The thrust of the problem: bodily inhibitions and guilt as a function of mortality salience and neuroticism

We argue that existential concerns underlie discomfort with the physicality of the body and that activities likely to make individuals aware of their physical body (e.g., sex, dancing) may be inhibited and cause guilt. Further, individuals high in neuroticism may be especially vulnerable to such difficulties. To test this, individuals high and low in neuroticism were primed with thoughts about their mortality or a control topic and then engaged in an exercise designed to promote body awareness before self-reporting guilt. A comparison group engaged in non-body-oriented behavior. The results revealed that high neuroticism participants inhibited their body-oriented behavior when mortality was salient and that they experienced a marginal increase in guilt after performing the behavior in conjunction with mortality salience. Discussion focuses on the relationship between neuroticism, mortality salience, inhibition surrounding the body, and guilt.     

Mammograms and the management of existential discomfort: Threats associated with the physicality of the body and neuroticism

The current research employs ideas from terror management theory to investigate why mammograms may be psychologically problematic. This perspective suggests that individuals, particularly those high in neuroticism, are threatened by that which reminds them of their physical and mortal nature. In Study 1, a laboratory experiment demonstrated that when concerns about mortality were primed, reminders of one's physical nature (i.e. creatureliness) led women who were high in neuroticism to report reduced willingness to imagine undergoing a mammogram. In Study 2, a field experiment among women receiving a mammogram showed that priming creatureliness increased perceptions of discomfort with the procedure for women high in neuroticism. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Knowing good from bad: the paradox of neuroticism, negative affect, and evaluative processing

There are pragmatic benefits to trait-consistent mood states, especially when people are evaluating new objects within the environment (M. Tamir, M. D. Robinson, & G. L. Clore, 2002). The present studies, involving both naturally occurring (Studies 1 and 2) and manipulated (Study 3) mood states, demonstrated such trait-consistent interactions within the context of neuroticism and negative mood states. Individuals high in neuroticism were faster to make evaluations when in a negative mood state like sadness. By contrast, individuals low in neuroticism were faster to make evaluations when in a neutral mood state. The present studies demonstrate that although negative mood states are hedonically unpleasant, they can be beneficial in some ways for individuals high in neuroticism.     

Individual and dyadic associations among relational self‐expansion potential,affect, and perceived health

A growing body of literature suggests that specific markers of relationship quality are meaningfully linked to health outcomes. We tested whether relational self‐expansion potential might be one of these markers in cross‐sectional samples of individuals and romantic couples. Study 1 found that greater self‐expansion potential was linked to better perceived physical health via both higher positive affect (PA) and lower negative affect (NA). Study 2 replicated these findings for PA (but not NA) and revealed both actor and partner effects of self‐expansion potential. Results remained robust when statistically accounting for gender, age, body mass index, agreeableness, neuroticism, and perceived partner responsiveness. These findings identify a new relationship‐level “active ingredient” associated with health and have implications for future physical health studies.     

Haste makes waste,but not for all: The speed-accuracy trade-off does not apply to neurotics

ObjectivesTo examine if neurotics are the exception to the speed-accuracy rule and in fact are more accurate when making faster decisions.DesignThe study employed a laboratory-based, cross-sectional design.MethodOne hundred and ninety-six elite young cricketers completed measures of neuroticism before performing a cricket-specific computer-based decision-making task.ResultsNeuroticism significantly moderated the relationship between decision-making time and decision-making accuracy such that decreases in response time were associated with improvements in decision-making accuracy for individuals with high levels of neuroticism. Conversely, decreases in response time were associated with decrements in accuracy for individuals with low levels of neuroticism.ConclusionsThe study presents the first data that confirm that speed accuracy trade-offs do not occur across all individuals; individuals with high levels of neuroticism benefit from making faster decisions.     

The body as a source of self-esteem: the effect of mortality salience on identification with one's body, interest in sex, and appearance monitoring

The present research investigated the role of the physical body as a source of self-esteem and tested the hypothesis derived from terror management theory that reminding people of their mortality increases self-esteem striving in the form of identification with one's body, interest in sex, and appearance monitoring. The results revealed that individuals high in body esteem responded to mortality salience manipulations with increased identification with their physical bodies in Study 1 and with increased interest in sex in Study 2. Study 3 showed that reminders of death led to decreased appearance monitoring among appearance-oriented participants who were low in body esteem. These findings provide insight into why people often go to extreme lengths to meet cultural standards for the body and its appearance.     

Responding to symptoms of depression and anxiety: emotion regulation, neuroticism, and engagement in risky behaviors

The current study examined whether neuroticism, emotional regulation deficits, and/or their interaction predict increased engagement in risky behaviors following increases in symptoms of depression or anxiety over the course of 6 weeks. Results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated that individuals who exhibited high levels of both neuroticism and emotional regulation deficits were more likely than other individuals to report increased engagement in risky behaviors following increases in symptoms of either depression or anxiety. Unexpectedly, individuals who exhibited high levels of neuroticism and adaptive emotion regulation strategies exhibited decreased engagement in risky behaviors following increases in depressive or anxious symptoms.     

The worm at the core: A terror management perspective on the roots of psychological dysfunction

A growing body of research derived from terror management theory [e.g., Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (1991). A terror management theory of social behavior: The psychological functions of self-esteem and cultural worldviews. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology: vol. 24 (pp. 93–159). New York: Academic Press] suggests that the human struggle with the awareness of inevitable death can greatly impact people's physical and psychological well-being. The current article reviews converging lines of research that investigate the role of terror management processes in physical and mental health. Specifically, we present research that elucidates the role of death concerns in (1) conscious threat-focused defenses, (2) self-esteem striving, (3) depression, (4) anxiety disorders, (5) discomfort with the physicality of the body and (6) neuroticism. We conclude that terror management theory builds upon the work of other existential scholars and mental health perspectives to provide a broad conceptual and empirically based account of how deeply rooted existential fears manifest in ways that prove both psychologically and physically problematic. We also suggest how future research and social interventions can be employed to help individuals manage basic fears in ways that do not compromise their psychological and physical health.     

Reciprocal relations among job demands, job control, and social support are moderated by neuroticism: A cross-lagged analysis

This study investigated whether neuroticism moderates the relations among social support (from coworkers and supervisors) and work strain characteristics (i.e. job demands and job control). A full cross-lagged panel analysis was used to test whether social support predicts job demands and control or whether job demands and job control predict support among individuals with high and low neuroticism. Workers (N =  247; 42.1% men) of five occupations filled out questionnaires twice, with a time gap of 1 month. Work characteristics (job demands, job control, and social support) together with age and gender were included in a two-group path model with neuroticism as a moderator. Neuroticism moderated relations between social support and work strain characteristics: among individuals with high neuroticism, high job demands predicted low support from supervisors and low job control predicted low support from supervisors. Among individuals with low neuroticism, high support from supervisors predicted high job control.     

Individuals high in neuroticism are not more reactive to adverse events

Numerous studies have related neuroticism to negative emotional outcomes of adverse life events, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, the nature of the relationship between neuroticism and post-trauma symptoms is unclear. The purpose of this study was to prospectively examine whether individuals high in neuroticism, relative to low neuroticism individuals, show a larger increase in symptoms after an adverse event. A sample of infantry troops completed questionnaires before deployment to Iraq (n = 214) and about five months (n = 170; 76%) thereafter. The findings showed that, after controlling for an indicator of trauma severity, (a) higher neuroticism individuals reported more PTSD symptoms, depression symptoms, and somatic problems after negative events, and (b) these relationships disappeared after controlling for pre-trauma symptoms. There were no significant differences between individuals high and low in neuroticism in the increase in symptoms from pre to post-trauma. This suggests that individuals high in neuroticism are not more reactive to adverse events.     

Emerging Adulthood in American and British Samples: Individuals' Personality and Health Risk Behaviors

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between instrumental and expressive traits, and health-related behaviors among individuals in emerging adulthood (18–25 years old) in two Western societies. Individuals (100 males, 100 females) in an American sample and a British sample (36 males, 75 females) completed the Personal Attributes Questionnaire, a measure of neuroticism, the Health Behaviors Inventory, and two measures of perceived physical health. As hypothesized, in support of the androgyny model, individuals in both samples who scored high on both instrumental and expressive traits reported better health practices (i.e. safety belt use, less smoking) than individuals who scored low on both sets of traits or high on only one set of traits, after controlling for neuroticism. As hypothesized, for both samples, neuroticism explained more variance in perceived physical health than the other personality traits.     

Personality moderates the interaction between positive and negative daily events predicting negative affect and stress

A 30-day diary study examined personality moderators (neuroticism and extraversion) of the interaction between positive and negative daily events predicting daily negative affect and night-time stress. Multilevel analyses revealed positive daily events buffered the effect of negative daily events on negative affect for individuals low in neuroticism and individuals high in extraversion, but not for individuals high in neuroticism or individuals low in extraversion. Positive daily events also buffered the effect of negative daily events on that night’s stress, but only for participants low in neuroticism. As such, this research linked today’s events to tonight’s stressfulness. This study advances our understanding of how neuroticism and extraversion influence within-person associations between positive and negative events predicting negative affect and stress.     

The control of death and the death of control: The effects of mortality salience,neuroticism, and worldview threat on the desire for control

Two studies were designed to examine whether neuroticism would moderate the effect of mortality salience on desire for control. In Study 1, participants completed a neuroticism scale, contemplated their mortality or a control topic, and then completed a desire for control scale. Results indicated that those low in neuroticism evidenced an increase in desire for control following mortality salience whereas those high in neuroticism showed decreased desire for control. Study 2 used a 2 (neuroticism level) ×2 (worldview threat) ×2 (mortality salience) design to examine whether confident faith in a belief system is responsible for the increased desire for control among low neuroticism participants. Here results indicated that if participants scoring low in neuroticism were confronted with a threat to their worldview and were then reminded of their death, they showed reduced desires for control. Discussion focuses on the implications of these results for understanding the relationship between neuroticism, desire for control, and terror management processes.     

Is It Me or Is It Mine? Body-self Integration as a Function of Self-esteem,Body-esteem,and Mortality Salience

This research was designed to explore the extent to which the physical body is integrated into individuals' conceptualizations of self. We hypothesized that body-self integration would vary as a function of level of general self-esteem, specific self-evaluations for the body, and also mortality salience due to existential implications of the physical body's certainty of eventual death. In a neutral condition (no mortality reminder), individuals with high self-esteem were found to hold conceptualizations of the self that include the body to the extent that they had high body self-esteem, whereas individuals low in self-esteem did not exhibit these self-serving body-self representations. In addition, mortality salience led to a distancing of the self from the body, but only for people lacking the protection provided by high general or body-specific self-esteem. Our discussion focused on individual difference in low and high self-esteem and implications of bodily threats to conceptualizations for self.     

Death, sex, love, and neuroticism: why is sex such a problem?

Terror management theory posits that sex is a ubiquitous human problem because the creaturely aspects of sex make apparent our animal nature, which reminds us of our vulnerability and mortality. People minimize this threat by investing in the symbolic meaning offered by the cultural worldview. Because people high in neuroticism have difficulty finding or sustaining meaning, sex is a particular problem for them. In Study 1, mortality salience caused high-neuroticism participants to find the physical aspects of sex less appealing. Study 2 revealed that for such individuals thoughts of physical sex increase the accessibility of death-related thoughts. This finding was replicated in Study 3, which also showed that providing meaning by associating sex with love reduces the accessibility of death-related thoughts in response to thoughts of physical sex. These findings provide insight into why people high in neuroticism have conflicting thoughts about sexuality and why sexuality is so often regulated and romanticized.     

Neuroticism,life stress and concern about eating,body weight and apperance in a non-clinical population

Studies with clinical populations have shown a high level of neuroticism amongst those with an eating disorder. It is unclear however whether the elevated neuroticism is a function of the disorder, or if it is an aetiological factor in the disorder's development. The present survey of a non-clinical female population revealed that those high in neuroticism gave higher—but not abnormally high—scores on a measure of concern about eating. The high-N group also reported a significantly greater number of undesirable life events; a greater familiarity with ‘diet literature’; increased dieting; but no difference in body weight from those in the middle and lower ranges on the N scale. On the basis of these findings it is suggested that neuroticism is an aetiological factor in disordered eating, at least with secondary if not primary disorders. It is propesed that neuroticism is one mediating psychological factor in a triadic relationship between personal environment contingencies, socio-cultural pressures for thinness and psychological variables. Suggestions are made for future investigation of the role of neuroticism in eating disturbance, with note of potential therapeutic application of such knowledge.     

Neuroticism,BIS, and reactivity to discrete negative mood inductions

Research has established relationships between the personality dimensions of neuroticism and BIS and broad negative emotional reactivity. However, few researchers have examined the relationships among neuroticism, BIS, and discrete negative emotional reactivities. The present study examined whether individuals scoring high on neuroticism and BIS were more reactive across four discrete negative mood inductions, relative to those scoring low on these traits. Participants (n = 166) completed personality questionnaires, measures of current mood, viewed a specific mood-inducing film clip (sadness, anger, fear or disgust) and then reported their moods a second time. Results revealed that neuroticism/BIS was associated with high reactivity to the fear and sadness inductions. Neuroticism/BIS did not predict anger or disgust reactivity, but neuroticism/BIS and extraversion/BAS interacted in predicting anger. Although further research is needed to extend generalizability, it appears that neuroticism and BIS predict negative emotional reactivity broadly, but not ubiquitously.     

Traits, States, and encoding speed: support for a top-down view of neuroticism/state relations

Recent theories suggest that trait neuroticism gains its pernicious power particularly among individuals less capable of making distinctions concerning present reality. Four studies, involving 272 undergraduates, sought to provide some basic, assessment-related support for such theories in the context of individual differences in choice reaction time, which reflect abilities to make distinctions at encoding. Studies 1-3 focused on somatic symptoms, whereas Study 4 focused on neurotic behaviors and negative affect. As predicted, neuroticism consistently interacted with categorization speed in predicting these dependent measures. Specifically, neuroticism/outcome relations were robust among individuals slow to make distinctions at encoding; by contrast, neuroticism did not predict the dependent measures among individuals fast to make distinctions. Such data reinforce suggestions that neuroticism is particularly pernicious among individuals less capable of making distinctions at encoding.     

Cardiovascular reactivity and neuroticism: results from a laboratory and controlled ambulatory stress protocol

A laboratory and controlled ambulatory protocol was used to study whether there are differences in the cardiovascular reactivity of persons varying in neuroticism, the disposition to experience negative subjective emotions. Thirty-six individuals (19 men, 17 women) who scored approximately 1 standard deviation above or below the mean on the NEO PI-R Neuroticism scale (Costa & McCrae, 1992) were recruited from a larger pool of undergraduate students. Participants, who had been outfitted with an ambulatory blood pressure/heart rate monitor, were exposed to 5 laboratory stressors and 7 field stressors during a 6-hour protocol. Results indicated that individuals scoring high in neuroticism showed blood pressure reactivity to laboratory and field stressors that was comparable to that of persons low in neuroticism. Aggregrating responses across stressors, there was evidence of exaggerated heart rate responses. The results suggested that, although neuroticism is related to high levels of negative subjective experience, differences between persons scoring high versus low in neuroticism were not exhibited strongly at the cardiovascular level. The implications for stress, coping, and disease are discussed.     

Self-regulation and mortality from cancer, coronary heart disease, and other causes: A prospective study

This article introduces a new personality inventory dealing with self-regulation. This is in some ways the opposite of neuroticism, and measures personal autonomy or independence, particularly as far as emotional dependence is concerned. Our concern was the relation between self-regulation and health, and large samples of healthy men and women were tested and followed up to demonstrate high predictability of mortality from cancer, coronary heart disease and other causes of death from scores on the questionnaire. It was also demonstrated that psychological risk factors were largely independent from physical risk factors, and could be changed by behavioural-cognitive treatment, reducing mortality.