Communion-orientation as an antidote for aggressive behaviour among high provocation sensitive individuals

The current study explored whether high provocation sensitive individuals would declare less anger and therefore fewer physical aggressive acts if they are high in communal values. Three samples, students, prisoners and psychotherapy patients, were compared for differences in occurrence of aggressive reactions and preassembly communion-orientation. Data was tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).Among students, communion-orientation itself and in interaction with sensitivity to provocation had a diminishing effect on anger. Among prisoners and patients, there was no support for the notion that communion-orientation had an effect on anger. Among patients, the relationship between sensitivity to provocations and physical aggression was fully mediated by anger, but among prisoners a provoking situation was enough to lead to physical aggression.Although based on data from self-reports, possibly biased by impression management, results suggest that communion-orientation should be considered in research on aggression.     

Taking religion to heart: the relationship between the Five Factor Model and the New Indices of Religious Orientation among religious students

The relationship between religious orientation and personality has been investigated using several different measures and diverse samples. As part of a larger study, 114 undergraduate students were given the Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) to include only those participants who were considered religious. The final sample of 80 participants were given the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R) and the New Indices of Religious Orientation (NIRO). Based on the results of the bivariate correlations, higher levels of intrinsic religious orientation were associated with greater Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Multivariate analyses further revealed that Agreeableness was the most important personality variable when predicting intrinsic and quest religious orientations, with higher levels of Agreeableness predicting greater intrinsic and lower quest orientations. While lower levels of Neuroticism predicted greater intrinsic orientation, higher levels of Neuroticism predicted greater quest orientations. Higher Conscientiousness predicted greater intrinsic and lower quest orientations. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Personality traits and sibling relationships in emerging adults

Associations between the Big Five personality traits of siblings and the quality of sibling relationships were examined in a sample of 115 college students and one of their older siblings. Big Five traits, as assessed by Goldberg's 100 adjective markers, predicted a large amount of the variability in sibling Warmth and Conflict. Agreeableness was the most consistent predictor of positive sibling outcomes.     

大五人格测验在中国应用的信度概化分析

对过去20年(1994~2013年)间国内有关大五人格测验的研究文献进行信度概化分析。结果表明:(1)检索到的文献中约68.15%存在"信度引入"现象;(2)未加权估计中,A和O的均值最低,N和C的均值最高,国内所得结果均略低于国外(O除外),而后者的变异性略大(E除外);采用α系数效果量方法,在随机效应模型中,N的估计值最高,O和A的估计值最低;(3)回归分析显示,分数均值、量表来源和南北地域差异是N维度信度的预测变量;量表来源、文章专业类型、测验版本和测验记分对E维度信度具有预测作用;样本量、文章专业类型和量表来源是O维度信度的预测变量;量表来源、文章专业类型、项目数和样本类型对A维度信度具有预测作用;量表来源、项目数、文章专业类型和测验记分是C维度信度的预测变量。     

Who is most likely to seek and give support in the face of agentic and communal threat? The roles of extraversion and agreeableness

Agentic threat tends to elicit support seeking and hinder support provision. Communal threat tends to elicit support seeking and provision. We examined whether the associations between threats and support are moderated by Extraversion and Agreeableness. Three hundred fifty undergraduate students completed questionnaires twice daily across one week, reporting the worst stressor of the half-day, appraisals of agentic and communal threats, and efforts to seek and provide support. In response to agentic threat, those higher in Extraversion increased their support seeking and decreased their support provision to a greater extent than those lower in Extraversion. In response to communal threat, those higher in Agreeableness increased their support seeking and provision to a greater extent than those lower in Agreeableness.     

Personality and interests as predictors of educational streaming and achievement

In this study Holland's RIASEC Model of vocational personalities and the Five-Factor Model of personality are used (i) to assess individual differences among study majors and (ii) to predict educational achievement. A sample of 934 last-year students who enrolled in different academic majors filled out Dutch/Flemish adaptations of the NEO-PI-R (Costa and McCrae, 1992) and the Self-Directed Search (Holland, 1977; 1979). The results show that both models are useful to describe differences among different majors. Conscientiousness proves to be a general predictor of grades and study career. For the other Big Five dimensions, except for Agreeableness, major and/or gender specific relationships with educational outcomes are observed. Holland's interest dimensions are not related to educational achievement, except for some moderate gender or major specific correlations with the Investigative and the Artistic scales. Suggestions for future research regarding educational streaming and counselling are discussed.     

Borderline and avoidant personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality: a comparison between DSM-IV diagnoses and NEO-PI-R.

A self-report measure of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality, NEO-PI-R, was administered to a sample of patients with borderline (BPD, N = 29) or avoidant PD (AVPD, N = 34), admitted to a day treatment program, to investigate the NEO-PI-R profiles of the disorders, and the ability of NEO-PI-R to discriminate between the two disorders. The diagnoses were assessed according to the LEAD standard. AVPD was associated with high levels of Neuroticism and Agreeableness, and low levels of Extraversion and Conscientiousness. BPD was associated with high levels of Neuroticism and low levels of Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness. Eighty-eight percent of the AVPD group had high scores on Neuroticism and low scores on Extraversion, whereas 65% of the BPD group were high on Neuroticism and low on Agreeableness. The Extraversion and Agreeableness scales of NEO-PI-R discriminated between patients with BPD and those with AVPD. Patients with BPD scored significantly higher on the Angry Hostility and Impulsiveness subscales of Neuroticism and significantly lower on three Extraversion subscales, three Agreeableness subscales, and one Conscientiousness subscale. At the DSM-IV criterion level, there were more significant relationships between the subscales of NEO-PI-R and the AVPD criteria than with the BPD criteria. The findings suggest that the FFM has good discriminating ability regarding BPD and AVPD. However, there may be a closer conceptual relationship between the FFM and AVPD than between the FFM and BPD.     

Individual values and well-being: The moderating role of personality traits

This study examined the role of values, traits and their interactions for the experience of eudaimonic and hedonic well-being. First wave studies on value and well-being relationships yielded inconsistent results suggesting that these relationships are moderated by other factors, possibly by personality traits. We asked a representative sample of adult Poles (N = 1161) to report on their personality traits (according to five-factor theory), values (conceptualised by Schwartz) and well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic). Results showed, that higher Extraversion, Emotional stability, Intellect, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were related to higher well-being, confirming and expanding claims from personality theory of subjective well-being: stable predispositions are related not only to subjective, but also to eudaimonic well-being. Values expressing Openness to change, Self-transcendence and Conservation were also positively correlated with well-being, while the role of Self-enhancement was unclear. This confirmed that growth needs expressed in Openness to change and Self-transcendence values promote well-being, but also that values expressing deficiency needs can be positively related to well-being, possibly in specific circumstances. Finally, the two levels of personality (traits and values) proved to have a joint relationship to well-being: higher Conscientiousness and Agreeableness enhanced positive relationships of Openness to change and Self-transcendence with some aspects of well-being.     

Assumed similarity in personality within intimate relationships

Assumed similarity is the tendency to assume that another person is similar to oneself. The present studies examined assumed similarity in intimate relationships regarding the HEXACO personality traits in Denmark (N = 93) and China (N = 236). Specifically, these studies hypothesized that people assume higher similarity with their intimate partners in Honesty‐Humility and Openness to Experience compared to the other four HEXACO traits (Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness). Results from both studies indicate that assumed similarity was higher in Honesty‐Humility compared to Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. However, assumed similarity in Openness was higher compared to Emotionality and Conscientiousness only. Supplementary analyses indicate no cultural differences between Denmark and China in assumed similarity in Honesty‐Humility and Openness.     

Gender Differences in Five Factor Model Personality Traits in an Elderly Cohort: Extension of Robust and Surprising Findings to an Older Generation

In college and adult samples, women score higher then men on the Five Factor Model (FFM) personality traits of Neuroticism and Agreeableness. The present study assessed the extent to which these gender differences held in a sample of 486 older adults, ranging in age from 65-98 (M = 75, SD = 6.5), using the NEO-Five Factor Inventory. Mean and Covariance Structure models testing gender differences at the level of latent traits revealed higher levels of Neuroticism (d = .52) and Agreeableness (d = .35) in older women than older men. The consistency of these findings with prior work in younger samples attests to the stability of gender differentiation on Neuroticism and Agreeableness across the lifespan. Gender differences on these traits should be considered in personality research among older, as well as middle age and younger adults.     

Depression and self-enhancement among Japanese and American students

This study examined the cultural generalizibility of the negative relationship between depression and self-enhancement. Japanese (n = 116) and American (n = 125) students completed the Zung (1965) Self-Rating Depression Scale and three measures of self-enhancement (i.e., the tendency to see oneself in a positive light). As expected, Japanese subjects were found to be more depressed and less self-serving than Americans. Negative correlations between depression and self-enhancement measures were obtained for both samples. Regression analyses of the relationships between measures indicated that sample differences in self-enhancement were explained largely by sample differences in depression. It is proposed that, relative to the Americans, Japanese students had a negative self-schema that led to higher depression and lower self-enhancement.     

Agreeableness as a moderator of interpersonal conflict

This multimethod research linked the Big Five personality dimensions to interpersonal conflicts. Agreeableness was the focus because this dimension is associated with motives to maintain positive interpersonal relations. Converging responses to both hypothetical conflicts and to diary records of actual daily interpersonal conflicts across a two-week period were assessed. Agreeableness was expected to moderate affective responses and tactical choices during conflicts. Patterns of daily conflict were related to self-reported reactions to hypothetical conflicts and to teacher-rated adjustment in adolescents. As predicted, Agreeableness was related to responsiveness to conflict. Agreeableness differences and use of destructive tactics in conflict were significantly related to evaluations of the individual's adjustment by knowledgeable raters. Among the Big Five dimensions, Agreeableness was most closely associated with processes and outcomes during interpersonal conflict.     

Do conscientious athletes value world peace? Personality traits and value preferences of young athletes and non-athletes

The preferred values and personality traits of young athletes allow to predict their decisions in the sports context. Of 120 primary and junior high school students that were surveyed, including 60 students following an extended sports curriculum and 60 students following a standard curriculum. The athletes practiced soccer, basketball and swimming. The Picture-Based Value Survey for Children based on Schwartz's theory of universal values and the Picture-Based Personality Survey for Children predicated on the Big Five model of personality were used in this study. Regression analysis with an interaction effect of type of school program on relationships between values and personality traits was carried out. Effects were observed between the type of program and preference for Universalism and Conscientiousness and preference for Hedonism and Agreeableness. In athletes, Conscientiousness correlated positively with preference for Universalism. In non-athletes, a positive correlation was found between Agreeableness and preference for Hedonism.     

Agreeableness is related to social‐cognitive,but not social‐perceptual,theory of mind

We hypothesise on a number of grounds that the personality dimension of Agreeableness may be associated with inter‐individual differences in theory of mind (ToM) functioning. However, it is important to distinguish social‐perceptual from social‐cognitive ToM. Previous findings on ToM in psychopathic individuals, sex differences in ToM and the associations between ToM and social relationships, all suggest that social‐cognitive ToM is more likely than social‐perceptual ToM to relate to Agreeableness. In separate empirical studies, we find that Agreeableness is substantially correlated with social‐cognitive ToM performance, but uncorrelated with social‐perceptual ToM performance. We suggest that the propensity or motivation to attend to the mental states of others may be central to the personality dimension of Agreeableness. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cross-sectional age differences in personality among medicare patients aged 65 to 100

1,084 older Medicare recipients were orally administered the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI; P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992). Participants were assigned to groups based on gender and age (65-79 or 80-100). An analysis of covariance showed that women had significantly higher Neuroticism, Openness, and Agreeableness scores; that older participants were significantly higher in Agreeableness; and that age differences in Agreeableness were significantly greater in men than in women. With the exception of Agreeableness, this study provides no evidence for age differences among those in the last decades of life.     

Agreeableness,conscientiousness, and effortful control processes

Effortful control (EC) is believed to be a superordinate, temperament system that is associated with early-appearing individual differences in self-regulation. It has been suggested that EC indexes the common developmental process underlying Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Theory suggests this association, but little empirical evidence has linked personality to actual self-regulatory behaviors. This study examined personality and cognitive assessments associated with impairments in self-regulation. College students (N=113) gave self-reports on the five dimensions of personality. They also completed the Stroop test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST), and a verbal fluency test. Agreeableness predicted Stroop reaction times. Both Agreeableness and Conscientiousness predicted WCST measures. Conscientiousness predicted verbal fluency for men. Results were discussed in terms of EC being a common developmental substrate of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness.     

Religiousness, spiritual seeking, and personality: findings from a longitudinal study

The hypothesis that personality characteristics in adolescence can be used to predict religiousness and spiritual seeking in late adulthood was tested using a structural equation modeling framework to estimate cross-lagged and autoregressive effects in a two-wave panel design. The sample consisted of 209 men and women participants in the Berkeley Guidance and Oakland Growth studies. In late adulthood, religiousness was positively related to Conscientiousness and Agreeableness, and spiritual seeking was related to Openness to Experience. Longitudinal models indicated that Conscientiousness in adolescence significantly predicted religiousness in late adulthood above and beyond adolescent religiousness. Similarly, Openness in adolescence predicted spiritual seeking in late adulthood. The converse effect, adolescent religiousness to personality in late adulthood, was not significant in either model. Among women, adolescent Agreeableness predicted late-life religiousness and adolescent religiousness predicted late-life Agreeableness; both these effects were absent among men. Adolescent personality appears to shape late-life religiousness and spiritual seeking independent of early religious socialization.     

Five personality factors and sex: preliminary findings

This study assessed the relationships between the Big Five personality domains, attitudes to sex, and three specific sexual behaviours. Respondents were 123 undergraduate students (51 males; 72 females). Men were found to score significantly higher than women on measures of sexual curiosity and sexual excitement, while women were higher on sexual satisfaction. Neuroticism (N) and Extraversion (E) appeared to be the most important predictors of attitudes to sex, although Conscientiousness (C) and Openness to experience (O) were also implicated. N, C, and Agreeableness (A) were implicated in sexual behaviours. Some suggestions for future research are made.     

Personality Ratings Are Influenced by Religious Stereotype and Ingroup Bias

A religious prosociality stereotype exists such that religiosity and prosociality are presumed to be positively associated, as evidenced by proxy measures such as personality traits. However, studies using self- and peer-ratings of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness have not simultaneously controlled for the religiosity of the participant and the target. One hundred and sixty students completed measures of religiosity in a prescreening survey. Later, participants rated an array of targets, including a Christian and an atheist, on adjectives corresponding to Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Regardless of participant religiosity, atheist targets were rated as being lower in Agreeableness and Conscientiousness relative to those labeled as Christians. This bias was greater for highly religious participants. This effect was mediated by perceptions of the morality of the target independent of participants' broader attitudes concerning the target's religious group. Implications are discussed.