Unit of Personality Research

Personality is one of themost fascinating psychological terms but also one of the most difficult ones to explain. Intuitively, we all have an idea of what we mean when, in daily life, we call a person a "great personality" or that he or she has certain personality traits such as friendliness, anxiousness, impulsiveness or conscientiousness. Can such terms be scientifically explained? How do these and other personality traits emerge? How do they affect people’s behaviour?  To what extent may they be changed?

In Osnabrück advances in personality research are integrated in a comprehensive account of personality functioning that relates very heterogeneous research topics and theoretical perspectives to different system levels of personality functioning (habits, temperament, emotions, coping with stress, motives, cognitive processes and self-control). Furthermore, results from other psychological subjects relevant for the interaction of these different system levels are integrated into a coherent framework.

In our research we use such a system-theoretical view on personality and examine an individual’s personality as a specific configuration of interactions between cognitive, emotional and motivational processes (cf., Personality Systems Interactions Theory). Using experimental and neurobiological methods we examine processes like the enactment of intentions (action control or volition) and the integration of new experience into a continually growing self that (self-development).