Colloquium: Task Contingent Conscientiousness

Personality models provides description and predictions of humans based on the consistency of their emotional and behavioral responses, which are labeled as traits. Once a trait label is assigned, variations in responses are assumed to represent measurement error. This widely accepted view is ingrained in the language used to talk about people in most cultures. However, it contradicts what a few moments reflection often tell us; that our behavior and emotions vary widely in response to situations, often in predictable ways. To the degree that variability in responses across situations is systematic, this variability may serve as the basis of units of personality that capture the dynamic aspects of individuals (Mischel & Shoda, 1995, 1998). Task contingent conscientiousness (TCC) will be discussed as a personality unit and the results of two studies that include TCC will be presented.