Disinhibitory sensation seeking,personality and gonadal hormones

The study compared normal males who scored at the extremes of Disinhibition (a subscale of the Sensation Seeking Scale) on gonadal hormones. High disinhibitors were higher than lows on testosterone, estradiol and estrone, but not on progesterone. A broader range of personality traits, attitudes and experience was factor analyzed and correlated with the hormone measurements. Two large factors were found: (1) stable extraversion vs neurotic introversion; (2) social deviancy vs social conformity. Testosterone loaded positively on the stable extraversion factor and estradiol loaded on the social deviancy factor. Measures of sensation seeking, impulsivity and heterosexual experience tended to correlate positively with both testosterone and estradiol, and persons low on both of these hormones were characterized by a high degree of self control and social conformity.     

Vulnerability factors in depression: The facets of sociotropy and autonomy

Sociotropy-autonomy (Beck, 1983) describes a set of personality dimensions that relate to an individual's vulnerability to depression. Two recently developed scales, the Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale (Clark & Beck, 1991) and the Personal Style Inventory (Robinset al., 1994), have been developed in order to assess these personality dimensions. Typically, these measures are used in isolation and little published information is available concerning their interrelationship. The present study examined the relationship between the two scales and specified the various factors that emerge when the items of the two scales are integrated. Six hundred fifty-two participants responded to the Personal Style Inventory (Robinset al, 1994) and the Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale (Clark & Beck, 1991). A factor analysis on all of the items of the two scales revealed a five-factor structure (two sociotropy, two autonomy, and one achievement factor). The relationships among depression, the five derived factors, and the original scales developed by Clark and Beck (1991) and Robinset al. (1994) were critically examined. The results are discussed in the context of vulnerability to depression.     

Circadian preferences and personality traits: A meta‐analysis

In this study we report results of a meta‐analysis of studies linking personality to circadian rhythms. A total of 35 independent samples, 96 correlations and 8589 participants were included. Results showed that conscientiousness is the personality dimension that mostly related to morningness (r = .29). Agreeableness was also related to morningness although to a lesser degree (r = .13). Openness to experience, extraversion and neuroticism, contribute to a very small degree (i.e. ?.09, ?.06 and ?.07, respectively). Furthermore, moderation analyses suggested effects of personality measure (big five vs. other) and sample (students vs. workers). Average age of participants had no significant impact on the relationship between morningness and personality, apart from a very trivial influence on openness to experience. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Salivary testosterone and self-report aggressive and pro-social personality characteristics in men and women

Measures of salivary testosterone and the personality dimensions of aggression and pro-social behavior were obtained in 306 (155 male and 151 female) university students. Each participant provided two samples of saliva and completed ten self-report personality scales from multiple inventories. A factor analysis of the personality scales produced two factors, an aggression factor and a pro-social behavior factor. Men averaged five times the amount of salivary testosterone as women (99 pg/ml vs. 18.5 pg/ml) and rated themselves as more aggressive and less nurturant. Within each sex, testosterone was positively correlated with aggression and negatively correlated with pro-social personality. Structural equation modelling analyses suggested that a direct effect model best described the relationship between salivary testosterone and the latent personality dimensions of aggression and pro-social behavior. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

How the personality dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion and psychoticism relate to self-actualization

This study examines the relationship between the personality dimensions of ‘neuroticism’, ‘extraversion’, ‘psychoticism’, from the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and ‘self-actualization’, measured by the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) for 212 undergraduate students. The two major scales of the POI, (Time Competence and Inner Directed), both separately and as a combined measure of self-actualization were correlated with the scores obtained on the EPQ. The results showed the hypothesized significant negative relationship between neuroticism and self-actualization, and for females only, the hypothesized significant positive relationship between extraversion and self-actualization. Contrary to hypothesis, no relationship between psychoticism and self-actualization was found.     

Curiosity and time: from not knowing to almost knowing

How does it feel to be curious? We reasoned that there are two sides to curiosity: not knowing something (i.e. information-gap) and almost knowing something (i.e. anticipation of resolution). In three experiments, we showed that time affects the relative impact of these two components: When people did not expect to close their information-gap soon (long time-to-resolution) not knowing affected the subjective experience of curiosity more strongly than when they expected to close their information-gap quickly (short time-to-resolution). As such, people experienced less positive affect, more discomfort, and more annoyance with lack of information in a long than a short time-to-resolution situation. Moreover, when time in the long time-to-resolution setting passed, the anticipation of the resolution became stronger, positive affect increased, and discomfort and annoyance with lack of information decreased. Time is thus a key factor in the experience of curiosity.     

Personality Change from Life Experiences: Moderation Effect of Attachment Security

This study focused on effects of life experiences on change in personality and moderation effects of attachment security on the life experience influences. With a sample of Japanese university students (N = 1,000; 679 female; M = 19.72; SD = 1.26; age range, 18–25 years), the Big Five personality traits were assessed twice. The assessment interval was 20 weeks. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses revealed that there were large between‐individual differences in change and stability of the Big Five personality traits, which were accounted for by the amount of daily positive and negative life experiences during the interval period. Moreover, multi‐group HLM analyses indicated that the life experience effects were moderated by participants' attachment security at Time 1. These findings suggest that the accumulation of small daily experiences may work for the personality development of university students and that environmental influences may vary by individual susceptibility to experiences, like attachment security.     

Relationships between personality, attitudes and dietary behaviour in a group of Scottish adolescents

Dietary behaviours, dietary attitudes, dietary knowledge and personality were surveyed in a group of 451 Scottish schoolchildren aged 11–15 years. A factor analysis of the behaviour items gave a three-factor structure with factors designated Healthy Eating, Unhealthy Eating and Health Habits. A general healthy vs. unhealthy eating factor was also extracted. A factor analysis of the attitude statements gave factors designated Pickiness, Neophobia and Food Interest. Dietary knowledge was found to be positively correlated with Healthy Eating score and negatively correlated with Unhealthy Eating score. The personality trait of Psychoticism was positively correlated with Unhealthy Eating score and negatively correlated with dietary knowledge, whilst Neuroticism was significantly negatively correlated with Healthy Eating and Health Habits and significantly positively correlated with Pickiness and Neophobia. Gender and socio-economic status differences in behaviour and attitude factor scores are also reported.     

Assessing conspiracist beliefs across societies: Validation of the Serbian adaptation of the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale (GCBS)

Initial validation of the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale (GCBS) identified five correlated factors: Government Malfeasance, Malevolent Global Conspiracies, Extraterrestrial Cover-up, Personal Well-being and Control of Information. Despite replications of this structure, ensuing research, mostly using translated versions of the GCBS (i.e., Persian and Japanese), has reported factorial alternatives. Concomitantly, researchers postulated that belief in conspiracies was higher in historically troubled societies (e.g., Serbia). To further assess the cultural stability of the five correlated factor solution and test the assumption that GCBS scores are affected by social-political instability, a Serbian adaptation of the GCBS was assessed alongside the standard English language version. Data were collected from Serbian (n = 259, 44.40% males) and UK samples (n = 402, 52.25% males). Within samples, confirmatory factor analysis replicated the five-factor solution. Additionally, national and gender invariance was confirmed. National comparisons (Serbia vs. UK) revealed that the Serbian sample scored higher on Government Malfeasance, Malevolent Global Conspiracies, Personal Well-being and Control of Information, whereas the UK sample scored higher on Extraterrestrial Cover-up. There were no gender differences on GCBS factors. Findings indicated that while the Serbian GCBS was interpreted similarly to the GCBS, societal factors influenced endorsement of belief facets.     

The Validation of a Five-Item Screening Scale for Personality Disorders in Dutch-Speaking Community Adolescents and Adults

In Section III of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – fifth edition (DSM-5), an Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) is proposed, including a criterion for personality functioning impairment (Criterion A) to assess severity of personality pathology. The present study examined the structure, reliability, and convergent validity of the Dutch version of a five-item screening scale for Criterion A—the Five-Item Screening Scale for Personality Disorders (FISSPD; Skodol et al., in Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 2, 4-22, 2011)—in a community sample of 1,477 adolescents and 546 adults. To assess convergent validity, identity and personality (pathology) questionnaires were completed by adolescents and adults. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a single factor structure for the FISSPD, which proved to be (partially) invariant across age and gender. Adequate reliability coefficients were obtained for the FISSPD. In both the adolescent and adult sample, significant correlations were found between the FISSPD and consolidated identity (negative) and disturbed identity/lack of identity (positive). In the adult sample, the FISSPD showed significant correlations with several personality disorders (and especially with the borderline personality disorder), maladaptive personality traits (Criterion B of the AMPD), and general personality impairment. In the adolescent sample, the FISSPD was positively correlated with borderline personality disorder characteristics. Furthermore, significant correlations were found with the Big-Five personality traits in the adolescent sample: the FISSPD correlated significantly positive with neuroticism, and negative with extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. In sum, the present study supports the reliability and validity of the FISSPD to screen for (severity of) personality pathology.

     

Impulsivity as a precedent factor for problematic Internet use: How can we be sure?

Previous research has suggested that problematic Internet use (PIU) is associated with impulse control disorder. Although researchers have suggested that impulsivity is a risk factor for PIU, the literature lacks longitudinal evidence on the relationship between impulsivity and PIU. We aimed to use a cross‐lagged analytic framework to identify temporal order effects and hypothesised that impulsivity was the precedent factor for PIU. In a panel sample of college students (N = 367), trait impulsivity and PIU were measured in the spring of freshman year and in their junior year. The measures included a self‐developed PIU Scale and the revised Impulsiveness Scale based on Barratt's concept. We found that “non‐planning impulsivity” was not associated with PIU. The “motor impulsivity” subfactor was thus adopted in the cross‐lagged model. The results suggest that motor impulsivity and PIU were stable across time. Motor impulsivity at Time 1 positively predicted PIU at Time 2, but PIU at Time 1 did not predict motor impulsivity at Time 2. A further investigation using gender as a moderator found a gender difference in the temporal relationship. Because motor impulsivity is a risk factor for PIU, potential prevention strategies based on this result are suggested.     

The role of “dark personalities” (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy), Big Five personality factors, and ideology in explaining prejudice

The so-called Dark Triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) represent correlated subclinical personality traits capturing “dark personalities”. How might darker personalities contribute to prejudice? In the present study (n = 197), these dark personality variables correlated positively with outgroup threat perceptions and anti-immigrant prejudice. A proposed two-stage structural equation model, assuming indirect personality effects (Dark Personality, Big Five) on prejudice through ideology and group threat perceptions, fit the data well. Specifically, a latent Dark Personality factor predicted social dominance orientation, whereas (low) Openness to Experience predicted right-wing authoritarianism; these ideological variables each predicted prejudice directly and indirectly through heightened intergroup threat. The authors recommend that personality models of prejudice incorporate both normal-range and subclinical personality predictors, in addition to ideological and social psychological mediators.     

Personality traits,learning stratigies,and performance

The objective of this research is to analyse the relationships between personality traits, learning strategies, and performance. Two multivariate studies (N=139 and N=92) were conducted. In both studies factor analyses of the learning strategies yielded two factors. One factor, labelled, ‘learning discipline’, correlated highly with the Conscientiousness scale and the other factor, labelled, ‘elaboration’, correlated with the Openness of Experience scale. In Study 1, about 17 per cent of the variance in college grades was accounted for by personality scales and learning strategies. In Study 2, learning strategies accounted for about 31 per cent of the variance in college grades. Path analyses showed that the relations between basic personality traits and grades were mediated by the learning strategies.     

Effects of an Economic Recession on Leader Personality and General Mental Ability Scores

Economic recessions have wide‐ranging implications for the workforce. The science and practice of industrial and organizational psychology are certainly not immune to those implications. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an economic recession on leader personality and general mental ability scores in three samples (n_{Time 1}=564; n_{Time 2}=581; n_{Time 3}=281) of US bank employees. The samples differed primarily in level of unemployment in the general US economy (Time 1=4.67%; Time 2=7.77%; Time 3=9.77%) with samples matched on five branches located in cities throughout the United States. Internal consistency reliabilities and similar variances and covariances across samples were found to be statistically indistinguishable. However, statistically significantly higher personality scale means in the Time 2 and Time 3 samples were evidenced in comparison to the Time 1 sample. Additional analyses suggested that these mean differences would result in different percentages of individuals being selected at seven of nine selection ratios. Implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.     

Goldberg's bipolar measure of the Big-Five personality dimensions: reliability and validity

A study was conducted to examine the relations between a recently developed measure of the Big-Five personality dimensions (Goldberg, 1992) and several other instruments: the Eysenck Personality Inventory (Eysenck and Eysenck, 1968), the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (Spence and Helmreich, 1978), and the Masculine Behavior Scale (Snell, 1989). The results indicated that Goldberg's Big Five questionnaire was correlated in predictable ways with these personality instruments. In addition, other results revealed that the Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Emotional Stability scales on Goldberg's questionnaire were associated with a measure of psychological symptoms. The discussion focuses on how these findings provide corroborative evidence for the reliability and validity of Goldberg's bipolar adjective measure of personality traits, thereby supporting this instrument as a reliable and valid measure of the Big-Five personality dimensions.     

The temporal sensitivity to the tactile-induced double flash illusion mediates the impact of beta oscillations on schizotypal personality traits

The coherent experience of the self and the world depends on the ability to integrate vs. segregate sensory information. Optimal temporal integration between the senses is mediated by oscillatory properties of neural activity. Previous research showed reduced temporal sensitivity to multisensory events in schizotypy, a personality trait linked to schizophrenia. Here we used the tactile-induced Double-Flash-Illusion (tDFI) to investigate the tactile-to-visual temporal sensitivity in schizotypy, as indexed by the temporal window of illusion (TWI) and its neural underpinnings. We measured EEG oscillations within the beta band, recently shown to correlate with the tDFI. We found individuals with higher schizotypal traits to have wider TWI and slower beta waves accounting for the temporal window within which they perceive the illusion. Our results indicate reduced tactile-to-visual temporal sensitivity to mediate the effect of slowed oscillatory beta activity on schizotypal personality traits. We conclude that slowed oscillatory patterns might constitute an early marker for psychosis proneness.     

Measuring defensiveness against future anxiety: Telepression

This study attempted to create an analogue through which the concept oftelepression (or futurity defensiveness) could be measured. A total of 54 undergraduate college students participated in the study; 27 experimental subjects were exposed to a “threatening” lecture on world ecology and 27 control subjects to a “neutral” lecture. Major hypotheses were generally confirmed using the Rappaport Time Line (RTL), a spatial representation of temporal experience. Experimental subjects showed a dramatic increase in “past” emphasis and a tendency to constrict present and future time zones on specific temporal indices on the RTL. Results are interpreted as confirming that psychological defense operates in terms offuture anxiety, much as defenses work on the avoidance of the past.     

Ethnicity, education, and the temporal stability of personality traits in the East Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area study

We examined the influence of age, gender, Black vs. White ethnicity, and education on five indices of personality stability and change across an average interval of 8 years in the East Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area study. In the full sample (n = 505, aged 30–88), examination of structural, rank-order, ipsative, and mean level stability, as well as indices of reliable change suggested that NEO-PI-R personality traits showed moderate to high levels of stability over time. There were few age and gender effects on temporal stability but rank-order, ipsative, and mean level stability were lower among Blacks and individuals with lower education. Future research should explore additional demographic predictors of temporal plasticity in a diverse range of samples, and employ observer ratings to assess personality.     

The Role of Personality Profiles in the Longitudinal Relationship Between Work-related Well-being and Life Satisfaction Among Working Adults in Switzerland

Drawing on the concept of spillover between work and life domains and using a person-centred approach, the present study examined the role of Big Five personality trait profiles in moderating the relationship between work-related well-being and life satisfaction over a 1-year period in a sample of working adults in Switzerland (N = 1204). Latent profile analysis was first carried out to derive and compare alternative latent personality profile models. Subsequently, a two-wave cross-lagged structural equation model using three personality profiles (resilient, average, and oversensitive) as moderators was tested. Work stress and job satisfaction were used as negative and positive indicators of work-related well-being. The results showed that in the overall sample, only Time 1 life satisfaction predicted Time 2 job satisfaction. We found a moderating role for the personality profiles, where the effect of Time 1 work stress on Time 2 life satisfaction became salient in the oversensitive profile, while a significant effect of Time 1 life satisfaction on Time 2 work stress was found in the resilient profile. The current study showed that different combinations of personality traits may determine the way in which work-related well-being and general well-being relate to each other. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Psychometric Properties of the Survey of Personal Beliefs: A Rational-Emotive Measure of Irrational Thinking

A test of internal consistency and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on the Survey of Personal Beliefs, a new measure of irrational thinking based on rational-emotive personality theory. The survey, which was logically derived, includes a general rationality factor and subscales measuring five hypothesized core categories of irrational beliefs. Subjects included a nonclinical sample of 130 men and 150 women, with a mean age of 46. Results indicated that the Survey of Personal Beliefs had satisfactory total and scale reliability. The confirmatory analyses supported a higher order factor model including 5 first-order factors (awfulizing, self-directed shoulds, other-directed shoulds, low-frustration tolerance, and self-worth) and 1 second-order or general factor.