Converting to Continuity: Temporality and Self in Eastern Orthodox Conversion Narratives

Based on interviews with converts to Eastern Orthodox Christianity in the United States, this article documents and analyzes a narrative form in which conversion is described as the progressive discovery of a latent religious self that was part of one's life all along, or what I term a conversion to continuity. These findings contrast markedly with those of most contemporary conversion research, which emphasize the narration of a dramatic temporal break between converts’ past and present religious selves (epitomized by the evangelical “born‐again” genre). I examine how and why temporal continuity was a characteristic feature of these conversion accounts and demonstrate how such narratives helped constitute forms of religious experience and self‐identity that differ in important respects from those documented in previous studies. In light of these findings, I argue for a reconceptualization of continuity and discontinuity within processes of religious identity change as an institutionally anchored figure/ground relationship as opposed to an either/or dichotomy. I also highlight promising avenues for future comparative research on the relationships between time, narrative, and subjectivity across religious and secular contexts.     

Beliefs about personality change and continuity

Lay conceptions of personality change and continuity were examined in a sample of 112 undergraduates. Participants rated their personal change over 5 years (past or future), the change they perceived to be normative over 10-year age spans between 15 and 65, their beliefs about whether personality is fixed or malleable (“lay theories”) and their beliefs about the causes of personality change and continuity. Beliefs about normative personality change generally corresponded to research evidence on adult trajectories of the Big Five factors, with some age bias, whereas recalled and anticipated personal change tended to be more positive than these norms. Participants tended to endorse environmental causes more for personality change than for continuity. Lay theories were not consistently associated with these causal beliefs, or with beliefs about personal and normative change.     

Multiple Variations: Perspectives on the Religious Psychology of Buddhist and Christian Converts in the People’s Republic of China

Based on questionnaires and in-depth interviews, this article describes and systematically analyzes the psychology of the religiosity of contemporary Chinese Buddhist and Christian converts. People convert to a religious faith for a variety of reasons that range from seeking a means of escape to a practical way of coping with life. Religious belief contains subtle and complex factors, such as the interactions between believers and their beliefs, a sense of community among religious believers, conversion of mind and personality, and influence of the religious beliefs on religious believers’ mental health and behavior. This paper seeks to provide an overview of research conducted in the People’s Republic of China about the various motivations and paths to conversion.     

Goal and personality trait development in emerging adulthood

The present research examined continuity and change in the importance of major life goals and the relation between change in goals and change in personality traits over the course of college (N = 298). Participants rated the importance of their life goals 6 times over a 4-year period and completed a measure of the Big Five personality traits at the beginning and end of college. Like personality traits, life goals demonstrated high levels of rank-order stability. Unlike personality traits assessed during the same period and in the same sample, the mean importance of most life goals decreased over time. Moreover, each goal domain was marked by significant individual differences in change, and these individual differences were related to changes in personality traits. These findings provide insights into the relatively unstudied question of how life goals change during emerging adulthood.     

Reassessing Conventional Approaches to Conversion: Toward a New Synthesis

What are the crucial factors that may cause people to become religiously active at a certain point of their lives? I give an overview of key analytic elements of the conventional approaches to conversion: Lofland and Stark's (1965) social networks model; (spoiled) identity and religious seekership; socialization; religious markets; recruitment; cultural factors; and convert role monitoring and mastering. Subsequent sections present a critique of the conventional approaches, with their biases and emphasis on the crisis factor, and a synthesis of their best elements in the conversion career approach (currently in development). The latter distinguishes five levels of religious participation: preaffiliation, affiliation, conversion, confession, and disaffiliation. These levels are, in turn, influenced by personality factors, social factors, institutional factors, cultural factors, and contingency factors. The conversion careers approach offers directions for future research by distinguishing five levels of religious participation, systematically listing the factors in religious participation, avoiding “crisis determinism,” developing a conceptualization of the individual with active and passive elements, being gender sensitive, and including a life‐cycle approach to avoid the “adolescent bias” of earlier literature.     

Malcolm X’s Conversions: The Interplay of Political and Religious Subjectivities

In this article, I offer a way of thinking about the interplay of political and religious subjectivities in persons’ conversion experiences or faith journeys. More particularly, I contend that a person’s political and religious experiences interact such that political experiences and ideas shape the person’s religious values and beliefs, and vice versa. Malcolm X’s story is used to illustrate this interplay of subjectivities vis-à-vis the varied changes or conversions in his life. The major point here is that the richness and depth of change in Malcolm X’s life (and other figures) are better grasped when we take into account the dynamic intersection of the political and religious.     

Mental Simulation, Affect, and Personality: A Conceptual Framework

Recent advances in theory and research on the relations among mental simulation, affect, and personality are summarized and combined. Research has shown that (a) affect and mental simulations can influence each other, (b) mental simulations can serve diverse self-motives, and (c) personality characteristics are related to divergent functions of mental simulations. Findings in these three areas are synthesized into a conceptual framework on the basis of three attributes of mental simulations: (a) time, whether simulations are prospective or retrospective; (b) direction, whether simulations are upward or downward; and (c) focus, whether simulations are contrasted or assimilated. This integrated framework not only may enable a greater understanding of existing findings, but also suggests novel and unique predictions for future research on understanding personality processes, automaticity in simulations, and coping with life events.     

How did I get here? Individual differences in perceived retrospective personality change

People's beliefs about their own past personality development are associated with current and future self-concepts. Here, we report on 2 studies designed to elucidate the way people think about retrospective changes to their own personality. We found that incremental theories of personality were associated with greater perceived retrospective personality change and that perceived retrospective personality change was associated with the belief that specific volitional and situational causes were involved. In addition, we found that across all Big-5 personality traits and agency, higher current standing (in the socially desirable direction) was positively associated with greater perceived retrospective personality change. This research demonstrates how people vary in their beliefs about retrospective personality change.     

Religion and Volunteering Over the Adult Life Course

Previous studies have not longitudinally assessed whether religion is related to individuals’ movement into volunteering activities across the adult life course. Using four waves of panel data, I present evidence that religion is associated with individuals’ movement into religious institution and nonreligious institutional forms of volunteerism—volunteering for a religious congregation or other religious organization, and volunteering for a nonreligious institution, respectively. I consider the general religious mechanisms of changes in motivation to volunteer through enhanced religious beliefs and increased opportunities to volunteer through greater religious service attendance and involvement. Increased religious belief and attendance result in a greater probability that individuals engage in religious institution volunteerism. Religious institution volunteering increases the likelihood of movement into other formal volunteering over the adult life course. This analysis offers evidence that religious institutions are feeder systems, as increased involvement yields more opportunities for formal volunteerism over the adult life course, irrespective of underlying personality traits. Additionally, the findings suggest that religious mechanisms may operate differently across Christian religious traditions.     

Religion, personality, and aging: a life span perspective

A life span model of development provides the framework for examining the relation between religion and personality in aging persons. This article emphasizes the interplay of constancy and change in adult religious life. Important contextual factors that influence religion and personality are noted. A discussion of generativity and ego integrity shows how the maturing personality can embrace religiously motivated acts of justice and mercy as well as a deepening of spiritual life. Also discussed are the ways religion encourages generativity and ego integrative processes. The article concludes with suggestions for future studies of religion, personality, and aging utilizing a life span model of development.     

Trajectories of Religious Participation from Adolescence to Young Adulthood

Using a life course approach, this study examines trajectories of religious participation from early adolescence through young adulthood. Distinct patterns of religious participation are identified, providing insight into how trajectories are shaped by family and religious characteristics and demonstrating the influence of life events on changes in religious participation. The study employs a group-based method of trajectory analysis, identifying three trajectories of stable religious participation (nonattendance, occasional attendance, and frequent attendance) and three trajectories of change (early, late, and gradual declining attendance). Residing with two biological parents and in a religious family increases the likelihood that youth attend religious services throughout adolescence. Religious disaffiliation is associated with lower religious participation for youth in all trajectories; marriage, cohabitation, and religious switching/conversion are associated with changes in participation among youth in the frequent and occasional attendance trajectories only.     

Longitudinal Experience-Wide Association Studies—A Framework for Studying Personality Change

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     

The Multiple, Distinct Ways that Personality Contributes to Alcohol Use Disorders

There is little question of whether personality is associated with problematic alcohol involvement (such as alcohol use disorders; AUDs); it clearly is. However, the question remains: how or why is personality related to risky drinking and AUDs? To address this question, theoretical models have been posited regarding the causal effects of personality on alcohol use and related problems. In this article, several of these models are summarized and reviewed. Future research directions are discussed, including possible frameworks that serve to integrate various models of the personality–AUD relation.     

New Directions in Applying Psychological Theory to the Study of New Religions

The research of Richardson and his colleagues is affirmed. The overwhelming conclusion of investigations has demonstrated that members of new religions are not, as a group, psychopathological. There is little evidence that entrance into these groups has been due to coercive persuasion. However, future studies should use more sensitive measures to assess attitude and behavior change. The relative weight of selection versus socialization in joining also needs further investigation. New religious groups provide ideal settings for the study of such topics as personality, gender roles, adult socialization, behavior change, self-concept, and beliefs systems.     

大五人格5个维度及10个面的发展水平——基于我国15～75岁横断样本调查

基于人格毕生发展理论及中国社会文化背景,调查了我国从青少年到老年3192名被试,探究了中国人大五人格5维度及10个面毕生发展水平。总体上,年龄与神经质、焦虑、抑郁、活跃、开放性、审美、创意显著负相关,与外倾性、宜人性、尽责性、自信、利他、顺从、条理和自律显著正相关。在60岁以下的人群中,年龄大的个体神经质更低,而在大于60岁的人群中,年龄大的个体神经质反而更高;在50岁以下的人群中,年龄大的个体外倾性水平相对较高,但50岁之后年龄大的个体外倾性相对较低;整体上,年龄大的个体开放性水平相对较低,而年龄大的个体宜人性水平反而更高;年龄大的个体尽责性水平也相对较高,但较之40到49岁群体而言,50岁以上群体的尽责性则相对较低。男性和女性不同年龄群体的大五人格具有一定差异性,特别是男性的尽责性高于女性,以及女性的神经质高于男性等性别差异。进一步分析了年龄与大五人格10个面的关系,描绘了不同年龄群体10个面的发展水平。     

Religion,Spirituality, and Positive Psychology in Adulthood: A Developmental View

For decades, psychologists have been interested in the question whether, and how, religious and spiritual behavior, in terms of beliefs, attitudes, practices, and belonging, could be scientifically studied and assessed in terms of their relative good, or ill, for human well-being. This article considers contributions of religious commitment and spiritual practice to well-being and cognitive-developmental theoretical models and related bodies of empirical and clinical research regarding religious and spiritual development across the life cycle, with particular attention to questions related to positive adult development.     

The Temporal Reciprocity of Values and Beliefs: A Longitudinal Study within a Major Life Transition

Values and beliefs (or social axioms) are important personality constructs, but little previous work has examined the relationship between the two, and none has examined their real‐life longitudinal effects on one another. Major life transitions—such as moving to a new culture—can challenge existing values and beliefs and therefore provide a particularly useful context for the analysis of value and belief change. The main aim of this research was to examine whether values may predict theoretically meaningful belief change and vice versa. Polish migrants participated in the study shortly after their arrival in the UK and at two, subsequent, nine‐month intervals (N = 172). Cross‐lagged effects suggested reciprocal effects of values and beliefs, depending on the value involved. Findings are discussed in light of current debates over personality change, as well as the broader impact of significant life transitions on personality. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding biological and social influences on religious affiliation, attitudes, and behaviors: a behavior genetic perspective

Although the transmission of religiousness has been assumed to be purely cultural, behavior genetic studies have demonstrated that genetic factors play a role in the individual differences in some religious traits. This article reviews the extant behavior genetic literature and presents new analyses from the "Virginia 30,000" on the causes of variation in religious affiliation, attitudes, and practices, and relates these to personality as construed by Eysenck. Results indicate that religious affiliation is primarily a culturally transmitted phenomenon, whereas religious attitudes and practices are moderately influenced by genetic factors. Further, Eysenck's personality traits do not mediate genetic influences on religiousness, but significant negative genetic correlations are found between church attendance and liberal sexual attitudes. Implications and possibilities for future studies are discussed.     

Attachment and Religion: The Need to Leave Our Secure Base: A Comment on the Discussion Between Granqvist,Rizzuto, and Wulff

Human stem cell research has revived long-standing debates regarding the sanctity and beginning of life. The current study addresses the issue by examining the ability of selected religiosity and personality variables to predict attitudes regarding stem cell research. Participants were given questionnaires measuring attitudes regarding stem cell research, along with the Need for Closure scale, the Internal Control Index, the Need for Uniqueness scale, religious orientation scales, and the Literal-Antiliteral-Mythological scale. Results indicate that those who hold more traditional religious beliefs are likely to oppose stem cell research for moral reasons, whereas those who have a more open-ended approach to religion are likely to be in favor of such research. Results also showed that personality variables were helpful in predicting people's confidence in institutions' ability to manage the ethical questions surrounding such research.