Personality coherence: Advances in theory, assessment, and research

Abstract

This special issue of the European Journal of Personality, entitled Towards conceptualizing and assessing personality coherence and incoherence, was designed to call for new approaches to the understanding and assessment of personality coherence. Seven papers have been brought together as a result: three theoretical and four empirical Although these papers are devoted to portraying novel or expanded existing conceptual and methodological approaches to personality coherence, they also share a historic commitment to studying this phenomenon. Based on those contributions, I refer to the four topics: (1) novel, extended, validated models of personality coherence, (2) personality coherence and related constructs, (3) functional/adaptive meaning of personality coherence, and (4) assessment-related issues that help display advances in the theory, measurement, and research on personality coherence. In addition, I present four areas that have been identified as avenues for future research: (1) potentials for further developing the personality coherence field, (2) personality coherence, self, and character, (4) personality coherence and development, and (4) personality coherence across different cultures.