260 III. DEvELOPMENT
Environments can be described and cata -
logued in many ways (Rauthman et al., 
2014). We prefer social roles as the unit of 
analysis, because they reflect the aggregation 
of many smaller components of environments 
and thus match the level of aggregation typi -
cally found in personality traits. For exam -
ple, being a parent subsumes activities with 
one’s children, as well as engagement with 
institutions such as education systems (e.g., 
parent–  teacher meetings). Most social roles 
can be categorized according to two broad 
domains: status and belongingness (Roberts, 
2007). Roles associated with status include 
work and social-  position roles, such as man -
ager, parent, or coach. Roles associated with 
belongingness include friendship, family, and 
community roles, such as relative or friend. 
The workplace is often associated with status 
hierarchies, but roles associated with belong -
ingness can also be found there. People often 
aspire to and achieve higher-  status roles at 
work, such as those in leadership. But work 
also affords the opportunity for many friend -
ships, providing meaning and support related to belongingness in a situation in which sta -
tus may be especially salient.
As we articulate below, personality and 
roles are intrinsically linked. People are at -
tracted to and select specific types of roles 
that reflect their personality. In turn, roles 
provide the platform from which experi -
ence can render changes in personality. 
Roles subsume broad sets of situations and 
concomitant expectations, rewards, punish -
ments, and behavioral affordances that drive 
experiences that can and do lead to person -
ality change. Reflecting our recent theo -
rizing about traits, and the sociogenomic 
model of traits in particular (Roberts, 2018), 
we see role experiences acting on moment- 
to- moment states that then lead to changes 
in traits. The sociogenomic model of traits 
also proposes that experiences can affect 
pliable epigenetic systems that may impart 
permanent change in personality. We draw 
the dashed line from society/culture back to 
evolution only to acknowledge the fact that 
evolution is an ongoing process that is con -
stantly affecting human development.Roles:
Work, Family,
Communi tyTraits
Big Five/Big Seven
Positive and Negative Affect
Attachment Styles
Motives and Values
Goals
Interests
Life tasks
Abilities
Cognitiveability
Verbal, Spatial, 
Quant itative
Narratives
Stories
Significant memories
ScriptsSociety /CultureUnits of analysis
Genes
Phys iological
Mechani smsDistal causes Distal causes
EvolutionProximal causes
FIGURE 11.1.  The revised neo-  socioanalytic model of personality.