Thematic Analysis of Daily Events as a Method of Personality Assessment

I examined how themes in emotionally meaningful daily events can be used as a personality assessment technique. Eighty-eight student participants recorded their most positive and most negative experiences each day for 2 weeks. Common themes were identified in these events by the participants and judges. The convergent validity of the daily events measures was demonstrated through comparisons with a diverse set of personality measures of achievement and affiliation motivation, including a projective test (the Thematic Apperception Test), self-report questionnaires, and peer reports. Results suggest that a thematic analysis of daily life events may be a useful means of assessing the specific daily concerns and stressors experienced by individuals.