Psychologist to present research at WFU

By Rachel Cook
336.758.5237
March 6, 2003

William Fleeson, associate professor of psychology at Wake Forest University, will present his recent research in a lecture titled “Moving Personality Forward: Integrating the Process and the Structure Approaches.” The event will be held March 19 at 4 p.m. in Room 162 of Greene Hall on campus. It is free and open to the public.

Fleeson’s research goal was to integrate two conflicting theories prevalent in personality psychology.

Proponents of the process approach assert that individuals are flexible and change their personality to fit the situation. Structuralists assert that people have fixed ways of acting.

Fleeson likens predicting personality to computing batting averages. While psychologists may never be able to accurately predict a given person’s reactions 100 percent of the time, they can make assumptions based on that person’s average responses.

Fleeson’s related study, “An Intraindividual Process Approach to the Relationship Between Extraversion and Positive Affect: Is Acting Extroverted as ‘Good’ as Being Extraverted?” appeared in the December issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

For more information, call 336-758-5424.

Download Text File