of Broader Traits is an Illusion

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 304-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens B. Asendorpf
Keyword(s):  
European Association ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Causal Mechanisms ◽  
Developmental Antecedents

Mõttus alerts us to the widespread predictive heterogeneity of different indicators of the same trait. This heterogeneity violates the assumption that traits have causal unity in their developmental antecedents and effects on outcomes. I would go a step further: broader traits are useful units for description and prediction but not for explaining personality development and personality effects. In most cases, the measured trait indicators are closer to relevant causal mechanisms, and within a network perspective on personality, broader traits as entities with causal potential can be dismissed completely. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology

scholarly journals Differences in the Between–Person and Within–Person Structures of Affect Are A Matter of Degree

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Brose ◽  
Manuel C. Voelkle ◽  
Martin Lövdén ◽  
Ulman Lindenberger ◽  
Florian Schmiedek
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
European Association ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive And Negative Affect ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Personality Psychology ◽  
Over Time

This study tested whether the structure of affect observed on the basis of between–person (BP) differences is equivalent to the affect structures that organize the variability of affective states within persons (WP) over time. Further aims were to identify individual differences in the degree of divergence between the WP and BP structure and examine its association to dispositional and contextual variables (neuroticism, extraversion, well–being and stress). In 100 daily sessions, 101 younger adults rated their mood on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. Variability of five negative affect items across time was so low that they were excluded from the analyses. We thus worked with a modified negative affect subscale. WP affect structures diverged reliably from the BP structure, with individual differences in the degree of divergence. Differences in the WP structural characteristics and the degree of divergence could be predicted by well–being and stress. We conclude that BP and WP structures of affect are not equivalent and that BP and WP variation should be considered as distinct phenomena. It would be wrong, for example, to conceive of positive and negative affect as independent at the WP level, as suggested by BP findings. Yet, individual differences in WP structural characteristics are related to stable BP differences, and the degree to which individuals’ affect structures diverge from the BP structure can provide important insights into intraindividual functioning. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology

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