Three longitudinal studies examine a fundamental question regarding adjustment of personal values to self-chosen life transitions: Do values fit the new life setting already at its onset, implying value-based self-selection? Or do values change to better fit the appropriate and desirable values in the setting, implying value socialization? As people are likely to choose a life transition partly based on their values, their values may fit the new life situation already at its onset, leaving little need for value socialization. However, we propose that this may vary as a function of the extent of change the life transition entails, with greater change requiring more value socialization. To enable generalization, we used 3 longitudinal studies spanning 3 different life transitions and different extents of life changes: vocational training (of new police recruits), education (psychology vs. business students), and migration (from Poland to Britain). Although each life transition involved different key values and different populations, across all 3 studies we found value fit to the life situation already early in the transition. Value socialization became more evident the more aspects of life changed as part of the transition, that is, in the migration transition. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for research on values and personality change, as well as limitations and future directions for research.

We provide a comprehensive critique of feedback and in-home-displays (IHDs). We find limited evidence of the efficacy of feedback in reducing energy consumption. Problematically the success of IHDs depends entirely on user engagement. The unintended consequence of IHDs may undermine their energy reduction capabilities. We call for new IHDs to be developed and evaluated with user engagement in mind. a b s t r a c tWith smart metering initiatives gaining increasing global popularity, the present paper seeks to challenge the increasingly entrenched view that providing householders with feedback about their energy usage, via an inhome-display, will lead them to substantially reduce their energy consumption. Specifically, we draw on existing quantitative and qualitative evidence to outline three key problems with feedback, namely: (a) the limited evidence of efficacy, (b) the need for user engagement, and (c) the potential for unintended consequences. We conclude by noting that, in their current form, existing in-home-displays may not induce the desired energy-reduction response anticipated by smart metering initiatives. Instead, if smart metering is to effectively reduce energy consumption there is a clear need to develop and test innovative new feedback devices that have been designed with user engagement in mind.

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People often seek out information as a means of coping with challenging situations. Attuning to negative information can be adaptive because it alerts people to the risks in their environment, thereby preparing them for similar threats in the future. But is this behaviour adaptive during a pandemic when bad news is ubiquitous? We examine the emotional consequences of exposure to brief snippets of COVID-related news via a Twitter feed (Study 1), or a YouTube reaction video (Study 2). Compared to a no-information exposure group, consumption of just 2–4 minutes of COVID-related news led to immediate and significant reductions in positive affect (Studies 1 and 2) and optimism (Study 2). Exposure to COVID-related kind acts did not have the same negative consequences, suggesting that not all social media exposure is detrimental for well-being. We discuss strategies to counteract the negative emotional consequences of exposure to negative news on social media.

Four studies examined whether agency and communion values, behaviors, or an interaction between values and behaviors (value-behavior fit) would predict well-being. In addition, Study 2 examined whether agency and communion goals, behaviors, or goal-behavior fit would predict well-being. In all four studies, participants completed online questionnaires containing measures of agency and communion values, behaviors, and well-being. In Studies 1 and 4, participants were recruited from the general population (respectively, N = 371, Mage  = 37.49, and N = 133, Mage  = 36.59). In Studies 2 and 3, participants were undergraduate students (respectively, N = 239, Mage  = 20.8, and N = 242, Mage  = 21.6). All four studies consistently found that agency and communion behaviors were significantly positively correlated with both subjective and psychological well-being. There was no strong indication that either values were directly associated with well-being. Neither was there any indication that well-being was predicted by value-behavior fit. The implications of these findings for theory and improving well-being are discussed.

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