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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences pp 1–4Cite as

Personal Strivings

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In the current entry, we provide an overview of the “personal strivings approach” to the study of personality. Personal strivings are motivational units that tap the things individuals are “typically trying to do” (Emmons 1999, p. 182). As such, these constructs are a fruitful avenue by which participants express their wishes, concerns, and desires. Below, we provide a brief summary of the conceptual and empirical features of the personal strivings approach. This is followed by a description of the contextualized nature of personal strivings. We conclude by outlining the relation between personal strivings and psychological adjustment.

Goal Motivation and Personal Strivings

Personal strivings are motivational units that capture the things individuals are currently working on or typically trying to do. Within the goal motivation literature, there exists variation with respect to the targeted level of specificity. Personal strivings rest at the midpoint between higher-order and more...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA

    Nicole R. Harake & William L. Dunlop

Authors
  1. Nicole R. Harake
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  2. William L. Dunlop
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicole R. Harake .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, Universität zu Lübeck, Lübeck, NC, Germany

    John F. Rauthmann

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Harake, N.R., Dunlop, W.L. (2019). Personal Strivings. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1873-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1873-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

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