Journal of personality and social psychology最新文献

How does personality change when people get older? Numerous studies have investigated this question, overall supporting the idea of so-called personality maturation. However, heterogeneous findings have left open questions, such as whether maturation continues in old age and how large the effects are. We suggest that the heterogeneity is partly rooted in methodological issues. First, studies may have failed to recover age effects as they did not stringently separate within-person changes from confounding between-person differences. Second, items supposedly belonging to the same trait may show different individual trajectories, thus rendering results sensitive to the specific set of items used. We analyzed panel data from Australia (N = 15,268; Study 1), Germany (N = 22,833; Study 2), and the Netherlands (N = 10,163; Study 3) to investigate age trends in the Big Five on the levels of both scores and items. We applied a fixed effects approach that incorporates only within-person changes over time. Developmental trends in the Big Five scores were generally moderate to large and broadly confirmed personality maturation at younger ages. At older ages, maturation consistently continued for Neuroticism, whereas we found mixed evidence for such changes in Conscientiousness and Agreeableness. Furthermore, in each study, individual items showed age trends that diverged from the rest of the corresponding trait, and these differential patterns could be partly replicated across the three studies. Our results highlight the importance of items in the study of personality development and provide an explanation for previously unaccounted for variability in age trends. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Many college students, especially first-generation and underrepresented racial/ethnic minority students, desire courses and careers that emphasize helping people and society. Can instructors of introductory science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses promote motivation, performance, and equity in STEM fields by emphasizing the prosocial relevance of course material? We developed, implemented, and evaluated a prosocial utility-value intervention (UVI): A course assignment in which students were asked to reflect on the prosocial value of biology or chemistry course content; our focus was on reducing performance gaps between first-generation and continuing generation college students. In Studies 1a and 1b, we piloted two versions of a prosocial UVI in introductory biology (N = 282) and chemistry classes (N = 1,705) to test whether we could encourage students to write about the prosocial value of course content. In Study 2, we tested a version of the UVI that combines personal and prosocial values, relative to a standard UVI, which emphasizes personal values, using a randomized controlled trial in an introductory chemistry course (N = 2,505), and examined effects on performance and motivation in the course. In Study 3, we tested the prosocial UVI against a standard UVI in an introductory biology course (N = 712). Results suggest that the prosocial UVI may be particularly effective in promoting motivation and performance for first-generation college students, especially those who are more confident that they can perform well in the class, reflecting a classic expectancy-value interaction. Mediation analyses suggest that this intervention worked by promoting interest in chemistry. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-concept clarity and self-esteem are powerful determinants of people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Yet, even after over 30 years of research, the conceptual and empirical ties between these two self-aspects remain understudied, and little is known about the nature and function of their relationship. The present study aimed at discerning the empirical similarities and differences between self-concept clarity and self-esteem in order to examine whether they can be considered sibling constructs that are conceptually and empirically related, but not identical. Specifically, we used multivariate eight-wave longitudinal data from two cohorts of young adults (Cohort 1, N = 460; Cohort 2, N = 412) to examine the structural, cross-sectional, and longitudinal links between self-concept clarity and self-esteem, as well as their incremental validity and within-person transactions over time. We found strong evidence that self-concept clarity and self-esteem are not the same but sibling constructs. Specifically, both self-aspects were as follows: (a) structurally different and (b) cross-sectionally related, (c) shared similar but not identical developmental trajectories, (d) codeveloped over time, (e) demonstrated incremental validity in the prediction of important life outcomes, and (f) demonstrated distinctive within-person associations over time. Overall, the present study provides the most comprehensive demonstration that self-concept clarity and self-esteem are similar but different in several meaningful ways, which is of crucial importance for theory, research, and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

This article explores the analysis and interpretation of wording effects associated with using direct and reverse items in psychological assessment. Previous research using bifactor models has suggested a substantive nature of this effect. The present study uses mixture modeling to systematically examine an alternative hypothesis and surpass recognized limitations in the bifactor modeling approach. In preliminary supplemental Studies S1 and S2, we examined the presence of participants who exhibited wording effects and evaluated their impact on the dimensionality of Rosenberg's Self-Esteem and the Revised Life Orientation Test, confirming the ubiquity of wording effects in scales containing direct and reverse items. Then, after analyzing the data for both scales (n = 5,953), we found that, despite a significant association between wording factors (Study 1), a low proportion of participants simultaneously exhibited asymmetric responses in both scales (Study 2). Similarly, despite finding both longitudinal invariance and temporal stability of this effect in three waves (n = 3,712, Study 3), a small proportion of participants was identified with asymmetric responses over time (Study 4), reflected in lower transition parameters compared to the other patterns of profiles examined. In both cases, we illustrate how bifactor models capitalize on the responses of individuals who do not even exhibit wording effects, yielding spurious correlations suggesting a substantive nature of the wording effect. These findings support the notion of an ephemeral nature underlying wording effects. The discussion focuses on alternative hypotheses to understand these findings and emphasizes the utility of including reverse items in psychological assessment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The present research tested the idea that a self-determined orientation may help people manage death-related thoughts and anxieties, and mitigate the effects of death awareness on well-being. Seven studies (N = 3,331), using a diversity of measures and manipulations, were consistent with that idea. First, mortality salience (vs. other topic primes) increased death-thought accessibility, but not if participants had high need-satisfaction (Study 1, n = 160; Study 2, n = 216) or were prompted to recall self-determined experiences (Study 3, n = 188). Second, need-satisfaction was associated with reduced death anxiety (Study 4a, n = 301; Study 4b, n = 1,848), and priming self-determined concepts eliminated the effect of mortality salience on death anxiety (Study 5, n = 119). Third, heightened death-thought accessibility was related to lower satisfaction with life (Study 6, n = 271) and happiness (Study 7, n = 228), but not among those with high need-satisfaction. Supplemental analyses suggested the effects of need-satisfaction were not due to associations with affect (Studies 1, 6, 7), epistemic certainty (ideological dogmatism, Study 4a), or mindfulness (Studies 5b and 6); need-satisfaction mitigated the effects of existential concern via self-esteem but not via growth orientation (Study 4b) nor due to its relationship with Openness (Studies 6 and 7). Together, these findings suggest a self-determined orientation can help buffer existential concern and buoy well-being and point to a potential existential protective function beyond its known growth-oriented functions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Authenticity is often described using terms like "real," "genuine," and "true" suggesting that unbiased and objective self-perception is a core component of the construct. However, people tend to view themselves in an overly positive way. Therefore, we propose that experiencing a positive self-versus an unbiased self-will increase authenticity. We find support for this in seven studies (N_total = 1,795) with two operationalizations of self-rated authenticity: attributed and state authenticity. We find that authenticity emerges from positive self-beliefs (Study 1), positive personality assessments (Study 2), and positive self-expressions (Study 3a and b). Further, we find that these effects are not driven only by positivity, but positive selves (Study 4), and mediated by the identity centrality (Study 5). Finally, Study 6 finds that this positivity bias does not extend to other-rated authenticity: People who present an overly positive self seem less authentic to others relative to a mixed or negative self-presentation. Taken together, these findings suggest that being "unreal" through positive self-illusions can, paradoxically, make one feel more real. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Big Five personality traits predict many important life outcomes. These traits, although relatively stable, are also open to change across time. However, whether these changes likewise predict a wide range of life outcomes has yet to be rigorously tested. This has implications for the types of processes linking trait levels and changes with future outcomes: distal, cumulative processes versus more immediate, proximal processes, respectively. The present study used seven longitudinal data sets (N = 81,980) to comprehensively examine the unique relationship that changes in the Big Five traits have with static levels and changes in numerous outcomes in the domains of health, education, career, finance, relationships, and civic engagement. Meta-analytic estimates were calculated and study-level variables were examined as potential moderators of these pooled effects. Results indicated that changes in personality traits are sometimes prospectively related to static outcomes-such as health status, degree attainment, unemployment, and volunteering-above and beyond associations due to static trait levels. Moreover, changes in personality more frequently predicted changes in these outcomes, with associations for new outcomes emerging as well (e.g., marriage, divorce). Across all meta-analytic models, the magnitude of effects for changes in traits was never larger than that of static levels and there were fewer change associations. Study-level moderators (e.g., average age, number of Big Five waves, internal consistency estimates) were rarely associated with effects. Our study suggests personality change can play a valuable role in one's development and highlights that both cumulative and proximal processes matter for some trait-outcome associations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

We live in a time of exacerbating political polarization. Bridging the ideological divide is hard. Although some strategies have been found effective for interpersonal persuasion and interaction across the aisle, little is known about what intrapersonal attributes predict which individuals are more inclined to support their ideological opponent's views. The present work identifies a low-level attribute-sensitivity to physical pain-that robustly predicts individual variations in support for moral and political views typically favored by one's ideological opponent. We first summarize a psychophysical validation of an established pain sensitivity measure (n = 263), then report a series of exploratory and preregistered confirmatory studies and replications (N = 7,360) finding that more (vs. less) pain-sensitive liberal Americans show greater endorsement of moral foundations typically endorsed by conservatives (Studies 1a-1c), higher likelihood of voting for Trump over Biden in the 2020 presidential election, stronger support for Republican politicians, and more conservative attitudes toward contentious political issues (Studies 2a and 2b). Conservatives show the mirroring pattern. These "cross-aisle" effects of pain sensitivity are driven by heightened harm perception (Study 3). They defy lay intuitions (Study 4). They are not attributable to multicollinearity or response set. The consistent findings across studies highlight the value of deriving integrative predictions from multiple previously unconnected perspectives (social properties of pain, moral foundations theory, dyadic morality theory, principle of multiple determinants in higher mental processes). They open up novel directions for theorizing and research on why pain sensitivity predicts support for moral and political views across the aisle. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Why do people assume that a generous person should also be honest? Why do we even use words like "moral" and "immoral"? We explore these questions with a new model of how people perceive moral character. We propose that people vary in the extent to which they perceive moral character as "localized" (varying along many contextually embedded dimensions) versus "generalized" (varying along a single dimension from morally bad to morally good). This variation might be partly the product of cultural evolutionary adaptations to different kinds of social networks. As networks grow larger, perceptions of generalized morality are increasingly valuable for predicting cooperation during partner selection, especially in novel contexts. Our studies show that social network size correlates with perceptions of generalized morality in United States and international samples (Study 1) and that East African hunter-gatherers with greater exposure outside their local region perceive morality as more generalized compared to those who have remained in their local region (Study 2). We support the adaptive value of generalized morality in large and unfamiliar social networks with an agent-based model (Study 3), and in experiments where we manipulate partner unfamiliarity (Study 4). Our final study shows that perceptions of morality have become more generalized over the last 200 years of English-language history, which suggests that it may be coevolving with rising social complexity and anonymity in the English-speaking world (Study 5). We discuss the implications of this theory for the cultural evolution of political systems, religion, and taxonomical theories of morality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).