Shchebetenko S, Mishkevich AM. Can exposure to arguments pro and contra extraversion affect self-reports of the trait and the attitude toward it?
J Pers 2021;
90:513-526. [PMID:
34655475 DOI:
10.1111/jopy.12680]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Changeability of personality over short-term intervals has increasingly become a focus of research. However, the role played by argumentation interventions in short-term variations has scarcely been examined.
METHODS
In two experiments (N = 363 and 320), we investigated how processing positive and negative argumentation regarding extraversion (Study 1: watching a lecture; Study 2: elaborating self-invented arguments) affects self-reports on this trait and attitude toward it. The experiments included three waves of measurements with argument manipulation (in favor of or against extraversion) immediately prior to Time 2 (Study 2 also included a control group).
RESULTS
Mean-level changes in extraversion across time moments, measured with the longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis, were consistently negligible. Conversely, there were some indications that argumentation about extraversion could have immediate short-term effects on attitudes toward this trait. The random-intercept cross-lagged model showed that rank-order consistency stemmed from a trait-like intercept, which was particularly large for trait extraversion compared with the attitude. The autoregressive and cross-lagged effects of residual within-person variation were consistently small and mostly nonsignificant.
CONCLUSION
Our findings suggest that extraversion and the attitude toward it maintained their temporal continuity within 3 months, even under a single exposure to arguments pro and contra this trait.
Collapse