Person???Situation interactions: Choice of situations and congruence response models.

Abstract

Two models of Person x Situation interaction wee examined. The first model predicts that there is a relation between personality and the situations people naturally choose to be in; the second model predicts that when there is congruence between the situation and personality, a person will experience more positive and less negative affect. These models were investigated by using mood and activity reports gathered on 3,512 occasions sampled randomly from the everyday lives of 42 subjects. Situational dimensions were related to some but not all personality variables investigated. Need for order predicted choice of typical situations and extraversion correlated with time spent recreating socially. However, it was found that individuals did not spend more time in those settings where they experienced more positive emotions nor less time in those situations where they experienced more negative affect. In terms of the affect-congruence model, several predicted relations wee found, but several others did not reach significance. The failure of the affect-congruence model to be consistently supported was probably because the affect of individuals was relatively consistent across situations. The present results suggest that although some theoretically meaningful Person x Situation interactions do occur, they are not necessarily strong or easily predictable.

Cites (1)

1. Personality research: Components of variance attributable to the person and the situation.
   Sarason, Irwin G., Smith, Ronald E., Diener, Edward · 1975 · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Show all 1 references

Cited by (44)

1. Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress.
   Diener, Ed, Suh, Eunkook M., Lucas, Richard E., Smith, Heidi L. · 1999 · Psychological Bulletin
2. Subjective well-being.
   Diener, Ed · 1984 · Psychological Bulletin
3. A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality.
   Dweck, Carol S., Leggett, Ellen L. · 1988 · Psychological Review
4. Subjective well-being. The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index
   Diener, Ed · 2000 · American Psychologist
5. PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: A PROFILE COMPARISON APPROACH TO ASSESSING PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT.
   O'Reilly, C. A., Chatman, J., Caldwell, D. F. · 1991 · Academy of Management Journal

See all 481