The utility of general and school-specific personality traits and an examination of their relationship over time

A university student sample was used to compare school-specific (i.e., personality at school) and general personality (i.e., personality across all life domains) over eight weeks. School-specific and general personality incrementally predicted change in school-specific criteria (i.e., school satisfaction and school citizenship behaviors). Less consistent results were found for general criteria. Specifically, school-specific and general personality incrementally predicted change in general mental health, but failed to incrementally predict change in life satisfaction. In addition, we examined the school-specific–general personality relationship over time. Contrary to expectations, a unidirectional relationship was found in which school-specific personality predicted change in general personality, but general personality did not predict change in school-specific personality. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.