Personality judgments in adolescents' families: the perceiver,the target,their relationship,and the family

The present study investigated whether personality judgments involve different processes in a family setting than in a nonfamily setting. We used the Social Relations Model to distinguish the effects of perceiver, target, perceiver-target relationship, and family on personality judgments. Family members of families with adolescents judged their own and the other members' Big Five factors. Judgments were found to depend on the relevance of personality factors within the family setting: Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were judged most consistently. Large relationship variance indicated that parents adjust their judgments to the target family member; large perceiver variance indicated that adolescents judge family members' personalities rather similarly. However, a comparison of self- and other-judgments showed adolescents' judgments to be no more related to their self-perceptions than parents' judgments. We concluded that the relevance of personality factors may differ on specific tasks within a setting.     

Genetic and Environmental Pathways Underlying Personality Traits and Perceived Stress: Concurrent and Longitudinal Twin Studies

The present study examined the genetic and environmental etiology underlying the Big Five personality traits and perceived stress, concurrently and longitudinally. In study 1, we used the twin sample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health IV) data. The results indicated that about 70% of the association between the Big Five personality traits and perceived stress was due to genetic influences. In study 2, we used the twin sample from the Midlife in the United States Survey (MIDUS I and II) to examine the genetic and environmental influences underlying the longitudinal relations between the Big Five personality traits and perceived stress. The results suggested that continuity in perceived stress was primarily accounted for by genetic influences, and changes in perceived stress were mainly due to nonshared environmental influences. The continuity in the association between the five personality traits and perceived stress was largely accounted for by genetic factors, and nonshared environmental factors made greater contributions to changes in the association between personality traits and perceived stress. Among the Big Five personality traits, the genetic components in conscientiousness and neuroticism made substantial contributions to the genetic link between personality traits and perceived stress across both studies. Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Big Five personality development in adolescence and adulthood

The present article examines Big Five personality development across adolescence and middle adulthood. Two adolescents and their fathers and mothers from 285 Dutch families rated their own and their family members' personality. Using accelerated longitudinal growth curve analyses, mean level change in Big Five factors was estimated. For boys, Extraversion and Openness decreased and for girls, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness increased. Whereas mothers' Emotional Stability and Conscientiousness increased, fathers' Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability decreased. Differences in self‐ and other‐reported personality change were found, as well as interindividual differences in personality change. Results confirm that personality change is possible across the life course but these changes are not similar for all individuals and depend on the type of observer. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relative importance of personality dimensions for expatriate selection: A policy capturing study

Policy capturing was used to examine relative importance placed by managers on the Big Five personality factors (Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness) in the context of expatriate selection. Ninety‐six managers with expatriate staffing and management experience made judgments about 32 expatriates based on characteristics associated with the Big Five. Judgments were made about (a) completion of overseas assignment, (b) adjustment, (c) interpersonal relations with host‐country nationals, and (d) overseas job performance. Across all four decisions, the raters tended to use the cues (i.e., the Big Five personality factors) in a similar manner. Conscientiousness was perceived to be the most important personality factor for all four judgments examined. Openness to Experience was perceived to be important for completion of overseas assignment. These results from policy capturing are compared and contrasted with those from criterion‐related validity studies of the Big Five for expatriate selection. Implications for expatriate selection systems are discussed.     

Heritabilities of Common and Measure-Specific Components of the Big Five Personality Factors

Three different measures of the Big Five personality dimensions were developed from the battery of questionnaires used in the National Merit Twin Study: one from trait self-rating scales, one from personality inventory items, and one from an adjective check list. Behavior-genetic models were fit to what the three measures had in common, and to the variance distinctive to each. The results of the model fitting agreed with other recent studies in showing the Big Five dimensions to be substantially and about equally heritable, with little or no contribution of shared family environment. Heritabilities for males and females did not differ significantly. For Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, some effect of shared environment was found for measure-specific variance on the personality inventory, and for Extraversion and Neuroticism, models involving nonadditive genetic variance or twin contrast effects provided slightly better fits.     

Role of personality and affect on the social support and work family conflict relationship

The relationship between support and work family conflict has been studied extensively, but previous studies have not examined if personality moderates this relationship. In this research, we examine the moderating influence of personality on the relationship between contextual support and work-family conflict across two studies. In Study 1, we examine if core self-evaluations (CSE) moderate the relationship between four different types of workplace support, 1. family friendly work policies (FFOP), 2. family supportive organizational climate (FSOC), 3. perceived organizational support (POS), and 4. perceived supervisor support (PSS), and work interfering with family conflict (WIF) using a sample of working adults (N=435). In Study 2, we examine if Big Five personality traits and negative affect moderate the relationship between co-worker support and (WIF) using a large national sample (N=1130) of working respondents from the “midlife in the US” (MIDUS) study of health and well-being. Taken together, the current research examines the moderating effect of several key personality variables on the relationship between important forms of social support and work family conflict. Results based on these two samples indicate CSE moderates the relationship between POS and WIF, and PSS and WIF, but does not moderate the relationship between FFOP and WIF, or FSOC and WIF. Further, conscientiousness and agreeableness moderate the relationship between co-worker support and WIF. Co-worker support and WIF is stronger for individuals with higher levels of negative affect. We discuss the implications for research and practice relating to work family conflict.     

Overconfidence and the Big Five

It has been consistently observed that people are generally overconfident when assessing their performance. In the current study, participants completed Goldberg's Big Five personality inventory and then completed a cognitive task designed to assess overconfidence (defined as the difference between confidence and accuracy). Extraversion significantly predicted overconfidence (with the other Big Five factors controlled statistically). In addition, openness/intellectance significantly predicted confidence and accuracy but not overconfidence (again, with the other Big Five factors controlled statistically). Theoretical implications and implications for future research are discussed.     

Separating method factors and higher order traits of the Big Five: a meta-analytic multitrait-multimethod approach

Though most personality researchers now recognize that ratings of the Big Five are not orthogonal, the field has been divided about whether these trait intercorrelations are substantive (i.e., driven by higher order factors) or artifactual (i.e., driven by correlated measurement error). We used a meta-analytic multitrait-multirater study to estimate trait correlations after common method variance was controlled. Our results indicated that common method variance substantially inflates trait correlations, and, once controlled, correlations among the Big Five became relatively modest. We then evaluated whether two different theories of higher order factors could account for the pattern of Big Five trait correlations. Our results did not support Rushton and colleagues' (Rushton & Irwing, 2008; Rushton et al., 2009) proposed general factor of personality, but Digman's (1997) α and β metatraits (relabeled by DeYoung, Peterson, and Higgins (2002) as Stability and Plasticity, respectively) produced viable fit. However, our models showed considerable overlap between Stability and Emotional Stability and between Plasticity and Extraversion, raising the question of whether these metatraits are redundant with their dominant Big Five traits. This pattern of findings was robust when we included only studies whose observers were intimately acquainted with targets. Our results underscore the importance of using a multirater approach to studying personality and the need to separate the causes and outcomes of higher order metatraits from those of the Big Five. We discussed the implications of these findings for the array of research fields in which personality is studied.     

The Relation of Self-Supporting Personality,Big Five Personality and Depression

Self-supporting personality (SSP) is an indigenous Chinese personality concept. It is assumed to be a protective personality factor with regard to depression. In the present study, self-supporting personality traits are assumed to be similar to Big Five personality traits or facets of the Five Factor Model to a considerable degree, but also to contain some tendencies or dispositions which are related to depression in ways that go beyond either the Big Five factors or their sub-factors. The relation of self-supporting personality, Big Five personality, and depression was examined in a sample of 439 Chinese undergraduate students using the Self-Supporting Personality Scale for Adolescent Students (SSPS-AS), the Mandarin Chinese version of Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R), and the Chinese Version of Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). Results from the correlation analysis revealed that most SSP traits were significantly correlated with the Big Five personality dimensions and sub-dimensions, but the correlation between personal flexibility and either the Big Five dimensions or their sub-dimensions were modest at best. Results from the hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that interpersonal responsibility, interpersonal openness, and personal independence negatively predicted depression, even after controlling for demographic variables and the Big Five personality, however, the explained variance decreased sharply. These results support the hypothesis that despite some overlap with the Big Five personality, self-supporting personality is related to depression in additional ways that the Big Five personality dimensions or their sub-dimensions are not.     

The Five Factor Model of personality and social support: A meta-analysis

ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to evaluate the relation between the Big Five personality traits and social support.MethodData for the meta-analysis were collected from 72 studies, which included 84 independent samples, 624 effect sizes, and 37 678 participants.ResultsLower neuroticism and higher extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were associated with greater perceived availability of social support. Higher extraversion was related to greater perceived received social support. The personality traits-social support relationship was stronger for samples reporting perceived availability of social support from many people than it was for samples reporting perceived availability of social support from concrete people.ConclusionThe study extends current knowledge on the associations between personality traits and social support.     

College students with tattoos and piercings: motives, family experiences, personality factors, and perception by others

The motives, family experiences, and personality characteristics of 341 college students with and without tattoos or piercings were studied. Participants completed Lippa's 1991 measures of the Big Five personality factors, a shortened version of the Body Cathexis Scale, a series of questions about their childhood experiences, and questions about risk-taking behaviors. In addition, reasons to have or not have body modifications and the perceptions of people with body modifications were investigated. Of the 116 men and 186 women, 25% and 33%, respectively, had at least one tattoo or body piercing. There were very few differences in the childhood experiences or personality characteristics of people with or without body modifications. Although people with body modifications did not differ from people without modifications on the Big Five personality measures, people without modifications perceived people with modifications as much different from themselves on these measures. These results indicate that tattoos and piercings in college students are associated with significantly more risk-taking behavior, greater use of alcohol and marijuana, and less social conformity. However, the traditional stereotype that body modifications are indicators of social or personal pathology does not describe contemporary college students.     

Perceived Social Support and Big Five Personality Traits in Middle Adulthood: a 4-Year Cross-Lagged Path Analysis

Previous studies have shown that the Big Five personality traits are significantly associated with perceived social support and these associations are positively associated with agreeableness, extraversion, and emotional stability. However, it is not yet clear whether these associations hold longitudinally or how these variables may predict each other over time. To investigate the co-development of personality traits and perceived social support, a cross-lagged path model design was used on a sample of adults (N = 1309) measured on two occasions 4 years apart. The results indicated that while emotional stability predicted perceived social support 4 years later, perceived social support also predicted emotional stability, extraversion, agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness 4 years later. Our findings suggest that perceived social support may be a resource that has an impact on the development of personality traits known to be associated with social skills as well as the quality and frequency of social interactions in middle adulthood.

     

Personality-relationship transaction in adolescence: core versus surface personality characteristics

Personality effects on perceived support from social relationships and vice versa were longitudinally studied over adolescence. Within personality, core (Big Five personality traits) and surface characteristics (global self-worth, perceived peer acceptance, and loneliness) were distinguished. Core, but not surface, characteristics at age 12 predicted support from both parents and peers at age 17 after controlling for support at age 12. Support at age 12 predicted surface, but not core, characteristics at age 17 after controlling for personality at age 12. These findings are interpreted within a dual model of personality-relationship transaction. Core characteristics are relatively stable traits that are largely immune against experiences in relationships and continuously influence their flux and flow. Surface characteristics are more open to relationship influences, and are therefore less stable.     

Bridging the idiographic-nomothetic divide: a follow-up study

In a replication and extension of Grice (2004), participants in the current study rated themselves and other known individuals on scales constructed from their own personal constructs and on marker items for the Big Five model personality traits. Confirmatory components analyses revealed excellent fit for the Big Five Model when applied to aggregate trait ratings but highly variable fit when applied to participants' individual ratings. Comparisons of the personal construct and trait ratings indicated an approximate average overlap of only 51%, and additional analyses revealed several factors that contributed to the uniqueness of the personal constructs. These findings were discussed in the context of the idiographic-nomothetic distinction drawn in personality psychology.     

A sixth personality domain that is independent of the Big Five domains: The psychometric properties of the HEXACO Personality Inventory in a Japanese sample

We investigated the reliability of the HEXACO‐Personality Inventory (HEXACO‐PI) using the NEO Five‐Factor Inventory (NEO‐FFI) and the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) Big Five scales in a Japanese sample of 492 respondents (mean age = 20.4 years). The psychometric properties of the HEXACO‐PI were examined and found to be satisfactory. The results of the factor analysis showed that the six hypothesized personality domains were found independently. A total of 307 participants responded to the NEO‐FFI and the IPIP Big Five scales. The results showed that the five domains of the HEXACO model corresponded to the Five‐Factor domains and were relative to the Big Five personality domains as a whole, but the sixth domain, Honesty‐Humility, showed weak to moderate correlations with some factors of the NEO‐FFI and the IPIP Big Five scales. These results suggest that the Honesty‐Humility domain is independent of the five fundamental personality factors and that the HEXACO‐PI is a useful and reliable questionnaire for investigating personality structure in cross‐cultural and other context.     

The validity of the Big Five personality traits for job performance: Meta‐analyses of South African studies

Previous meta‐analyses have established the Big Five personality traits as important predictors of job performance around the globe. This study extends the international generalizability of Big Five criterion‐related validity through systematic review and meta‐analyses of personality–performance research conducted in South Africa. We meta‐analyzed data from 33 studies and 6,782 individuals to estimate validities of Big Five traits for various job performance criteria. Results showed that the Big Five traits have similar validity for job performance criteria as found in other cultural contexts. Conscientiousness was the strongest predictor across performance criteria, while other traits showed validity for specific criteria or subsamples. Results demonstrate the importance of psychometric meta‐analysis for building cumulative knowledge and support applied use of personality assessments in South Africa. Consistency of the results of this study with those of previous meta‐analyses in other national contexts supports the argument that personality–performance relations are a cultural universal.     

Perceived influence in groups over time: How associations with personality and cognitive ability can change over time

The ability of personality and cognitive ability to predict perceptions of group influence in small work groups are assessed both in initial and advanced stages of group formation. Extraversion is found important to initial perceptions of intra-group influence, which is partially mediated by peer-perceived social-emotional usefulness. After a few months, reputations are established and everyone has met; now work needs to get done efficiently and accurately and cognitive ability predicts increases in perceived group influence, which is partially mediated by perceived intelligence. After even more time, other Big Five personality traits become important to changes in perceived group influence, with positive associations with openness to experience, and negative associations with neuroticism and conscientiousness. The study findings and implications are discussed.     

Clarifying the associations between Big Five personality domains and higher-order psychopathology dimensions in youth

In a large sample of youth (N = 942, 51% female), we found support for a 3 correlated factors model of psychopathology that comprised Distress, Fears, and Externalizing factors. Distress was positively associated with Neuroticism, Fears was not associated with Big Five dimensions, and Externalizing was negatively associated with Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Relations between lower-order psychopathology dimensions and the Big Five were generally accounted for by the higher-order psychopathology factors. There was little evidence of hypothesized two- or three-way interactions among the Big Five dimensions in statistically predicting higher-order psychopathology factors. Together, our findings support the developmental structural continuity of personality and psychopathology, and suggest that at least in youth, personality relates to psychopathology in a largely non-specific manner.     

The role of gratitude in the development of social support, stress, and depression: Two longitudinal studies

In two longitudinal studies, the authors examined the direction of the relationships between trait gratitude, perceived social support, stress, and depression during a life transition. Both studies used a full cross-lagged panel design, with participants completing all measures at the start and end of their first semester at college. Structural equation modeling was used to compare models of direct, reverse, and reciprocal models of directionality. Both studies supported a direct model whereby gratitude led to higher levels of perceived social support, and lower levels of stress and depression. In contrast, no variable led to gratitude, and most models of mediation were discounted. Study 2 additionally showed that gratitude leads to the other variables independently of the Big Five factors of personality. Overall gratitude seems to directly foster social support, and to protect people from stress and depression, which has implications for clinical interventions.