Processes of Personality Development in Adulthood: The TESSERA Framework

Cornelia Wrzus, Brent W. Roberts

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The current article presents a theoretical framework of the short- and long-term processes underlying personality development throughout adulthood. The newly developed TESSERA framework posits that long-term personality development occurs due to repeated short-term, situational processes. These short-term processes can be generalized as recursive sequence of Triggering situations, Expectancy, States/State expressions, and Reactions (TESSERA). Reflective and associative processes on TESSERA sequences can lead to personality development (i.e., continuity and lasting changes in explicit and implicit personality characteristics and behavioral patterns). We illustrate how the TESSERA framework facilitates a more comprehensive understanding of normative and differential personality development at various ages during the life span. The TESSERA framework extends previous theories by explicitly linking short- and long-term processes of personality development, by addressing different manifestations of personality, and by being applicable to different personality characteristics, for example, behavioral traits, motivational orientations, or life narratives.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)253-277
Number of pages25
JournalPersonality and Social Psychology Review
Volume21
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2017

Keywords

  • life span
  • long-term personality development
  • person–situation transaction
  • short-term processes
  • social-cognitive learning

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology

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