Individual differences in proactivity: a developmental perspective

Individuals vary in their tendency to engage in proactive behavior. To explain these individual differences, scholars have focused on the role of personality traits in shaping proactive behavior. In this chapter, we first review studies that examine the effect of personality traits and their joint influence with environmental factors in shaping proactive behavior. We next employ a personality development perspective to suggest that environmental factors can shape individuals’ personality over time and thus their proactive behavior in the long run, extending the research by introducing a different perspective of personality. The implications of the personality development perspective for proactivity research are discussed.