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Situated selves: A cyclical model of personality expression in context
1Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security, and Law, Germany.
Current Opinion in Psychology
|July 23, 2025
Summary
Personality science shows traits emerge from dynamic person-environment interactions. Individuals actively shape situations, influencing their experiences and outcomes, leading to context-sensitive personality research.
Area of Science:
- Personality Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- The person-situation debate, initiated a century ago, questioned the stability of personality traits.
- Modern personality science recognizes traits are expressed through dynamic person-environment interactions.
- Understanding this interplay is crucial for a comprehensive view of personality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize recent advancements in understanding personality expression within environmental contexts.
- To explore the multifaceted phases of personality expression: situation selection, experience, behavioral states, and outcome activation.
- To identify emerging questions and future directions for a context-sensitive personality science.
Main Methods:
- Literature review synthesizing research across four key phases of personality expression.
- Integration of theoretical frameworks including structured situational taxonomies, affordance frameworks, and situational strength theory.
- Discussion of emerging research questions and technological advancements in personality assessment.
Main Results:
- Individuals are not passive responders but actively select, shape, and construe their environments.
- Traits influence situation selection and construal, while situational cues regulate behavioral expression.
- New technologies facilitate real-time, behaviorally grounded personality assessment.
Conclusions:
- Personality expression is a dynamic process involving active person-environment interplay.
- Integrating situation selection, experience, and behavioral expression offers a more nuanced understanding of traits.
- Future research should leverage technological advancements for context-sensitive and behaviorally grounded personality science.
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