More than just skin deep? Personality information influences men's ratings of the attractiveness of women's body sizes

This study examined the influence of personality information on perceptions of the physical attractiveness of a range of female body sizes. A sample of 2,157 male university students were randomly assigned to one of 10 groups in which they received personality information about women they were rating, or a control group in which they received no personality information. Controlling for participants' age and body mass index, results showed no significant between-group differences in the body size that participants found most attractive. However, participants provided with positive personality information perceived a wider range of body sizes as physically attractive compared with the control group, whereas participants provided with negative personality information perceived a narrower range of body sizes as attractive. Correlations showed that participants' own Extraversion was associated with their body size ratings. These results suggest that non-physical cues have an influence on the perception of physical beauty.     

Greed is good? Assessing the relationship between entrepreneurship and subclinical psychopathy

Despite the stereotype of entrepreneurs as corporate psychopaths, there has been little research on the overlap between individual differences in entrepreneurship and subclinical psychopathy. In line with this issue, the current study investigated whether primary and secondary psychopathy are linked to a measure of entrepreneurial tendencies and abilities, as well as entrepreneurial activities and achievements. Participants were 435 working adults. Structural equation models revealed that individual differences in entrepreneurial tendencies and abilities were positively related to primary psychopathy, but unrelated to secondary psychopathy. Secondary psychopathy did not predict entrepreneurial activity; primary psychopathy predicted some entrepreneurial outcomes, albeit modestly, providing partial support for the ‘corporate psychopath’ stereotype. Implications for entrepreneurship research and practice are discussed.     

Individual Differences and Beliefs Concerning Preference for University Assessment Methods

This paper explores the relationship between personality, IQ, gender, beliefs about intelligence, and preference for assessment methods at university in 3 separate studies. Study 1 ( N = 367) examined attitudes toward examinations (ATE) and attitudes toward continuous assessment (ATCA) using specific assignments with regard to subjectively assessed intelligence (SAI), entity and incremental beliefs about intelligence (BAI), just-world beliefs, and gender. Studies 2 ( N = 120) and 3 ( N = 93) found significant and negative associations between neuroticism and preference for both essay-type and oral exams. IQ was positively and significantly related to preference for multiple-choice exams. Study 3 tested the relationship of preference for assessment methods with academic performance. Results indicated that preferences are associated with individual differences, rather than academic performance. Findings are discussed in terms of the advantages and disadvantages of introducing alternative methods of student assessment at the university level.     

The happy personality: Mediational role of trait emotional intelligence

This study examined the relationship between the Big Five personality traits (Gosling et al., 2003), trait emotional intelligence (EI) (Petrides & Furnham, 2001) and happiness (Argyle et al., 1989) in a sample of 112 (61 female) student and non-student participants. Strong dispositional determinants of happiness were identified. In line with previous findings, four of the Big Five, namely stability, extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness, were positively correlated with both happiness and trait EI, which explained 18% of unique variance (over and above age and the Big Five) in happiness. Furthermore, a significant amount of shared variance between happiness and the Big Five was explained by trait EI, which partly mediated the paths from stability and conscientiousness to happiness, and fully mediated the link between agreeableness and happiness. Limitations and implications are discussed.     

Personality and Intelligence in Business People: A Study of Two Personality and Two Intelligence Measures

This study examined the overlap and correlations among two well-known personality measures (NEO-PI–R; Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, MBTI) and two widely used intelligence tests (the Graduate Management Assessment (GMA), Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA)). The GMA measures both fluid intelligence (Gf) and crystallized intelligence (Gc), whereas WGCTA mainly assess Gc. A total of over 3,500 participants completed the four measures in a middle management assessment event. Correlational analysis showed that Extraversion on the MBTI tended to be associated with Openness and Stability on the NEO. Intuition was associated with Openness and Introversion. Feeling types tended to be both Agreeable and Neurotic while perceiving types were high on Openness but low on Agreeableness. The NEO Big Five factor of Openness was most consistently and significantly associated with both measures of intelligence (r = .09 to r =.12). Results from the MBTI showed that Intuition and Perceiving scores were positively and significantly associated with both intelligence test scores which were intercorrelated (r = .38). Regressional analysis showed that personality traits are logically and coherently related to intelligence test scores. Implications for selection and assessment are considered.     

Independent effects of personality and sex on self-estimated intelligence: evidence from Austria

The effects of sex and personality traits on self-estimates of intelligence were examined in a sample of 302 Austrian adults (143 men, 159 women). Confirming previous research, men had higher self-estimates of logical and spatial abilities than did women, and these differences were partly explained in terms of women's higher Neuroticism scores. Neuroticism (negatively) and Openness (positively) accounted significantly for variances in self-estimates of spatial and logical intelligence. However, sex had stronger direct and indirect effects on self-estimates of intelligence. Sex and personality effects appear to be largely independent. Thus, being male, emotionally stable, and open to new experiences is likely to result in higher self-estimates of spatial and logical abilities.     

Factor structure of the Body Appreciation Scale among Malaysian women

The present study examined the factor structure of a Malay version of the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS), a recently developed scale for the assessment of positive body image that has been shown to have a unidimensional structure in Western settings. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses based on data from community sample of 591 women in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, failed to support a unidimensional structure for the Malay BAS. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis suggested two stable factors, which were labelled 'General Body Appreciation' and 'Body Image Investment'. Multi-group analysis showed that the two-factor structure was invariant for both Malaysian Malay and Chinese women, and that there were no significant ethnic differences on either factor. Results also showed that General Body Appreciation was significant negatively correlated with participants' body mass index. These results are discussed in relation to possible cross-cultural differences in positive body image.     

Incremental validity of the typical intellectual engagement scale as predictor of different academic performance measures

The incremental validity of the Typical Intellectual Engagement (TIE) scale (Goff & Ackerman, 1992) as a predictor of academic performance (AP) was tested over and above other established determinants of AP, namely, psychometric g (as extracted from 5 cognitive ability tests) and the Big Five personality traits, assessed by the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Five Factor Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992). One hundred four British students were tested on arrival to university, and AP measures were collected longitudinally throughout a 3-year period. TIE, g, and Conscientiousness were the highest correlates of AP. A series of multiple-hierarchical regressions showed that TIE had significant incremental validity (over and above g and the Big Five) in the prediction of AP. Implications are discussed in light of the investment theory of intellectual competence and the utility of self-report inventories as predictors of academic achievement.     

Instrumental and disinhibited financial risk taking: Personality and behavioural correlates

Risk taking, including that within the financial domain, is often considered to represent a unidimensional personality trait. This paper considers the relatively unexplored construct of instrumental financial risk taking: a class of behaviours that while inherently risky, are entered into with a greater degree of consideration than more impulsive or disinhibited forms of risk taking. Participants (N = 1043) completed a novel questionnaire assessing instrumental and disinhibited financial risk taking as part of a battery including measures of: sensation-seeking, impulsivity, psychopathic personality traits and real life financial outcomes. Correlations revealed a divergent pattern of relationships supporting the utility of characterising these different forms of financial risk. Scores on the novel instrument are shown to explain more than 10% of the variance in the use of riskier, more productive savings products, over and above the influence of demographics and financial status.     

Effects of personality and threat of evaluation on divergent and convergent thinking

This study explores the effects of the Big Five personality traits and threat of evaluation on divergent and convergent thinking in a sample of 82 UK students. Results showed that Openness and Extraversion predicted divergent thinking under both threat of evaluation and no evaluation, whilst Neuroticism correlated significantly with divergent thinking (negatively) only under threat of evaluation. However, mediational analysis showed that the effects of Neuroticism on divergent thinking under threat of evaluation were fully accounted for by Extraversion. Thus neurotics’ divergent thinking was significantly more impaired because they were more introverted. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.