Schoolwork effort and emotions predict self-control in a weekly diary study

OBJECTIVE

Self-control supports many positive life outcomes. However, the processes underlying the development of self-control are not well understood. Drawing on the TESSERA model of personality development, we examined whether weekly schoolwork effort predicts self-control (in the subsequent week). We also examined the role of schoolwork emotions and whether these emotions moderated the impact of schoolwork effort on self-control based on predictions from the TESSERA model.

METHODS

Data are from a weekly diary study (N = 98) that measured children's schoolwork effort, schoolwork emotions, and self-control during five consecutive weeks. Data were analyzed at the between- and within-person levels using multilevel models.

RESULTS

Between-person results show that schoolwork effort is related to variations in children's self-control. Furthermore, some emotions moderated the influence of schoolwork effort on self-control at the between- and within-person levels.

CONCLUSION

In line with the TESSERA model of personality development, positive state expressions of effort during schoolwork (e.g., putting in effort) predicted higher self-control in the subsequent week. However, this finding was dependent on the reactions and reinforcement children felt about their effort (e.g., emotional responses to their remote schoolwork). The discussion examines how these findings extend to previous literature.

Volitional Change in Pathological Traits: Can People Change Their Maladaptive Traits?

Research suggests people want to change their normative personality traits-and they can volitionally do so. However, studies have not yet addressed volitional change in pathological personality. Consequently, the current study examined (a) people's desires to change pathological traits, (b) whether these change goals predict subsequent trait change, (c) whether this withstands controlling normative traits, and (d) the extent to which pathological trait change predicts relevant outcomes. College students (N = 463) self-reported their pathological traits weekly for up to 16 weeks. People with elevated pathological traits generally desired to decrease these traits. Furthermore, goals to change negative affectivity and disinhibition predicted corresponding trait change. Thus, people want to reduce their pathological traits-and they may be able to do so for some traits.

Short-term personality development and early career success: Two longitudinal studies during the post-graduation transition

OBJECTIVE

Investigate short-term personality development during the post-graduation transition.

BACKGROUND

Prior research indicates that long-term personality development matters for employment outcomes. However, this evidence is primarily limited to multi-year longitudinal studies. This research switches the focus to personality changes during a shorter, impactful life transition.

METHOD

We examined how short-term personality development during the 14-month post-graduation transition relates to early career outcomes among two diverse samples of graduates from universities (N = 816) and community colleges (N = 567). We used latent growth curve models to examine associations between career outcomes measured 14 months after graduation with initial personality levels and personality changes.

RESULTS

Results revealed that mean-level changes in personality were small and mostly negative. Moreover, individual differences in personality changes were not associated with career outcomes. However, initial levels of conscientiousness, emotional stability, and extraversion positively related to both subjective and objective career success. Initial levels of agreeableness were also positively related to subjective (but not objective) success.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings indicate that individual differences in personality trait levels at graduation are stronger predictors of early career success compared to short-term personality changes during the post-graduation transition. Taken together, these results help define the time sequence through which personality changes relate to career outcomes.

Actual and volitional personality change across study abroad

OBJECTIVES

According to personality development theories, the dramatic environmental transition of study abroad may form a crucible for personality change. Location, social roles, and cultural familiarity suddenly shift, potentially disrupting old habits and creating new ones, building upon the typical maturation occurring during college age. The current study poses questions about selection and socialization effects of study abroad on personality, actual and volitional change in personality, and whether adjustment to study abroad catalyzes change.

METHOD

Longitudinal studies were conducted with Japanese students studying for one year in the USA (N = 300), and a comparison sample of students in an English-language program at their university in Japan (N = 108). Big Five personality traits and trait-relevant behavior were assessed at the beginning and end of the programs, along with three types of volitional change: expectations, perceptions, and desires.

RESULTS

Study abroad showed selection effects for higher Extraversion and Emotional Stability traits and developmental and socialization effects of increases in Openness behavior. Expected and perceived change corresponded with actual change (but desired change did not), and cultural adjustment predicted socially desirable trait-relevant behavior before students' return home.

CONCLUSIONS

Study abroad was revealed as an environment wherein students both subjectively experienced and actually demonstrated changes in trait-relevant behavior.

One year later: Longer-term maintenance effects of a digital intervention to change personality traits

OBJECTIVE

Recent research suggests that personality traits can be changed by psychological interventions. However, it is unclear whether these intended personality changes can be maintained or merely reflect ephemeral shifts.

METHOD

The present study reports 1-year follow-up effects of a 3-month digital intervention for personality trait change. Personality traits were measured before the intervention (pretest: N = 1523), directly after the intervention (posttest: n = 554), and 3 months (follow-up 1: n = 437) and 1 year (follow-up 2: n = 157) after the end of the intervention.

RESULTS

Attrition analyses suggest that participants who completed the 1-year follow-up were significantly more open to experience (d = 0.19), less neurotic (d = 0.20), more agreeable (d = 0.35) and more conscientious (d = 0.27) than participants who did not complete the 1-year follow-up. Also, until the 1-year follow-up, personality trait changes achieved remained stable (for those who wanted to increase in extraversion and conscientiousness) or even changed further in the desired direction (for those who wanted to decrease in neuroticism).

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that changes in personality traits due to a targeted intervention are not just ephemeral shifts and can even continue.

Trait continuity: Can parent-rated infant temperament predict HEXACO personality in early adulthood?

Examining the Raine cohort study, we tested the trait continuity hypothesis by examining the extent that young adults' (25-29 years old) self-reported HEXACO personality can be statistically predicted from multi-dimensional parental temperament ratings collected in infancy (1-2 years old). The study incorporated a lagged design (two waves), a large sample size (n = 563), and examined both temperament and personality as both dimensions and profiles. Overall, we found very limited evidence of trait continuity, with generally very weak and few statistically significant observed associations of infant temperament with early adulthood personality. Relations were weak whether profile or dimension-based operationalizations of both phenomena were adopted. Additionally, controlling for sex affected the relations of temperament and personality only to a small extent for most of the traits, and moderation effects of sex were generally zero-to-trivial in size. Altogether, parent-rated temperament in infancy seems to provide little information about HEXACO personality in early adulthood.

Reciprocal relationships between personality traits and psychological well-being

This study used an American sample collected over a period of approximately 2 decades (at 3 time points) to examine the temporal relationships between psychological well-being and personality traits (i.e., neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience). The random-intercept cross-lagged panel model was used to separate between-person and within-person sources of variation. Between-person correlations were comparable to those of previous studies. New insights were gained at the within-person level. There were reciprocal relationships between psychological well-being and openness and extraversion, suggesting the joint development of plasticity-related traits and well-being over time. The relationships between psychological well-being and conscientiousness and agreeableness were unidirectional, with psychological well-being preceding these traits. Despite a strong between-person association between neuroticism and psychological well-being, the two were not related at the within-person level.

Personality change through a digital-coaching intervention: Using measurement invariance testing to distinguish between trait domain, facet, and nuance change

Recent intervention research has shown that personality traits can be modified through psychological interventions. However, it is unclear whether reported effects represent changes in the trait domain or only some facets or items. Using data ( N = 552) from a recent intervention trial, the present study examined the effects of a digital-coaching intervention on self- and observer-reported personality facets and items. We focused on participants who wanted to decrease in Negative Emotionality, increase in Conscientiousness or increase in Extraversion. We used measurement invariance testing to examine which level of the trait domain hierarchy changed during the intervention. For the self-reports, we found some heterogeneity in the effects on all three trait domains, but most notably Extraversion and Conscientiousness. Specifically, participants reported to increase strongly on sociability (Extraversion), and moderately on productiveness and organization (Conscientiousness), but not on the other facets of these trait domains. Observers generally reported small but non-significant changes, with no scalar invariance violations except for Extraversion. Overall, this suggests considerable heterogeneity in intervention-related personality change that can be overlooked if only focusing on the trait domain level. We discuss the relevance of measurement invariance testing and measurement approaches for personality development and intervention research.

A Big Five-Based Multimethod Social and Emotional Skills Assessment: The Mosaic™ by ACT® Social Emotional Learning Assessment

A focus on implementing social and emotional (SE) learning into curricula continues to gain popularity in K-12 educational contexts at the policy and practitioner levels. As it continues to be elevated in educational discourse, it becomes increasingly clear that it is important to have reliable, validated measures of students’ SE skills. Here we argue that framework and design are additional important considerations for the development and selection of SE skill assessments. We report the reliability and validity evidence for The Mosaic™ by ACT^® Social Emotional Learning Assessment, an assessment designed to measure SE skills in middle and high school students that makes use of a research-based framework (the Big Five) and a multi-method approach (three item types including Likert, forced choice, and situational judgment tests). Here, we provide the results from data collected from more than 33,000 students who completed the assessment and for whom we have data on various outcome measures. We examined the validity evidence for the individual item types and the aggregate scores based on those three. Our findings support the contribution of multi-method assessment and an aggregate score. We discuss the ways the field can benefit from this or similarly designed assessments and discuss how the assessment results can be used by practitioners to promote programs aimed at stimulating students’ personal growth.

You Are What You Eat and So Is Our Planet: Identifying Dietary Groups Based on Personality and Environmentalism

Behavioral change interventions promoting the reduction of animal product consumption are valuable tools to improve ecological sustainability as well as public health and help the mitigation of climate change. Recent findings revealed improved efficacy of interventions targeted at barriers (e.g., self-efficacy) of three different types of meat consumers over non-targeted interventions (e.g., completion of unrelated surveys). However, such interventions have yet to factor in the role of individual differences in personality. Therefore, in a first step, we performed segmentation analysis on barriers and benefits of reducing animal product consumption (e.g., meat attachment, environmentalism) with the inclusion of personality. In an online sample of N=1135 participants, latent profile analysis revealed five distinct dietary groups: “plant-based eaters”, “meat-reducers”, “medium-hindrance meat eaters”, “medium strong-hindrance meat eaters, and “strong-hindrance meat eaters”, based on inhibitors and facilitators of meat reduction. Groups differed in terms of consumption of different animal products (η2=0.08 to η2=0.80) as well as the Big Five (η2=0.08 to η2=0.80) and Dark Triad (η2=0.08 to η2=0.80). Strong-hindrance meat eaters were characterized by low Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Openness as well as high dark trait expression, implying new targets for future intervention design.

Five Approaches to Understanding Interpersonal Competence: A Review and Integration

Social connectedness has been linked to beneficial outcomes across domains, ages, and cultures. However, not everyone receives these benefits, as there are large individual differences in the capacities required to create and sustain functional interpersonal relationships. A great deal of research has been devoted to assessing and understanding these differences, often focusing on how competent interpersonal behavior renders it more likely that one will succeed interpersonally. The current paper examines five relevant approaches that have emerged from personality (global traits), social (social cognition), clinical (social skills interventions), developmental (social information processing), and industrial/organizational (situation judgment) areas of psychology. A comparison of these approaches highlights important considerations related to bandwidth and fidelity, whether the focus should be on overt behavior or underlying processes, and whether to emphasize tendencies or their effectiveness. The review concludes with calls for greater integration efforts, which can capitalize on strengths inherent to different approaches.

Does extraversion increase following a three-hour flirt training? Exploring two training routes

Flirting situations are opportunities to behave in extraverted ways. However, it is not clear whether engaging in flirting behavior predicts extraversion. The current study explored whether extraversion increases following a 3-h flirt training and compared two training routes to flirting. A two-arm randomized pre-post design with two active conditions were used. Ninety-six adults between 18 and 49 years (67.7% women) were randomized to either: (1) a problem-oriented training strategy that aims to compensate for problems and deficits related to flirting; or (2) a strengths-oriented training strategy that capitalizes on individuals' strengths and resources. The outcome variables were assessed before and 30 days after the training. Participants in both conditions reported higher scores in flirting behavior as well as in extraversion following the trainings. The results suggest that flirt trainings are potentially interesting indirect intervention approaches to increase the expression of extraversion.

Does Job Satisfaction Differ at Different Levels of Employees? Measurement of Job Satisfaction among the Levels of Sugar Industrial Employees

Purpose: The main purpose of the present study is to find comparative job satisfaction scores between different levels of employees (foremen and workers). Design/Methodology/Approach: Researcher has selected sugar industrial sector of Bangladesh as research ground. On the basis of stratified random sampling, 300 respondents have been selected from 5 (five) state-run sugar mills. This study is absolutely based on primary sources of information. To measure job satisfaction, the Job Satisfaction Index (JSI) developed by Brayfield and Rothe (1951) has been used in this study. This study conducted a face-to-face interview with a scheduled of questionnaire for data collection and the core value of workers satisfaction and dissatisfaction that they feel from working in different sugar mills in Bangladesh are placed here. Data were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science). Findings: The research exposed that a pointedly higher percentage of the foreman was gratified with their existent job but not statistically significant. The study also revealed that some job-related factors have the significant contribution on job satisfaction than those of personal factors for both groups of respondents. Originality/ Value: This paper investigated the impact of job facets and personal factors on job satisfaction of the employees. This study used primary data sources. The study suggested that pay, recognition for good work, participation in decision making, promotion, and good relationship with colleagues were more important as determinants of job satisfaction, so superfluous prominence should be given on these for humanizing workplace pleasure of the workers and foremen of sugar industry.

Lighten the Darkness: Personality Interventions Targeting Agreeableness Also Reduce Participants' Levels of the Dark Triad

OBJECTIVE

Previous research suggests that people want to change their big five traits-and moreover, they may be able to do so. The present paper extends these findings in three ways. First, I examined the extent to which people want to change their levels of the dark triad-Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Second, I tested whether desires to change the dark triad predicted actual changes in the corresponding traits across approximately four months. Finally, participants received an intervention designed to change their big five personality traits. Consequently, I tested whether this intervention could also facilitate changes in the dark triad.

METHOD

The present study was a 16-wave, weekly, intensive longitudinal design (N = 467).

RESULTS

Results revealed that participants generally did not want to change their levels of the dark triad. Nevertheless, individual variance in desires to change the dark triad did predict actual changes in the dark triad across four months. Moreover, interventions targeting agreeableness spurred changes in all three dark triad traits.

CONCLUSIONS

This research suggests that taking small steps to become more agreeable may also reduce individuals' levels of the dark triad. These findings may have implications for future research, as well as therapeutic treatments.

Personality and Everyday Functioning in Older Adults With and Without HIV

In a cross-sectional multi-method study of older adults living with and without HIV (n = 202; 69.8% HIV seropositive), we tested associations between personality traits and everyday functioning, and whether these associations differed depending on HIV serostatus. We found that higher levels of conscientiousness and lower levels of neuroticism were associated with higher odds of being clinically independent (vs. dependent) in everyday functioning. These findings replicated across self- and clinician-reports and persisted above and beyond relevant covariates. We found no evidence of interactions between personality and HIV serostatus, suggesting that personality was equally important for everyday functioning regardless of HIV serostatus. Given the present findings and the knowledge that personality is dynamic and amenable to intervention, we discuss two different possible pathways for intervention meant to improve everyday functioning and quality of life among older adults with and without HIV: personality change and personalized medicine.

Personality Change Through Digital-Coaching Interventions

A highly relevant but provocative research question is whether and how one can intentionally change personality traits through psychological interventions, given that traits are relatively stable by definition. Recently, research has begun to investigate personality change through intervention in nonclinical populations. One attractive and innovative interventional avenue may lie in using digital applications to guide and support people in their desire to change their personality and trigger change processes. This article provides a rationale for nonclinical personality-change interventions and discusses motivations to change, the potential of using digital applications for intervention efforts, key studies that illustrate this emerging field of research, and future directions.

Advancing a Three-Tier Personality Framework for Posttraumatic Growth

Adversity has been assumed to foster positive personality change under certain conditions. In this article, we examine this assumption within the context of the three-tier personality framework integrating traits, characteristic adaptations, and narrative identity to provide a comprehensive understanding of personality growth. We first review findings on how adverse events affect personality on each of these three levels. Second, we summarize knowledge on event-based and person-based predictors of personality change in the face of adversity. Third, we specify affective, behavioral, and cognitive processes that explain personality change across levels of personality. Innovatively, our proposed process model addresses change at all three levels of personality, as well as similarities and differences in processes across the levels. We conclude by discussing unresolved issues, asking critical questions, and posing challenging hypotheses for testing this framework.

Pathways to performance in undergraduate medical students: role of conscientiousness and the perceived educational environment

This study examined conscientiousness and the perceived educational environment as independent and interactive predictors of medical students' performance within Biggs' theoretical model of learning. Conscientiousness, the perceived educational environment, and learning approaches were assessed at the beginning of the third year in 268 medical students at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Performance was examined at the end of the third year via a computer-based assessment (CBA) and the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Path analysis was used to test the proposed model, whereby conscientiousness and the perceived educational environment predicted performance directly and indirectly via students' learning approaches. A second model included interaction effects. The proposed model provided the best fit and explained 45% of the variance in CBA performance, and 23% of the variance in OSCE performance. Conscientiousness positively predicted CBA performance directly (β = 0.19, p < 0.001) and indirectly via a deep learning approach (β = 0.05, p = 0.012). The perceived educational environment positively predicted CBA performance indirectly only (β = 0.02, p = 0.011). Neither conscientiousness nor the perceived educational environment predicted OSCE performance. Model 2 had acceptable, but less optimal fit. In this model, there was a significant cross-over interaction effect (β = 0.16, p < 0.01): conscientiousness positively predicted OSCE performance when perceptions of the educational environment were the most positive, but negatively predicted performance when perceptions were the least positive. The findings suggest that both conscientiousness and perceptions of the educational environment predict CBA performance. Research should further examine interactions between personality traits and the medical school environment to inform strategies aimed at improving OSCE performance.

Can exposure to arguments pro and contra extraversion affect self-reports of the trait and the attitude toward it?

OBJECTIVE

Changeability of personality over short-term intervals has increasingly become a focus of research. However, the role played by argumentation interventions in short-term variations has scarcely been examined.

METHODS

In two experiments (N = 363 and 320), we investigated how processing positive and negative argumentation regarding extraversion (Study 1: watching a lecture; Study 2: elaborating self-invented arguments) affects self-reports on this trait and attitude toward it. The experiments included three waves of measurements with argument manipulation (in favor of or against extraversion) immediately prior to Time 2 (Study 2 also included a control group).

RESULTS

Mean-level changes in extraversion across time moments, measured with the longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis, were consistently negligible. Conversely, there were some indications that argumentation about extraversion could have immediate short-term effects on attitudes toward this trait. The random-intercept cross-lagged model showed that rank-order consistency stemmed from a trait-like intercept, which was particularly large for trait extraversion compared with the attitude. The autoregressive and cross-lagged effects of residual within-person variation were consistently small and mostly nonsignificant.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that extraversion and the attitude toward it maintained their temporal continuity within 3 months, even under a single exposure to arguments pro and contra this trait.

Open-Source Personality Trait Norms for the United Kingdom and Ireland

Abstract. Most copyrighted personality inventories facilitate norm-referencing through illustrative tables, yet their application to the many fields relevant to personality measurement is constrained by the need for stakeholders to possess the requisite financial resources to access them. Using an IPIP-NEO-300 dataset from Johnson’s IPIP-NEO data repository, we created open-source norm tables for different age groups (14–17 years; 18–25 years; and 30+ years) within a combined standardization sample from the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland ( N = 18,591). The newly created tables are freely available online ( https://osf.io/tbmh5 ), and there is no need to ask for permission to modify them. We provide general instructions that can be used to create open-source personality trait norms for other countries, settings, and age groups, as well as gender-specific norms. There is great potential for these norms to be used in various settings and their open-source freedoms may encourage future collaborations and investigations.

Changing personality traits with the help of a digital personality change intervention

Personality traits predict important life outcomes, such as success in love and work life, well-being, health, and longevity. Given these positive relations to important outcomes, economists, policy makers, and scientists have proposed intervening to change personality traits to promote positive life outcomes. However, nonclinical interventions to change personality traits are lacking so far in large-scale naturalistic populations. This study (n = 1,523) examined the effects of a 3-mo digital personality change intervention using a randomized controlled trial and the smartphone application PEACH (PErsonality coACH). Participants who received the intervention showed greater self-reported changes compared to participants in the waitlist control group who had to wait 1 mo before receiving the intervention. Self-reported changes aligned with intended goals for change and were significant for those desiring to increase on a trait (d = 0.52) and for those desiring to decrease on a trait (d = -0.58). Observers such as friends, family members, or intimate partners also detected significant personality changes in the desired direction for those desiring to increase on a trait (d = 0.35). Observer-reported changes for those desiring to decrease on a trait were not significant (d = -0.22). Moreover, self- and observer-reported changes persisted until 3 mo after the end of the intervention. This work provides the strongest evidence to date that normal personality traits can be changed through intervention in nonclinical samples.

Examining the Longitudinal Associations Between Repeated Narration of Recent Transgressions Within Individuals’ Romantic Relationships and Character Growth in Empathy, Humility, and Compassion

This prospective longitudinal study examined whether repeated written narration of relational transgressions was associated with increases in empathy, humility, and compassion over 1 year. Although engagement in reflective and meaning-making processing styles has been theorized to facilitate adversarial growth existing research has been limited by methodological issues and has yet to examine whether this mechanism is associated with character trait changes over time. Participants provided ratings of trait empathy, humility, and compassion in 5 waves at 3-month intervals. In Wave 2, participants provided a written narrative describing a recent relational transgression against their romantic partner. Participants then engaged in repeated narration of recent romantic transgressions in Waves 3 through 5. The narratives were coded for redemption, positive self-event connections, and degree of personal responsibility taken. Linear growth curve models were used to examine the extent to which these narrative themes were associated with character growth. Overall, there was little consistent and robust evidence across models that narration was associated with changes in empathy, humility, and compassion. The implications for research into adversarial growth are discussed in reference to the appropriateness of operationalizing adversarial growth as character growth and the extent to which relational transgressions can facilitate adversarial growth.

Personality-informed intervention design: Examining how trait regulation can inform efforts to change behavior

Research that helps people change their behavior has the potential to improve the quality of lives, but it is too often approached in a way that divorces behavior from the people who need to enact it. In this paper, we propose a personality-informed approach to classifying behavior-change problems and designing interventions to address them. In particular, we argue that interventions will be most effective when they target the appropriate psychological process given the disposition of the participant and the desired duration of change. Considering these dimensions can help to reveal the differences among common types of behavior-change problems, and it can guide decisions about what kinds of intervention solutions will most effectively solve them. We review key concepts and findings from the personality literature that can help us understand the dynamic nature of dispositions and to identify the psychological processes that best explain both short-term variance in behavior and long-term development of personality. Drawing on this literature, we argue that different types of behavior-change problems require different forms of “trait regulation,” and we offer a series of propositions to be evaluated as potential guides for the design of intervention strategies to address them.

Correlated personality change across time and age

The goal of this study was to examine differential and correlated change in personality across the adult lifespan. Studying differential and correlated change can help understand whether intraindividual trait change trajectories deviate from the norm and how these trajectories are coupled with each other. We used data from two large longitudinal panel studies from the United States that covered a total age range of 20 to 95 years on the first measurement occasion. We used correlated factor models and bivariate latent change score models to examine the rank-order stability and correlations between change across three measurement waves covering 18 years ( N = 3250) and four measurement waves covering 12 years ( N = 4145). We examined the moderation effects of continuous age on these model parameters using local structural equation modeling. The results suggest that the test–retest correlations decrease with increasing time between measurements but are unaffected by participants’ age. We found that change processes in Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were strongly related, particularly in late adulthood. Correlated change patterns were highly stable across time intervals and similar to the initial cross-sectional Big Five correlations. We discuss potential mechanisms and implications for personality development research.

Job Satisfaction and Implications for Organizational Sustainability: A Resource Efficiency Perspective

This study contributes to the organizational sustainability literature by exploring a methodology for defining and making the notion of employee flourishing at work operational. It applies stochastic frontier methods on British longitudinal data to estimate the maximum job satisfaction that employees can achieve should they utilize their resources efficiently. It offers a new perspective on the notion of social comparisons and extends the literature by demonstrating the scope for organizational intervention in the context of commonly assumed, time invariant variables, which are often thought to be beyond interventionist possibilities. Findings suggest that many British employees fail to reach their job satisfaction potential, reporting satisfaction scores below those of their peers with similar resource endowments. This inefficiency correlates strongly with personality traits. Implications for organizational sustainability policy and practice are discussed.

Age differences in broader autism phenotype traits from young adulthood to older adulthood

Much of past research has been dedicated to refining the operationalization and correlates of the broader autism phenotype (BAP) and less on how the BAP differs by socio-demographic characteristics, like age-particularly after midlife. This gap is important because other nonclinical trait-like characteristics (e.g., personality) have shown considerable age differences, leading to work assessing the malleability of psychological characteristics and improving outcomes for individuals and their significant others. In the current study, we examined cross-sectional age differences in the BAP in a large sample of adults ranging in age from 18 to 85. We recruited a sample of 2966 adults ranging in age from 18 to 85 (M_age = 36.53, SD = 12.61; 58.9% Female; 1.1% with an ASD diagnosis) recruited from an online survey service. We found that total BAP scores were higher in younger adults and lower among older adults. These differences were particularly true for pragmatic language difficulties, with this component of the BAP showing the most dramatic age differences. Aloofness showed similar negative associations with age, albeit much smaller. Rigidity was not significantly associated with age. The results are consistent with other research showing an abatement of symptoms among individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) across early life and theories predicting changes in other psychological characteristics (e.g., personality). The results are discussed in the context of the malleability of ASD and BAP traits across life, the clinical implications of these changes, and the origins and consequences for lifespan differences in BAP. LAY SUMMARY: Little is known about how subclinical autistic-like traits among middle-aged and older adults compare to younger adults. We found that these subclinical traits were highest in young adults and lowest in older adults. Knowing how these traits differ by age can provide researchers and clinicians with a sense of how much these traits might change across life, if the traits might be sensitive to interventions, and when in development it might be best to intervene.

Adherence Barriers for Adolescent and Young Adult Transplant Recipients: Relations to Personality

OBJECTIVE

Much of the extant literature on adherence barriers has focused on modifiable factors (e.g., knowledge, social support); however, less is known about how barriers may be associated with relatively stable constructs, such as personality traits. The current study examines associations between personality (i.e., agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism) and adherence barriers in a group of adolescent and young adult (AYA) solid organ transplant recipients. Demonstrating associations between barriers and personality may help in understanding why barriers are stable over time. Additionally, different personality traits may relate to different types of barriers.

METHODS

The sample included 90 AYAs (Mage = 17.31; SD = 2.05; 58% male) who received a kidney (n = 36), liver (n = 29), or heart (n = 25) transplant at least 1 year prior to study enrollment. AYAs completed the Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism scales from the NEO Five-Factor Inventory and the Adolescent Medication Barriers Scale (AMBS).

RESULTS

Lower levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness and higher levels of neuroticism were related to higher self-reported barrier scores (AMBS; r's = .31- .53, p's < .001). The relations differed by personality factor and barrier type.

CONCLUSION

Adherence barriers showed medium to large associations with personality traits that are known to be relatively stable. Our findings indicate that the temporal stability of barriers to adherence may be due in part to their association with relatively enduring personality characteristics.

You can’t always get what you want: The role of change goal importance, goal feasibility and momentary experiences for volitional personality development

Most adults want to change aspects of their personality. However, previous studies have provided mixed evidence on whether such change goals can be successfully implemented, perhaps partly due to neglecting the goals’ importance and feasibility as well as the experience of trait-relevant situations and states. This study examined associations between change goals and changes in self-reported Big Five traits assessed four times across two years in an age-heterogeneous sample of 382 adults (255 younger adults, Mage = 21.6 years; 127 older adults, Mage = 67.8 years). We assessed trait-relevant momentary situations and states in multiple waves of daily diaries over the first year ( M = 43.9 days). Perceived importance and feasibility of change goals were analysed as potentially moderating factors. Contrary to our hypotheses, the results demonstrated that neither change goals nor goal importance or feasibility were consistently associated with trait change, likely due to inconsistent associations with momentary situations and behaviours. The results suggest that wanting to change one’s traits does not necessarily lead to changes without engaging in trait-relevant situations and behaviours. These findings provide novel insights into the boundary conditions of volitional personality development.

Personality Changes Predict Early Career Outcomes: Discovery and Replication in 12-Year Longitudinal Studies

In this research, we examined whether personality changes from adolescence to young adulthood predicted five early career outcomes: degree attainment, income, occupational prestige, career satisfaction, and job satisfaction. The study used two representative samples of Icelandic youth (Sample 1: n = 485, Sample 2: n = 1,290) and measured personality traits over 12 years (ages ~17 to 29 years). Results revealed that certain patterns of personality growth predicted career outcomes over and above adolescent trait levels and crystallized ability. Across both samples, the strongest effects were found for growth in emotional stability (income and career satisfaction), conscientiousness (career satisfaction), and extraversion (career satisfaction and job satisfaction). Initial trait levels also predicted career success, highlighting the long-term predictive power of personality. Overall, our findings show that personality has important effects on early career outcomes-both through stable trait levels and how people change over time. We discuss implications for public policy, for theoretical principles of personality development, and for young people making career decisions.

Integrating and differentiating personality and psychopathology in cognitive behavioral therapy

A large body of literature supports the strong association between personality features and psychopathology. This research has, however, had little influence on day-to-day therapeutic practice, particularly in cognitive behavioral approaches that have traditionally focused on addressing the symptoms of categorically defined diagnoses. Indeed, there are few CBT protocols aimed at altering the personality features. Recently, however, the CBT literature has displayed an increased focus on identifying alternative higher-order, dimensional mechanisms that may underscore the development and maintenance of broad classes of psychopathology (e.g., aversive reactivity to emotions, reward sensitivity, and performance expectancies). There is ample evidence linking these processes to DSM disorder severity; however, they may also represent a functional link between the personality domains and the disorder symptoms organized beneath them. The functional mechanisms through which an individual's personality confers risk for psychopathology may be naturally amenable to cognitive behavioral elements, and targeting these processes in treatment has the potential to address both disorder symptoms and underlying personality vulnerabilities. Thus, the identification of intermediate functional mechanisms may help bridge the gap between personality science and clinical practice.

Changes in optimism and pessimism in response to life events: Evidence from three large panel studies

Although individuals vary in how optimistic they are about the future, one assumption that researchers make is that optimism is sensitive to changes in life events and circumstances. We examined how optimism and pessimism changed across the lifespan and in response to life events in three large panel studies (combined N = 74,886). In the American and Dutch samples, we found that optimism increased across younger adulthood, plateaued in midlife, and then decreased in older adulthood. In the German sample, there were inconsistent results with respect to age differences and mean level changes in optimism. Associations between life events and changes in optimism/pessimism were inconsistent across samples. We discuss our results in the context of life events and lifespan development.

Can Playfulness be Stimulated? A Randomised Placebo-Controlled Online Playfulness Intervention Study on Effects on Trait Playfulness, Well-Being, and Depression

BACKGROUND

While there are numerous applications of play-based interventions, there is little research on playfulness-based interventions. We applied interventions that aim at stimulating playfulness and test effects on happiness and depressive symptoms.

METHOD

In a randomised placebo-controlled online intervention, N = 533 participants were assigned to one of three 1-week playfulness conditions (i.e. three playful things, using playfulness in a new way, and counting playfulness) or a placebo condition. Participants reported on global playfulness, facets of playfulness, well-being, and depression at pretest, posttest, and at follow-ups after 2, 4, and 12 weeks.

RESULTS

All interventions increased expressions in all facets of playfulness, had short-term effects on well-being, and ameliorated depression.

CONCLUSION

Overall, findings suggest that playfulness can be stimulated by short self-administered interventions.

How Our Work Influences Who We Are: Testing a Theory of Vocational and Personality Development over Fifty Years

This study examines the developmental influences of occupational environments on personality traits from childhood to adulthood. We test aspects of a theory of vocational and personality development, proposing that traits develop in response to work experience following corresponsive and noncorresponsive mechanisms. We describe these pathways in the context of situations of vocational gravitation and inhabitation. In a sample from the Hawaii personality and health cohort (N = 596), we examined associations of childhood and adulthood personality traits, with occupational environments profiled on the RIASEC model. Mediations tests confirmed that work influenced personality development from childhood to adulthood for Openness/Intellect. We observed multiple reactivity effects of occupation environments on adulthood traits that were not associated with corresponding selection effects.

Identifying Moderators in the Link Between Workplace Discrimination and Health/Well-Being

The stress that arises from workplace discrimination can have a large impact on an employee's work attitude, their work and life satisfaction, and oftentimes whether or not they stay in a job. Workplace discrimination can also have a considerable influence on employees' short- and long-term health. However, less is known about the factors that might mitigate or exacerbate the effects of discrimination on health. The current study focused not only on the links between workplace discrimination and health, and but also on the effects of potential moderators of the discrimination-health link (i.e., perceived control, Big Five personality traits, optimism, and coworker/supervisor support). People with high neuroticism, high extraversion and high agreeableness were more negatively affected by workplace discrimination than those low on neuroticism, extraversion, and agreeableness. Perceived control was found to be a protective factor, such that those high in perceived control had fewer chronic illnesses in the context of high levels of workplace discrimination.

Change Goals Robustly Predict Trait Growth: A Mega-Analysis of a Dozen Intensive Longitudinal Studies Examining Volitional Change

Research suggests that change goals (desires to change personality traits) predict subsequent trait growth. In this article, we (re)analyzed all data our labs have collected as of May 2019 that included measures of change goals and repeated measures of personality traits (12 studies; total n = 2,238). Results indicated that change goals robustly predicted growth in all five traits. Effect sizes were largest for extraversion and emotional stability (people with high change goals were predicted to experience ∼0.16 SDs greater growth across 16 weeks than their peers with average goals) and smallest for agreeableness and openness (people with high change goals were predicted to experience ∼0.05 SDs greater growth across 16 weeks than their peers with average goals). Thus, our analyses reinforce that people change in ways that align with their desires across time.

Life Crafting as a Way to Find Purpose and Meaning in Life

Having a purpose in life is one of the most fundamental human needs. However, for most people, finding their purpose in life is not obvious. Modern life has a way of distracting people from their true goals and many people find it hard to define their purpose in life. Especially at younger ages, people are searching for meaning in life, but this has been found to be unrelated to actually finding meaning. Oftentimes, people experience pressure to have a "perfect" life and show the world how well they are doing, instead of following up on their deep-felt values and passions. Consequently, people may need a more structured way of finding meaning, e.g., via an intervention. In this paper, we discuss evidence-based ways of finding purpose, via a process that we call "life crafting." This process fits within positive psychology and the salutogenesis framework - an approach focusing on factors that support human health and well-being, instead of factors that cause disease. This process ideally starts with an intervention that entails a combination of reflecting on one's values, passions and goals, best possible self, goal attainment plans, and other positive psychology intervention techniques. Important elements of such an intervention are: (1) discovering values and passion, (2) reflecting on current and desired competencies and habits, (3) reflecting on present and future social life, (4) reflecting on a possible future career, (5) writing about the ideal future, (6) writing down specific goal attainment and "if-then" plans, and (7) making public commitments to the goals set. Prior research has shown that personal goal setting and goal attainment plans help people gain a direction or a sense of purpose in life. Research findings from the field of positive psychology, such as salutogenesis, implementation intentions, value congruence, broaden-and-build, and goal-setting literature, can help in building a comprehensive evidence-based life-crafting intervention. This intervention can aid individuals to find a purpose in life, while at the same time ensuring that they make concrete plans to work toward this purpose. The idea is that life crafting enables individuals to take control of their life in order to optimize performance and happiness.

Inhibitory Risks Affecting the Maintenance of Healthy Lifestyle Habits-A Study Based on Demographic Factors and Personality Traits

People with different personal attributes, both intrinsic (personality traits) and extrinsic (demographic factors), perceive different inhibitions in the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle. This study examines the correlation between inhabitants’ personal attributes, internal and external, and their perception of risk factors in the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle. Results show that (1) residents prone to ‘challenge’ and ‘commitment’ are more sensitive to the inhibitory risks. (2) Inhabitants under 65 years old with ‘challenge’ in their personality are more likely to report ‘time’ as a constraining factor. (3) Regarding walking habits, residents are not only impacted by the living environment but also restricted by the demographic factors of economics and time.