Stability and change in personality across the life span: behavioral-genetic versus evolutionary approaches

Recent findings and theoretical models of behavioral-genetic and evolutionary approaches to personality development across the life span are presented. Theoretical and empirical strengths and weaknesses of these approaches regarding the issue of stability and change are outlined. Although these "biological" models may appear disparate as often as they appear similar, they share the common assumption that most personality phenomena are products of environmental contingencies. However, they differ with regard to the level at which they analyze and incorporate environmental influences into their interpretations of stability and change. Genetic influences are also examined. A theoretical integration of the recent findings and of the models of genetic and environmental influences on personality via evolutionary and behavioral-genetic approaches is intended to fill in the gaps and stimulate research on the study of personality development across the life span.     

Personal space.

Reviews major findings of personal-space research in clinical psychology, personality, demographic studies (including sex, age, cross-cultural studies), and studies of the effects of familiarity and affinity. The substantial lack of consistent findings in the literature is attributed to the lack of experimental controls in most of the personal-space research. It is suggested that researchers explore personal space using multivariate techniques. In addition to a brief exposition of theoretical developments, a theory is presented which suggests that personal space is a functional, mediating, cognitive construct which allows the human organism to operate at acceptable stress levels and aids in the control of intraspecies aggression. (3 p. ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The practice of psychological science: Searching for Cronbach’s two streams in social–personality psychology.

The present research surveyed a group of editors and editorial board members of personality and social psychology journals to examine the practice of psychological science in their field. Findings demonstrate that (a) although personality and social researchers tend to use many of the same approaches, methods, and procedures, they nonetheless show average differences in each of these domains, as well as in their overarching theoretical aims and perspectives; (b) these average differences largely conform to social and personality researchers’ stereotypes about each subgroup; (c) despite their methodological and philosophical differences, the 2 subgroups study many of the same research topics; and (d) the structure of social–personality research practices can be characterized as having 2 independent factors, which closely correspond to L. J. Cronbach’s (1957) correlational and experimental “streams of research.” (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The evolution of a concept: aggression and violence in psychiatric settings

In a series of studies examining aggression and violence by persons with a mental illness, a coercive interactional style emerged as an important predictive variable in hospital settings. This interactive style addresses one issue noted in the literature, the relative effect of personal versus environmental variables, by describing how violent individuals interact with their environment in purposeful ways. The findings from three specific studies are summarized to describe how this interactive style was identified, quantified and documented as a predictor of aggression and violence. It is hoped that this synthesis of research findings will facilitate the application of research to practice settings.     

Genetic and environmental architecture on human aggression.

A meta-analysis was performed on data from 24 genetically informative studies by using various personality measures of aggression. There was a strong overall genetic effect that may account for up to 50% of the variance in aggression. This effect was not attributed to methodological inadequacies in the twin or adoption designs. Age differences were important. Self-report and parental ratings showed genes and the family environment to be important in youth; the influence of genes increased but that of family environment decreased at later ages. Observational ratings of laboratory behavior found no evidence for heritability and a very strong family environment effect. Given that almost all substantive conclusions about the genetics of personality have been drawn from self or parental reports, this last finding has obvious and important implications for both aggression research in particular and personality research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Television violence and aggression: The debate continues.

Defends the majority consensus in the literature that there is a causal relation between viewing TV violence and aggression. Replies are made to challenges of this consensus by J. L. Freedman (see record 1984-30860-001). It is concluded that the data support a bidirectional causal relation between viewing TV violence and aggression, that the potential threats to the internal and external validity of studies using different methods are not likely to produce a positive bias, and that the findings can be generalized to real-world violence. The available research is placed in a theoretical context encompassing multiple psychological processes and developmental change, and social policy implications are discussed. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral genetics and evolutionary psychology: unified perspective on personality research

Behavioral geneticists and evolutionary psychologists have generally pursued human behavioral analyses with little theoretical or methodological exchange. However, significant benefits might accrue from increased communication between these disciplines. The primary goals of this article are (1) to identify meaningful junctures between behavioral genetics and evolutionary psychology, (2) to describe behavioral genetic research designs and their applications to evolutionary analyses, and (3) to reassess current personality research in light of behavioral genetic and evolutionary concepts and techniques. The five-factor model of personality is conceptualized as subsuming variation in normative species-typical systems with adaptive functions in the human environment of evolutionary adaptation. Considered as universal evolved mechanisms, personality systems are often seen in dynamic conflict within individuals and as highly compartmentalized in their functioning between settings. However, genetically influenced individual differences in personality may also be understood within an evolutionary framework. Studies of the heritability of personality traits indicate broad-sense heritabilities in the 0.40-0.50 range with evidence of substantial nonadditive genetic variation and nonshared environmental influences. Evidence indicates that evolutionary theory (e.g., inclusive fitness theory) predicts patterns of social interaction (e.g., cooperation and bereavement) in relatives. Furthermore, variation in personality may constitute a range of viable strategies matching the opportunities available in the complex niche environment of human societies. Within this wide range of viable strategies, personality variation functions as a resource environment for individuals in the sense that personality variation is evaluated according to the interests of the evaluator (e.g., friendships, coalitions, or mate choice).     

Tuning in to psychological change: Linguistic markers of psychological traits and emotions over time in popular U.S. song lyrics.

American culture is filled with cultural products. Yet few studies have investigated how changes in cultural products correspond to changes in psychological traits and emotions. The current research fills this gap by testing the hypothesis that one cultural product—word use in popular song lyrics—changes over time in harmony with cultural changes in individualistic traits. Linguistic analyses of the most popular songs from 1980–2007 demonstrated changes in word use that mirror psychological change. Over time, use of words related to self-focus and antisocial behavior increased, whereas words related to other-focus, social interactions, and positive emotion decreased. These findings offer novel evidence regarding the need to investigate how changes in the tangible artifacts of the sociocultural environment can provide a window into understanding cultural changes in psychological processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relational and overt aggression in preschool.

This research was designed as an initial attempt to assess relational aggression in preschool-age children. Our goal was to develop reliable measures of relational aggression for young children and to use these instruments to address several important issues (e.g., the relation between this form of aggression and social–psychological adjustment). Results provide evidence that relationally aggressive behaviors appear in children's behavioral repertoires at relatively young ages, and that these behaviors can be reliably distinguished from overtly aggressive behaviors in preschool-age children. Further, findings indicate that preschool girls are significantly more relationally aggressive and less overtly aggressive than preschool boys. Finally, results show that relational aggression is significantly related to social–psychological maladjustment (e.g., peer rejection) for both boys and girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deviant drug use in adolescence: A review of psychosocial correlates.

Reviews research concerning the sociocultural and personality correlates of deviant adolescent use of alcohol, psychedelic drugs, and narcotics. A number of consistently replicated findings regarding both personality and sociocultural correlates of adolescent use were found. At the same time, lack of comprehensive, systematic and theory-bound research, gross lack of methodological rigor, and a lack of coordination of effort and integration of findings among the various areas of drug use research were noted. General requirements for the design of future research are discussed. (103 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual aggression and sociocultural risk.

Comments on the article by G. C. Hall and C. Barongan (see record 1997-02239-001) concerning sociocultural risk and protective factors in the prevention of sexual aggression. The current author contends that it is unfortunate that Hall and Barongan chose the problem of sexual aggression to make their case for a multicultural focus in education and research. Though Hall and Barongan presented some relevant information on the relationship between gender socialization and sexual aggression, they presented a less than compelling argument for their case on the relationship between cultural socialization and sexual aggression. It is noted that their errors generally fall into 2 categories: interpreting the null hypothesis and misrepresentations and inconsistencies in their interpretation of potentially relevant information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding immigrant families from around the world: Introduction to the special issue.

Investigations of immigrant families enable researchers to trace family processes and children’s psychological adjustment in the presence of trenchant sociocultural change, cultural conflict, family dislocation, and the need for readjustment to new social environments. This special issue of 15 articles presents psychosocial research on immigrant families and children residing in Canada, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United States. The articles focus on the psychosocial adaptation of immigrant families, parenting practices and their implications for child outcomes, and the importance of parent–adolescent relationships for adolescent mental health. Most of the articles are based on quantitative research methodologies. It is concluded that research on immigrant families is well suited to advance knowledge about the mutual dependence of dynamic sociocultural and family processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Stirling County Study: A research program on relations between sociocultural factors and mental illness.

"Stirling County, located in one of the Canadian Atlantic Provinces, has a population of about 20,000." The Stirling County project "is a research program for the investigation of relations between sociocultural environment and mental illness. The research effort is interdisciplinary and combines extensive with intensive study of both the sociocultural environmental and mental disorder. The subjects of the research are persons who are not undergoing treatment as well as those who are; mental health and mental illness are investigated in the societal as well as in the individual settings in which they develop." The theoretical framework, the primary and subsidiary research operations, and the plan of analysis are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergenerational transmission of violence, self-control, and conjugal violence: a comparative analysis of physical violence and psychological aggression

This paper is a sequel to Avakame (1998), a study which sought to determine whether (a) violence in families of origin affects males' psychological aggression toward wives, and (b) whether the intergenerational transmission effect is solely direct or mediated by Gottfredson and Hirschi's concept of self-control. The current research extends these questions to females' psychological aggression as well as males' and females' physical violence. The models were estimated using data from the 1975 National Family Violence Survey. Like its precursor, results of the present research suggest that it is useful to (a) distinguish between mothers' and fathers' violence and (b) recognize that the intergenerational transmission of violence may be mediated by self-control. Specifically, results suggested that, whether considering physical violence or psychological aggression, fathers' violence is most likely to exert the direct social learning effect.     

Interplay Between Environmental and Genetic Factors in Temperament/Personality Traits in Horses (Equus caballus).

The aim of the present study was to broach the question of the relative influence of different genetic and environmental factors on different temperament/personality traits of horses (Equus caballus). The researchers submitted 702 horses to standardized experimental tests and investigated 9 factors, either genetic or environmental. Genetic factors, such as sire or breed, seemed to influence more neophobic reactions, whereas environmental factors, such as the type of work, seemed to play a more dominant role in reactions to social separation or learning abilities. Additive effects were evident, showing how environmental factors may modulate behavioral traits. This study constitutes a first step toward understanding the relative weights of genetic factors and how the environment may intervene in determining individual behavioral characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empirical contributions to a theory of ambivalence.

Ambivalence is defined as the coexistence of opposed emotional attitudes toward a significant figure in the social environment. A new technique for its assessment is described; application in a series of studies on college students, hospitalized schizophrenics, and school children reviewed. The obtained relationships of ambivalence to sociocultural characteristics, perceived family relationships, psychosexual conflicts, defenses, and superego variables, and data on the generality of ambivalent feelings toward others are given. A theoretical account of the psychodynamics of ambivalence, covering both etiological aspects and manifestations in the adult personality is derived. (32 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Engagement in gender normative versus nonnormative forms of aggression: Links to social–psychological adjustment.

Although many important advances have been made in our understanding of childhood aggression in recent years, a significant limitation of prior studies has been the lack of attention to the possible moderating role of gender in the links between aggression and social–psychological adjustment. To address this issue, the author evaluated the adjustment status associated with engagement in gender normative versus gender nonnormative forms of aggression for both boys and girls. Indexes of social–psychological adjustment assessed included teacher and self-reports of internalizing and externalizing difficulties (N?=?1,166 children 9–12 years old). Results showed that children who engaged in gender nonnormative forms of aggression (i.e., overtly aggressive girls and relationally aggressive boys) were significantly more maladjusted than children who engaged in gender normative forms of aggression and children who were nonaggressive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Mexican psychology.

The universality—not the scientific character—of psychology is challenged by data previously reported by the present author and other researchers suggesting the need for a sociocultural psychology of personality. Specific factorial scales of Mexican, natural language, and sociocultural premises are found to be meaningfully associated, at three different ages, with a number of reliable measures of psychological dimensions. A national, local-belief-based, clinical understanding of Mexican youth on the basis of intra- and cross-cultural studies is illustrated. From the evidence, it is proposed (a) that culture, as defined, can account for significant variance of bona fide psychological and other behavioral science dimensions; and (b) that there is a basis to speak about sociocultural psychologies, such as a Mexican psychology. The disclosure is made in the context of the author's attempts to understand the Mexican personality and society. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of defeat and entrapment in depression, anxiety, and suicide.

Defeat and entrapment are psychological constructs that have played a central role in evolutionary accounts of depression. These concepts have since been implicated in theoretical accounts of anxiety disorders and suicidality. The current article reports on a systematic review of the existing research investigating the links among defeat, entrapment, and psychopathology in the domains of depression, suicidality, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other anxiety syndromes. Fifty-one original research articles were identified and critically reviewed. There was strong convergent evidence for a link with depressive symptoms, across a variety of clinical and nonclinical samples. Preliminary support for an association with suicidality was also observed, with effects not readily explainable in terms of comorbid depression. There was strong evidence for an association between defeat and PTSD, although this may have been partly accounted for by comorbid depression. The findings for other anxiety disorders were less consistent. There was, however, evidence that social anxiety in individuals with psychosis may be related to perceptions of entrapment. Overall, there was evidence that perceptions of defeat and entrapment were closely associated with various forms of human psychopathology. These effects were often in the moderate to large range and superseded the impact of other environmental and psychological stressors on psychopathology. We provide a unified theoretical model of how defeat and entrapment may contribute to these different psychopathological conditions. Clinical implications and avenues for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)