Disentangling timing and conditions: Trajectories of micro- and macro-processes of self-esteem change across the adult lifespan

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Jenny Wagner
• Subject Area: Developmental and Educational Psychology ; Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology
• Term: from 2015 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 283368871

• Final Report Year: 2022

Final Report Abstract

It is of general agreement that personality and self-esteem develop across the entire human life-span. At the same time, processes and conditions of change are still not well understood. Work supported by this grant has comprehensively demonstrated how the evaluation of micro-processes in daily lives can help to shed further light on the developmental processes of self-esteem and personality. Specifically, we were able to reveal considerable insights regarding both, in what way interindividual differences manifest in self-evaluative and affective micro-processes, and how these processes shape the development of interindividual differences. Specifically, we have found substantial effects of personality traits on micro-processes of reactivity and affective well-being. Importantly, such individual differences not only affect average levels, but also the variability of affect. At the same time, initial research could illustrate effects of micro-processes and interaction dynamics to affect levels and also change in personality across time. Thereby, results emphasize the importance for understanding daily (social) processes when addressing questions of long-term development. Social relationships are of key importance for both short- and long-term processes of change across the entire life span.

Publications

• Personality Development in Late Adulthood. Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, 1-8. Springer International Publishing.
  Wagner, Jenny & Mueller, Swantje
  
• Happy Like a Fish in Water? The Role of Personality–Situation Fit for Momentary Happiness in Social Interactions across the Adult Lifespan. European Journal of Personality, 33(3), 298-316.
  Mueller, Swantje; Ram, Nilam; Conroy, David E.; Pincus, Aaron L.; Gerstorf, Denis & Wagner, Jenny
  
• The policy relevance of personality traits.. American Psychologist, 74(9), 1056-1067.
  Bleidorn, Wiebke; Hill, Patrick L.; Back, Mitja D.; Denissen, Jaap J. A.; Hennecke, Marie; Hopwood, Christopher J.; Jokela, Markus; Kandler, Christian; Lucas, Richard E.; Luhmann, Maike; Orth, Ulrich; Wagner, Jenny; Wrzus, Cornelia; Zimmermann, Johannes & Roberts, Brent
  
• Longitudinal Experience–Wide Association Studies—A Framework for Studying Personality Change. European Journal of Personality, 34(3), 285-300.
  Bleidorn, Wiebke; Hopwood, Christopher J.; Back, Mitja D.; Denissen, Jaap J.A.; Hennecke, Marie; Jokela, Markus; Kandler, Christian; Lucas, Richard E.; Luhmann, Maike; Orth, Ulrich; Roberts, Brent W.; Wagner, Jenny; Wrzus, Cornelia & Zimmermann, Johannes
  
• Moody and thin‐skinned? The interplay of neuroticism and momentary affect in older romantic couples. British Journal of Psychology, 112(1), 315-341.
  Mueller, Swantje; Wagner, Jenny; Hueluer, Gizem; Hoppmann, Christiane A.; Ram, Nilam & Gerstorf, Denis
  
• Toward an Integrative Model of Sources of Personality Stability and Change. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(5), 438-444.
  Wagner, Jenny; Orth, Ulrich; Bleidorn, Wiebke; Hopwood, Christopher J. & Kandler, Christian
  
• Understanding Loneliness in Adolescence: A Test of Competing Hypotheses on the Interplay of Extraversion and Neuroticism. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(23), 12412.
  Wieczorek, Larissa L.; Humberg, Sarah; Gerstorf, Denis & Wagner, Jenny
  
• What makes for a pleasant social experience in adolescence? The role of perceived social interaction behavior in associations between personality traits and momentary social satisfaction. European Journal of Personality, 36(5), 787-808.
  Wieczorek, Larissa L.; Mueller, Swantje; Lüdtke, Oliver & Wagner, Jenny
  
• The incremental validity of average states: A replication and extension of Finnigan and Vazire (2018).. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 123(3), e23-e37.
  Breil, Simon M.; Schweppe, Paula C.; Geukes, Katharina; Biesanz, Jeremy C.; Quintus, Martin; Wagner, Jenny; Wrzus, Cornelia; Nestler, Steffen & Back, Mitja D.
  
• The role of interpersonal perceptions of social inclusion and personality in momentary self-esteem and self-esteem reactivity. European Journal of Personality, 37(2), 187-206.
  Bleckmann, Eva; Lüdtke, Oliver; Mueller, Swantje & Wagner, Jenny