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Sense of purpose is seen as a catalyst for successful ageing, predicting a wide range of health outcomes and mortality. However, its role in fostering subjective well-being during old age has received less attention, especially the bidirectional nature of this relationship. The present study examined how sense of purpose predicts and is predicted by subjective well-being in this life stage. Panel data from the Health and Retirement Study ( N = 8980) were used, spanning three measurement occasions across eight years. Four subjective well-being indicators (life satisfaction, depression, positive- and negative affect) were modelled with purpose using (random-intercept) cross-lagged panel models to disentangle within-from between-person associations. We found moderate to strong correlated change and some evidence for directional associations between the constructs. Purpose predicted changes in all four subjective well-being markers, and these associations were generally stronger than the effects of subjective well-being on purpose. Within-person changes in sense of purpose predicted subsequent changes in life satisfaction and positive affect, but not in negative affect and depression. In sum, sense of purpose is associated with higher subjective well-being in old age, but efforts to maintain or increase older adults' sense of purpose may only improve positive components of subjective well-being.

Past research has suggested that the path to purpose involves connections with people along the way. In support, sense of purpose appears higher amongst those adults with more positive social relationships and interactions. However, research has yet to consider whether associations between sense of purpose and social relationship variables differ across adulthood. The present study examined this claim using a sample of Swiss adults, who completed measures for sense of purpose, loneliness, received support, and provided support. A large, nationally representative sample of 2,312 Swiss adults (52.34 years old; SD = 17.35) completed these measures, as part of a larger survey. Local structural equation modeling was employed to estimate the means and associations of these constructs across adulthood. Sense of purpose was negatively associated with loneliness, but positively associated overall with both support variables. No evidence was found for age moderation for the association between sense of purpose and loneliness. However, moderation was evidenced insofar that sense of purpose was less associated with both support variables with age. Sense of purpose again appears related to more positive social well-being and relationships, and consistently linked to lower loneliness. The age moderation effects for purpose-support associations are discussed with respect to theories of adult development.

ObjectivesResearch has demonstrated sense of purpose predicts better health in older adulthood. However, work is limited with respect to understanding how experiencing a health event or illness diagnosis impacts older adults' sense of purpose.MethodThe current study employed a propensity score matching approach to compare older adults who did or did not experience an adverse health event on changes in sense of purpose across 3 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Sense of purpose was assessed at each wave, and changes were compared between people who did versus did not experience one of 7 diagnoses and health events.ResultsWhen propensity score matching was employed, no differences in trajectories of change for sense of purpose were found with respect to all 7 events. Individual differences in trajectories, however, were evidenced across groups.DiscussionThe current findings suggest that even when health events impact older adults' physical functioning or place limitations on their activity, they may hold little ramifications for their sense of purpose. Future research should consider this potential for resilience, focusing on how adults compensate for losses.

The current study examined the nature of gratitude and future time perspective (FTP) during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the effects of age and virus worry on the associations between gratitude and remaining opportunities and time. Data came from a survey of a representative sample of Swiss adults (N = 1,008; 18-90 years) assessed during the pandemic in 2020. Local structural equation modeling (LSEM) was used to investigate the effects of continuous age and virus worry on mean-levels and correlations. While gratitude was unaffected by age and worry, the remaining opportunities and time factors of FTP decreased across age and levels of worry. The associations between gratitude and the FTP factors were invariant across age and levels of worry. Additionally, using previous cross-sectional data, the study found that associations between gratitude and future time perspective were significantly smaller during the pandemic as compared to an assessment in 2018.

Personality traits continue to change throughout the lifespan. However, we still know little about when, why, and how personality traits change. In this paper, we review the current state of scientific evidence regarding the nature, sources, and processes of personality trait stability and change. We revisit past disputes over the relative importance of genetic and environmental influences, discuss studies on life events and personality trait development, and summarize theory and research on personality change processes. In doing so, we derive general principles of personality trait development, highlight limitations of past research, and present the broad outlines for future research on personality trait development, with a particular emphasis on relevant methodological issues and conceptual challenges.

The current study examined age-related psychometrics and differences in the measurement, mean-levels, variances, and correlations of gratitude and future time perspective across adulthood using data from a cross-sectional survey in a representative Swiss sample (N = 1684, age range: 19–98 years). Local structural equation modeling was used to investigate these measurement parameters based on age as a continuous variable instead of using artificial age groupings. After having established a measurement model with three interrelated factors of gratitude, opportunities and time, results indicate that the measurement model demonstrates at least metric measurement invariance for all factors. Gratitude mean-levels and correlations with future time perspective remained stable across the examined age range. We did find a strong decline in perceived remaining opportunities and time across age, and an increase in the variance of these constructs. This suggests that people generally perceive time and opportunities as more limited with increasing age, but that the interindividual differences in this perception are particularly large in old age.

McCrae (2020) argues that it is premature to explore interventions focused on personality change. In his commentary, he suggests that interventions should be promoted only if their effects in self-report data are confirmed by the additional opinion of informants. We agree with the essence of his position and would go further by envisioning a new framework for rigorous collaborative research on personality change (Bleidorn et al., 2020). We nevertheless maintain that policymakers would benefit from considering the additional opinion of personality scientists. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

McCrae (2020) argues that it is premature to explore interventions focused on personality change. In his commentary, he suggests that interventions should be promoted only if their effects in self-report data are confirmed by the additional opinion of informants. We agree with the essence of his position and would go further by envisioning a new framework for rigorous collaborative research on personality change (Bleidorn et al., 2020). We nevertheless maintain that policymakers would benefit from considering the additional opinion of personality scientists. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

OBJECTIVE: Gratitude plays an important role in individual and social well-being. However, less is known about the link between gratitude and experiences of interpersonal stressors. The current research examined the associations between gratitude and interpersonal transgressions. METHOD: One cross-sectional study with a broad age range and two daily diary studies (total N = 2,348; total age range: 18-91) were used to test the associations on the between- and within-person level. RESULTS: A consistent result across all studies was that dispositionally grateful individuals tended to report fewer interpersonal transgressions than less grateful people. In turn, people who generally reported more interpersonal transgressions were less grateful in daily life. Moreover, higher gratitude on one specific day was associated with fewer reported transgressions on the same day. However, the results from the daily diary studies indicated differences between the samples. Whereas gratitude was consistently associated with interpersonal transgressions in one daily diary sample, the findings in the second daily diary sample were less consistent. CONCLUSION: The present findings suggest that grateful people tend to perceive their social exchanges differently and/or actually experience fewer interpersonal transgressions. Future work is needed to test the underlying mechanisms of this negative association.

Research has made great progress in recent years to better understand how individual differences predict consequential healthy aging outcomes and why and when individual differences may matter in everday life. This final chapter integrates and discusses the contributions in this volume around three broad sections. The first section relates to “new” constructs beyond the Big Five personality traits. The second section discusses “new” assessment and analytical methods. Finally, the third section refers to “new” questions in the field of personality and healthy aging.

Worldwide efforts to promote healthy aging have increased in recent years, given the longer life expectancies. The current volume was organized in order to discuss how personality science may be employed in these efforts. In this introduction, we discuss the previous efforts to link personality constructs to the promotion of healthy aging. In so doing, we set the stage for the remaining chapters that target specific topics along this front. The importance of promoting healthy aging has never been clearer. Individuals are living longer lives than ever before, which places greater importance on identifying factors that promote health maintenance and improve quality of life. Though the final endpoint may be the same for all, individuals differ greatly in the extent to which they enact healthy lifestyle behaviors across the lifespan, and in their likelihood for experiencing negative health risks. In recent decades, efforts to identify why some individuals experience more or less positive aging trajectories have pointed to the value of considering personality science. Though the notion that individuals’ personality dispositions are valuable for predicting health outcomes is not new (for a review of the classic work on trait anger and hostility, see Siegman, 1994), what has changed in recent years is (a) our definitions, taxonomies, and understanding of personality dispositions, (b) the knowledge base regarding why and for whom personality characteristics lead to healthier aging outcomes, and (c) the methodological and analytic approaches taken for studies in this field. The current volume reflects an effort to present new findings, developments, and techniques in order to continue progress for research on personality traits and healthy aging. The focus is less on absolute coverage of any one domain of research or methodological expertise, and instead is intended to provide a smattering of new ideas and theoretical insights from some of the researchers at the forefront of

Cognitive methods refer to research approaches that incorporate the understanding of cognitive processing and individual differences in cognitive performance of individuals. The goal of this entry is to give an overview about different cognitive methods and discuss their application for personality science. The first part argues for the importance of cognitive methods in personality research. The second part defines different cognitive processes such as accessibility, attention, executive functions, implicit self‐attitudes, and semantic priming. What follows is a discussion of the assessment of these processes in personality research. The final part discusses the integration of personality and cognitive processes.

This chapter introduces a conceptual framework that aims to explain how and why engaging in cognitive, physical, and social activities is related to short-term healthy aging outcomes. The Activities in Motion and in Action (AMA) framework consists of five components (engagement, outcomes, mechanisms, moderators and intervention) and five paths through which the components may influence each other. The framework depicts an overview of the mechanisms that underlie cognitive, physical, and social activities’ successful short-term effects and the features that render these activities optimally effective. The centerpiece of the framework are personality-informed interventions, which are suggested to promote the engagement in cognitive, physical and social activities of older adults (i.e., “be in motion and take action”). The AMA framework proposes three intervention factors (action/practice, learning/insight, and self-regulation) as potential heuristic principles leading to positive healthy aging outcomes. In sum, this framework has great potential to inform theory development of healthy aging, as it is essential to a better understanding of predictors, mechanisms, and moderators that potentially shape short-term dynamic processes of healthy aging.

Both mobility and personality are key determinants of healthy aging. However, these two constructs have barely been explored in combination, although mobility and personality effects on healthy aging are expected to not be independent from another. This chapter aims at combining both perspectives and setting a foundation to foster future research, jointly investigating personality and mobility effects on healthy aging. Therefore, the chapter suggests to decompose mobility in the two components motility (i.e., the movement potential) and movement (i.e., the actual manifested mobility). This decomposition allows to draw parallels to the commonly used distinction between personality traits and states. While motility and personality traits refer to the temporally stable underlying dispositions of an individual, movement and personality states conceptualize the day-by-day manifestation of the respective construct. Drawing upon the parallels regarding the distinct levels of analysis in both domains, a conceptual model is proposed that links the individual components with healthy aging. The individual links are discussed using relevant empirical research and theories and hypothesizing potential causal pathways between mobility, personality and healthy aging.

McCrae (2020) argues that it is premature to explore interventions focused on personality change. In his commentary, he suggests that interventions should be promoted only if their effects in self-report data are confirmed by the additional opinion of informants. We agree with the essence of his position and would go further by envisioning a new framework for rigorous collaborative research on personality change (Bleidorn et al., 2020). We nevertheless maintain that policymakers would benefit from considering the additional opinion of personality scientists. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Personality traits are powerful predictors of outcomes in the domains of education, work, relationships, health, and well-being. The recognized importance of personality traits has raised questions about their policy relevance, that is, their potential to inform policy actions designed to improve human welfare. Traditionally, the use of personality traits in applied settings has been predicated on their ability to predict valued outcomes, typically under the assumption that traits are functionally unchanging. This assumption, however, is both untrue and a limiting factor on using personality traits more widely in applied settings. In this article, we present the case that traits can serve both as relatively stable predictors of success and actionable targets for policy changes and interventions. Though trait change will likely prove a more difficult target than typical targets in applied interventions, it also may be a more fruitful one given the variety of life domains affected by personality traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Personality traits are powerful predictors of outcomes in the domains of education, work, relationships, health, and well-being. The recognized importance of personality traits has raised questions about their policy relevance, that is, their potential to inform policy actions designed to improve human welfare. Traditionally, the use of personality traits in applied settings has been predicated on their ability to predict valued outcomes, typically under the assumption that traits are functionally unchanging. This assumption, however, is both untrue and a limiting factor on using personality traits more widely in applied settings. In this article, we present the case that traits can serve both as relatively stable predictors of success and actionable targets for policy changes and interventions. Though trait change will likely prove a more difficult target than typical targets in applied interventions, it also may be a more fruitful one given the variety of life domains affected by personality traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

This study examined the associations between individual differences in romantic attachment and transgression frequency and reactions in daily life. Data from both members of the heterosexual relationship were collected to examine how a persons’ attachment orientation influenced their own and their partner’s perceived transgressions and reactions to these transgressions. Across 10 days, 139 heterosexual couples reported on perceived transgressions by their partner. If transgressions occurred, they also reported on subsequent reactions such as forgiveness and rumination. Actor–partner interdependence models were used to investigate actor and partner effects of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance on the number of experienced transgressions and reactions to transgressions. Attachment anxiety was not predictive with respect to any of the outcomes of interest. Higher attachment avoidance predicted fewer transgressions and more revenge in reaction to transgressions in men but not in women. Higher levels of attachment avoidance predicted more avoidance and rumination following a transgression. Additionally, a partner effect from attachment avoidance to avoidant reaction was observed. Findings are discussed regarding how attachment may account for differences in appraisal processes and emotion regulation strategies when confronted with relational transgressions.

Personality traits are powerful predictors of outcomes in the domains of education, work, relationships, health, and well-being. The recognized importance of personality traits has raised questions about their policy relevance, that is, their potential to inform policy actions designed to improve human welfare. Traditionally, the use of personality traits in applied settings has been predicated on their ability to predict valued outcomes, typically under the assumption that traits are functionally unchanging. This assumption, however, is both untrue and a limiting factor on using personality traits more widely in applied settings. In this article, we present the case that traits can serve both as relatively stable predictors of success and actionable targets for policy changes and interventions. Though trait change will likely prove a more difficult target than typical targets in applied interventions, it also may be a more fruitful one given the variety of life domains affected by personality traits.

Are recent cohorts of college students more narcissistic than their predecessors? To address debates about the so-called "narcissism epidemic," we used data from three cohorts of students (1990s: N = 1,166; 2000s: N = 33,647; 2010s: N = 25,412) to test whether narcissism levels (overall and specific facets) have increased across generations. We also tested whether our measure, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), showed measurement equivalence across the three cohorts, a critical analysis that had been overlooked in prior research. We found that several NPI items were not equivalent across cohorts. Models accounting for nonequivalence of these items indicated a small decline in overall narcissism levels from the 1990s to the 2010s ( d = -0.27). At the facet level, leadership ( d = -0.20), vanity ( d = -0.16), and entitlement ( d = -0.28) all showed decreases. Our results contradict the claim that recent cohorts of college students are more narcissistic than earlier generations of college students.

Are recent cohorts of college students more narcissistic than their predecessors? To address debates about the so-called "narcissism epidemic," we used data from three cohorts of students (1990s: N = 1,166; 2000s: N = 33,647; 2010s: N = 25,412) to test whether narcissism levels (overall and specific facets) have increased across generations. We also tested whether our measure, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), showed measurement equivalence across the three cohorts, a critical analysis that had been overlooked in prior research. We found that several NPI items were not equivalent across cohorts. Models accounting for nonequivalence of these items indicated a small decline in overall narcissism levels from the 1990s to the 2010s ( d = -0.27). At the facet level, leadership ( d = -0.20), vanity ( d = -0.16), and entitlement ( d = -0.28) all showed decreases. Our results contradict the claim that recent cohorts of college students are more narcissistic than earlier generations of college students.

Forgiveness often is discussed as a release of negative emotions or intentions for revenge against a transgressor. Given this focus, some may forget the profound benefits that forgiveness may hold for personal well-being. The current chapter reviews the literature on forgiveness and subjective well-being, in order to help motivate a new model that advances our understanding of why forgiveness can prove beneficial to the self. Our model focuses on how forgiveness helps to scaffold one’s social systems and self-concept, which then may portend greater subjective well-being. Given the relative paucity of extant work, compared to the literature on how forgiveness attenuates the “bad,” we discuss a number of future directions for the field emanating from our proposed model.

Questions of stability and change are at the forefront of clinical, personality, and developmental psychology. In the current entry, five different types of stability are defined (mean-level, rank-order, stability of variance, structural stability, and individual differences in stability), with examples regarding how and why researchers would address each form. Following this, mechanisms that promote stability are discussed, with a focus on why individuals become more stable later in life.

The Conscientiousness (C) of the self and significant others influences health by way of mediational chains involving socioeconomic attainment, the avoidance and neutralization of stressors, the promotion of health behaviors and the minimization of risk behaviors, and the management of symptoms and diseases. Yet, meta-analyses reveal that these associations are moderated by factors that are not well understood. We propose the Life Course of Personality Model (LCP Model), which comprises a series of hypotheses that suggest how such mediational chains are subject to 2 sources of contingency. First, the mechanisms by which C translates into health and the avoidance of risk change from early childhood to late adulthood, involving processes that are specific to phases of the life course; also, however, C influences health by way of continuous processes extending over many decades of life. Second, C may be more consequential in some social contexts than in others, and when accompanied by some constellations of personality characteristics than by others. That is, the mediational processes by which C translates into health and the avoidance of disease are likely moderated by timing, social context (including the C of others), and other aspects of the individual's personality. We consider methodological implications of the LCP Model.

The Conscientiousness (C) of the self and significant others influences health by way of mediational chains involving socioeconomic attainment, the avoidance and neutralization of stressors, the promotion of health behaviors and the minimization of risk behaviors, and the management of symptoms and diseases. Yet, meta-analyses reveal that these associations are moderated by factors that are not well understood. We propose the Life Course of Personality Model (LCP Model), which comprises a series of hypotheses that suggest how such mediational chains are subject to 2 sources of contingency. First, the mechanisms by which C translates into health and the avoidance of risk change from early childhood to late adulthood, involving processes that are specific to phases of the life course; also, however, C influences health by way of continuous processes extending over many decades of life. Second, C may be more consequential in some social contexts than in others, and when accompanied by some constellations of personality characteristics than by others. That is, the mediational processes by which C translates into health and the avoidance of disease are likely moderated by timing, social context (including the C of others), and other aspects of the individual's personality. We consider methodological implications of the LCP Model.

Stability represents a fundamental concept in developmental theory and research. In this article we give an overview of recent work on personality traits and their stability in adulthood. First, we define personality traits and stability. Second, we present empirical evidence supporting change and stability of personality traits across the adult years with respect to conceptually and statistically different forms of stability. Third, we describe mechanisms and processes that enable trait stability. Finally, we discuss implications of trait stability for theory, research, and application.

The current studies tested possible explanations for the link between conscientiousness and forgivingness. Using two Swiss adult samples, we examined three reasons why conscientious people tend to be more dispositionally forgiving. Findings suggest that self-regulation ability served as the best explanation for this relationship. Conscientious individuals tend to be better at self-regulation, which in turn enables them to be more forgiving of others. Moreover, this explanation only holds when discussing the link between forgivingness and conscientiousness, and not with respect to why agreeable and emotionally stable participants are more forgiving. Findings are discussed with respect to the role of regulatory processes in explaining the linkages between broad personality dimensions and forgivingness.

This cross-sectional study tested the hypothesis that future time perspective moderates the association between forgivingness and subjective well-being. Results from a sample of adults (N = 962, 19–84 years) indicate that time perspective and forgivingness were strongly associated with positive affect, life satisfaction and optimism. In support of the hypothesis, forgivingness was more strongly associated with positive well-being for those who perceived their future time as limited as compared to those with an open-ended time perspective. The moderating effect of future time perspective holds over and above the effect of chronological age. Moderating effects were not found for negative affect and pessimism. The results underscore the importance of perceived time horizons for the interplay between forgivingness and well-being.

Adaptive identity development leads to increases in personality traits that allow for social well-being. The current study tested this claim with respect to forgivingness, a dispositional tendency to forgive others. In a sample of university undergraduates (N = 214), we examined the relations between forgivingness and two indicators of identity development: commitment and exploration. Forgivingness uniquely positively related with both identity variables, controlling for the other. Next, we tested mediational models to examine the mechanisms underlying these relationships. Our results suggest that, in part, the association between identity development and forgivingness is mediated by levels of agreeableness and neuroticism, as measured by the Big Five Inventory.