The association between personality traits and hoarding behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality traits and hoarding behavior during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. An online survey was conducted among 530 Japanese adults (274 women; Mage = 44.26, SDage = 8.43) who were living in Tokyo when a state of emergency was declared. Personality traits were assessed using measures of the Big Five personality traits and dispositional greed. They also responded to measures of tendencies to hoard essential and countermeasure products during the COVID-19 pandemic. Correlation analysis revealed that Extraversion, Neuroticism, Openness, and dispositional greed were positively associated with hoarding behavior. Multiple regression analysis revealed that individuals with high Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Openness, and dispositional greed tended to hoard products. The present findings suggest that personality traits account for behavioral responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. The emergent relationship between hoarding behavior and each personality trait is discussed in relation to the existing literature.