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Previous studies have shown that conscientiousness facets incrementally predict performance above and beyond trait conscientiousness. In the present paper we investigate whether this finding also holds at the daily level. We conducted a ten-day experience sampling study assessing state conscientiousness in the morning and task performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in the afternoon. Using multilevel bi-factor modeling we show that general state conscientiousness positively predicts both task performance and OCB. Moreover, self-discipline and deliberation showed incremental predictive validity above and beyond overall state conscientiousness in the prediction of daily task performance, whereas none of the state conscientiousness facets uniquely predicted daily OCB levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Profile correlations are sometimes used to quantify personality trait similarity between relationship partners. These coefficients are then used to test whether similar couples are happier couples. The current paper describes several different methods of calculating profile correlations and outlines procedures for testing whether these coefficients are related to marital adjustment in a sample of 1643 couples. There was little evidence that profile correlations were related to marital adjustment after accounting for normativeness (i.e., the degree to which an individual’s profile matched the typical personality profile) and when accounting for each individual’s personality attributes. Results suggest that researchers using profile correlations should be cautious given that the interpretation and psychological meaning of results often depend on how the coefficients are calculated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: According to the two continua model of mental health, psychopathology and positive mental health (emotional, psychological, and social well-being) are related but distinct continua. This study investigates the two continua model by examining whether psychopathology and positive mental health show differential associations with the Big Five personality traits. The paper draws on data of the representative LISS panel (CentERdata). Participants (N =1161; age 18–88) filled out questionnaires on personality, psychopathology, and positive mental health. Personality traits were differentially related to psychopathology and positive mental health, supporting the two continua model. Emotional stability (reversed neuroticism) is the main correlate of psychopathology, whereas the personality traits extraversion and agreeableness are uniquely associated with positive mental health. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper reports a study of resiliency to cope with workplace stress among Chinese health care workers. We adopted a qualitative–quantitative-biomarker approach to conduct interviews, focus group discussions, and a two-wave longitudinal survey. Wave 1 survey was conducted among health care workers in Hong Kong and Mainland China (N =773). Amongst them, 287 took part in Wave 2 survey. A confirmatory factor analysis consistently supported a 9-item scale. A sub-sample’s (N =33) resiliency was positively related to salivary IgA levels (an immune marker). Results from hierarchical regressions demonstrated that resiliency measured in Wave 1 was positively related to job satisfaction, work-life balance, and quality of life; and negatively related to physical/psychological symptoms and injuries at work in Wave 2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Personality and Assessment [Mischel, W. (1968). Personality and assessment. New York: Wiley] challenged personality psychology to commit to the idea that behavior emerges from an interaction of personality characteristics and situational forces. To understand the mechanisms driving person–situation interaction, personality psychologists often study behavioral regularities such as consistency, stability, coherence, and explainability. The current paper articulates such regularities via profile analysis of cross-situational behavioral contingencies, it articulates profile normativeness and distinctiveness as important considerations in profile analysis of behavioral contingency, it integrates an idiographic profile approach with a more traditional nomothetic approach, and it discusses conceptual and methodological implications. Importantly, the profile perspective provides a useful framework that integrates previous examinations of behavioral regularities and that points to new questions advancing personality psychology’s pursuit of person–situation integration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Portfolio theory (from the field of finance) provides an explicit means for understanding the relationship between individual components of a complex system and their relationship to the overall structure and behavior of that system over time. This paper models the self-concept as a portfolio (self-portfolio) composed of multiple self-schemas of differing degrees of evaluative valence. The self-schemas are organized according to their mean level of activation over time and their associated variability of activation over time. Using simulation data (Study 1) and also daily self-ratings provided by a sample of college students (n =65) collected via the internet over a 60 day interval (Study 2), the organizational structure of the individual self-schemas and their mean levels of variability in activation over time are shown to give rise to the overall evaluative valence of the self-concept and the way in which it changes over time. Implications of applying models from outside of psychology to study phenomena of interest to scientific psychology are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The goal of psychology is to discover the scientifically viable constructs or categories that will characterize what is variant and invariant in the working of the human mind. In this paper, I outline the idea for one such construct—valenced core affect. I first introduce the idea that valence is a basic, invariant building block of emotional life that derives from the human mind’s capacity to engage in the process of valuation (or judging whether something is helpful or harmful). I then review evidence to show that valence is a variant property of emotional responding, in that people differ from one another in the degree to which they focus on valence. Finally, I discuss the possibility that valence focus is not a property of the person that can be meaningfully separated from the psychological situation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The comparison of differences between cultural groups has been a dominant approach in cross-cultural psychology. This approach assumes behavioral influence of a relatively static, monolithic culture on members in a cultural group. This paper, however, calls for a dynamic constructivist approach to the study of culture. We begin by drawing a parallel between past research in cultural and personality psychology. We then highlight recent findings that attest to the value of a social-cognitive model of culture. Specifically, we discuss studies that have demonstrated how well established cross-cultural differences may appear or disappear depending on the availability, accessibility, and applicability of cultural theories. We present evidence that situational characteristics may render cultural theories more or less accessible and applicable, and propose a culture × situation interaction model for understanding inter- and intra-cultural variations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper focuses on the legacy of Paul Ekman’s classic work on the universality of emotions, describing the spirit of the man underlying the research, and what the findings have meant not only to subsequent research on emotion but to the field of psychology as well. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper deals with psychological differences between two cultures, with respect to the differences between individuals in those same cultures. Five principles are presented which describe either actual or probable empirical relationships between within- and between-culture differences, and a possible theoretical account is given for each of the presumed differences. (1) The differences between “cultures” seem “bigger” than the actual differences between the individuals in these same cultures. This relation is attributed to the idea that universal human biological predispositions are often opposed by cultural traditions, so the outcome is somewhat of a compromise between the two. (2) Differences between individuals in different cultures are generally larger in behavior than in thoughts or feelings This is attributed to the fact that it is easier to socialize behavior than mental events. (3) Many cultural differences are expressed in individuals in terms of different default responses or interpretations or preferences for the same situation. Dominant responses in one culture are usually a less salient part of the repertoire of individuals in another culture. (4) Much of the effect of culture, and our impression of culture differences, results from the physical/social artifacts (environments, institutions) created by the culture. There is a strong tendency by psychologists to under-rate or ignore the effects of the physical environment. (5) In the contemporary world, differences between individuals in two cultures will be larger in older generations. Cultural differences may be markedly reduced in the most recent generations, on account of globalization. The position put forth is an attempt to integrate the ideas that there are real human predispositions of various sorts and that culture is a powerful force, and to explain why it is surprisingly easy for us to understand the viewpoint of people from other cultures (their “reality”is often a less preferred alternative in our own repertoire). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One of the most exciting trends in psychology has been the increasing use of data and conceptual tools derived from the study of patients with neuropsychological syndromes to address questions about normal mental function. To date, however, personality theorists seldom have considered neuropsychological case material (). In this paper we show how neuropsychological evidence can afford new insights for personality theorists. In particular, we show how examination of persons suffering from amnesia and autism can shed light on the way in which knowledge about self is represented in memory. We first review the literature on clinical amnesia and then present evidence from a new case study exploring the relation between personal and nonpersonal knowledge in a patient with autism. We conclude that the mind may have learning systems that are specialized both for acquiring and retrieving information about one''s own personality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A correction is made to a previously published paper in Table 2 [Miller, J.D., Gaughan, E.T., Pryor, L.R., Kamen, C. (2008). Is research using the narcissistic personality inventory relevant for understanding narcissistic personality disorder? [Journal of Research in Personality 43 (2009) 482–488]. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]