Psychological Well-Being and the Big Five: A Reciprocal Story

Chris C. Martin & Corey L. M. KeyesDept. of Sociology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA

Lifespan Social–Personality Preconference 2013Fourteenth Annual Meeting of SPSP, New Orleans, LA

chris.martin.e@gmail.com

IntroductionAs the life sciences progress: Decline in theories of unidirectional effects Rise in theories of cyclic and reciprocal effects e.g., biological coevolution, gene-culture coevolution, family systems

Personality psychology is a “late bloomer.”

Longitudinal Trait Change: A HistoryFirst Generation (Trait theorists)Emphasized stability, not change, to establish validityDid not use longitudinal methods

Second Generation:Change over time was studied, with a focus on stability, maturity, and individual differences

Third Generation:Life events, genetics, sociogenomics, reciprocal causation

First GenerationContextPsychoanalytic theory preceded trait theoryStudying traits required theoretical justificationBasis of traits was lexical

Arguments About StabilityCritics of traits emphasized situational varianceCounter-arguments

Second GenerationPattern: Gradual change from stability to change as focus of research

Three Strains:Stability and Rank-Order Consistency -- Quantifying stability over the lifespan’s segmentsMaturation and Mean-Level Change -- Uncovering common maturation processesIndividual Differences-- Examining heterogeneity of trajectories--Life events

Third Generation: Causal ExplorationExplanations of both personality consistency and change:

Personality Consistency (Roberts & Caspi, 2003)--Genetic effects-- Attraction, selection, evocation, etc.-- Meta-process: identity clarity

Personality Change (Trzesniewski et al., 2003)-- Roles, social learning-- Work experiences, Relationship experiences, Historical/Political Factors

Recent Research ISpecht, Egloss, & Schmukle (2012) Examining mechanisms of personality maturation: The impact of life satisfaction on the Big Five

--German sample--Increases in life satisfaction covaried with positive increases in traits--Increase fit to environment may drive up satisfaction, which may then motivate personality change--Personality change may increase social rewards, which increase satisfactionLimitations--Only life satisfaction was measured

Recent Research IIHill, Turiano, Mroczek, & Roberts (2012) Examining concurrent and longitudinal relations between personality traits and social well-being in adulthood

--American sample (MIDUS)--Incorporated four facets of social well-being--Latent growth curve analyses--Discovered covariation of social well-being and Big Five trait development

Overview of Current Study--Study of covariation between trait change and well-being change--Incorporate three types of well-being  Emotional Wellbeing (EWB):

Pertains to affective state (PA, SWLS)  Psychological Wellbeing (PWB): Pertains to existential coping   Social Wellbeing (SWB): Pertains to integration and connectedness

Psychological Well-Being (Ryff)--Based on eudaimonia, an Aristotelian concept--Draws on conceptions from Erikson,

Jung, Allport, Maslow, Rogers, and others

--Dimensions are: •Self-acceptance•Purpose in Life•Environmental Mastery•Positive Relations•Personal Growth•Autonomy

Social Well-Being--Based on sociological conceptions of well-being--Draws on Durkheim, Seeman, and Marx--Dimensions are: •Social integration•Social acceptance•Social contribution•Social actualization•Social coherence

Mid-Life Development in the U.S. (MIDUS)--MIDUS I (1995-96) and MIDUS II (2004-2006)-- Non-institutionalized, English-speaking adults, ages 25-74-- Random digit dialing led to phone interview and questionnaire

Measures of Traits, Well-Being, EnvironmentBig Five: Combined 25 adjectives from multiple scales (Lachman & Weaver, 1997)Emotional Well-Being: 7 PA items, 1 SWLS itemPsychological Well-Being: Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-BeingSocial Well-Being: Keyes’s Scale of Social Well-BeingPerceived Neighborhood Quality

Perceived Neighborhood Quality/Health (α = .68)A. I feel safe being out alone in my

neighborhood during the daytimeB. I feel safe being out alone in my

neighborhood at night.C. I could call on a neighbor for help if

I needed itD. People in my neighborhood trust each

other

High scores reflect positive perception of home & neighborhood (Keyes, 1998).

In MIDUS I:Range = 1–4. Mean = 3.4. SD = .5.Skewness = -1.1

Data AnalysisUsed difference Scores to measure longitudinal change in traits and well-being

Difference scores are useful when only two time points are used(e.g., Graham & Lachman, 2012; Human et al., 2012; Turiano et al., 2012; see Rogosa & Willett, 1983)

Results: Extraversion (T2) as Outcome

Results: Psych. Well-Being (T2) as Outcome

Results: Summary

Change Scores

 change in EWB

change in PWB

change in SWB    

Trait

Extraversion *** *** **Neuroticism *** *** ***Conscientiousness ***Agreeableness + *** **Openness   *** **    

change in Extra

change in Neuro

change in Cons

change in Agree

change in Open

Wellbe

ing

EWB *** *** **__Life satisfaction *** *** **__PA *** ***__NA *** *** * *** ***PWB (Psychological well…) *** *** *** ***SWB (Social well…) *** ***   * **

Moderator: Perceived Neighborhood Quality(Using MODPROBE Macro in SPSS [Hayes;afhayes.com])

Interaction ΔR2

Well

-Bei

ngs

(pre

dict

ed b

y Tr

ait

chan

ge) EWB (Emotional

well…)ExtraversionNeuroticism

Conscientiousness *Agreeableness *

Openness *  PWB (Psychological well…)

ExtraversionNeuroticism

ConscientiousnessAgreeableness * *

Openness *  SWB (Social well…)

Extraversion *Neuroticism

Conscientiousness *Agreeableness * *

Openness * *

Interaction ΔR2

Trai

ts (

EWB

chan

ge)

ExtraversionNeuroticismConscientiousness Neg*Agreeableness

Openness    

Trai

ts (

PWB

chan

ge)

ExtraversionNeuroticismConscientiousnessAgreeableness * *

Openness    

Trai

ts (

SWB

chan

ge)

ExtraversionNeuroticismConscientiousness * *Agreeableness * +

Openness *  

Discussion--"Healthy" maturation on a trait is associated with positive well-being outcomes--Reciprocally, growth in well-being is associated with "healthier" levels on health traits.

Approach and AvoidanceExtraversion and neuroticism are analogs of approach and avoidance (Elliot & Thrash, 2010)Functions are appetitive goal pursuit (planned) and avoidance of threats (typically unplanned) Approach goals are associated with greater well-being than avoidance goals

Similarities with Other ResearchUpward focus:--Frederickson's Broaden and Build Hypothesis & upward spiral dynamics

Homeostatis Focus--Charles's Strength and Vulnerability Integration--”Set point" theory and hedonic treadmill (Diener, Lucas, and Scollon, 2009)

Pragmatic Nature of Traits--State extraversion is for accomplishing goals, according to whole-trait theory (McCabe and Fleeson, 2012)--"Extraversion appears to facilitate people's goals to have fun, to connect with people, to entertain people, to stir things up, and to be a leader, among many others”

LimitationsObserver ratings would have improved trait measurement.

Multiple-wave studies would have helped for latent curve analysis (Singer & Willett, 2003).

Rogosa, D. R., & Willett, J. B. (1983). Demonstrating the reliability the difference score in the measurement of change. Journal of Educational Measurement, 20, 335-343. doi:10.1111/j.1745-3984.1983.tb00211.x

Ryff, C. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069-1081.

Ouweneel, E., Le Blanc, P. M., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2011). Flourishing students: A longitudinal study on positive emotions, personal resources, and study engagement. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6(2), 142-153

Salanova, M., Llorens, S., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2011). Yes, I can, I feel good, and I just do it!" On gain cycles and spir

Turiano, A., Pitzer, L. M., Armour, C., Karlamangla, A., Ryff, C. D., & Mroczek, D. K.(2012). Personality trait level and change as predictors of health outcomes: Findings from a national study of Americans (MIDUS). The Journals of Gerontology Series B:Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbr072

Fredrickson, B. L. (in press). Positive emotions broaden and build. In E. Ashby Plant & P.G. Devine (Eds.), Advances on Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 47.

Graham, E. K., & Lachman, M. E. (2012). Personality stability is associated with better cognitive performance in adulthood: Are the stable more able? Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbr149

Keyes, C. L. M. (1998). Social well-being. Social Psychology Quarterly, 61, 121-140.

Lachman, M., & Weaver, S. L. (1997). The Midlife Development Inventory (MIDI) personality scales: Scale construction and scoring (Tech. Rep. No.1). Waltham, MA: Brandeis University, Department of Psychology.

McCabe and Fleeson, 2012, What Is Extraversion For? Integrating Trait and Motivational Perspectives and Identifying the Purpose of Extraversion. Also perhaps McCabe's dissertation: ""The Distinctiveness of Extraversion and Conscientiousness through Goal Pursuit: A Test of the Subcomponent-State Function Theory""

References