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The Big Question: Long-Term and Short-Term Personality Changes
How stable is our personality? When and why does it change? These are the research questions that occupy the thoughts of our lab members. In two lines of research we study both long-term changes in individual differences across the life span and short-term fluctuations in people’s way of dealing with the world – that is, personality dynamics and functioning in people’s daily lives. Our goal is to further integrate these two lines of research because this integrated perspective promises to provide new insights into the underlying processes of personality functioning and development. |
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Current Projects:
Lifespan Development of Openness to Experience
In this line of research we study the mechanisms of stability and change in the fifth factor of the Big Five across various events, both normative and non-normative. Our goal is to untangle the mystery behind lifespan development of openness to experience/intellect.
Investigators: Ted Schwaba, Wiebke Bleidorn
Personality Change During the Transition to Parenthood
Becoming a parent is a big deal, but how does it affect one's personality and well-being? Are these effects different for mothers and fathers? What about those who don't become parents? In this line of research we examine longitudinal personality development in the specific context of parenthood.
Investigators: Manon Van Scheppingen, Wiebke Bleidorn
Personality Development in Adolescence
Ample research has shown that broad personality traits undergo pronounced changes during adolescence. However, little is known about the normative shape of changes and the the factors that may influence these changes. Some scholars have suggested that stable relationships with peers play a role in the development of adolescents’ personality. The aims of the current project are two-fold: First, we aim to provide a detailed description of the patterns of Big Five personality change during adolescence. Second, we examine the extent to which adolescents’ personality-trait development is influenced by the personality development of their best friends and siblings.
Investigators: Jeroen Borghuis, Jaap Denissen, Wiebke Bleidorn
Cross-Cultural Differences in Personality Change
In recent years, a large body of research has shown that personality characteristics, such as the Big Five or self-esteem, can and do change across the life span. These robust findings would appear to provide a solid empirical foundation upon which theorists and researchers can develop their understanding of the mechanisms that drive changes in personality characteristics. However, there is one issue that potentially undermines this broad conclusion: The vast majority of previous studies have examined samples from the U.S. or other Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD; Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010) countries. In this line of research, we examine age differences across large and diverse set of cultures to test whether the widely reported age differences in personality are cross-cultural universals or culture-specific phenomena. Moreover, the cross-cultural design can provide important information about the universal and culture-specific mechanisms that might drive personality change.
Investigators: Wiebke Bleidorn