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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences pp 1–3Cite as

Cross-Situational Consistency

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Synonyms

Behavioral consistency; Personality; Personality stability

Definition

The degree to which personality and/or behavior changes across situations.

Introduction and Background

Personality involves an individual’s typical pattern of behaviors, thoughts, and emotions. The degree to which personality and/or behavior remains similar across situations is known as cross-situational consistency (Sauerberger and Funder 2016). Someone high in cross-situational consistency has behaviors related to personality characteristics in a similar manner across situations, whereas someone low in consistency will differ in behaviors expressed and how they relate to one’s underlying personality. An important area of research in psychology focuses on whether individual personality traits or situational characteristics have a greater influence on individual behavior (Long et al. 1977). There is ample evidence that suggests that personality has a major influence on behavior and to some degree transcends...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rutgers University, Camden, NJ, USA

    Michelle R. Dixon-Palmer

  2. Behavior and Decision Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Christopher S. Nave

Authors
  1. Michelle R. Dixon-Palmer
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  2. Christopher S. Nave
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christopher S. Nave .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Lakehead University, Orillia, ON, Canada

    Beth A. Visser

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Dixon-Palmer, M.R., Nave, C.S. (2017). Cross-Situational Consistency. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1058-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1058-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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