Persistent Personality Traits Research Articles

How Contextual Performance Influences Perceptions of Personality and Leadership Potential

Research has found that employees high in cooperative and persistent personality traits tend to engage in more contextual performance at work—extra-role behaviors that support and maintain organizational structure. In a between-subjects experiment, we examined whether descriptions of employees engaged in contextual performance affected inferences about their personality traits and leadership potential. We also examined whether the effects of interpersonal facilitation on perceptions of agreeableness, and perceptions of agreeableness on leadership emergence, were moderated by target employee gender. As predicted, the positive relationship between interpersonal facilitation and leadership emergence was explained by increased perceptions of extraversion and agreeableness, though no effects of target gender emerged. By engaging in interpersonal facilitation, employees may be able to increase others’ confidence in their leadership potential through personality inferences.

CORRELATION BETWEEN TYPE D PERSONALITY TRAITS AND PROBLEM SOLVING IN STUDENTS

Type D personality is characterized by the synergic effects of two persistent personality traits: negative affectivity combined with simultaneous suppression of these emotions in social situations to avoid disapproval or rejection. Type D personality traits are more prominent in certain professions and specialties, including assistance and care, which affect both behavior and problem solving in many ways, resulting in emotionally focused problem solving and avoidance style. The aim of the study - determine the relationship between Type D personality traits and problem-solving skills in students. Research question: Is there a correlation between Type D personality traits and problem-solving skills? 160 students from two faculties of Rīga Stradiņš University participated in the study - Faculty of Public Health and Social Welfare and Faculty of Rehabilitation. The permission from the Ethics Committee of Rīga Stradiņš University was obtained to do the research. Data were obtained electronically in May 2019. Three surveys were used in the research: Three questionnaires are used in the study: demographic questionnaire, DS14: Standard Assessment of Negative Affectivity, Social Inhibition, and Type D Personality and Problem Solving Inventory. The study found a statistically significant positive correlation between the level of social inhibition and the level of negative affectivity, there is a statistically significant positive correlation between the level of problem solving and the level of avoidance style, there is a statistically significant negative correlation between the age of the respondents and the level of negative affectivity and there is a statistically significant positive correlation between the level of negative affectivity and the level of problem solving.

Role of personality traits in cocaine craving throughout an outpatient psychosocial treatment program

Cocaine dependence is a major international public health concern. Its chronically relapsing nature is possibly related to craving intensity, which can be influenced by diverse biological and psychological aspects. This study aimed to evaluate the role of different personality traits in craving measured throughout a psychosocial treatment program. The sample comprised 66 cocaine-dependent outpatients who were enrolled in an individual and manualized cognitive-behavioral therapy program. The influence of personality traits on craving intensity, frequency, and duration was analyzed using a generalized estimating equations model with an autoregressive correlation structure. Craving varied during treatment. The personality traits of novelty seeking, reward dependence, and harm avoidance interacted with craving intensity, and the personality trait of persistence interacted with craving duration throughout the treatment period. Furthermore, there were significant interactions between drug use and craving intensity, and between different routes of administration and craving intensity. Participants who used cocaine/crack while in treatment and concurrent users of crack (i.e., freebase) cocaine and powder cocaine also had a higher craving intensity. The extent of craving variation can depend on certain personality styles. This study shows that craving is influenced by personality traits, and this may presumably change clinical expression involved in disease.

The Impact of Soft Traits and Cognitive Abilities on Life Outcomes: Subjective Wellbeing, Education Achievement, and Rational Choices: A Chocolate Tasting Experiment

Linking to a growing literature in behavioral economics, this study combines neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics to empirically analyze the extent to which academic achievement, the relative weight of rationality vs. fairness in decision-making, and life satisfaction are affected by cognitive ability, persistent personality traits, and short-term stimuli based on psychological priming techniques. Prior to undertaking a course exam and playing the role of the respondent in an ultimatum game, a group of Masters and PhD students were stimulated either emotionally (via chocolate tasting) or rationally (via mathematical problem solving). Results show that, in addition to rational skills, short term stimuli and persistent personality traits have a significant impact on academic performance. They also influence the extent to which decisions are affected by notions of rationality and fairness and individuals’ subjective satisfaction with life. Given the economic importance of the associated outcomes, this opens up an important research agenda.

The psychological costs and benefits of being highly persistent: Personality profiles distinguish mood disorders from anxiety disorders

The personality trait of Persistence is highly valued by conscientious overachievers, but it has both psychological costs and benefits. The interactions among multiple personality factors influencing the development of mood and anxiety disorders have been confounded in prior clinical samples, but can be disentangled in terms of their underlying brain circuitry and influence on perception of emotional stimuli. 285 individuals who represented the full range of personality variation in a large sample of adult volunteers from the general community of Israel were selected for follow-up by psychiatric interviews, cognitive testing, and medical examinations. The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) measured profiles of traits that distinguished individuals with diagnoses of mood and/or anxiety disorders using linear discriminant analysis and non-linear profile analysis. High Harm Avoidance and low Self-directedness strongly distinguished people with mood and/or anxiety disorders from those with neither. High Persistence distinguished people with only anxiety disorders from those with mood disorders. High Persistence was associated with greater health and happiness overall, but also led to more negative emotions than in people with low Persistence unless they were both unusually tolerant of frustration (i.e., low in Harm Avoidance) and self-accepting of personal limitations (i.e. high in Self-directedness). Subjects were volunteers over 40 years of age at assessment. People who are highly persistent (i.e., persevering, ambitious, perfectionistic) are more likely to have anxiety disorders than mood disorders, even when they have other traits increasing risk for both (i.e., high Harm Avoidance and low Self-directedness). High Persistence increases both positive and negative emotions in most people. However, high Persistence reduces negative emotions and increases positive emotions if a person is easy-going (i.e., "happy-go-lucky" when low in both Harm Avoidance and Self-directedness).

Interaction between serotonin 5-HT2A receptor gene and dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene polymorphisms influences personality trait of persistence in Austrian Caucasians

We examined 89 normal volunteers using Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Genotyping the 102T/C polymorphism of the serotonin 5HT2A receptor gene and the ser9gly polymorphism in exon 1 of the dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) gene was performed using PCR-RFLP, whereas the dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism was investigated using PCR amplification followed by electrophoresis in an 8% acrylamide gel with a set of size markers. We found a nominally significant association between gender and harm avoidance (P=0.017; women showing higher scores). There was no association of either DAT1, DRD3 or 5HT2A alleles or genotypes with any dimension of the TCI applying Kruskal–Wallis rank-sum tests. Comparing homozygote and heterozygote DAT1 genotypes, we found higher novelty seeking scores in homozygotes (P=0.054). We further found a nominally significant interaction between DAT1 and 5HT2A homo-/heterozygous gene variants (P=0.0071; DAT1 and 5HT2A genotypes P value of 0.05), performing multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Examining the temperamental TCI subscales, this interaction was associated with persistence (genotypes: P=0.004; homo-/heterozygous gene variants: P=0.0004). We conclude that an interaction between DAT1 and 5HT2A genes might influence the temperamental personality trait persistence.

Volumetric MRI changes, cognition and personality traits in old age depression

Background The presence of cognitive and structural deficits in euthymic elderly depressed patients remains a matter of debate. Integrative aetiological models assessing concomitantly these parameters as well as markers of psychological vulnerability such as persistent personality traits, are still lacking for this age group. Methods Cross-sectional comparisons of 38 elderly remitted patients with early-onset depression (EOD) and 62 healthy controls included detailed neuropsychological assessment, estimates of brain volumes in limbic areas and white matter hyperintensities, as well as evaluation of the Five-Factor personality dimensions. Results Both cognitive performances and brain volumes were preserved in euthymic EOD patients. No significant group differences were observed in white matter hyperintensity scores between the two groups. In contrast, EOD was associated with significant increase of Neuroticism and decrease of Extraversion facet scores. Limitations Results concern the restricted portion of EOD patients without psychiatric and physical comorbidities. Future longitudinal studies are necessary to determine the temporal relationship between the occurrence of depression and personality dimensions. Conclusions After remission from acute depressive symptoms, cognitive performances remain intact in elderly patients with EOD. In contrast to previous observations, these patients display neither significant brain volume loss in limbic areas nor increased vascular burden compared to healthy controls. Further clinical investigations on EOD patterns of vulnerability in old age will gain from focusing on psychological features such as personality traits rather than neurocognitive clues.

Interaction between serotonin 5-HT2A receptor gene and dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene polymorphisms influences personality trait of persistence in Austrian Caucasians

Interaction between serotonin 5-HT2A receptor gene and dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene polymorphisms influences personality trait of persistence in Austrian Caucasians

Dopamine receptor D3 mRNA expression in human lymphocytes is negatively correlated with the personality trait of persistence

It has been proposed that neurotransmitter receptor expression in peripheral immune cells reflects expression of these receptors in the brain. To test this “peripheral marker hypothesis”, we compared mRNA expression of the dopamine receptors D3 (DRD3) and D4 (DRD4) in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) to personality traits assessed with the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) in 50 healthy and unmedicated Caucasian individuals. A shared variance of at least 17% ( p=0.016) between DRD3 mRNA expression in PBL and the personality trait of persistence was found. As personality traits have been generally assumed polygenic with a single gene accounting for rarely more than 1–2% of observed variance in a trait, this result lends further support to the peripheral marker hypothesis for DRD3 mRNA expression in PBL. It may also suggest a significant role for the DRD3 in the neurobiology of persistence and point to an interesting link between personality and functioning of the immune system.

Psychometric Properties of a Paper-and-Pencil Test Measuring the Personality Trait of Persistence

A test measuring the behavioral aspects of the personality trait of persistence, The Persistent Effort Test, was constructed and psychometric properties assessed. The original version consisted of 12 items, each one a nonsense block of six letters. The task of 9 men and 9 women was to construct as many correct Swedish words as possible from letter combinations. The total time spent on this task and the number of correct words constituted the dependent variables. A Persistence Effort Quotient was calculated. The reliability calculated on the quotient for the 12-item version was acceptable (Cronbach alpha = .86) and an item analysis indicated that the test could be shortened by six items with increased reliability (Cronbach alpha =.87). A validity analysis also using the quotient performed with a second sample of subjects using classmates' ratings on two separate rating scales of specific aspects of persistence, yielded acceptable validity (Pearson r = .69 for the first scale and .71 for the second scale). This indicates that the shortened 6-item version is a reliable and valid test of persistence even though it is necessary with more studies to address the issues of predictive validity and norms for different groups of people.

Personality traits and the normal electro-encephalogram.

Correlations have been noted between certain persistent personality traits on the one hand and certain patterns within the normal range of variation of the EEG on the other. Some of these correlations had been based on impressionistic assessments of personality, and the following paper contains the results of part of an investigation which was undertaken in order to check these assessments by a more objective method, and to define more precisely some of the qualities reported.