Narrow Personality Traits Research Articles

Body mass is linked with a broad range of personality nuances, but especially those with behavioral content: A multi-sample exploration

Various personality domains and facets correlate with body mass index (BMI), but recent studies suggest that using narrower personality traits—nuances—could contribute to a more detailed understanding of personality–body weight associations. We used three large datasets with different inventories to describe nuances’ correlations with BMI and explore whether BMI predominantly correlated with affective, behavioral, cognitive, or motivational item content. BMI correlated with many nuances, most prominently those reflecting immoderation, lack of orderliness, talkativeness, leadership tendencies, anger, traditionalism, and preference for routine. The highest nuance-level correlation was .21, compared to .11 for the Five-Factor Model domains. BMI correlated most strongly with nuances predominantly reflecting behaviors. Nuance-based approaches can thus reveal the strength, multitude, and content-nature of personality–outcome correlations that can potentially remain hidden in broader traits. If personality traits become relevant in the prevention or treatment of obesity, a focus on narrow behavioral traits may be especially warranted.

Effort beats effectiveness in emotion regulation choice: Differences between suppression and distancing in subjective and physiological measures.

Emotion regulation (ER) can be implemented by different strategies which differ in their capacity to alter emotional responding. What all strategies have in common is that cognitive control must be exercised in order to implement them. The aim of the present preregistered study was to investigate whether the two ER strategies, expressive suppression and distancing, require different amounts of cognitive effort and whether effort is associated with personality traits. Effort was assessed subjectively via ratings and objectively via pupillometry and heart period. In two studies, N=110 and N=52 healthy adults conducted an ER paradigm. Participants used suppression and distancing during inspection of positive and negative pictures. They also had the choice to reapply either of the strategies at the end of the paradigm. Although distancing was more effective in downregulation of subjective arousal (Study 1: p<.001, =.20; Study 2: p<.001, =.207), about two thirds reapplied suppression, because it was perceived as less effortful. Effort was rated significantly lower for suppression compared to distancing (Study 1: p=.042, =.04; Study 2: p=.002, =.13). However, differences in effort were not reflected in pupillary data or heart period. Broad and narrow personality traits were neither associated with the preferred strategy nor with subjective or physiological effort measures. Findings suggest that people tend to use the ER strategy that is perceived as less effortful, even though it might not be the most effective strategy.

Incremental Validity of Character Strengths as Predictors of Job Performance Beyond General Mental Ability and the Big Five.

Over the last decades, various predictors have proven relevant for job performance [e.g., general mental ability (GMA), broad personality traits, such as the Big Five]. However, prediction of job performance is far from perfect, and further potentially relevant predictors need to be investigated. Narrower personality traits, such as individuals' character strengths, have emerged as meaningfully related to different aspects of job performance. However, it is still unclear whether character strengths can explain additional variance in job performance over and above already known powerful predictors. Consequently, the present study aimed at (1) examining the incremental validity of character strengths as predictors of job performance beyond GMA and/or the Big Five traits and (2) identifying the most important predictors of job performance out of the 24 character strengths, GMA, and the Big Five. Job performance was operationalized with multidimensional measures of both productive and counterproductive work behavior. A sample of 169 employees from different occupations completed web-based self-assessments on character strengths, GMA, and the Big Five. Additionally, the employees' supervisors provided web-based ratings of their job performance. Results showed that character strengths incrementally predicted job performance beyond GMA, the Big Five, or GMA plus the Big Five; explained variance increased up to 54.8, 43.1, and 38.4%, respectively, depending on the dimension of job performance. Exploratory relative weight analyses revealed that for each of the dimensions of job performance, at least one character strength explained a numerically higher amount of variance than GMA and the Big Five, except for individual task proactivity, where GMA exhibited the numerically highest amount of explained variance. The present study shows that character strengths are relevant predictors of job performance in addition to GMA and other conceptualizations of personality (i.e., the Big Five). This also highlights the role of socio-emotional skills, such as character strengths, for the understanding of performance outcomes above and beyond cognitive ability.

The impact of narrow personality traits on entrepreneurial intention in developing countries: A comparison of Turkish and Iranian undergraduate students using ordered discrete choice models

This study aimed to examine the potential determinants of the entrepreneurial intention (EI) levels of Turkish and Iranian undergraduate students with an emphasis on the narrow personality traits that could predict such students’ EI levels. For this purpose, a well-established written questionnaire was administered to a total of 875 undergraduate students from both countries. Due to the ordered nature of the dependent variable, the data were analyzed using the ordered logit, generalized ordered logit, and partial proportional odds models. The results of the study showed significant differences between the Turkish and Iranian undergraduate students’ EI levels. That is, the presence of an entrepreneur in the family increased the Turkish undergraduate students’ EI levels whereas the Turkish undergraduate students whose household heads were government officials or retirees had lower EI levels than those whose parents were self-employed. The Turkish undergraduate students who saw themselves as having much enthusiasm and having the tendency to become tense and to do things efficiently had a higher intention to found a business venture in the near future compared to those who did not have such traits. In contrast, the Turkish students who saw themselves as having the tendency to persevere until their task is finished, to be moody, and to make plans and implement them had lower EI levels than those who did not have these traits. Openness (with significant narrow personality traits such as having the tendency to be original, to come up with new ideas, and to have an active imagination) was found to be the Big Five personality trait with the greatest positive impact on the Iranian undergraduate students’ EI levels whereas the Iranian undergraduate students who saw themselves as ingenious, deep thinkers, and worriers had lower EI levels. It was also shown in this study that the Iranian undergraduate students with a monthly income from a job in addition to their stipend from their family were more likely to have higher EI levels than those whose monthly funds came only from their parents. In addition, the male Iranian students were found to have lower EI levels than their female counterparts. This study contributed to the existing literature by conducting a cross-cultural comparison of two developing countries using the ordered discrete choice modeling approaches, and its empirical findings may assist policymakers in coming up with effective policies for promoting entrepreneurship.

Smaller Is Better: Associations Between Personality and Demographics Are Improved by Examining Narrower Traits and Regions

The personality of individuals is clustered by geographic regions; a resident of a region is more similar to another resident than to a random non-resident. Research in geographical psychology often has focused on this clustering effect in broad regions, such as countries and states, using broad domains of personality, such as the Big Five. We examined the extent to which (a) a narrower geographic unit, the U.S. ZIP Code, accounted for more variance explained in aggregating personality than a broader region, the U.S. state; and (b) progressively narrower personality traits (domains, facets, and nuances, respectively) provided more specificity in describing personality-demographic relationships. Results from this study (nparticipants = 39,886, nzipcodes = 2,074) indicated that the variance explained by aggregating personality was multiple times as large for U.S. ZIP Codes than for states (median = 4.4). At the level of personality domains, ZIP Code population density and income disparity were positively correlated with Openness and negatively correlated with Conscientiousness and Agreeableness. Facets within each domain were differentially correlated with each demographic, which demonstrated that facets added specificity to the personality-demographic relationships beyond that of domains. Item-level analysis revealed the most specific finding: higher population density and income disparity were associated with politically liberal attitudes and beliefs of self-exceptionalism, while lower density and income disparity were associated with authoritarian attitudes and concern for abiding by rules and laws. Findings suggest that future studies in geographical and personality psychology could benefit from using the narrowest feasible unit of analysis.

Relationships Between Narrow Personality Traits and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies: Exploring the Role of Mindfulness, Contingent Self-Esteem, and Self-Control

Based on Boekaerts’ dual-processing self-regulation model, our study seeks to examine to what extent narrow personality traits are associated with different aspects of self-regulated learning. We approach this research question by examining the relationships of the narrow personality traits mindfulness, contingent self-esteem (domain academic competence), and self-control with various self-regulated learning strategies, emotion regulation strategies, and affective well-being during learning in a sample of N = 588 university students. Path analysis revealed the selected narrow personality traits to be significantly related to a variety of the investigated self-regulated learning variables, with more relationships to self-control and the contingent self-esteem domain academic competence than to mindfulness. Our study overall contributes to the understanding of how the selected narrow personality traits of students are associated with various aspects of their self-regulated learning behavior. Practical implications for promoting self-regulated learning via training (self-control) and counseling services (contingent self-esteem) are discussed.

Looking beyond the Big Five: A selective review of alternatives to the Big Five model of personality

For decades, the Big 5 model of personality has dominated as one of the most popular and widely used models of personality. The current article reviews the development and prevalence of the Big 5 model and explores the position of other personality variables not (or not fully) encompassed by this model, to see what lies ‘beyond the Big 5’. We start by comparing the Big 5 to the alternative six-factor HEXACO model, the Supernumerary Personality Traits, and a psychobiological model of personality. We then discuss the Dark Tetrad traits, self-defeating interpersonal styles, and trait emotional intelligence as examples of narrower personality traits which predict outcomes over and above the Big 5. Comparisons between these different personality models and the extent to which other personality traits can predict different psychological outcomes will be used to address the discussion of whether the Big 5 is a sufficient measure of personality, or whether other personality variables need to be also considered for a more comprehensive model of personality. Areas of consideration for researchers investigating Big 5 personality will also be discussed.

Personality and prosocial behavior: A theoretical framework and meta-analysis.

Decades of research document individual differences in prosocial behavior using controlled experiments that model social interactions in situations of interdependence. However, theoretical and empirical integration of the vast literature on the predictive validity of personality traits to account for these individual differences is missing. Here, we present a theoretical framework that identifies 4 broad situational affordances across interdependent situations (i.e., exploitation, reciprocity, temporal conflict, and dependence under uncertainty) and more specific subaffordances within certain types of interdependent situations (e.g., possibility to increase equality in outcomes) that can determine when, which, and how personality traits should be expressed in prosocial behavior. To test this framework, we meta-analyzed 770 studies reporting on 3,523 effects of 8 broad and 43 narrow personality traits on prosocial behavior in interdependent situations modeled in 6 commonly studied economic games (Dictator Game, Ultimatum Game, Trust Game, Prisoner's Dilemma, Public Goods Game, and Commons Dilemma). Overall, meta-analytic correlations ranged between -.18 ≤ ρ̂ ≤ .26, and most traits yielding a significant relation to prosocial behavior had conceptual links to the affordances provided in interdependent situations, most prominently the possibility for exploitation. Moreover, for several traits, correlations within games followed the predicted pattern derived from a theoretical analysis of affordances. On the level of traits, we found that narrow and broad traits alike can account for prosocial behavior, informing the bandwidth-fidelity problem. In sum, the meta-analysis provides a theoretical foundation that can guide future research on prosocial behavior and advance our understanding of individual differences in human prosociality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Cognitive adaptability and narrow personality traits: Proposing a person–entrepreneurship fit for established entrepreneurs in South Africa

Background: The person–entrepreneurship fit has been confirmed for new ventures, but has not been determined for established entrepreneurs. Personality traits and entrepreneurial cognitions are seen as important factors that lead to long-term performance, which is needed for established entrepreneurs to survive. Objectives: A model is proposed which suggests that a closer association between certain narrow personality traits and the cognitive adaptability dimensions indicates a closer person–entrepreneurship fit. Method: A quantitative approach was followed whereby 2650 established entrepreneurs in South Africa were surveyed, and a multiple regression analysis was conducted. Results: Most studies on personality are conducted using the five-factor model of personality traits, and not necessarily the narrow traits. In this regard, new narrow traits emerged within the five main personality traits. The findings increase the understanding of the cognitive adaptability, and how it relates to these discrete narrow personality traits. Conclusion: The findings of this study may inform the policymakers who are trying to encourage entrepreneurial activity, and the transition of nascent entrepreneurs to established entrepreneurs in the context of developing as well as developed markets. Educators could incorporate the cognitive adaptability dimensions in entrepreneurial training and support programmes, which could encourage nascent and start-up entrepreneurs to become established entrepreneurs.

Pitfalls of personality theory

This paper considers whether personality theory should develop breadth by exploring more and more narrow personality traits, or depth by deepening our understanding of known, higher-order traits. It demonstrates that narrow personality traits are frequently statistical artefacts. I argue that they are not based on individual differences in behaviour at all; as such they may not represent causal influences, or indeed any real characteristic of individuals. Despite their careful psychometric development, they will often be nothing more than social constructions. If one must work with narrow scales, I argue that it is imperative to examine the items within each scale to ensure that they differ in meaning. I also demonstrate that correlating such scales together can produce nonsensical results because popular scales which supposedly measure different traits sometimes contain items which are identical in meaning, and so will be answered similarly. I show that this is a problem with several widely-used scales, and note that studies which are based on such misleading analyses are sometimes widely cited. I argue that developing theories which explore the origins of higher-order personality traits and their relationship to other variables is likely to be more useful than focusing on narrow traits.

Situational Judgment Tests as an Alternative Measure for Personality Assessment

Abstract. Across many domains of applied psychology, personality traits are related to important outcomes such as well-being, psychological disorders, work performance, and academic achievement. However, self-reports, the most common approach to personality assessment, have certain limitations and disadvantages, such as being prone to faking. We investigated whether situational judgment tests, an established assessment technique to predict job performance, might serve as an alternative measure for the assessment of personality. Our results show that a situational judgment test specifically developed to assess narrow personality traits may possess high levels of construct validity. Additionally, our results indicate that the situational judgment was equivalent to a self-report personality measure with regard to predicting a number of theoretically related criteria. We conclude that situational judgment tests may serve as an alternative method for the assessment of personality and discuss potential theoretical and applied drawbacks.

The Impact of Personality in the Selection of Teacher Students: Is There More to it Than the Big Five?

The bandwidth-fidelity dilemma is a controversially discussed problem in personality measurement. In this study, we contrasted the utility of broad versus narrow personality traits in an admission exam for teacher students. We compared the Big Five and narrow personality constructs (social-communicative behavior, achievement behavior, health and recreation behavior), which were part of an assessment battery for teacher student selection (N = 1120), regarding overlap and predictive validity. As criterion variables, academic satisfaction (N = 184) and GPA (N = 680) were assessed later. Reasonableness of including both questionnaires in one assessment may be questioned in terms of overlap of the personality inventories. Results show that health and recreation behavior cannot be covered by the Big Five in a selection procedure. Empirically, both broad and narrow traits show predictive validity for academic success and satisfaction.

Predicting counterproductive work behavior with narrow personality traits: A nuanced examination using quantile regression

Conditional means models such as linear regression are regularly employed to examine relationships between personality traits and counterproductive work behavior. However, this method has several shortcomings limiting its utility. Quantile regression analysis better accounts for many of these limitations. This study investigates narrow personality traits as predictors of counterproductive workplace behavior using quantile methods with 952 working adults. Results show that quantile regression analysis provides a more nuanced representation of the relationship that personality traits have with counterproductive workplace behavior. We demonstrate that the conditional mean (i.e., regression coefficient) observed with standard ordinary least squares regression overestimates regression parameters at low levels of counterproductive work behavior, and underestimates it at high levels. The findings from this study suggest that reliance on conditional means models for the prediction of CWB may have resulted in an incomplete understanding and under appreciation of personality's actual value for the prediction of workplace deviance.

Probing Birth-Order Effects on Narrow Traits Using Specification-Curve Analysis

The idea that birth-order position has a lasting impact on personality has been discussed for the past 100 years. Recent large-scale studies have indicated that birth-order effects on the Big Five personality traits are negligible. In the current study, we examined a variety of more narrow personality traits in a large representative sample (n = 6,500–10,500 in between-family analyses; n = 900–1,200 in within-family analyses). We used specification-curve analysis to assess evidence for birth-order effects across a range of models implementing defensible yet arbitrary analytical decisions (e.g., whether to control for age effects or to exclude participants on the basis of sibling spacing). Although specification-curve analysis clearly confirmed the previously reported birth-order effect on intellect, we found no meaningful effects on life satisfaction, locus of control, interpersonal trust, reciprocity, risk taking, patience, impulsivity, or political orientation. The lack of meaningful birth-order effects on self-reports of personality was not limited to broad traits but also held for more narrowly defined characteristics.

Introversion and a single nucleotide polymorphism in PER3 gene: demure female students prevail among carriers of the rare allele

Genetic basis and evolutionary mechanisms responsible for maintaining variation in broad personality traits remain the mysteries. Recently, Extraversion that is the most known broad personality trait has been linked to a variable number tandem repeat polymorphism in PER3 gene. Data collected from 88 female students of the Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University were analyzed to examine associations of a PER3 single nucleotide polymorphism (rs228697) with self-ratings on 172 personality-relevant nouns. These nouns were previously selected for the structuring Russian personality trait descriptors and scoring six broad personality traits regarded as constellations of narrow personality traits. Differences in self-ratings of 20 minor allele carriers and 68 homozygotes for the major allele were revealed for 15 nouns. Twelve of them were associated with just two constellations, Extraversion-Assertiveness and Self-Assurance-Masculinity (8 and 4, respectively). Yes-response was given by the majority (>10) of minor allele carriers to 7 of 15 nouns (“reticence”, “secretiveness”, “modesty”, “reservedness”, “shyness” from Extraversion-Assertiveness, “bashfulness” and “indecisiveness” from Self-Assurance-Masculinity). The results confirmed the link between Extraversion and polymorphism in PER3 gene. For maintaining such underlying genetic variation natural selection might favor two distinct behavioral specializations determined by alternative traits at the poles of a narrow personality dimension, e.g. Boldness vs. Modesty.

Personality Traits Structuring Can Lead to Uncovering Its Adaptive Function

There exists a clear distinguishable personality variation along a big amount of dimensions, such as dependability, honesty, cooperativeness, generousness, humorousness, friendliness, competitiveness, and so on. The practice of classification of trait words indicates that each original list consisting of hundreds of these words of personality lexicon can be replaced by 5-6 broad factorial dimensions. Usually, the personality psychologists do not explain the nature of such empirically derived personality traits structures. Instead, they often stress that neither theory is supported by such factorial models of personality traits structure due to their pure empirical origin. The author proposed a three-dimensional (“rugby cake”) model allowing the replacement of a six-factor representation of personality traits structure by a more parsimonious representation with only three spatial (underlying) dimensions named Advantageousness (A), Benignity (B), and Controllability (C). In the present paper he proposed that the human capability to distinguish between numerous personality traits dimensions evolved as an essential life skill determined by a relatively autonomous, automatic, and specialized computational device. This device makes nearly everyone well enough in navigating between hundreds of narrow personality traits dimensions without much effort and outside of awareness. People can unconsciously organize the personality perception process in the framework of a very parsimonious three-dimensional ABC system. It provides a sense to which extent a particular narrow personality trait is advantageous (A), benign (B), and controlled (C) to solve the adaptive problems of predicting and controlling others’ behavior via perception, classification, judgment, and signaling of fitness correlated personality traits.

Personality Traits Structuring Can Lead to Uncovering Its Adaptive Function

There exists a clear distinguishable personality variation along a big amount of dimensions, such as dependability, honesty, cooperativeness, generousness, humorousness, friendliness, competitiveness, and so on. The practice of classification of trait words indicates that each original list consisting of hundreds of these words of personality lexicon can be replaced by 5-6 broad factorial dimensions. Usually, the personality psychologists do not explain the nature of such empirically derived personality traits structures. Instead, they often stress that neither theory is supported by such factorial models of personality traits structure due to their pure empirical origin. The author proposed a three-dimensional (“rugby cake”) model allowing the replacement of a six-factor representation of personality traits structure by a more parsimonious representation with only three spatial (underlying) dimensions named Advantageousness (A), Benignity (B), and Controllability (C). In the present paper he proposed that the human capability to distinguish between numerous personality traits dimensions evolved as an essential life skill determined by a relatively autonomous, automatic, and specialized computational device. This device makes nearly everyone well enough in navigating between hundreds of narrow personality traits dimensions without much effort and outside of awareness. People can unconsciously organize the personality perception process in the framework of a very parsimonious three-dimensional ABC system. It provides a sense to which extent a particular narrow personality trait is advantageous (A), benign (B), and controlled (C) to solve the adaptive problems of predicting and controlling others’ behavior via perception, classification, judgment, and signaling of fitness correlated personality traits.

A 3-D Look at the Russian Personality Traits Structure

Attempts to account for most important differences in personality by applying factor analysis to long lists of personality trait variables led to extraction of 5 or 6 orthogonal factorial dimensions. The present paper addresses an issue of more parsimonious three-dimensional visualization of a set of 6 factorial dimensions. Russian speaking respondents used the lists of 496 and 296 personality-relevant nouns for judging 1242 and 447 peoples, respectively. To visualize 6 factorial dimensions of the personality traits structure, a three-dimensional rugby (ball) cake model was suggested and examined by comparison of model-predicted and observed patterns of correlation of each noun with 6 factorial scales. Each noun was linked to one of 43 narrow personality traits predicted by the rugby cake shape. A shorter list of nouns was selected for exemplifying each pole of these traits and all these nouns were evenly written on the surface of the rugby cake shape. Topological features of such three-dimensional shape provided an explanation of failure to reduce 5–6 factorial dimensions to just three spatial dimensions by means of a pure empirical analysis of either loadings of trait variables on these dimensions or their correlations with them.

Cultural Adjustment and Social Justice Behaviour: The Role of Individual Differences in Multicultural Personality

The present study examined altruistic behaviour using broad personality traits (the Big Five) and the narrow personality trait of cultural adjustment (multicultural personality) while controlling for social justice attitudes and other demographic variables. Using an analogue version of a modified dictator game, 153 participants were required to divide a variable amount of money between themselves and a hypothetical recipient who was treated unfairly in a prior dictator game (based on results from a separate sample). We varied the race (Black and White) and gender (male and female) of the fictional recipient to present the individual as either advantaged or disadvantaged in society. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions with the recipient presented as (i) a White man, (ii) a White woman, or (iii) a Black man. A separate sample of 71 participants rated recipients as treated unfairly and as representing a marginalized group. Results showed that subscales of the Multicultural Personality Inventory predicted giving behaviour above and beyond the variance accounted for by broad personality traits and attitudes towards social justice. The discussion focuses on implications for research in social justice based on cultural adaptation and personality. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology

The Relationship between Personality Traits and Active versus Inactive Facebook Usage among Female University Students in Egypt

This study examined the effect of the Big Five traits (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness), in addition to two narrow personality traits (narcissism and self-esteem) on active versus inactive Facebook usage. The study also investigated the effect of attitudes towards Facebook, motivations of Facebook use (Social/ informational) and educational variables (School year and education type in high school). A survey was conducted on 326 female university students from the School of Mass Communication in Cairo University. The results of the study shed light on the difference between factors affecting each type of Facebook use. Regarding the inactive Facebook use, none of the personality traits affected it. The only effective variables were attitudes towards Facebook and the education year. As inactive use was measured only by hours spent on Facebook, it was logical that as the positive attitudes increased, the time spent on Facebook increased whatever personal traits the user had. There was also a positive correlation between school year and time spent on Facebook. This result could be interpreted in light of the nature of the Egyptian educational system and the differences in the life style of students in their first semester in the School of Mass Communication as they were used to spending a lot of time studying in High school and the life style of students after spending a few years in the school as the media, including social networking sites, became an important part of their life either to socialize with colleagues or as a part of their study. Regarding the active Facebook use, it was affected by four variables; two personality traits which were narcissism and extraversion, in addition to informational use motivations and education year. There was a positive correlation between the level of narcissism and the active use of Facebook, especially that the measure includes updating status, uploading photos and writing comments. This came in line with the desire of narcissists to be in the spotlight (Buffardi and Campbell, 2008; Ong et al., 2011; Lee et al., 2014). Also the positive correlation between extraversion and active use of Facebook was due to the willingness of extroverts to organize and participate in events and groups, in addition to posting self-presentational information and involving in self- presentational behaviors on the site (Ross et al., 2009; Ljepava et al., 2013). The positive correlation between informational use motivations and active Facebook use is due to the need of the university students, especially in the school of Mass Communication for that site to get more information about their studies as each course has pages or groups on Facebook. They use Facebook also to get information about current events and activities. Regarding the education year variable, it can be interpreted in light of the fact that students in the senior year of school used Facebook more actively than First year students as a tool of collaboration in group work in their graduation projects and assignments.