Abstract
The Study of Personality Architecture and Dynamics (SPeADy) is a German research project that aims to investigate the sources of interindividual differences in intraindividual personality development. The main focus lies in the dynamic interplay between more stable core characteristics and more environmentally malleable surface characteristics, as well as between personality and life experiences over time. SPeADy includes a twin family study encompassing data from 1962 individuals (age: 14-94) of 682 families, including 570 complete twin pairs (plus 1 triplet set), 327 parents, 236 spouses and 145 children of twins. Data collection started in 2016 and data from the first wave are currently obtainable as open source. Available data comprise a broad range of personality variables, such as personality trait constructs, motives, interests, values, moral foundations, religiosity and self-related concepts. For the currently ongoing second wave of data collection, we added retrospective reports on major life events. Special features of this genetically informative study are the extended twin family data and its longitudinal design. Three assessment waves in 2 years' intervals are planned until 2022. In this article, we briefly describe the design and contents of the SPeADy twin family study as well as some recent findings, future plans and open science issues.
Highlights
‘Personality’ has often been defined, operationalized and very sparingly investigated with a small set of descriptive trait constructs, such as the Big Five dimensions (Digman, 1990; Goldberg, 1990)
We added to existing knowledge on the sources of individual differences in HEXACO personality characteristics
Extended twin family analyses using structural equation modeling yielded that additive and nonadditive genetic influences accounted for about 50% of the variance in personality traits
Summary
‘Personality’ has often been defined, operationalized and very sparingly investigated with a small set of descriptive trait constructs, such as the Big Five dimensions (Digman, 1990; Goldberg, 1990). Based on a conceptualization of ‘personality’ as a dynamic network of core and surface characteristics, SPeADy enables unique implications for an integrative model that describes and explains personality differences and development. This dynamic network may stabilize or change and may be more or less consistent across time and situations as a function of age and its interplay with the individual environment. Extending a classical twin design by including data from parents, spouses and offspring of twins help overcome many limitations of a twins-only design It reduces the indeterminacy and distortion of estimates of genetic and environmental contributions to individual differences (Keller et al, 2010).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
