Abstract
Personality psychologists specialise in comprehensiveness and therefore risk living with chaos. To mitigate this risk we need units of analysis that link diverse aspects of personality. I present the case for personal projects as relevant integrative units. Personal projects are extended sets of personally salient action in context such as “finally going to ISSID,” or “being less annoying.” They are assessed through Personal Projects Analysis (PPA), a modular methodology that assesses the content, appraisal, impact and dynamics of personal project systems both idiographically and normatively. I also present the notion of “free traits” where individuals act counter-dispositionally to advance their core personal projects, as when introverted professors act extraverted in order to advance their project of “stimulate my students.” Such acting out of character is common, consequential and potentially debilitating.
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