Showing papers in "Journal of Personality in 2014"
TL;DR: Evidence is found that TSC may boost well-being by helping people avoid frequent conflict and balance vice-virtue conflicts by favoring virtues, an effect partially mediated through experiencing lower conflict and emotional distress.
Abstract: Does trait self-control (TSC) predict affective well-being and life satisfaction—positively, negatively, or not? We conducted three studies (Study 1: N = 414, 64% female, Mage = 35.0 years; Study 2: N = 208, 66% female, Mage = 25.24 years; Study 3: N = 234, 61% female, Mage = 34.53 years). The key predictor was TSC, with affective well-being and life satisfaction ratings as key outcomes. Potential explanatory constructs including goal conflict, goal balancing, and emotional distress also were investigated. TSC is positively related to affective well-being and life satisfaction, and managing goal conflict is a key as to why. All studies, moreover, showed that the effect of TSC on life satisfaction is at least partially mediated by affect. Study 1's correlational study established the effect. Study 2's experience sampling approach demonstrated that compared to those low in TSC, those high in TSC experience higher levels of momentary affect even as they experience desire, an effect partially mediated through experiencing lower conflict and emotional distress. Study 3 found evidence for the proposed mechanism—that TSC may boost well-being by helping people avoid frequent conflict and balance vice-virtue conflicts by favoring virtues. Self-control positively contributes to happiness through avoiding and dealing with motivational conflict.
371 citations
TL;DR: These "Big Two" dimensions-Social Self-Regulation and Dynamism-provide a common-denominator model involving the two most crucial axes of personality variation, ubiquitous across cultures, and might serve as an umbrella model serving to link diverse theoretical models and associated research literatures.
Abstract: Here, two studies seek to characterize a parsimonious common-denominator personality structure with optimal cross-cultural replicability. Personality differences are observed in all human populations and cultures, but lexicons for personality attributes contain so many distinctions that parsimony is lacking. Models stipulating the most important attributes have been formulated by experts or by empirical studies drawing on experience in a very limited range of cultures. Factor analyses of personality lexicons of nine languages of diverse provenance (Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Turkish, Greek, Polish, Hungarian, Maasai, and Senoufo) were examined, and their common structure was compared to that of several prominent models in psychology. A parsimonious bivariate model showed evidence of substantial convergence and ubiquity across cultures. Analyses involving key markers of these dimensions in English indicate that they are broad dimensions involving the overlapping content of the interpersonal circumplex, models of communion and agency, and morality/warmth and competence. These “Big Two” dimensions—Social Self-Regulation and Dynamism—provide a common-denominator model involving the two most crucial axes of personality variation, ubiquitous across cultures.The Big Two might serve as an umbrella model serving to link diverse theoretical models and associated research literatures.
184 citations
TL;DR: It is submitted that the relative powers of personality versus relationship effects depend on the type of life transition during which the effects take place, and that effects of personality-relationship transactions on health also vary with the normativeness of the eliciting life transition.
Abstract: The transactional paradigm states that people create, maintain, and change their environments according to their personalities. At the same time, the environment reacts back on personality. As social relationships are part of an individual's environment, this likewise implies that there are reciprocal transactions between personality and relationships. However, earlier studies have concluded that adult personality traits are so stable that they have a stronger effect on later relationships, but that relationship effects on personality are negligible. In this article, we contend that personality-relationship transactions should be revisited. We submit that the relative powers of personality versus relationship effects depend on the type of life transition during which the effects take place: Relationship effects on personality development are more likely to emerge in the context of rather normative and highly scripted life transitions, whereas personality effects on relationship development are more likely to occur in the context of rather non-normative life transitions that are less regulated by social expectations. We illustrate these assumptions with examples from our own work and other findings reported in the literature. Furthermore, we theorize that effects of personality-relationship transactions on health also vary with the normativeness of the eliciting life transition.
124 citations
TL;DR: The findings show that high-level cricketers who are punishment sensitive, but not reward sensitive, detect threat early and can maintain goal-directed behavior under pressure from a range of different stressors.
Abstract: Four studies were conducted with two primary objectives: (a) to conceptualize and measure mental toughness from a behavioral perspective and (b) to apply relevant personality theory to the examination of between-person differences in mentally tough behavior. Studies 1 (N = 305 participants from a range of different sports) and 2 (N = 110 high-level cricketers) focused on the development of an informant-rated mental toughness questionnaire that assessed individual differences in ability to maintain or enhance performance under pressure from a wide range of stressors. Studies 3 (N = 214) and 4 (N = 196) examined the relationship between reinforcement sensitivities and mentally tough behavior in high-level cricketers. The highest levels of mental toughness reported by coaches occurred when cricketers were sensitive to punishment and insensitive to reward. Study 4 suggested that such players are predisposed to identify threatening stimuli early, which gives them the best possible opportunity to prepare an effective response to the pressurized environments they encounter. The findings show that high-level cricketers who are punishment sensitive, but not reward sensitive, detect threat early and can maintain goal-directed behavior under pressure from a range of different stressors.
103 citations
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven1, The College of New Jersey2, University of Miami3, Ghent University4, Florida International University5, University of Texas at Austin6, University of Massachusetts Amherst7, Smith College8, University of Minnesota9, Brigham Young University10, University of Florida11, California State University, Monterey Bay12, St. John's University13, University of South Dakota14
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated naturally occurring profiles based on two dimensions of meaning in life: Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning, and subsequent analyses identified different patterns in psychosocial functioning for each profile.
Abstract: The present study investigated naturally occurring profiles based on two dimensions of meaning in life: Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning. Cluster analysis was used to examine meaning-in-life profiles, and subsequent analyses identified different patterns in psychosocial functioning for each profile. A sample of 8,492 American emerging adults (72.5% women) from 30 colleges and universities completed measures on meaning in life, and positive and negative psychosocial functioning. Results provided support for five meaningful yet distinguishable profiles. A strong generalizability of the cluster solution was found across age, and partial generalizability was found across gender and ethnicity. Furthermore, the five profiles showed specific patterns in relation to positive and negative psychosocial functioning. Specifically, respondents with profiles high on Presence of Meaning showed the most adaptive psychosocial functioning, whereas respondents with profiles where meaning was largely absent showed maladaptive psychosocial functioning. The present study provided additional evidence for prior research concerning the complex relationship between Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning, and their relation with psychosocial functioning. Our results offer a partial clarification of the nature of the Search for Meaning process by distinguishing between adaptive and maladaptive searching for meaning in life.
95 citations
TL;DR: Evidence is provided that value change does not require fictitious feedback or information about social norms, but can occur through a 30-min intervention that evokes both effortful and automatic processes.
Abstract: To study value change, this research presents an intervention with multiple exercises designed to instigate change through both effortful and automatic routes. Aiming to increase the importance attributed to benevolence values, which reflect the motivation to help and care for others, the intervention combines three mechanisms for value change (self-persuasion, consistency-maintenance, and priming). In three experiments, 142 undergraduates (67% male, ages 19-26) participated in an intervention emphasizing the importance of either helping others (benevolence condition) or recognizing flexibility in personality (control condition). We measured the importance of benevolence values before and after the task. In Experiment 1, the intervention increased U.S. participants' benevolence values. In Experiment 2, we replicated these effects in a different culture (Israel) and also showed that by enhancing benevolence values, the intervention increased participants' willingness to volunteer to help others. Experiment 3 showed that the increases in the importance of benevolence values lasted at least 4 weeks. Our results provide evidence that value change does not require fictitious feedback or information about social norms, but can occur through a 30-min intervention that evokes both effortful and automatic processes.
90 citations
TL;DR: The present research was conducted to map the hierarchical structure of youths' personality traits, to identify the foundational level of this structure, and to test whether the meanings of some youth personality dimensions shift with age, to advance the understanding of when and how personality structure develops during the first two decades of life.
Abstract: The present research was conducted to map the hierarchical structure of youths' personality traits, to identify the foundational level of this structure, and to test whether the meanings of some youth personality dimensions shift with age. We addressed these issues by analyzing personality parent reports describing a cross-sectional sample of 16,000 children, adolescents, and young adults (ages 3 to 20). These parent reports were made using a broadband measure of youths' personal characteristics, the common-language California Child Q-Set. Analyses of the full sample and comparisons of 16 age groups supported three main conclusions. First, the hierarchical structure of youths' personality traits both resembles and differs from the adult personality hierarchy in important ways. Second, a set of six dimensions--Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Openness to Experience, and Activity--may constitute the foundational level of the youth personality hierarchy from middle childhood through adolescence. This "Little Six" structure represents a union of the most prominent personality and temperament dimensions. Third, the meanings of some youth personality dimensions (e.g., Activity, Conscientiousness) shift systematically with age. These findings advance our understanding of when and how personality structure develops during the first two decades of life.
82 citations
Abstract: The DSM-5 may be the first edition that enables a developmental perspective on personality disorders because of its proposal to include a trait assessment in the Axis II section. The current study explores the reliability, structure, and construct validity of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5; Krueger, Derringer, Markon, Watson, & Skodol, 2012) in adolescents, a measure that assesses the proposed DSM-5 traits. A community sample of Flemish adolescents (N = 434; 44.7% male) provided self-reports on the PID-5 and the Dimensional Personality Symptom Itempool (DIPSI; De Clercq, De Fruyt, Van Leeuwen, & Mervielde, 2006). Results indicate an acceptable reliability for the majority of the PID-5 facets and a tendency toward structural convergence of the adolescent PID-5 structure with the adult proposal. Convergent validity with age-specific facets of personality pathology was generally supported, but discriminant validity appeared to be low. Beyond the findings that support the applicability of the PID-5 in adolescents, developmental issues may be responsible for specific differences in the adolescent PID-5 structure, the rather poor discriminant validity of the PID-5, and the lower reliability of a small number of PID-5 facets. These results indicate that further research on the validity of the PID-5 in younger age groups is required.
78 citations
TL;DR: Examining multiple life factors across long time periods uncovers important pathways through which personality relates to premature mortality or longevity, and typical stress-and-illness models are untenable and should be replaced with life span trajectory approaches.
Abstract: Building upon decades of research with the lifelong (nine-decade) Terman Life Cycle Study, we present a life pathway model for understanding human thriving that accounts for long-term individual difference in health and longevity, with a particular focus on child personality and adult social relationships. Developing data derived and supplemented from the Terman study (N = 570 males, 451 females), we employed regression and survival analyses to test models of childhood personality predicting adult psychosocial factors (subjective well-being, family relationships, community involvement, subjective achievement, hardships) and subsequent longevity. Child personality differentially related to midlife social relationships, well-being, and hardships. Conscientiousness and good social relationships predicted longer life, whereas subjective well-being was unrelated to mortality risk. Examining multiple life factors across long time periods uncovers important pathways through which personality relates to premature mortality or longevity. Typical stress-and-illness models are untenable and should be replaced with life span trajectory approaches.
69 citations
TL;DR: This research examined the role of self-reported and primed autonomous and controlled motives in predicting objectively assessed persistence during the pursuit of an increasingly difficult goal and underscores the importance of autonomous motivation for behavioral investment in the face of increased goal difficulty.
Abstract: No prior research has examined how motivation for goal striving influences persistence in the face of increasing goal difficulty This research examined the role of self-reported (Study 1) and primed (Study 2) autonomous and controlled motives in predicting objectively assessed persistence during the pursuit of an increasingly difficult goalIn Study 1,100 British athletes (64 males;Mage = 1989 years,SDage = 243) pursued a goal of increasing difficulty on a cycle ergometerIn Study 2,90 British athletes (43 males;Mage = 1963 years,SDage = 114) engaged in the same task,but their motivation was primed by asking them to observe a video of an actor describing her or his involvement in an unrelated studyIn Study 1,self-reported autonomous goal motives predicted goal persistence via challenge appraisals and task-based copingIn contrast,controlled goal motives predicted threat appraisals and disengagement coping, which, in turn, was a negative predictor of persistence In Study 2, primed autonomous (compared to controlled) goal motives predicted greater persistence,positive affect,and future interest for task engagementThe findings underscore the importance of autonomous motivation for behavioral investment in the face of increased goal difficulty
65 citations
TL;DR: This work studied two structural aspects of the self associated with self-improvement--self-discrepancies and perceived mutability--by focusing on two content areas, traits and values and found that values are perceived as less mutable than traits.
Abstract: Research on the structure of the self has mostly developed separately from research on its content. Taking an integrative approach, we studied two structural aspects of the self associated with self-improvement--self-discrepancies and perceived mutability--by focusing on two content areas, traits and values. In Studies 1A-C, 337 students (61% female) reported self-discrepancies in values and traits, with the finding that self-discrepancies in values are smaller than in traits. In Study 2 (80 students, 41% female), we experimentally induced either high or low mutability and measured perceived mutability of traits and values. We found that values are perceived as less mutable than traits. In Study 3, 99 high school students (60% female) reported their values, traits, and the extent to which they wish to change them. We found that values predict the wish to change traits, whereas traits do not predict the wish to change values. In Study 4, 172 students (47.7% female) were assigned to one of four experimental conditions in which they received feedback denoting either uniqueness or similarity to others, on either their values or their traits. The results indicated that feedback that one's values (but not traits) are unique affected self-esteem. Integrating between theories of content and structure of the self can contribute to the development of both.
TL;DR: Growth curve analyses revealed an age-related linear decrease in extraversion and stability in neuroticism and more extraverted individuals were more educated and perceived their health and cognition as better.
Abstract: The present longitudinal study investigates continuity and change in the personality dimensions of extraversion and neuroticism among the oldest-old. Overall disease load, self-rated health, functional capacity, impaired vision and hearing, self-reported cognitive impairment, and measured cognitive status were tested for their role as potentially relevant late-life predictors of personality change. The sample consists of 408 individuals aged 80-98 in the Swedish OCTO-Twin Study who completed the Eysenck Personality Inventory at four measurement occasions during a 6-year period. Growth curve analyses revealed an age-related linear decrease in extraversion and stability in neuroticism. More extraverted individuals were more educated and perceived their health and cognition as better. Notably, only hearing impairment was found to be related to a steeper age-related decline in extraversion. A life span developmental model focusing on health-related changes can improve our understanding of personality change in late life.
TL;DR: The three-cluster solution showed a better fit over alternative solutions and had a relatively high degree of cross-cultural generalizability, which was discussed in light of the importance of considering how traits are organized within individuals for advancing contemporary personality psychology.
Abstract: Personality types reflect typical configurations of personality attributes within individuals. Over the last 20 years, researchers have identified a set of three replicable personality types: resilient (R), undercontrolled (U), and overcontrolled (O) types. In this study, we examined the cross-cultural replicability of the RUO types in Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United States. Personality types were identified using cluster analyses of Big Five profiles in large samples of college students from Italy (n = 322), the United States (n = 499), Spain (n = 420), and Poland (n = 235). Prior to clustering the profiles, the measurement invariance of the Big Five measure across samples was tested. We found evidence for the RUO types in all four samples. The three-cluster solution showed a better fit over alternative solutions and had a relatively high degree of cross-cultural generalizability. The RUO types are evident in samples from four countries with distinct linguistic and cultural traditions. Results were discussed in light of the importance of considering how traits are organized within individuals for advancing contemporary personality psychology.
TL;DR: Analysis of personality trait data and reports about work conditions in 2001, 2003, and 2005 supported the corresponsive principle of personality development and supported personality attributes that were prospectively associated with work conditions and income.
Abstract: Investigations concerning adult personality development have increasingly focused on factors that are associated with apparent personality trait changes. The current study contributes to this literature by replicating and extending previous research concerning personality trait development in young adulthood and perceptions of workplace conditions. Analyses were based on up to 442 individuals who participated in the ongoing Family Transitions Project (e.g., Conger & Conger, 2002). The current analyses included personality trait data from 1994 and 2003, high school grades and socioeconomic status indicators from 1994, and reports about work conditions in 2001, 2003, and 2005. Personality attributes were prospectively associated with work conditions and income. Findings also support the corresponsive principle of personality development (e.g., Roberts, Caspi, & Moffitt, 2003): Traits that were prospectively associated with particular workplace conditions often seemed to be accentuated by those conditions. Personality traits are prospectively associated with perceptions of the workplace. Workplace conditions are also associated with trait development.
TL;DR: The findings strongly suggest that active assortment is partly responsible for dyadic similarity, and couples displayed the strongest similarity on those variables for which participants expressed the strongest preference for similarity.
Abstract: Previous research has established the existence of active assortment, that is, a preference for similarity in a potential mate. Few studies, however, have directly related mate preferences to dyadic similarity by examining them in the same participants. We collected both similarity and mate preference data in two studies: undergraduate students (N = 519) and newlyweds (N = 335). In both studies, women placed a higher value on desirable personality characteristics (e.g., higher Conscientiousness and Agreeableness, lower Neuroticism) than did men. Nevertheless, our data also provided strong evidence of consensual mate preferences: Men and women both desired partners who were agreeable, conscientious, emotionally stable, intelligent, and physically attractive; furthermore, participants desired partners who were better (e.g., more agreeable and attractive) than they were. In contrast, attitudinal variables such as religiousness and political orientation displayed much weaker consensus but showed significant dyadic similarity in both samples; similarity coefficients for personality tended to be positive, but lower. Finally, analyses revealed a direct link between actual and desired similarity: Couples displayed the strongest similarity on those variables for which participants expressed the strongest preference for similarity. Our findings strongly suggest that active assortment is partly responsible for dyadic similarity.
TL;DR: It is suggested that neuroticism does not reliably change following exposure to traumatic events in middle adulthood, and that individuals exposed to life-threatening traumas in childhood or adolescence reported higher midlife neuroticism than individuals who experienced severe Trauma in adulthood.
Abstract: Using longitudinal data, the present study examined change in midlife neuroticism following trauma exposure. Our primary analyses included 670 participants (M(age) = 60.55; 65.22% male, 99.70% Caucasian) who completed the NEO Personality Inventory at ages 42 and 50 and reported their lifetime exposure to traumatic events approximately 10 years later. No differences in pre- and post-trauma neuroticism scores were found among individuals who experienced all of their lifetime traumas in the interval between the personality assessments. Results were instead consistent with normative age-related declines in neuroticism throughout adulthood. Furthermore, longitudinal changes in neuroticism scores did not differ between individuals with and without histories of midlife trauma exposure. Examination of change in neuroticism following life-threatening traumas yielded a comparable pattern of results. Analysis of facet-level scores largely replicated findings from the domain scores. Overall, our findings suggest that neuroticism does not reliably change following exposure to traumatic events in middle adulthood. Supplemental analyses indicated that individuals exposed to life-threatening traumas in childhood or adolescence reported higher midlife neuroticism than individuals who experienced severe traumas in adulthood. Life-threatening traumatic events encountered early in life may have a more pronounced impact on adulthood personality than recent traumatic events.
TL;DR: The burgeoning literature linking greater individual differences in attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance to poorer health is reviewed to fruitfully delve into the possible dyadic influences on health and interventions to improve the health experiences of more anxiously and avoidantly attached individuals.
Abstract: This article reviews the burgeoning literature linking greater individual differences in attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance to poorer health Extant research indicates that more anxiously and avoidantly attached individuals experience heightened psychological (eg, distress) and physiological (eg, HPA axis activation) responses to stressful situations, as well as have poorer mental (eg, depression) and physical (eg, immune system functioning) health Research also suggests that perceived social support processes are sometimes beneficial for more anxiously and avoidantly attached persons' mental health, but are not helpful in alleviating physiological responses to stress Future studies could fruitfully delve into the possible dyadic influences on health and interventions to improve the health experiences of more anxiously and avoidantly attached individuals Lastly, future research could benefit from longitudinal explorations of health
TL;DR: Investigating how sacrificing for approach versus avoidance goals shapes the giver's and the recipient's emotions and relationship quality found that on days when partners sacrificed for approach goals, both partners experienced increased relationship quality, but onDays when people sacrificed for avoidance goals, the givers experienced decreased relationship quality.
Abstract: This study investigated how sacrificing for approach versus avoidance goals shapes the giver's and the recipient's emotions and relationship quality. A sample of 80 dating couples participated in a three-part study in which they discussed sacrifice in the laboratory (Part 1), reported on their daily sacrifices for 14 days (Part 2), and completed a follow-up survey 3 months later (Part 3). When partners discussed a sacrifice they had made for approach goals, they experienced greater relationship quality, whereas when they discussed a sacrifice they had made for avoidance goals, they experienced poorer relationship quality. These effects were replicated with outside observer reports. On days when partners sacrificed for approach goals, both partners experienced increased relationship quality, but on days when people sacrificed for avoidance goals, the giver experienced decreased relationship quality. These effects were mediated by positive and negative emotions, respectively. Approach sacrifice goals predicted increases in relationship quality and avoidance sacrifice goals predicted decreases in relationship quality, as reported by both partners 3 months later. Sacrifice per se does not help or harm relationships, but the goals that people pursue when they give up their own interests can critically shape the quality of intimate bonds.
TL;DR: There is no evidence that social relationships established before widowhood buffered either reaction or adaptation to the death of one's spouse, and social relationships acquired prior to widowhood or those available in early stages of widowhood do not appear to explain individual differences in adaptation to loss.
Abstract: The idea that strong social relationships can buffer the negative effects of stress on well-being has received much attention in existing literature. However, previous studies have used less than ideal research designs to test this hypothesis, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions regarding the buffering effects of social support. In this study, we examined the buffering hypothesis in the context of reaction and adaptation to widowhood in three large longitudinal datasets. We tested whether social relationships moderated reaction and adaptation to widowhood in samples of people who experienced loss of a spouse from three longitudinal datasets of nationally representative samples from Germany (N = 1,195), Great Britain (N = 562), and Australia (N = 298). We found no evidence that social relationships established before widowhood buffered either reaction or adaptation to the death of one's spouse. Similarly, social relationships that were in place during the first year of widowhood did not help widows and widowers recover from this difficult event. Social relationships acquired prior to widowhood, or those available in early stages of widowhood, do not appear to explain individual differences in adaptation to loss.
TL;DR: This article reviews the multimethod program of research that seeks to understand and explain the costs of receiving social support and focuses on reductions in the recipient's sense of relationship equity and self-efficacy as mechanisms of this effect.
Abstract: The benefits of close relationships for mental and physical health are well documented. One of the mechanisms presumed to underlie these effects is social support, whereby close others provide practical and emotional assistance in times of need. Although there is no doubt that generalized perceptions of support availability are beneficial, research examining actual instances of support receipt has found unexpectedly mixed results. Receiving support sometimes has positive effects, but null or even negative effects are common. In this article, we review our multimethod program of research that seeks to understand and explain the costs of receiving social support. We focus on reductions in the recipient's sense of relationship equity and self-efficacy as mechanisms of this effect and examine a number of other moderating factors. Although we have found that receiving support incurs costs on average, there is considerable variability yet to be explained. Using diary data from 312 persons preparing to take a challenging exam, we examined the potential of individual differences in neuroticism, agreeableness, and attachment insecurity to explain variability in experienced support costs. We close with new questions about why received support may be beneficial or benign in some situations while being especially toxic in others.
TL;DR: The results suggest that, at the genetic level, in-group favoritism is linked with a system related to concern over normative social practices, which is, in turn, partially associated with trait Openness.
Abstract: Research has shown that in-group favoritism is associated with concerns over the maintenance of social norms. Here we present two studies examining whether genetic factors underpin this association. A classical twin design was used to decompose phenotypic variance into genetic and environmental components in two studies. Study 1 used 812 pairs of adult U.S. twins from the nationally representative MIDUS II sample. Study 2 used 707 pairs of middle-age twins from the Minnesota Twin Registry. In-group favoritism was measured with scales tapping preferences for in-group (vs. out-group) individuals; norm concerns were measured with the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire–Traditionalism (Study 1) and Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA; Study 2) scales. In Study 1, heritable effects underlying traditionalism were moderately (c. 35%) overlapping with the genetic variance underpinning in-group favoritism. In Study 2, heritable influences on RWA were entirely shared with the heritable effects on in-group favoritism. Moreover, we observed that Big Five Openness shared common genetic links to both RWA and in-group favoritism.These results suggest that, at the genetic level, in-group favoritism is linked with a system related to concern over normative social practices, which is, in turn, partially associated with trait Openness. Studies of both implicit and explicit attitudes in diverse settings show that preferences for members of one’s in-group, and negative sentiment toward out-group individuals, are widespread (Fiske, 2002; LeVine & Campbell, 1972; Sumner, 1907; Tajfel, Billig, Bundy, & Flament, 1971; Vanman, Saltz, Nathan, & Warren, 2004; Wittenbrink, Judd, & Park, 1997). While environmental factors are commonly believed to underpin in-group favoritism and out-group derogation, including parental rearing environment (Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, & Sanford, 1950) or scarcity of key resources (Sherif, 1966), recent research shows that genetic factors also influence individual differences concerning in-group sentiment (Lewis & Bates, 2010; Orey & Park, 2012; Weber, Johnson, & Arceneaux, 2012). However, whether these heritable effects are specific for in-group bias or overlap with more general psychological systems is currently unclear. Here, using two independent, genetically informative samples, we test the hypothesis that genetic variation underlying in-group favoritism reflects more general differences in concerns for norm maintenance—the tendency to adopt prevailing norms and to be concerned when others violate these norms (Altemeyer, 1981; Duckitt, 2006). In addition, we examine the extent to which basic dimensions of personality—the Big Five traits— overlap with heritable aspects of norm concerns and in-group favoritism (Study 2), in line with work positing that both of these constructs reflect basic personality traits (Ekehammar & Akrami, 2007; Sibley & Duckitt, 2008).
TL;DR: This interpersonal perspective could help clarify why some aspects of religiousness and spirituality are beneficial and others are not, and why R/S have interpersonal correlates that may enhance or undermine health and emotional adjustment.
Abstract: The interpersonal tradition (Horowitz & Strack, 2011) provides a rich conceptual and methodological framework for theory-driven research on mechanisms linking religiousness and spirituality (R/S) with health and well-being. In three studies, we illustrate this approach to R/S. In Studies 1 and 2, undergraduates completed various self-report measures of R/S, interpersonal style, and other aspects of interpersonal functioning. In Study 3, a community sample completed a wide variety of R/S measures and a measure of interpersonal style. Many, but not all, aspects of religiousness (e.g., overall religiousness, intrinsic religiousness) were associated with a warm interpersonal style, and most aspects and measures of spirituality were associated with a warm and somewhat dominant style. Spirituality and related constructs (i.e., gratitude, compassion) were associated with interpersonal goals that emphasize positive relationships with others, and with beneficial interpersonal outcomes (i.e., higher social support, less loneliness, and less conflict). However, some aspects of R/S (e.g., extrinsic religiousness, belief in a punishing God) were associated with a hostile interpersonal style. R/S have interpersonal correlates that may enhance or undermine health and emotional adjustment. This interpersonal perspective could help clarify why some aspects of religiousness and spirituality are beneficial and others are not.
TL;DR: A perspective on psychosocial risk is presented and research on its application to the integration of personality, emotional adjustment, and marital processes as closely interrelated influences on health and disease is reviewed.
Abstract: A variety of aspects of personality and emotional adjustment predict the development and course of coronary heart disease (CHD), as do indications of marital quality (e.g., satisfaction, conflict, strain, disruption). Importantly, the personality traits and aspects of emotional adjustment that predict CHD are also related to marital quality. In such instances of correlated risk factors, traditional epidemiological and clinical research typically either ignores the potentially overlapping effects or examines independent associations through statistical controls, approaches that can misrepresent the key components and mechanisms of psychosocial effects on CHD. The interpersonal perspective in personality and clinical psychology provides an alternative and integrative approach, through its structural and process models of interpersonal behavior. We present this perspective on psychosocial risk and review research on its application to the integration of personality, emotional adjustment, and marital processes as closely interrelated influences on health and disease.
TL;DR: A novel perspective on attachment and physiology is described, wherein stress-related physiological changes may also be viewed as supporting the social-cognitive and emotion regulatory functions of the attachment system through providing additional energy to the brain, which has implications for eating behavior and health.
Abstract: Attachment theory provides a conceptual framework for understanding intersections between personality and close relationships in adulthood. Moreover, attachment has implications for stress-related physiology and physical health. We review work on normative processes and individual differences in the attachment behavioral system, as well as their associations with biological mechanisms related to health outcomes. We highlight the need for more basic research on normative processes and physiology and discuss our own research on individual differences in attachment and links with physiology. We then describe a novel perspective on attachment and physiology, wherein stress-related physiological changes may also be viewed as supporting the social-cognitive and emotion regulatory functions of the attachment system through providing additional energy to the brain, which has implications for eating behavior and health. We close by discussing our work on individual differences in attachment and restorative processes, including sleep and skin repair, and by stressing the importance of developing biologically plausible models for describing how attachment may impact chronic illness.
TL;DR: Testing whether attachment anxiety predicts people's ability to detect deceit and to play poker indicated that attachment anxiety, but not other types of anxiety, predicted more accurate detection of deceitful statements and a greater amount of money won during a game of poker.
Abstract: Lying is deep-rooted in our nature, as over 90% of all people lie. Laypeople, however, do only slightly better than chance when detecting lies and deceptions. Recently, attachment anxiety was linked with people's hypervigilance toward threat-related cues. Accordingly, we tested whether attachment anxiety predicts people's ability to detect deceit and to play poker-a game that is based on players' ability to detect cheating. In Study 1, 202 participants watched a series of interpersonal interactions that comprised subtle clues to the honesty or dishonesty of the speakers. In Study 2, 58 participants watched clips in which such cues were absent. Participants were asked to decide whether the main characters were honest or dishonest. In Study 3, we asked 35 semiprofessional poker players to participate in a poker tournament, and then we predicted the amount of money won during the game. Results indicated that attachment anxiety, but not other types of anxiety, predicted more accurate detection of deceitful statements (Studies 1-2) and a greater amount of money won during a game of poker (Study 3). Results are discussed in relation to the possible adaptive functions of certain personality characteristics, such as attachment anxiety, often viewed as undesirable.
TL;DR: It is proposed that language use activates corresponding cultural mindsets, which in turn influence social perception, thinking, and behavior, and dialectical thinking predicted more self- and other-perceived variations in personality and behavior across bilingual contexts.
Abstract: Whether language shapes cognition has long been a controversial issue. The present research adopts a functional approach to examining the effects of language use on personality perception and dialectical thinking. We propose that language use activates corresponding cultural mindsets, which in turn influence social perception, thinking, and behavior. Four studies recruited Chinese-English bilinguals (N = 129 in Study 1, 229 in Study 2, 68 in Study 3, 106 in Study 4) and used within-subjects and between-subjects design, written and behavioral reports, and self- and other perceptions. The four studies converged to show that Chinese-English bilinguals exhibit higher dialectical thinking and more variations in self- and observer ratings of personality when using the Chinese language than when using English. Furthermore, dialectical thinking predicted more self- and other-perceived variations in personality and behavior across bilingual contexts. These results highlight the important role of culture in understanding the relations between language and cognition, and attest to the malleability of personality perception and dialectical thinking within and across individuals in response to culture-related linguistic cues.
TL;DR: The possibility that conscientious individuals live healthier lives by virtue of having greater success in their relationships is considered, as well as a framework by which to consider how Conscientiousness affects relationship functioning, which in turn leads to better physical, emotional, and psychological health.
Abstract: The benefits of living a conscientious life have been demonstrated across multiple domains, and yet, few studies have sought to explain how the positive effects in one area may help explain those in another. The current article considers the possibility that conscientious individuals live healthier lives by virtue of having greater success in their relationships. Using both past research and new findings to support our model, we set forth a framework by which to consider how Conscientiousness affects relationship functioning, which in turn leads to better physical, emotional, and psychological health. In so doing, we also provide a new outlook on the health benefits associated with Conscientiousness, and how these may be conferred by relationship success.
TL;DR: The finding that source Extraversion and Openness to Experience were positively, and Neuroticism negatively, associated with source persuasiveness showed the relevance of an interactionist approach to the study of persuasion, highlighting the role of personality.
Abstract: In the present studies we incorporate a Person × Situation perspective into the study of the persuasion source. Specifically, we aimed to identify the personality characteristics of the persuasive individual and test the moderating role of target and source involvement. In three studies we found support for hypothesized relationships between source persuasiveness and Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience, and evidence for a moderating effect of involvement. In a preliminary study (N = 66, M(age) = 22.7, 64% female), we demonstrated expected differences in the personality ratings assigned to a hypothetical persuasive versus nonpersuasive individual. In Study 1 (N = 95, M(age) = 24.1, 62% female), through sets of two-person debates, we showed that source Extraversion and Openness to Experience were positively, and Neuroticism negatively, associated with source persuasiveness. In Study 2 (N = 148, M(age) = 24.3, 61% female), we manipulated the level of involvement and mostly replicated the results from Study 1, but, corresponding with our predictions, only when involvement was low. Our findings demonstrate the relevance of an interactionist approach to the study of persuasion, highlighting the role of personality in the study of the persuasion source.
TL;DR: This article explores the status of impression management (IM) scales ("lie scales," notably, BIDR-IM) as measures of response bias, offers theory-driven substantive meaning to them, and compares them with self-deception enhancement (SDE).
Abstract: This article explores the status of impression management (IM) scales ("lie scales," notably, BIDR-IM) as measures of response bias, offers theory-driven substantive meaning to them, and compares them with self-deception enhancement (SDE) Study 1 (N = 99) compared self-descriptions of actual self and ideal self given in a non-anonymous setting High similarity indicates self-enhancement Study 2 (70 dyads) analyzed self-other agreement about IM and SDE Agreement indicates substantive basis to the scales' scores Study 3 (N = 182) explored the centrality of self-control in the self-perception of individuals varying in IM and SDE Study 4 (95 dyads) corroborated self-reports about self-control using informants' reports In Study 1, IM was associated with relative humility, whereas SDE was associated with self-enhancement In Study 2, strong self-other agreement was found only for IM, indicating that high IM (but not SDE) is grounded in real-life behavior In Study 3, self-control was central in the self-perception of high IM and high SDE individuals In Study 4, strong relations with self-control were corroborated by informants only for IM IM scales measure substantive content associated with self-control aimed at social adaptation, whereas the SDE scale depicts individuals with a grandiose self-perception, who fail to impress knowledgeable others
TL;DR: The explanatory benefits of considering maladaptive traits or traits associated with personality disorders when discussing the role of personality in social and health outcomes are discussed, with an emphasis on adults in middle to later life.
Abstract: Over the past 5 years, the St. Louis Personality and Aging Network (SPAN) has been collecting data on personality in later life with an emphasis on maladaptive personality, social integration, and health outcomes in a representative sample of 1,630 adults aged 55-64 living in the St. Louis area. This program has confirmed the importance of considering both the normal range of personality and in particular the role of maladaptive traits in order to understand individuals' relationships, life events, and health outcomes. In the current article, we discuss the explanatory benefits of considering maladaptive traits or traits associated with personality disorders when discussing the role of personality in social and health outcomes, with an emphasis on adults in middle to later life, and integrate these findings into the greater literature.