Leveraging Narrative Identity Approaches to Understand the Mechanisms and Moderators of Event‐Related Personality Trait Changes

ABSTRACT

Life events have been found to elicit changes in different layers of personality, including personality traits and narrative identity. Although trait research and narrative identity research both seek to understand the dynamic interplay between life events and personality, exchange in methods and findings across both lines of research has been limited. In this review, we integrate narrative identity and trait perspectives on life events. The goals of this review are threefold. First, we provide an overview of existing research on event‐related personality trait changes, highlighting open questions and limitations of contemporary research efforts. Second, we introduce theory and methods from narrative identity research on life events. Third, we outline how methods and approaches from narrative identity research can be leveraged to advance research on event‐related personality trait changes. Specifically, we sketch how narrative identity research can provide insights into the mechanisms and moderators of personality trait changes. Furthermore, we discuss possible challenges and solutions for integrative research approaches.