Abstract
A case is presented for regarding individual differences in planful behavior as a personality trait. Cognitive planning is discussed as a unique human ability, as one of the four processes comprising planning, arousal-attention, simultaneous, and successive coding of information. After discussing its roots in neuropsychology and cognitive psychology, we present some studies that link individual differences in planning tasks to locus of control, self-concept, and intrinsic motivation. Another study also shows that the use of proper strategies in a problem-solving situation is associated with good planners. In the concluding remarks we suggest that planning is a dynamic rather than a static trait of characterizing the holistic nature of activities of every individual. Improvement of planful behavior is discussed as a possibility dependent on the social and personal history of an individual.
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The writing of this paper was supported by a grant from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Ottawa, Canada, to J.P. Das and John R. Kirby. We acknowledge the many contributions of Rauno Parrila to this paper.
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Das, J.P., Naglieri, J.A. & Murphy, D.B. Individual Differences in Cognitive Processes of Planning: A Personality Variable?. Psychol Rec 45, 355–371 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395148
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395148