An S-R inventory of dominance for research on the nature of person-situation interactions1

The development and validation of an S-R inventory of dominance is described. The inventory was found to have high reliability, adequate convergent and discriminant validity, and a meaningful factor structure. In samples of 18 and 164 college students the interaction between persons and situations contributed more to total score variance than did either persons or situations taken separately. Moreover, the percentage of variance due to the person-situation interaction for dominance was found to be substantially larger than those obtained for other personality characteristics that have been studied with S-R inventories. These considerations suggest that this new S-R inventory is particularly appropriate for future research on dominance and the nature of person-situation interactions.     

Decoding affective communication in intimate relationships

Situational and personality variables influencing the accurate understanding of partners' communications in intimate couples were studied. The situation was varied by inducing either partner-focused or self-focused attention. The personality variables were gender-role attitudes, control orientation, and empathy. Thirty couples who had been living together for at least 12 months discussed an issue which was important to both partners. Afterwards, each selected their partner's most ‘important’ statement from their videotaped discussion. The two statements were then rated by each of the partners in respect of their own and their partner's emotional reaction to them (intentionally sent and actually experienced emotions). Analyses of variance with correctness of decoding as a dependent variable demonstrated strong effects of other-focused attention and gender as independent variables. Femininity and secondary control correlated positively with correct decoding. These results are interpreted in a theoretical framework of empathy and communication.     

Personality traits,learning stratigies,and performance

The objective of this research is to analyse the relationships between personality traits, learning strategies, and performance. Two multivariate studies (N=139 and N=92) were conducted. In both studies factor analyses of the learning strategies yielded two factors. One factor, labelled, ‘learning discipline’, correlated highly with the Conscientiousness scale and the other factor, labelled, ‘elaboration’, correlated with the Openness of Experience scale. In Study 1, about 17 per cent of the variance in college grades was accounted for by personality scales and learning strategies. In Study 2, learning strategies accounted for about 31 per cent of the variance in college grades. Path analyses showed that the relations between basic personality traits and grades were mediated by the learning strategies.     

The Genetic Overlap and Distinctiveness of Flourishing and the Big Five Personality Traits

The growing evidence that subjective well-being (SWB) produces an array of beneficial outcomes has increased requests for recommendations on how to promote it. Evidence that all of SWB’s genetic variance overlaps with personality led to the strong claim that it is a ‘personality thing’ and that personality is the strongest predictor of SWB. However, studies do not include a comprehensive assessment that reflects eudaimonic as well as hedonic SWB. We revisit the question of SWB’s complete overlap with personality employing the tripartite model—emotional, psychological, and social—of SWB that, together, reflect Keyes’ (2002) model of flourishing. Data are from the Midlife in the United States national sample of 1,386 twins. Analyses were done using Mx to test Cholesky decomposition models and a two latent factor common pathway model. One-third of the total (72 %) heritability of flourishing and 40 % of its environmental variability are distinct from the big-five personality traits. We also find a low phenotypic association (mean r = .22) between the three dimensions of SWB and big-five personality traits despite substantial shared genetic etiology. In addition to non-trivial amounts of distinctive genetic and environmental variance and low phenotypic correlation, we point to limited investigation of reciprocal causation of SWB and personality. Psychologist should not yet conclude that SWB is a ‘personality thing’ anymore than personality might be a ‘well-being thing’.     

Personality,Intelligence and Assessment Centre Expert Ratings

Just under 3000 middle managers were rated on seven dimensions/competencies by consultants after a 1‐day assessment centre and structured interview. They also completed two cognitive ability tests and two well‐established personality tests (NEO PI‐R; MBTI). Correlational analysis showed that the rated dimensions of ‘drive to achieve’, ‘internal locus of control’ and ‘resilience’ all modestly negatively correlated with Neuroticism. All seven ratings were significantly correlated with Extraversion and three each with Openness and Agreeableness. There were few significant correlations with the MBTI but the Thinking–Feeling dimension correlated significantly with combined ratings. Correlations with the intelligence test scores were mostly non‐significant. The seven ratings factored into three identifiable factors: labelled personal assertiveness, toughness and determination and curiosity. Regressions using both a total, overall computed rating of general aptitude, as well as the three scores as criterion variables and ability, personality, participant‐gender and management level as predictor variables demonstrated that they accounted for between a quarter and a third of the variance. Predictors varied considerably as a function of the different criteria measures but ability and gender accounted for little of the variance.     

Predicting and accepting personality test scores

Three studies are reported concerned with people's perception of their own personality, their acceptance of bogus ‘personality’ feedback, and the relationship between their ‘actual’ personality scores and their willingness to accept bogus feedback. In the first study subjects attempted to predict their own and a well-known other person's personality scores. They were fairly good at predicting some of their own scores (extraversion, neuroticism) but less so others, suggesting that people can recognize their own ‘correct’ personality feedback. In the second study subjects were given either positive (Barnum Statements) or negative (reverse Barnum Statements) ‘bogus’ feedback after a personality test. They tended to accept the positive feedback as more accurate than the negative feedback though this was not related to their actual scores. In the third study subjects were given four types of feedback statements after a personality test: general positive, general negative, specific positive and specific negative. As predicted, people tend to accept general rather than specific, and positive rather than negative feedback as true. Furthermore, acceptance was closely related to neuroticism and extraversion in a predicted direction. These results are discussed in terms of the uses and abuses of validation of personality feedback.     

Extraversion predicts individual differences in women’s face preferences

Extraversion is positively associated with various indices of women’s mate quality (e.g., facial symmetry and attractiveness). Since such indices are thought to predict variation in women’s preferences for masculine men, we investigated the relationships between each of the ‘Big 5’ personality factors and women’s preferences for facial masculinity. Extraversion, but not the other four personality factors, was positively correlated with women’s preferences for masculinity in men’s, but not women’s, faces. Additionally, extraversion mediated the positive relationship between women’s self-rated attractiveness and their preferences for masculinity in men’s faces, suggesting that extraversion may play a role in condition-dependent mate preferences. Unexpectedly, openness to experience was associated with women’s preferences for femininity in faces of both sexes and this association was independent of that between extraversion and women’s preferences for masculine men. This is the first study that we know of to implicate personality traits in individual differences in women’s preferences for masculine men.     

Marital therapy: The importance of the assessment of the individuals on personality tests

The importance of assessing individuals in a marital conflict is seen as vital. The theoretical position that there are big ‘T’ and little ‘t’ individuals indicated that some members of the relationship are more eager for thrill seeking and being outgoing while little ‘t’ individuals are more eager for harmony and conservative personality traits. This has long been established. There are extremes of this but also these traits are on a continuum. While opposites attract in a relationship, the more individuals have in common, the more likely the marital relationship will work except in one area, that of seeking control or dominance. Here, opposites are likely to be more successful. Areas where there are likely to be difficulties between big ‘T’ and little ‘t’ individuals are in the rates of infidelity where big T's may predominate, also in sexual dissatisfaction and problems, attitudes to love, marital abuse and spouse abuse, child rearing issues, drug and alcohol abuse, the handling of money, household chores and division of labour, recreation interests, and religious differences. While not all of these may come into conflict or may be part of a big ‘T’ or little ‘t’ personality, there is a weighing in one direction rather than in the other. In order for rehabilitation between marital partners, it is important for each to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the other's personality, be they big ‘T’ or little ‘t’ individuals. Approaches by counsellors, psychologists to these individual differences are discussed.     

Family environment and its relation to adolescent personality factors

Investigated the relationship between family social climate characteristics and adolescent personality functioning. The High School Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ) was administered to 80 high school students. These students and their parents also completed the Family Environment Scale (FES). Results of a stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that one or more HSPQ scales had significant associations with each FES scale. Significant variance in child behavior was attributed to family social system functioning; however, no single family variable accounted for a major portion of the variance to the exclusion of other factors. It was concluded that child behavior varies with total system functioning, more than with separate system factors.     

Equilibria in Personality States: A Conceptual Primer for Dynamics in Personality States

We provide a basic, step-by-step introduction to the core concepts and mathematical fundamentals of dynamic systems modelling through applying the Change as Outcome model, a simple dynamical systems model, to personality state data. This model characterizes changes in personality states with respect to equilibrium points, estimating attractors and their strength in time series data. Using data from the Personality and Interpersonal Roles study, we find that mean state is highly correlated with attractor position but weakly correlated with attractor strength, suggesting strength provides added information not captured by summaries of the distribution. We then discuss how taking a dynamic systems approach to personality states also entails a theoretical shift. Instead of emphasizing partitioning trait and state variance, dynamic systems analyses of personality states emphasize characterizing patterns generated by mutual, ongoing interactions. Change as Outcome modelling also allows for estimating nuanced effects of personality development after significant life changes, separating effects on characteristic states after the significant change and how strongly she or he is drawn towards those states (an aspect of resiliency). Estimating this model demonstrates core dynamics principles and provides quantitative grounding for measures of ‘repulsive’ personality states and ‘ambivert’ personality structures. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology     

The temperamental nature of personality

Historically, the terms ‘temperament’, ‘character’, and ‘personality’ have been used to refer to what we now mean by the term ‘personality’. Temperament refers to the raw material out of which personality evolves. Personality is a person's coherent manner of interacting with himself/herself and with the environment. The concept of temperament has been prominent with Eastern European psychologists and with developmental psychologists in North America. A number of developmental theories of temperament are discussed, and differences and similarities between temperament parameters and personality parameters are described. The genetics of personality are presented and evaluated. Mechanistic and dynamic interactions are distinguished, and the multidimensional interaction model of anxiety and relevant research are discussed. A preliminary interaction model of anxiety, stress, and coping is presented. Finally, the temperamental nature of personality is discussed, and suggestions for possible rapprochements between personality and temperament are presented.     

Ultrastable stimulus-response latencies: Acquisition and stimulus control

Modifications were made to Kristofferson’s (1976) response-stimulus synchronization procedure which resulted in a further reduction in the estimate of minimum S-R latency variance. Minimum variances near 50 msec² were obtained whether mean latency was 310 or 550 msec. Within this range, latency distributions were the same, symmetrical and sharp-peaked, and unlike typical RT. All responses fell within a 50-msec time window. This independence of mean latency and latency variance was present throughout acquisition. A special technique allowed isolation of the controlling stimulus for synchronization timing, and showed that subjects were able to transfer control to another modality with no loss of performance. Results are discussed in terms of support for the notion of nonvariable, internally timed delays which can be inserted in the S-R chain. These delays are easily adjustable, but, once set, are deterministic. The role of feedback in acquisition and maintenance of synchronization performance is also examined.     

An Interactionist Perspective on Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Personality

It is now well established that nature and nurture are both important contributors to variation in human personality. As a result, the field of personality behavior genetics is moving beyond simply estimating the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on various personality constructs. Recent methodological advances provide for the study of how these different sources of influence interact in the development of personality. Specifically, newer biometrical moderation models allow for group‐specific estimates of heritability and environmental influences on personality (a form of gene–environment interaction). In the current paper, we review selected recent research using these models. Furthermore, we explore how moderation might also be important in understanding links between specific genes and personality. Accounting for the contingencies between genes and environment will be an important catalyst for the molecular genetic study of personality, as unmoderated ‘main effect’ types of gene → personality associations have been elusive.     

Understanding the Complexity of Human Aggression: Affective,Cognitive, and Social Dimensions of Individual Differences in Propensity Toward Aggression

Human aggression is a complex phenomenon operating at multiple levels. Converging evidence distinguishes ‘hot’ aggression, impulsive and emotionally-centered, from ‘cool’ aggression, cognitively based and instrumental. The correspondence of these aggressive response patterns with individual differences in Propensity toward Aggression was investigated. Our data (from 477 Italian adults) map ten of these aggression indicators into the personality space defined by the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality. The quadrant containing most of these variables is defined by Emotional Instability (the negative pole of Emotional Stability) and Hostility (the negative pole of Friendliness). Factor analysis uncovered two factors that accounted for nearly 60 percent of the variance in Propensity toward Aggression: Emotional Responsivity and Positive Evaluation of Violence. Practical implications for issues of health and disease, violence, and interventions for different forms of adults' and children's aggression are outlined.     

Self- and peer perspectives on pathological personality traits and interpersonal problems

This study compares the relationship between personality disorders and interpersonal problems as obtained by self-report and peer-report measures. Participants (N = 393) were administered self- and peer-report versions of the Peer Inventory for Personality Disorder and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-64. Canonical analyses demonstrated similar relationships between personality disorder features and interpersonal problems as measured by either self or peer. Analyses between self and peer found little shared variance across sources, indicating a large method variance. Results indicate that although similar constructs are identified by self and peers in their understanding of personality pathology and associated interpersonal problems, self-report information overlaps very little with information obtained from peers, underscoring the importance of obtaining multiple sources of information.     

The validity of physical aggression in predicting adolescent academic performance

Background. Aggression has a long history in academic research as both a criterion and a predictor variable and it is well documented that aggression is related to a variety of poor academic outcomes such as: lowered academic performance, absenteeism and lower graduation rates. However, recent research has implicated physical aggression as being predictive of lower academic performance. Aims. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the ‘Big Five’ personality traits of agreeableness, openness to experience, conscientiousness, neuroticism and extraversion and physical aggression in predicting the grade point averages (GPA) of adolescent students and to investigate whether or not there were differences in these relationships between male and female students. Sample. A sample of 992 students in grades 9 to 12 from a high school in south‐eastern USA as part of a larger study examining the students' preparation for entry into the workforce. Method. The study was correlational in nature: students completed a personality inventory developed by the second author with the GPA information supplied by the school. Results. Results indicated that physical aggression accounts for 16% of variance in GPA and it adds 7% to the prediction of GPA beyond the Big Five. The Big Five traits added only 1.5% to the prediction of GPA after controlling for physical aggression. Interestingly, a significantly larger amount of variance in GPA was predicted by physical aggression for females than for males. Conclusions. Aggression accounts for significantly more variance in the GPA of females than for males, even when controlling for the Big Five personality factors. Future research should examine the differences in the expression of aggression in males and females, as well as how this is affecting interactions between peers and between students and their teachers.     

Impact and Causes of Rater Severity/Leniency in Appraisals without Postevaluation Communication Between Raters and Ratees

In performance appraisals, some assessors are substantially more lenient than others. Research on this effect in appraisals involving communication and interaction between raters and ratees after the performance evaluation has taken place indicates that it may be at least partly caused by individual differences in assessor personality. However, little is known about the impact or causes of rater severity versus leniency in situations in which there is little or no contact between raters and ratees after the performance evaluation. In Study 1 (N = 174) the strength of the severity–leniency effect in this ‘no‐contact’ context is estimated and found to be similar to that reported for ‘with‐contact’ appraisals. No evidence of an association between assessor personality and assessor severity (vs. leniency) is found in the ‘no‐contact’ context. In Study 2 (N = 54) there is no evidence of an association between the fluid cognitive ability of assessors and the severity of their ratings in a no‐contact context. It is concluded that the severity versus leniency effect probably has a considerable impact on performance ratings in ‘no‐contact’ appraisal settings, but that neither rater personality nor rater cognitive ability appear to play a significant role in this.     

Personality and performance on a missing-letter measure of perceptual defence

Fifty-two Ss were required to make complete words from 20 neutral and 20 unpleasant ‘target’ words whose alternate letters had been removed. The four personality scales from the EPQ and the Psychoticism scale from the unpublished PEN inventory were employed as independent variables in repeated-measures analyses of variance in which the dependent variable was the number of neutral or bad target words produced in the missing-letter task. A significant two-way interaction was obtained between PEN Psychoticism and performance on the task, such that Ss scoring low on the personality scale hit significantly more neutral targets than Ss scoring high on the scale. These results did not support previous studies on the relationship between personality and perceptual defence and were interpreted within the framework provided by Mednick, whereby schizophrenia is characterized by a flattening of associative hierarchies.     

Assessment of male and female behaviour in the employment interview

Personality assessment has a great impact on the outcomes of the selection interview. Women are perceived to have personality characteristics which are different from men. It is doubtful whether these sex stereotyped personality characteristics are based on real differences in verbal and nonverbal behaviour between men and women. Previous studies have shown the influence of sex stereotypes on interview-outcomes. In this study, the relationship between verbal and nonverbal behaviour of male and female applicants and their personality assessment has been investigated. Results show that males and females are assessed stereotypically based on their sex, but also based on their behaviour. For females, a feminine or masculine assessment is of special importance for her chance of selection. The less feminine is a woman's assessment the more likely she is to be accepted as an eligible candidate by the selection board. These accepted women show ‘female’ behaviour as well as ‘male’ behaviour.