An empirical examination of distributional assumptions underlying the relationship between personality disorder symptoms and personality traits

This article examines the relationship between personality disorder (PD) symptoms and personality traits using a variety of distributional assumptions. Prior work in this area relies almost exclusively on linear models that treat PD symptoms as normally distributed and continuous. However, these assumptions rarely hold, and thus the results of prior studies are potentially biased. Here we explore the effect of varying the distributions underlying regression models relating PD symptomatology to personality traits using the initial wave of the Longitudinal Study of Personality Disorders (N = 250; Lenzenweger, 1999), a university-based sample selected to include PD rates resembling epidemiological samples. PD symptoms were regressed on personality traits. The distributions underlying the dependent variable (i.e., PD symptoms) were variously modeled as normally distributed, as counts (Poisson, Negative-Binomial), and with two-part mixture distributions (zero-inflated, hurdle). We found that treating symptoms as normally distributed resulted in violations of model assumptions, that the negative-binomial and hurdle models were empirically equivalent, but that the coefficients achieving significance often differ depending on which part of the mixture distributions are being predicted (i.e., presence vs. severity of PD). Results have implications for how the relationship between normal and abnormal personality is understood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

The effect of age and role information on expectations for big five personality traits

In four studies, the authors investigated the extent to which expectations for personality traits in age-graded roles correspond to patterns of personality trait change across the life course. In Studies 1 (N = 43) and 2 (N = 126), the authors examined the age-graded roles of high school student, college student, parent, and grandparent and found that expectations for how people behave in these age-graded roles showed strong parallels to the documented pattern of personality trait development and that this pattern of expectations was largely shared by younger and older participants. In Studies 3 (N = 252) and 4 (N = 123), the authors separated age and role information (e.g., marital, parental, and employment status) and found that people use both sources of information independently in forming expectations of others. The implications for understanding the interplay of expectations and personality trait development are discussed.     

Therapy experience in naturalistic observational studies is associated with negative changes in personality

Recent research has shown that personality traits change as a result of clinical therapy, although evidence for this effect is derived from efficacy studies that reflect relatively controlled experimental designs. Little is known about how therapy in real world contexts affects change in personality. In two longitudinal studies (N’s = 1270 and 5217), the present research examined whether personality trait change was associated with therapy experience. Propensity score matching was used to compare trajectories of personality trait change in individuals with and without therapy experiences. Overall, therapy experiences were associated with significant increases in undesirable traits and markers (e.g., chronic stress, depression, neuroticism), and significant decreases in desirable traits (e.g., self-esteem, conscientiousness).     

Employee personality, justice perceptions, and the prediction of workplace deviance

We examined the relative and incremental prediction of workplace deviance (i.e., intentional acts that harm the organization or its employees) offered by personality and organizational justice perceptions in a sample of 464 employees working in a large retail organization. We found that personality - including a sixth factor called Honesty-Humility, and its facet of trait Fairness - accounted for incremental variance in deviance criteria beyond justice perceptions. We found little support for the reverse. From a practical standpoint, these findings suggest that organizations may benefit from personality-related interventions (e.g., screening job applicants for relevant traits) more so than from justice-related interventions (e.g., organizational changes involving policies and procedures) in order to reduce workplace deviance. From a research perspective, our findings highlight the advantages of considering traits beyond the Big Five (e.g., Honesty-Humility) for maximizing the prediction and understanding of deviant behaviors at work.     

Adolescent personality disorders and conflict with romantic partners during the transition to adulthood

Longitudinal data were used to investigate the association of adolescent personality disorders with conflict between romantic partners during the transition to adulthood (i.e., age 17 to 27). Findings indicated that adolescent personality disorders (PDs) assessed at mean age 16 were associated with subsequent elevated partner conflict. Cluster B PD was associated with sustained elevations in partner conflict throughout the transition to adulthood. Cluster A and C PDs were associated with elevated partner conflict before age 23. Paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, borderline, narcissistic, and obsessive-compulsive PD symptoms were independently associated with sustained elevations in partner conflict.     

Linking personality traits to objective foul records in (semi-)professional youth basketball

Rule breaking behavior in sports (e.g., fouls) can impact the outcome of games, tournaments, or even whole seasons. Although personality traits have been related to different forms of rule breaking behavior across fields, it has hardly been investigated whether personality traits predict rule breaking behavior in sports. We ran a longitudinal study with 242 (semi-)professional basketball players. Specifically, we measured personality traits prior to the start of the season and official foul statistics per player during the season. Out of the basic personality traits from the HEXACO Model of Personality, Conscientiousness accounted for a substantial amount of variability in the committed/called fouls, whereas no robust relations with other traits or a sports-oriented personality trait (i.e., Sports Mental Toughness) were found.     

Correlated change of Big Five personality traits across the lifespan: A search for determinants

Correlated change between different personality traits has recently caught the attention of researchers studying personality development. We conducted two studies to examine age effects (Study 1) and effects of cognitive ability (Study 2) on this phenomenon. Results indicated that correlated change was relatively stable from adolescence through adulthood, and then increased after age 70. Second, correlated change was greater among traits that have been linked to the same developmental processes (e.g., social investment or maturation of specific neurological systems). Third, cognitive ability was negatively associated with correlated change. Collectively, our findings suggest that personality change is partly driven by broad mechanisms affecting multiple traits. Associations with age and cognitive ability provide important leads regarding the possible nature of these mechanisms.     

Is Character Fate,or Is There Hope to Change My Personality Yet?

Different perspectives on personality development propose a range of possible degrees to which traits are free to change, from hardly at all to very much. This essay reviews the empirical evidence on just how consistent and changeable personality traits are across the life course. To gain a thorough perspective on personality trait development, we review developmental studies that focus on three different types of change: rank‐order consistency, mean level change, and individual level change. Starting in late childhood, personality traits exhibit modest levels of rank‐order consistency that increase with age. In addition personality traits show mean level changes, especially in young adulthood, that are consistent with the idea of increasing maturity. Finally, despite these general trends in personality continuity and change, there is evidence that individuals may change in ways that contradict general trends and that these individual differences in change are related to life experiences.     

A comparison of the Psychological Entitlement Scale and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory's Entitlement Scale: relations with general personality traits and personality disorders

Given the negative consequences of psychological entitlement, it is important to have a reliable and valid measure of the construct. We used an undergraduate sample (N = 271) to examine the Entitlement subscale (ENT) of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Raskin & Terry, 1988) and the Psychological Entitlement Scale (PES; Campbell, Bonacci, Shelton, Exline, & Bushman, 2004) in relation to general personality traits (i.e., Revised NEO Personality Inventory; Costa & McCrae, 1992) and personality disorders (PDs; Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4; Hyler, 1994). We found similar personality correlates (e.g., disagreeableness; Cluster B PDs) for both measures, although ENT was comprised of greater disagreeableness and less warmth and positive affect. ENT was also more positively associated with schizoid and borderline PDs compared to the PES. Overall, these measures are closely related with regard to their relations with general and pathological personality dimensions, although the ENT scale may capture a slightly more pathological variant.     

The Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy scale: an examination of the personality traits and disorders associated with the LSRP factors

There are several self-report measures of psychopathy, most of which use a two-factor structure. There is debate regarding the convergence of these factors, particularly with regard to Factor 1 (F1), which is related to the interpersonal and affective aspects of psychopathy; Factor 2 (F2) is related to the social deviance associated with psychopathy. This study examines the relations between the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy (LSRP) factors and personality traits and disorders (PDs) in an undergraduate sample (n = 271). LSRP Factor 1 is related to an antagonistic interpersonal style (i.e., low Agreeableness; high Narcissistic PD and ratings of prototypical psychopathy), whereas Factor 2 is more strongly related to negative emotionality (i.e., Neuroticism), disinhibition (i.e., low Conscientiousness) and a broad array of PD symptoms. The authors interpret these findings in the context of alternative measures of psychopathy and suggest that the LSRP is a reasonable, albeit imperfect, measure of psychopathy.     

The portrait of a hedonist: The personality and ethics behind the value and maladaptive pursuit of pleasure

Hedonism is the prioritizing of pleasure over other life values and is theorized to be independent of well-being. However, popular culture depicts hedonists as unhappy, as well as selfishly unconcerned with others’ well-being. Because the current literature has not differentiated between people’s value of pleasure and their maladaptive pursuit of it, we examined if these related, but not equivalent, dispositions had different personality and morality profiles. We found that value-based hedonists have a distinct moral profile (i.e., they are less likely to endorse moral foundations associated with social conservatism) and, yet, they differ little from others in regard to personality traits. We also found that people’s maladaptive hedonism (i.e., excessive pleasure-seeking) was best predicted by their personality traits (i.e., being less agreeable, less conscientious, and more neurotic) rather than by their conceptions of right and wrong. We discuss how these results contribute to our understanding of hedonism and why some people pursue their value of pleasure into over-indulgence.     

Testing an interactionist perspective on the relationship between personality traits and performance under public pressure

Objectives

The interactionist principle of trait activation [Tett & Gutermann (2000). Situation trait relevance, trait expression, and cross-situational consistency: testing a principle of trait activation. Journal of Research in Personality, 34, 397-423.] explains human behavior through the stimulation of traits by trait-relevant situational cues (i.e., situation-trait relevance). In applied (real-world) high-pressure situations, audiences provide the situational demand of public evaluation. Therefore, traits that are related to public evaluation are appraised as situation-relevant. The purpose of the current study was to test if situation-relevant traits (i.e., narcissism, public self-consciousness) predict performance in applied high-pressure situations, while situation-irrelevant traits (i.e., private self-consciousness) do not contribute to the performance explanation.

Design/Method

Experienced handball players (N = 55) completed personality questionnaires and performed a throwing task in low and high-pressure conditions, whereby the high-pressure condition involved 1500-2000 spectators during halftime breaks of professional handball games.

Results

Findings supported the assumptions about situation-trait relevancies and indicated that narcissism and public self-consciousness were relevant to high-pressure performance (i.e., positively associated), whereas private self-consciousness was found to be irrelevant. No predictors were correlated to low-pressure performance.

Conclusions

Results emphasize that trait activation is a promising explanation for the relevance of personality characteristics to performance under pressure. A systematic consideration of situational demands of high-pressure situations will result in adequate appraisals of situation-trait relevance and help predict performance with trait scores.     

I need my smartphone: A hierarchical model of personality and cell-phone addiction

Using a comprehensive personality model, this study is the first to examine the relationship between a full range of personality traits and cell phone addiction. 346 college students completed an online survey that asked respondents to complete measures of the Big-Five personality traits and measures of materialism and need for arousal, Barratt’s (1959) impulsiveness scale, and a four-item measure of cell phone addiction. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Couched in Mowen’s (2000) 3M Hierarchical Model of Personality, the elemental traits of emotional instability and materialism were positively associated while introversion was negatively associated with cell phone addiction. The central trait of attention impulsiveness exhibited a direct and positive association with cell phone addiction. A significant negative relationship between conscientiousness and all three dimensions of Barratt’s impulsiveness scale (central trait) was found. Several additional relationships between the elemental traits of Mowen’s personality hierarchy and the three dimensions of impulsiveness (central trait) also were uncovered. Study implications and future research directions are discussed.     

On friendship development and the Big Five personality traits

In this paper, we argue that friendship should receive more attention in social/personality research. Here, we focus on our area of expertise, personality traits, and review the literature on how personality traits influence friendship formation, maintenance, and dissolution. Specifically, we examine how personality traits of the actor and partner influence friendship development (i.e., who is more likely to initiate and end friendships, and who is more likely to be the target of friendship initiation and termination). We also discuss dyadic effects, such as personality similarity, on friendship development. Throughout this review, we draw on the literature on personality and romantic relationships to identify the most important gaps in the literature on personality and friendships. Our review suggests that agreeableness has the most consistent effects on both romantic relationships and friendships, followed by neuroticism. Extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience have all been shown to influence relationship development, but their effects are inconsistent. We end with a call for more research on friendship beyond the role of personality traits and suggestions for specific future directions.     

Stability and change in psychological distress and their relationship with self-esteem and locus of control: a dynamic equilibrium model

The proposed model assumes (a) that each person has a stable and characteristic symptom level, (b) that external events act to deflect symptom levels from this stable level, and (c) that adaptive mechanisms tend to normalize these deviations. The model is used to examine (a) the dynamics of psychological distress (PD), (b) the role of personality traits (i.e., self-esteem and locus of control), and (c) the contamination of these traits by the current level of PD. The analyses show that the structural model adequately fits data of 2 longitudinal community studies. Two thirds of the variance in distress could be attributed to differences in stable symptom levels, leaving 1/3 for environmental change agents. Both personality traits were substantially contaminated by PD levels. Finally, high symptom levels were strongly related to low self-esteem and external control. The applications of the model and the origins of stability and change in PD are discussed.     

Relationships between personality traits and positive/negative sexual cognitions

In this study we examined the relationship between gender, age, religion, neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, and obsessiveness on one side and the frequency and content of sexual cognitions experienced as being positive/pleasant or negative/unpleasant on the other. The sample was made up of 1,500 individuals (42.8% men and 57.2% women) aged between 18 and 72 years. Results indicated that all the socio-demographic variables as well as the traits neuroticism, openness to experience, and obsessiveness were important in the prediction of the overall frequency of positive sexual cognitions. Age and neuroticism, openness to experience, and obsessiveness were found to be significant in the prediction of the overall frequency of negative sexual cognitions. When considering the content of sexual cognitions (i.e., intimate, exploratory, sadomasochistic, and impersonal), all the socio-demographic variables and the trait openness to experience were found to be significantly related to all types of positive sexual cognitions. Neither socio-demographic variables nor personality traits were significantly associated with the content of negative sexual cognitions. Overall, this study highlights the weakness of the predictive value of personality traits on sexual cognitions, especially those experienced as being negative. We discuss the usefulness of classic personality traits in predicting sexual aspects.     

Personality profiles and the prediction of categorical personality disorders

Personality disorders (PDs) are usually construed as psychiatric categories characterized by a unique configuration of traits and behaviors. To generate clinical hypotheses from normal personality trait scores, profile agreement statistics can be calculated using a prototypical personality profile for each PD. Multimethod data from 1,909 psychiatric patients in the People's Republic of China were used to examine the accuracy of such hypotheses in the Interpretive Report of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Profile agreement indices from both self-reports and spouse ratings were significantly related to PD symptom scores derived from questionnaires and clinical interviews. However, accuracy of diagnostic classification was only modest to moderate, probably because PDs are not discrete categorical entities. Together with other literature, these data suggest that the current categorical system should be replaced by a more comprehensive system of personality traits and personality-related problems.     

Exploring the association between emotional abuse and childhood borderline personality features: the moderating role of personality traits

Most of the extant literature on borderline personality disorder has focused on the course, consequences, and correlates of this disorder among adults. However, little is known about childhood borderline personality (BP) features, or the factors associated with the emergence of BP pathology in childhood. A greater understanding of childhood BP features and associated risk factors has important implications for the development of primary and secondary prevention programs. The goal of the present study was to examine the interrelationships among two BP-relevant traits (affective dysfunction and impulsivity), a BP-relevant environmental stressor (emotional abuse), and BP features in a sample of 225 children aged 11 to 14 years. Results provide support for the role of both trait vulnerabilities and environmental stressors in childhood BP features. Further, findings highlight the moderating role of affective dysfunction in the relationship between emotional abuse and childhood BP features.     

A longitudinal study of personality change in young adulthood

The present research examined personality continuity and change in a sample of young men and women assessed at the beginning and end of college. Two-hundred seventy students completed measures of the Big Five personality traits when they first entered college and then 4 years later. Analyses indicate small- to medium-sized normative (i.e., mean-level) changes, large rank-order stability correlations, high levels of stability in personality structure, and moderate levels of ipsative (i.e. profile) stability. Overall, the findings are consistent with the perspective that personality traits exhibit considerable continuity over time, yet can change in systematic ways.