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Business leaders and HR professionals have long recognized the importance of social skills for effective organizational functioning, particularly in roles requiring high levels of interpersonal interaction. Accordingly, organizational science scholars have produced a large amount of research that can be organized under the broad heading of social skills. Yet, three key issues in the literature are hampering progress: (1) the lack of a well-accepted articulation of the social skills phenomenon, what it is and what it is not; (2) conceptual redundancy and conflation among the set of social skills-related concepts (e.g., individual differences, skills, behavior, evaluations, etc.), and (3) full consideration of the importance of social behavior in understanding social skills. We propose solutions for understanding social skills that begin to resolve these issues and help strengthen future empirical research. Specifically, we present two distinct, but related, conceptualizations of social skills: social skills enactment and social skills reputation. We then offer a theoretically grounded perspective, the Social Skills Framework, which incorporates these conceptualizations of social skills, provides a structure into which existing social skills concepts can be integrated and evaluated for conceptual clarity, and centers social behavior. After describing the framework, we offer a research agenda that focuses on refining the framework and investigating key issues related to the two conceptualizations of social skills.

Exposure to war-related violence is associated with greater prosocial behavior. Although researchers point to empathy and individual differences in posttraumatic growth to explain this relationship, there is no direct empirical evidence of the psychological process by which exposure to wartime violence leads to prosociality. In this investigation, we propose and test a comprehensive model of empathy-mediated altruism that addresses both how and when exposure to violence may be associated with prosociality. Results from a large-scale survey experiment conducted in a naturalistic field setting (1,660 refugees from the wars in Syria and Iraq residing in Turkey) indicate that participants reported greater empathy and altruism toward ingroup versus outgroup targets, and that posttraumatic stress predicted less and posttraumatic growth predicted more empathy and altruism. Further, empathy mediated ingroup biases in altruism (i.e., allocation of resources to the self and others); this indirect effect was stronger for those reporting greater posttraumatic growth and posttraumatic stress. These results support our proposed model of empathy-mediated altruism that incorporates individual differences in response to war violence and ingroup preferences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Purpose To validate a European French translation of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). Methods This study examined the factorial and the convergent validity of the French version of the PTGI (PTGI-F). A first sample of 406 firefighters was used to test the psychometric structure of the PTGI. A second sample of 210 first responders was then used to test its convergent validity. Participants completed measures of growth, traumatic events, PTSD, anxiety and depression, and personality. Results The PTGI-F was unrelated to Anxiety, supporting the convergent validity of the PTGI-F. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between the PTGI-F and the PCL-C. Finally, the PTGI-F had the same five-factor structure as the PTGI. Discussion The PTGI-F appears to be a valid tool. However, the contradictions that were put froward by other translated versions suggest that the PTGI should be reconsidered and improved to better assess the growth process.

Studies show that experiencing traumatic events can lead to positive psychological change, or posttraumatic growth (PTG). In the hope of promoting PTG, authors have been focusing on identifying the factors that may foster PTG. Despite these attempts, the literature shows inconsistencies, making it difficult to know which variables may be involved in the process of growth. Indeed, authors seem to disagree on the nature of the relationship between PTSD and PTG, time since the event, social support, intrusive rumination, and sociodemographics. Thus, this study aims to clarify these discrepancies, and verify whether the processes involved are the same across two different cultural groups, both of which are confronted with traumatic events regularly: 409 American firefighters, and 407 French firefighters. Results indicate that, in both samples, PTG is positively related to PTSD, subjective perceptions of the event, stress during the event, disruption of core-beliefs, and deliberate rumination; and unrelated to social support, core-self evaluations, and socio-demographic variables (age, gender, relationship status, etc.). However, time since the event and the number of years on the job only predicted PTG in the American sample, while colleague and emotional support only predicted PTG in the French sample. Additionally, American firefighters reported more growth, more social support, more positive self-perceptions, more intrusive rumination, and more neuroticism than French firefighters. These results suggest that the process of growth, as defined by Tedeschi and Calhoun, is relatively stable among firefighters, but that some differences do exist between cultural groups.

Growth-seeking refers to a general tendency to pursue growth when facing challenges. The current studies examined whether and how benevolent intentions to support others and not harm them (i.e., compassionate goals in relationships) predict growth-seeking and whether this association is independent of relationship security, which may also predict growth-seeking. Two cross-sectional studies (Studies 1a and 1b, N = 1,032) and two longitudinal studies (Study 2: 3-wave weekly survey, N = 404; Study 3: 12-wave weekly survey, N = 230) showed that compassionate goals correlate with growth-seeking and predict increased growth-seeking over time through perceived available support. The results hold after controlling for participants’ (Studies 1–3) and their partners’ (Study 3) relationship security, which suggests that compassionate goals may foster growth-seeking through perceived available support independent of relationship security. In addition, Study 3 suggests an intrapersonal process (i.e., projected perceptions) underlying the link between compassionate goals and perceived available support.

Although some research has explored emerging adults' motives for using mobile dating applications, no studies have investigated motives for in-person (or offline) meetings with dating app matches. A sample of 267 U.S. college students completed an online survey, 138 of whom were dating app users and 80 of those had met at least one match in person. Contrary to the popular view that dating apps promote casual sex, love was the top motive for in-person meeting with matches. Our findings are consistent with the idea that dating apps are used to connect with others, not just for hookups.

Existing investigations of infidelity focus on facilitating relational repair and recovery. However, little work examines recovery in betrayed partners after a breakup resulting from infidelity. Th...

Genocide does not occur within an isolated range of the societal spectrum; rather, it is the outcome of destructive processes that reach from elite governmental offices to the civilian bystander–and beyond. This research applies an agent-based computational model to the problem of identity-based conflict, exploring the dynamics of bystander resistance and its impact on outcomes. Macro-level conditions can lead to difficulties that affect the micro-level, psychological states of people living within a society. This model establishes a connection between these macro- and micro-states, seeking to better understand, explain, and quantify how the motivations and choices of bystanders impact the likelihood of genocide. Early results show that the model reproduces expected behavioral patterns, and also reveals the sensitivity of a genocidal outcome to in-group bystander willingness to intervene in behalf of out-group members.

This study examined the relationships between posttraumatic growth (PTG) and posttraumatic depreciation (PTD) across 10 countries and assessed the factorial invariance of the standardized inventory assessing PTG and PTD, the PTGDI-X, the expansion of the PTGI-X (Tedeschi et al., 2017). We also investigated the roles of social and cognitive factors in PTG and PTD. Data were collected from participants who identified that their most stressful life experience met the definition of trauma in Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Nepal, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Turkey, and the US. The participants completed the PTGDI-X and inventories measuring posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, and predictor variables such as reexamination of core beliefs, centrality of the event, rumination, and disclosures. Results identified universal aspects such as equivalence of factor loadings of the PTGDI-X and the impact of positive/negative disclosure on PTG and PTD. Results also revealed culture-specific aspects, including the relationships between PTG and PTD, and different patterns of cognitive predictors for PTG and PTD. The current study offered the insight that, for the first time using international data, positive and negative post-trauma changes are not likely to be on opposing ends of one dimension, and it is essential to use the PTGDI-X to better understand both positive and negative aspects of post-traumatic experiences.

People who experience major life crises often report post-traumatic stress. However, the literature suggests that traumatic experiences can also be "catalysts" for positive change (i.e., posttraumatic growth; PTG). PTG (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2006) can include improved relationships, new possibilities for one’s life, a greater appreciation for life, a greater sense of personal strength, and spiritual development. While the general population isn’t confronted with traumatic events regularly, individuals such as firefighters, policemen, and EMTs are. But what factors foster the emergence of PTG? To answer this question, a systematic search of four major database (Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, and ScienceDirect) was conducted. Some of the factors that promoted PTG included sharing negative emotions, cognitive processing or rumination, positive coping strategies (e.g. positive reappraisal), personality traits (e.g. agreeableness), experiencing multiple sources of trauma, event centrality, resilience, and growth actions. Other factors were mediators of PTG rather than direct influencers (e.g., seeking social support coping, social support, optimism, etc.). Finally, studies show a positive correlation between PTG and support for aggressive behavior suggesting that growth may be more nuanced than originally thought. By exploring systematically the factors that foster PTG in trauma-exposed professionals, we hope this systematic review will both provide avenues for future research and help design new methods of prevention and intervention for first responders.

Little research has examined the role of the self in relation to apologies in close relationships. This study (N = 77 couples) tested how self-esteem following a relational transgression predicts apology, and whether this association is moderated by self-image goals toward partners. Results indicated that self-esteem after committing a transgression and self-image goals did not uniquely predict apology. However, self-image goals and self-esteem interacted, such that those with lower transgression-related self-esteem were more likely to apologize when they had lower self-image goals; self-esteem was unrelated to apology when self-image goals were higher. These findings suggest that there is a synergistic effect between self-esteem and self-image goals that may facilitate apology. Future research should further consider the role of multiple aspects of the self in apologies in close relationships.

According to the egosystem-ecosystem theory of social motivation, people with ecosystem motivation believe their interpersonal relationships work in nonzero-sum ways. A longitudinal study of individuals in romantic relationships and a study of romantic couples who had a conflict discussion in the laboratory both showed that compassionate goals predict increased nonzero-sum beliefs through increased responsiveness and perceptions of partner’s responsiveness and that nonzero-sum beliefs uniquely predict increased relationship quality through increased optimism that relationship problems can be overcome. The results support the view that motivational orientations shape people’s lay theories that their relationship works in zero-sum or nonzero-sum ways, and further show that nonzero-sum beliefs are an important and unique predictor of change in relationship quality independent of responsiveness or perceived partner responsiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

While research links interpersonal processes to posttraumatic growth (PTG; Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2006a), little is known about whether partners’ PTG has consequences for people’s (i.e., actors’) relationship functioning and psychological distress. Sixty-one married couples who had experienced severe flooding completed measures of PTG, perceptions of spouses’ PTG, relationship quality, and psychological distress 6 and 12 months following the event. Partners’ increased PTG predicted actors’ increased perceptions of partners’ PTG, which predicted actors’ increased relationship quality, which, in turn, predicted actors’ decreased psychological distress. Thus, partners’ PTG can benefit spouses’ evaluations of their relationship and, ultimately, actors’ psychological well-being.

Self-image goals focus on constructing, maintaining, and defending desired public and private images of the self, whereas compassionate goals focus on being supportive and not harming others. We suggest that these goals shape construals of others in relation to the self, which in turn, shape affective experiences. We review research showing that when people have self-image goals, they construe others as competitors, which leads to feeling uneasy with others (i.e., conflicted, confused, and fearful), and that when they have compassionate goals, they construe others as collaborators and have more constructive approaches to interpersonal problems, which leads to feeling at ease with others (i.e., peaceful, clear, and loving) and less upset with them. Thus, interpersonal goals shape construals of others, which in turn shape intrapsychic experiences of the world and of the self.

Infidelity is often conceptualized as a traumatic event; however, little research has explored this topic empirically, particularly in unmarried adults. We determined the prevalence of infidelity-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among unmarried adults who experienced a partner's infidelity and whether probable infidelity-related PTSD was associated with additional psychological health outcomes (i.e., depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and anxiety symptoms). We also investigated whether negative post-traumatic cognitions mediated the associations between infidelity-related PTSD symptoms and psychological health. This study included 73 adults (M age = 19.42, SE = 0.19 years) who experienced infidelity within a committed nonmarital relationship within the last 5 years. Controlling for gender, race, and exposure to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders Criterion A traumas, 45.2% of our sample reported symptoms suggesting probable infidelity-related PTSD. Whether used as continuous or categorical predictor, infidelity-related PTSD symptoms were significantly associated with depressive symptoms, although results for perceived stress and anxiety symptoms were mixed. Post-traumatic cognitions acted as a partial mediator for depressive symptoms and full mediator for perceived stress and anxiety symptoms. This empirical evidence suggests that infidelity may produce PTSD symptoms at a relatively high rate, even in unmarried young adults, and may put individuals at risk for poorer psychological health, partially through post-traumatic cognitions.

Geosocial network application (GSNA) use is common among young adults. However, there is little empirical research into patterns of use, motives, and potential concerns among app users. A total of 409 heterosexual students from a public university in the southeast United States participated in an online survey. Sample composition was primarily Caucasian and in their first 2 years of college. Average age was 19.7 years. Results revealed that 39 percent of participants had used a GSN app, and 60 percent of these were regular users. Tinder was the most popular GSNA. Top reasons for app use were for fun (31 percent) and to meet people (11 percent). Very few users reported using them for casual sex encounters (4 percent), although many users (72 percent of men and 22 percent of women) were open to meeting a sexual partner with a GSNA. Regular users were less likely to be in dating relationships. In-person meetings of matches were relatively infrequent among app users. Those who did meet matches were very likely to vet them online in advance, and women were more likely to do so than men. App users rated them as relatively unsafe, women in particular. Top concerns included safety (44 percent), others misrepresenting their identities (35 percent), and privacy (18 percent). Overall, regular app users perceived their use as normative among peers, but they did not view the apps as particularly useful for meeting matches. Although there are few surveys of GSNA use among emerging adults in the United States, some limitations are noted, along with suggestions for future research.

In this chapter, we describe a theory of two types of social motivation: egosystem and ecosystem motivations. Egosystem motivation promotes inclusion and status in social relationships, groups, and organizations by energizing behaviors intended to maintain, enhance, and defend desired images of the self. Ecosystem motivation promotes the development of close, mutually supportive relationships by energizing behaviors intended to be constructive and supportive and not harmful to others. We describe activators and deactivators of each system, their indicators, and their consequences over time for relationships and psychological well-being. We then describe a program of research on these two motivational systems. Our early research explored these processes in college roommate relationships. Subsequent research has extended this work to other types of relationships, situations in which people face interpersonal problems and difficulties, and relationships of emotionally vulnerable people. Recent studies have examined implications of these motivations for self-regulation. Remaining issues, including whether these are actually separate systems, their implications for health, how people can shift from one motivation to the other are considered. We conclude with a discussion of whether this perspective blames victims for their difficult circumstances.

Although research has examined the consequences of relational self-construal, little is known about what psychological factors predict it. Four studies examined the association between compassionate goals and relational self-construal. Study 1 showed that compassionate goals are positively associated with relational self-construal in college students. Study 2 replicated this association among adults in romantic relationships. Studies 3 and 4 showed that compassionate goals predict increased relational self-construals over time in college roommates. Moreover, Studies 2-4 showed that responsiveness to relationship partners statistically mediated the association between compassionate goals and self-construal. These studies suggested that people with compassionate goals have highly relational self-construals and that they also develop higher levels of relational self-construals by being responsive to relationship partners.

Optimal social interactions can leave people feeling socially connected and at ease, which has clear implications for health and psychological well-being. Yet, not all social interactions leave people feelings at ease and connected. What explains this variability? We draw from the egosystem–ecosystem theory of social motivation (Crocker and Canevello 2008) to suggest that compassionate goals to support others explain some of this variability. We explored the nature of this association across four studies and varying social contexts. Across studies, compassionate goals predicted greater feelings of ease and connection. Results also indicate that a cooperative mindset may be one mechanism underlying this association: Findings suggest a temporal sequence in which compassionate goals lead to cooperative mindsets, which then lead to feeling at ease and connected. Thus, these studies suggest that people’s compassionate goals lead to their sense of interpersonal ease and connection, which may ultimately have implications for their sense of belonging.

This chapter suggests that human beings have two motivational systems—the egosystem, which promotes self-centered, self-interested, and egoistic behaviors, and the ecosystem, which promotes connecting to and caring for others—and describes their characteristic features. Egosystem motivation involves self-image goals, zero-sum views of the relation between self and others, and feeling “at the mercy” of others. Ecosystem motivation involves compassionate goals, non-zero-sum views of the relation between self and others, and feeling “at the source.” The two systems are negatively related, so that when people are motivated by the egosystem, they are less likely to be motivated by the ecosystem, and vice versa. The chapter considers implications of these systems for psychological well-being and relationships, particularly how people might use these findings as tools for shifting from one motivational system to another, fostering their desires to connect and belong and shaping their own and perhaps others’ psychological well-being and relationships.

The desire to change roommates served as a model of nonromantic relationship dissolution within 115 college roommate dyads. We measured personality, mental health, social/communication patterns, and academic achievement attitudes over the course of a semester, and we used multilevel modeling to estimate individual-level and relationship-level predictors of dissolution. Self-characteristics (e.g., one's own depression), roommate characteristics (e.g., roommate's poor communication), and relationship characteristics (e.g., similarity in attitudes toward competition) each increased desire to end the roommate relationship. In these data, unique contributions from one's own psychological health, one's own and one's roommate's social/communication style, and roommates' attitude similarity predicted relationship dissolution.

It was hypothesized that self-image goals to construct, defend, and maintain desired images of the self enhance relationship insecurity, whereas compassionate goals to support others diminish relationship insecurity. Study 1 followed 115 new college roommates for 3 weeks; Study 2 followed 230 new college roommates across a semester. Both studies assessed self-image and compassionate goals for and anxiety and avoidance in the roommate relationship. Self-image goals predicted increased relationship anxiety and avoidance across 3 weeks (Study 1) and within weeks, from week to week, and across 3 months (Study 2). Compassionate goals consistently predicted decreased relationship anxiety and avoidance across studies and analyses. These results suggest that through their interpersonal goals, people contribute directly to their own relationship insecurity.

We examine recent evidence on the consequences of selfishness and otherishness for psychological well-being, physical health, and relationships. In the first sections, we consider recent evidence regarding the costs and benefits of giving time, money, and support to others and the costs and benefits of taking or receiving those things from others. Then, because the behaviors of giving and taking can be motivated either by selfish or otherish concerns, we next consider the costs and benefits of the motivation underlying giving and taking. We also examine why and for whom selfishness and otherishness have consequences for psychological well-being, physical health, and relationships. We focus on mechanisms identified in research, including intrapsychic mechanisms such as positive and negative affect, self-esteem and self-efficacy, a sense of meaning and purpose in life, and a sense of connectedness to or isolation from others, as well as interpersonal processes such as reciprocation of support and responsiveness.

A substantial body of empirical evidence suggests that social relationships buffer people from poor health. We review a program of research demonstrating how interpersonal goals create relationship processes that shape the quality of close relationships, which we argue may have consequences for own and others’ health. Self-image goals to construct, maintain, and defend desired images of the self create negative interpersonal dynamics that undermine close relationships and mental health, while compassionate goals to support others’ well-being create positive interpersonal dynamics that promote close relationships and mental health. We discuss the potential implications of social goals and close relationship processes for health. Finally, we suggest that exploring the independent benefits of giving and receiving in close relationships may inform how social relationships affect health and well-being.

People often adopt self-image goals to increase others' regard for them and perhaps their own self-esteem. But do these impression management goals achieve their intended result in close relationships? And do they endure over time? We suggest that self-image goals predict decreased self-esteem and close others' regard for the self through decreased responsiveness to others. In contrast, compassionate goals, which reflect a genuine concern for others' well-being, predict increased self-esteem and others' regard through increased responsiveness. We tested these hypotheses in a longitudinal study of college roommates followed across a semester. Path analyses supported both predictions, suggesting a paradox for interpersonal goals in close relationships: explicit attempts to increase close others' regard for the self backfire and damage self-esteem, but having goals to meet others' needs result in others' positive regard and promote self-esteem. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Perceived partner responsiveness is a core feature of close, satisfying relationships. But how does responsiveness originate? Can people create relationships characterized by high responsiveness and, consequently, higher quality relationships? The authors suggest that goals contribute to cycles of responsiveness between two people, improving relationship quality for both of them. The present studies examine (a) how interpersonal goals initiate responsiveness processes in close relationships, (b) the self-perpetuating nature of these processes, and (c) how responsiveness evolves dynamically over time through both intrapersonal projection and reciprocal interpersonal relationship processes. In a semester-long study of 115 roommate dyads, actors' compassionate and self-image goals predicted a cycle of responsiveness between roommates, occurring within weeks and across the semester. In a 3-week study of 65 roommate dyads, actors' goals again predicted cycles of responsiveness between roommates, which then contributed to both actors' and partners' relationship quality. Results suggest that both projection and reciprocation of responsiveness associated with compassionate goals create upward spirals of responsiveness that ultimately enhance relationship quality for both people.

Being involved in a romantic relationship can sometimes be like riding the waves of the open sea. Partners can negotiate the steering of the boat, the height and direction of the sails, and how long they remain aboard, but rough waters may still affect one partner more than the other. Indeed, some partners seem devastated by a few small ripples, whereas others seem to remain relatively unscathed by a tidal wave. The degree to which one is affected by one’s relationship may involve the tendency to depend on that relationship for personal validation. If one is tied to the bow of the ship, for example, even small ripples may feel like tidal waves. The degree to which one’s sense of self is contingent on one’s relationship may transform everyday undulations into seemingly more major crests and troughs. Research argues that the self can both influence and be influenced by one’s close relationships (e.g., Aron & Aron, 1996; Drigotas, Rusbult, Wieselquist, & Whitton, 1999; Kelley, 1983; Murray, Holmes, & Griffin, 2000). For example, whereas one’s knowledge, interests, and resources can influence those of one’s partner and the nature of the relationship, the process of being in an interdependent close relationship also changes the self in important ways (e.g., Aron, Aron, Tudor, & Nelson, 1991). Indeed, the “interpersonal self” evolves from previous adaptations to interdependent situations (Rusbult, Kumashiro, Coolsen, & Kirchner, 2004). The present research examined one aspect of an interpersonal self: namely, the degree to which self-worth depends on one’s relationship. We propose that the degree to which the self is contingent upon one’s relationship, in part, determines how one is affected by relationship events and outcomes.

In 2 studies, the authors examined whether relationship goals predict change in social support and trust over time. In Study 1, a group of 199 college freshmen completed pretest and posttest measures of social support and interpersonal trust and completed 10 weekly reports of friendship goals and relationship experiences. Average compassionate goals predicted closeness, clear and connected feelings, and increased social support and trust over the semester; self-image goals attenuated these effects. Average self-image goals predicted conflict, loneliness, and afraid and confused feelings; compassionate goals attenuated these effects. Changes in weekly goals predicted changes in goal-related affect, closeness, loneliness, conflict, and beliefs about mutual and individualistic caring. In Study 2, a group of 65 roommate pairs completed 21 daily reports of their goals for their roommate relationship. Actors' average compassionate and self-image goals interacted to predict changes over 3 weeks in partners' reports of social support received from and given to actors; support that partners gave to actors, in turn, predicted changes in actors' perceived available support, indicating that people with compassionate goals create a supportive environment for themselves and others, but only if they do not have self-image goals.

Self-determination theory posits 3 basic psychological needs: autonomy (feeling uncoerced in one's actions), competence (feeling capable), and relatedness (feeling connected to others). Optimal well-being results when these needs are satisfied, though this research has traditionally focused on individual well-being outcomes (e.g., E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 2000). Three studies examined the role of need fulfillment in relationship functioning and well-being. Study 1 found that fulfillment of each need individually predicted both individual and relationship well-being, with relatedness being the strongest unique predictor of relationship outcomes. Study 2 found that both partners' need fulfillment uniquely predicted one's own relationship functioning and well-being. Finally, in Study 3, the authors used a diary recording procedure and tested a model in which the association between need fulfillment and relationship quality was mediated by relationship motivation. Those who experienced greater need fulfillment enjoyed better postdisagreement relationship quality primarily because of their tendency to have more intrinsic or autonomous reasons for being in their relationship.

To better understand how dental practitioners identify, counsel, and refer patients with eating disorders. A questionnaire was mailed to 625 dental practitioners, 54 (19%) of the dentists and 69 (20%) of the dental hygienists responded. Most dental practitioners were aware of eating disorder patients in their practices and most discussed their findings with their patients or parents. However, one of the suggestions most commonly given to patients, to brush immediately after vomiting, may be counter therapeutic, and a few offered referral for more health services. Collaboration between dental practitioners and mental health practitioners who work with eating disorder patients should be improved.

In this chapter, we examine how the self both creates and results from experience—both its high points and low points. At a metatheoretical level, we consider how social and personality psychologists typically conceive of and study the self, drawing on the topic of self-esteem to illustrate typical views of the self as dispositional characteristics of persons, the product of situations, or the interaction between them. This person × situation framework has stimulated a great deal of research and had considerable heuristic value for social and personality psychologists who study the self and identity. However, because it views both the person and the situation as static rather than the result of dynamic processes, it fails to account for how people and situations mutually create each other in a process that unfolds over time. Through dynamic processes of reciprocal influence between persons and situations, self and identity can change surprisingly rapidly—change sustained by the situations people create for themselves over time. We consider methodological approaches in personality and social psychology to test these dynamic models of self and identity.

Interpersonal goals are a key mechanism through which people and their social environments influence each other. Two goals—self-image and compassionate goals—the motivational systems that energize these goals, their measurement, and how they relate to other constructs in the literature are described. Results of three longitudinal studies of first-year college students suggest that when people have self-image goals—that is, when they try to manage the impressions others have of them—they create a cascade of unintended negative consequences for both themselves and others. In contrast, when people try to contribute to the well-being of other people, they create a cascade of positive consequences for both themselves and others. Over time, for better or worse, by changing what they experience, people actually change themselves—the beliefs they hold and their goals, self-esteem, and even dispositional tendencies. We describe a variety of processes through which people's interpersonal goals shape their own and others’ experience and raise several remaining issues for this program of research.

The belief that difficulties can lead to growth in relationships, or growth belief, has consequences for relationships (e.g., Knee, 1998). But what predicts change in this belief? We hypothesized that compassionate goals to support others (Crocker & Canevello, 2008) predict increased growth belief through increased need satisfaction. In Study 1, 199 college freshmen reported their friendship growth belief and goals. In Study 2, 65 roommate pairs reported their roommate growth belief, goals, and need satisfaction. Across studies, compassionate goals predicted increased growth belief. In Study 2, goals predicted increased perceived mutual need satisfaction, which predicted increased growth belief. Additionally, partners' compassionate goals predicted actors' increased growth belief. Results suggest that growth beliefs are shaped by goals - own and others'.

OBJECTIVES: To provide a methodological overview of a computerized intervention to promote leisure time physical activity (PA) and to apply self-determination theory (SDT) to PA initiation to better understand the psychological mechanisms underlying PA frequency, intensity, and duration in previously-sedentary individuals. DESIGN: Based on SDT, two computerized personal trainers were developed for use with sedentary young adults. One personal trainer was designed to be need-supportive, empathic, and structured while the other was designed to be more controlling, evaluative, and judgmental. METHOD: Participants are randomly assigned to work with either the need-supportive or controlling computerized personal trainer. They complete a series of 7 weekly training sessions. In between training sessions, participants complete daily records of PA behaviors and experiences including autonomous self-regulation and perceived competence for PA and PA frequency, intensity, and duration. POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: The design of this intervention and its theoretical basis have important implications for advancing the field of exercise science specifically and health behavior change more broadly. Computerized interventions have the benefit of standardizing intervention content as well as reducing clinical contact burden for practitioners. Daily recording procedures reduce the likelihood of retrospection bias and allow for the modeling of (1) daily fluctuations in PA behavior and (2) the psychological mechanisms believed to be involved in PA behavior (e.g., autonomous self-regulation). Finally, as a broad theory of human motivation, SDT is uniquely positioned to offer explanations for the conditions that are likely to promote both the initiation and maintenance of health behavior change.