Daniel Cervone

THE ARCHITECTURE OF PERSONALITY

This article presents a theoretical framework for analyzing psychological systems that contribute to the variability, consistency, and cross-situational coherence of personality functioning. In the proposed knowledge-and-appraisal personality architecture (KAPA), personality structures and processes are delineated by combining 2 principles: distinctions (a) between knowledge structures and appraisal processes and (b) among intentional cognitions with varying directions of fit, with the latter distinction differentiating among beliefs, evaluative standards, and aims. Basic principles of knowledge activation and use illuminate relations between knowledge and appraisal, yielding a synthetic account of personality structures and processes. Novel empirical data illustrate the heuristic value of the knowledge/appraisal distinction by showing how self-referent and situational knowledge combine to foster cross-situational coherence in appraisals of self-efficacy.

Goal setting and the differential influence of self-regulatory processes on complex decision-making performance.

The effects of goal setting and cognitive self-regulatory processes were examined on a highly complex task, a managerial decision-making simulation. It was hypothesized that the presence vs. absence of a specific performance goal would moderate the strength of relations between performance and 2 self-regulatory processes: self-efficacy judgments and self-evaluative reactions. Ss received either a moderately or extremely difficult task goal, or no specific goal. Self-regulatory processes were assessed after an initial trial block. Regression analyses revealed that, as predicted, both self-regulatory processes more strongly affected performance when Ss received a specific goal. Contrary to earlier findings obtained with simple activities, dissatisfaction with prior outcomes impaired performance. Ss who were dissatisfied with past attainments exerted much decision effort but adopted inferior task strategies that produced poorer results.

Perceived self-efficacy and everyday problem solving among young and older adults.

This research tested the hypothesis that age differences in both self-efficacy perceptions and problem-solving performance would vary as a function of the ecological relevance of problems to young and older adults. The authors developed novel everyday problem-solving stimuli that were ecologically representative of problems commonly confronted by young adults (young-adult problems), older adults (older adult problems), or both (common problems). Performance on an abstract problem solving task lacking in ecological representativeness (the Tower of Hanoi problem) also was examined. Although young persons had higher self-efficacy beliefs and performance levels on the Tower of Hanoi task problem and the young-adult problems, this pattern reversed in the domain of older adult problems, where the self-efficacy beliefs and performance of older persons exceeded those of the young.

Proximal goal-setting and self-regulatory processes

Despite much theoretical discussion, relatively little research has examined the motivational effects of proximal goal-setting, and existing findings are inconsistent. This experiment examines the effects of proximal subgoals on perceived self-efficacy, self-evaluative reactions to performance, and task persistence. Subjects performed a complex problem-solving task under conditions involving either no subgoal, an attainable subgoal, or an unattainable subgoal. The self-regulatory processes were assessed prior to and during performance. Setting a subgoal boosted initial perceived self-efficacy. Attaining the proximal goal increased self-efficacy perceptions, self-satisfaction with performance, and subsequent task persistence. Changes in perceived self-efficacy mediated the effects of subgoal attainment on behavior.

Social-Cognitive Theory of Personality Assessment

This article presents a social-cognitive theory of personality assessment. We articulate the implications of social-cognitive theories of personality for the question of what constitutes an assessment of personality structure and behavioral dispositions. The theory consists of 5 social-cognitive principles of assessment. Personality assessments should (a) distinguish the task of assessing internal personality structures and dynamics from that of assessing overt behavioral tendencies, (b) attend to personality systems that function as personal determinants of action, (c) treat measures of separate psychological and physiological systems as conceptually distinct, (d) employ assessments that are sensitive to the unique qualities of the individual, and (e) assess persons in context. These principles are illustrated through a review of recent research. Social-cognitive theory is distinguished from an alternative theory of personality structure and assessment, 5-factor theory, by articulating the strategies of scientific explanation, conceptions of personality structure and dispositions, and the assessment practices that differentiate the approaches.

Effects of envisioning future activities on self-efficacy judgments and motivation: An availability heuristic interpretation

This study examines the effects of envisioning factors that can either facilitate or hinder performance on an upcoming activity. Prior to engaging in a cognitive task, subjects focused on factors that could enhance or impair their performance. They then indicated their perceived self-efficacy on the activity and performed the task. Dwelling on factors that could impair performance diminished judgments of self-efficacy. Group differences in subsequent task persistence paralleled the differences in self-efficacy judgments. Regression analyses provided evidence that judgments of self-efficacy mediated the behavioral effects. Subjects displayed nearly identical levels of performance motivation whether or not they recorded self-efficacy judgments. The results are interpreted in terms of the availability heuristic. Self-efficacy judgments generally may reflect a small set of highly available personal and situational factors; focusing on particular aspects of an activity heightens the availability of these features, biasing efficacy judgments, which, in turn, regulate subsequent behavior.

The contribution of self-efficacy beliefs to dispositional shyness: On social-cognitive systems and the development of personality dispositions

This longitudinal research explored the impact of self-efficacy beliefs on self-reported tendencies to experience shyness in interpersonal encounters among a population of adolescents studied over a two-year period. Self-efficacy measures, taken at the initial measurement period, included indices of perceived self-efficacy for forming and maintaining social relationships, dealing effectively with parents, managing negative emotions, and expressing positive emotions towards others. Levels of self-reported shyness as well as emotional stability were assessed also at time 1, with shyness measured again at the follow-up assessment two years later. Structural equation modeling indicated that two of the four self-efficacy measures uniquely contributed to levels of shyness reported at time 1, and that perceptions of social self-efficacy uniquely contributed to shyness at time 2 even when considering the effects of time 1 shyness levels. Emotional stability did not uniquely contributed to time 2 shyness after considering the relation between shyness at the first and second measurement points. The broad implications of social-cognitive analyses for the study of personality development are discussed.

Generalization effects of coping-skills training : Influence of self-defense training on women's efficacy beliefs, assertiveness, and Aggression

Concern for personal safety is a pervasive stressor for many women. Developing competencies in physical self-defense may empower women to engage more freely in daily activities with less fear. This study assessed the effects of physical self-defense training on multiple aspects of womens perceived self-efficacy and other self-reported personality characteristics. Training powerfully increased task-specific (self-defense) efficacy beliefs as well as physical and global efficacy beliefs. Training increased self-reported assertiveness, and posttraining decreases in hostility and aggression were found on several of the subscales of The Aggression Questionnaire (A. H. Buss & M. Perry, 1992), indicating that training did not have an aggression-disinhibiting effect. In the experimental condition, most of the effects were maintained (and some delayed effects appeared at follow-up.

Goals, feedback, and the differential influence of self-regulatory processes on cognitively complex performance

This research examined the hypothesis that the combination of assigned goals and specific performance feedback would moderate relations between self-regulatory processes and performance on a cognitively complex task. The presence/absence of a challenging goal and specific feedback was manipulated factorially. Self-evaluative reactions, self-efficacy perceptions, and personal goals were assessed after an initial trial block. Assigned goals and specific feedback did not affect mean performance levels but, as predicted, significantly moderated the impact of the self-processes. Specifically, self-efficacy perceptions and personal goals affected performance only within the condition combining a challenging goal with performance feedback. Dissatisfaction with ones prior attainments impaired subsequent goal-directed performance. Greatly overestimating ones efficacy on a preperformance assessment impaired performance in the condition combining goals and specific feedback. Differences between effort-based and cognitively complex tasks are discussed.

Beyond Traits in the Study of Personality Coherence

People exhibit coherent patterns of experience and action that cannot be fully described or explained by personality trait models. Rather, personality coherence is expressed in dispositional tendencies that violate the structure of common trait categories. Across contexts, people display predictable patterns of behavioral variation that cannot be captured by trait constructs, which correspond to mean levels of response. In addition to these empirical findings, theoretical work in both psychology and philosophy challenges the conceptual strategies through which trait models explain personality coherence. These empirical and theoretical points can be addressed by alternative theoretical models that specify how underlying psychological systems give rise to both common and idiosyncratic patterns of personality consistency and variability.