Chapter 28 - Variability and consistency in the analysis of behavior

Abstract

Analysis of personality processes requires attention to persons and situations. However, the analytic traditions in studying persons differ from those in studying situations, and this disconnect may slow research intended to integrate persons and situations. This chapter examines a common analytic framework (ANOVA), revealing that many core concepts blend consistency (core to personality traditions) and the magnitude of variability (core to situation-oriented traditions). That is, key results reflect consistency, in terms of the degree to which the pattern of differences between people (i.e., the rank order of people) is consistent across situations, or the degree to which the pattern of differences between situations (i.e., the rank order of situations) is consistent across people. Results also reflect degree of variability, in terms of the magnitude of differences between people within a situation or the degree to which different situations elicit different behavior from a person. These insights demonstrate that common analytic concepts reflect both personality-oriented and situation-oriented traditions, and they may facilitate the impact of frameworks based upon such concepts.