How Do You Cook Empathetically? The (Ir)Relevance of Personality States in Everyday Situations

Are personality states relevant and applicable in every situation? Although this question is important from both a theoretical and methodological perspective, a detailed investigation of the (ir)relevance of personality states in everyday situations is still needed. In an experimental experience sampling study (total N = 248; n = 3,253 observations), we compared personality states measured with a scale including or not including a “not relevant” response option. Overall, “not relevant” responses were quite prevalent, but the prevalence varied considerably among personality states, items, and persons. Certain characteristics of the situation (particularly sociality) but not of the person predicted the use of the “not relevant” response option. Additionally, we found significant differences in means and distributions between the different response scales. Overall, this study emphasizes the importance of systematically addressing how personality states should be measured and provides first evidence that their relevance is an important yet overlooked aspect.