Beyond global traits: Tracking fluctuations in personality, mood, and behavior in everyday life

Personality traits have been described as "the psychology of the stranger." According to this view, to really know a person, we need to understand their idiosyncratic responses to situations, their "personality signatures." However, little empirical work has examined individual differences in how people respond to situations ("if... then contingencies"). In two studies (Ns = 220, 434), we capture fluctuations in people's personality, mood, and behavior as they go about their daily lives. Using multiple, ecologically valid methods (Ecological Momentary Assessment [EMA] and the Electronically Activated Recorder [EAR]), a measurement burst design, and multilevel modeling, we examine (1) what situational features trigger fluctuations in personality states, (2) whether there are stable individual differences in people's responses to situations, and (3) whether people have self-insight into what triggers fluctuations in their own personality.