Social dissimulation,perceived competence and personality

The Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (JEPQ) (Eysenck and Eysenck, 1975) was completed by 129 boys (mean age 10 yr 10 months: SD = 4 months) and 119 girls (mean age 10 yr 11 months; SD = 3 months) from Belfast. Belfast boys' and girls' scores were significantly (P < 0.001) higher than the English standardisation data on psychoticism and extraversion, but their mean scores for neuroticism and the lie scale were remarkably similar. Belfast boys display significantly different intercorrelations in comparison with (i) the standardisation data—neuroticism/psychoticism (P < 0.01) and lie scale/neuroticism (P < 0.05)—and (ii) Belfast girls—neuroticism/psychoticism (P < 0.05). Psychoticism appears to play a highly salient role in Belfast boys' self-construals. Most of these pupils (n = 189) also completed the Perceived Competence Scale for Children (PCSC) (Harter, 1982). The PCSC minimises social dissimulation: the highest positive correlation with the lie scale being (r = 0.1). Correlations with the domains of the PCSC display the saliency of extraversion for girls' self-perceived physical competence and general competence, and for boys' self-perceived social competence, and the saliency of neuroticism for girls' self-perceived social competence.     

The perception of sensation seeking in familiar and unfamiliar others

In Study I, 20 heterosexual couples filled out the Sensation Seeking Scale (Form V) for themselves and as they thought their partner would. The mean difference between the predicted score for one's partner and the partner's actual scale was -2.40 for the males and -1.10 for the females; neither of which significantly differed from 0. The predicted scores and actual scores were highly correlated (r = 0.58 for males and r = 0.66 for females). The results support the idea that people are accurate in their estimations of sensation seeking in familiar others.In study II, the ability to evaluate sensation seeking in unfamiliar others was investigated. Segments from four commercial movies involving six different characters were shown to subjects. After viewing one of these segments subjects filled out a sensation seeking scale as they thought the movie character would. A high level of inter-observer agreement was observed for these ratings. Moreover, the ratings for each of the six characters were congruent with the experimenters' prior judgements of each character's level of sensation seeking. These data support the hypothesis that rapid and accurate judgements of the sensation seeking trait in unfamiliar others are possible.     

Explorations into the biochemistry of sensation seeking

This investigation sought to determine to what extent, if any, the personality trait of sensation seeking is related to blood plasma levels of monoamine oxidase (MAO) and dopamine beta hydroxylase (DBH). The experimental group consisted to 19 ski instructors/petrolmen (8 females and 11 males) aged 18–19 yr. The control group was made up of 21 New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) students (11 females and 10 males) also aged 18–39 yr. The experiment was divided into morning and afternoon sessions. During the morning session the Ss completed the Sensation Seeking Form V, the Sensation of blood by venipuncture. A second blood sample was taken during the afternnon session. The skier group scored significantly higher on those personality measures designed to identify the sensation seeking personality, and the skiers also had significantly higher DBH levels than the nonskiers [F(1, 36)=16.62, P=0.0002]. A possible explanation for the high DBH levels among skiers is that at the time of the blood sampling, the skiers were in a more stressful situation and they had also engaged in vigorous physical exercise.     

Factor structure and construct validity of the Vando reducer-augmenter scale

Factor analysis of 262 college students' responses to Vando's (1970, 1974) Reducer-Augmenter Scale (RAS) yielded three factors interpreted as Musical Reducing-Augmenting, General Lifestyle Reducing-Augmenting and Physical Thrill Seeking. Responses by 175 other students and by 238 male correctional inmates showed very similar solutions on target rotation. Subscale scores based on the three factors were correlated against the Eysenck Personality Inventory, the Sensation Seeking Scale, the Novelty-experiencing Scale, the Arousal-Seeking-Tendency Scale, hours of sleep, absolute auditory threshold and personally set volume for listening to stereo music. Some major findings were as follows: (1) The General Lifestyle subscale correlates substantially with measures of arousal and sensation seeking; (2) the Physical Thrill Seeking subscale correlates substantially with other measures of physical thrill seeking; (3) the Musical subscale correlates substantially with preferred stereo volume [r(73) = 0.51, P < 0.01], but not with absolute auditory threshold [r(40) = 0.08, NS]. Implications for the construct validity of the RAS and possible future refinement of the scale are discussed.     

Examining profiles of the big five and sensation seeking among competitive climbers

The present study sought to identify distinct personality profiles in competitive climbers (N = 331, Mean age = 29.85, SD = 10.92), and also sought to explore whether these climbers differed in their sensation seeking tendencies based on these personality profiles. Employing a cross-sectional design, participants completed measures of the big five personality dimensions (agreeableness; conscientiousness; extraversion; neuroticism; openness to experience) and sensation seeking (boredom susceptibility; experience seeking; disinhibition; thrill and adventure seeking). Latent profile analysis identified four distinct big five personality profiles (Curious and Impulsive; Emotionally Unstable; Healthy; and Measured and Compliant). MANCOVA and follow-up ANCOVAs demonstrated significant differences between the four personality profiles in relation to thrill and adventure seeking, experience seeking, and disinhibition. The findings suggest that the identification of distinct personality profiles using a person-centred approach is a useful way of distinguishing and optimizing typical behaviors and preferences in adventure sports in the future.     

Saliva secretion rate and saliva composition in relation to extraversion

In this study of 20 healthy volunteers, relationships were sought between degree of extraversion (as determined by means of the EPI) and saliva secretion rate and composition. A significant negative correlation was found between both unstimulated and stimulated saliva secretion rates and extraversion. The correlation was most pronounced in the morning. In the morning introverts had significantly higher unstimulated secretion rates than extraverts. The differences were less pronounced in the afternoon. Introverts had higher concentrations of proteins and glycoproteins in their saliva than had extraverts. The results seem to support theories about a higher cortical arousal and a higher sympathetic activity in introverts than in extraverts.     

A meta-analysis of linguistic markers of extraversion: Positive emotion and social process words

Past literature has shown that extraversion is related to the use of positive emotion and social process words. However, the strength of the relationships varies substantially across studies. In this research, we conducted a meta-analysis (k = 37, N = 82,132) to estimate the overall effect size of the two linguistic correlates of extraversion. In addition, we tested potential moderators including demographic variables (e.g., age and gender) and communication contexts (e.g., synchronous vs. asynchronous, public vs. private). Our random effects models revealed a small correlation between extraversion and positive emotion words (r = 0.069, 95% CI = [0.041, 0.096]), and a small correlation between extraversion and social process words (r = 0.077, 95% CI = [0.044, 0.109]). In addition, the strength of the relationship between extraversion and positive emotion words varies across communication contexts, while the relationship between extraversion and social process words remains consistent across contexts. Our results suggest that positive emotion words and social process words are linguistic correlates of extraversion, but they are small in magnitude.     

Authoritarianism and the EPQ

Investigated the personality correlates of authoritarian attitudes (Ray, 1979) and anti-submissive behaviour (Rigby, 1986), among an Australian college sample (N = 198). Authoritarianism (in the attitudinal sense) was found not to correlate with the major dimensions of the EPQ for the whole sample although female authoritarians scored high on the N subscale (r = 0.40; P < 0.01). By contrast, anti-submissive behaviour was found to be associated with extraversion for females and tough-mindedness for males. Further factor analysis revealed the P subscale of the EPQ not to load on a factor identified as ‘authoritarianism’. This does not support the research of Kline and Cooper (1984).     

PASAT: Observed correlations with IQ

Relations between psychometric measures of intelligence and the clinical Paced Auditory Serial-Addition Task (PASAT) were examined in a non-clinical group of young adults. PASAT correlated with the six separate psychometric scales, and especially with an overall estimate of non-verbal intelligence (r = 0.71, P < 0.001). One-minute samples of PASAT performance were also strongly correlated with intelligence (median r = 0.62, P < 0.01). The results suggest that PASAT is correlated with general intelligence and numerical ability, contrary to previous claims.     

Extraversion,neuroticism, psychoticism and self-reported delinquency: Evidence from eight separate samples

Eight separate samples of high school and university students (Total N = 410) in Britain and Canada were used to test predictions from Eysenck's theory that delinquents should be high scorers on scales of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism. Self-report paper- and pencil-questionnaire measures of both personality and delinquency were administered under conditions that ensured anonymity. The evidence showed clear support for a relationship between high delinquency scores and high scores on both extraversion and psychoticism. These relationships held up across diverse samples and different ways of analyzing the data. No support was found for a relationship between delinquency scores and the dimension of neuroticism.     

Personality traits and alcohol consumption in a sample of non-alcoholic women

Many studies have shown the importance of personality traits as factors related to alcohol use and misuse. The relationship between personality traits and alcohol consumption was studied in a sample of 149 non-alcoholic women using the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R). The results showed positive correlations between alcohol consumption and disinhibitory personality traits (sensation seeking, impulsivity, psychopathy, nonconformity) and dimensions (psychoticism and extraversion). Sensation seeking combined with impulsivity were the strongest predictors of alcohol consumption. Anxiety-related traits and neuroticism were not related to alcohol frequency/amount of alcohol use.     

Conservatism,sensation-seeking and music preferences

Wilson-Patterson Conservatism (C) and Zuckerman's Sensation-seeking (SS) scores were investigated in relation to music preferences in a group of 43 students. High C scorers preferred familiar pieces of music relative to low C scorers (r = 0.30, P < 0.05). A tendency for conservatives to prefer simple music just failed to reach significance. Relationships between SS scores and music preferences were non-significant with the present sample, though SS scores were inversely related to C scores (r = –0.48, P < 0.01).     

Stimulus intensity reducers: Are they sensation seekers,extraverts, and strong nervous types?

211 university students completed Vando's (1970) Reducer-Augmenter Scale, Zuckerman's (1979) Sensation Seeking Scale, Eysenck and Eysenck's (1975) Personality Questionnaire, and Strelau's (1983) Temperament Inventory. As hypothesized, reducing was positively associated with sensation seeking, extraversion, and two of the four neo-Pavlovian dimensions of temperament: mobility and strength of excitation. Of the other two, strength of inhibition was not associated with reducing while sensitivity was negatively associated. Discriminant analysis of median-split reducing groups yielded a significant function defined by all variables except strength of inhibition. Univariate F-tests established that high reducers scored significantly more than low reducers (augmenters) on sensation seeking, strength of excitation, mobility, and extraversion, and significantly less on sensitivity. Two orthogonal dimensions consisting of reducing/sensation seeking and temperament/extraversion items defined the underlying structure. Results generalized across sex. The findings support the view that strong nervous temperament is implicated in reducing, and that reducers—not augmenters—are sensation seekers. Stimulus intensity reduction presumably creates CNS arousal deficits that require behavioural compensation. Future research linking the study variables to electrophysiological indices of reducing is necessary to further clarify the obtained relationships.     

Sensation seeking and selective attention: focused and divided attention on a dichotic listening task.

Differences in selective attention as a function of sensation seeking, extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism were examined in 108 undergraduates using a dichotic listening task. Dependent measures included shadowing performance, reaction times to a secondary light task, target detection, and recall. The results suggested that high sensation seekers have better focused attention than low sensation seekers, and these effects were strongest on the 1st trials of the shadowing tasks. High sensation seekers did not attend differently than low sensation seekers to words related to their interests (sexual, violent, or drug related). Extraversion was associated with greater recall of these kinds of words, although there were no overall differences in selective attention as a function of Eysenck's dimensions. The role of arousal in personality and attention is discussed, particularly in regard to the response of sensation seekers to task novelty.     

Stimulus intensity control and personality: A research note

Previous research has suggested that variations in augmenting-reducing, extraversion, and sensation seeking might be explained in terms of a common stimulus intensity control mechanism. However, empirical tests of this hypothesized relationship have produced equivocal findings. The present study attempts to clarify the issue by analyzing scores for extraversion, sensation seeking, and both cortical and questionnaire measures of augmenting-reducing obtained from the same sample of subjects. Apart from a significant positive correlation between the questionnaire index of reducing and sensation seeking, which have not previously been investigated, the results show no evidence of a systematic relationship among the variables.     

Hardiness and health among women with rheumatoid arthritis

The relations among hardiness (and its components) and demographic variables, objective health, disability, and perceived health were investigated for 33 women with rheumatoid arthritis. Hardiness and demographic variables were measured once while objective health, disability, and perceived health were measured at three monthly intervals. Hardiness and/or component scores were significantly (P < 0.05) related to age and to employment status but were unrelated to education and to marital status. The control dimension of hardiness was positively correlated with the average percentage of circulating T-cells (r = 0.38, P < 0.05), and with average perceived health compared to one's same age peers (r = 0.53, P < 0.01). Hardiness appears to be a useful construct for understanding adaptation to rheumatoid arthritis, and studies of patients with chronic diseases can shed light on the precursors and consequences of hardiness.     

Comparing two methods of visual abstraction to human data

The ability to “visually abstract” a given pattern with a neural network and abstract the same pattern by using a regression/correlation analysis was investigated. Both methods were compared with human subjects performing the same task. To visually abstract a particular shape, both quantitative methods broke the shape down into its linear, quadratic, and cubic components. Using an IBM-compatible personal computer, 10 test patterns were analyzed with a neural network (designed using Brainmaker Professional and trained with known linear, quadratic, and cubic shapes) and a regression/correlation model (designed using Lotus 1-2-3). The 10 test patterns were also analyzed by 22 human subjects. The neural network data were found to be highly correlated with the human data [r(8) = .90,p < .01]. The regression/correlation model’s data were also found to be significantly correlated with the human data [r(8) = .77,p < .01]. These findings demonstrate the successful modeling of Rumelhart’s (1991) regression/correlation approach to visual abstraction.     

The effects of self-monitoring and self-reported consistency on the consistency of personality judgments made by strangers and intimates

How consistent are strangers' and intimates' judgments of stimulus people's personalities, and how is this interjudge consistency affected by stimulus persons' assessed self-monitoring and self-reported behavioral consistency? To answer these questions, 38 stimulus subjects rated themselves on the personality dimensions of extraversion and anxiety and also rated their cross-situational consistency on these dimensions. Strangers, friends, mothers, and fathers of stimulus persons also rated them on extraversion and anxiety. The results indicated that: For judgments of anxiety there was lower interjudge consistency for high than for low self-monitoring stimulus subjects. For judgments of extraversion there was no difference in interjudge consistency for low and high self-monitoring stimulus subjects. The results also showed that anxiety was a more “private” trait in that intimates' but not strangers' judgments correlated with stimulus subjects' self-reported anxiety (r = .50 and r = .11, respectively), while extraversion was a more “public” trait in that both intimates' and strangers' judgments correlated with stimulus subjects' self-reported extraversion (r = .42 and r = .51, respectively). These results suggest that self-monitoring of stimulus persons affects interjudge consistency of peroonality judgments particularly for “private” traits such as anxiety, which are most subject to expressive control and inhibition.     

Who Seeks Job Resources,and Who Avoids Job Demands? The Link Between Dark Personality Traits and Job Crafting

Although job crafting has been linked repeatedly to positive employee and organizational outcomes, its detrimental side has not been well explored. To understand the way dark personality traits affect the type of crafting in which employees engage, this research focuses on two frameworks: the PEN (psychopathy, extraversion, and neuroticism) framework and the Dark Triad (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism). In Study 1, we collected data on the PEN traits and job crafting from 155 individuals in various occupations. We found that neuroticism was negatively related to seeking structural job resources, whereas psychoticism was negatively related to seeking social job resources. We also found that extraversion was positively related to seeking structural and social job resources and to seeking challenging job demands. In Study 2, we examined how the Dark Triad traits predicted job crafting among police officers (N = 135). The results showed that narcissism was positively related to seeking social job resources and challenges, whereas psychopathy was negatively related to seeking social resources. Age and narcissism were positive predictors of reducing job demands. We conclude that personality plays an important role when choosing how to craft one's job. We discuss the practical implications of these findings.