The Situation of Situation Research: Knowns and Unknowns

Rauthmann J, Sherman RA. The Situation of Situation Research: Knowns and Unknowns. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 2020;29(5):473-480.Over the past 15 years, research on the assessment of psychological situations has flourished. As a result, many basic questions about psychological situations have been answered. We discuss the theoretical and empirical studies that answered these questions, including what situations are; how they can be characterized, taxonomized, and measured; how they relate to person variables; and how persons navigate situations. We first summarize the "knowns" of psychological situation research and then proceed to chart the "unknowns" that have yet to be examined. We conclude with an agenda for future situation research