Birk Hagemeyer

Patterns and Sources of Personality Development in Old Age

Despite abundant evidence that personality development continues in adulthood, little is known about the patterns and sources of personality development in old age. We thus investigated mean-level trends and individual differences in change as well as the genetic and environmental sources of rank-order continuity and change in several personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, perceived control, and affect intensity) and well-being. In addition, we analyzed the interrelation between perceived control and change in other personality traits as well as between change in personality traits and change in well-being. We analyzed data from older adult twins, aged 64-85 years at Time 1 (N = 410; 135 males and 275 females; 134 monozygotic and 63 dizygotic twin pairs), collected at 2 different time points about 5 years apart. On average, neuroticism increased, whereas extraversion, conscientiousness, and perceived control significantly decreased over time. Change in perceived control was associated with change in neuroticism and conscientiousness, pointing to particular adaptation mechanisms specific to old age. Whereas individual differences in personality traits were fairly stable due to both genetic and environmental sources, individual differences in change were primarily due to environmental sources (beyond random error) indicating plasticity in old age. Even though the average level of well-being did not significantly change over time, individual well-being tended to decrease with strongly increasing levels of neuroticism as well as decreasing extraversion, conscientiousness, and perceived control, indicating that personality traits predict well-being but not vice versa. We discuss implications for theory on personality development across the lifespan.

Affective contingencies in the affiliative domain: Physiological assessment, associations with the affiliation motive, and prediction of behavior.

According to classical motive disposition theory, individuals differ in their propensity to derive pleasure from affiliative experiences. This propensity is considered a core process underlying the affiliation motive and a pervasive cause of motivated behavior. In this study, we tested these assumptions. We presented participants with positive affiliative stimuli and used electromyography to record changes in facial muscular activity that are indicative of subtle smiling. We were thus able to physiologically measure positive affect following affiliative cues. Individual differences in these affective contingencies were internally consistent and temporally stable. They converged with affiliation motive self- and informant reports and picture story exercise scores, indicating that they are partly accessible to the self, observable to outsiders, and overlap with implicit systems. Finally, they predicted affiliative behavior in terms of situation selection and modification across a wide variety of contexts (i.e., in daily life, the laboratory, and an online social network). These findings corroborate the long-held assumption that affective contingencies represent a motivational core aspect of affiliation.

The Evil Queen's Dilemma: Linking Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry to Benign and Malicious Envy

It is widely assumed that narcissists are envious. Nevertheless, evidence supporting this claim has remained elusive. In five studies (N = 1,225), we disentangle how grandiose narcissism predicts divergent envious inclinations. Specific facets of narcissism and forms of envy shared the same underlying motivational orientations (Study 1) and distinctively related to each other (Studies 1 to 5) via differences in emotional appraisal (Study 4). Moreover, envy was linked to opposing social consequences of different narcissism facets (Study 5). Specifically, hope for success related to narcissistic admiration, predicting benign envy, which entails the motivation to improve performance, translating into the ascription of social potency by the self and others. In contrast, fear of failure related to narcissistic rivalry, predicting malicious envy, which entails hostility, translating into the ascription of a proneness for social conflict by others. These results converged with envy measured as a trait (Studies 1 and 5) or state in recall tasks (Studies 2 and 4) and as response to an upward standard in the situation (Study 3). The findings provide important insights into narcissists‘ emotional complexities, integrate prior isolated and conflicting evidence, and open up new avenues for research on narcissism and envy. Copyright

Assessing implicit motivational orientations in couple relationships: the Partner-Related Agency and Communion Test (PACT).

The Partner-Related Agency and Communion Test (PACT) was developed to measure implicit agentic and communal needs in the domain of couple relationships through content analyses of fantasy stories. Study 1 (N = 125) confirmed that the new thematic coding system captured experimentally induced differences in partner-related motivation and showed expected relations with D. G. Winters (1994) motive scoring system. Study 2 confirmed the discriminant and incremental validity of the implicit partner-related needs compared with self-report measures of the Big Five traits and adult attachment in a sample of 499 couples. In addition, dyadic analyses revealed expected associations of the partner-related needs with relationship satisfaction as experienced by oneself and by ones partner. The studies lend initial support to the validity of the relationship-specific needs for agency and communion as assessed by the PACT and introduce dyadic data analyses to the study of implicit motives.

In)Congruence of implicit and explicit communal motives predicts the quality and stability of couple relationships.

OBJECTIVE Previous research has shown that motive congruence, as observed in convergingly high or low scores on implicit and explicit motive measures, promotes well-being and health. Extending this individual perspective to the realm of couple relationships, the present investigation examined intra- and interpersonal effects of communal motive (in)congruence on relationship satisfaction and stability. METHOD The implicit partner-related need for communion, the explicit desire for closeness, and relationship satisfaction were assessed in a sample of 547 heterosexual couples aged 18 to 73 years. In a one-year follow-up study, information on relationship stability was obtained, and relationship satisfaction was reassessed. The researchers tested cross-sectional and longitudinal effects of motive (in)congruence by dyadic moderation analyses. RESULTS Individuals scoring congruently high on both motives reported the highest relationship satisfaction in concurrence with motive assessment and 1 year later. In addition, motive incongruence predicted an increased risk of relationship breakup over 1 year. CONCLUSIONS The results highlight the significance of both implicit and explicit motives for couple relationships. Motive incongruence was confirmed as a dispositional risk factor that so far has not been considered in couple research. Future research directions addressing potential mediators of the observed effects and potential moderators of motive (in)congruence are discussed.

The ABC of Social Desires: Affiliation, Being Alone, and Closeness to Partner

We propose a triadic model of social desires directed at appetence/aversion of affiliation with friends (A), being alone (B), and closeness to ones partner (C) that account for individual differences in subjectively experienced needs for proximity and distance in serious couple relationships. The model assumes that A, B, and C can be conceptualized at the individual level as correlated latent factors measured by appetence and aversion indicators with opposite factor loadings and low shared method variance and at the couple level assuming the same measurement model and identical (co)variances for men and women. The model was confirmed with confirmatory factor analyses in a sex–balanced internet sample of 476 individuals and a longitudinal sample of both partners of 578 heterosexual couples by assessing the ABC desires with brief appetence/aversion scales. In both samples, the desires showed expected unique associations with the Big Five personality traits, loneliness and relationship satisfaction, perceived available support by friends and partner, and attachment style toward the partner and high 1–year stability in the longitudinal sample. We suggest that the ABC model helps to integrate research on couples’ distance regulation along the lines of communal and agentic motivation. Copyright

The Dynamics of Self‐Esteem in Partner Relationships

Previous research on the role of self–esteem in partner relationships indicates that it is both predictive of and predicted by variables such as relationship satisfaction. However, most of these studies were constrained to only relationship satisfaction, cross–sectional or individual data. In the present study, we examine the dynamic interplay between self–esteem and both broad (i.e. relationship satisfaction) and specific aspects of relationship quality (independence and connectedness) reflecting the fulfilment of agentic and communal needs in stable partner relationships from both an intrapersonal perspective and an interpersonal perspective. Study 1 assessed 186 individuals at three measurement occasions over 15 years and suggests a common developmental dynamic between self–esteem and relationship satisfaction, as indicated by initial correlations and correlated changes. In Study 2, actor and partner effects in stable couples (N = 2124 dyads) were examined over a period of three years. It was found that self–esteem and all three aspects of relationship quality are dynamically intertwined in such a way that both previous levels and changes in one domain predict later changes in the other domain. Together, the findings indicate that self–esteem is consequential for the development of a variety of relationship aspects but likewise influenced by these very aspects. Copyright

Sound Body, Sound Mind? The Interrelation Between Health Change and Personality Change in Old Age: Health and personality change in old age

Personality development is characterized by increasing maturation, that is, people become more conscientious, agreeable and emotionally stable as they age. In late life, however, these trends seem to be reversed. Because many changes and transitions in older age are related to health, we investigated correlated changes in health problems and personality traits, the sources of health changes in later life and the directionality of effects. Our sample consisted of older adult twins, aged 64–85 years at time 1 (n = 410; 135 male/275 female; 134 monozygotic/63 dizygotic twin pairs), assessed at two different time points about five years apart, and we ran bivariate latent change and latent change twin model analyses. Increasing health problems were associated with decreases in agreeableness, extraversion, emotional stability and conscientiousness. Changes in health problems were only due to environmental influences, implying that the association between health and personality changes was exclusively environmental. Directional effects were largely absent, but health and personality were significantly related at the second measurement occasion (age 69–89 years). Our results support the link between health change and personality change in late life and spark the assumption of normative personality adaptations to deterioration of health status as a means of developmental regulation. Copyright

Social Bonding: Affiliation Motivation and Intimacy Motivation

Regardless of their cultural background, people desire to form and maintain relationships with others. Satisfying this need for social acceptance and relatedness makes people happier, whereas social rejection elicits negative feelings. This chapter will first describe several theoretical perspectives on affiliation motivation. Its main focus is directed toward approaches of personality and motivational psychology. For this purpose, different types of motives (implicit vs. explicit) and different facets of affiliation motivation (affiliation and intimacy) will be distinguished. The chapter will close with some recent findings on affiliation motivation and open questions for future research.

From Motive Dispositions to States to Outcomes: An Intensive Experience Sampling Study on Communal Motivational Dynamics in Couples: From motive dispositions to states to outcomes

Embedded in a theoretically founded process model (termed Dynamics of Motive Satisfaction, ‘DynaMoS’), the present study examined the links between the implicit dispositional communion motive, everyday motivational dynamics, and relationship outcomes in couples. Within–subject processes are proposed to explain between–subject associations of dispositional motives and relationship satisfaction. For an empirical test of the model, data on the dispositional partner–related need for communion and global relationship satisfaction were obtained from 152 individuals in heterosexual relationships. In an extensive experience sampling spanning 2 weeks, a subsample of 130 individuals answered questions about their current motivational states, mood, state relationship satisfaction, and experiences with their partner five times a day. The results were largely consistent with the DynaMoS model: (1) individuals with a strong dispositional implicit communion motive reported more often to be in a communal motivational state; (2) communally motivated individuals were more likely to engage in subsequent instrumental behaviour; and (3) relationship experiences that potentially satisfy communion motivation led to more positive relationship outcomes when individuals were motivated before compared with when they were not. It is discussed how these results and the experience sampling method can foster our understanding of how dispositional characteristics translate into everyday processes and shape relationship outcomes. Copyright