ABSTRACT
In Chapter 8, we shift from the retrospective stance that we have taken throughout most of the present book. Acknowledging that personality is part and parcel of the self, we adopt a prospective stance as we attempt to identify the role of intentionality in self-development. We shall learn that intentionality – which is associated especially with Rollo May’s version of existential psychology – sounds highly similar to contemporary concepts in personality psychology, such as the executive function of the self. Finally, we end by encouraging future researchers to conduct more research on individuals’ choice of situations (e.g., close relationships) as contexts within which to express their personalities.
