Dichotomous Thinking and Personality Traits: From the Viewpoints of the Big Five and HEXACO1,2

Dichotomous thinking is a feature of certain personality traits, such as the Dark Triad and Cluster B personality disorders, which commonly reflect a fast life history strategy. The Big Five and HEXACO personality models are useful for understanding the personality structure and individual differences in life history strategy. Our study aimed to shed light on the propensity for dichotomous thinking using the framework of the Big Five and HEXACO personality models. Participants (n = 229) completed the Dichotomous Thinking Inventory, the 60-item HEXACO Personality Inventory – Revised, and the Ten-Item Personality Inventory. We examined correlations between dichotomous thinking and each domain of the Big Five and HEXACO personality models, and then computed multiple correlations predicting total and dimensional scores on the propensity for dichotomous thinking with scores on the Big Five and HEXACO personality traits. Results indicated that dichotomous thinking tendency is characterized by the set of low Agreeableness and Honesty–Humility. This study suggests that dichotomous thinking has antagonistic characteristics and a linkage to the fast life history strategy.     

More than the Big Five: Egoism and the HEXACO model of personality

Egoism is a personality trait that is associated with self‐enriching and self‐centred behaviours. Research has suggested that egoism lies beyond the Big Five personality factors. Recently, the HEXACO model of personality has been proposed as an alternative to the Big Five model. In three studies, the relation between the HEXACO Personality Inventory and egoism, conceptualized using three different questionnaires (DPQ Egoism, SPI Egotism and the Egoism Scale), is investigated. In all three studies, the HEXACO Honesty–Humility factor scale was the most important predictor of egoism. Additionally, in two studies in which FFM measures were used, the HEXACO Personality Inventory explained more variance in egoism than did the FFPI (Study 2) and the NEO‐PI‐R (Study 3). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Dark Triad,the Big Five,and the HEXACO model

The “Dark Triad” of Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and psychopathy has received much research attention since the seminal article of Paulhus and Williams (2002). The introduction of the Dark Triad came shortly after the discovery of a six-dimensional model of personality characteristics, now called the HEXACO model. One of the HEXACO factors—Honesty–Humility—is essentially equivalent (at its opposite pole) to the common element shared by the Dark Triad variables. We suggest that the emergence and popularity of the Dark Triad reflect the importance of these characteristics and their underrepresentation in five-dimensional models of personality. We note that optimal prediction and understanding of criterion variables is better achieved using the HEXACO factors than using an ad hoc combination of the Big Five and a Dark Triad composite.     

A sixth personality domain that is independent of the Big Five domains: The psychometric properties of the HEXACO Personality Inventory in a Japanese sample

We investigated the reliability of the HEXACO‐Personality Inventory (HEXACO‐PI) using the NEO Five‐Factor Inventory (NEO‐FFI) and the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) Big Five scales in a Japanese sample of 492 respondents (mean age = 20.4 years). The psychometric properties of the HEXACO‐PI were examined and found to be satisfactory. The results of the factor analysis showed that the six hypothesized personality domains were found independently. A total of 307 participants responded to the NEO‐FFI and the IPIP Big Five scales. The results showed that the five domains of the HEXACO model corresponded to the Five‐Factor domains and were relative to the Big Five personality domains as a whole, but the sixth domain, Honesty‐Humility, showed weak to moderate correlations with some factors of the NEO‐FFI and the IPIP Big Five scales. These results suggest that the Honesty‐Humility domain is independent of the five fundamental personality factors and that the HEXACO‐PI is a useful and reliable questionnaire for investigating personality structure in cross‐cultural and other context.     

Big Five facets' associations with pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors

Climate change mandates us to understand why individuals do (not) behave pro-environmentally and personality traits are well suited for this purpose. Past research has mostly focused on how broad domain-level personality traits were associated with pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. In two datasets (N = 501 and 287), we examined whether personality facets provided a more detailed picture of how personality traits were associated with pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. It was found that some facets were the main drivers of domain-level associations. Furthermore, it was found that facets, collectively, predicted pro-environmental attitudes (r = .50 to .52) and behaviors (r = .29 to .42) in holdout datasets. This predictive ability was on par with the predictive ability of domains. Therefore, facets provided a greater understanding of how personality traits were associated with pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. Furthermore, facets provided a similar predictive ability of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors to that of domains.     

Long-term stability in the Big Five personality traits in adulthood

This study investigated the stability of the Big Five personality traits in adulthood from age 33 to 42. Participants (89 men, 103 women) were drawn from the ongoing Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development. The results showed that the mean‐level of Neuroticism decreased whereas the mean‐level of Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness increased from age 33 to 42. The Structural Equation Modeling analyses revealed both gender differences and similarities in the rank‐order stability of the Big Five: Neuroticism and Extraversion were more stable in men than in women, whereas Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were as stable in men as in women. Stability coefficients for the Big Five personality traits across 9 years were moderate to high, ranging from 0.73 to 0.97 in men and from 0.65 to 0.95 in women. The highest gender‐equal stability was found for Openness to Experience and the lowest for Conscientiousness.     

Big Five personality traits,job satisfaction and subjective wellbeing in China

This paper examines the effect of the Big Five personality traits on job satisfaction and subjective wellbeing (SWB). The paper also examines the mediating role of job satisfaction on the Big Five–SWB relationship. Data were collected from a sample of 818 urban employees from five Chinese cities: Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang, Dalian, and Fushun. All the study variables were measured with well‐established multi‐item scales that have been validated both in English‐speaking populations and in China. The study found only extraversion to have an effect on job satisfaction, suggesting that there could be cultural difference in the relationships between the Big Five and job satisfaction in China and in the West. The study found that three factors in the Big Five—extraversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism—have an effect on SWB. This finding is similar to findings in the West, suggesting convergence in the relationship between the Big Five and SWB in different cultural contexts. The research found that only the relationship between extraversion and SWB is partially mediated by job satisfaction, implying that the effect of the Big Five on SWB is mainly direct, rather than indirect via job satisfaction. The study also found that extraversion was the strongest predictor of both job satisfaction and SWB. This finding implies that extraversion could be more important than other factors in the Big Five in predicting job satisfaction and SWB in a “high collectivism” and “high power distance” country such as China. The research findings are discussed in the Chinese cultural context. The study also offers suggestions on the directions for future research.     

A comparison of self-other agreement in personal values versus the Big Five personality traits

Can we judge other people’s values accurately, or are values too subjective to assess? We compared self-other agreement in personal values with agreement in the Big Five personality traits. Self-other agreement in four higher-order values (median r = .47) and in six culture-specific value factors (median r = .50) was substantial and similar to that for the Big Five personality traits (median r = .51). When corrected for attenuation due to measurement error self-other agreement was high for all three scales (median rs > .65). The results suggest that people can assess values of others whom they know well with remarkable accuracy. Therefore, other-ratings of personal values can be used to validate and complement self-report value measures.     

Correlated change of Big Five personality traits across the lifespan: A search for determinants

Correlated change between different personality traits has recently caught the attention of researchers studying personality development. We conducted two studies to examine age effects (Study 1) and effects of cognitive ability (Study 2) on this phenomenon. Results indicated that correlated change was relatively stable from adolescence through adulthood, and then increased after age 70. Second, correlated change was greater among traits that have been linked to the same developmental processes (e.g., social investment or maturation of specific neurological systems). Third, cognitive ability was negatively associated with correlated change. Collectively, our findings suggest that personality change is partly driven by broad mechanisms affecting multiple traits. Associations with age and cognitive ability provide important leads regarding the possible nature of these mechanisms.     

Personality and the prediction of team performance

Although much is known about personality and individuals' job performance, only a few studies have considered the effects of team‐level personality on team performance. Existing research examining the effects of personality on team performance has found that, of the Big Five factors of personality, Conscientiousness is often the most important predictor. Accordingly, we investigated the criterion validity of lower‐level Conscientiousness traits to determine whether any one trait is particularly predictive of team performance. In addition to Conscientiousness, we examined the criterion validity of the other Big Five personality factors. We found that Conscientiousness and its facets predicted team performance. Agreeableness, Extraversion and Neuroticism were not predictive of team performance, whereas Openness had a modest negative relation with team performance. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Disgust sensitivity and the HEXACO model of personality

In the current investigation, we test for relationships between three domains of disgust sensitivity (pathogen, sexual, and moral disgust) and the six dimensions of the HEXACO personality model in a large, demographically diverse Dutch sample. Our results extend upon previous investigations into the relationship between disgust sensitivity and personality in two important ways. First, in contrast with most previous investigations into disgust sensitivity, we measure sensitivities to sexual and moral disgust, two domains that elicit self-reports of disgust and facial expressions of disgust. Second, in contrast with the few investigations that have tested for relationships between sensitivities to sexual and moral disgust and Five Factor Model personality dimensions, we use the HEXACO personality model. We find that honesty–humility, a personality dimension assessed in the HEXACO model but not the Five Factor Model, accounts for unique variance in sensitivities to sexual and moral disgust, but not sensitivity to pathogen disgust. Other relationships between disgust sensitivity and personality are discussed, as are implications for understanding the fitness-relevant tradeoffs potentially underlying disgust sensitivity and personality.     

The Big Five personality traits,Big Two metatraits and social media: A meta-analysis

This article reported a meta-analysis of the relationships between social network site use and the Big Five (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) as well as the Big Two (plasticity and stability) personality meta-traits. A random effect meta-analysis model was used to calculate the meta-results of Big Five. Extraversion and openness were the strongest predictor of SNS activities (e.g. gaming, SNS interaction, etc.), while conscientiousness, neuroticism, and agreeableness only correlated with a few of the SNS activities. A meta-analytical structural equation model further demonstrated that plasticity was positively correlated with SNS activities, whereas stability was a negative predictor. Practical implications for social media industry and users were discussed.     

Humor styles and personality: A meta‐analysis of the relation between humor styles and the Big Five personality traits

This research summarizes the knowledge generated in social psychology and positive psychology about the relationship between humor styles, personality and wellbeing. Specifically, a meta‐analysis was performed with the results of 15 studies on humor styles measured by the Humor Styles Questionnaire (Martin, Puhlik‐Doris, Larsen, Gray & Weir, 2003) in correlation with the personality traits measured by the Big Five Personality model (measured with different scales). Following the steps presented by Rosenthal (1991) for meta‐analysis in the case of correlational research, we calculated the total mean r as an indicator of effect size. Results show that affiliative humor has a strong and homogeneous relation to neuroticism and extraversion. The homogeneity and heterogeneity found between variables and possible explanations are discussed in the conclusion.     

Adaptive and Maladaptive Perfectionism,Adult Attachment,and Big Five Personality Traits

The author examined the role of anxiety and avoidance dimensions of attachment and Big Five personality traits in adaptive and maladaptive dimensions of perfectionism among 604 (377 male, 227 female) Turkish university students. The results of 2 separate multiple regression analyses yielded that adaptive perfectionism was significantly predicted by conscientiousness, openness, and extraversion. Maladaptive perfectionism was significantly predicted by the neuroticism, anxiety, and avoidance dimensions of attachment. The authors discuss the implications, limitations, and future directions for research.     

Tales of two self-control scales: Relations with Five-Factor and HEXACO traits

This study compared the Five-Factor and HEXACO personality correlates of two common self-control constructs – Tangney self-control and Grasmick self-control – and their relations with delinquency. In both a student and a community sample, conscientiousness (mainly the prudence facet) was the most consistent and strongest correlate of both constructs. HEXACO honesty–humility was an important correlate of Grasmick self-control but not of Tangney self-control. Additionally, honesty–humility (mainly the fairness facet) was the most consistent predictor of delinquency, whereas the two self-control scales differed in the extent to which they predicted delinquency across samples.     

Age Differences Across Adulthood in Interpretations of Situations and Situation–Behaviour Contingencies for Big Five States

In the last two decades, a burgeoning literature has begun to clarify the processes underlying personality traits and momentary trait‐relevant behaviour. However, such work has almost exclusively investigated these questions in young adults. During the same period, much has been learned about adult personality trait development but with scant attention to the momentary processes that contribute to development. The current work connects these two topics, testing developmental questions about adult age differences and thus examining how age matters to personality processes. The study examines how four important situation characteristics are experienced in everyday life and how situations covary with Big Five trait‐relevant behaviour (i.e. situation–behaviour contingencies). Two samples were collected (total N = 316), each assessing three age groups: young, middle‐aged, and older adults. Using experience sampling method, participants completed reports four or five times per day across a representative period of daily life. Results suggested age differences in how situations are experienced on average, in the variability around these average situation experiences, and in situation–behaviour contingencies. The results therefore highlight that, across adulthood, age groups experience chronically different situations, differ in how much the situations they experience vary moment to moment, and differ in how much situation experience predicts their enactment of traits. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Loneliness and the Big Five Personality Traits: A Meta-analysis

This preregistered meta-analysis (k = 113, total n = 93 668) addressed how the Big Five dimensions of personality (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness) are related to loneliness. Robust variance estimation accounting for the dependency of effect sizes was used to compute meta-analytic bivariate correlations between loneliness and personality. Extraversion (r = −.370), agreeableness (r = −.243), conscientiousness (r = −.202), and openness (r = −.107) were negatively related to loneliness. Neuroticism (r = .358) was positively related to loneliness. These associations differed meaningfully in strength depending on how loneliness was assessed. Additionally, meta-analytic structural equation modelling was used to investigate the unique association between each personality trait and loneliness while controlling for the other four personality traits. All personality traits except openness remained statistically significantly associated with loneliness when controlling for the other personality traits. Our results show the importance of stable personality factors in explaining individual differences in loneliness. © 2020 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology.