Although personality has been predominantly viewed as a stable trait, there has been a growing interest among researchers in examining the diverse patterns of personality that emerge based on different roles and contexts. Although it is thought that this differentiation in personality may reflect the tendency to respond appropriately to a changing environment, some studies show that this variability is associated with various psychological problems. It seems important to examine this issue in different samples and cultures. Current study attempted to preliminarily illuminate the complex relationship between context and personality evaluation by emphasizing the importance of environment in affecting individuals’ self-perceptions on their traits. In this first study, it was explored how different social ties influence people’s perceptions of their own personality features. 490 participants (294 were female, 196 were male and ages ranged from 18 to 26 (M = 21.60, SD = 1.44) completed the Basic Personality Traits Inventory (BPTI) for five distinct scenarios (e.g., base (no context), with mother, father, friend, and partner). By employing six one-way repeated measures ANOVAs and post hoc comparisons, these preliminary results showed that participant’s general traits (scores without contextual emphasize) were differentiated from the traits reported within a context. Additionally, general personality scores were not the mean scores of the contexts. Participants evaluated themselves as more negatively in base measurement than almost all other contexts. This study provides comprehensive understanding of both the general traits and variability aspects of an individual's personality.

Keywords: personality variability, contextualized personality, within personality, contextual variability, personality flexibility