Personality, values and belief in a just world

This study investigated the relationship between general belief in a just world (BJW) and different values (conformity, security, self-direction) as well as personality traits (Five-Factor-Model of personality) among 104 college students and 108 professionals. Previous findings have shown that BJW is positively related to the value domains conformity and security as well as to extraversion and negatively to neuroticism and openness. In this study, a negative correlation between BJW and openness to new experience was found. Furthermore BJW correlated positively with security and conformity. A cluster analysis on BJW and the value domains revealed three types: value-conscious (high in all values and low in BJW), dependent-just (high in BJW, security and conformity, low in self-direction) and self-directed (only high in self-direction). Value-conscious and dependent-just participants showed higher scores on conscientiousness, whereas self-directed participants scored higher in openness. Further research should take into account the individual function of BJW and values for personality functioning.     

控制幻觉与人格、动机关系研究

目的本研究考察了人格、动机强弱分别与心理控制幻觉之间的关系。方法采用被试内实验设计的方法,用艾森克人格问卷进行测量。结果与结论动机水平的高低与控制幻觉的形成之间存在明确的关系,即前后动机水平的发生变化,信心分差异显著(t=-3.1,p=0.006<0.05),动机越强则产生控制幻觉的倾向性越大;人格中的外倾性,精神质与心理控制幻觉的产生存在显著的正相关(r=0.766,P<0.01;r=0.827,P<0.01);外倾性这一心理特质对控制幻觉的产生有较强的预测作用。     

Personality and self-determination of exercise behaviour

There is extensive evidence that personality traits are associated with health-related behaviours, but less evidence regarding the underlying mechanisms. In this study, we examined the relationships between personality and self-determination of exercise behaviour. Users of a sports centre completed personality scales (the NEO Five Factor Inventory supplemented with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Psychoticism scale) and exercise self-determination scales (Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire which measures extrinsic, introjected, identified and intrinsic forms of regulation). Analyses were restricted to 182 individuals in the maintenance stage of exercise participation. Partial correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between each personality scale and the self-determination scales, controlling for other personality scales, gender and age. Neuroticism was associated with more introjected regulation, extraversion with more identified and intrinsic regulation, openness with less external regulation, conscientiousness with less external regulation and more intrinsic regulation, and psychoticism with more external regulation. Relating these findings to self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), it is speculated that extraverted individuals are able to feel self-determined because exercise can satisfy the need for relatedness, conscientious individuals because exercise can satisfy the need for competence. Furthermore, conscientious individuals may have greater wherewithal to advance along the continuum of behavioural regulation.     

Underlying motivation in the approach and avoidance goals of depressed and non-depressed individuals

Neurobiological theories predict decreased approach motivation and increased avoidance motivation in depression, but the results of previous studies have been equivocal. This study addressed a key limitation of previous research by assessing participants' underlying motivation for adopting their goals. Depressed (N=26) and non-depressed (N=33) participants listed approach and avoidance goals and wrote down their underlying reasons for adopting those goals. The groups did not differ on either the number of goals or underlying reasons but when underlying reasons were coded for approach or avoidance motivation depressed participants, compared to controls, showed less approach motivation and more avoidance motivation in relation to their approach goals. There were no effects related to avoidance goals. The results suggest that while the goals of depressed persons appear to be similar to those who are not depressed there are important differences at the level of underlying motivation.     

Personality and Politics: Values, Traits, and Political Choice

Voters' political choices have presumably come to depend more on their personal preferences and less on their social characteristics in Western democracies. We examine two aspects of personality that may influence political choice, traits and personal values, using the Five Factor Model of personality traits and the Schwartz (1992 ) theory of basic personal values. Data from 3044 voters for the major coalitions in the Italian national election of 2001 showed that supporters of the two coalitions differed in traits and values, largely as hypothesized. Center-left voters were higher than center-right voters in the traits of friendliness and openness and lower in energy and conscientiousness. Regarding values, center-left voters were higher than center-right voters in universalism, benevolence, and self-direction and lower in security, power, achievement, conformity, and tradition. Logistic regressions revealed that values explained substantial variance in past and future voting and in change of political choice, trumping personality traits. We discuss explanations for the primacy of values and implications for the social cognitive view of personality.     

Predicting employee attitudes to workplace diversity from personality,values, and cognitive ability

The current study assessed the predictive validity of broad and narrow measures of personality, values, and cognitive ability on employee attitudes to workplace diversity. Australian working adults (N = 731; 66% female; mean age = 43, SD = 12) completed the 200-item HEXACO Personality Inventory, Schwartz's Portrait Values Questionnaire, ACER measures of numeric, verbal, and abstract reasoning ability, the Attitudes Toward Diversity Scale, and four scales measuring prejudice towards female workers, ethnic workers, older workers, and workers with a disability. Results showed that Honesty–Humility, Extraversion, Openness, and cognitive ability (especially verbal) predicted more positive attitudes to workplace diversity. Valuing power, security, and tradition more, and valuing universalism less was associated with more negative attitudes to workplace diversity.     

A general mechanism for linking personality traits to affect, motivation, and action

This article describes a general mechanism for linking personality traits to affect, motivation, and action. It is hypothesized that personality traits confer a propensity to perceive convergences and divergences between our belief that we can attain certain goals and the importance that we place on these goals (belief-importance or belimp theory). Belief and importance are conceptualized as two coordinates, together defining the belimp plane. Four distinct quadrants can be identified within the belimp plane (Hubris, Motivation, Depression, and Apathy), broadly corresponding to the personality dimensions of trait emotional intelligence, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and introversion. Strategies and requirements for testing belimp theory are presented as are a number of important theoretical and practical advantages that it can potentially offer.     

Individual values and well-being: The moderating role of personality traits

This study examined the role of values, traits and their interactions for the experience of eudaimonic and hedonic well-being. First wave studies on value and well-being relationships yielded inconsistent results suggesting that these relationships are moderated by other factors, possibly by personality traits. We asked a representative sample of adult Poles (N = 1161) to report on their personality traits (according to five-factor theory), values (conceptualised by Schwartz) and well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic). Results showed, that higher Extraversion, Emotional stability, Intellect, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were related to higher well-being, confirming and expanding claims from personality theory of subjective well-being: stable predispositions are related not only to subjective, but also to eudaimonic well-being. Values expressing Openness to change, Self-transcendence and Conservation were also positively correlated with well-being, while the role of Self-enhancement was unclear. This confirmed that growth needs expressed in Openness to change and Self-transcendence values promote well-being, but also that values expressing deficiency needs can be positively related to well-being, possibly in specific circumstances. Finally, the two levels of personality (traits and values) proved to have a joint relationship to well-being: higher Conscientiousness and Agreeableness enhanced positive relationships of Openness to change and Self-transcendence with some aspects of well-being.     

HEXACO personality and Schwartz's personal values: A facet-level analysis

This study systematically examined the correlates of Schwartz’s basic values with the broad and narrow traits of the HEXACO model of personality. A sample of 1244 adults (53% male; M age = 44, SD = 12) completed the 200-item HEXACO-PI-R and the Portrait Values Questionnaire measuring Schwartz’s 10 basic personal values. Regression models predicting each of the ten basic values from personality revealed mean-adjusted multiple correlations of .39 for HEXACO factors without honesty-humility, .45 for all HEXACO factors, and .53 for HEXACO facets. The facet-level multiple correlations were particularly large (>.60) for power, universalism, and cooperation. Results suggest that individual differences in personality and values overlap to a greater extent than implied by past literature.     

Acting in our interests: Relational self-construal and goal motivation across cultures

Relationally-autonomous reasons (RARs) are motives for behavior that take into account one’s close relationships. A cross-cultural model tested the hypotheses that (a) people with a highly relational self-construal will pursue their goals for RARs, and (b) RARs will predict positive goal outcomes after controlling for variance explained by personally-autonomous reasons (PARs) and social support. One hundred seventy Americans and 219 Japanese completed a well-being and self questionnaire then generated and rated seven goals on several attributes. Results showed that relational self-construal was associated with RARs for goals. RARs predicted effort directly and predicted progress and purpose in life indirectly for both groups. In addition, Americans and Japanese differed in the types of goals they pursued and the degree to which social support predicted effort. Implications for self, culture, and motivation research are discussed.

Motivation for agreement with parental values: desirable when autonomous,problematic when controlled

Two studies examined the well-being and parenting correlates of autonomous and controlled motivations for agreement with parental values. We hypothesized that autonomous motivation would be associated with subjective well-being, whereas controlled motivation would be associated with agitation and guilt. Study 1 involved 399 Israeli youth (mean age = 23.8) and Study 2 involved 131 Israeli adolescents (mean age = 16.9). Results of both studies supported the hypotheses. The findings suggest that only autonomous motivation for agreement with parents’ values is positively associated with well-being. This effect is over and above the extent of agreement between offspring values and perceived parents’ values, and highlights the importance of distinguishing between autonomous and controlled endorsement of values.     

Approach, avoidance, and inhibition: Personality traits predict cognitive control abilities

The extent to which approach and avoidance personality trait sensitivities are associated with specific cognitive control abilities as well as with verbal and nonverbal domains remains unclear. In the current study, we investigated whether approach and avoidance trait sensitivities predict performance on verbal and nonverbal versions of the Stroop task, which taps the specific cognitive control ability of inhibiting task-irrelevant information. The findings from the current study indicate that whereas approach (specifically, Extraversion) sensitivity was predictive of verbal Stroop performance, avoidance (specifically, Behavioral Inhibition System) sensitivity was predictive of nonverbal Stroop performance. These results provide novel evidence suggestive of the integration of motivational personality traits and the ability to inhibit task-irrelevant information in a domain-specific fashion.     

Personal strivings of mentally tough Australian Rules footballers

The current study examined the personal strivings of mentally tough Australian Rules footballers. Data collection occurred in two phases. Phase one included conducting two focus groups with coaches and performance staff from an Australian Football League (AFL) club/franchise, to gain a culturally-specific mental toughness (MT) conceptualisation. This conceptualisation was used to identify mentally tough footballers (n = 7) from the club’s playing group. In phase two, the selected footballers completed a personal goal strivings exercise (e.g., listing strivings, rating their commitment to them), which was subsequently coded for general and motivational themes, through nomothetic and idiographic lenses. Nomothetic analysis revealed broad trends consistent with previous MT research. Key themes included a high commitment to goals, high confidence, and achievement orientation. Focusing on four specific players, an idiographic analysis revealed different motivational agendas, including characteristically mentally tough motives, narcissistic motives, communion and growth motives, and vulnerable/anxious motives. In conclusion, despite broad themes aligning with current perspectives of MT, on an individual level, mentally tough athletes’ motivational concerns may vary. These findings stress the potential importance of examining goals as a central construct in conceptualising MT. Moreover, they challenge a universal assumption that MT operates in the same way across all performers, highlighting the need for greater idiographic analysis in MT research.     

Predicting Social Networking Site (SNS) use: Personality,attitudes, motivation and Internet self-efficacy

Few studies have considered the personal characteristics that may predict the use of Social Networking Sites (SNSs). We examined the prediction of SNS use from distinct personality traits (i.e., sociability and shyness), attitudes toward SNS use, motivations for SNS use and Internet self-efficacy. Participants were 352 Chinese college students who used the QQ zone. Results indicated that sociability, shyness, attitudes, motivations and self-efficacy predicted SNS use, prediction depending on the function of SNS use. Specifically, sociability, attitudes, social interaction motivation, entertainment motivation and self-efficacy were significant predictors of SNS’s social function. In contrast, shyness, attitudes, relaxing entertainment motivation and self-efficacy were significant predictors of its recreational function.     

Burnout risk among first-year teacher students: The roles of personality and motivation

The present study identified individual variables by which first-year teacher students' risk for burnout can be detected at an early stage. We analyzed a sample of teacher students (n = 559) and a control group of psychology students (n = 150) by using multinomial logistic regression analyses. We estimated the impact of personality (Five-Factor model) and motivation for choosing teacher education on work-related coping behavior and experiences (WCEP types: healthy-ambitious, unambitious, excessively-ambitious, and risk for burnout). Neuroticism and the extrinsic motivation of choosing teacher education (the assumed low difficulty of studies) were risk factors for unhealthy, stress-related coping behavior and experiences. In contrast, high levels of extraversion and conscientiousness as well as intrinsic motivation for choosing teacher education (subject-specific interest) were related to healthy-ambitious behavior. Relations of personality and stress-related WCEP types were partially moderated according to field of study (teaching versus psychology). Our results are of particular importance for improving counseling programs that advise prospective teacher students regarding their individual fit to the requirements and challenges of the teaching profession and for correcting false expectations about study demands.     

The interplay between achievement goals and specific target goals in determining performance

This study examined relatively broad achievement goals (performance-approach, performance-avoid, mastery), and aspects of more specific target goals (goal difficulty, expectancy, framing) as predictors of academic performance. All three achievement goals predicted academic performance (with performance-avoid goal predicting poorer performance, and performance-approach and mastery goals predicting better performance). The association between performance-avoid goals and poorer performance was mediated by negative framing. The positive relations between performance-approach and mastery goals and performance were mediated by goal difficulty. In all cases, the aspects of the specific goal predicted performance independent of the broader achievement goals, but the achievement goals did not predict independent of the specific goals. Discussion focuses on how goals of different types combine to affect performance.     

Unsubstantiated beliefs and values flaw the Five-Factor Model of Personality

The Five-Factor Model of Personality was empirically derived and is now ubiquitous in research and applied personality psychology. However it is presented in current textbooks as including an un-evidenced component: the judgement that, while the five traits are socially desirable qualities (except socially undesirable Neuroticism), low scorers are characterised by their deficiency in essential social skills, displaying unattractive undesirable personalities. This judgement is verbally reinforced by the value-laden designations of the five traits (excepting Extraversion). Thus the model ignores evidence for cognate but contrasting personality factors that are also desirable in individuals and for society. It is proposed that traits are better understood as coming in pairs, thus resembling allelic variant expressions of genes. Extraversion and Introversion would then each reference a quality with both positive and negative potential. The traits Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness could become respectively Imaginative/Practical, Empathic/Rational and Purposeful/Relaxed. It is argued that the proposed revision would yield a model more consistent with experienced, and hopefully ontological, reality than the current formulation.     

Personality and social attitudes: Evidence for positive-approach motivation

Extensive research has linked general personality factors to social attitudes, but there has been comparatively little work on the roles played by specific approach-avoidance personality factors, especially positive-approach ones. Here we relate such factors to the two main clusters of social attitudes (Right-Wing Authoritarianism, RWA; and Social Dominance Orientation, SDO), and related cognitive constructs (Need for Cognition and Need for Closure). Results revealed: (a) positive-approach motivation is consistently related to both RWA and SDO, with little contribution from negative-avoidance motivation; and (b) negative-avoidance motivation played a part in Need for Cognition (negatively related) and Need for Closure (positively related). These data challenge previous theorizing concerning the role of fear/anxiety in social attitude formation and prejudice more generally. We conclude that, to a larger extent than previously thought, approach-related personality factors underpin the positive reinforcement of social attitudes and prejudice. Our results may help to account for the failure of programmes designed to reduce prejudice which have been based on the reduction of negative emotion and motivation.     

The motivation and inhibition of breaking the rules: Personal values structures predict unethicality

We theorized and tested the relationship of personal value systems with unethical attitudes and behavior. Results from three studies using 16 diverse multi-national samples (N = 107,087) demonstrated the complexity of motivations underlying unethicality. Across contexts and cultures, for attitudes (Study 1 meta-analysis) and behaviors in the lab (Study 2) and in real-life (Study 3), we consistently found that the values theory circumplex structure predicted the inhibition and motivation of unethicality. Unethicality was positively associated with self-enhancement values and negatively associated with self-transcendence and conservation values. However, self-transcendence and conservation values were associated with the inhibition of different types of unethicality. The relationship of openness-to-change values with unethicality was generally positive but the effect size varied depending on context.