Conscientious Individuals Research Articles

Adopting the risk information seeking and processing model to examine the impact of personality on vaccination intentions in Taiwan

Using the risk information seeking and processing model, this study examined how five personality traits—extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and agreeableness—influenced individuals’ information-seeking behaviors and vaccination intentions. An online survey was administered by a reputable polling company commissioned by this study. The survey employed age, education, gender, and income as distinct strata for sampling, which resulted in 1100 valid questionnaires.The following five conclusions were drawn from the data analysis: (1) Of the five personality traits, two—extraversion and conscientiousness—exhibited a notable impact on individuals' information-seeking behaviors and vaccination intentions. Individuals with the remaining three personality traits—neuroticism, agreeableness, and openness to experience—demonstrate either passive or no information-seeking behaviors on COVID-19. (2) Conscientiousness was the only personality trait linked to increased awareness of COVID-19 characteristics. Moreover, conscientious individuals were inclined to avoid depending on ISNs to seek COVID-19 information and developed vaccination intentions. In contrast, individuals high in agreeableness heavily depended on ISNs for COVID-19 information to initiate information-seeking behaviors. Meanwhile, individuals high in extraversion relied on two variables—affective responses and ISNs—to begin their information-seeking behaviors. (3) Respondents' perceptions of COVID-19 characteristics and their affective responses did not positively influence their perceived information insufficiency directly; instead, both needed to be mediated by ISNs to initiate their information-seeking behaviors. (4) In contrast to the two variables—perceived COVID-19 characteristics and affective responses—this study found that ISNs regarding COVID-19 played a more substantial role in shaping respondents' information-seeking behaviors and vaccination intentions. (5) Unexpectedly, openness to experience was found to have no impact on information-seeking behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sustainability-Infused Learning Environments: Investigating the Role of Digital Technology and Motivation for Sustainability in Achieving Quality Education

The present investigation delves into the complex interconnections among the digital learning environment, academic achievement, psychological empowerment, motivation for sustainability, and the context of universities in Saudi Arabia. Students from various academic fields were selected for a comprehensive study employing a multilevel sampling technique. A holistic understanding of the variables was obtained through quantitative surveys. The study's findings indicate that a well-functioning digital learning environment notably impacts academic achievement. This is consistent with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 objectives, which aim to revolutionize the education sector by integrating technology. While the impact of sustainability motivation on academic achievement is moderately positive, it remains a critical factor in fostering conscientious individuals on a global scale. Furthermore, the correlation between psychological empowerment and academic achievement highlights the criticality of comprehensive education, a fundamental principle of Vision 2030. The current research results provide a strategic plan for improving the standard of education in Saudi Arabia, fostering environmental responsibility, and cultivating diverse individuals equipped to confront forthcoming challenges. This study makes a scholarly contribution and functions as a pragmatic manual for improving education in Saudi Arabia and ensuring its alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 4.

Person-specific priorities in solitude.

People value solitude in varying degrees. Theories and studies suggest that people's appreciation of solitude varies considerably across persons (e.g., an introverted person may value solitude more than an extraverted person), and solitude experiences (i.e., on average, people may value some functions of solitude, e.g., privacy, more than other functions, e.g., self-discovery). What are the unique contributions of these two sources? We surveyed a quota-based sample of 501 US residents about their perceived importance of a diverse set of 22 solitude functions. Variance component analysis reveals that both sources contributed to the variability of perceived importance of solitude (person: 22%; solitude function: 15%). Crucially, individual idiosyncratic preferences (person-by-solitude function interaction) had a substantial impact (46%). Further analyses explored the role of personality traits, showing that different functions of solitude hold varying importance for different people. For example, neurotic individuals prioritize emotion regulation, introverted individuals value relaxation, and conscientious individuals find solitude important for productivity. People value solitude for idiosyncratic reasons. Scientific inquiries on solitude must consider the fit between a person's characteristics and the specific functions a solitary experience affords. This research suggests that crafting or enhancing positive solitude experiences requires a personalized approach.

Integrating IT and Sustainability in Higher Education Infrastructure: Impacts on Quality, Innovation and Research

The present study explores the relationships between information technology and sustainability in higher education infrastructure, analysing their effects on education quality, innovation and research outcomes. The study investigates the intricate relationships among infrastructure enhancements, technological integration and sustainability initiatives. The study thoroughly examines current literature and a case study of Saudi institutions, highlighting the transformative capacity of IT-enabled sustainability programmes. The research involves conducting comprehensive interviews with faculty members from six Saudi universities together with a quantitative analysis utilising replies from 784 students and faculty members. The study uses Structural Equation Modelling (SEM-PLS) to analyse the data. The results indicate significant effects, both direct and indirect, as well as moderating effects. These findings emphasise the positive associations between infrastructure upgrades and their impact on sustainability, improvement in education quality and increased innovation and research output. The study’s implications have practical relevance for academic institutions and policymakers. The social aspect underscores the significance of higher education in shaping conscientious global individuals. This research adds to the growing understanding of the multifaceted connection between IT, sustainability and higher education infrastructure. It provides useful insights for future academic and policy efforts.

Similarities and differences between typical- and maximum-performance in emotion management situational judgment tests

Emotion management is an important dimension of emotional intelligence (EI) and is commonly measured with situational judgment tests (SJTs), which can use either maximum- (MP) or typical-performance (TP) instructions. The goals of the current study were to identify the distinct relation of typical- and maximum-performance emotion management with several criterion variables, and to identify predictors of the difference between MP and TP emotion management. We conducted two studies, with samples from Croatia (N = 215, 65 % female, Mage = 20.91) and Australia (N = 138, 76.8 % female, Mage = 19.21). As predicted, MP emotion management was a significant predictor of college GPA, and TP was significant predictor of ego-resiliency. Polynomial regression analysis with response surface methodology showed that participants who scored higher on TP compared to their results on the MP on the same test had higher results on ego-resiliency. Conscientiousness significantly predicted the gap between typical and maximum-performance, indicating that conscientious individuals were more likely to perform to their maximum emotion management capacity. We suggest that typical performance may be an appropriate way to conceptualize emotion management as a behavioral tendency rather than a knowledge base, in line with interpretation and theory around emotion management.

Risk Tolerance in Investment Decisions: Are Personality Traits the Real Triggers?

Purpose: Investment decisions of investors are strongly influenced by their risk tolerance. Previous research suggests that risk tolerance is influenced by various social, economic, demographic and psychological factors. This research aims to extend the investigative line of inquiry regarding the influence of one such psychological factor, that is, personality, on the risk tolerance of small investors without limiting their asset class or classifying them into any groups. Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative research method is used to measure personality traits and risk tolerance in the investment decisions of small investors in Kashmir. The study uses a structured questionnaire adopted in parts from various established scales to collect data from small investors. Correlations and multiple regression have been used to arrive at the results. Findings: Results of the study indicated that extrovert and open-to-experience individuals showed tolerance to risk. In contrast, conscientious, neurotic and agreeable individuals were risk-averse in the geographical location considered for this study. The results imply that financial advisors must consider the personality traits of investors when giving investment advice to small investors. Practical Implications: It becomes essential for financial planners and advisors to follow an investor-centric approach wherein they consider the personal characteristics of individuals when giving investment advice, and they must design the portfolios/investment avenues according to the investors’ personalities. The results of this study show that investors with different characters have different risk-taking capabilities, and a particular investor will feel comfortable investing in a specific risk-class asset. Originality/Value: There is no study or research about the influence of personality traits on risk tolerance in investment decisions in this particular geographical area, that is, Kashmir. Therefore, this study will contribute significantly towards understanding investor behaviour and help financial advisors and investment bankers suggest appropriate investment avenues.

The Trust Risk Puzzle: The Impact of Trust on the Willingness to Take Financial Risk

We provide a structural equation model to analyze the influence of both willingness to trust others and personality factors such as the Big Five characteristics and optimism on retail investors’ risky assets share and general willingness to take risks. The main findings are as follows: The personality trait agreeableness has a significant and positive impact on general willingness to trust. Willingness to trust others has a significant negative influence on the willingness to take financial risk. More neurotic and more conscientious individuals are significantly more risk averse. Furthermore, more optimistic people reveal a significant lower degree of risk aversion.

Going with(out) the flow at home: day-to-day variability in flow and performance while teleworking

ABSTRACT Prior research suggests that telework often is associated with higher job performance. However, this research primarily has treated days teleworking as interchangeable with one another. Given the recent surge in telework, it is important to ask how much performance varies among days spent working at home and what psychological and contextual factors explain such within-person variability. This information can assist organizations deciding how to best implement policies and support workers at home. Here, we suggest that intrusions and social isolation are obstacles to achieving flow while teleworking, such that higher daily levels of each will hinder flow on those days. In turn, this lack of flow should be associated with worsened daily performance while teleworking. To investigate these ideas, we asked 97 teleworkers to respond to a series of daily measures for up to four days (296 data points). Results showed that performance varied significantly among teleworking days, with both daily intrusions and daily isolation negatively predicting flow, which further mediated the relationship between intrusions and reduced task performance. Isolation did not significantly mediate this relationship. Moreover, conscientious individuals were especially able to leverage higher flow for performance. We discuss implications of these results.

The democratic personality? The big five, authoritarianism and regime preference in consolidated democracies

Research frequently contends that support for democracy is a comparatively stable attitude. A previously neglected explanation for this finding is that regime preferences rest on deeply rooted psychological foundations. This article develops theoretical arguments about how the big five personality traits relate to democratic regime preferences in consolidated democracies, and presents empirical evidence using original survey data for six Western European countries. The results show that democratic regime support is substantively higher for more open, conscientious and agreeable individuals, but slightly lower for more extraverted and neurotic individuals. In addition, it highlights that it is important not to conflate support for democracy with authoritarianism, which the previous literature has frequently turned to for personality roots of anti-democratic sentiments. While authoritarianism also goes along with lower openness to experience, conscientiousness displays an opposite relationship, increasing pro-democratic attitudes but also individuals’ levels of authoritarianism. Thus, findings on authoritarianism should not be automatically translated to regime preferences.

The Influence of the Big Five Personality Traits on Residents' Plastic Reduction Attitudes in China.

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues. It is essential to understand why an individual is or is not supportive of reducing plastics. This study aims to investigate the dynamics behind residents' plastic reduction attitudes from the lens of the Big Five personality traits. A sample of 521 residents in China was recruited and analyzed for this study. The results indicate that the Conscientiousness personality type is a reliable green personality with positive plastic reduction attitudes. Highly conscientious individuals are more responsible for the environment, and are expected to strictly follow the plastic ban policies, whereas less conscientious individuals are more likely to turn a blind eye to them. More importantly, the relationship between a Conscientiousness personality and plastic reduction attitudes is negatively moderated by education. The discovery of education's moderating role suggests that both an inborn personality trait of Conscientiousness and post-born education can complementarily shape residents' plastic reduction attitudes. The findings of this study deepen the understanding of the causes of pro-environmental attitudes and provide valuable insights into plastic management in China.

Personality theory: New factors to incorporate in public decision‐making in communities

AbstractBackgroundThis study explored the effects of personality factors on public behavioral decision‐making.MethodsWe examined the literature on personality theory based on triadic interaction decision theory, and summarized and compared the findings with studies of the Big Five personality characteristics. A literature review method was used to explore the implications of personality theory for public decision‐making in Chinese communities.ResultsIndividuals with high neuroticism can be targeted by influential communicators. Individuals with high extraversion can influence decision‐making through interpersonal relationships. Individuals with high levels of openness can be influenced by the development of novel activities. Conscientious individuals respond to scientific and rational knowledge. Individuals with high agreeableness can be influenced by groups.ConclusionsPersonality traits can influence behavioral decisions and can have positive or negative effects on behavioral outcomes. For people with different personality traits, social actors and social activity communicators should formulate targeted measures according to the classification of personality traits. The current findings have implications for enriching research perspectives and approaches to public community decision‐making.

Personality is no stranger to occupational choice among hospitality graduates

The hospitality industry is currently facing a labor shortage crisis, preventing hotels from operating effectively. This study focuses on understanding the career decisions of hospitality graduates to examine whether occupational choice can be predicted from personality traits. The current occupations of 523 hospitality graduates were coded in light of the RIASEC model and its six dimensions (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional) were regressed on personality results collected during graduates' studies. We found that extraverted individuals chose occupations scoring high in the Enterprising and Social dimensions of the RIASEC model, and they also have occupations scoring lower in the Investigative dimension. People scoring higher in Openness to experience have occupations scoring lower in the Realistic dimension. Conscientious individuals have occupations scoring higher in the Conventional domain. Results demonstrate that personality traits do indeed predict occupational choice, reinforcing the significant role of person-environment fit in shaping hospitality graduates’ occupational choices.

Personality predictors of career exploration: A meta‐analysis

AbstractIn this meta‐analysis, correlations of personality traits and career decision‐making self‐efficacy with self and environmental career exploration were estimated across 71 samples and a pairwise sample of 19,846. Traits included the Big Five personality traits, shyness, locus of control, vocational decision styles, and stress. Many measures of career exploration were based on scores of self and environmental exploration on the Career Exploration Survey. Results varied by characteristics with the largest effects for locus of control, vocational decision style: thinking‐feeling and self‐efficacy. Environmental exploration and self‐exploration were moderately correlated and demonstrated different relations with traits that were consistent with theory. Self‐exploration was related to openness to experience and unrelated to extraversion, while environmental exploration was correlated with extraversion. Both were similarly correlated with conscientiousness such that conscientious individuals were more likely to engage in career exploration.

Exploring the role of conscientiousness on visualization-supported decision-making

Understanding how visualizations can support decision-making continues to be one of the most relevant challenges in current research. However, prior work provides limited knowledge regarding how the decision-maker profile and, in particular, psychological constructs affect decision-making. Weighing how conscientiousness affects one’s tendency to follow the rules and prioritize tasks, this work explores if this personality trait plays a role in visualization-supported decision-making. We asked participants to perform a series of multi-attribute choices using visualizations of high-dimensional data. Further, we study if the quality feedback of the past choice affects the decision-making process. Our results suggest that the feedback quality of past decisions affects how much individuals invest in data analysis and decision-making. In addition, user confidence is affected by conscientiousness scores, resulting in conscientious individuals changing their choices more often. Our findings provide new insights into the research challenges of analyzing decision-making in a visualization setting.

Esports Players Are Less Extroverted and Conscientious than Athletes.

The worldwide status of esports as a sporting phenomenon has been developed in the past decade. However, as the esports industry has grown, it has remained an understudied scientific field. Esports is often contrasted with traditional sports regarding various aspects, including lack of physical activity and the online nature of social interactions. However, little is known whether individuals competing in esports-esports players-differ from individuals competing in traditional sports-athletes. To address this question, we examined the personality characteristics of both types of performers. We collected cross-sectional data on esports players' (n = 416) and athletes' (n = 452) personalities and performance characteristics. We found that esports players were less extroverted and conscientious than athletes. Furthermore, greater sports and esports experience was positively related to being more extroverted. Our findings contribute to the literature by documenting the preferences for competitive activities based on individuals' personality characteristics. We suggest that esports (rather than sports) might be a more suitable form of competition for less extroverted and conscientious individuals.

Conscientiousness and cognitive skills in security sphere: Associations and configurations

In balancing the mission of state security forces and bodies, private security guards are expected to provide partial fulfillment to society’s sturdy desire for safety and security. They exert responsibility for protecting housing and commercial communities, as well as institutions and critical infrastructure systems, including manufacturing, utilities, transportation, and health and educational facilities. Acknowledging that these individuals must possess specific capabilities for a satisfactory level of performance, this study aims to empirically explore how those capabilities interact to obtain a good fit for their job. In order to accomplish this objective, the paper scrutinizes the insights of 94 Colombian security guards. It examines the potential associations (through a partial least squares-structural equation modeling) and configurations (through a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis) between the personality trait of conscientiousness and two relevant cognitive skills: mental agility and visual memory. The findings revealed coincidences and contradictions between techniques and addressed constructs’ arrangements to understand how individual capabilities are associated with work outcomes. Even though conscientious individuals tend to perceive strong compatibility with the security job, the skills under study display signs of being contingent on obtaining the same work attachment effect. This study concludes that a security guard’s job specification must privilege the possession of a conscientiousness trait and, if possible, self-perception of proficiency in cognitive skills, such as mental agility and visual memory, to obtain a correct fitting for the job.

Big Five Personality Factors in Relation to Coping with Contact Restrictions during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Small Sample Study

To slow down the spread of the SARS-Cov-2 virus, countries worldwide severely restricted public and social life. In addition to the physical threat posed by the viral disease (COVID-19), the pandemic also has implications for psychological well-being. Using a small sample (N = 51), we examined how Big Five personality traits relate to coping with contact restrictions during three consecutive weeks in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. We showed that extraversion was associated with suffering from severe contact restrictions and with benefiting from their relaxation. Individuals with high neuroticism did not show a change in their relatively poor coping with the restrictions over time, whereas conscientious individuals seemed to experience no discomfort and even positive feelings during the period of contact restrictions. Our results support the assumption that neuroticism is a vulnerability factor in relation to psychological wellbeing but also show an influence of contact restrictions on extraverted individuals.

The role of personality in disclosing a non-heterosexual orientation at work

Based on a sample of 372 adult employees who reported being LGB+, this cross-sectional study investigated whether and how personality is related to the disclosure of a non-heterosexual orientation at the workplace, which has not been systematically examined so far. Disclosure at work, the five-factor personality traits, self-esteem, impulsiveness, and locus of control were assessed based on prior findings and conceptual aspects alongside with potential covariates. The results suggest that age, the presence of an intimate relationship, and work hours per week incrementally predicted disclosure behavior at work, which is in line with previous studies. These factors significantly increased the likelihood of disclosing a non-heterosexual orientation at work. Regarding personality, bivariate correlation analyses showed that neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, and internal locus of control are related to disclosure behavior at work. This would replicate previous findings on general disclosing behavior. However, when controlling for the shared variance with all relevant personality factors and covariates, only conscientiousness showed incremental validity in explaining disclosure behavior at work. Given that integrity and honesty, as well as authenticity, are key characteristics of conscientious individuals, it may be likely that conscientious LGB + employees tend to disclose their non-heterosexual orientation at work in order to be honest and authentic.

Individual Differences in the Effect of Social Presence on Vigilance Performance: The Role of Personality Traits

Some research has suggested that social presence may improve performance. However, results in this area have been inconsistent, and it may be the case that individual differences in personality are crucial moderators of the effect of social presence on vigilance performance. Thus, the present study examined the effect of personality traits on performing a vigilance task in various social contexts. 124 participants completed a 24-minute vigilance task either alone, with an evaluative observer, with an independent co-actor, or both. Results indicated that conscientiousness was the only trait to interact with experimental condition, such that conscientious individuals reported higher task motivation when completing the task either alone or in the presence of both an evaluator and co-actor. The present results suggest that while conscientiousness may not affect performance, it may be an important moderator of motivation for vigilance tasks.

A Trait-Based Consumer Segmentation for Food Waste Reduction Campaigns

Background: While there is still hunger in the world, a significant amount of food is wasted, which harms the environment. This study focuses on food waste at the consumer level and investigates the role of personality traits on food-waste-aversion. Focus of the Article: Segmentation with personality traits for food waste reduction campaigns. Research Question: Is there a link between personality traits and food-waste-aversion? Are there any associations among consumers’ levels of food-waste-aversion, frugality, conscientiousness, and religiosity? Importance to the Social Marketing Field: Segmentation is a neglected marketing tool in designing campaigns against food waste. This study identifies possible market segments of social marketing campaigns against food waste. In addition, associations among food-waste-aversion and personality traits of conscientiousness, frugality, and religiosity are shown in this study. Methods: This study adopts a cross-sectional research design. A convenience sample of 301 consumers in Turkey is surveyed via an online questionnaire. Results: Results of Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) analysis indicate five distinct consumer segments, namely frugal believers, frugal seculars, conscientious individuals, casual females, and casual males. Moreover, positive associations ( p < 0.001) among food-waste-aversion and personality traits of conscientiousness, frugality, and religiosity are shown. Recommendations for Research or Practice: This study provides a segmentation procedure with the trait perspective. Frugality, conscientiousness, and religiosity traits can play an essential role in food waste reduction. Targeting individuals with communications fit with their personality is likely to increase the success of food waste reduction interventions. Limitations: Due to a lack of behavioral data, this study investigates food waste at the attitudinal level. Further study could use behavioral measures. In addition, the majority of participants in the survey are Muslim. In order to validate research findings across different cultures, it should be carried out in other countries.