Linking personality states,current social roles and major life goals

Employing an experience‐sampling design, the interplay between personality states, social roles and major life goals was examined as it unfolds in the stream of people's daily lives. Multilevel analyses revealed a considerable amount of both within‐ and between‐person variability in state expressions of personality traits justifying further examination of predictors at both levels of analyses. Roles proved as predictors of current personality states albeit effects differed significantly between individuals. Life goals accounted for between‐person differences in average personality states but were not effective in predicting differences in relations between personality states and roles. Altogether, findings testify to the viability of the employed research strategy to analyse the interplay between both dispositional and fluctuating influences on individuals' trait expressions in behaviour. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The New Person-Specific Paradigm in Psychology

ABSTRACT— Most research methodology in the behavioral sciences employs interindividual analyses, which provide information about the state of affairs of the population. However, as shown by classical mathematical-statistical theorems (the ergodic theorems), such analyses do not provide information for, and cannot be applied at, the level of the individual, except on rare occasions when the processes of interest meet certain stringent conditions. When psychological processes violate these conditions, the interindividual analyses that are now standardly applied have to be replaced by analysis of intraindividual variation in order to obtain valid results. Two illustrations involving analysis of intraindividual variation of personality and emotional processes are given.     

The nature (and nurture) of personality disorders

Personality disorders have a long history in the literature but a short scientific history. The point prevalence of personality disorders is 10%, but the lifetime prevalence is probably 30–40%. Genetic factors contribute to around 40–50% of the variation in the development of personality disorders. The effect of shared environment is very small or non‐existent. Some researchers have tried to promote gene‐environment interaction. However, in reality, the studies investigated gene‐situation interaction, as the “environment” may in reality be partly of a genetic nature. Thus, we are dealing with an unknown part of gene‐gene interaction. Gene‐experience (not gene‐environment) correlations are the rule in human life. Personality disorders co‐occur (are comorbid) with symptom disorders (Axis I) and correlate with common personality dimensions. Possibly, the concept of personality disorder could merge with dysfunctional personality types. But it is likely that the concept will survive on its own.     

Personality – a resource or risk for successful development

Personality as a resource or risk for development was discussed in the light of the results of the ongoing Finnish Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (FJYLS) which the author has conducted since 1968 when the participants (N = 369, b. 1959) were 8 years of age. A general hypothesis presented within a two‐dimensional framework of self‐control and activity was that the child’s high self‐control of emotions and behavior would be associated with adaptive behavior in adulthood. The results have provided evidence in support for and limitations to the hypothesis. High self‐control was a resource and low self‐control was a risk for development, but there were gender differences that came out consistently in variable‐oriented and person‐oriented analyses. A resource factor for male adult social functioning was, compared to females, a broader construct of self‐control in childhood covering both more passive (compliant) and active (constructive) behavior; only active well‐controlled (constructive) behavior was a resource for female functioning. A risk factor for female functioning was low self‐control combined with passivity (internalizing behavior), whereas low self‐control combined with activity (externalizing behavior) was a risk factor for male functioning. Childhood self‐control was not directly associated with adult psychological functioning such as well‐being but indirectly through social functioning such as career development. Low self‐control in childhood was an antecedent of criminal behavior but only for those male offenders who committed offences in adulthood, not for those who had limited their offending to adolescence.     

Do health behaviors explain the effect of neuroticism on mortality? Longitudinal findings from the VA Normative Aging Study

Studies have shown that higher levels of neuroticism are associated with greater risk of mortality. Yet what accounts for this association? One major theoretical position holds that persons higher in neuroticism engage in poorer health behaviors, such as smoking and excessive drinking, thus leading to earlier death. We tested this hypothesis using 30-year mortality in 1788 men from the VA Normative Aging Study. Using proportional hazards (Cox) models we found that one health behavior, smoking, attenuated the effect of neuroticism on mortality by 40%. However, 60% remained unexplained, suggesting that the effects of other pathways (e.g., biological) also influence the relationship between neuroticism and mortality.     

Extraversion is accurately perceived after a 50-ms exposure to a face

Twenty-four perceivers saw portraits of unacquainted persons for either 150 ms, 100 ms, or 50 ms, and rated their personality on adjective scales. Moreover, stimulus persons described themselves on these scales and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. Consensus among perceivers and self-other agreement were not systematically related to exposure time, but self-other agreement differed strongly between traits, being highest for extraversion. Even ratings of extraversion by single perceivers were related to the stimulus persons’ self-reports. Particularly strong were correlations between perceived extraversion and self-reports on items measuring the extraversion facets excitement seeking and positive emotions. Self-other agreement for extraversion was mostly mediated by cheerfulness of facial expressions that was related to self-reports of extraversion but not of the other personality traits.     

An assessment of the fakeability of self-report and implicit personality measures

Researchers are focusing on developing implicit measures of personality to address concerns related to the faking of self-report measures. The present study examined the validity and fakeability of Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures of personality self-concept in a repeated-measures design (N = 33). People’s predictions about how they represented themselves on the measures were also assessed. Results indicated that participants were able fake self-report measures when instructed to do so and that they could accurately predict how they represented themselves on these measures. Participants were also able to fake an IAT measure of Extraversion, but were unable to fake an IAT measure of Conscientiousness or predict how they represented themselves on either IAT measure.     

Effects of global and contextualized personality on relationship satisfaction

Researchers have made great strides in conceptualizing and assessing contextualized personality—how people’s personalities vary across different contexts (e.g., among friends, co-workers, and relationship partners). We investigated how global and contextualized personality traits are linked to relationship satisfaction. In Study 1, longitudinal associations between global and contextualized personality and relationship satisfaction were examined in a sample of adults in committed dating relationships. Study 2 investigated actor and partner effects of global and contextualized personality on relationship satisfaction in undergraduate couples. Study 3 used observer ratings of contextualized personality traits expressed in couples’ daily Instant Messages (IMs). These results demonstrate that contextualized personality—in particular neuroticism—is linked to the quality of both current and future romantic relationships.     

Effects of guided immune-imagery: The moderating influence of openness to experience

It is widely believed that personality has an important role in determining the effectiveness of guided imagery (GI) interventions. The primary aim of the current study was to examine whether the effect of GI on several outcome measures was dependent upon openness to experience, a theoretically relevant variable previously unexplored as a potential moderator. Thirty-five healthy participants were randomised to an animated imagery, verbal imagery or no-intervention control group, with imagery groups receiving 10 × 20 min sessions. Pre/post-assessments of cortisol, sleep, stress and creativity were administered along with the openness to experience scale. Regression analysis indicated a significant increase in cortisol and decrease in tiredness following verbal GI, but only for those high in openness. The efficacy of GI interventions may be dependent upon openness to experience and this variable should be accounted for in future studies.     

Why do narcissists take more risks? Testing the roles of perceived risks and benefits of risky behaviors

Much prior research demonstrates that narcissists take more risks than others, but almost no research has examined what motivates this behavior. The present study tested two potential driving mechanisms of risk-taking by narcissists (i.e., heightened perceptions of benefits and diminished perceptions of risks stemming from risky behaviors) by administering survey measures of narcissism and risk-taking to a sample of 605 undergraduate college students. Contrary to what might be expected, the results suggest that narcissists appreciate the risks associated with risky behaviors just as much as do less narcissistic individuals. Their risk-taking appears to instead be fueled by heightened perceptions of benefits stemming from risky behaviors. These results are consistent with a growing body of evidence suggesting that narcissists engage in some forms of potentially problematic behaviors, such as risk-taking, because of a surplus of eagerness rather than a deficit of inhibition.