PERSONALITY PROCESSES UNDERLYING THE APPROACH CONSTRUCT IN THE PREDICTION OF EVERYDAY LIFE OUTCOMES

Abstract The past few decades has seen increasing agreement identifying approach and avoidance systems as central concepts in the understanding of human behaviour and personality (Carver, 2005; Carver & Scheier, 2000; Elliot, 1999, 2005). The central focus of this thesis lies in exploring the approach system. The approach system focuses on managing appetitive behaviour and represents a general sensitivity to rewarding stimuli. This system is thought to be accompanied by behavioural tendencies towards such rewarding stimuli and consequently, positive outcomes (e.g., Gable, Reis, & Elliot, 2003). This thesis will examine the approach system as portrayed firstly via the Behavioural Approach System (BAS) as part of one of the most recent and influential personality theories; Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST; Gray, 1982; Gray & Mc Naughton, 1996; Pickering & Gray, 1999) and secondly, by means of the social cognitive model of goal orientation (Diefendorff & Mehta, 2007; Dweck, 1996; Elliot & Church, 1997). The two constructs of approach goal orientations which will be chiefly discussed in this thesis are mastery approach orientation and performance approach orientation. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate these three approach constructs in interaction with situational cues and in the prediction of everyday life outcomes. Work context is an important example of everyday life situation; therefore, this thesis aims to investigate the interaction between the three approach constructs and rewarding climates (situational cues) in the prediction of work outcomes. This thesis therefore contains two parts; the first part will investigate the Behavioural Approach System (BAS) and the second part will investigate performance approach and mastery approach orientations. The first part contains two chapters -two self contained papers- and the second part contains three chapters -three self contained papersix Each paper form it’s own individual chapter. In each chapter, the controversies and ambiguities in theoretical and practical implications involved in the construct will be discussed. In addition, major findings as well as limitations and practical implications will be discussed at the end of each chapter. Following as introduction is a brief review of each chapter