Swimming against the mainstream: the early years from chilly tributary to transformative mainstream

This article traces the transformative paradigm shift in the theory and practice of personal change. Within a decade, new conceptual models, analytic methodologies and modes of treatment were created. Treatments were altered in the content, locus, and agents of change. This enterprising period also witnessed a sweeping shift in the public acceptance of behaviorally oriented treatments. The present article also analyzes the evolving theorizing and applications of social cognitive theory rooted in modeling, self-regulatory, and self-efficacy mechanisms of psychosocial change. This model of change is implemented from an agentic perspective to promote personal, institutional, and society-wide changes that address some of the most urgent global problems.     

The Enhanced Agentic Diversity Perspective (EADP): An appeal for Co-creating an accommodative social space so that diversity unlocks innovativeness rather than problems

We propose in this article an Enhanced Agentic Diversity Perspective (EADP), which is derived from the concept of agentic resources in social relational theory. EADP recognizes that all human beings are equally agents, that agentic expressions differ due to variation of individual access to power resources (individual, relational and cultural) and that the current social conditions serve to promote agentic diversity by enhancing all the three domains of power resources. In addition, EADP comprises a proposal for the development of accommodative social spaces. We argue that only in an accommodative social space can diversity unlock innovation; otherwise, it serves as a source for conflict. A constructive, nonhierarchical account of diversity, such as EADP is needed under current social conditions for the optimal becoming of idiosyncratic human agents as well as human society as a whole.     

Agentic and communal narcissism and satisfaction with life: The mediating role of psychological entitlement and self‐esteem

This study examined the mediational role of self‐esteem (as an enhancement) and psychological entitlement (as a cost) in the relationship between an agentic‐communal model of grandiose narcissism and satisfaction with life. Two hundred and forty‐eight university undergraduate students completed measures of agentic and communal narcissism, self‐esteem, psychological entitlement and satisfaction with life. The findings suggest that there is support for the usefulness of the agentic‐communal model of narcissism, and, consistent with predictions in the wider literature, self‐esteem and psychological entitlement mediated the relationship between agentic‐communal narcissism and life satisfaction.     

Narcissism through the ages: What happens when narcissists grow older?

Three types of adult narcissism, as assessed with Wink’s (1991) observational rating method, were studied over a period of 25 years, with participants from the Intergenerational Studies of the Institute of Human Development, UC Berkeley. Narcissism was assessed on three occasions, from age 34 to age 59. Hypersensitive narcissism was found to decrease, Autonomous narcissism increased, and Willfulness narcissism did not change with age. At age 34, both Willfulness and Autonomous narcissism were related to agentic personality characteristics, but only Autonomous narcissism was related to the communal personality characteristic of empathy. Change in narcissism between age 34 and age 59 was shown to predict change in personality at age 71. The agentic personality characteristics that had been associated with Willfulness narcissism at age 34 were no longer characteristic of those individuals at age 71. In addition, in contrast to Autonomous narcissism, at age 34 Willfulness and Hypersensitivity were associated with emotional maladjustment, and predicted continuing maladjustment and less favorable life outcomes in later life.     

Multiple processes associated with self-esteem as a function of attribute types

Previous studies (e.g., [Pelham, B. W. (1995). Self-investment and self-esteem: evidence for a Jamesian model of self-worth. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 1141–1150]) showed that self-esteem is positively associated with (1) perceived alignment of self-views with internal standards (Differential Importance: DI) and (2) perceived alignment of self-views with external-social standards (Normative Importance: NI). The present research shows that these processes of self-esteem differ as a function of the types of self-attributes that constitute self-esteem. Specifically, for attributes of high cultural relevance (i.e., indigenous attributes), self-esteem is positively related to DI but not NI; for attributes of lower cultural relevance, self-esteem is positively related to NI but not DI. Self-esteem is positively related to DI for both agentic and communal indigenous attributes, whereas it is also positively related to NI for communal indigenous attributes.     

Power and consumer behavior: How power shapes who and what consumers value

The current paper reviews the concept of power and offers a new architecture for understanding how power guides and shapes consumer behavior. Specifically, we propose that having and lacking power respectively foster agentic and communal orientations that have a transformative impact on perception, cognition, and behavior. These orientations shape both who and what consumers value. New empirical evidence is presented that synthesizes these findings into a parsimonious account of how power alters consumer behavior as a function of both product attributes and recipients. Finally, we discuss future directions to motivate and guide the study of power by consumer psychologists.     

Extraversion and psychopathology: A multilevel hierarchical review

We examine relations between extraversion and psychopathology, using a four-level hierarchical structure in which the general domain is divided into two aspects (Communal Extraversion, Agentic Extraversion), four consensual facets (Sociability, Liveliness, Venturesomeness, Dominance), and six NEO facets (Gregariousness, Warmth, Positive Emotions, Activity, Excitement-Seeking, Assertiveness). Our review indicates that extraversion’s negative correlations with depression primarily reflect the aspect of Communal Extraversion, the consensual facet of Liveliness, and NEO Positive Emotions. Its negative associations with social dysfunction largely are due to the aspect of Communal Extraversion, the consensual facet of Sociability, and NEO Warmth, Gregariousness, and Positive Emotions. Finally, externalizing and mania are positively related to the aspect of Agentic Extraversion, the consensual facets of Venturesomeness and Dominance, and NEO Excitement-Seeking.     

Agentic extraversion moderates the effect of physical exercise on executive shifting performance

The present study investigated the impact of physical exercise on the executive shifting function in 24 participants low and 24 participants high in agentic extraversion and tested whether agentic extraversion moderated the exercise effect. Participants accomplished a shifting task and a control task that employed the same materials and response procedure as the shifting task but required less central-executive processing. Physical exercise was varied within subjects. The order of conditions was counterbalanced. After resting, the high agentic extraversion group showed higher cognitive flexibility than the low agentic extraversion group, whereas only the low agentic extraversion group improved after exercise. The results showed that agentic extraversion moderated the exercise effect on shifting performance. Implications concerning the hypothetical dopaminergic mediation were discussed.