Marie Hennecke

What Drives Adult Personality Development? A Comparison of Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Evidence

Increasing numbers of empirical studies provide compelling evidence that personality traits change across the entire lifespan. What initiates this continuing personality development and how does this development proceed? In this paper, we compare six theoretical perspectives that offer testable predictions about why personality develops the way it does and identify limitations and potentials of these perspectives by reviewing how they hold up against the empirical evidence. While all of these perspectives have received some empirical support, there is only little direct evidence for propositions put forward by the five–factor theory of personality and the theory of genotype → environment effects. In contrast, the neo–socioanalytic theory appears to offer a comprehensive framework that fits the empirical findings and allows the integration of other, more specialized, perspectives that focus on specific aspects of personality development like the role of time, systematic differences between categories of social roles or the active partake of the person himself or herself. We draw conclusions on the likely driving factors for adult personality development and identify avenues for future research. Copyright

Developmental Tasks as a Framework to Study Personality Development in Adulthood and Old Age

Research consistently shows that personality development is a lifelong phenomenon, with mean–level and rank–order changes occurring in all life phases. What happens during specific life phases that can explain these developmental patterns? In the present paper, we review literature linking personality development in different phases of adulthood to developmental tasks associated with these phases. Building on previous work, we describe several categories of developmental tasks that are present in all phases of adulthood. However, the specific tasks within these categories change across adulthood from establishing new social roles in early adulthood to maintaining them in middle adulthood and preventing losses in old age. This trajectory is reflected in mean–level changes in personality, which indicates development towards greater maturity (increases in social dominance, conscientiousness, and emotional stability) in early and middle adulthood, but less so at the end of life. Importantly, developmental tasks are not only associated with mean–level changes, but the way in which people deal with these tasks is also related to rank–order changes in personality. We provide an outlook for future research on how the influence of historical time on the normativeness of developmental tasks might be reflected in personality development. Copyright

Age-related differences in outcome and process goal focus

Three studies report initial findings on age-related differences in goal focus. Study 1 compared younger (n = 23, 19–25 years) to older (n = 20, 57–78 years) adults regarding their preference for representations of goals in terms of the means (process focus) or the associated outcomes (outcome focus). As expected, older adults chose process descriptors of goals more frequently than younger adults. Study 2 investigated the emotional consequences of goal focus. Whereas younger adults (n = 49, 18–25 years) reported higher negative affect when they focused on the outcomes of a goal, older adults (n = 40, 60–88 years) reported higher positive affect when they focused on the process. Study 3, a 4-month longitudinal study, applied the distinction between process and outcome focus to the context of a personal goal in everyday life (starting to exercise). Older adults (n = 46, 55–78 years) reported having a stronger process focus than younger adults (n = 55, 19–25 years). Again, older adults were more likely to adopt a process than an outcome focus. For both age groups, process focus predicted positive goal-related development and affective well-being. In contrast, outcome focus was either not or negatively related to these outcomes.

A three-part framework for self-regulated personality development across adulthood.

Recently, researchers interested in personality development have begun to acknowledge the roles of motivation and self–regulation for why traits change across adulthood. We propose three preconditions under which individuals may change their own levels of a personality trait through self–directed efforts. Firstly, individuals need to desire changing their trait–related behaviours either as an end in itself or in order to achieve other goals. Secondly, they need to consider behavioural changes feasible and be able to implement the desired changes. Thirdly, behavioural changes need to become habitual in order to constitute a stable trait. After elaborating on these three conditions, we review evidence attesting to the importance of motivation and self–regulation for trait development. We conclude with a discussion of the mutual interdependence of traits and goals, as well as the limits of self–regulated personality change. From our framework, we derive why personality changes across adulthood tend to be small to medium only, namely because they may require that all three preconditions for self–regulated personality change are fulfilled. We provide reasons for why people might not view change as desirable, feasible or fail to maintain it over time. Finally, we propose ideas for potential study designs to research self–regulated personality change. Copyright

Changing eating behaviour vs. losing weight: The role of goal focus for weight loss in overweight women

A 6-week longitudinal study with N = 126 overweight women participating in a weight-loss programme investigated the hypothesis that focusing on the process (dietary behaviours) rather than on the outcome of dieting (weight loss) is associated with more successful goal pursuit and achievement. As expected, process focus was related positively to subjective daily success in dieting as well as to actual weight loss, and negatively to deviations from the diet. In contrast, outcome focus had a negative impact on successful dieting: focusing on weight loss was marginally negatively related to actual weight loss and was associated with more disinhibition after lapses. Confirming hypotheses, self-regulation failure (i.e. deviations from the diet, disinhibition) was negatively related to daily affective well-being. Contrary to hypotheses, however, goal focus was not directly associated with affective well-being but only indirectly through self-regulation. Focusing on the process rather than on the outcome of dieting, then, might help achieving difficult health-related goals and support self-regulation but does not contribute directly to affective well-being.

On Means and Ends: The Role of Goal Focus in Successful Goal Pursuit

When pursuing a goal, one can focus more on the process or on the outcome of goal pursuit. We take a closer look at the hypothesis that when one pursues goals that are demanding in terms of the level of skill or self-regulation required to achieve them, focusing on the process is more adaptive and focusing on the outcome can even be detrimental to goal achievement. We summarize the evidence from the emerging literature on the adaptiveness of process focus and outcome focus for goal pursuit and attainment.

Staying on and Getting Back on the Wagon: Age-Related Improvement in Self-Regulation During a Low-Calorie Diet

In the present study, we investigated whether self-regulation improves across adulthood, especially regarding the mastery of setbacks and failure in an important health-related behavior, namely, staying on a low-calorie diet when overweight. Overweight women (N = 126; 19-77 years of age, M = 47.2) filled out weekly questionnaires on the outcomes of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive self-regulation during a dieting program; outcomes included deviations from the diet, weight loss, affect, and rumination. Confirming hypotheses, multilevel analyses revealed that-even after controlling for prior dieting attempts-age was associated with better self-reported self-regulation (i.e., fewer deviations from the diet, lower disinhibition and rumination after failure, and higher affective well-being) but not with more weight loss. Results suggest that self-regulation improves with age and shows positive effects on subjective indicators of successfully coping with setbacks but does not directly influence the target-outcome weight loss.

Identifying Success on the Process Level Reduces Negative Effects of Prior Weight Loss on Subsequent Weight Loss During a Low-Calorie Diet

BACKGROUND Dieters often show weight cycling, i.e. prior successful weight loss is followed by weight gain. The current study examined how goal progress during a diet (i.e. weight loss) impacts subsequent weight loss depending on whether success is identified on the process level or the outcome level of dieting. METHODS A short-term longitudinal study examined lagged effects of weight loss and identifications of success in one week on weight loss in the subsequent week. Across 6 weeks, N = 126 overweight women reported their weekly weight and the degree to which they considered themselves as successful regarding the process of dieting (e.g. changing eating behavior) and the desired dieting outcomes (e.g. improving appearance). RESULTS Successful weight loss in one week negatively affected weight loss in the subsequent week. However, identifying success on the process level reduced this negative effect. DISCUSSION Although people might feel generally that goal progress licenses subsequent goal-inconsistent behavior, identifying successful goal-pursuit on the process rather than the outcome level of a goal may counteract the subsequent loss of dieting motivation.

Age, Action Orientation, and Self‐Regulation during the Pursuit of a Dieting Goal

Two studies tested the hypotheses that (1) action orientation (vs. state orientation) is positively correlated with age across adulthood and (2) action orientation aids the self-regulation of ones feelings, thoughts, and behavior during the pursuit of a dieting goal. Hypotheses were partly confirmed. In Study 1, N = 126 overweight women (age: 19-77 years) intended to lose weight by means of a low-calorie diet. In Study 2, N = 322 adults (age: 18-82 years) reported on their action orientation to replicate the association of age and action orientation found in Study 1. Study 2 corroborated only the expected positive association of age and decision-related action orientation. In Study 1, decision-related action orientation predicted higher affective well-being during the diet as well as less self-reported deviations from the diet; failure-related action orientation predicted lower levels of rumination in response to dieting failures. Action orientation partially mediated the negative effects of age on deviations and rumination (see Hennecke & Freund, ). Weight loss was not predicted by action orientation. We discuss action orientation as one factor of increased motivational competence in older adulthood.

Uncovering the Power of Personality to Shape Income

The notion of person-environment fit implies that personal and contextual factors interact in influencing important life outcomes. Using data from 8,458 employed individuals, we examined the combined effects of individuals’ actual personality traits and jobs’ expert-rated personality demands on earnings. Results from a response surface analysis indicated that the fit between individuals’ actual personality and the personality demands of their jobs is a predictor of income. Conclusions of this combined analysis were partly opposite to conclusions reached in previous studies using conventional regression methods. Individuals can earn additional income of more than their monthly salary per year if they hold a job that fits their personality. Thus, at least for some traits, economic success depends not only on having a “successful personality” but also, in part, on finding the best niche for one’s personality. We discuss the findings with regard to labor-market policies and individuals’ job-selection strategies.