Persönlichkeit und deren Auswirkungen auf interpersonale Wahrnehmung und soziales Verhalten

Personality dispositions predict how individuals perceive, interpret and react to their social environment. The PERSOC model (Back et al., 2011) describes the dynamic, continuous and reciprocal interaction between individuals and their social environment. It assumes that personality dispositions also affect how individuals behave in their social relationships. According to this model, social interactions, in turn, have impacts on personality development (i.e., dispositional development process). The dissertation project aims at studying how personality dispositions affect interpersonal perceptions, interpretations and interpersonal behaviors (i.e., personality-congruent influences) and whether and how these psychological variables influence the development of neuroticism over time. First, possible psychological mechanisms were theoretically discussed with regard to the personality disposition victim sensitivity. Second, several of the discussed psychological mechanisms were examined using longitudinal data for neuroticism as one of the Big Five personality traits. Based on longitudinal data from the CONNECT study, where psychology freshmen were repeatedly surveyed throughout their Bachelor degree, interpersonal perceptions of neurotic individuals were assessed. Based on event-based ambulatory assessments, students reported on how they perceive their own behavior and their partners’ behavior rated on several behavioral dimensions. Neuroticism was used to predict interpersonal perceptions and the selection of interaction partners. There was evidence that neuroticism influenced interpersonal perceptions of the interaction partners’ sociability and warmth. Neurotic individuals perceived their interaction partners more positive than they were perceived by third parties. Contrary to previous findings, this biased interpersonal perception was interpreted as a positivity bias. However, the individual’s biased interpersonal perception could not predict changes in neuroticism over time (i.e., reactive transaction, e.g., Caspi & Roberts, 1999). However, if neurotic individuals interacted more frequently with interaction partners described as sociable, this was associated with a greater decrease in neuroticism over time (i.e., proactive transaction, Caspi & Roberts, 1999). On the other hand, if their interaction partners were rated as warmer by third parties, the normative decrease in neuroticism during this lifespan was lower. Thus, the social environment influenced personality development of neuroticism over time. Based on longitudinal, dyadic data from the relationship and family panel Pairfam, where heterosexual couples were repeatedly surveyed about their own thoughts, feelings and behavior as well as their relationship satisfaction, the predictive influence of neuroticism on cognitive, emotional and behavioral variables was examined and to what extent these variables influence the negative relationship between neuroticism and satisfaction in partner relationships. Results showed that neuroticism influenced cognitive (hostile attributions), emotional (fear and insecurity), and behavioral variables (including self-disclosure and dyadic coping), which, in turn, influenced both partners’ relationship satisfaction. Importantly, psychological processes emerged both on an intrapersonal as well as on an interpersonal level. The dissertation project discusses the relative importance of social-cognitive mechanisms. It is argued that cognitive processes (esp. hostile attributions) play a central role in predicting psychological variables and, subsequently, in shaping social relationships. The present project was able to build on earlier research findings and expand them with further findings. In addition, new research questions are raised and a possible empirical investigation of these was outlined. Implications are discussed, particularly for clinical practice, where cognitive processes are ascribed central maintenance functions.