Pleasant Affect and Sociability: Towards a Comprehensive Model of Extraverted Feelings and Behaviors

The extraversion/pleasant affect relation is one of the strongest and most consistent relations in the study of personality and subjective well-being. The strength of this relation has led some to suggest that pleasant affect forms the core of the extraversion dimension. Individual differences in this combined pleasant affect/extraversion trait are linked to an underlying reward-sensitivity system that controls pleasant emotional responses and approach behavior. In the current paper, I trace the history of the extraversion dimension and show how reward-sensitivity theories have developed and how they relate to other theories of the trait. Next, I review recent research that has questioned the validity of the global reports from which most theories of extraversion have been developed. Finally, I test the convergence of global and on-line reports of extraversion, focusing on predictions from the reward-sensitivity model. Results show that although different techniques of assessing extraversion sometimes do not converge, reward-sensitivity theories can successfully account for the pattern of relations among on-line reports of extraverted feelings and behaviors.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Lucas, Richard Eric

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ed Diener

• Psychology, Social

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI9990068

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/82319