Personality prototypes in individuals with compulsive buying based on the Big Five Model

Personality prototypes based on the Big Five factor model were investigated in a treatment-seeking sample of 68 individuals with compulsive buying (CB). Cluster analysis of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) scales yielded two distinct personality clusters. Participants in cluster II scored significantly higher than those in cluster I on neuroticism and lower on the other four personality traits. Subjects in cluster II showed higher severity of CB, lower degree of control over CB symptoms, and were more anxious, interpersonally sensitive and impulsive. Furthermore, cluster II was characterized by higher rates of comorbid anxiety disorders, and cluster B personality disorders. The two personality prototypes did not differ with respect to obsessive-compulsive features. Finally and of considerable clinical significance, participants in cluster II reported lower remission rates after undergoing cognitive-behavioral therapy. Implications of the results for treatment are discussed.     

Sleep: A pathway linking personality to mortality risk

Personality and sleep predict longevity; however, no investigation has tested whether sleep mediates this association. Thus, we tested this effect across a 20-year follow-up (N = 3759) in the Midlife Development in the United States cohort (baseline M_age = 47.15) using proportional hazards in a structural equation modeling framework. Lower conscientiousness predicted increased death risk via the direct, indirect, and total effect of quadratic sleep duration. Although there were no other direct personality-mortality effects, higher neuroticism and agreeableness and lower conscientiousness predicted increased death risk via the joint indirect effects of quadratic sleep duration and higher daytime dysfunction. Lower extraversion predicted increased mortality risk via the indirect effect of daytime dysfunction. Our findings have implications for personality-based health interventions.     

Bayesian inferences about the self (and others): A review

Viewing the brain as an organ of approximate Bayesian inference can help us understand how it represents the self. We suggest that inferred representations of the self have a normative function: to predict and optimise the likely outcomes of social interactions. Technically, we cast this predict-and-optimise as maximising the chance of favourable outcomes through active inference. Here the utility of outcomes can be conceptualised as prior beliefs about final states. Actions based on interpersonal representations can therefore be understood as minimising surprise – under the prior belief that one will end up in states with high utility. Interpersonal representations thus serve to render interactions more predictable, while the affective valence of interpersonal inference renders self-perception evaluative. Distortions of self-representation contribute to major psychiatric disorders such as depression, personality disorder and paranoia. The approach we review may therefore operationalise the study of interpersonal representations in pathological states.     

Personality factors are associated with simulated driving outcomes across the driving lifespan

Research has shown that personality factors are related to driving safety. However, the majority of existing studies rely on self-report measures of driving behaviour and sample drivers from limited age ranges. This study sought to examine the relationship between personality and objective driving outcomes as assessed by a driving simulator in a sample of young, mid-aged, and older adults. A total of 114 active drivers completed personality questionnaires as well as a simulated driving assessment protocol. The results showed that: (1) Extraversion and neuroticism were significantly associated with driving simulator performance; (2) conscientiousness was significantly associated with driving performance among middle-aged adults; (3) sensation seeking was an important personality factor primarily for young drivers and was positively correlated with driving speed in the simulator. These results provide further support for the link between personality factors and driving performance, and suggest certain directions for future research.     

Conceptual ambiguities and measurement issues in sensory processing sensitivity

The aim of the article is (1) to critically discuss Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) in light of personality theories and (2) to examine the validity of the only available measure of SPS, the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS). Study 1 (N = 289) examines the relations of the HSPS with facets of the Big Five. In Study 2 (N = 226), the HSPS’ relation to emotion recognition ability is estimated after controlling for the Big Five. In contrast to previous studies, these relationships are estimated at the level of latent variables. Our data suggest that SPS highly overlaps with established personality traits, and its relation with emotion recognition ability can be fully explained by Neuroticism and Openness to Experience.     

Psychopathy,charisma, and success: A moderation modeling approach to successful psychopathy

Psychopathic traits are associated with negative outcomes; however, they have also been associated with adaptive outcomes (e.g., corporate success, etc.). We tested the Moderated-Expression Model of psychopathy in a sample of community adults (N = 315; 50.8% female; 22–65 years) utilizing a battery of self-report measures (Self-Report Psychopathy Scale; Triarchic Psychopathy Measure; Conger & Kanungo Scale of Charismatic Leadership; General Charisma Inventory; Evading Detection/Punishment; and Occupational Success). The effect of psychopathic traits on evading detection and punishment (not occupational success) was moderated by leadership (and to a lesser extent, general) charisma, net of the effects of pathological narcissism and several other covariates. These results support the Moderated-Expression Model and warrant further research on the associations among psychopathy, charisma, and success.     

If you’re funny and you know it: Personality,gender, and people’s ratings of their attempts at humor

In seven studies (n = 1133), adults tried to create funny ideas and then rated the funniness of their responses, which were also independently rated by judges. In contrast to the common “funnier than average” effect found for global self-ratings, people were relatively modest and self-critical about their specific ideas. Extraversion (r = 0.12 [0.07, 0.18], k = 7) and openness to experience (r = 0.09 [0.03, 0.15], k = 7) predicted rating one’s responses as funnier; women rated their responses as less funny (d = −0.28 [−0.37, −0.19], k = 7). The within-person correlation between self and judge ratings was small but significant (r = 0.13 [0.07, 0.19], k = 7), so people had some insight into their ideas’ funniness.     

Voluntary decision-making in addiction: A comprehensive review of existing measurement tools

The notion of voluntariness, notably the inability to refrain from using an addictive substance, is central to addiction. This review examines different constructs measuring voluntariness in the context of drug addiction. We found 117 articles featuring 123 distinct scales for 11 of the 16 constructs initially searched. Self-efficacy was by far the construct with most scales. Most scales were not specifically developed with samples of people with addictions. From a methodological standpoint, current literature jeopardizes the validity of generalizations about how voluntariness functions and is measured in people with and without a drug addiction. From the standpoint of social psychology, the study of voluntariness remains anchored in an individualistic orientation to the study of cognition and behavior, thus calling for greater crosstalk between psychology subspecialties.