On the importance of being clear about the level of analysis of interest: An illustration using the case of self-compassion.

OBJECTIVE: Theories about within-person (WP) variation are often tested using between-person (BP) research, despite the well-established fact that results may not generalize across levels of analysis. One possible explanation is vague theories that do not specify which level of analysis is of interest. We illustrate such a case using the construct of self-compassion. The factor structure at the BP level has been highly debated, although the theory is actually concerned with relationships at the WP level. METHOD: Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis was applied to experience-sampling data of self-compassion (N = 213, with n = 4052 measurement occasions). RESULTS: At both levels of analysis, evidence for a two-factor model was found. However, the factors were moderately related at the WP level (r = 0.37, p < 0.001) but largely independent at the BP level (r = 0.04, p = 0.696). Exploratory analyses revealed considerable heterogeneity in the WP relationship among individuals. CONCLUSION: We discuss how our results provide new impulses to move the debate around self-compassion forward. Lastly, we outline how the WP level-which is of major interest for self-compassion and other constructs in psychology-can guide the conceptualization and assessment to promote advancements of the theory and resulting applications.

Modeling dynamic personality theories in a continuous-time framework: An illustration.

OBJECTIVE: Personality psychology has traditionally focused on stable between-person differences. Yet, recent theoretical developments and empirical insights have led to a new conceptualization of personality as a dynamic system (e.g., Cybernetic Big Five Theory). Such dynamic systems comprise several components that need to be conceptually distinguished and mapped to a statistical model for estimation. METHOD: In the current work, we illustrate how common components from these new dynamic personality theories may be implemented in a continuous time-modeling framework. RESULTS: As an empirical example, we reanalyze experience sampling data with N = 180 persons (with on average T = 40 [SD = 8] measurement occasions) to investigate four different effects between momentary happiness, momentary extraverted behavior, and the perception of a situation as social: (1) between-person effects, (2) contemporaneous effects, (3) autoregressive effects, and (4) cross-lagged effects. CONCLUSION: We highlight that these four effects must not necessarily point in the same direction, which is in line with assumptions from dynamic personality theories.

Who does or does not use the 'Corona-Warn-App' and why?

To slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the German government released the 'Corona-Warn-App', a smartphone application that warns users if they have come into contact with other users tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Since using the 'Corona-Warn-App' is health-relevant behavior, it is essential to understand who is (and who is not) using it and why. In N = 1972 German adults, we found that non-users were on average older, female, healthier, in training and had low general trust in others. The most frequently named reasons by non-users were privacy concerns, doubts about the effectiveness of the app and lack of technical equipment.

Individual differences in contingencies between situation characteristics and personality states.

Contingencies between situational variables and psychological states have been proposed as key individual difference variables by many theoretical approaches to personality. Despite their relevance, the basic properties, nomological correlates, and factor structure of individual differences in contingencies have not been examined so far. We address these fundamental questions in five studies with overall N = 952 participants and N = 32,052 unique assessments. Individual differences in situation characteristic-state contingencies (SCSCs) between DIAMONDS situation characteristics and Big Five personality states were examined in everyday life. SCSCs showed substantial variation across participants, and individual differences in them were moderately reliable (average meta-analytic reliability = .47) and short-term stable (average meta-analytic latent stability = .43). They were weakly and inconsistently related to average personality states, self-reported personality traits, subjective happiness, and sociodemographic variables across studies. However, there were meaningful intercorrelations among SCSCs that could be described by four factors: contingencies involving (1) positive states and situational problems, (2) positive states and situational rewards, (3) thinking/work and requirements of thinking/work, and (4) neurotic states. Overall, our findings support the notion of SCSCs as potentially important individual difference variables, and we sketch future lines of research on contingencies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Unveiling an exclusive link: Predicting behavior with personality, situation perception, and affect in a preregistered experience sampling study.

Affect and situation perception are intertwined in any given situation, but the extent to which both predict behavior jointly and uniquely has not yet been systematically examined so far. Using 2 studies with experience sampling methodology (ESM), we examine how trait-like variables (Big Six, trait affect, general situation experience) and state-like variables (momentary affect, happiness, and situation perception) account for variance in self-reported behavioral states of the Big Six. In Study 1, we reanalyzed data from Sherman, Rauthmann, Brown, Serfass, and Jones (2015) and found that situation perception explained variance in self-reported behavior in logically coherent ways, but only after considering happiness as an additional predictor. These results were replicated in preregistered Study 2, in which positive and negative affect were additionally assessed as distinct variables. Based on both studies, we conclude that personality traits, affect, and situation perception contribute uniquely to the explanation of self-reported behavior in daily life. Importantly, situation perceptions and affect do overlap, but they are neither the same nor redundant with each other. Indeed, theoretically justified and logically coherent links between situation perceptions and behavioral states remain intact once affect is controlled for, while the links not predicted by theory disappear. These results have implications for personality theories as well as appraisal theories of emotion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Changes in daily loneliness for German residents during the first four weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

RATIONALE: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has dramatically altered people's social lives due to social restriction measures taken to control the coronavirus spread. Early on, increased loneliness has been publicly discussed as a harmful psychological side effect of these measures. Due to the serious adverse health consequences of loneliness, it is essential to take these concerns seriously and investigate them systematically to allow for evidence-based decision making. Thus far, however, high-resolution empirical evidence of such harmful side effects is rare. METHODS: The present preregistered large-scale daily diary study assessed daily loneliness in 4,844 German adults between March 16 and April 12, 2020. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Daily loneliness slightly increased during the first two weeks since implementing the pandemic-related measures and slightly decreased thereafter. With increasing age, daily loneliness increased more strongly over the four weeks. Moreover, daily loneliness increased more strongly for parents compared to people without children. Thus, despite some increases in loneliness in some individuals, there was no linear increase in loneliness in response to the first pandemic-related measures in the present sample.

Personality in situations: Going beyond the OCEAN and introducing the Situation Five.

We present the psychometric evaluation of a personality measure that assesses the Big Five and situation perception based on a newly developed taxonomy of situation characteristics. Following the lexical approach, more than 15,000 adjectives were extracted from an authoritative German dictionary. In a first exploratory study, 521 participants rated every-day situations on 300 adjectives selected as potential situation descriptors. Seven dimensions of situation perception were initially extracted. In a second study with N = 387, five of these seven factors were confirmed: Outcome-Expectancy, Briskness, Cognitive Load, Psychological and Physical Load, and Lack of Stimuli, together referred to as the Situation Five. Finally, a measurement tool, the Big Five of Personality in Occupational Situations (B5PS), was constructed to assess the Big Five personality traits and the Situation Five simultaneously. We present evidence for the reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and predictive validity of the B5PS test scores. Our study highlights the relevance of situation perception as a trait and discusses their applicability in diverse contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Special Issue "The Ability-Personality Integration".

Humans display varied behaviors, and scientists put enormous research efforts into finding explanations for them [...].