Personality architecture and dynamics: The new agenda and what's new about it

This overview of the psychology of personality dynamics locates contemporary trends within the field's long history. Investigators of the 19th and 20th centuries are recognized as having identified scientific challenges that must be addressed today if one is to attain a comprehensive understanding of personality architecture and dynamics. We outline four themes that were highlighted by investigators of the past. We then consider how theoretical and methodological challenges associated with these themes are addressed by two contemporary models of personality architecture, dynamics, and functioning: the Knowledge-and-Appraisal Personality Architecture (KAPA model) and the social ecological perspective of Personal Projects Analysis (PPA).