Allport, Aristotle and Aquinas: An interdisciplinary definition of personality

Sheldon K.M.

Herein, I characterize free will (FW) is an evolved functional capacity within the mature human mind, which provides us with numerous adaptive benefits. The FW capacity was selected for because it enables us to respond effectively to momentary contingencies, via on-the-spot deliberation. But FW also extricates us from the present moment, enabling us to generate and decide between imagined long-term futures. Based upon a compatibilist philosophical definition of FW, I present a creative process model of how the FW capacity works, the goal breakthrough model. I show that the goal breakthrough model is consistent with extant neuroscientific research on the brain networks involved in creative cognition and choice. I also show that (a) exercising one's FW is a basic psychological need, as evidenced by the fact that thwarting peoples' autonomy can be harmful, and that (b) the FW process is influenced by peoples' broad goals and narrative identities, providing a way for we conscious people to causally affect our lives and the world. Finally, I show how this framework integrates recent arguments that FW may be a uniquely human adaptation, ranging from neuroscience and cognitive to personality, social, and cultural perspectives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Rojas-Saffie J.P., García-Matte N.

This article aims to thoroughly understand the concept of emotional self-regulation (ESR) and its relationship with personality. Through an interdisciplinary dialogue between psychology and philosophy—specifically, the anthropology of Thomas Aquinas—three realities are proposed that could be considered as ESR. The conceptual relationship between ESR—understood as operation, faculty and habit—and personality is examined, specifically using the Five-Factor Model and the virtues model. Key findings include the need for consensus on a precise definition of ESR, the central role of reason as a faculty capable of ruling over emotions, the relevance of the distinction between ESR and self-control, and the understanding of ESR as a set of habits that include aspects of prudence, temperance and fortitude. Interdisciplinary dialogue seems to be a valuable intellectual approach to the advancement of the field of psychology.

Marple C.A., Jeffrey A., Schnitker S.A.

Thompson D.W., Frumkin I.

Fowers B.J., Novak L.F., Kiknadze N.C., Selim M.

We will consider four answers to the question about whether the concept of personality is capacious enough to incorporate virtues. The simplest is that the concept of personality encompasses all individual variations in persons. It follows from this answer that virtues would, as individual differences, be incorporated into personality. Unfortunately, definitions of personality do not always invoke such capaciousness, and, in practice, most scholars limit their work to the Big Five or HEXACO models, which do not incorporate virtues. The second answer is that the concept of personality incorporates all trait or dimension level variations across persons, with some exceptions, such as intelligence, attachment style, and psychopathy. Following this definition, virtues, as traits, would be incorporated into such a broad definition of personality. Unfortunately, the boundaries for inclusion and exclusion into personality are fuzzy in this case, and there is no extant definition of personality that solves this problem. The third answer is that personality traits and virtue traits are similar, but distinct concepts. This article presents conceptual and empirical arguments for this similarity in seeing traits as a higher order concept that includes the species of personality and the species of virtue. The fourth answer is that personality and virtue are unrelated. This answer is dismissed because there are many studies that indicate that they are correlated, and few advocate such a clear differentiation. The conclusion is that, pending conceptual and empirical results indicating otherwise, the genus-species relationship seems most fitting where traits are a genus, and personality and virtue are each a species within that genus.

Bühler J.L., Orth U., Bleidorn W., Weber E., Kretzschmar A., Scheling L., Hopwood C.J.

While there is some evidence for changes in personality traits, life satisfaction, and self-esteem as a function of life events, effects have been small and inconsistent across studies. In this preregistered meta-analysis, we summarize the available evidence on personality change in response to life events using data from 44 studies, including 89 samples with a total of 121,187 participants. Results supported reliable and specific albeit relatively small effects of life events on personality change. Effects were larger and more consistent in the work than in the love domain, with graduation, the first job, a new relationship, marriage, and divorce showing the strongest effects on change in personality variables. Estimates were largely comparable across samples with and without comparison groups. Finally, moderator analyses indicated significant effects of time lag on the links between life events in the love domain and personality change but no effects of other examined variables. We discuss these results in the context of a field-wide turn towards designs that go beyond the study of single life events to examine the mechanisms of personality change using more sophisticated and sensitive designs.

Ratchford J.L., Pawl T., Jeffrey A., Schnitker S.A.

Bleidorn W., Schwaba T., Zheng A., Hopwood C.J., Sosa S.S., Roberts B.W., Briley D.A.

Past research syntheses provided evidence that personality traits are both stable and changeable throughout the life span. However, early meta-analytic estimates were constrained by a relatively small universe of longitudinal studies, many of which tracked personality traits in small samples over moderate time periods using measures that were only loosely related to contemporary trait models such as the Big Five. Since then, hundreds of new studies have emerged allowing for more precise estimates of personality trait stability and change across the life span. Here, we updated and extended previous research syntheses on personality trait development by synthesizing novel longitudinal data on rank-order stability (total k = 189, total N = 178,503) and mean-level change (total k = 276, N = 242,542) from studies published after January 1, 2005. Consistent with earlier meta-analytic findings, the rank-order stability of personality traits increased significantly throughout early life before reaching a plateau in young adulthood. These increases in stability coincide with mean-level changes in the direction of greater maturity. In contrast to previous findings, we found little evidence for increasing rank-order stabilities after Age 25. Moreover, cumulative mean-level trait changes across the life span were slightly smaller than previously estimated. Emotional stability, however, increased consistently and more substantially across the life span than previously found. Moderator analyses indicated that narrow facet-level and maladaptive trait measures were less stable than broader domain and adaptive trait measures. Overall, the present findings draw a more precise picture of the life span development of personality traits and highlight important gaps in the personality development literature. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Scarpa M.P., Trickett E.J.

Sieber F., Zmyj N.

The present study investigated the factor structure and longitudinal stability of infant and toddler temperament measured with the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R) and the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ) in two German samples. Since the few studies using the German IBQ-R failed to replicate the commonly assumed three factors of infant temperament, another exploration of its factor structure was necessary. Whereas previous stability measurements are usually based on groups with relatively large age ranges, we investigated stability between concrete ages. In Study 1, the IBQ-R was applied in 9- and 12-month-old infants. In Study 2, both questionnaires were applied in 12-, 18-, and 24-month-olds. Factor analyses of the IBQ-R in both studies revealed a two-factor solution comprising Surgency/ Extraversion and Negative Affectivity, replicating earlier findings with German infants. The Orienting/ Regulation factor was not replicated for the IBQ-R, whereas analysis of the ECBQ revealed a three-factor solution for toddlers. The results showed stability of temperament ratings within infancy (Study 1) and toddlerhood (Study 2) as well as between the developmental periods within the second year of life (Study 2). Taken together, the present findings indicate that temperament stability emerges early in life and can be reliably measured using the IBQ-R and ECBQ, whereas the factor structure of temperament in infancy requires further validation. • The study examined temperament stability in 9–24-month-olds in two different samples. • Stability was found over different time periods ranging from three to 12 months. • Analyses of the ECBQ revealed a three-factor structure of temperament for toddlers. • However, analyses of the IBQ-R revealed only a two-factor structure of temperament for infants. • The original IBQ-R factor Orienting/ Regulation was not found in 9- and 12-month-old infants.

Roberts B.W., Yoon H.J.

Personality psychology, which seeks to study individual differences in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that persist over time and place, has experienced a renaissance in the last few decades. It has also not been reviewed as a field in the Annual Review of Psychology since 2001. In this article, we seek to provide an update as well as a meta-organizational structure to the field. In particular, personality psychology has a prescribed set of four responsibilities that it implicitly or explicitly tackles as a field: ( a) describing what personality is—i.e., what the units of analysis in the field are; ( b) documenting how it develops; ( c) explaining the processes of personality and why they affect functioning; and ( d) providing a framework for understanding individuals and explaining their actions, feelings, and motivations. We review progress made over the last 20 years to address these four agendas and conclude by highlighting future directions and ongoing challenges to the field.

Tse S., Ng C.S., Yuen W.W., Lo I.W., Fukui S., Goscha R.J., Wan E., Wong S., Chan S.

The strengths model of case management (SMCM), which was developed by Rapp and Goscha through collaborative efforts at the University of Kansas, assists individuals with mental illness in their recovery by mobilizing individual and environmental resources. Increasing evidence has shown that the utilization of the SMCM improves outcomes, including increased employment/educational attainment, reduced hospitalization rates, higher self-efficacy, and hope. However, little is known about the processes through which the SMCM improves outcomes for mental health service users. This study explores the views of case workers and service users on their experience of providing or receiving the SMCM intervention. A qualitative design was employed using individual interviews with service users and case workers drawn from two study conditions: the SMCM group and the control group (treatment as usual). For both study conditions, service users were recruited by either centres-in-charge or case workers from integrated community centres for mental wellness (ICCMWs) operated by three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in different districts of Hong Kong. Through purposeful sampling, 24 service users and 14 case workers from the SMCM and control groups joined the study. We used an inductive approach to analyse the qualitative data. We identified two overarching themes: service users’ and case workers’ (1) perceptions of the impacts of the interventions (SMCM and control group) and (2) experiences of the interventions, such as features of the interventions and the factors that facilitated the outcomes. The results showed that there were improvements in the functional recovery of the SMCM group in areas such as employment and family relationships, how self-identified goals were achieved, and how service users gained a better understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses. Regarding their experience of the interventions, participants in both the SMCM group and the control group reported that a good relationship between service users and case workers was vital. However, some concerns were raised about the use of SMCM tools, including the strengths assessment and the personal recovery plan (PRP) and the risk of case workers being subjective in the presentation of cases in group supervision sessions. The results were promising in terms of supporting the use of the SMCM, with some refinements, in mental health services for Chinese clients. The Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR), ACTRN12617001435370 , registered on 10/10/2017.

Quirin M., Jais M., Di Domenico S.I., Kuhl J., Ryan R.M.

Kandler C., Richter J., Zapko-Willmes A.

It is no longer controversial that genetic differences account for individual differences in all human traits, such as personality traits: About 40–50% of variations are attributable to genetic sources. Heritability estimates are even larger for more accurate measures of personality characteristics. The combined consideration of molecular genetic study results and findings from different genetically informative family studies yields that the genetic basis of personality traits reflects many gene variants of small effects, which interact in complex ways among each other and with environmental factors. Moreover, individual differences in the genetic makeup drive individual differences in experiences and thus influence the course of individual trait development within the opportunities provided by the environment.

Bergner R.M.

This article addresses the longstanding problem that the field of personality psychology remains in need of a consensus formulation of its core subject matter, that of the nature of “personality” itself. Part 1 of the article presents some reminders about the traditional pre-empirical status of concepts in science. Part 2 introduces and calls into question two widely accepted but nonetheless questionable propositions about the nature of personality: (a) that the term refers to an underlying causal entity within a person, and (b) that the study of personality is the study of the whole person. Part 3 presents a definition of “personality”, discussion elaborating and clarifying this definition, and an explication of the ways in which it differs from previous definitions. Part 4 discusses some benefits that accrue both to having a consensus definition in general, and to acceptance of the present definition in particular.

Rojas-Saffie J.P., Álamos-Vial N., Pinzón-Merchán M.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology has historically been considered a psychic ailment that is part of a mental disorder. However, it has often been proposed that it could play an adaptive role, in that it would prevent individuals from being exposed to content or situations that they would not be prepared to process. Within the literature on emotional regulation (ER), PTSD symptomatology has commonly been linked to the concept of emotional dysregulation (ED). However, some definitions open the possibility that traumatic symptomatology could be considered ER, from which delicate conclusions would follow. To resolve this dilemma, we turn to interdisciplinary dialogue, specifically with the aid of Thomistic anthropology, whose concepts allow us to understand precisely the relationship between voluntary and involuntary processes and the close relationship between the concepts of reason and regulation. Even though part of the PTSD symptomatology involves psychic mechanisms aimed at modifying emotional states, it is concluded that it is necessary to continue conceptualizing it as ED. The theoretical and practical implications of this discussion are reviewed.