Narrow Traits Research Articles

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.

Personality-obesity associations are driven by narrow traits: A meta-analysis.

Obesity has inconsistent associations with broad personality domains, possibly because the links pertain to only some facets of these domains. Collating published and unpublished studies (N=14848), we meta-analysed the associations between body mass index (BMI) and Five-Factor Model personality domains as well as 30 Five-Factor Model personality facets. At the domain level, BMI had a positive association with Neuroticism and a negative association with Conscientiousness domains. At the facet level, we found associations between BMI and 15 facets from all five personality domains, with only some Neuroticism and Conscientiousness facets among them. Certain personality-BMI associations were moderated by sample properties, such as proportions of women or participants with obesity; these moderation effects were replicated in the individual-level analysis. Finally, facet-based personality "risk" scores accounted for 2.3% of variance in BMI in a separate sample of individuals (N=3569), 409% more than domain-based scores. Taken together, personality-BMI associations are facet specific, and delineating them may help to explain obesity-related behaviours and inform intervention designs. Preprint and data are available at https://psyarxiv.com/z35vn/.

Measurement and research using the Big Five, HEXACO, and narrow traits: A primer for researchers and practitioners

ObjectivePersonality traits influence human behaviour across a broad range of situations and are consequently relevant to many theoretical and applied disciplines. In this perspective piece, we provide an overview of the logic underpinning personality measurement and review major personality taxonomies. We provide an extensive set of recommendations for researchers and practitioners on when and how to use measures of personality traits.MethodWe overview a range of taxonomic representations of personality structure focusing particularly on hierarchical representations and five and six factor models such as the Big Five and HEXACO models. We review the various strengths and weaknesses of each approach.ResultsThe review outlines the major reasons for the dominance of the Big Five model, and suggests it is a good descriptive framework for studying personality in general. However we suggest that researchers and practitioners also consider alternative taxonomic personality representations such as the HEXACO. We provide a range of scenarios whereby alternative frameworks will be more appropriate than the Big Five and offer recommendations both for choosing measures in general and for implementing studies examining personality facets.ConclusionWhilst the Big Five represents an excellent general personality framework that is appropriate across multiple situations, researchers and practitioners should be aware of alternative measures and utilise them where appropriate.

Cognitive emotion regulation and personality: an analysis of individual differences in the neural and behavioral correlates of successful reappraisal.

A common and mostly effective emotion regulation strategy is reappraisal. During reappraisal, activity in cognitive control brain regions increases and activity in brain regions associated with emotion responding (e.g., the amygdala) diminishes. Immediately after reappraisal, it has been observed that activity in the amygdala increases again, which might reflect a paradoxical aftereffect. While there is extensive empirical evidence for these neural correlates of emotion regulation, only few studies targeted the association with individual differences in personality traits. The aim of this study is to investigate these associations more thoroughly. Seventy-six healthy participants completed measures of broad personality traits (Big Five, Positive and Negative Affect) as well as of more narrow traits (habitual use of emotion regulation) and performed an experimental fMRI reappraisal task. Participants were instructed to either permit their emotions or to detach themselves from the presented negative and neutral pictures. After each picture, a relaxation period was included. Reappraisal success was determined by arousal ratings and activity in the amygdala. During reappraisal, we found activation in the prefrontal cortex and deactivation in the left amygdala. During the relaxation period, an immediate aftereffect was found in occipital regions and marginally in the amygdala. Neither personality traits nor habitual use of emotion regulation predicted reappraisal success or the magnitude of the aftereffect. We replicated typical activation and deactivation patterns during intentional emotion regulation and partially replicated the immediate aftereffect in the amygdala. However, there was no association between personality traits and emotion regulation success.

Risky riders: A comparison of personality theories on motorcyclist riding behaviour

ObjectiveFew studies have investigated the association between broad personality traits and motorcycle rider behaviours. Typically, studies have focused on specific variables such as Sensation Seeking and Aggression. This study extends the literature by investigating the trait facets of the Big Five and the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST). MethodAn internet-based questionnaire comprised of traditional (Sensation Seeking, Aggression) and novel (Big Five, Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory) personality scales, and the Motorcycle Rider Behaviour Questionnaire (MRBQ) were posted on various motorcycle internet forums. ResultsA North American sample of 550 motorcyclists completed the survey. Four separate hierarchical regression analyses were conducted with each personality theory entered step-by-step to predict the four riding behaviours from the MRBQ (errors, speeding, stunts, protective gear use) as the criterion variables. Consistent with previous literature the traditionally used personality traits, Sensation Seeking, and Aggression, were strongly associated with riding errors, speeding, and especially performing stunts. The addition of the Big Five facets contributed negligibly to riding behaviours with the greatest explained variance accounting for errors. The addition of the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory was especially useful in accounting for motorcycle riding errors, and the use of protective gear. ConclusionAlthough research on personality theories and riding behaviour typically use more narrow trait scales this study demonstrates that physiologically-based, broader, measures such as the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory have a strong association with riding behaviours. Future research would benefit from the inclusion of such measures.

Delineating Psychopathy from Cognitive Empathy

There is an ongoing debate regarding the content of psychopathy, especially about the status of antisocial behavior and disinhibition characteristics as core psychopathy features. Psychopathic Personality Traits Scale (PPTS) represents a novel model of psychopathy based on core psychopathy markers such as Interpersonal manipulation, Egocentricity and Affective responsiveness. However, this model presupposes another narrow trait of psychopathy: cognitive responsiveness, which represents a lack of cognitive empathy. Since previous models of psychopathy do not depict this feature as a core psychopathy trait, the goal of this study was to empirically evaluate if the lack of cognitive empathy is a narrow psychopathy trait or its correlate. The research was conducted on a community sample via online study (N=342; Mage=23.7 years; 31% males). Results showed that the correlations between Cognitive responsiveness and other psychopathy features were significantly lower than intercorrelations of other three traits. Factor analysis, conducted on PPTS items, provided a two-factor solution, where Cognitive responsiveness was yielded as a factor separate from other psychopathy indicators. Finally, the exploration of the shared latent space of psychopathy and cognitive empathy resulted in the two-factor solution where psychopathy and the lack of cognitive empathy were extracted as correlated but separate latent variables. The data clearly supported the former model. Research results showed that the lack of cognitive empathy should not be considered an indicator of psychopathy but its correlate. The findings emphasize the need to be cautious in conceptualization of the psychopathy construct.

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.

Traits and values as predictors of the frequency of everyday behavior: Comparison between models and levels

The aims of this study were to compare (a) personality traits vs personal values, (b) Five-Factor Model (FFM) vs HEXACO model of personality traits, and (c) broad vs narrow personality constructs in terms of their relationship with the frequency of everyday behaviors. These relationships were analyzed at three organizational levels of self-reported behavior: (a) single behavioral acts, (b) behavioral components (empirically derived categories of similar behaviors), and (c) two higher-order factors. The study was conducted on a Polish sample (N = 532, age range 16–72). We found that (a) even the frequencies of single behavioral acts were related to various personality constructs instead of one narrow trait or value, (b) personality traits and personal values were comparable as predictors of a wide range of everyday behaviors, (c) HEXACO correlated with the frequency of behaviors slightly higher than FFM, and (d) narrow and broad personality constructs did not differ substantially as predictors of everyday behavior at the levels of acts and components, but at the level of higher-order behavioral factors, broad personality measures were better predictors than narrow ones.

Why do personality traits predict scholastic performance? A three-wave longitudinal study

The present three-wave longitudinal study undertaken among 836 Chinese secondary school students (Mage = 15.35), tested the Big Five Narrow Trait model (B5NT, Zhang & Ziegler, 2016). The B5NT model suggests that students’ personality traits influence scholastic performance via their impact on learning approaches and self-beliefs. Utilizing the longitudinal nature of the data, the assumed lagged effects were tested for Chinese, Mathematics, and English. Structural equation modeling indicated that controlling for fluid intelligence, students’ personality traits still contributed to their scholastic performance and, importantly, that these influences were mediated by learning approaches and self-beliefs. Our findings support the B5NT model. We also discuss the theoretical and empirical contributions of this study, potential model extensions, and make suggestions for future research.

Personality and problematic smartphone use: A facet-level analysis using the Five Factor Model and HEXACO frameworks

Problematic smartphone use can be defined as compulsive use that leads to impaired daily functioning in terms of productivity, social relationships, physical health, or emotional well-being. The current study provides a comprehensive assessment of how the broad and narrow traits of the HEXACO and Five Factor Models of personality predict problematic smartphone use. A sample of Australian adults (n = 393, 79% female; mean age = 24.4, SD = 7.1) completed the 300-item IPIP NEO and the 200-item HEXACO-PI-R, along with measures of general and problematic smartphone use. Participants reported high levels of problematic smartphone use. Problematic smartphone use was positively correlated with neuroticism and negatively correlated with conscientiousness. Facet-level analysis highlighted the importance of several facets including impulsiveness, vulnerability, and anxiety as positive correlates and dutifulness, competence, self-discipline, and deliberation as negative correlates of problematic smartphone use. In the HEXACO framework, honesty-humility, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness all showed moderate negative correlations with problematic smartphone use, and emotionality was positively correlated with problematic smartphone use. Regression models indicated that narrow traits provide modest incremental prediction of problematic use. Overall, the study highlights the importance of personality traits for understanding predispositions to engage in problematic smartphone use.

Personality, Religion, and Politics: An Investigation in 33 Countries

The relations of HEXACO personality factors and religiosity with political orientation were examined in responses collected online from participants in 33 countries ( N = 141 492). Endorsement of a right–wing political orientation was negatively associated with Honesty–Humility and Openness to Experience and positively associated with religiosity. The strength of these associations varied widely across countries, such that the religiosity–politics correlations were stronger in more religious countries, whereas the personality–politics correlations were stronger in more developed countries. We also investigated the utility of the narrower traits (i.e. facets) that define the HEXACO factors. The Altruism facet (interstitially located between the Honesty–Humility, Agreeableness, and Emotionality axes) was negatively associated with right–wing political orientation, but religiosity was found to suppress this relationship, especially in religious countries. In addition to Altruism, the Greed Avoidance and Modesty facets of the Honesty–Humility factor and the Unconventionality and Aesthetic Appreciation facets of the Openness to Experience factor were also negatively associated with right–wing political orientation. We discuss the utility of examining facet–level personality traits, along with religiosity, in research on the individual difference correlates of political orientation. Copyright © 2018 European Association of Personality Psychology

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.

HEXACO personality and Schwartz's personal values: A facet-level analysis

This study systematically examined the correlates of Schwartz’s basic values with the broad and narrow traits of the HEXACO model of personality. A sample of 1244 adults (53% male; M age=44, SD=12) completed the 200-item HEXACO-PI-R and the Portrait Values Questionnaire measuring Schwartz’s 10 basic personal values. Regression models predicting each of the ten basic values from personality revealed mean-adjusted multiple correlations of .39 for HEXACO factors without honesty-humility, .45 for all HEXACO factors, and .53 for HEXACO facets. The facet-level multiple correlations were particularly large (>.60) for power, universalism, and cooperation. Results suggest that individual differences in personality and values overlap to a greater extent than implied by past literature.

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.

Modeling General, Specific, and Method Variance in Personality Measures: Results for ZKA-PQ and NEO-PI-R.

Contemporary models of personality assume a hierarchical structure in which broader traits contain narrower traits. Individual differences in response styles also constitute a source of score variance. In this study, the bifactor model is applied to separate these sources of variance for personality subscores. The procedure is illustrated using data for two personality inventories-NEO Personality Inventory-Revised and Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire. The inclusion of the acquiescence method factor generally improved the fit to acceptable levels for the Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire, but not for the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised. This effect was higher in subscales where the number of direct and reverse items is not balanced. Loadings on the specific factors were usually smaller than the loadings on the general factor. In some cases, part of the variance was due to domains being different from the main one. This information is of particular interest to researchers as they can identify which subscale scores have more potential to increase predictive validity.

Assessing the Utility of Compound Trait Estimates of Narrow Personality Traits

ABSTRACTIt has been argued that approximations of narrow traits can be made through linear combinations of broad traits such as the Big Five personality traits. Indeed, Hough and Ones (2001) used a qualitative analysis of scale content to arrive at a taxonomy of how Big Five traits might be combined to approximate various narrow traits. However, the utility of such compound trait approximations has yet to be established beyond specific cases such as integrity and customer service orientation. Using data from the Eugene-Springfield Community Sample (Goldberg, 2008), we explore the ability of linear composites of scores on Big Five traits to approximate scores on 127 narrow trait measures from 5 well-known non-Big-Five omnibus measures of personality. Our findings indicate that individuals' standing on more than 30 narrow traits can be well estimated from 3 different types of linear composites of scores on Big Five traits without a substantial sacrifice in criterion validity. We discuss theoretical accounts for why such relationships exist as well as the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for researchers and practitioners.

Dispositional factors and work mastery among shift workers

ABSTRACTThe aim of the present study was to investigate how broad personality dimensions and dispositional resistance to change are associated with mastery of work among shift workers. A total of 285 shift workers employed in rotating shifts with morning, evening and night work and night shift schedules in a municipality in Norway completed electronic questionnaires. The findings suggest that the broad personality dimensions neuroticism and conscientiousness were significant predictors of perceived work mastery among shift workers in this sample, whereas the narrow trait dispositional resistance to change was not.

Criterion Validity of Complex Traits With Counterproductive Work Behaviors: Circumplex Versus Facet Traits

This study examined the criterion validity of factorially complex traits, specifically circumplex traits, in comparison to personality facets in explaining variance in interpersonally directed and organization-directed counterproductive work behavior (CWB-I and CWB-O). We examined whether circumplex traits’ explanation of unique variance was due to being narrower traits or a blend of multiple personality factors. We compared the Abridged Big Five Circumplex circumplexes and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory facets associated with Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Two hundred ninety-six student workers completed the study. Regression analysis supported our prediction that circumplex traits explain unique variance in CWB-Is and CWB-Os beyond that of personality facets. In addition, those personality facets with stronger relationships to the criteria had larger cross-loadings between personality domains.

Personality Traits and Career Satisfaction in Training and Development Occupations: Toward a Distinctive T&D Personality Profile

As careers in training and development (T&D) continue to evolve, almost no human resource development (HRD) research has investigated personality traits in today's T&D occupations, despite evidence linking personality with work success. Toward filling this lacuna, we identified four Big Five personality traits and four narrow traits with content matching T&D competencies. Based on person–career fit theory, we hypothesized that the trait profile would differentiate T&D from other occupations, and the traits would correlate with T&D career satisfaction. From 90,000+ individuals receiving private career transition services, we compared trait scores of 284 individuals in T&D occupations and the others via bootstrapping (5,000 random samples, n = 284, with the same age and gender distributions). The T&D personality profile was significantly elevated, with greatest differences on the narrow trait empathy, closely followed by assertiveness and customer service orientation plus optimism (small difference), and significant differences on Big Five traits extraversion, openness, and agreeableness (small difference), but no difference on emotional stability. T&D career satisfaction correlated significantly with five traits in the profile, most strongly with emotional stability and optimism. Also, emotional stability correlated more highly with career satisfaction for T&D than non‐T&D occupations. The distinctive T&D personality profile raises questions for further HRD research and carries practical value for training and development of T&D personnel.