Sex differences in personality are larger in gender equal countries: Replicating and extending a surprising finding

Sex differences in personality have been shown to be larger in more gender equal countries. We advance this research by using an extensive personality measure, the IPIP‐NEO‐120, with large country samples (N > 1000), from 22 countries. Furthermore, to capture the multidimensionality of personality we measure sex differences with a multivariate effect size (Mahalanobis distance D). Results indicate that past research, using univariate measures of effect size, have underestimated the size of between‐country sex differences in personality. Confirming past research, there was a strong correlation (r = .69) between a country's sex differences in personality and their Gender Equality Index. Additional analyses showed that women typically score higher than men on all five trait factors (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness), and that these relative differences are larger in more gender equal countries. We speculate that as gender equality increases both men and women gravitate towards their traditional gender roles.     

Effects of Creative Personality on EEG Alpha Oscillation: Based on the Social and General Creativity Comparative Study

The neural mechanism underlying creativity has been identified and confirmed by numerous studies. This current exploratory study compared the neural basis between social creativity and general creativity and explored the effect of creative personality on their neural basis by employing multiple regression analysis. The EEG activities of 34 participants were recorded during social or general creative tasks. The results indicated that a stronger alpha event‐related synchronization (ERS) was presented during the social creative task than during the general creative task. High creative personality individuals were found to exhibit higher event‐related desynchronization (ERD) only for the upper alpha band. Additionally, high creative personality individuals revealed no significant task differences regarding the alpha ERS. However, low creative personality individuals exhibited a stronger alpha ERS for social creative tasks than they did for general creative tasks. The current investigation could lead to new approaches for examining the brain correlates of creativity from different domains and their correlations with respect to creative personality.     

Minimizing Mistreatment by Female Adults: The Influence of Gender-Based Social Categories and Personality Differences on Attitudes about Child Sexual Abuse

We investigated the effects of gender-based social categories (i.e., men, women, boys, and girls) on attitudes about child sexual abuse and individual differences in the use of such categories. In four experiments, we systematically varied perpetrators’ sex and victims’ sex. In three investigations, we assessed personality variables potentially related to participants’ use of these social categories. Across these four experiments, we varied perpetrator-victim relationships (teacher-student, neighbors) and victims’ ages. In experiment one, individuals had the least negative attitude about child sexual abuse involving adult female neighbors and eighth grade male neighbors. In experiment two, we replicated this effect with fifth grade victims and demonstrated that attitudes were moderated by individual differences in intolerance of ambiguity. In experiment three, we again replicated the aforementioned effect while (a) extending this finding to teacher-student relationships with eighth grade adolescent victims and (b) demonstrating the need for cognition was a moderator. In experiment four, we again replicated (a) our perpetrator sex/victim sex interactive effect and (b) need for cognition moderation while also demonstrating that these effects were applicable to fifth grade victims. Methodological limitations as well as clinical and policy implications (e.g., attenuating the underreporting incidents of child sexual abuse) are discussed.     

The five factor model of personality and alexithymia: A meta-analysis

The main objective of the study was to examine the relationship between the Five Factor Model of Personality and alexithymia. Data were collected from 25 studies, which included 30 independent samples, 1384 effect sizes, and 7440 participants. All analyses were conducted with random effects models. Greater neuroticism and lower extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were associated with higher cognitive alexithymia. Greater neuroticism and openness to experience were linked to lower affective alexithymia. Additionally, age moderated the relationship between the Five Factor Model of Personality and cognitive alexithymia, in that the association between neuroticism and alexithymia became stronger with age whereas the relations of extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness with alexithymia became weaker with age.     

Convenience in Criminal Entrepreneurship: The Case of a Norwegian Hashish Baron

The intent of this article is to study a case of criminal entrepreneurship, which reflects the key attributes of convenience theory in order to test that theory. The intent is also to show that the theory of convenience can be extended beyond white-collar crime to include criminal entrepreneurship. The theory of convenience is introduced in this article to explain why criminal entrepreneurship can be an attractive avenue for some people. Convenience theory suggests that a strong desire for financial gain to satisfy greed and solve problems, an attractive organizational opportunity to commit and conceal crime, as well as a personal willingness for deviant behavior can make criminal entrepreneurship attractive. The case of a Norwegian hashish baron illustrates convenience theory by the person’s ability to stay in the illegal drug business for two decades as a white-collar criminal.     

Position,Preference and Personality: A Microlevel Explanation of Negativity in Day‐To‐Day Politics

While many scholars investigate the determinants of negativity in the political sphere, it remains largely unclear why some politicians are more negative than others. Studies thus far lack explanations at the individual level, and they almost exclusively focus on negativity during electoral races. Surveying national and regional representatives in Belgium (N = 228), this study seeks to explain individual politicians’ willingness to go negative during everyday politics. The results show that negativity is not so much related to institutionally driven differences between representatives but more to politicians’ personal characteristics and preference roles. Negative politics, hence, is not an inevitable result of institutional structures, rules, and norms, but rather depends on the characteristics and motivations of the individual representatives citizens elect.     

Terror in time: extending culturomics to address basic terror management mechanisms

Building on Google's efforts to scan millions of books, this article introduces methodology using a database of annual word frequencies of the 40,000 most frequently occurring words in the American literature between 1800 and 2009. The current paper uses this methodology to replicate and identify terror management processes in historical context. Variation in frequencies of word usage of constructs relevant to terror management theory (e.g. death, worldview, self-esteem, relationships) are investigated over a time period of 209 years. Study 1 corroborated previous TMT findings and demonstrated that word use of constructs related to death and of constructs related to patriotism and romantic relationships significantly co-vary over time. Study 2 showed that the use of the word “death” most strongly co-varies over time with the use of medical constructs, but also co-varies with the use of constructs related to violence, relationships, religion, positive sentiment, and negative sentiment. Study 3 found that a change in the use of death related words is associated with an increase in the use of fear related words, but not in anxiety related words. Results indicate that the described methodology generates valuable insights regarding terror management theory and provide new perspectives for theoretical advances.     

On Post‐apocalyptic and Doomsday Prepping Beliefs: A New Measure,its Correlates,and the Motivation to Prep

Post‐apocalyptic scenarios provide the basis for popular television shows, video games, and books. These scenarios may be popular because people have their own beliefs and visions about the apocalypse and the need to prepare. The prevalence of such beliefs might also hold societal relevance and serve as a type of projective test of personality. However, there are no quantitative accounts of post‐apocalyptic or prepping beliefs. As such, we conducted seven studies (N_total = 1034) to do so. In Studies 1 and 2, we developed a post‐apocalyptic and prepping beliefs scale, explored its correlates, and confirmed its structure and psychometric properties. In Study 3, we attempted to activate a ‘prepper’ mindset and further explore the correlates of the new scale. In Studies 4 and 5, we investigated covariations in daily feelings, thoughts, and events, and prepping beliefs. In Studies 6a and 6b, we compared scores from ‘real’ preppers and to a non‐prepping group. Overall, we found that post‐apocalyptic concerns and prepping beliefs are predictive of low agreeableness and humility, paranoia, cynicism, conspiracy mentality, conservatism, and social dominance orientation. We also found that increased belief in the need to prep is associated with God‐belief, negative daily experiences, and global political events. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology