0000000000040527
AUTHOR
Cornelia Wrzus
IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: NEGATIVE AFFECT VALUATION IN LATER ADULTHOOD
Affective values may shape how affect is linked to health and well-being. Much of the work to date, however, has focused mostly on younger, European American adult samples. Yet, emotional experiences are known to take on greater importance in later life. In the current study, 313 participants (65+ years old) from the Daily Experiences and Well-Being Study (DEWS) completed baseline interviews, questionnaires, and 4–5 days of ecological momentary assessments (EMA). The baseline EMA surveys assessed momentary affect whereas the questionnaires assessed negative affect valuation (NAV): the extent to which people recognize value in negative emotional experiences in terms of their pleasantness, ap…
Lab And/Or Field? Measuring Personality Processes and Their Social Consequences
How can researchers study personality processes and their social consequences? In our methodology overview, we first introduce ambulatory assessment methods, which repeatedly measure experiences, physiology and behaviour in people's daily lives based on real–time assessments of self–reports, physiological activity and behavioural observations. Then, we describe methods suitable for assessing personality processes in laboratory settings: self–reports on interpersonal perception, physiological measurements and behavioural observation. We discuss the combination of field and laboratory assessment methods based on their respective strengths and limitations and then highlight ethical issues sur…
PERSOC: A Unified Framework for Understanding the Dynamic Interplay of Personality and Social Relationships
The interplay of personality and social relationships is as fascinating as it is complex and it pertains to a wide array of largely separate research domains. Here, we present an integrative and unified framework for analysing the complex dynamics of personality and social relationships (PERSOC). Basic principles and general processes on the individual and dyadic level are outlined to show how personality and social relationships influence each other and develop over time. PERSOC stresses the importance of social behaviours and interpersonal perceptions as mediating processes organized in social interaction units. The framework can be applied to diverse social relationships such as first en…
EMBEDDING CONTEXT IN INVESTIGATIONS OF AFFECTIVE VARIABILITY: AGE DIFFERENCES IN AFFECT-HEALTH LINKS
Context plays a potentially important role in explaining variability in affective experiences and yet, has often been overlooked in this line of research. The current study used data from a lifespan sample of 398 German participants ranging between 12–88 years of age (M = 40, SD = 20). Participants completed computer assisted personal interviews regarding health and well-being measures, as well as experience sampling assessments of daily affective experiences and events (e.g., uplifts). Three indices of positive affect (PA) were created: mean PA, PA reactivity to uplifts, and PA variability. In general, greater mean PA and lower PA reactivity and variability were associated with better heal…
Stability and Change in Diffusion Model Parameters over Two Years
In recent years, mathematical models of decision making, such as the diffusion model, have been endorsed in individual differences research. These models can disentangle different components of the decision process, like processing speed, speed–accuracy trade-offs, and duration of non-decisional processes. The diffusion model estimates individual parameters of cognitive process components, thus allowing the study of individual differences. These parameters are often assumed to show trait-like properties, that is, within-person stability across tasks and time. However, the assumption of temporal stability has so far been insufficiently investigated. With this work, we explore stability and c…
Predictors of volitional personality change in younger and older adults: Response surface analyses signify the complementary perspectives of the self and knowledgeable others
Abstract Goals to change personality traits have been linked to self-rated Big Five traits. Extending previous research, we investigated the associations between change goals and diverse personality characteristics (e.g., self-esteem), other-rated Big Five traits, and self-other agreement in an age-heterogeneous sample ( N = 378). Results replicated previous associations of change goals with age and self-rated traits. Additionally, change goals were stronger when others rated a person’s traits as low and when self-other agreement about traits was greater for extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Associations of additional personality characteristics with change goals diminish…
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 day…
Diurnal coupling between testosterone and cortisol from adolescence to older adulthood
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axes are typically conceptualized as mutually inhibitory systems; however, previous studies have found evidence for positive within-person associations (i.e., coupling) between cortisol and testosterone. One developmental hypothesis is that positive testosterone-cortisol coupling is unique to the adolescent period and that coupling becomes attenuated, or even switches direction, in adulthood. This study used a lifespan sample (N = 292, ages 11 to 88) to test for age-related differences in coupling between cortisol and testosterone in daily life. Participants provided salivary hormone samples at waking, 30 minu…
sj-pdf-1-erp-10.1177_0890207020962332 - Supplemental material for You can’t always get what you want: The role of change goal importance, goal feasibility and momentary experiences for volitional personality development
Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-erp-10.1177_0890207020962332 for You can’t always get what you want: The role of change goal importance, goal feasibility and momentary experiences for volitional personality development by Anna J Lücke, Martin Quintus, Boris Egloff and Cornelia Wrzus in European Journal of Personality
Integrating Personality Structure, Personality Process, and Personality Development
In this target article, we argue that personality processes, personality structure, and personality development have to be understood and investigated in integrated ways in order to provide comprehensive responses to the key questions of personality psychology. The psychological processes and mechanisms that explain concrete behaviour in concrete situations should provide explanation for patterns of variation across situations and individuals, for development over time as well as for structures observed in intra–individual and inter–individual differences. Personality structures, defined as patterns of covariation in behaviour, including thoughts and feelings, are results of those processe…
Co-Development of Personality and Friendships Across the Lifespan
Abstract. This article examines changes in the co-development of personality characteristics and friendships across the lifespan. We address how personality traits shape friendship development (i.e., selection effects) and how friendships shape personality traits (i.e., socialization effects). By integrating separate empirical studies, we look at how selection and socialization effects change across the lifespan. A review of longitudinal research supports our hypothesis that selection effects on friendships intensify during adolescence, peak in young adulthood, and diminish throughout middle and late adulthood. Socialization effects through friendships seem to be moderately sized during ado…
Supplemental_Material – Supplemental material for “The sound of affect”: Age differences in perceiving valence and arousal in music and their relation to music characteristics and momentary mood
Supplemental material, Supplemental_Material for “The sound of affect”: Age differences in perceiving valence and arousal in music and their relation to music characteristics and momentary mood by Caroline Cohrdes, Cornelia Wrzus, Melanie Wald-Fuhrmann and Michaela Riediger in Musicae Scientiae
Processes of Personality Development in Adulthood: The TESSERA Framework.
The current article presents a theoretical framework of the short- and long-term processes underlying personality development throughout adulthood. The newly developed TESSERA framework posits that long-term personality development occurs due to repeated short-term, situational processes. These short-term processes can be generalized as recursive sequence of Triggering situations, Expectancy, States/State expressions, and Reactions (TESSERA). Reflective and associative processes on TESSERA sequences can lead to personality development (i.e., continuity and lasting changes in explicit and implicit personality characteristics and behavioral patterns). We illustrate how the TESSERA framework f…
Ecological Sampling Methods for Studying Everyday Situations
This chapter reviews existing and emerging methodologies for the ambulatory assessment of real-world situations. It distinguishes between first-person/subjective and third-person/objective approaches and provides research examples for each reviewed ecological assessment method. The chapter opens with a discussion of why it is important to assess situations directly in daily life. The following two main sections review approaches for (a) the first-person assessment of real-world situation experiences and perceptions, such as experience sampling and daily diary approaches, and (b) the third-person assessment of objective real-world situation cues, such as naturalistic observation and mobile s…
“The sound of affect”: Age differences in perceiving valence and arousal in music and their relation to music characteristics and momentary mood
Throughout life, music plays an important role in individuals’ everyday affective experiences. Previous findings suggest that preferences for, and perceptions of, music with distinct affective qualities might differ for individuals from different age groups. To date, however, evidence from age-comparative studies across adulthood is rare and little is known about the mechanisms that contribute to age differences in music perception. In an age-heterogeneous sample ranging from adolescence to old adulthood ( n = 50; 12–75 years), we investigated differences in affect perceptions of 147 sounds and 465 songs of various musical styles and dates of origin, as well as the respective roles of musi…