| Popis: |
Although many individuals retrospectively report feeling more open and receptive to new ideas and possibilities after experiencing adverse events, research specifically examining growth on this dimension of character (as opposed to more general psychological growth) remains scarce. To stimulate future theoretical and empirical work in this area, this chapter reviews and discusses existing scientific research pertaining to changes in the personality trait of openness to new experience following adversity. Studies using retrospective self-reports have shown that people judge themselves as more open following highly stressful events. Such research also suggests that changes in openness could even help foster more general psychological growth. It is, however, possible that people involuntarily distort their self-perceptions to cope with difficulties, and several other lines of research have produced contradictory findings. Correlational and experimental evidence has shown that stressful experiences can decrease openness. Most longitudinal studies examining changes in personality over time have found no changes in openness following negative events. To help reconcile previous contradictory findings, the authors propose a methodological agenda including using multiple methods to assess openness, complementing correlational with longitudinal methods to examine changes over time, studying everyday manifestations of openness (including how people deal with everyday stressors), and investigating potential moderators and mediators of growth in this trait. Such research will help increase clarity about the circumstances under which people may (or may not) become more open as a result of adversity. |
