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Margaret Avison

Bio: Margaret Avison is an academic researcher from University College London. The author has contributed to research in topics: Personality & Big Five personality traits. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 109 citations.

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors found that the Big Five personality dimensions and preference for surreal art were not strong, suggesting that narrower measures of personality may be better predictors of preference for specific types of art.

99 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the association between personality and childbearing motivation, with a focus on voluntary childlessness, and found that personality plays a considerable role in influencing individuals towards, or away from, parenthood.
Abstract: This study examined the association between personality and childbearing motivation, with a focus on voluntary childlessness. 780 adults completed an online survey assessing the Big Five personality traits, the trait of Independence, desire for parenthood, motivations for choosing childlessness and various other socio-demographic characteristics. Compared to parents or those desiring children, childfree respondents scored significantly higher in Independence and significantly lower in Agreeableness and Extraversion. They were also less religious and more politically liberal. For non-parents, level of desire for parenthood was negatively correlated with Independence and positively correlated with Agreeableness and religiosity. The ideal number of children desired was positively correlated with Agreeableness and religiosity. Childfree respondents who decided early in life not to have children (‘early articulators’) were significantly higher in Independence and Openness to Experience than those who decided later in life. Motivations for childlessness loaded onto five factors, four of which correlated significantly with personality traits. The results suggest that personality plays a considerable role in influencing individuals towards, or away from, parenthood.

32 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is concluded that gender-transformative policies are needed to enable women to integrate their social, biological, and occupational roles and function to their full capacity, and that healthy, valued, enabled, and empowered women will make substantial contributions to sustainable development.

251 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article reviewed the literature on tolerance of ambiguity and related concepts since a previous review (Furnham & Ribchester, 1995) and made recommendations for the use of these tests in research.
Abstract: This review paper attempts to update the literature on tolerance of ambiguity (TA) and related concepts since a previous review (Furnham & Ribchester, 1995). Various related concepts like Uncertainly Avoidance and In/Tolerance of Uncertainly are reviewed. Both correlational and experimental studies of TA are reviewed and tabulated. Further, an attempt was made to identify and critique various different questionnaires design to measure TA. Recommendations for the use of these tests in research are made. The reasons for progress and lack of progress in this field are highlighted.

244 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors defined aesthetic experience as an experience qualitatively different from everyday experience and similar to other exceptional states of mind, and proposed two parallel levels of aesthetic information processing.
Abstract: In this paper aesthetic experience is defined as an experience qualitatively different from everyday experience and similar to other exceptional states of mind. Three crucial characteristics of aesthetic experience are discussed: fascination with an aesthetic object (high arousal and attention), appraisal of the symbolic reality of an object (high cognitive engagement), and a strong feeling of unity with the object of aesthetic fascination and aesthetic appraisal. In a proposed model, two parallel levels of aesthetic information processing are proposed. On the first level two sub-levels of narrative are processed, story (theme) and symbolism (deeper meanings). The second level includes two sub-levels, perceptual associations (implicit meanings of object's physical features) and detection of compositional regularities. Two sub-levels are defined as crucial for aesthetic experience, appraisal of symbolism and compositional regularities. These sub-levels require some specific cognitive and personality dispositions, such as expertise, creative thinking, and openness to experience. Finally, feedback of emotional processing is included in our model: appraisals of everyday emotions are specified as a matter of narrative content (eg, empathy with characters), whereas the aesthetic emotion is defined as an affective evaluation in the process of symbolism appraisal or the detection of compositional regularities.

207 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of complexity in background music on the performance of four cognitive tasks by extroverts and introverts were examined, and an interaction was predicted such that increasing complexity musical distraction would result in an increase of extrovert and a decrease of introvert cognitive-task performance.
Abstract: This study examined the effects of complexity in background music on the performance of four cognitive tasks by extroverts and introverts. In the presence of either ‘complex’ or ‘simple’ musical distraction or in silence, 24 introverts and 24 extroverts carried out a reading comprehension test, an observation test, and a memory test (in which recall was measured both immediately and after a six-minute delay). An interaction was predicted such that increasing-complexity musical distraction would result in the increase of extroverts', and the decrease of introverts', cognitive-task performance. A significant interaction was obtained for three of the four tests: the observation test and both memory tests. These findings are discussed with regard to Eysenck's theory of personality. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

175 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the impact of the Big Five personality factors (extraversion, friendliness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness) on media preferences (TV programs) and cultural participation (book reading and attending museums and concerts) was examined.

157 citations