Concurrent and lagged effects of counterdispositional extraversion on vitality

There are two contrasting perspectives on the effects of state extraversion. One states that people benefit from behaving extraverted, regardless of their level of trait extraversion. The second entails that behaving concordant to one’s trait is natural while deviations from the trait level— counterdispositional behaviors—are effortful to maintain, leading to mental fatigue. We test the possibility that both perspectives are correct, with beneficial effects of high state extraversion showing immediately, while the depleting counterdispositional effects are delayed. Experience sampling data from 67 employees (N = 1,664), shows that extraverted behaviors are associated with high levels of vitality in the short-term, however, if the extraverted behaviors are not congruent with one’s trait level, they backfire, leading to depleted levels of vitality about one later.