Anxiety sensitivity and the five-factor model of personality.

Relations between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and the higher-order and lower-order dimensions of the 'Big Five' model of personality were examined in 317 university students. AS was significantly associated with a number of personality domains and facets of the NEO-PI-R. Regression analyses indicated that only the higher-order domains of neuroticism and extraversion (negatively) and the lower-order N facets of anxiety and self-consciousness, significantly predicted AS. Three lower-order factors within AS were identified and were also compared to NEO-PI-R domains and facets. In a hierarchical regression, the three AS factors significantly predicted variance in a measure of panic-related anxiety after the effects of the six N facets were statistically controlled. Results are discussed in the context of previous work with a Big Three taxonomy of personality and implications for understanding the nature and possible origins of AS are outlined.     

Oddity, schizotypy/dissociation, and personality

The construct of Oddity was examined in relation to the dimensions of normal personality variation and a dimension of schizotypy and dissociation. In 2 studies involving samples of community adults (N = 409) and college students (N = 378), Oddity—as operationalized in terms of perceived strangeness or eccentricity—was found to be moderately related to a Schizotypy/Dissociation factor and also to factors of normal personality variation, particularly Openness to Experience. The modest loading of Oddity on the Schizotypy/Dissociation factor, along with the somewhat stronger projection of Oddity within the space of normal personality dimensions, indicates that the Schizotypy/Dissociation factor should not be interpreted as a dimension of Oddity. The interpretation of the Schizotypy/Dissociation factor is discussed, as are the implications of these results for proposed dimensional models of personality disorders.     

The Anxiety Sensitivity Index - Revised: psychometric properties and factor structure in two nonclinical samples

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the fear of anxiety-related sensations based on beliefs about their harmful consequences. Despite its status as the most popular measure of AS, the anxiety sensitivity index is too abbreviated to adequately measure the somatic, cognitive, and social facets of the construct. The Anxiety Sensitivity Index - Revised (ASI-R) is a revised and expanded version of the ASI that was developed to improve the assessment of AS and its dimensions. The present study was conducted to examine the psychometric properties and factor structure of the ASI-R. Two large undergraduate samples completed a psychometric assessment package that included the ASI-R and measures of anxiety, depression, and related constructs. Exploratory factor analysis revealed four lower-order ASI-R factors: (1) beliefs about the harmful consequences of somatic sensations; (2) fear of publicly observable anxiety reactions; (3) fear of cognitive dyscontrol; and (4) fear of somatic sensations without explicit consequences. These factors loaded on a single, higher-order factor. Correlations between the ASI-R factors and related variables were consistent with AS theory. Results across both samples in the present study were highly similar. The strengths and limitations of the ASI-R are discussed, and the implications of our findings for the nature and measurement of AS are considered.     

Explicating the Dispositional Basis of the OCRDs: a Hierarchical Perspective

We examined the dispositional component of the obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs) in a large adult sample. Our battery included two hierarchical measures of personality, which allowed us to examine relations with both higher-order domains and lower-order facets of the five-factor model. In addition, our study included multiple indicators of each OCRD, which enabled us to model them as latent factors. Principal factor analyses of these indicators revealed six dimensions: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Hoarding, Excoriation, Body Dissatisfaction, Trichotillomania, and Body Preoccupation. Body Dissatisfaction, OCD, and Hoarding showed the strongest links to personality, with the other symptoms displaying more moderate associations. Neuroticism was the strongest and broadest predictor of the OCRDs at the domain level, exhibiting significant positive relations with every symptom dimension except Body Preoccupation in both bivariate and multivariate analyses. Conscientiousness showed negative associations with Body Dissatisfaction and Hoarding, and was positively related to Body Preoccupation. Finally, openness was negatively linked to OCD at both the bivariate and multivariate level. In comparison to domain-level analyses, the lower-order facets jointly contributed an additional 11.8% (Excoriation) to 17.6% (OCD) of the criterion variance, with a mean increment of 14.2%. Three neuroticism facets—anger, self-consciousness, and impulsiveness—displayed robust positive associations with two or more OCRD symptom factors, but no lower-order trait contributed significantly in every analysis. Overall, our results indicate that—similar to most other forms of psychopathology—OCRD symptoms have a common component of elevated neuroticism.     

Self-informant Agreement for Personality and Evaluative Person Descriptors: Comparing Methods for Creating Informant Measures

Little attention typically is paid to the way self-report measures are translated for use in self-informant agreement studies. We studied two possible methods for creating informant measures: (a) the traditional method in which self-report items were translated from the first- to the third-person and (b) an alternative meta-perceptual method in which informants were directed to rate their perception of the targets' self-perception. We hypothesized that the latter method would yield stronger self-informant agreement for evaluative personality dimensions measured by indirect item markers. We studied these methods in a sample of 303 undergraduate friendship dyads. Results revealed mean-level differences between methods, similar self-informant agreement across methods, stronger agreement for Big Five dimensions than for evaluative dimensions, and incremental validity for meta-perceptual informant rating methods. Limited power reduced the interpretability of several sparse acquaintanceship effects. We conclude that traditional informant methods are appropriate for most personality traits, but meta-perceptual methods may be more appropriate when personality questionnaire items reflect indirect indicators of the trait being measured, which is particularly likely for evaluative traits.     

The 24-item Brief HEXACO Inventory (BHI)

Up until now, no really short instrument that measures the six personality dimensions of the HEXACO model has been available. In two studies, I report the construction of the Brief HEXACO Inventory (BHI), which represents the 24 HEXACO facets with 1 item per facet (i.e., 4 items per domain) and which takes approximately 2–3 min to complete. Although characterized by relatively low alpha reliability, its test–retest stability, self-other agreement, and convergent correlations with full-length scales are relatively high and its validity loss is only modest. Correcting for attenuation using a weighted average of alpha reliability, test–retest stability, and self-other agreement, the BHI re-estimates the original construct validity correlations of the HEXACO-PI-R with relatively great accuracy.     

Objective assessments of quality of life: How much do they agree with each other?

Information was collected on 14 objective measures of service quality in 15 staffed houses for people with learning disabilities. Measures or dimensions of the measures were grouped under six headings: (1) quality of housing; (2) social and community integration; (3) social interactions; (4) development; (5) activity; and (6) autonomy and choice. Rank order correlation coefficients were calculated to explore the extent to which different quality assessments within each category agreed. Overall, there was a reassuring level of agreement. Some of the lack of agreement found could be attributed to the fact that, even though addressing the same general area, measures were focused on subtly different facets of the phenomenon under study. Other disagreement seemed to stem from the interaction between the nature of the information and the process for obtaining it. Comparisons between measures which required staff to give an opinion about how the setting was organized, and those which either required staff to comment on resident activity or employed independent observation, tended to disagree. The study illustrates that the basis for translating a multidimensional definition of quality into measurable terms is developing. Further research to examine the interrelationship between measurement approaches is warranted.     

Exploring Associations Between Psychopathic Personality and Components of Disinhibition vs. Constraint

Recent models of psychopathy implicate Disinhibition vs. Constraint (DvC) as one of the primary underpinnings of psychopathic traits, although little research has examined associations between specific DvC components and psychopathy facets. The present study aimed to fill this gap by examining associations between psychopathy facets, as operationalized by two widely used self-report psychopathy instruments, and lower-order components of DvC within a racially diverse sample of 1,160 undergraduates. Path analyses confirmed the broad dimension of DvC as representing a general diathesis to psychopathy, with second-order components conferring more specific risks for particular psychopathy traits regardless of the model of psychopathy employed. Further, findings suggest that associations do not vary by race. Results suggest both generality and specificity of DvC dimensions as they relate to psychopathic traits, as well as potential avenues for further investigation of the associations between psychopathy and DvC.     

Attitude stability and attitude strength: one is enough to make it stable

The temporal stability of attitudes toward socially relevant and irrelevant issues was examined as a function of different dimensions of attitude strength. Attitude strength was found to be a three-dimensional structure consisting of Generalized Attitude Strength (defined by amount of experience with the attitude object, certainty, importance, vested interest, frequency of thinking about the attitude object, self-reported and working knowledge); Internal Consistency (defined by evaluative-cognitive and evaluative-affective consistency); and Extremity (defined by affective and evaluative extremity). The temporal stability of an attitude was moderated by only one dimension of attitude strength. The specific dimension that moderated stability was different for different issues. Generalized Strength appeared to contribute to temporal stability of an attitude by supporting its cognitive component.     

论人格特质“大七”因素模型

概要介绍和评价了人格特质“大七”因素模型。该模型继承了传统特质分类研究中的“词汇假设”思想和因素分析方法．并在选词标准及方法的客观性上有所改进和提高．在“大五”基础上增加了两个评价维度。文章指出“大七”存在一些问题。     

An inductive exploration of the social effectiveness construct space

ABSTRACT There is no agreement regarding the nature or number of dimensions that make up the social effectiveness domain. We inductively explore the relationships between a set of social effectiveness measures with the intention of identifying an initial set of dimensions. An exploratory factor analysis of the Social Competence Inventory (SCI, Schneider, 2001 ) resulted in the identification of four factors: Social Potency, Social Appropriateness, Social Emotional Expression, and Social Reputation. A joint factor analysis between the SCI and a set of extant measures resulted in the identification of the same four factors. A fifth factor emerged when a set of scales from an emotional intelligence measure was included in the analysis, suggesting that emotional intelligence is not captured within the common factor space defined by measures of social effectiveness. This study represents a first step in the establishment of a set of common social effectiveness dimensions.     

The Evaluative Factor of Risk Perception

This study was aimed at identifying an evaluative factor in perceived risk that was independent of the previously identified Dread and Knowledge factors. The methodology used was that developed by Slovic, Fischhoff, and Lichtenstein (1985a) with the addition of four new dimensions: personal position, economic justification, justification through well-being, and beneficial to society. This evaluative factor was identified, and loads the four above-mentioned dimensions while excluding 11 others. This evaluative factor primarily emerges as a major determinant in subjects' demands for risk control legislation.     

Career Adapt-Abilities Scale—Iran Form: Psychometric properties and relationships with career satisfaction and entrepreneurial intentions

This study examined the psychometric properties of a Persian translation of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS—Iran Form) and its relationships with career satisfaction, business opportunity identification, and entrepreneurial intentions. It was hypothesized that career adaptability relates positively to these three outcomes, even when controlling for demographic and employment characteristics. Data were provided by 204 workers from Iran. Results showed that the overall CAAS score and sub-dimension scores (concern, control, curiosity, and confidence) were highly reliable. Moreover, confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the CAAS—Iran Form measures four distinct dimensions that can be combined into a higher-order career adaptability factor. Findings also demonstrated criterion-related validity of the scale with regard to career satisfaction and entrepreneurial intentions. In contrast, overall career adaptability was not significantly related to opportunity identification, while concern related positively, and control related negatively to opportunity identification. Overall, the CAAS—Iran Form has very good psychometric properties and predicts important career outcomes, suggesting that it can be used for career counseling and future research with Persian-speaking workers.     

Determinants of Interjudge Agreement on Personality Traits: The Big Five Domains, Observability, Evaluativeness, and the Unique Perspective of the Self

ABSTRACT We examined several determinants of interjudge agreement on personality traits. The findings, which were cross-validated in two samples, suggest that agreement is a function of four factors: which Big Five content domain the trait represents, how observable relevant behaviors are, how evaluative the trait is, and whether the self is one of the judges. Agreement was highest for traits related to Extraversion and lowest for traits related to Agreeableness. More observable and less evaluative traits elicited higher interjudge agreement. On average, self-peer agreement was lower than peer-peer agreement. However, this effect was limited to evaluative traits; for neutral traits, self-peer agreement was as high as peer-peer agreement. These findings suggest that self- and peer perception proceed through similar processes for neutral traits but not for highly evaluative traits, raising the possibility that self-perceptions become distorted when the trait is affectively charged.     

The development and validation of a measure of character: The CIVIC

The present research study sought to develop and validate a character scale – the Comprehensive Inventory of Virtuous Instantiations of Character using a total sample size of 3679 across five studies. In Study 1, character trait items were generated using an integrative classification system. In Study 2, character trait scales were further refined and their factor structure examined, revealing eight higher-order character dimensions or character cores: appreciation, intellectual engagement, fortitude, interpersonal consideration, sincerity, temperance, transcendence, and empathy. Study 3 established convergent validity of character traits with extant measures and discriminability from personality facets, social desirability, and moral cognitive development. Study 4 revealed that character cores were more strongly related to evaluative constructs than personality dimensions. Study 5 demonstrated that character cores predicted performance and psychological well-being outcomes above and beyond personality. The implications of our findings for the assessment and taxonomy of character are discussed.     

Status differences and in-group bias: a meta-analytic examination of the effects of status stability, status legitimacy, and group permeability.

This work examines the moderating effects of status stability, legitimacy, and group permeability on in-group bias among high- and low-status groups. These effects were examined separately for evaluative measures that were relevant as well as irrelevant to the salient status distinctions. The results support social identity theory and show that high-status groups are more biased. The meta-analysis reveals that perceived status stability, legitimacy, and permeability moderate the effects of group status. Also, these variables interacted in their influences on the effect of group status on in-group bias, but this was only true for irrelevant evaluative dimensions. When status was unstable and perceived as illegitimate, low-status groups and high-status groups were equally biased when group boundaries were impermeable, compared with when they were permeable. Implications for social identity theory as well as for intergroup attitudes are discussed.