This research is designed to place personality in functional context by examining its role in the evocation of anger subjective distress, and conflict. Preliminary studies have identified 15 major sources of anger and upset, including Possessiveness, Dependency, Neglect, Abuse, Unfaithfulness, Moodiness, and Self- Centeredness. Personality characteristics such as aggressiveness and emotional instability were found to evoke anger and upset in others through jealousy, moodiness, abuse, neglect, and self- centeredness. Six studies were designed, using act frequency methods, to explore these processes in depth. The first three focus on evocation. These studies explore evoked interactional strategies, evoked reputational consequences, and evoked conflict, upset, and subjective distress. Studies 4 through 6 explore the- mechanism of manipulation. Study 4 identifies the goals (e.g., status, power) toward which manipulative tactics are directed, and the consequences of the use of these tactics for negative emotional states. Study 5 explores manipulation tactics over time and across relationship contexts to identify the generality of these negative effects. Study 6 proposes to examine the evocation of manipulation and its consequences for negative emotional states and sources of conflict. All studies are designed to develop a new interactional model of personality, and to identify the consequences of features of this model for negative emotional states, conflict, and subjective distress in the lives of persons.
