The relations between cognitive ability and personality: Convergent results across measures

Several studies have investigated the relations between cognitive ability and Big Five personality constructs. The present study extended previous research by (a) examining these relationships in large samples (total N = 120,014), (b) including several measures of cognitive ability and personality, (c) examining both domain and facet-level personality scores, (d) expanding the personality domains studied to include Machiavellianism, and (e) correcting the observed correlations for range restriction and reliability to provide a better statistical estimate of the relations between the cognitive and personality scores and constructs. Results were consistent with prior research showing a positive relationship between cognitive ability and Openness and negative relationships between cognitive ability and Neuroticism and Conscientiousness. Negative relations between cognitive ability and Extraversion and Agreeableness also were observed. Machiavellianism, not part of the Big Five was found to have a positive correlation with cognitive ability. Of particular interest was the finding that the relations between cognitive ability and personality were affected by the specific content of the cognitive and personality measures. Cognitive measures with verbal content were more strongly correlated with personality than were cognitive measures with math or nonverbal content for all of the samples. Also, there was considerable variability in the cognitive-personality correlations for the facets underlying each personality domain. The variability in correlations at the facet-level implies that cognitive-personality relationships at the domain-level will vary as a function of the specific content of the cognitive and personality measures. Overall, the results provide support for cognitive-personality association at the measurement level.     

Individual differences and changes in personality during the COVID-19 pandemic

This article reports the results of an eleven-wave longitudinal study of personality change conducted between December 2019 and December 2022 with 1328 participants in Germany. Based on theories of personality change, we investigated trajectories of big five personality factors (i.e., extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness) across the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we examined whether demographic characteristics (i.e., age, sex), self-reported health status (i.e., physical, mental), and socioeconomic status (i.e., education, income, industry) moderated these trajectories. There was evidence for increases in extraversion, conscientiousness, and emotional stability and decreases in openness across time. The magnitude of these effects suggests between d = 0.027 to 0.138 standard deviation changes in these personality characteristics across the 3-year timeframe of this study. Evidence for moderating effects of age, sex, health, and socioeconomic status was mixed, but indicates differential patterns of personality change for certain individuals. Overall, findings suggest that changes in big five personality factors across the COVID-19 were present, albeit on average relatively weak, but still higher than anticipated given the timeframe. Moreover, certain demographic and health variables were associated with differential trajectories of personality over time.     

Mediational role of values in linking personality traits to political orientation

Two studies use the Five Factor Model of traits and Schwartz's (1992 ) theory of basic personal values to assess the mediational role of values in linking traits to voting choice and left-right ideology. Both left- and right-wing voters showed distinctive traits and values that were congruent with their ideologies. Structural equation modelling supported a hypothesized full mediation model. Individuals' traits of openness, conscientiousness and agreeableness explained significant variance in the politically relevant values of security and universalism, and these self-reported values, in turn, explained the voters' political orientations. These findings held across age (adolescents and adults) and were corroborated using both cross-sectional and longitudinal data.     

The personality of meaning in life: Associations between dimensions of life meaning and the Big Five

The goal of the current study was to identify aspects of personality that are associated with different ways in which people find meaning in life. This was achieved using constrained principal component analysis (CPCA) on data from 322 university students, who completed the Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life questionnaire and the Big Five Aspects Scale. CPCA demonstrated that personality traits and life meaning are associated, but not redundant, with one another. Specifically, respondents with high scores on lower-level aspects of Openness to Experience tended to derive meaning from questioning, learning and challenging tradition, whereas those with high scores on aspects of Conscientiousness and Extraversion tended to derive meaning from success at work, health, and family. Results suggest that personality traits are associated with variations in the domains used to derive meaning in life, and demonstrate the utility of CPCA as an innovative statistical technique for the study of individual differences.     

Well-being during the coronavirus pandemic: The effect of big five personality and COVID-19 beliefs and behaviors

This study examined the relationship between personality traits, COVID-specific beliefs and behaviors, and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, at the onset of a second major lockdown, Australian adults (n = 1453) completed measures of Big Five personality, COVID beliefs and behaviors (i.e., belief in a rapid recovery, perceived risk, compliance, change in exercise, and change in interpersonal conflict), subjective well-being and COVID-specific well-being. Personality correlates of COVID-specific well-being differed from those with general life satisfaction. The benefits of conscientiousness were elevated whereas the benefits of extraversion and agreeableness were reduced. Neuroticism was related to greater perceived risk from the pandemic, elevated interpersonal conflict during the pandemic, and more pessimistic views about the rate at which society would recover from the pandemic. In contrast, conscientiousness was notably related to greater compliance with directions from public health authorities. While regression models showed that general well-being was largely explained by personality, COVID factors provided incremental prediction, and this was greatest when predicting COVID-specific well-being and lowest for global evaluations of life satisfaction. The observed prediction by beliefs and behaviors on well-being beyond personality, provides potential opportunities for targeted interventions to support the management of future novel stressors.     

“大五”与五因素模型：两种不同的人格结构

随着词汇学取向的“大五”结构和理论取向的五因素模型的出现,人格研究者就人格分类系统的问题达成了初步的共识。“大五”结构和五因素模型在形式和内容上有很多相似之处,但二者在历史渊源、内容形式、基本性质、研究走向等方面都存在一定的差异。文章试图从以上方面明确二者的差异,以澄清相关的混淆和误解,并在文章结语部分对两种取向研究对中国人人格结构研究的启示进行了详细的分析     

Qualitative variations in personality inventories: subjective understandings of items in a personality inventory

Most studies using personality inventories do not take individual, subjective understandings of the items into account. The present study is one of the few to have investigated the quality of individuals’ psychological processes when making the Likert-like responses often used in psychological inventories. Respondents were asked to elaborate verbally on their Likert item responses to the 10-item short version of the Big Five Inventory. A common assumption about personality inventories is that there is a relatively homogenous understanding of the items and, in particular, the rating scales across respondents. However, our results suggest that the same item responses to a given item can reflect a variety of qualities across individuals’ understandings. At the same time, similar understandings and ways of relating to an item can lead to different item responses. Such findings have substantial implications for quantitative personality studies as well as quantitative survey or questionnaire studies, in general.     

Leader personality and 360‐degree assessments of leader behavior

To investigate the relationship between personality and multi‐source feedback, we assessed 190 health care managers by applying the Understanding Personal Potential personality test, which provides comprehensive measurement of the Big Five dimensions and eight narrower personality traits. Managers' leadership behaviors were assessed by colleagues, supervisors, a random sample of each manager's subordinates as well as the managers themselves using a 360‐degree change, production, employee (CPE) instrument. Hierarchical multivariate regression analysis showed that the Big Five variables were significantly related to the Managers' leadership behavior in all CPE dimensions. Also, addition of narrow personality variables to the Big Five increased explained variance in leadership behavior. This study is the first of its kind to include the full range of viewpoints in a 360‐degree instrument, along with a large number of subordinate assessments. We found that both the strength of the relationship between personality and behavior and the configuration of different predictors varied depending on who did the rating and what leadership orientation was investigated, and this observation merits further investigation.     

Individual differences in the study of human aggression

Excessive concern for simplicity has often led us to underestimate the complexity of aggression. Over the years, several scales related to aggression have been identified and validated both on adults and on children. Ultimately, two main higher order dimensions, emotional responsivity and proneness to aggression, repeatedly emerged in a series of second-order factor analysis. These dimensions are rather similar to two of the big five factors of personality: neuroticism/emotinal stability and hostility/agreeableness, respectively. Several studies corroborate the plausibility of a higher level bidimensional conceptualization of aggression that, while preserving the heuristic validity of looking for more specific constructs of aggression, can link the field of aggression to the field of personality. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Prediction Consistency: A Test of the Equivalence Assumption Across Different Indicators of the Same Construct.

Prominent theoretical constructs such as the Big Five personality factors often inspire the development and use of different inventories. This practice rests on the vital assumption that different indicators equivalently assess the same construct—otherwise, it would often be inappropriate to draw conclusions on the construct level. In comparison to the evidence typically relied on to support this equivalence assumption, we argue that a direct test of prediction consistency will provide further insights: prediction consistency is a necessary condition for the equivalence assumption that indicators from different inventories predict an external criterion to the same extent. Here, we outline guidelines how to design studies to establish prediction consistency and illustrate this approach in an experiment testing the prediction consistency of the Agreeableness indicators from three prominent Big Five inventories. Specifically, we considered prediction consistency with respect to honesty (vs. cheating) as the behavioral criterion for which a specific a priori hypothesis can be derived on theoretical grounds. Results contradicted predictions consistency and thus the equivalence assumption by showing qualitatively different relations to behavioral honesty, thereby also emphasizing that the interchangeability of inventories should generally be subjected to a strict test, rather than assumed. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology     

The effects of culture and gender on perceived self-other similarity in personality

Gender and culture may influence individuals’ perceptions of their similarity to others. 391,454 individuals from 20 countries rated their own personality traits and the personality traits they attribute to other people in general. A multilevel analysis on distinctive profile similarity (Furr, 2008) demonstrated that both gender and culture play a role in perceived self-other similarity. Specifically, women and those from highly collectivistic cultures saw themselves as more similar to others. Country-level analysis based on self-other similarity correlations (e.g., Srivastava, Guglielmo, & Beer, 2010) within each country revealed that cultural assertiveness uniquely predicted this assumed similarity. The findings shed light on how people construe themselves in relation to others and contribute to the understanding of personality within cultural contexts.     

When Likeness Goes with Liking: The Case of Political Preference

Three studies show that people tend to vote for politicians (i.e., either Romano Prodi or Silvio Berlusconi in Italy or George W. Bush or John Kerry in the United States) whose traits they rate as being most similar to their own. People perceived higher similarity between themselves and political figures with respect to traits that were most distinctive of each platform and their respective leaders. These findings, while corroborating the similarity-attraction relationship, further attest to the role that personal characteristics of both voters and candidates play in orienting political preference.     

Personality and intimate partner aggression in dating relationships: the role of the "Big Five"

Although personality is shown to predict negative relationship experiences, few researchers have used a structural model of personality to study the ways that personality contributes to intimate partner aggression (IPA). This study investigates the five-factor model of personality and its associations with both the use and receipt of psychological, physical, and sexual IPA in 179 men and 301 women. Each of the five factors of personality was associated with at least one type of IPA perpetration or victimization. The dimensions of neuroticism and agreeableness were the strongest predictors of IPA particularly for women. Results are discussed in terms of why personality should be considered as a predictor for both the use and receipt of IPA, why sex differences emerged, and future research that should be conducted.     

五因素取向人格测验的发展与比较

五因素取向人格测验是目前评价个体人格特质时被广泛应用的一大类重要人格测验工具。该类测验数量众多, 长度各异, 形式多样。根据其题目呈现的特点, 可将现有的30余种五因素取向人格测验分为自陈式、核检表式、非言语式三类。在不同研究和实践情境下, 各个五因素取向人格测验具有各自独特的优劣势, 信效度的变化都不同。在实际应用中, 应根据不同研究需求区别使用, 并注意测量目的、施测次数、测验长度、被试特点、文化差异性等对测验结果的影响。当前, 五因素取向人格测验的开发正向着简明、全面、跨文化方向发展。     

大五人格5个维度及10个面的发展水平——基于我国15～75岁横断样本调查

基于人格毕生发展理论及中国社会文化背景,调查了我国从青少年到老年3192名被试,探究了中国人大五人格5维度及10个面毕生发展水平。总体上,年龄与神经质、焦虑、抑郁、活跃、开放性、审美、创意显著负相关,与外倾性、宜人性、尽责性、自信、利他、顺从、条理和自律显著正相关。在60岁以下的人群中,年龄大的个体神经质更低,而在大于60岁的人群中,年龄大的个体神经质反而更高;在50岁以下的人群中,年龄大的个体外倾性水平相对较高,但50岁之后年龄大的个体外倾性相对较低;整体上,年龄大的个体开放性水平相对较低,而年龄大的个体宜人性水平反而更高;年龄大的个体尽责性水平也相对较高,但较之40到49岁群体而言,50岁以上群体的尽责性则相对较低。男性和女性不同年龄群体的大五人格具有一定差异性,特别是男性的尽责性高于女性,以及女性的神经质高于男性等性别差异。进一步分析了年龄与大五人格10个面的关系,描绘了不同年龄群体10个面的发展水平。     

心率变异性与人格的神经质之间关系研究

本研究探讨心率变异性（HRV）特征在高水平应激条件下对神经质水平的区分力。研究选取200名被试以大五人格量表测量情绪稳定性,实施了应激诱发实验,利用光体积扫描传感器采集被试者HRV指标;利用LASSO回归分析筛选参数构建对神经质的预测模型。结果显示：模型的预测数据与神经质得分高低显著正相关;不同阶段内预测数据与神经质得分显著正相关;两两比较中实验条件阶段与其他阶段预测值差异显著。研究表明,在高应激条件下,HRV是人格神经质较好的预测指标。     

人格特质与认知操作关系的初步研究

本研究采用NEO PI R测试 ,以逻辑推理为认知操作指标 ,初步考察了人格特质与大学生认知操作的关系。结果表明 :①神经质、外倾性与逻辑推理有显著负相关 ,开放性则与之呈正相关 ;②人格特质和认知操作关系的偏相关分析与相关分析的结果基本一致 ;③多元逐步回归分析显示 ,外倾性与逻辑推理有负性预测关系 ,开放性及严谨性则与逻辑推理有正性预测关系 ;④人格特质与认知操作的关系受操作难度、认知任务和兴趣类型等因素制约。