The basic trait of Antagonism: An unfortunately underappreciated construct

Antagonism, the low pole of Agreeableness, references traits related to immorality, combativeness, grandiosity, callousness, and distrustfulness. It is a robust correlate of externalizing behaviors such as antisocial behavior, aggression, and substance use; in fact, in many cases, it is the strongest trait correlate. It represents the core of many important and impactful psychopathological constructs (e.g., psychopathy, antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders). It is also central to models of general and disordered personality, psychopathology, and interpersonal behavior. As Neuroticism is core to understanding the intense distress and suffering that comes with internalizing disorders, Antagonism is core to understanding the impairment and suffering (to the individual and society at large) that comes with externalizing disorders.     

Recognising faces but not traits: Accurate personality judgment from faces is unrelated to superior face memory

It is suggested that accurate personality judgments of faces are driven by a morphological ‘kernel of truth’ from face shape. We hypothesised that this relationship could lead to those with better face identification ability being better at personality judgments. We investigated the relationship between face memory, face matching, Big Five personality traits, and accuracy in recognising Big Five personality traits from 50 photographs of unknown faces. In our sample (n = 792) there was overall good (but varying) face memory and personality judgment accuracy. However, there was convincing evidence that these two skills do not correlate (all r < 0.06). We also replicate the known relationship between extraversion and face memory ability in the largest sample to date.     

Comparing hierarchical models of personality pathology

Two dimensional, hierarchical classification models of personality pathology have emerged as alternatives to traditional categorical systems: multi-tiered models with increasing numbers of factors and models that distinguish between a general factor of severity and specific factors reflecting style. Using a large sample (N = 840) with a range of psychopathology, we conducted exploratory factor analyses of individual personality disorder criteria to evaluate the validity of these conceptual structures. We estimated an oblique, “unfolding” hierarchy and a bifactor model, then examined correlations between these and multi-method functioning measures to enrich interpretation. Four-factor solutions for each model, reflecting rotations of each other, fit well and equivalently. The resulting structures are consistent with previous empirical work and provide support for each theoretical model.     

The interactive effect of neuroticism and extraversion on the daily variability of affective states

The interaction between neuroticism and extraversion is thought to predict affective variability. In this study, neuroticism and extraversion were assessed with questionnaires, and affects were measured by experience sampling, with five daily assessments over 2 weeks. Affective variability was studied within a three-dimensional affective space whose three axes were oriented along the main affective dimensions: positive affect, negative affect, and activation. Quantile regression mixed-effects models allowed predicting zones in which affective states were most likely to occur according to personality. Beyond the well-known effect of personality on affect level, high neuroticism and/or high extraversion were accompanied by heightened affective variability. Results were interpreted as potentially reflecting positive feedback loops oriented toward negative affect for neuroticism, and toward positive affect and activation for extraversion.     

Superstitious beliefs and the associative mind

Persistence of superstitions in the modern era could be justified by considering them as a by-product of the brain’s capacity to detect associations and make assumptions about cause-effect relationships. This ability, which supports predictive behaviour, directly relates to associative learning. We tested whether variability in superstitious behaviour reflects individual variability in the efficiency of mechanisms akin to habit learning. Forty-eight individuals performed a Serial Reaction Time Task (SRTT) or an Implicit Cuing Task (ICT). In the SRTT, participants were exposed to a hidden sequence and progressively learnt to optimize responses, a process akin to skill learning. In the ICT participants met with a hidden association, which (if detected) provided a benefit (cf. habit learning). An index of superstitious beliefs was also collected. A correlation emerged between susceptibility to personal superstitions and performance at the ICT only. This novel finding is discussed in view of current ideas on how superstitions are instated.     

Predicting the Personal Appeal of Marketing Images Using Computational Methods

Images play a central role in digital marketing. They attract attention, trigger emotions, and shape consumers’ first impressions of products and brands. We propose that the shift from one‐to‐many mass communication to highly personalized one‐to‐one communication requires an understanding of image appeal at a personal level. Instead of asking “How appealing is this image?” we ask “How appealing is this image to this particular consumer?” Using the well‐established five‐factor model of personality, we apply machine learning algorithms to predict an image's personality appeal—the personality of consumers to which the image appeals most—from a set of 89 automatically extracted image features (Study 1). We subsequently apply the same algorithm on new images to predict consequential outcomes from the fit between consumer and image personality. We show that image‐person fit adds incremental predictive power over the images’ general appeal when predicting (a) consumers’ liking of new images (Study 2) and (b) consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions (Study 3).     

Towards learning agents with personality traits: Modeling Openness to Experience

Recent advances in neurosciences and cognitive sciences show us that the human neocortex is not a slave to the experiences from our perception and that the memories stored in hippocampus are goal weighted during the replay of the experiences for the purpose of re-learning from them. Temporal difference reinforcement learning systems that use neural networks as function approximators rely on an experience replay memory structure similar to the hippocampus. We bring forward this similarity and present a novel way of using a goal weighted prioritization of the memory that is biologically inspired. Furthermore, we introduce a novel prioritization criteria called Variety of Experience Index, or VEI, for weighting the selection of the experiences that are stored in the replay memory. Weighting the experiences based on two different extremes of VEI can behaviourally modify the agent’s learning process, generating different types of learning agents that exhibit different personality traits along the dimension of Openness to Experience.     

Testing the relationship between personality characteristics,contextual factors and entrepreneurial intentions in a developing country

Drawing upon the theory of planned behaviour (TPB ), we developed and tested a conceptual model which integrates both internal personality factors and external contextual factors to determine their associations with motivational factors and entrepreneurial intentions (EIs ). We then investigated if the model of EI applies in a developing country, namely Iran. We also set out to identify the most relevant factors for EI within this developing country context. Do distal predictors of EI including personality factors (i.e. need for achievement, risk taking and locus of control) and contextual factors (i.e. perceived barriers and support) significantly relate to EI via proximal predictors including motivational factors (i.e. attitudes towards entrepreneurship and perceived behavioural control [PBC])? Data were collected on 331 students from 7 public universities. The findings support the TPB for EI in Iran. All three motivational factors related to EI , but PBC showed the strongest association, which is different than in developed country contexts. Possible explanations for these differences are discussed. All three personality characteristics indirectly related to EI via the proximal attitudes towards entrepreneurship and PBC . Perceived contextual support and barriers indirectly related to EI via proximal PBC while perceived barriers also directly related to EI .     

Evaluating the predictive validity of personality trait judgments using a naturalistic behavioral criterion: A preliminary test of the self-other knowledge asymmetry model

We tracked 87 participants over two days using the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR). Coded variables included expressions of mood, amount of talking in various situations (e.g., with one other person, with a friend, etc.), locations, and behavioral markers of the Big Five. Collection of self-, informant-, and stranger-ratings on markers of the Big Five allowed for a unique test of the Self-Other Knowledge Asymmetry (SOKA) model. Although effect sizes were modest, there was evidence for the validity of both self- and informant-ratings across most trait dimensions. Stranger-ratings showed evidence of validity in the domain of Extraversion. Predictions derived from the SOKA model were partially supported, though more research with larger samples is needed to provide stronger tests of SOKA.     

Personality self-concept affects processing of trait adjectives in the self-reference memory paradigm

We combined personality, social cognitive, and cognitive paradigms for researching the self. Specifically, we examined whether personality trait assessments are associated with variation in the cognitive processes that produce the self-reference effect in memory. We found that self-reported, but not indirectly assessed, trait orderliness (Study 1; N = 98) and openness (Study 2; N = 92) were associated with slower free recall when corresponding trait adjectives were self-referenced, but not when adjectives were encoded in control tasks. The slower recall showed mixed predictive validity. Results suggest that personality congruent adjectives elicit more elaborative processing in the form of propositions that arise during self-reference, which counter-intuitively slows recall in a manner consistent with random search memory models and cue overload theory.