An Exploration of Subjective Situation Dimensions Associated With Situation-Specific Behavior

The current research presents a general framework for assessing the subjective perception of situations. The framework was used to assess freely listed situations relevant to participants’ daily lives as well as laboratory situations in which behavior was objectively assessed. Exploratory factor analyses revealed five common situation dimensions that map closely to the Big Five: positive affect (PA)/affiliation, negative affect (NA), achievement, dominance/aggression, and situation strength. Results indicate that the five situation dimensions are sensitive to experimentally manipulated characteristics of situations. Further, correlations between subjective situation dimensions and both self-reported and nonself-reported behavior indicate that the situation dimensions possess predictive validity and that the subjective perception of situations is associated with situation-specific behavior. The correspondence between situation perception and personality is discussed.