Big Five personality traits: Are they really important for the subjective well‐being of Indians?

This study empirically examined the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and subjective well‐being (SWB) in India. SWB variables used were life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect. A total of 183 participants in the age range 30–40 years from Pune, India, completed the personality and SWB measures. Backward stepwise regression analysis showed that the Big Five traits accounted for 17% of the variance in life satisfaction, 35% variance in positive affect and 28% variance in negative affect. Conscientiousness emerged as the strongest predictor of life satisfaction. In line with the earlier research findings, neuroticism and extraversion were found to predict negative affect and positive affect, respectively. Neither openness to experience nor agreeableness contributed to SWB. The research emphasises the need to revisit the association between personality and SWB across different cultures, especially non‐western cultures.     

青少年人格、人口学变量与主观幸福感的关系模型

采用分层随机抽样的方法,抽取了379名中学生和大学生样本,在多元相关分析的基础上,结合文献分析,采用结构方程建模技术,探讨了我国青少年学生人口学变量、人格维度和主观幸福感(SWB)的结构关系。结果表明,人口学变量中的年级和经济状况变量既与SWB有直接的关系,又通过大五人格中的神经质维度或外倾性维度对SWB有间接的效应,其中,经济状况对主观幸福感的正面效应较大,而性别和城乡变量则仅通过神经质和外倾性对SWB有微弱的间接效应;大五人格维度中,宜人性与SWB没有显著关系,开放性和严谨性通过神经质或外倾性与SWB存在间接效应,神经质和外倾性则对SWB有较强的直接预测力;结构方程模型验证了人格、人口学变量与SWB的这种关系。     

Big Five personality traits,job satisfaction and subjective wellbeing in China

This paper examines the effect of the Big Five personality traits on job satisfaction and subjective wellbeing (SWB). The paper also examines the mediating role of job satisfaction on the Big Five–SWB relationship. Data were collected from a sample of 818 urban employees from five Chinese cities: Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang, Dalian, and Fushun. All the study variables were measured with well‐established multi‐item scales that have been validated both in English‐speaking populations and in China. The study found only extraversion to have an effect on job satisfaction, suggesting that there could be cultural difference in the relationships between the Big Five and job satisfaction in China and in the West. The study found that three factors in the Big Five—extraversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism—have an effect on SWB. This finding is similar to findings in the West, suggesting convergence in the relationship between the Big Five and SWB in different cultural contexts. The research found that only the relationship between extraversion and SWB is partially mediated by job satisfaction, implying that the effect of the Big Five on SWB is mainly direct, rather than indirect via job satisfaction. The study also found that extraversion was the strongest predictor of both job satisfaction and SWB. This finding implies that extraversion could be more important than other factors in the Big Five in predicting job satisfaction and SWB in a “high collectivism” and “high power distance” country such as China. The research findings are discussed in the Chinese cultural context. The study also offers suggestions on the directions for future research.     

Tell me who you are,and I will tell you how you feel?

Surprisingly little is known about the suggested mediator role of emotional intelligence and mood‐regulation regarding the relationship between personality and subjective well‐being. Three independent samples were administered to investigate whether EI and mood‐regulation served as mediators for subjective well‐being beyond personality. Using structural equation modelling, the authors demonstrated the superior role of extraversion and neuroticism in explaining satisfaction with life, happiness, positive and negative affect. Consistent mediation effects were found for the trait meta‐mood of repair. Contrary to expectations, the remaining variables (attention, clarity, self‐efficacy of affect regulation) did not mediate the relationship between personality and well‐being; neither did they show substantial incremental validity in explaining variance in SWB. Results are discussed with regard to methodological issues and practical implications. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Constructive thinking as a mediator of the relationship between extraversion,neuroticism, and subjective well‐being

Mechanisms by which personality affects well‐being are not well understood. Following recommendations to examine intermediate process variables that may help explain the personality–subjective well‐being (SWB) relationship, the authors tested whether constructive thinking (CT) mediated the relationships between both neuroticism and extraversion and SWB components. Measures of each construct were administered to 147 undergraduate volunteers twice over four weeks. In analyses controlling for time 1 SWB and time 2 mood, time 2 CT fully mediated the relationship between time 1 neuroticism and time 2 negative affect and emerged as a strong predictor of negative affect (inversely), positive affect, and happiness. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personality,Positivity and Happiness: A Mediation Analysis Using a Bifactor Model

Recent studies suggested an important role of neuroticism and extraversion facets as incremental predictors of subjective well-being outcomes. Research has shown that positive cognitions mediated the relation between personality traits and well-being. The present study examined the relationship between neuroticism and extraversion, measured as general and group factors, and subjective happiness through a general positivity factor. 770 community participants (69.4 % females; M = 55.34; SD = 16.01) completed personality, satisfaction with life, optimism, self-esteem, and subjective happiness scales. A bifactor model was used to parse general and specific variance components for multifaceted constructs. The general positivity factor completely mediated neuroticism-subjective happiness relationships and overlapped with general neuroticism, whilst it partially mediated extraversion-subjective happiness ones. Other paths to happiness involved cheerfulness and enthusiasm. Assertiveness, activity level and excitement-seeking had a weak relationship with subjective happiness and only through positivity. Gregariousness and friendliness had neither direct nor indirect effects on subjective happiness. Life satisfaction had a twofold role as a component of positivity as well as providing an independent contribution to variance in subjective happiness. In keeping with previous research, neuroticism acted as a sort of general negativity factor. Cheerfulness and extraversion made an incremental contribution to variance in subjective happiness. Our findings support the utility of a multifaceted approach to study pathways from personality to well-being. Theoretical and practical implications for promoting well-being were discussed.     

Personal or environmental causes of happiness: a longitudinal analysis

The author analyzed an integrative model of happiness, which incorporated personal factors (demographics, extraversion, neuroticism, and locus of control) and environmental factors (life events and social support), using a longitudinal data set. A secondary purpose was to clarify the relationship between overall happiness and life satisfaction. Using systematic random sampling, 581 residents of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, completed structured questionnaires at Time 1; among them, 105 returned valid questionnaires 2.5 years later, at Time 2. Longitudinal analysis indicated moderate stability of the subjective well-being (SWB) measures. More importantly, when both the baseline SWB levels and personality traits were statistically controlled, social support still predicted overall happiness, and positive life events predicted life satisfaction. Furthermore, there was a consistently strong bidirectional relationship between overall happiness and life satisfaction.     

The Instrumental Role of Personality Traits: Using Mixture Structural Equation Modeling to Investigate Individual Differences in the Relationships Between the Big Five Traits and Life Satisfaction

Adopting a social-cognitive view of personality, this study investigated individual differences in the direct (i.e., temperamental) and indirect (i.e., instrumental) effects of the Big Five traits on life satisfaction. For that purpose, we examined a process model in which domain-based emotional experiences mediated the instrumental effects of personality traits. Using mixture structural equation modeling (n = 2682 adults) we found that the direct effects of neuroticism and extraversion were invariant across individuals, whereas the instrumental effects of the Big Five traits varied across two unobserved subgroups. In one of these subgroups (60 %), conscientiousness, openness, agreeableness, and neuroticism had relatively larger effects on domain-based affect and life satisfaction. In a second subgroup (40 %), extraversion was comparatively more relevant for explaining domain-based affect and life satisfaction. Our findings provide evidence that the instrumental role of personality traits and judgmental processes may act in accord to promote subjective well-being.     

The Interplay Among Levels of Personality: The Mediator Effect of Personal Projects Between the Big Five and Subjective Well-Being

Comprehensive models of personality aspire to integrate the several aspects related to the study of personality in a coherent whole. One of the great research challenges in this field is to understand if and how different levels of personality analysis interrelate to promote human well-being. The aim of the present study is to explore the mediator effect of personal projects’ efficacy on the relationship between Big Five and subjective well-being (SWB) components. We conducted a cross-sectional study in which a battery of self-report questionnaires was used to assess personality and SWB in 396 teachers. Path analysis results indicated that personal projects’ efficacy fully mediated the effects of openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness on life satisfaction and on negative affect. The effects of neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness on positive affect were direct but also indirect, partially mediated by personal projects’ efficacy. Neuroticism had a direct and an indirect effect through a decreased personal projects’ efficacy on the three components of SWB. Extraversion only directly predicted increased positive affect. These findings corroborate the conceptualization that these two types of personality analysis units (Big Five and personal projects) have their own direct, unique and irreducible effect on life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect. However, their impact on SWB components seems to be also explained through their effect upon personal projects’ efficacy.     

Positive Affect and Self-Efficacy as Mediators Between Personality and Life Satisfaction in Chinese College Freshmen

Personality traits and self-efficacy have been shown to predict subjective well-being, but the two predictors have rarely been investigated together and it remains unknown whether personality traits and self-efficacy are associated with life satisfaction through affect. In the present study, a total of 318 college freshmen in China were administered a battery of questionnaires that assessed Big Five personality traits, generalized self-efficacy, positive and negative affect, and life satisfaction. Results from path analyses (AMOS) indicated that generalized self-efficacy mediated the relationship of extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism to positive affect. Furthermore, the association between self-efficacy and life satisfaction was fully mediated by positive affect. However, the regression coefficient for self-efficacy on positive affect was low and self-efficacy was not predictive of negative affect. Contrary to expectations, self-efficacy was of limited value in the prediction of subjective well-being. The current study may help explain how personality operates with self-efficacy and affect to predict life satisfaction in Chinese college freshmen.     

National Differences in Subjective Well-Being: The Interactive Effects of Extraversion and Neuroticism

Extraversion and neuroticism interact to affect subjective well-being (SWB) at the individual level of analysis, so that introverted neurotics tend to be particularly miserable. The goal of this study is to determine if this interaction can also be detected at a national level. Findings based on data from 30 countries confirmed that the interaction between extraversion and neuroticism was an extremely strong predictor of satisfaction with life and affect, and a similar though not significant effect was observed with happiness. Neuroticism lowered satisfaction with life and affect among all nations, but more so among introverted nations than among extraverted ones. These findings further confirm that personality traits can be used to extend our understanding of national differences regarding SWB. They also further validate national SWB scores, as they relate to personality in a complex but theoretically meaningful manner.     

Prediction of Chinese life satisfaction: Contribution of collective self‐esteem

Psychologists try hard to better predict life satisfaction and happiness using different predictors. The general public, especially in the Western culture, appreciates the importance of individual self‐esteem in ordinary human functioning. Therefore, high individual self‐esteem was suggested to be the most powerful predictor of life satisfaction ( 19 Diener, 1984) and this claim was supported by empirical studies (e.g., 8 Campbell, Converse, & Rodgers, 1976; 40 Neto, 1993). However, taking the importance of collective self‐esteem (CSE) in collective cultures, this investigation evaluated whether CSE has added value in prediction of life satisfaction beyond established predictors, i.e., demographic predictors, personality predictors, and individual self‐esteem. Participants were 1347 Mainland Chinese across three generations (aged from 14 to 88 years, 52.3% female). They finished the General Life Satisfaction Scale ( 31 Leung & Leung, 1992), Life Domain Satisfaction Scale (revised from 36 Michalos, 1985), Self‐Esteem Scale ( 43 Rosenberg, 1965), Collective Self‐Esteem Scale ( 34 Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992), and Simplified Chinese Version of NEO‐FFI ( 12 Costa & McCrae, 1992). Hierarchical regression analysis and dominance analysis were used to evaluate the contribution of CSE. The result indicated that CSE added 1% explained variance to general life satisfaction and 3% explained variance to life domain satisfaction beyond demographic variables, individual self‐esteem, and personality traits. The result also revealed that, when predicting general life satisfaction, 26% of the predicted variance was attributed to CSE among the four best predictors (individual self‐esteem, CSE, extraversion, and openness to experience). When predicting life domain satisfaction, 20% of the predicted variance was attributed to CSE among the five best predictors (individual self‐esteem, neuroticism, CSE, extraversion, and agreeableness). Among two self‐esteems and the Big Five personality traits, CSE was the second most powerful predictor of life satisfaction. These results suggested that CSE might be important in helping people cope with threat, reduce uncertainty, and achieve a high level of subjective well‐being.     

青少年学生大五人格与主观幸福感的关系研究

通过对379名初中、高中和大学生样本的测查,考察了青少年学生大五人格维度与主观幸福感的关系。结果表明,外倾性是正性情感和生活满意度稳定有力的预测指标、神经质是负性情感稳定有力的预测指标,严谨性与生活满意度具有明显正相关,这三个维度与主观幸福感各维度的关系与国外已有的结论一致;开放性、宜人性与主观幸福感各维度的关系并没有验证Costa和McCrae(1982,1991)的结论。     

Big Five Personality Traits and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Life Satisfaction in Iranian Muslim University Students

This study presents the first examination of the relation between the Big Five personality traits, self-esteem, and life satisfaction in Iran, which is an understudied country in the well-being literature. Participants were 235 university students at the University of Tehran, all reporting their religious affiliation as Muslim. Findings revealed that the Big Five personality traits explained about 25% of the variance in life satisfaction scores. Among the Big Five traits, extraversion and neuroticism were found to be the strongest predictors of life satisfaction. In addition, it was found that self-esteem significantly predicted life satisfaction over and above the Big Five personality traits. Findings also showed that self-esteem completely mediated the influence of conscientiousness and agreeableness on life satisfaction, while the influence of extraversion and neuroticism on life satisfaction was partially mediated by self-esteem. Furthermore, findings revealed that female students scored significantly higher than male students on life satisfaction. Sex also could moderate the relation between conscientiousness and life satisfaction. This relation was found to be significantly stronger for female students. Implications of the results are discussed with reference to prior studies on the relation between personality traits and different aspects of well-being in Iran.     

主观幸福感的结构及其与人格特质的关系

以239名大学生为被试,考察了主观幸福感(SWB)的结构及其与人格特质的关系。分析表明,SWB由生活满意度、积极情感和消极情感三个相关的维度构成,而且它们可以共同负荷于一个高阶因子。外倾和神经质是SWB的重要预测指标,积极情感的主要预测指标是外倾,神经质则是消极情感最有力的预测指标,而外倾和神经质对消极情感和生活满意度有相同的预测力。情感平衡是外倾和神经质影响生活满意度的中介变量。     

A Big‐Five Personality Profile of the Adaptor and Innovator

This study explored the relationship between two creative styles (adaptor and innovator) and the Big Five personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience). 164 teachers from 3 secondary and 2 primary schools in Singapore completed a self‐report questionnaire, which consisted of the Kirton Adaption‐Innovation Inventory and the NEO‐Five Factor Inventory. It was found that adaptors were significantly more conscientious than innovators, while innovators were significantly more extraverted and open to experience than adaptors. No significant differences were found between adaptors and innovators in neuroticism and agreeableness. The study also revealed a meaningful pattern of relationships between the Big Five personality traits and the three facet scales of the KAI. Specifically, Sufficiency of Originality was negatively correlated with Openness to Experience and Extraversion; Rule Governance was positively correlated with conscientiousness but negatively correlated with openness to experience; Efficiency was positively correlated with conscientiousness. The overall findings supported the fundamental contention that different creative styles were due to different combinations of personality traits, with adaptors being more conscientious, while innovators being more extraverted and open to experience. These personality‐based differences in creative styles between adaptors and innovators had resulted in much social conflict between them. One way of resolving it is to make known the nature and value of different creative styles to these two different types of creators.     

Five‐Factor Model of Personality and Job Satisfaction: The Importance of Agreeableness in a Tight and Collectivistic Asian Society

Results from predominantly US‐based research have shown that personality can partly explain job satisfaction. As the issue of globalisation grows in importance for organisations, I researched in this study whether meta‐analytic findings on the relationships between job satisfaction and the Big Five personality traits extraversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism would hold in a tight and collectivistic Asian society. Additionally, I expected that in a tight and collectivistic society the personality trait agreeableness would have a strong positive relationship with job satisfaction. Study participants were 354 employees from organisations in Singapore. Results confirmed that extraversion, conscientiousness, non‐neuroticism (emotional stability), and also agreeableness were related to job satisfaction. The study advises scholars and practitioners that even in a tight and collectivistic Asian society—despite situations that demand abiding by norms and fulfilling obligations—job satisfaction is related to stable personality traits.     

Early adolescents’ personality and life satisfaction: A closer look at global vs. domain-specific satisfaction

We examined relations between US early adolescents’ major personality traits and global life satisfaction (LS) and satisfaction in five specific domains (i.e., family, friends, school, self, living environment). A sample of 344 7th graders completed the Adolescent Personal Style Inventory (Lounsbury et al., 2003), which assesses the Big Five traits of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Furthermore, participants completed the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (Huebner, 1991) and the Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (Huebner, Zullig, & Saha, 2012), assessing global and domain-specific satisfaction, respectively. Neuroticism (inversely), and conscientiousness, agreeableness, and extraversion (positively) were uniquely associated with early adolescents’ global LS, with neuroticism showing the strongest association. With respect to domain-specific satisfaction, neuroticism (inversely) and conscientiousness (positively) were uniquely related to satisfaction in all five domains. Extraversion displayed the strongest, unique (positive) association with friend and self-satisfaction reports. Openness displayed the strongest, unique (positive) association with school satisfaction. Agreeableness demonstrated a unique (positive) association with family satisfaction. The results demonstrated the importance of neuroticism in understanding early adolescents’ global LS, while the personality variables revealed varying patterns of relationships with domain-specific satisfaction reports.     

Adaption-Innovation and Self-Esteem

Abstract

Psychosocial factors that may influence subjective well-being were examined. A random sample of 581 Chinese adults living in a metropolitan Taiwanese city completed questionnaires concerning demographic variables, personality traits, life stress, and social support. The results of multivariate analyses indicated that (a) extraversion and social support were related to better mental health, whereas neuroticism and stress were related to poorer mental health; (b) older age, better education, and social support were related to higher life satisfaction, whereas neuroticism and stress were related to lower life satisfaction; and (c) older age, extraversion, and social support were related to higher happiness, whereas neuroticism was related to lower happiness.     

Complex Relationships Among Personality Traits,Job Characteristics,and Work Behaviors

The aim of the study was to investigate the additive, mediating, and moderating effects of personality traits and job characteristics on work behaviors. Job applicants (N=161) completed personality questionnaires measuring extraversion, neuroticism, achievement motivation, and experience seeking. One and a half years later, supervisors rated the applicants' job performance, and the job incumbents completed questionnaires about skill variety, autonomy, and feedback, work stress, job satisfaction, work self‐efficacy, and propensity to leave. LISREL was used to test 15 hypotheses. Perceived feedback mediated the relationship between achievement motivation and job performance. Extraversion predicted work self‐efficacy and job satisfaction. Work stress mediated the relationship between neuroticism and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction and experience seeking were related to propensity to leave. Autonomy, skill variety, and feedback were related to job satisfaction.