Personality and prejudice: a meta-analysis and theoretical review

Despite a substantial literature examining personality, prejudice, and related constructs such as Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), there have been no systematic reviews in this area. The authors reviewed and meta-analyzed 71 studies (N = 22,068 participants) investigating relationships between Big Five dimensions of personality, RWA, SDO, and prejudice. RWA was predicted by low Openness to Experience but also Conscientiousness, whereas SDO was predicted by low Agreeableness and also weakly by low Openness to Experience. Consistent with a dual-process motivational model of ideology and prejudice, the effects of Agreeableness on prejudice were fully mediated by SDO, and those of Openness to Experience were largely mediated by RWA. Finally, the effects of Agreeableness and Openness to Experience were robust and consistent across samples, although subtle moderating factors were identified, including differences in personality inventory (NEO Personality Inventory-Revised vs. Big Five Inventory), differences across prejudice domain, and cross-cultural differences in Conscientiousness and Neuroticism. Implications for the study of personality and prejudice are discussed.     

The personality bases of ideology: a one-year longitudinal study

The cross-lagged effects of the Big-Five personality dimensions on Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) were examined over 1 year (N = 112). Consistent with the Dual Process Cognitive-Motivational Model, SDO and RWA exhibited markedly different personality bases. Low Agreeableness and unexpectedly high Extraversion predicted change in the motivational goal for group-based dominance and superiority (SDO), whereas Openness to Experience predicted change in the motivational goal for social cohesion and collective security (RWA). Neuroticism and Conscientiousness did not predict change in SDO or RWA over time. These findings extend previous cross-sectional (correlational) research and indicate that key dimensions of personality (primarily Agreeableness and Openness to Experience) are an important temporal antecedent of the group-based motivational goals underlying individual differences in prejudice.     

The Personality Bases of Ideology: A One-Year Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACT

The cross-lagged effects of the Big-Five personality dimensions on Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) were examined over 1 year (N = 112). Consistent with the Dual Process Cognitive-Motivational Model, SDO and RWA exhibited markedly different personality bases. Low Agreeableness and unexpectedly high Extraversion predicted change in the motivational goal for group-based dominance and superiority (SDO), whereas Openness to Experience predicted change in the motivational goal for social cohesion and collective security (RWA). Neuroticism and Conscientiousness did not predict change in SDO or RWA over time. These findings extend previous cross-sectional (correlational) research and indicate that key dimensions of personality (primarily Agreeableness and Openness to Experience) are an important temporal antecedent of the group-based motivational goals underlying individual differences in prejudice.     

What matters most to prejudice: Big Five personality,Social Dominance Orientation,or Right‐Wing Authoritarianism?

Whereas previous research has studied the relation of either (i) personality with prejudice, (ii) personality with social dominance orientation (SDO) and right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA), or (iii) SDO and RWA with prejudice, the present research integrates all approaches within the same model. In our study (N = 183), various causal models of the relationships among the Big Five, SDO, RWA, and Generalized Prejudice are proposed and tested. Generalized Prejudice scores were obtained from a factor analysis of the scores on various prejudice instruments (racism, sexism, prejudice toward homosexuals, and mentally disabled people), which yielded a one‐factor solution. The best‐fitting causal model, which was our suggested hypothetical model, showed that Big Five personality had no direct effect on Generalized Prejudice but an indirect effect transmitted through RWA and SDO, where RWA seems to capture personality aspects to a greater extent than SDO. Specifically, Generalized Prejudice was affected indirectly by Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness through RWA, and by Agreeableness through SDO, whereas Neuroticism had no effect at all. The results are discussed against the background of previous research and the personality and social psychology approaches to the study of prejudice. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personality and prejudice: Extension to the HEXACO personality model

We modelled the associations between the HEXACO dimensions of personality, Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), Right‐Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and prejudice towards dangerous, derogated and dissident groups (N = 454 undergraduates). Consistent with a Big‐Five model, low Openness to Experience predicted RWA and therefore dangerous and dissident group prejudice. As predicted, low Emotionality (and Openness) rather than Agreeableness predicted SDO and therefore derogated and dissident group prejudice. Comparison with meta‐analytic averages of Big‐Five data supported expected similarities and differences in the association of Big‐Five and HEXACO models of personality with ideology. Finally, Honesty‐Humility simultaneously predicted increases in RWA but decreases in SDO, and thus opposing effects on prejudice. These opposing effects have gone unidentified in research employing Big‐Five models of personality structure. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Individual differences in ideological attitudes and prejudice: evidence from peer-report data

Our knowledge on the personality basis of ideological attitudes and prejudice, while based on a substantial body of research, suffers from a potentially serious methodological limitation: an overreliance on the method of self-reports. Across 2 studies (Ns = 193, 424), we examined associations between the Big Five personality dimensions, Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), and generalized prejudice, using both self-report and peer-report data stemming from 1 (Study 1) or 2 (Study 2) peer rater/s. Correlational and regression analyses as well as structural equation modeling showed that (a) the associations between personality dimensions, ideological attitudes, and prejudice were largely similar to previous research for both data sources; (b) RWA and prejudice showed a similar level of self-peer agreement to personality dimensions; (c) most of the known associations between personality, ideological attitudes, and prejudice were replicated also when measured by independent methods; (d) peer reports had some incremental validity in predicting ideological attitudes and prejudice; and (e) there was evidence that Openness to Experience and Agreeableness predicted prejudice directly and not only indirectly via RWA and SDO, respectively. Implications for the status of RWA, SDO, and prejudice as individual-difference constructs and for their bases in personality dimensions are discussed.     

Personality, identity styles, and religiosity: an integrative study among late adolescents in Flanders (Belgium)

The relationship between the two main dimensions of the religiosity domain (Exclusion vs. Inclusion of Transcendence and Literal vs. Symbolic) and both the Five-Factor Model of personality and Berzonsky's (1990) identity styles was investigated in a Flemish sample of late adolescents (N = 335). The results show that, whereas Exclusion vs. Inclusion is unrelated to any of the personality dimensions, Literal vs. Symbolic was strongly related to Openness to Experience and moderately to Agreeableness. Further, it was shown that Exclusion vs. Inclusion was positively related to the normative identity style, and that Literal vs. Symbolic correlated positively with the informational identity style and negatively with the diffuse/avoidant identity style. As expected, the relation between Openness to Experience and Literal vs. Symbolic was fully mediated by the informational identity style. Once Openness to Experience was taken into account, Agreeableness was no longer an important determinant of Literal vs. Symbolic.     

Big-Five Personality,Social Worldviews,and Ideological Attitudes: Further Tests of a Dual Process Cognitive-Motivational Model

Abstract

In this study, we extended the Dual Process Model of Ideology and Prejudice by incorporating the Five-Factor Model of Personality (N = 924). Disagreeable people tended to view the social world as competitive, which in turn predicted heightened motivations for group-based dominance and superiority (Social Dominance Orientation or SDO), whereas people low in Openness to Experience and high in Conscientiousness directly expressed heightened security-cohesion motivations (Right-Wing Authoritarianism or RWA). Other personality dimensions were weakly associated with RWA, and these effects were mediated by dangerous worldview. Multiple distinct aspects of personality predict SDO and RWA both directly and indirectly through worldviews, but we found little evidence for the possibility that personality alters the extent to which worldviews (once formed) predict SDO and RWA.     

Right‐wing authoritarianism,Big Five and perceived threat to safety

Using structural equations modelling, we performed a secondary analysis of the data collected by the Italian Observatory of the North West (Italian national sample, N = 976) to investigate the direct, mediated and moderated relations connecting the Big Five personality factors and perceived personal and societal threat to safety with right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA). Openness, Conscientiousness and perceived societal threat to safety exerted additive effects on RWA; the relation between Openness and RWA was partially mediated by societal threat to safety and that between societal threat to safety and RWA was moderated by Openness. Limitations and possible developments of this research are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ideology,Prejudice, and Attitudes Toward Sexual Minority Social Policies and Organizations

This study tested the effects of multiple ideologies on support for restrictive policies against gay and lesbian individuals and organizations and if these effects were mediated by sexual prejudice. Social dominance orientation (SDO), conservatism, and right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA) each had significant direct and indirect effects. SDO had the most consistent direct effects in addition to its effects through sexual prejudice. The direct effects of conservatism were smaller and similar in size to its indirect effects through prejudice. Although the direct effect of RWA was significant for policy attitudes, its effect was entirely mediated through sexual prejudice for organization opposition. Results suggest that high‐RWA individuals adopt their positions largely because of prejudice toward sexual minorities, while high‐SDO individuals adopt their positions partly out of prejudice and partly because these positions perpetuate hierarchies between heterosexuals and sexual minorities. Results also diminish the principled conservatism argument that conservative positions on these policies and organizations are absent of prejudice. As policies continue to be enacted that affect the sexual minority community, research is needed to identify the underlying motivations for individuals' positions toward these policies.     

Big-Five personality prospectively predicts Social Dominance Orientation and Right-Wing Authoritarianism

A full cross-lagged panel design examined the bidirectional effects of the Big-Five personality dimensions on Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) over 9 months (N = 190 undergraduates). Consistent with the Dual Process Cognitive-Motivational Model, SDO and RWA exhibited markedly different personality bases. Low Agreeableness predicted change in the motivational goal for group-based dominance and superiority (SDO), whereas Openness to Experience predicted change in the motivational goal for social cohesion and collective security (RWA). Extending previous longitudinal research, this study indicates that the effect of personality on ideology is unidirectional, as RWA and SDO did not predict reciprocal prospective change in broad-bandwidth personality. These findings are consistent with a model in which relatively stable broad-bandwidth personality traits shape ideological attitudes over even relatively short time periods, and not the reverse.     

The intervening role of social worldviews in the relationship between the five‐factor model of personality and social attitudes

The present research investigates in a student (N = 183) and a voter sample (N = 276) whether the relationships between the Five‐Factor Model (FFM) personality dimensions and social attitudes (i.e. Right‐Wing Authoritarianism [RWA] and Social Dominance Orientation [SDO]) are mediated by social worldviews (i.e. dangerous and jungle worldviews). Two important results were obtained. First, the perception of the world as inherently dangerous and chaotic partially mediated the relationships of the personality dimensions Openness and Neuroticism and the social attitude RWA. Second, the jungle worldview completely mediated the relationships between Agreeableness and SDO, but considerable item overlap between the jungle worldview and SDO was also noted. It was further revealed that acquiescence response set and item overlap had an impact on social worldviews and attitudes, but that their relationships were hardly affected by these biases. The discussion focuses on the status of social worldviews to explain social attitudes. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sticking Out Like a Sore Thumb: Employee Dissimilarity and Deviance at Work*

This study examined demographic‐ and personality‐based employee dissimilarities in relation to organizational and interpersonal deviant behaviors. Perceived organizational support (POS), organizational commitment, perceived coworker support, and coworker satisfaction were proposed as mediators. The results revealed that dissimilarities in ethnicity, Agreeableness, and Openness to Experience were significantly related to organizational deviance; dissimilarities in gender, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion were significantly related to interpersonal deviance. In addition, ethnic dissimilarity negatively predicted POS and organizational commitment, age dissimilarity positively predicted perceived coworker support, Extraversion dissimilarity positively predicted coworker satisfaction, Agreeableness dissimilarity negatively predicted POS, and Openness to Experience dissimilarity negatively predicted POS, organizational commitment, perceived coworker support, and coworker satisfaction. Finally, POS partially mediated the relationship between Agreeableness dissimilarity and organizational deviance. Interpretations of results, implications for management, and future research are discussed.     

Big Five Personality Traits as the Predictors of Creative Self‐Efficacy and Creative Personal Identity: Does Gender Matter?

The aim of this study was to examine the relation of the Big Five personality factors to two self‐concept variables of growing importance in creativity literature: creative self‐efficacy (CSE) and creative personal identity (CPI). The analysis, conducted on a large (N = 2674, 49.6% women) and varied‐in‐age (15–59 years old) nationwide sample of Poles, using the structural equation model, demonstrated that personality factors are responsible for 23% of CSE and 21% of CPI variances. CSE and CPI were associated with all five personality dimensions: positively with Openness to Experience, Extraversion and Conscientiousness, negatively with Neuroticism and Agreeableness. The separate analyses conducted on men and women showed the differences among the predictors of CSE and CPI. Although Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism predicted CSE among both men and women, Extraversion was positively and Agreeableness negatively related to women's CSE. Conscientiousness was positively related to CPI only among men, and Agreeableness was negatively related to it only among women. Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Openness predicted CPI in the same manner among men and women.     

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.     

Long-term stability in the Big Five personality traits in adulthood

This study investigated the stability of the Big Five personality traits in adulthood from age 33 to 42. Participants (89 men, 103 women) were drawn from the ongoing Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development. The results showed that the mean‐level of Neuroticism decreased whereas the mean‐level of Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness increased from age 33 to 42. The Structural Equation Modeling analyses revealed both gender differences and similarities in the rank‐order stability of the Big Five: Neuroticism and Extraversion were more stable in men than in women, whereas Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were as stable in men as in women. Stability coefficients for the Big Five personality traits across 9 years were moderate to high, ranging from 0.73 to 0.97 in men and from 0.65 to 0.95 in women. The highest gender‐equal stability was found for Openness to Experience and the lowest for Conscientiousness.     

On Traits and Temperament: General and Specific Factors of Emotional Experience and Their Relation to the Five-Factor Model

In this article we investigate relations between general and specific measures of self-rated affect and markers of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Replicating previous research, we found strong and pervasive associations between Neuroticism, its facets, and the various negative affects; and between Extraversion, its facets, and the positive affects. Conscientiousness also had a significant, independent relation with general positive affect, but this effect was entirely due to the specific affect of attentiveness, which was more strongly related to Conscientiousness than Extraversion. Conversely, only the achievement facet of Conscientiousness correlated broadly with the positive affects. Finally, hostility had a strong independent association with (low) Agreeableness. The results for Neuroticism and Extraversion further clarify the temperamental basis of these higher order trait dimensions; whereas those obtained for Agreeableness and Conscientiousness illustrate the importance of examining personality-affect relations at the lower order level.     

Adolescent ethnic prejudice: understanding the effects of parental extrinsic versus intrinsic goal promotion

Based on Self-Determination Theory, the role of parental extrinsic versus intrinsic (E / I) goal promotion for adolescent ethnic prejudice and the mechanisms underlying this effect were examined in a sample of adolescents and their parents. Results indicate that paternal and maternal E / I goal promotion had a significantly positive effect on ethnic prejudice. This effect could be accounted for by differences in adolescent right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO). In addition, differences in adolescent E / I goal pursuit fully mediated the effects of parental E / I goal promotion on RWA and SDO. Finally, the effects of adolescent E / I goal pursuits on ethnic prejudice were fully mediated by RWA and SDO. Implications of these findings will be discussed.     

Humor Styles Questionnaire: personality and educational correlates in Belgian high school and college students

Studies often treat sense of humour as a unidimensional construct. Recently, however, four different humour styles have been hypothesized and validated by the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ). In the present two studies, first, the HSQ received cross‐cultural validation among French‐speaking Belgian students (94 high school and 87 college students). Second, apart from some similarities (Extraversion, low need for closure), the four humour styles were found to be differently related to personality. Social and self‐enhancing humour styles were positively related to Agreeableness, Openness, and self‐esteem, whereas hostile humour was negatively related to Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Self‐defeating humour was negatively related to Emotional Stability, Conscientiousness, security in attachment, and self‐esteem. Finally, students' humour styles were neither direct nor indirect predictors of school performance, but self‐defeating and hostile humour styles were typical of students with low school motivation. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

White Racial Identity Statuses and NEO Personality Constructs: An Exploratory Analysis

This study investigated the relationship between White racial identity development as proposed by J. E. Helms (1995) and the personality constructs Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Participants were 105 White college students (55 women and 50 men) who were administered the White Racial Identity Attitude Scale (J. E. Helms & R. T. Carter, 1993), the NEO Five‐Factor Inventory (P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992) and the New Racism Scale (C. K Jacobson, 1985). Results indicated that White racial identity was differentially related to several personality constructs and aversive racism. Implications for future White racial identity research are discussed.