The personality systems framework: Current theory and development

On Personality Measures and Their Data: A Classification of Measurement Approaches and Their Recommended Uses

We employ a new approach for classifying methods of personality measurement such as self-judgment, mental ability, and lifespace measures and the data they produce. We divide these measures into two fundamental groups: personal-source data, which arise from the target person's own reports, and external-source data, which derive from the areas surrounding the person. These two broad classes are then further divided according to what they target and the response processes that produce them. We use the model to organize roughly a dozen kinds of data currently employed in the field. With this classification system in hand, we describe how much we might expect two types of measures of the same attribute to converge-and explain why methods often yield somewhat different results. Given that each measurement method has its own strengths and weaknesses, we examine the pros and cons of selecting a given type of measure to assess a specific area of personality.

Effects of physical activity on regulatory emotional self-efficacy, resilience, and emotional intelligence of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic

The normalization of epidemic prevention and control has exacerbated nurses' physical and mental stresses. The important role of physical activity in relieving nurses' physical and mental stresses has received extensive attention from researchers in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of physical activity on the regulatory emotional self-efficacy, resilience, and emotional intelligence of nurses and explain their interactions. The present study adopted the cluster sampling method. From April to May 2022, a total of 500 nurses in six municipal hospitals in Changsha City were selected. Finally, 402 valid data samples were obtained. Afterward, AMOS 23.0 (by maximum likelihood estimation) was used to process the collected data and analyze the proposed hypotheses by using 5,000 bootstrap samples to test the mediating effects of the structural equation model. The results demonstrated that there are positive correlations between physical activity and resilience (standardized coefficients = 0.232, p < 0.001), resilience and regulatory emotional self-efficacy (standardized coefficients = 0.449, p < 0.001), and emotional intelligence and regulatory emotional self-efficacy (standardized coefficients = 0.330, p < 0.001). The positive influence of physical activity on emotional regulation self-efficacy is completely mediated by emotional intelligence and resilience (standardized indirect effect = 0.237, p < 0.01), and this explanatory power is far higher than any previous study (R ² = 0.49). The positive emotions generated by an individual's physical activity have an important explanatory role for individuals who want to establish more emotional regulation self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, and psychological resilience.

Does Personality Change Follow Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease Patients?

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) has emerged as a safe, effective, and appealing treatment for Parkinson's Disease (PD), particularly for improving motor symptoms (e. g., tremor, bradykinesia, and rigidity). However, concerns have been raised about whether DBS causes psychological changes, including changes to personality: characteristic and relatively stable patterns of affect, behavior, cognition, and desire. In this article, after first presenting some background information about PD and DBS, we examined evidence obtained from various empirical research methods (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods for evaluating patient valued characteristics) pertaining to whether DBS causes personality change. General limitations across research methods include a lack of randomized clinical trials and small sample sizes. We organized our review of findings according to different layers of personality variables: dispositional traits (including personality pathology), characteristic adaptations, and narrative identity. Though most work has been done on dispositional traits, there is not much evidence that dispositional traits change following DBS. Little work has been done on characteristic adaptations, but there is somewhat consistent evidence for positive perceived progress toward goals across a number of domains: routine activities, work, social/relational, and leisure. Nascent work on narrative identity holds promise for revealing issues around self-image that may be common following DBS. We listed a number of strategies for advancing research, highlighting opportunities related to personality conceptualization, personality assessment, and interdisciplinary scholarship. Finally, we offer practical applications of our findings for the informed consent process and for ongoing treatment.

Personality Traits and Sense of Dignity in End-of-Life Cancer Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

CONTEXT

Patients' personality traits can play an important role in the end-of-life care process.

OBJECTIVES

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between personality traits and dignity in cancer patients nearing death. In addition, the associations between personality traits and physical, psychological symptoms, and coping strategies during the end-of-life stage were explored.

METHODS

The study is cross-sectional. The sample consisted of 210 participants with a Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) lower than 50 and a life expectancy of a few weeks. For each patient, personal and clinical data were collected and a set of validated rating scales, assessing personality, dignity, physical, psychological symptoms and coping strategies was administered during the first psychological consultation.

RESULTS

The results highlighted significant associations between personality traits and dignity. In particular, Conscientiousness was negatively correlated with Social Support and Extroversion was negatively associated with Loss of Purpose and Meaning. Neuroticism was related to all the dimensions of dignity and Extroversion was significantly associated with the physical and psychological symptoms. Regarding coping styles, active coping strategies were predictors of Extroversion and Agreeableness. Conversely, anxiety symptoms predicted the Neuroticism trait.

CONCLUSIONS

Personality traits seem to be actively involved into the loss of dignity. These findings highlighted the importance of including personality traits and dignity into the patient's care process. Exploring individual differences and coping mechanisms at the end-of-life could improve palliative care and lead to better patient-tailored psychological interventions.

Personality coherence in acts and texts: Searching for coherence within and beyond trait categories

This paper reports two studies that explore complementary aspects of personality coherence. Study 1 addressed cross-situational coherence in contextualized psychological response. Idiographically-tailored methods assessed individuals’ (i) beliefs about their personal attributes, (ii) subjective “mappings” of these attributes to everyday circumstances, and (iii) self-reported contextualized action tendencies. A novel index of idiographic–nomothetic relations gauged the degree to which the idiographic methods yield unique information. Participants’ mappings commonly deviated from the structure of nomothetic trait categories; people often grouped together contextualized action tendencies traditionally associated with different trait categories. The idiographic mappings predicted cross-situational coherence in action tendencies. Study 2 asked whether the contextualization of personal qualities would be evident when people merely are asked to describe their personal attributes in natural language. Participants wrote narratives describing positive and negative qualities. Narratives were coded for the presence of three linguistic features: conditional statements, probabilistic statements, and personality trait inconsistencies. All three occurred frequently. Furthermore, they co-occurred; among participants who described trait-inconsistent attributes, the large majority spontaneously cited conditions in which these attributes are manifested. People who recognize that they possess inconsistent personal qualities may nonetheless attain a coherent understanding of themselves by spontaneously developing a contextually-embedded sense of self.

The dynamics, processes, mechanisms, and functioning of personality: An overview of the field

Personality psychology has long focused on structural trait models, but it can also offer a rich understanding of the dynamics, processes, mechanisms, and functioning of individual differences or entire persons. The field of personality dynamics, which works towards such an understanding, has experienced a renaissance in the last two decades. This review article seeks to act as a primer of that field. It covers its historical roots, summarizes current research strands - along with their theoretical backbones and methodologies - in an accessible way, and sketches some considerations for the future. In doing so, we introduce relevant concepts, give an overview of different topics and phenomena subsumed under the broad umbrella term 'dynamics', and highlight the interdisciplinarity as well as applied relevance of the field. We hope this article can serve as a useful overview for scholars within and outside of personality psychology who are interested in the dynamic nature of human behaviour and experience.

An Integrated Approach to Personality Assessment Based on the Personality Systems Framework

Psychologists who carry out personality assessments must be conversant in diverse technical languages to describe their clients' social contexts and inner personality function. The clinician needs to understand a person's family, gender role, ethnic identity, religious beliefs, and similar qualities, and also a client's inner personality functioning, including the workings of motives, emotions, cognition, and self-control: These can be characterized by relevant psychiatric symptoms, personality traits, and individual test scores such as those on the MMPI-2-RF and Rorschach-Performance Assessment System. The Personality Systems Framework for Assessment (PSF-A) can support the assessment process by organizing information about both an individual's context and personality function, freeing professionals to optimally focus on characterizing their clients.

Health behaviors and personality in burnout: a third dimension

The high prevalence of burnout among healthcare professionals warrants a thorough examination aimed at improving the current understanding of its predictors and preventive measures. Cecil et al. have underscored the alarming prevalence of burnout among medical students and assessed its association with demographic, lifestyle, and behavioral factors. Of interest, health behaviors were found to be predictive of burnout. The study suggests certain behaviors (such as high physical activity) to be protective, and thus, calls for their establishment early in college life to prevent the development of this professionally-disabling mental state. Although the adoption of advisable health behaviors may independently reduce the risk of burnout, recognition of the existence and influence of closely related factors allows for an enhanced understanding and a greater precision for any conclusions to be made. Personality, through deductive and inductive reasoning, is likely to exert significant influence on both the student's behavior and his/her susceptibility to burnout. Thus, with personality representing--in and of itself--a principal model for prediction of burnout risk, controlling for personality traits when addressing health behaviors' influence per se on burnout is essential.