bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Correlates of the Temporal Consistency of Personality Patterns in Childhood
Authors: Asendorf Jens B. , van Aken Marcel A.G.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
The temporal consistency of children's personality patterns as measured by the California Child Q‐set was investigated in a sample of 151 German children between ages 4 and 6 years, and in a sample of 87 Dutch children between ages 10 and 12 years. Children's personality patterns showed a high interindividual variance of consistency. Correlational analyses revealed that children's ego resiliency predicted the longitudinal consistency of their Q‐sort patterns irrespective of variations in age, culture, and type of judge. Itemwise extreme group comparisons of very consistent and very inconsistent children with a middle group showed that consistent children were characterized by culturally desirable traits, and inconsistent children by undesirable traits. The items typical for consistent children changed with age in agreement with the change in major developmental tasks. Discussion focuses on the processes that mediate the positive relations between the temporal consistency of personality, ego resiliency, and the age‐appropriateness of personality.
The Relationship of Hardiness, Gender, and Stress to Health Outcomes in Adolescents
Authors: Shepperd James A. , Kashani Javad H.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
The present study examined the relationship between the hardiness components of commitment, control, and challenge, and the experience of physical and psychological symptoms in a sample of 150 (75 male, 75 female) adolescents. A measure of psychosocial stress was included to permit an examination of whether the hardiness components interact with stress in predicting health outcomes. Analyses revealed main effects of stress, gender, and the hardiness components of commitment and control for several of the health measures. More important was the finding of a consistent interaction of stress, gender, and hardiness for several of the health measures. Whereas low‐stress males experienced few physical and psychological symptoms regardless of their levels of commitment and control, high‐stress males experienced more problems when they were low rather than high in either commitment or control. The hardiness components did not interact with stress in the prediction of health outcomes among females.
Self‐ and ObJect‐Dlrectedness in Adult Women Paul Wink
Authors: Wink Paul
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
Separate factor analyses of items anchoring the opposite ends of a narcissism prototype derived from the California Q‐set resulted in three narcissism or self‐directed factors: Hypersensitivity, Willfulness, and Autonomy; and two factors hypothesized to represent the object‐directed line of development: Straightforwardness and Givingness. These five factors were scored in Q‐sort descriptions of 103 adult women. Correlates of the factors with the California Psychological Inventory, Adjective Check List, Sentence Completion Test, and life measures supported the usefulness of the distinction between self‐ and object‐directedness. Whereas the narcissistic trajectory related to creativity, norm questioning, undercontrol of impulses, independence, and work orientation, the object‐directed line of development was associated with prosocial inclinations, suppressive ego control, readiness to accept life demands, and stress on interpersonal relations.
Three Types of Narcissism in Women from College to Mid‐Life
Authors: Wink Paul
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT This article examines personality change in three types of narcissists (hypersensitive, willful, and autonomous), who were members of a longitudinal sample of women. Measures of narcissism were derived from the age‐43 California Q‐set ratings. Women who had high scores on hypersensitivity at age 43 were characterized by decline in personal resources, as assessed by the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), relative to their early 20s, and by lack of success either in career or as a homemaker. Women who were high scorers on willfulness at age 43 showed little change from college days, but there was evidence they had grown during their 20s. The autonomous women, following conflict in their 20s, experienced personality growth evident by their early 40s. Hypersensitivity and willfulness, but not autonomy, were associated with evidence of troubled childhood relations with parents, particularly the mother. Willfulness was associated with early identification with a willful father. These findings demonstrate the usefulness of the construct of narcissism for the study of adult development and document the close relation between personality and social roles in the life of an individual over time.
Coping with Missile Attack: Resources, Strategies, and Outcomes
Authors: Zeidner Moshe , Hammer Allen L.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT The coping process was examined in a group of Israeli subjects experiencing SCUD missile attacks during the Persian Gulf War. We were interested in examining the relationship of coping resources, optimism, perceived control, and coping strategies, to anxiety, to physical symptoms, and to cognitive functioning during a real crisis. Data were gathered via structured questionnaires in the midst of the Persian Gulf War (February 1991) on a sample of 261 adult respondents residing in northern Israel. Although people reported a mixture of palliative and active coping strategies, it was the use of palliative coping efforts that predicted greater anxiety and physical symptoms. Subjects with greater coping resources used more palliative and active coping strategies and had higher cognitive functioning. However, active coping did not predict any of the negative stress reactions (i.e., anxiety and physical symptoms). People who perceived being in control of the situation reported using less palliative coping and fewer symptoms. That active coping did not predict negative stress reactions may have been a function of the severity of the stressor, and the resultant high levels of anxiety that were engendered. Overall, these findings do point to a different coping process in a grave and ongoing disaster situation than that reported in reaction to more normal life events.
Inferring Act Frequencies and Traits from Behavior Observations
Authors: Borkenau Peter , Müller Burkhard
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
This study investigates how frequency estimates of behaviors and trait‐related activities, trait ratings on unipolar scales, and trait ratings on bipolar scales reflect behavior observations. Four discussion groups, each with six participants, were videotaped while discussing controversial topics. On these tapes, 2,149 activities were identified, and the prototypicality of the activities for 16 behavior‐descriptive verbs and 8 trait‐descriptive adjectives was estimated. The prototypicality ratings were used to identify each disputant's frequency of discontinuing, unrelated, and confirming instances. These frequencies were then correlated with (a) act frequency estimates for the behavior categories (e.g., “X agreed … times”), (b) act frequency estimates for adverbially described activities (e.g., “X acted cooperatively … times”), (c) trait ratings on unipolar scales (e.g., “How cooperative is X?”), and (d) trait ratings on bipolar scales (e.g., cooperative‐antagonistic). All global ratings except for the trait ratings on bipolar scales reflected differences in overall activity to some extent. With overall activity partialled out, however, more disconfirming and unrelated activities caused lower act frequency and trait ratings, whereas more confirming instances caused higher ratings.
Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Amotivational Styles as Predictors of Behavior: A Prospective Study
Authors: Vallerand Robert J. , Blssonnette Robert
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
This research ascertained the role of intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivational styles as predictors of behavioral persistence in a real‐life setting. At the beginning of the academic year, 1,042 first‐term junior‐college students enrolled in a compulsory college course completed a scale assessing intrinsic motivation, four styles of extrinsic motivation (namely, external regulation, introjection, identification, and integration), and amotivation toward academic activities. At the end of the semester, individuals who had dropped out of the course and those who had persisted were identified. Results showed that individuals who persisted in the course had reported at the beginning of the semester being more intrinsically motivated, more identified and integrated, and less amotivated toward academic activities than students who dropped out of the course. Gender differences also emerged. These revealed that females
Recurrent Personality Factors Based on Trait Ratings
Authors: Tupes Ernest C. , Christal Raymond E.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
Intercorrelations among ratings on 35 personality traits, selected as representative of the personality domain, were obtained for eight samples. These samples differed in length of acquaintanceship from 3 days to more than a year; in kind of acquaintanceship from assessment programs in a military training course to a fraternity house situation; in type of subject from airmen with only a high‐school education to male and female undergraduate students to first‐year graduate students; and in type of rater from very naive persons to clinical psychologists and psychiatrists with years of experience in the evaluation of personality. Centroid or multiple‐group factors were extracted and rotated orthogonally to simple structure. For one study, an independent solution was obtained in which analytic rotations were accomplished on an IBM 650 computer using Kaiser's normal varimax criterion. Five fairly strong and recurrent factors emerged from each analysis, labeled as (a) Surgency, (b) Agreeableness, (c) Dependability, (d) Emotional Stability, and (e) Culture.
Assessing the Five‐Factor Model of Personality Description
Authors: Briggs Stephen R.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
Several approaches to assessing the dimensions of the five‐factor model are reviewed and evaluated. The items in the assessment instrument may be adjectives or phrases, and the instrument itself may have been developed specifically to measure the five factors or may have been reinterpreted in terms of the five‐factor model. Data are presented comparing an adjective‐based measure of the model (Goldberg, 1990) with two phrase‐based measures (Costa & McCrae, 1985; Hogan, 1986), and recommendations are made for the choice of an instrument in different research contexts. Allport's (1937) distinctions between the structure of the trait lexicon and the structure of personality in individuals are reiterated.
The Five‐Factor Model In Personality: A Critical Appraisal
Authors: McAdams Dan P.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
This critical appraisal aims to position the five‐factor model within the multifaceted field of personality psychology by highlighting six important limitations of the model. These are the model's (a) inability to address core constructs of personality functioning beyond the level of traits; (b) limitations with respect to the prediction of specific behavior and the adequate description of personsl' lives; (c) failure to provide compelling causal explanations for human behavior and experience; (d) disregard of the contextual and conditional nature of human experience; (e) failure to offer an attractive program for studying personality organization and integration; and (f) reliance on simple, noncontingent, and implicitly comparative statements about persons. The five‐factor model is essentially a “psychology of the stranger,” providing information about persons that one would need to know when one knows nothing else about them. It is argued that because of inherent limitations, the Big Five may be viewed as one important model in personality studies but not the integrative model of personality.
Personality and Health: Advantages and Limitations of the Five‐Factor Model
Authors: Smith Timothy W. , Williams Paula G.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
Interest in the association between personality characteristics and physical health has been renewed in recent years. Theory and research in this area has also been complicated by conceptual and methodological limitations. The present article briefly reviews this literature and discusses the advantages and limitations of the five‐factor model of personality as an integrating framework for studies of personality and health. The model has already been fruitfully applied in several contexts, and more possibilities exist. Although it has some potential limitations, the application of the five‐factor model—as well as other aspects of current personality theory and research—is likely to facilitate progress in the study of how personality influences health.
Probing the Big Five in Adolescence: Personality and Adjustment during a Developmental Transition
Authors: Grazlano William G. , Ward David
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
The present study probed the links among Big Five personality differences, self‐reported personality differences, and adjustment to school among young adolescents. We used a multimethod converging analysis, with three sources of data: (a) adolescent self‐report on standardized personality inventories; (b) classroom teacher trait ratings and evaluations of adjustment; and (c) school guidance counselor evaluations of adjustment. Evaluations of adolescent adjustment were systematically related to Big Five personality differences, as assessed by both classroom teachers' and school counselors' ratings. For classroom teachers, adjustment was closely related to evaluations on the Big Five dimension of Conscientiousness. Adolescent self‐report on several standardized measures was not related to adult evaluation of school adjustment. We suggest that the five‐factor model may be a useful tool for probing adjustment during the transition to adolescence.
Personality and Personal Projects: Linking Big Five and PAC Units of Analysis
Authors: Little Brian R. , Leccl Len , Watkinson Barbara
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
This article examines the relationships between classical trait units as represented by the five‐factor model (e.g., Digman, 1990) and personal action construct (PAC) units as measured by Personal Projects Analysis (Little, 1983). One hundred and forty‐seven students were administered the NEO Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1985) and two components of Personal Projects methodology during their first term in university. Neuroticism and Conscientiousness were related to problematic and positive project systems, respectively, with these effects generalizing across the academic and interpersonal project domains. Extraversion and Agreeableness were also associated with positive evaluations of personal projects, particularly in the interpersonal domain. Openness was distinctively linked with project initiation and value congruency. We suggest theoretical and applied implications of using PAC methods to expand and refine the classical trait research agenda.
Self‐Awareness, Task Failure, and Disinhibition: How Attentional Focus Affects Eating
Authors: Heatherton Todd F. , Polivy Janet , Herman C. Peter , Baumeister Roy F.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT Dieting and nondieting subjects were given either failure or neutral performance feedback on a problem‐solving task. Failure subjects were then assigned to one of three self‐awareness conditions: One group was forced to watch a video clip of themselves failing on the problem‐solving task, one group was asked to watch a distracting video clip on bighorn sheep, and the final group was asked to sit quietly for 10 minutes. Subjects were then allowed to eat as much ice cream as they wanted. Only in those conditions which allowed—or promoted—low self‐awareness (the failure/distraction and simple failure condition) did dieters show disinhibited eating. In the failure/videotape condition, which enforced high levels of self‐awareness, eating in dieters remained inhibited. This supports the proposal that a reduction in self‐awareness is necessary for lifting of inhibitions. Eating in nondieters was reduced in the failure/videotape and simple failure conditions, possibly because of the autonomic correlates of distress.
Motivational Similarity and Interpersonal Evaluations: The Role of Ambiguity, Self‐Derogation, and Emotion
Authors: Assor Avi , Aldor Roy
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT The present study tests two hypotheses which are based on a motivational threat model of interpersonal evaluation: (a) Dominance‐ and dependency‐oriented perceivers evaluate motivationally similar others less favorably only when evaluation pertains to an ambiguous attribute and perceivers score high on self‐derogation; and (b) the relatively unfavorable evaluation of the similar target person is mediated by an arousal process. Males observed a working dyad in which one man was dominant and the other dependent, but both were ambiguous on sociability. Throughout the observation, subjects' emotion‐related skin conductance responses were monitored. Subjects then evaluated the target person they expected to meet and recalled information. Results supported the first hypothesis, but were only partially consistent with the second hypothesis. In addition, dominance‐oriented perceivers produced more assertiveness constructs than dependency‐oriented perceivers in free recall. The findings suggest that the threat model should be revised to include the moderating factors of attribute ambiguity and attitude toward the self, and perhaps also an additional mediating process: generalization of attitude toward the self to motivationally similar others.
Subjective Well‐Being: The Convergence and Stability of Self‐Report and Non‐Self‐Report Measures
Authors: Sandvik Ed , Diener Ed , Seidlitz Larry
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT The validity of self‐report measures of subjective well‐being (SWB) was examined and compared with non‐self‐report measures using a sample of 136 college students studied over the course of a semester. A principal axis factor analysis of self‐ and non‐self‐report SWB measures revealed a single unitary construct underlying the measures. Conventional single‐item and multi‐item self‐report measures correlated highly with alternative measures, with theoretical correlates of SWB, and with a principal axis factor underlying five non‐self‐report measures of well‐being. Comparisons of family versus friend informant reports demonstrated the considerable cross‐situational consistency and temporal stability of SWB. Evidence of the discriminant validity of the measures was provided by low correlations of the various SWB measures with constructs theoretically unrelated to well‐being. It was concluded that conventional self‐report instruments validly measure the SWB construct, and that alternative, non‐serf‐report measures are useful for providing a comprehensive theoretical account of happiness and life satisfaction.
Beyond Personality Impressions: Effects of Physical and Vocal Attractiveness on False Consensus, Social Comparison, Affiliation, and Assumed and Perceived Similarity
Authors: Miyake Kunitate , Zuckerman Miron
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT We examined the effects of target persons' physical and vocal attractiveness on judges' responses to five measures: false consensus (the belief that the target shares one's behavior), choice of targets as comparison others, affiliation with targets, assumed similarity (similarity between self‐ratings and ratings assigned to targets), and perceived similarity (direct questions about similarity). Higher physical attractiveness and higher vocal attractiveness were both related to higher scores on all variables. The effect of one type of attractiveness was more pronounced for higher levels of the other type of attractiveness. The joint effect of the two types of attractiveness was best described as synergistic, i.e., only targets high on both types of attractiveness elicited higher scores on the dependent variables. The effect of physical attractiveness on most dependent variables was more pronounced for subjects who were themselves physically attractive. The synergistic effect (the advantage of targets high on both types of attractiveness) was more pronounced for judges high in self‐monitoring. The contribution of the study to the literature on attractiveness stereotypes is discussed.
Shared Meaning and the Convergence among Observers' Personality Descriptions
Authors: Chaplin William F. , Panter A. T.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
“Shared meaning” is a parameter in Kenny's (1991) rater agreement model concerning the extent to which two raters agree about the trait‐implicative meaning of the observations they have made of a target. In the first study, 201 individuals rated observations relevant to friendliness and organization on the meaning dimensions of typicality, difficulty level, and evaluation. They also rated 25 targets on the two constructs. We found strong support for a modest relation between the similarity of meaning ratings and the similarity of target ratings, especially for raw, as opposed to standard score, ratings. In Study 2 we considered shared meaning in a version of Kenny's model that included the consistency and communication parameters. Judge pairs (N= 110) evaluated two targets described by play and openness on several personality dimensions. Shared meaning significantly contributed to rating agreement for both targets, but consistency and communication, as manipulated in this study, did not. Implications of employing the broader consensus model in experimental studies are discussed. If I say “sorrow,” you'll know exactly what I mean only if you've experienced it in the same sense I have. ‐Joel Peterson, Ravenswood's Winemaker, in Darlington (1991)
Accuracy in Interpersonal Expectations: A Reflection‐Construction Analysis of Current and Classic Research
Authors: Jussim Lee
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
Research and theory on interpersonal expectations have been dominated by a strong social constructivist perspective arguing that expectancies are often inaccurate and a major force in the creation of social reality. The reflection‐construction model is an attempt to examine these strong claims conceptually and empirically. This model assumes that social perception includes both constructivist phenomena and accuracy. When this model is used as a framework for interpreting research on teacher expectations and on the role of stereotypes in person perception, it shows that interpersonal expectancies are often accurate, and usually lead only to relatively small biases and self‐fulfilling prophecies. The model also is used to interpret research on expectancies that has provided some of the foundations for the strong constructivist perspective. This reflection‐construction analysis shows that even those studies strongly suggest that people's expectations generally will be highly accurate.
Unraveling the Web of Personality Judgments: The Influence of Social Networks on Personality Assessment
Authors: Kanfer Alaina , Tanaka J. S.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
Contemporary assessment models have focused on the degree to which self‐ and other reports of personality description agree in an effort to define consensus and agreement about personality attributes. In general, we believe that analyses of this type of data have been limited in that they tend to focus on both simple models (usually dyad‐based) and simple aggregations of data (usually correlations between self‐ and other ratings). In addition, the behaviors used as stimuli in experimental settings lack the richness of behaviors in natural social settings. Here, we present some ideas from social network models in an effort to influence broader conceptualizations of agreement and consensus in assessment. Social network models provide a more complete description of interpersonal behavior beyond the dyadic level in both laboratory and natural settings. After defining some basic social network concepts, we go on to suggest the applicability of these concepts to personality assessment and, more specifically, to how these models might be used to study self‐other agreement and consensus about personality judgments. Empirical data are used to illustrate social network concepts in the domain of personality assessment.
Classical Psychophysics and the Assessment of Agreement and Accuracy In Judgments of Personality
Authors: Ozer Daniel J.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
The just noticeable difference (jnd) unit of classical psycho‐physics is introduced as a new way to describe accuracy and agreement in observer evaluations of personality. A formula for estimating jnd's from typically available summary statistics is derived from Thurstone's law of comparative judgment. A study examining four traits judged in 10 samples of subjects where the design permitted the calculation of jnd's by the method of paired comparisons indicated that the formula predicted the empirically derived jnd's associated with the mean judge ratings with considerable precision. Jnd's of criterion measures were also predicted, and while fit was somewhat less impressive in this case, there was still appreciable convergence between predicted and empirical values. The implications of jnd measures of agreement and accuracy are discussed. These implications include (a) possibilities for increased understanding of bias in observer judgments, (b) a new recognition that equal correlations to external criteria do not necessarily imply equal accuracy, and (c) alternative ways of describing the magnitude of effect in psychological research.
A Coming‐of‐Age for Research on Interpersonal Perception
Authors: Kenny David A.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
Research on accuracy and consensus in interpersonal perception has become a major topic in the social sciences. Key methodological issues in this research are research design, statistical measures of agreement, unit of analysis, and data aggregation. I discuss the twelve articles devoted to these topics in this special issue in terms of moderators of agreement, the weighted average model of consensus and accuracy (Kenny, 1991), and methodological innovations.
Varieties of Religious Experience:Continuity and Change in Religious Involvement
Authors: Mumford Michael D. , Snell Andrea F. , Hein Michael B.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
The intent of the present study was to determine whether the selective aggregation of background data subgroups could be used to identify and control for differences across persons in the meaning of religious involvement. After background data subgroups had been clustered based on similarity in the variables related to religious involvement, two clusters were identified. One cluster contained individuals whose religious involvement was characterized by a functional, instrumental orientation, while the other was composed of individuals whose religious involvement was characterized by an affective, expressive orientation. Subsequently, causal models intended to describe continuity and change in religious involvement were constructed using individuals assigned to each cluster. It was found that different models were required to describe continuity and change in religious involvement in the instrumental and expressive clusters.
The Pivotal Role of Replication in Psychological Research: Empirically Evaluating the Replicability of Sample Results
Authors: Thompson Bruce
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT This Article discusses reasons for the contemporary emphasis on evaluating the replicability of results from psychological research. Three logics for empirically evaluating the replicability of sample results—cross‐validation, the jackknife, and the bootstrap—are described. A small heuristic data set is employed to make the discussion more concrete and accessible.
Do “Naturalistic” Conceptions of Morality Provide any Novel Answers?
Authors: Shaffer David R.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT Based on open‐ended responses to the question “What does morality mean?”, Quinn, Houts, and Graesser (this issue) claim that subjects' naturalistic moral conceptions challenge the assumptions of value‐prescriptive theories by demonstrating that morality is construed as a person‐based attribute (or attributes) rather than an ethical philosophy based heavily on such organizing principles as equality, justice, and compassion. Unfortunately, their target probe demands no thinking about the principles (philosophical or otherwise) that might underpin individual moralities, and the “consensus” that participants expressed is essentially a restatement of the psychologist's tripartate perspective, a summary definition of the term “morality” that has a rich empirical history. Though I concur with the authors that a straightforward, question‐answering methodology holds some promise of identifying the content and structure of “naturalistic” moralities, this goal can be realized only if investigators are willing to ask the kinds of questions that will extract such information.
Moral Questions and Amoral Answers: Who Decides?
Authors: Quinn Robin A. , Houts Arthur C. , Graesser Arthur C.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT Researchers have examined moral thought using selected philosophical standards without showing that such standards represent moral thinking. Recently, we examined the extent to which assumed standards actually organize moral knowledge (Quinn, Houts, & Graesser, this issue). We found dimensions not accounted for by previous theories. In his response (this issue), Shaffer misrepresents the aims of our research, and he overlooks the implications of assessing naturalistic rather than prescribed dimensions of morality.
On the Distinction between Moral Thinking and Thinking about Morality: A Reply to Quinn, Houts, and Graesser
Authors: Shaffer David R.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT Quinn, Houts, and Graesser (this issue) have misconstrued my earlier commentary, attributing several conclusions to me that I neither made nor intended. Moreover, they continue to confuse moral thinking, reasoning, and related constructs with thinking about the meaning of the term “morality.” If Quinn et al. are ever to achieve their aims of using the “question‐answering” method to study naturalistic moral reasoning and/or to assess the merits of value‐prescriptive theories of morality, they will have to ask questions that can indeed illustrate the underpinnings of subjects' moral thought.
Thinking about Morality and Moral Thinking: Is There a Distinction?
Authors: Quinn Robin A. , Houts Arthur C. , Graesser Arthur C.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT A recent exchange with Shaffer (this issue) reveals several points of agreement underscoring the utility of our subject‐based approach to understanding moral thought. Shaffer's latest reply raises the interesting question of whether thinking about morality, the focus of our study, constitutes moral thinking. Our response underscores how Shaffer's approach to studying moral thought differs from our own. More important, we emphasize how disagreements over what constitutes moral thinking can and should be settled empirically.
Negative Affectivity, Social Support, and the Prediction of Depression and Distress
Authors: Elliott Timothy R. , Marmarosh Cheri , Pickelman Heidi
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT In the work we present in this article, we examined the contaminating effects of trait negative affectivity (TNA) on the relations between social support and psychological distress among college undergraduates. In the first study, it was suspected that controlling for TNA would substantially alter the associations between social support (as measured by the Social Provisions Scale) and depression at the initial assessment and later with negative mood prior to a course examination. Actual results from cross‐sectional hierarchical regression analyses revealed that controlling for TNA reduced‐but did not nullify‐associations between reassurance of worth support and depression. TNA did not mediate the relation of reliable alliance support to state NA measured 2 weeks later prior to a course examination. Finally, a second study controlling for TNA found reassurance of worth support remained a significant prospective predictor of depression during the week of final examinations. Results are integrated with theoretical and measurement issues in social support research.
Causality Orientations, Failure, and Achievement
Authors: Koestner Richard , Zuckerman Miron
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT Two studies examined similarities between Deci and Ryan's (1985) causality orientations theory and Dweck and Leggett's (1988) social‐cognitive theory of achievement. Study 1 examined the conceptual similarity between the individual difference measures central to the two theories. It was shown that autonomous college students are likely to adopt learning goals and report high confidence in their academic abilities; controlled students are likely to adopt performance goals and to report high levels of confidence in their ability; and impersonal students are likely to possess the classic helpless pattern of performance goals and low confidence in their academic abilities. Study 2 examined whether causality orientations, like Dweck's measures of goals and confidence, moderate the impact of failure feedback on motivation as measured in persistence and performance. The results suggested that autonomous individuals respond to failure in a mastery‐oriented fashion, whereas impersonal individuals respond in a helpless manner. The response of controlled individuals to failure parallels that of people described as ego‐involved or reactive.
From Wishing to Intending: Differences in Salience of Positive versus Negative Consequences
Authors: Wicker Frank W. , Wiehe James A. , Hagen Anastasia S. , Brown Gail
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT Goal ratings by 345 subjects in seven data samples supported a functional distinction between two types of positive incentive value, one based on approaching positive affect (positive‐based value or PBV), the other on avoiding negative affect (negative‐based value or NBV). Ratings of PBV were more related to ratings of earlier action‐phases of motivation (“wishing”), whereas ratings of NBV tended to be more related to factors entailed in later action‐phases (“urgency/priority” and “intention”). These findings and previous ones are consistent with the proposal that this distinction parallels distinctions in Maslow's motivation theory. If the parallel is accepted, the findings support predictions from Maslow's theory. Results also indicate that purportedly unidimensional rating scales of motivation can reflect more than one underlying attribute.
Masculinity, Femininity, and Marital Satisfaction: An Examination of Theoretical Models
Authors: Langis Johanne , Sabourin Stéphane , Lussier Yvan , Mathieu Mireille
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT This study sought to investigate the relationship between masculinity, femininity, and marital satisfaction. A number of polynomial multiple regression analyses were performed in an effort to determine the validity of six theoretical models linking sex roles to marital satisfaction. These are the femininity model, masculinity model, sex‐typed model, additive androgynous model, interactive androgynous model, and curvilinear model. The sample was composed of 117 couples who completed the Bem Sex‐Role Inventory (Bem, 1974) and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976). For men, the results showed that marital satisfaction was related to (a) their self‐described levels of femininity and masculinity, (b) the level of self‐described femininity of their wives, and (c) the presence of feminine qualities as well as a limited optimal level of masculine qualities which they perceived in their wives. For women, marital satisfaction was associated with (a) the number of self‐described feminine qualities and (b) the level of masculinity, as well as an optimal level of femininity, which they perceived in their husbands. Further‐more, small actual‐ideal discrepancies in levels of masculinity and femininity ascribed to partners constituted reliable predictors of marital satisfaction for both men and women.
Toward an Integrative Model of Affect Regulation: Applications to Social‐Psychological Research
Authors: Westen Drew
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT This article describes a model of affect regulation that integrates research and theory from psychoanalytic, cognitive, behavioral, and evolutionary perspectives on personality. It proposes that feelings are mechanisms for the selection and retention of behavioral and mental responses. Individuals select behaviors, coping strategies, and defensive strategies that regulate aversive affective states and maximize pleasurable ones. These affect regulation procedures are encoded as procedural knowledge and are activated under specific circumstances. Some regulation strategies are affect‐specific, whereas others can be used to regulate multiple affects of similar valence. These procedures are often activated to resolve discrepancies between perceived and desired states of the self, significant others, and external circumstances. The utility of the model is demonstrated through a reinterpretation and integration of a number of disparate traditions in social psychology, including many of the classic experiments on social influence, in which the processing of emotionally relevant social information plays a substantial part.
A Longitudinal Family Study of Personality Change and Stability
Authors: Carmichael Crista M. , McGue Matt
Published: April 2006

The 19‐year stability of personality from late adolescence to early adulthood was examined in a sample of 121 men and women who had participated in an earlier study of articulation and language development (Templin, 1966; Templin & Glaman, 1976). Personality was assessed using the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI). At the time of retest, personality data were also collected from the participants' mothers. Modest stability of individual differences in personality was observed, consistent with the literature on longitudinal studies of personality during late adolescence and early adulthood. For the Extraversion and Neuroticism scales, offspring means decreased significantly over the 19‐year period such that the offspring means were closer to the mean scores of their mothers when they were followed up in adulthood as compared to their first testing in adolescence. There was, however, no change in mother‐offspring resemblance from the initial test to retest. Mother‐offspring resemblance appears to be due largely to aspects of personality that were stable from adolescence to early adulthood. Implications of these results are discussed in relation to the findings of previous longitudinal studies of adult personality and recent behavioral genetic evidence regarding personality change and stability.
Do Children Use the Big Five, Too? Content and Structural Form In Personality Description
Authors: Donahue Eileen M.
Published: April 2006

Free personality descriptions generated by 11‐year‐olds in the Role Construct Repertory Test (Kelly, 1955) were content‐analyzed. The children's personality constructs were coded according to structural form (e.g., habits, preferences, traits) and “Big Five” personality content domain (e.g., Agreeableness, Conscientiousness). Findings showed that the children generated constructs from all of the Big Five personality domains. Agreeableness constructs were used most frequently, replicating the prevalence of that domain in studies of adult trait attribution (Peabody & Goldberg, 1989). However, in contrast to adults, less than half of the children's Big Five constructs were expressed as personality traits. The children's use of structural forms varied systematically with the personality domain they were describing. Target likability and age were also found to be related to the personality domains and structural forms of the children's constructs.
Self‐Favoring Biases, Self‐Presentation, and the Self‐Other Asymmetry in Social Comparison
Authors: Hoorens Vera
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT The relationship between self‐favoring biases in social comparison, favorable self‐presentation, and well‐being and the self‐other asymmetry effect was examined. Participants gave comparative chance estimations and trait ratings for positive and negative future events and traits. One‐half of the participants compared themselves to the average other, while the remainder compared the average other to themselves. All participants completed measurements of two types of desirable responding (self‐deception and impression management) and of subjective well‐being. Participants who compared themselves to another showed stronger unrealistic optimism and illusory superiority effects for positive (but not for negative) future events und traits than participants comparing another to themselves, demonstrating a self‐other asymmetry effect. Unrealistic optimism and illusory superiority concerning positive attributes were related to self‐deception, while unrealistic optimism and illusory superiority concerning negative attributes were related to impression management. The relative independence of “positive” and “negative” self‐favoring biases was further demonstrated by their differential relationship with self‐esteem and subjective well‐being.
A Framework for the Classification of Personality Components
Authors: Mayer John D.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT Psychologists working within different theoretical traditions have proposed the existence of hundreds of personality components since the turn of the century. For example, psychoanalysts proposed such components as the id, ego, and superego, and trait theorists proposed such components as introversion and extraversion. Because each proposed component models a part of internal psychological functioning, it would make sense to combine the components into a single more meaningful set. Such components, however, are generally discussed only within the specific theoretical tradition in which they originated. This article presents a classification system that treats personality components together as a group. Personality components were first defined and then several hundred components were collected in a preliminary theory‐by‐theory classification. A new relational classification system was then developed that organized the components according to their interrelated nature, without regard to their originating theories. This classification system can be used to construct a relational table of personality components that is loosely analogous to a chemist's periodic table of the elements. The re‐lational classification system's potential contribution to personality psychology is discussed.
What Do We Know When We Know a Person?
Authors: McAdams Dan P.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACTIndividual differences in personality may be described at three different levels. Level I consists of those broad, de contextualized, and relatively non conditional constructs called “traits,” which provide a dispositional signature for personality description. No description of a person is adequate without trait attributions, but trait attributions themselves yield little beyond a “psychology of the stranger.” At Level II (called “personal concerns”), personality descriptions invoke personal strivings, life tasks, defense mechanisms, coping strategies, domain‐specific skills and values, and a wide assortment of other motivational, developmental, or strategic constructs that are contextualized in time, place, or role. While dispositional traits and personal concerns appear to have near‐universal applicability. Level III presents frameworks and constructs that may be uniquely relevant to adulthood only, and perhaps only within modern societies that put a premium on the individuation of the self. Thus, in contemporary Western societies, a full description of personality commonly requires a consideration of the extent to which a human life expresses unity and purpose, which are the hallmarks of identity. Identity in adulthood is an inner story of the self that integrates the reconstructed past, perceived present, and anticipated future to provide a life with unity, purpose, and meaning. At Level III, psychologists may explore the person's identity as an internalized and evolving life story. Each of the three levels has its own geography and requires its own indigenous nomenclatures, taxonomies, theories, frameworks, and laws.
Seeing One's Self: Locating Narrative Memory in a Framework of Personality
Authors: Singer Jofferson A.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT Individuals confront the continuing challenge of attending to the competing demands of internal and external stimuli. The emerging I‐Self applies three principles of evaluation, categorization, and subsidiation to organize these informational demands. These principles guide the development of the five systems of personality—cognition, affect, motivation, behavior, and psychophysiology. These systems interact to create various Me‐Selves that comprise the different roles and contexts of the personality. Each Me‐Self contains evaluations (valenced responses to self and others), categories (self‐ and other representations), and sequences in time (the self and others in past, present, and future). Narrative is the perceptual expression of a particular Me‐Self in consciousness. Narrative memory allows for meaningful analysis by consciousness of specific Me‐Selves and the cognitions, affects, and goals associated with those selves. Applications of this position to research and psychotherapy are discussed.
Self‐with‐Other Representations and a Taxonomy of Motives: Two Approaches to Studying Persons
Authors: Ogilvie Daniel M. , Rose Kristin M.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT This article discusses two approaches to studying persons. Part 1 describes data gathering procedures that lead to an integrated visual display of particular self‐representations of an individual in various spheres of life. “Self‐with‐other representation” is introduced as a central unit of analysis in this research. This concept is integrated into a method that is exemplified in this article by a description of how life can be injected into static trait characterizations of a person. In the context of a case study, it is shown that the method provides information about how traits are organized in terms of self‐with‐other working models and the conditions under which a particular working model is likely to prevail. Part 2 presents a new taxonomy of motives. This taxonomy is a product of having dipped into the area of operant conditioning and reformulating behavioral consequences into motivational causes. This intrusion into reinforcement theory has resulted in a two‐dimensional classification system (referred to as PACK) that accounts for motives to keep or acquire positive experiences, and to cure or prevent negative experiences. After the taxonomy is described, it is used to organize motivational concepts in the area of goal‐directed behaviors, and it is applied to purpose statements of individuals in different age groups.
Observable Attributesas Manifestations and Cues ofPersonality and Intelligence
Authors: Borkenau Peter , Liebler Anette
Published: April 2006

In this study, we investigated the relationship of participants' observable attributes to measures of their personality and intelligence; we also studied the ways in which strangers formed their perception of participants' personalities and intelligence. Fifty pairs of intimate acquaintances were videotaped in a standard situation, were administered an intelligence test, and provided self‐reports of their personality and descriptions of their partner's personality. In addition, various observable attributes (such as hair color, stature, physical mannerisms) of the targets were measured. Strangers watched the videotapes and rated either the observable attributes or the personality traits of the targets. The observable attributes were then correlated with the personality measures and the intelligence and trait inferences by strangers. Extraversion was the trait with the most external manifestations and the strongest match between cue utilization and cue validity. Intelligence was inferred from visual as well as from acoustic attributes, but only acoustic cues mediated the correlation between psychometric intelligence and perceptions of intelligence by strangers.