No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
Connecting theories of personality dynamics and mental computational processes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 January 2025
Abstract
Whole Trait Theory (and other dynamic theories of personality) can illuminate the process by which motivational states become traits. Mental computational processes constitute part of the explanatory mechanisms that drive trait manifestations. Empirical work on Whole Trait Theory may inform future research directions on mental computational processes.
- Type
- Open Peer Commentary
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press
References
Fleeson, W. (2001). Toward a structure- and process-integrated view of personality: Traits as density distributions of states. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(6), 1011–1027. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.80.6.1011CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fleeson, W., & Gallagher, P. (2009). The implications of Big Five standing for the distribution of trait manifestation in behavior: Fifteen experience-sampling studies and a meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(6), 1097–1114. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016786CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fleeson, W., & Jayawickreme, E. (2015). Whole trait theory. Journal of Research in Personality, 56, 82–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fleeson, W., & Jayawickreme, E. (2021a). Whole trait theory puts dynamics at the core of structure. In The handbook of personality dynamics and processes (pp. 579–599). Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fleeson, W., & Jayawickreme, E. (2021b). Whole traits: Revealing the social-cognitive mechanisms constituting personality's central variable. In Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 63, pp. 69–128). Academic Press.Google Scholar
Fleeson, W., & Noftle, E. (2008). The end of the person–situation debate: An emerging synthesis in the answer to the consistency question. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2(4), 1667–1684. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2008.00122.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jayawickreme, E., Fleeson, W., Beck, E. D., Baumert, A., & Adler, J. M. (2021). Personality dynamics. Personality Science, 2, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.5964/ps.6179CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCabe, K. O., & Fleeson, W. (2012). What is extraversion for? Integrating trait and motivational perspectives and identifying the purpose of extraversion. Psychological Science, 23(12), 1498–1505. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612444904CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCabe, K. O., & Fleeson, W. (2016). Are traits useful? Explaining trait manifestations as tools in the pursuit of goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 110(2), 287–301. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039490CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McNiel, J. M., Lowman, J. C., & Fleeson, W. (2010). The effect of state extraversion on four types of affect. European Journal of Personality, 24(1), 18–35. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.738CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Target article
A critique of motivation constructs to explain higher-order behavior: We should unpack the black box
Related commentaries (25)
Adopt process-oriented models (if they're more useful)
Almost, but not quite there: Research into the emergence of higher-order motivated behavior should fully embrace the dynamic systems approach
Beyond reductionism: Understanding motivational energization requires higher-order constructs
Connecting theories of personality dynamics and mental computational processes
Definitional devils and detail: On identifying motivation as an animating dynamic
Don't throw motivation out with the black box: The value of a good theory revisited
Endogenous reward is a bridge between social/cognitive and behavioral models of choice
Expectancy value theory's contribution to unpacking the black box of motivation
Exploring novelty to unpack the black-box of motivation
Higher-order motivational constructs as personal-level fictions: A solution in search of a problem
Human motivation is organized hierarchically, from proximal (means) to ultimate (ends)
It's bigger on the inside: mapping the black box of motivation
Mental computational processes have always been an integral part of motivation science
Motivation needs cognition but is not just about cognition
Motivational constructs: Real, causally powerful, not psychologically constructed
Motivational whack-a-mole: Foundational boxes cannot be unpacked
Needed: Clear definition and hierarchical integration of motivation constructs
Postcard from inside the black box
Predictive processing: Shedding light on the computational processes underlying motivated behavior
Resurrecting the “black-box” conundrum
The ins and outs of unpacking the black box: Understanding motivation using a multi-level approach
The role of metacognitive feelings in motivation
The unboxing has already begun: One motivation construct at a time
There's no such thing as a free lunch: A computational perspective on the costs of motivation
When unpacking the black box of motivation invites three forms of reductionism
Author response
Response to the critiques (and encouragements) on our critique of motivation constructs