Showing papers on "Personality published in 2008"

Refining the relationship between personality and subjective well-being.

Abstract: Understanding subjective well-being (SWB) has historically been a core human endeavor and presently spans fields from management to mental health. Previous meta-analyses have indicated that personality traits are one of the best predictors. Still, these past results indicate only a moderate relationship, weaker than suggested by several lines of reasoning. This may be because of commensurability, where researchers have grouped together substantively disparate measures in their analyses. In this article, the authors review and address this problem directly, focusing on individual measures of personality (e.g., the Neuroticism-Extroversion-Openness Personality Inventory; P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992) and categories of SWB (e.g., life satisfaction). In addition, the authors take a multivariate approach, assessing how much variance personality traits account for individually as well as together. Results indicate that different personality and SWB scales can be substantively different and that the relationship between the two is typically much larger (e.g., 4 times) than previous meta-analyses have indicated. Total SWB variance accounted for by personality can reach as high as 39% or 63% disattenuated. These results also speak to meta-analyses in general and the need to account for scale differences once a sufficient research base has been generated.

Fitness consequences of personality: a meta-analysis

Abstract: The study of nonhuman personality capitalizes on the fact that individuals of many species behave in predictable, variable, and quantifiable ways. Although a few empirical studies have examined the ultimate consequences of personality differences, there has been no synthesis of results. We conducted a formal meta-analysis of published studies reporting fitness consequences of single personality dimensions to identify general trends across species. We found bolder individuals had increased reproductive success, particularly in males, but incurred a survival cost, thus, supporting the hypothesis that variation in boldness was maintained due to a ‘‘trade-off’’ in fitness consequences across contexts. Potential mechanisms maintaining variation in exploration and aggression are not as clear. Exploration had a positive effect only on survival, whereas aggression had a positive effect on both reproductive success and, not significantly, on survival. Such results would suggest that selection is driving populations to become more explorative and aggressive. However, limitations in meta-analytic techniques preclude us from testing for the effects of fluctuating environmental conditions or other forms of selection on these dimensions. Results do, however, provide evidence for general relationships between personality and fitness, and we provide a framework for future studies to follow in the hopes of spurring more in-depth, long-term research into the evolutionary mechanisms maintaining variation in personality dimensions and overall behavioral syndromes. We conclude with a discussion on how understanding and managing personality traits may play a key role in the captive breeding and recovery programs of endangered species. Key words: behavioral syndrome, fitness, personality, reproductive success, survival. [Behav Ecol]

The Economics and Psychology of Personality Traits

Abstract: This paper explores the interface between personality psychology and economics. We examine the predictive power of personality and the stability of personality traits over the life cycle. We develop simple analytical frameworks for interpreting the evidence in personality psychology and suggest promising avenues for future research.

Why can't a man be more like a woman? Sex differences in Big Five personality traits across 55 cultures.

Abstract: Previous research suggested that sex differences in personality traits are larger in prosperous, healthy, and egalitarian cultures in which women have more opportunities equal with those of men. In this article, the authors report cross-cultural findings in which this unintuitive result was replicated across samples from 55 nations (N 17,637). On responses to the Big Five Inventory, women reported higher levels of neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness than did men across most nations. These findings converge with previous studies in which different Big Five measures and more limited samples of nations were used. Overall, higher levels of human development—including long and healthy life, equal access to knowledge and education, and economic wealth—were the main nation-level predictors of larger sex differences in personality. Changes in men’s personality traits appeared to be the primary cause of sex difference variation across cultures. It is proposed that heightened levels of sexual dimorphism result from personality traits of men and women being less constrained and more able to naturally diverge in developed nations. In less fortunate social and economic conditions, innate personality differences between men and women may be attenuated.

The Economics and Psychology of Personality Traits

Abstract: This paper explores the interface between personality psychology and economics. We examine the predictive power of personality and the stability of personality traits over the life cycle. We develop simple analytical frameworks for interpreting the evidence in personality psychology and suggest promising avenues for future research.

Experiencing Physical Warmth Promotes Interpersonal Warmth

Abstract: "Warmth" is the most powerful personality trait in social judgment, and attachment theorists have stressed the importance of warm physical contact with caregivers during infancy for healthy relationships in adulthood. Intriguingly, recent research in humans points to the involvement of the insula in the processing of both physical temperature and interpersonal warmth (trust) information. Accordingly, we hypothesized that experiences of physical warmth (or coldness) would increase feelings of interpersonal warmth (or coldness), without the person's awareness of this influence. In study 1, participants who briefly held a cup of hot (versus iced) coffee judged a target person as having a "warmer" personality (generous, caring); in study 2, participants holding a hot (versus cold) therapeutic pad were more likely to choose a gift for a friend instead of for themselves.

Personality Trait Change in Adulthood

Abstract: Recent longitudinal and cross-sectional aging research has shown that personality traits continue to change in adulthood. In this article, we review the evidence for mean-level change in personality traits, as well as for individual differences in change across the life span. In terms of mean-level change, people show increased selfconfidence, warmth, self-control, and emotional stability with age. These changes predominate in young adulthood (age 20-40). Moreover, mean-level change in personality traits occurs in middle and old age, showing that personality traits can change at any age. In terms of individual differences in personality change, people demonstrate unique patterns of development at all stages of the life course, and these patterns appear to be the result of specific life experiences that pertain to a person's stage of life.

The Secret Lives of Liberals and Conservatives: Personality Profiles, Interaction Styles, and the Things They Leave Behind

Abstract: Although skeptics continue to doubt that most people are “ideological,” evidence suggests that meaningful left-right differences do exist and that they may be rooted in basic personality dispositions, that is, relatively stable individual differences in psychological needs, motives, and orientations toward the world. Seventy-five years of theory and research on personality and political orientation has produced a long list of dispositions, traits, and behaviors. Applying a theory of ideology as motivated social cognition and a “Big Five” framework, we find that two traits, Openness to New Experiences and Conscientiousness, parsimoniously capture many of the ways in which individual differences underlying political orientation have been conceptualized. In three studies we investigate the relationship between personality and political orientation using multiple domains and measurement techniques, including: self-reported personality assessment; nonverbal behavior in the context of social interaction; and personal possessions and the characteristics of living and working spaces. We obtained consistent and converging evidence that personality differences between liberals and conservatives are robust, replicable, and behaviorally significant, especially with respect to social (vs. economic) dimensions of ideology. In general, liberals are more open-minded, creative, curious, and novelty seeking, whereas conservatives are more orderly, conventional, and better organized.

Egos inflating over time: a cross-temporal meta-analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory.

Abstract: A cross-temporal meta-analysis found that narcissism levels have risen over the generations in 85 samples of American college students who completed the 40-item forced-choice Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) between 1979 and 2006 (total n=16,475) Mean narcissism scores were significantly correlated with year of data collection when weighted by sample size (beta=53, p<001) Since 1982, NPI scores have increased 033 standard deviation Thus, almost two-thirds of recent college students are above the mean 1979-1985 narcissism score, a 30% increase The results complement previous studies finding increases in other individualistic traits such as assertiveness, agency, self-esteem, and extraversion

Personality and Prejudice: A Meta-Analysis and Theoretical Review:

Abstract: Despite a substantial literature examining personality, prejudice, and related constructs such as Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), there have been no systematic reviews in this area. The authors reviewed and meta-analyzed 71 studies (N = 22,068 participants) investigating relationships between Big Five dimensions of personality, RWA, SDO, and prejudice. RWA was predicted by low Openness to Experience but also Conscientiousness, whereas SDO was predicted by low Agreeableness and also weakly by low Openness to Experience. Consistent with a dual-process motivational model of ideology and prejudice, the effects of Agreeableness on prejudice were fully mediated by SDO, and those of Openness to Experience were largely mediated by RWA. Finally, the effects of Agreeableness and Openness to Experience were robust and consistent across samples, although subtle moderating factors were identified, including differences in personality inventory (NEO Personality Inventory—Revise...

Role of social desirability in personality testing for personnel selection: The red herring

Abstract: Response bias continues to be the most frequently cited criticism of personality testing for personnel selection. The authors meta-analyzed the social desirability literature, examining whether social desirability functions as a predictor for a variety of criteria, as a suppressor, or as a mediator. Social desirability scales were found not to predict school success, task performance, counterproductive behaviors, and job performance. Correlations with the Big Five personality dimensions, cognitive ability, and years of education are presented along with empirical evidence that (a) social desirability is not as pervasive a problem as has been anticipated by industrial-organizational psychologists, (b) social desirability is in fact related to real individual differences in emotional stability and conscientiousness, and (c) social desirability does not function as a predictor, as a practically useful suppressor, or as a mediator variable for the criterion of job performance. Removing the effects of social desirability from the Big Five dimensions of personality leaves the criterion-related validity of personality constructs for predicting job performance intact.

The Authentic Personality: A Theoretical and Empirical Conceptualization and the Development of the Authenticity Scale

Abstract: This article describes the development of a measure of dispositional authenticity and tests whether authenticity is related to well-being, as predicted by several counseling psychology perspectives. Scales were designed to measure a tripartite conception of authenticity, comprising self-alienation, authentic living, and accepting external influence, which was supported with exploratory factor analysis. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed that the factor loadings were invariant across sample, ethnicity, and gender. The scale showed substantial discriminant validity from the Big Five personality traits, nonsignificant correlations with social desirability, and 2- and 4-week test-retest correlations ranging from r = .78 to .91. Each subscale was strongly related to self-esteem and aspects of both subjective and psychological well-being. This article provides the first direct test of several theoretical models that view authenticity as integral to well-being.

Impression Management 2.0. The Relationship of Self-Esteem, Extraversion, Self-Efficacy, and Self-Presentation Within Social Networking Sites.

Abstract: Investigated the relationship between self-reported (offline) personality traits and (online) self-presentation in social networking profiles on the Internet. Social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, and StudiVZ are popular means of communicating personality. Recent theoretical and empirical considerations of homepages and Web 2.0 platforms show that impression management is a major motive for actively participating in social networking sites. 58 users (mean age 22.98 years) of the German Web 2.0 site, StudiVZ.net, completed online questionnaires assessing extraversion (NEO Personality Inventory, NEO-FFI), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, RSES), and efficacy of self-presentation, and their profiles were subject to a content analysis. Findings reveal a slight influence of extraversion on self-presentation, whereas there was no significant effect for self-esteem. Moveover, analyses of respondents' profiles showed that self-efficacy with regard to impression management is strongly related to the number of virtual friends, the level of profile detail, and the style of the personal photo.

Energy metabolism and animal personality

Abstract: In this paper we show how animal personality could explain some of the large inter-individual variation in resting metabolic rate (MR) and explore methodological and functional linkages between personality and energetics. Personality will introduce variability in resting MR measures because individuals consistently differ in their stress response, exploration or activity levels, all of which influence MR measurements made with respirometry and the doubly-labelled water technique. Physiologists try to exclude these behavioural influences from resting MR measurements, but animal personality research indicates that these attempts are unlikely to be successful. For example, because reactive animals "freeze" when submitted to a stress, their MR could be classified as "resting" because of immobility when in fact they are highly stressed with an elevated MR. More importantly, recent research demonstrating that behavioural responses to novel and highly artificial stimuli are correlated with both behaviour and fitness under more natural circumstances calls into question the wisdom of excluding these behavioural influences on MR measurements. The reason that intra-specific variation in resting MR are so weakly correlated with daily energy expenditure (DEE) and fitness, may be that the latter two measures fully incorporate personality while the former partially excludes its influence. Because activity, exploration, boldness and aggressiveness are energetically costly, personality and metabolism should be correlated and physiological constraints may underlie behavioural syndromes. We show how physiological ecologists can better examine behavioural linkages between personality and metabolism, as required to better understand the physiological correlates of personality and the evolutionary consequences of metabolic variability.

Ideology: Its Resurgence in Social, Personality, and Political Psychology:

Abstract: We trace the rise, fall, and resurgence of political ideology as a topic of research in social, personality, and political psychology. For over 200 years, political belief systems have been classified usefully according to a single left-right (or liberal-conservative) dimension that, we believe, possesses two core aspects: (a) advocating versus resisting social change and (b) rejecting versus accepting inequality. There have been many skeptics of the notion that most people are ideologically inclined, but recent psychological evidence suggests that left-right differences are pronounced in many life domains. Implicit as well as explicit preferences for tradition, conformity, order, stability, traditional values, and hierarchy-versus those for progress, rebelliousness, chaos, flexibility, feminism, and equality-are associated with conservatism and liberalism, respectively. Conservatives score consistently higher than liberals on measures of system justification. Furthermore, there are personality and lifestyle differences between liberals and conservatives as well as situational variables that induce either liberal or conservative shifts in political opinions. Our thesis is that ideological belief systems may be structured according to a left-right dimension for largely psychological reasons linked to variability in the needs to reduce uncertainty and threat.

Understanding the Search for Meaning in Life: Personality, Cognitive Style, and the Dynamic Between Seeking and Experiencing Meaning

Abstract: Although several theories assert that understanding the search for meaning in life is important, empirical research on this construct is sparse. Three studies provide the first extensive effort to understand the correlates of the search for meaning in a multistudy research program. Assessed were relations between search for meaning and well-being, cognitive style, and the Big Five, Big Three, Approach/Avoidance, and Interest models of personality, with a particular emphasis on understanding the correlates of search for meaning that are independent of presence of meaning. Conceptual models of the relation between search and presence were tested. Findings suggest that people lacking meaning search for it; the search for meaning did not appear to lead to its presence. Study 3 found that basic motive dispositions moderated relations between search for meaning and its presence. Results highlight the importance of basic personality dispositions in understanding the search for meaning and its correlates.

Generational differences in psychological traits and their impact on the workplace

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review data from 1.4 million people who completed personality, attitude, psychopathology, or behavior scales between the 1930s and the present and to discuss how those differences may impact today's workplace.Design/methodology/approach – The data are gathered from research reports using psychological scales over the last eight decades, primarily those using college student samples.Findings – Generation Me (sometimes called Gen Y or Millennials) demonstrates higher self‐esteem, narcissism, anxiety, and depression; lower need for social approval; more external locus of control; and women with more agentic traits.Practical implications – Managers should expect to see more employees with unrealistically high expectations, a high need for praise, difficulty with criticism, an increase in creativity demands, job‐hopping, ethics scandals, casual dress, and shifting workplace norms for women. Organizations can respond to these changes with accommodations (e.g. praise pro...

Research Note---How Does Personality Matter? Relating the Five-Factor Model to Technology Acceptance and Use

Abstract: The five-factor model (FFM) of personality has been used to great effect in management and psychology research to predict attitudes, cognitions, and behaviors, but has largely been ignored in the IS field. We demonstrate the potential utility of incorporating this model into IS research by using the FFM personality factors in the context of technology acceptance. We propose a dispositional perspective to understanding user attitudes and beliefs, and examine the effect of user personality---captured using the FFM's big five factors---on both the perceived usefulness of and subjective norms toward the acceptance and use of technology. Using logged usage data from 180 new users of a collaborative technology, we found general support for our hypotheses that the FFM personality dimensions can be useful predictors of users' attitudes and beliefs. We also found strong support for the relationships between intention to use and system use.

Comparing clinical and social-personality conceptualizations of narcissism.

Abstract: There is a lack of consensus surrounding the conceptualization of narcissism. The present study compared two measures of narcissism-one used in clinical settings (Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire, PDQ-4+; Hyler, 1994) and one used in social-personality research (Narcissistic Personality Inventory, NPI; Raskin & Terry, 1988)-across two samples. Sample 1 (N=271) was composed of undergraduates, whereas Sample 2 (N=211) was composed of parents of the Sample 1 participants. The scales were significantly interrelated but manifested divergent relations with general personality traits, personality disorders (including expert prototypal ratings of narcissism), recollections of parenting received, and psychological distress and self-esteem. PDQ-4 narcissism captured an emotionally unstable, negative-affect-laden, and introverted variant of narcissism; NPI narcissism captured an emotionally resilient, extraverted form. The clinical and social-personality conceptualizations of narcissism primarily share a tendency to use an antagonistic interpersonal style. Implications for the DSM-V are discussed.

Pathogens, Personality, and Culture: Disease Prevalence Predicts Worldwide Variability in Sociosexuality, Extraversion, and Openness to Experience

Abstract: Previous research has documented cross-cultural differences in personality traits, but the origins of those differences remain unknown. The authors investigate the possibility that these cultural differences can be traced, in part, to regional differences in the prevalence in infectious diseases. Three specific hypotheses are deduced, predicting negative relationships between disease prevalence and (a) unrestricted sociosexuality, (b) extraversion, and (c) openness to experience. These hypotheses were tested empirically with methods that employed epidemiological atlases in conjunction with personality data collected from individuals in dozens of countries worldwide. Results were consistent with all three hypotheses: In regions that have historically suffered from high levels of infectious diseases, people report lower mean levels of sociosexuality, extraversion, and openness. Alternative explanations are addressed, and possible underlying mechanisms are discussed.

A Framework for the Study of Personality and Political Behaviour

Abstract: Variance in how citizens interact with the political world constitutes one of many classes of individual difference. Understanding the antecedents of this variance is the central objective for students of political behaviour, and researchers draw on numerous factors in addressing this task. Unfortunately, one potentially vital factor, personality, has received only sporadic attention in recent decades. Neglect of personality was understandable for many years, as psychological research on personality failed to produce concise taxonomies applicable to the study of politics. As the present analysis demonstrates, however, this situation has changed. Research on personality has gained new footing with the emergence of a series of five-factor models, and these frameworks hold great potential for the study of political behaviour. This thesis is advanced in a two-part analysis. First, we outline how and why our understanding of citizen politics may be improved through application of five-factor models of personality. In doing so, we focus on the components of one specific taxonomy, the Big Five lexical model. Secondly, using three datasets, we explore the link between the Big Five personality factors and a wide array of political attitudes and behaviours. Results reveal that all facets of personality captured by the Big Five framework matter for citizen politics, and that personality effects operate on virtually all aspects of political behaviour. These findings demonstrate the insight that can emerge with further application of broad-scale models of personality.

Generational differences in personality and motivation: Do they exist and what are the implications for the workplace?

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this research is to examine whether personality and motivational driver differences exist across three generations of working Australians: Baby Boomers, Gen Xs, and Gen Ys.Design/methodology/approach – Using the Occupational Personality Questionnaire and the Motivation Questionnaire, the study examined cross‐sectional differences in personality and motivational drivers across three generations.Findings – The results are not supportive of the generational stereotypes that have been pervasive in the management literature and the media. Specifically, few meaningful differences were found between the three generations. Moreover, even when differences have been observed, these have related more to age than generation.Research limitations/implications – One of the key limitations is the use of cross‐sectional data. To further explore this issue, it would be interesting to undertake a longitudinal study to assess personality preferences and motivational drivers of the different generatio...

Understanding the impact of personality traits on individuals' turnover decisions: a meta-analytic path model

Abstract: Historically, researchers have sought to identify environmental causes of employee turnover This paradigm has led to the underemphasis of individual differences as being an important cause of individuals' turnover decisions The results of the meta-analysis show that personality traits do have an impact on individuals' turnover intentions and behaviors The trait of Emotional Stability best predicted (negatively) employees' intentions to quit, whereas the traits of Conscientiousness and Agreeableness best predicted (negatively) actual turnover decisions A theoretically developed path model showed important direct effects from personality to intentions to quit and turnover behaviors that were not captured through job satisfaction or job performance These direct effects indicate that employees who are low on Emotional Stability may intend to quit for reasons other than dissatisfaction with their jobs or not being able to perform their jobs well The direct effects on turnover suggest that individuals who are low on Agreeableness or high on Openness may engage in unplanned quitting Personality traits had stronger relationships with outcomes than did non-self-report measures of job complexity/job characteristics

Why do we trust new technology? A study of initial trust formation with organizational information systems

Abstract: Recent trust research in the information systems (IS) field has described trust as a primary predictor of technology usage and a fundamental construct for understanding user perceptions of technology. Initial trust formation is particularly relevant in an IS context, as users must overcome perceptions of risk and uncertainty before using a novel technology. With initial trust in a more complex, organizational information system, there are a number of external determinants, trusting bases, that may explain trust formation and provide organizations with the needed levers to form or change individuals' initial trust in technology. In this study, a research model of initial trust formation is developed and includes trusting bases, trusting beliefs, trusting attitude and subjective norm, and trusting intentions. Eight trusting base factors are assessed including personality, cognitive, calculative, and both technology and organizational factors of the institutional base. The model is empirically tested with 443 subjects in the context of initial trust in a national identity system (NID). The proposed model was supported and the results indicate that subjective norm and the cognitive-reputation, calculative, and organizational situational normality base factors significantly influence initial trusting beliefs and other downstream trust constructs. Factors from some of the more commonly investigated bases, personality and technology institutional, did not significantly affect trusting beliefs. The findings have strategic implications for agencies implementing e-government systems and organizational information systems in general.