Hypochondriacal concerns and the five factor model of personality

Using data from two studies (Ns = 205 and 161), this article examines the associations between the domains of the five factor model of personality and hypochondriacal concerns (HCs). These associations are explored once covariation due to other related traits (somatosensory amplification) and comorbidity factors (anxiety, depression, and somatic symptom reporting) have been controlled. As predicted, emotional stability was associated with most criteria related to HCs and agreeableness was negatively associated with the perceived inadequacy of a physician's explanation. Conscientiousness was negatively associated with HCs. These associations remained after partialing the comorbidity factors and somatosensory amplification. The discussion focuses on the particular role of agreeableness and conscientiousness in relation to HCs.     

Gray's three-arousal model: an empirical investigation

We evaluated the validity of Gray's and Fowles' three-arousal model in two studies of criminal offenders using a continuous motor task involving rewards and punishments. Consistent with predictions for the behavioral approach/activation system (BAS), offenders displayed significant (p<0.00001) increases in response time and heart rate (HR) from a no-incentive practice phase to a reward-only (experiment 1) and active-avoidance (experiment 2) phase. Trait impulsivity was correlated with the response time index of BAS activation in experiment 1 but not experiment 2. Consistent with predictions for the behavioral inhibition system (BIS), offenders showed a significant increase in number of skin conductance responses (SCRs) (p<0.05) from a reward-only to a mixed-incentive phase in experiment 1 and a significant increase in SC amplitude to punishment cues in both experiments. Consistent with predictions for the dynamics of the model, participants showed significant slowing of response time (p<0.0001) from reward-only (experiment 1) or active avoidance (experiment 2) to mixed-incentive phases despite showing an initial tendency toward response facilitation to the onset of the punishment cue signifying the beginning of the mixed-incentive phases. Participants also showed significant (p<0.002) decreases in HR between these phases in both studies, but this effect was only evident on trial 1. The BIS-influenced response time and HR indices were significantly (p<0.05) correlated with anxiety in experiment 1, but unexpectedly, anxiety was not correlated with SC indices of the BIS in either study. Although much of the data support the validity of the Gray/Fowles model, particular findings suggest that further refinement of this theory is indicated.     

A factor analysis of mental abilities and personality traits

The relationship between measures of verbal fluency and certain personality traits is examined by factor techniques. From a matrix of eight factor scores derived from mental tests plus five personality scores, six factors were obtained. An oblique solution lends limited support to the hypothesized relationship between the two domains.This study was supported by a grant from the Research Foundation of the University of Utah.Currently on leave of absence with the National Research Council.     

Incentive and feedback effects on target detection: A chronometric analysis of Gray's model of temperament

Chronometric (i.e. reaction time) techniques were used to investigate the response, arousal, and attentional components of Gray's (1971, 1982) model of temperament. Subjects were tested in a game context, where each trial consisted of an incentive warning signal (positive or negative), a visual detection target (left or right visual field), and a feedback signal (positive or negative). Several findings were consistent with Gray's proposal that extraverts tend to respond impulsively given signals of reward whereas introverts respond with inhibition given signals of punishment. Extraverts made more overall errors than introverts in the first experiment, and more errors following positive incentive signals in the second study. In addition, introverts responded more slowly than extraverts following negative feedback in the first study. Evidence was also found in support of Gray's proposal that introverts allocate more attention to negative cues than extraverts. Following negative feedback, introverts showed a reflexive attentional bias in favor of negative locations in the second experiment. However, no support was found for the temperamental differences in phasic arousal suggested by Gray's model. The magnitude and build up of general alerting effects following positive and negative incentives were similar for introverts and extraverts.     

The five factor model of personality and alexithymia: A meta-analysis

The main objective of the study was to examine the relationship between the Five Factor Model of Personality and alexithymia. Data were collected from 25 studies, which included 30 independent samples, 1384 effect sizes, and 7440 participants. All analyses were conducted with random effects models. Greater neuroticism and lower extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were associated with higher cognitive alexithymia. Greater neuroticism and openness to experience were linked to lower affective alexithymia. Additionally, age moderated the relationship between the Five Factor Model of Personality and cognitive alexithymia, in that the association between neuroticism and alexithymia became stronger with age whereas the relations of extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness with alexithymia became weaker with age.     

Thinking styles and the five‐factor model of personality

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between thinking styles and the big five personality dimensions. Four hundred and eight (149 males, 259 females) university students from Shanghai, mainland China, responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory and the NEO Five‐Factor Inventory. It was found that thinking styles and personality dimensions overlap to a degree. As predicted, the more creativity‐generating and more complex thinking styles were related to the extraversion and openness personality dimensions, and the more norm‐favouring and simplistic thinking styles were related to neuroticism. No specific pattern was identified in the relationships of thinking styles to the agreeableness and conscientiousness dimensions. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personality profiles of cultures: aggregate personality traits

Personality profiles of cultures can be operationalized as the mean trait levels of culture members. College students from 51 cultures rated an individual from their country whom they knew well (N=12,156). Aggregate scores on Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) scales generalized across age and sex groups, approximated the individual-level 5-factor model, and correlated with aggregate self-report personality scores and other culture-level variables. Results were not attributable to national differences in economic development or to acquiescence. Geographical differences in scale variances and mean levels were replicated, with Europeans and Americans generally scoring higher in Extraversion than Asians and Africans. Findings support the rough scalar equivalence of NEO-PI-R factors and facets across cultures and suggest that aggregate personality profiles provide insight into cultural differences.     

Neediness and connectedness and the five‐factor model of personality

This study examined maladaptive and relatively more adaptive forms of dependency, as measured by the neediness and connectedness factors of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Afflitti, & Quinlan, 1976 ), within a comprehensive scheme of personality provided by the revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO‐PI‐R; Costa & McCrae, 1992 ). University students (n = 475) completed the DEQ, NEO‐PI‐R, and a measure of depressive symptoms. Results indicated that neediness reflected anxiety, self‐consciousness, vulnerability, unassertiveness, and inactivity, whereas connectedness reflected anxiety, warmth, agreeableness, and valuing of relationships. Neediness demonstrated stronger relations than connectedness with depressive symptoms. These results support the validity of DEQ neediness and connectedness as measures of maladaptive and relatively more adaptive forms of dependency. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Replicating the five factor model of personality in a psychiatric sample

In this study we examined whether the factor structure and traits of the five-factor model of personality (FFM), derived from non-clinical samples, could be replicated in a sample of psychiatric patients. The revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) was administered to a study group of psychiatric patients (n=176). The test scores from these patients were intercorrelated, factor analyzed and the obtained factor structure was then compared to the factor structure of the normative data from the NEO PI-R. The factor structure from the psychiatric study group and that from the normative sample were virtually identical, with all five factors showing significant congruence. These results argue favorably for the clinical applicability of the FFM with psychiatric patients.     

The team‐level model of climate for innovation: A two‐level confirmatory factor analysis

The level structure of West's (1990) four‐factor model of team climate for innovation was assessed by means of multi‐level confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA). The sample consisted of 1,487 individuals (195 teams) from a wide range of professions. Results showed that a considerable portion of the variance in the data was explained on the team level with intra‐class correlations ranging from .30 to .39. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that the overall measurement model fitted the data well at both the team and individual levels, while the factor loadings were slightly different across the levels with item loadings showing partial invariance. Results from confirmatory factor analyses conducted on separate levels, however, showed that the four‐factor model displayed the best fit to the data for both individual and team levels. A second‐order one‐factor model also fitted the data well on both levels. The results indicate that the team climate for innovation model can be used as a team‐level consensus model of team climate for innovation.     

Distinguishing personality and biodata items using confirmatory factor analysis of multitrait-multimethod matrices

Hard biodata, soft biodata, and personality items were developed to measure three personal constructs (Dependability, Demeanor, and Ambition). This resulted in nine sets of items forming a three-method (personality, soft biodata, and hard biodata) by three-trait (Dependability, Demeanor, and Ambition) Multitrait-Multimethod (MTMM) matrix. Four models were proposed to represent the nine scales and each was tested on a sample of 477 job applicants and subsequently cross-validated on a sample of 958 job applicants, using confirmatory factor analysis. The model where the personality and soft biodata items represented one factor and the hard biodata items represented another, distinct factor, was both the best fitting and most parsimonious model, thus confirming Asher's (1972) taxonomy.This research was based in part on a doctoral dissertation submitted to Wayne State University. I would like to thank committee members Lois Tetrick (Chair), Alan Bass, Sebastiano Fisicaro, and Thomas Naughton. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 8th annual conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), San Francisco, CA: April, 1993.     

The personality basis of justice: The five‐factor model as an integrative model of personality and procedural fairness effects on cooperation

Building upon the self‐based model of cooperation (De Cremer & Tyler, 2005 ), the present study investigates the relationship between the five‐factor model (FFM) and cooperation. Study 1 (N = 56), an experiment conducted in the laboratory, and Study 2 (N = 116), a field study conducted in an organisational context, yielded a moderator effect between neuroticism and procedural fairness in explaining cooperation. Study 3 (N = 177) showed that this moderator effect was mediated by the self‐uncertainty and relational variables proposed by the self‐based model of cooperation. It is concluded that the FFM is useful in explaining cooperation and contributes to a better understanding of (procedural) fairness effects. Moreover, the necessity to build integrative, multi‐level models that combine core and surface aspects of personality to explain the effects of fairness on cooperation is elaborated upon. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A six orthogonal factor model of adolescent personality derived from the HSPQ

Attention is drawn to recent major critiques of Cattell's ‘16 PF’ model of personality. Various six/seven-factor models of personality (assuming intelligence is included) derived from the 16 PF or its precursors are described. The equation of Eysenck's E and N factors with Cattell's second-order factors of ‘exvia’ and ‘anxiety’ is mentioned. An examination is made of the problems of factored scale construction and the ‘number of factors’ issue, especially when item responses are analysed.Three previous second-order factor solutions to the HSPQ are presented. These show a remarkable degree of concordance among themselves and with an item analysis of the HSPQ conducted by the writers. This item analysis also reveals serious doubts about the primary trait structure proposed by Cattell and Cattell (1969). It is suggested that, for adolescents, the four studies, with some support from the 16 PF analyses, point to a six-factor structure for personality consisting of anxiety ( = Eysenck's N); tender-tough-mindedness ( = Eysenck's Psychoticism); carefulness-casualness and two aspects of extraversion-introversion: (a) preference for working with people rather than with things. (b) Classical extraversion (the last or both (a) and (b) being analogous to Eysenck's E) and finally intelligence, if this can be classified as an aspect of personality.     

The role of factor analysis in the development and evaluation of personality scales

The purpose of this paper is to examine the usefulness of factor analysis in developing and evaluating personality scales that measure limited domain constructs The approach advocated follows from several assumptions that a single scale ought to measure a single construct, that factor analysis ought to be applied routinely to new personality scales, and that the factors of a scale are important if it can be demonstrated that they are differentially related to other measures A detailed study of the Self-Monitoring Scale illustrates how factor analysis can help us to understand what a scale measures A second example uses the self-esteem literature to illustrate how factor analysis can clarify the proliferation of scales within a single content domain Both examples show how factor analysis can be used to identify important conceptual distinctions Confirmatory techniques are also introduced as a means for testing specific hypotheses It is concluded that factor analysis can make an important contribution to programmatic research in personality psychology     

A factor analysis of the Eysenck personality questionnaire and the Strelau temperament inventory

The relationship of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Strelau Temperament Inventory was examined. Correlation analyses of test scores and items provided little evidence of an identity between the scales of these tests.     

Fitting the factor analysis model

When the covariance matrix (p×P) does not satisfy the formal factor analysis model for m factors, there will be no factor matrix (p×m) such that =(-) is diagonal. The factor analysis model may then be replaced by a tautology where is regarded as the covariance matrix of a set of residual variates. These residual variates are linear combinations of discarded common factors and unique factors and are correlated. Maximum likelihood, alpha and iterated principal factor analysis are compared in terms of the manner in which is defined, a maximum determinant derivation for alpha factor analysis being given. Weighted least squares solutions using residual variances and common variances as weights are derived for comparison with the maximum likelihood and alpha solutions. It is shown that the covariance matrix defined by maximum likelihood factor analysis is Gramian, provided that all diagonal elements are nonnegative. Other methods can define a which is nonGramian even when all diagonal elements are nonnegative.A modified version of this paper forms part of a Ph.D. thesis submitted to the University of South Africa.Presently at the National Institute for Personnel Research, South Africa.     

Taking a person-centered approach to personality: A latent-profile analysis of the HEXACO model of personality

Our study applies a person-centered approach to the HEXACO model of personality using latent profile analysis (LPA). While the traditional variable-centered approach assumes that the relations among variables within a population are homogenous, the person-centered approach identifies subgroups within samples that have similar scores on several variables of interest, in this case, the six factors of personality. Data from two independent samples were collected at a large North American university. The results of LPA revealed five distinct and interpretable profiles that replicated and were found to be consistent across both samples. We discuss how our findings attest to the meaningfulness of personality profiles, and suggest additional ways in which a person-centered approach might be applied in personality research.     

Examining antisocial behavior through the lens of the five factor model of personality

The current study attempts to provide greater precision in understanding how personality is related to antisocial behavior. Specifically, we examined the relations between the facets (subordinate traits) from three domains (superordinate dimensions): Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, of the Five Factor Model and five outcome variables: stability of conduct problems, variety of conduct problems, onset of conduct problems, aggression, and antisocial personality disorder symptoms. These relations were examined in a community sample of 481 individuals. These three personality dimensions were chosen for exploration due to their consistent relations, at the domain level, with antisocial behaviors. The results from this study suggest that the facets from the dimension of Agreeableness are the most consistently related to all five outcomes. However, the facets from all three domains made significant contributions. Overall, three personality traits stood out as being the strongest and most consistent predictors: low straightforwardness, low compliance, and low deliberation. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 29:497–514, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.