Prominent Personality Traits Research Articles

The Required Personal Traits and Professional Competencies for Primary School Teachers

Objectives: The study aimed to identify the importance of personal traits and professional competencies necessary for primary school teachers from the point of view of supervisors and experts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: I followed the descriptive survey approach by giving a questionnaire to a sample of (91) experts in the fields of curricula, teaching methods and childhood education, and the number of educational supervisors reached (298) educational supervisors. Results & Conclusions: The study came out of: The most prominent personal characteristics necessary for primary school teachers from the point of view of educational supervisors in the following order: (extroversion, neuroticism, alertness, openness to experience, acceptance). The most prominent personality traits necessary for primary school teachers from the point of view of experts (faculty members) were in the following order: (extroversion, vigilance of conscience, neuroticism, openness to experience, and acceptability). The most important dimensions of the professional competencies necessary for primary school teachers from the point of view of educational supervisors are in the following order: (classroom environment, evaluation, ethics and values of the learning profession, communication and social interaction, knowledge, planning, implementation, professional development). The most important dimensions of the professional competencies necessary for primary school teachers from the point of view of experts were as follows: (knowledge, planning, communication and social interaction, evaluation, implementation, classroom environment, ethics, and values of learning the profession, professional development.

Do millennials’ personalities and smartphone use result in materialism? The mediating role of addiction

PurposeThis paper aims to use the five-factor model’s (FFM: emotional instability, introversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness) personality traits and the need for arousal to explain millennials’ habitual and addictive smartphone use and resultant materialistic inclinations. The study also test the mediating role of addictive use in the relationship between habitual use and materialism.Design/methodology/approachParticipants’ self-reported data (n = 705) from a sample of millennials were gathered using a cross-sectional survey approach conducted in Malaysia and studied using structural equation modelling with partial least squares (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe results discover that emotional instability, openness to experience, agreeableness and need for arousal have a significant influence on habitual smartphone use. Conversely, introversion and conscientiousness have no significant impact on habitual use. Fascinatingly, millennials’ habitual use positively influences their materialism. Furthermore, addictive smartphone use positively affects materialism and mediates the relationship between habitual use and materialism.Originality/valueThe FFM, a prominent personality trait model, has been used in numerous studies to predict usage intention. However, the particular dimension of the FFM personality traits that drive habitual and addictive smartphone use to trigger materialistic tendencies among millennials needs to be exposed in an emerging market context. The results emphasise the need to consider this demographic’s personalities when attempting to comprehend how habitual use and materialism occur. This study also provides practitioners with helpful information in creating targeted interventions to encourage healthy smartphone use behaviours and reduce possible adverse effects related to addictive smartphone use and materialistic attitudes.

The Association of Personality Traits and Decision-Making Styles among Arab Undergraduate Students in Israeli Universities

The present study aimed at investigating the relation between big five personality traits and decision-making styles among Arab undergraduate students in Israeli universities. Big-five Inventory was used to assess the personality traits and General Decision-Making Styles Questionnaire was used to assess the decision-making styles. 408 students took part in this study. A convenient sampling technique was followed to collect the samples. Descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way Anova and Pearson correlation coefficient test were the methods used to analyze the data. Findings showed that the rational decision-making style attained the highest value, while the spontaneous was the lowest. The agreeableness and the conscientiousness were the prominent personality traits among the participants. Findings showed that the rational and avoidant styles were significantly associated with all the personality traits. The dependent style had a positive relation with agreeableness and neuroticism. Whereas, the avoidant style had negative relation with extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness. The spontaneous style had a negative relation with agreeableness and conscientiousness, positive relation with neuroticism. The intuitive style had a positive relation with extraversion, openness to experience and neuroticism. The findings will help school counselors to shape students' personality and develop leadership qualities to take better decisions.

The Personality Origins of Positive and Negative Partisanship

Negative partisanship describes the intense disdain for a rival political party. A growing number of political scientists in the US and beyond examine the impact of negative partisanship on citizens’ political behavior, asserting the notion that negative partisanship exerts a strong influence, either on its own or in combination with positive partisanship. Yet we know little about the psychological origins of negative and positive partisanship: Which personality traits are associated with high levels of negative partisanship, and do they differ from the ones that have been linked to positive partisanship? In this article, I address these questions. Utilizing a sample of US adults and a sample of Swedish adults, I examine the influence of prominent personality traits—including Authoritarianism, Social Dominance Orientation, the Need for Closure, and the Big Five—on strong negative and positive partisanship. I demonstrate that the personality origins of positive and negative partisanship differ not just across the two samples but also across partisans on the left and on the right. I conclude the article with implications for research on polarization and a plea for more comparative work on (positive and negative) partisanship.

Organizational Gangs-A Qualitative Study on Educational Organizations

The existence of informal groups such as formal groups in every organization is an indisputable fact. While some informal groups are composed of people who come together for innocent and harmless purposes, it is a situation that some groups have special purposes other than organizational goals. It can be seen that some informal groups within the organization are overly attached to each other for various reasons and prioritize their individual goals over the organizational goals. Such groups are tends to gain some privileges, benefits and protect each other within the organization. It can be said that informal groups within the organization that have reached this level have turned into a kind of organizational interest group. These structures can be called organizational gangs. Organizational gangs are one of the most important factors that accelerate entropy in organizations. In this study, the characteristics and purposes of "organizational gangs" were tried to be revealed. The universe of the research consists of teachers and school principals working in educational institutions. 10 participants on active duty constitute the sample of this study, which was carried out using qualitative research methods. Through the semi-structured interview form, the opinions of the participants, including their experiences with the organisational gangs, were taken. The answers received were categorized under common themes. For the reliability of the research, the formula developed by Miles and Huberman (1994) was used and the reliability was calculated as 94%. Categorized themes from the data obtained were examined separately, interpreted and discussed in the light of the literature. According to the results of the research, it was determined that all of the participants encountered organizational gangs and had to struggle with them. It has also been found that organizational gang members have certain prominent personality traits. According to this; personality traits of organizational gang members; they are listed as “selfish”, “incompetent” and “unskilled”. The aims of organizational gangs are respectively; it has been determined as "climbing up the career ladder", "financial interests" and "personal traits". In the last part of the study, suggestions regarding the methods of owercome against organizational gangs are presented. Afterwards, new research proposals on organizational gangs were included, and recommendations were presented to authorities and researchers.

DO CERTAIN PERSONLAITY TRAITS INFLUENCE STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN FIRST-YEAR UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS?

In a study conducted at a public urban university in Johannesburg, South Africa, twenty eight first year pre-service secondary mathematics teachers volunteered to take part in two online personality surveys. The one was constructed to determine the more prominent personality traits in each student among the five traits tested for. The second online questionnaire was constructed to determine the students’ work habits and operational values. In addition, examination grades from the first year mathematics subject were obtained. Statistical analysis revealed a correlation between exam performance and the personality traits openness and extraversion. The results suggest that the traditional teaching approach in the mathematics classroom with high lecturer to student ratio, rigid curriculum, paper based tests clearly disfavours students who can be characterised as creative and independant. This group includes students who are out-of-the-box thinkers who have talents that can really make a difference in the workspace and the economy. Disfavouring these students prevents the right people from entering positions where their skills are needed. It is also acknowledged that there are other factors beyond the scope of this study which also have an influence on academic performance.

Preliminary Scales for ICD-11 Personality Disorder: Self and Interpersonal Dysfunction Plus Five Personality Disorder Trait Domains.

The ICD-11 personality disorder model is the first fully dimensional assessment of personality pathology. It consists of a personality disorder (PD) dysfunction-severity dimension, which encompasses both self- and interpersonal dysfunction, and six optional qualifiers for five prominent personality traits—Negative Affectivity (NA), Detachment (DET), Dissociality (DSL), Disinhibition (DSN), and Anankastia (ANK)—plus a borderline pattern that is defined by the criteria of DSM-IV borderline PD. This article reports on the development of a new self-report measure to assess self- and interpersonal dysfunction and the five trait qualifiers. It is the first comprehensive measure of the ICD-11 PD model in that (a) it is the only one to include both PD dysfunction-severity as well as trait scales and because (b) it is based on the Clinical Description and Diagnostic Guidelines, which are more detailed than the “statistical” model description that is currently on the ICD-11 website. The authors wrote 992 items and then reduced the pool to 300 items by eliminating redundancy and selecting the consensus best few items for each subconstruct. Data were collected using an online sample of 383 Prolific workers. Using exploratory factor analysis, seven domain scales were developed, each of which contained two to four scales assessing components of the domain. These preliminary scales’ psychometrics were excellent, as were the domains’ and their components’ convergent and discriminant validity, with a few generally minor exceptions. Structural analyses at the component level revealed a three-factor structure consisting of two moderately correlated Internalizing factors, one centered on Self Dysfunction with two NA components and a DSN component (Distractibility) and the other on Interpersonal Dysfunction with DET and ANK components; as well as an Externalizing factor with DSL and a DSN component (Reckless Impulsivity) that was uncorrelated with the other two factors. Two aspects of the results in particular are striking: (1) ANK was not the opposite end of a DSN dimension, but rather contributed to an Internalizing Interpersonal Dysfunction dimension and (2) DSN had both an Internalizing and an Externalizing component. Implications of the findings and study limitations are discussed.

Healthcare employee's personality traits and service quality: Do team relationships matter?

Abstract Background Employee personality is an important factor that affects healthcare service delivery. It appears from the literature that customers perceive employees with personality traits of conscientiousness and agreeableness as more reliable and empathetic and therefore will rank higher service quality. Relationships between team members also affect the perception of service quality. The research examined whether healthcare employees' personality traits (conscientiousness and agreeableness) are related to their perception of service quality, mediated by the quality of team relationships (trust among team members, peer support, and participation in decision-making). Methods First, 35 nurses (Israeli college students completing their BA) were asked to rate 22 items based on the Big Five Personality Traits, that most influence employee relationships. The two prominent personality traits were conscientiousness and agreeableness. Next, 174 self-administered questionnaires were completed by nurses who are college students completing their BA (72% return rate). The questionnaire examined personality traits (conscientiousness and agreeableness), service quality, and employee relationships (trust among team members, peer support, and participation in decision-making). Results The mediation model was significant [F(4, 169)=35.03, p < 0.001, R Square=0.45]. However, only trust among team members was found as a mediator between employee personality and perceptions of service quality. Conclusions Employee personality characterized by conscientiousness and agreeableness encourages trust-based employee relationship, which in turn positively affect the quality of service provided. Healthcare organizations should consider this in their human resources policies and procedures, in order to improve healthcare services. Key messages Employee's personality traits are relevant to healthcare service quality. Nurturing trust among healthcare employees may result in improved healthcare services.

New insights into diagnostics and therapy of personality disorders-Changes in ICD-11

Personality disorders (PD) occur frequently and show high remission rates in the long term, while psychosocial recovery remains unsuccessful in a substantial proportion of cases. In ICD-11 the traditional view that PDs have a high stability is abandoned. Instead, the minimum duration is 2 years. The diagnostic process differentiates between three degrees of severity (mild, moderate, severe) and five prominent personality trait domains. Optionally, aborderline qualifying factor can be additionally codified. There is sufficient empirical evidence only for the treatment of borderline PD (BPD). Disorder-specific psychotherapy, in particular dialectic behavioral therapy (DBT) and mentalization-based therapy (MBT) have proven to be effective. Therapy modules targeting functional impairments and prominent personality trait domains could close the existing gaps in the disorder-specific treatment of PD.

Depressive symptoms are related to boredom proneness in patients receiving hospital care, regardless of alcohol status, lifestyle, or social support

We examined the relationship between boredom proneness and psychological distress in patients receiving hospital care due either to excessive alcohol consumption or to gastrointestinal diseases. Sociodemographic data were collected together with boredom proneness subscales (internal/external lack of stimulation), psychological distress, physical activity, and social support. Boredom proneness due to a lack of external stimulation seemed to constitute a prominent personality trait in patients with alcohol consumption. But depressive symptoms were related only to boredom proneness due to a lack of internal stimulation in all patients, regardless of alcohol status, lifestyle, or social support. Potential implications for practice and future research are discussed.

The Degree of Modulation of Beta Band Activity During Motor Planning Is Related to Trait Impulsivity.

Impulsivity is a prominent personality trait, and a key modulating component of neurologic and psychiatric disorders. How impulsivity is related to the brain mechanisms associated with action planning is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the relation between impulsivity and the modulation of beta band oscillatory activity associated with action planning and execution. Given that beta power decreases during action planning and decreases further during action execution, we hypothesized that during planning the level of beta band power of more impulsive individuals would be closer to the level reached during execution than that of less impulsive individuals. This could explain the tendency to “jump the gun” (commission errors) in high impulsivity. To test this hypothesis, we recruited healthy volunteers (50 participants analyzed) and used the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale questionnaire to evaluate their impulsivity as high or low. We then recorded their brain neuromagnetic signals while they performed an instructed-delay task that induced different levels of action planning by varying the number of spatial cues, hence the uncertainty, about the location of the upcoming target. During the early cue period of the task, we found a posterior (source localized in the occipito-parietal areas) and a left fronto-central group of channels (source localized in the left sensorimotor areas) where beta power was modulated by number of cues, whereas during the late cue period only the left fronto-central group was modulated. We found that the decrease of relative beta band power during action planning in the left fronto-central group of channels was more pronounced in the high impulsivity group than in the low impulsivity group. In addition, we found that the beta band-mediated functional connectivity between the posterior and the left fronto-central groups of channels was weaker in the high impulsivity group than in the low impulsivity group during the early cue period. Furthermore, high impulsives made more commission and movement errors in the task than low impulsives. These results reveal neural mechanisms through which impulsivity affects action planning and open the way for further study of the role of beta band activity in impulsivity, especially in the context of disease and therapeutics.

The Nitty–GRITties of Success: Computational Analysis of Grit From Language

Grit is a prominent personality trait that measures an individuals passion and perseverance for long-term goals. Grit entails that zeal and persistence of motive play a key role in determining an individuals success in the long run, as opposed to natural talent. But how does one identify and distinguish between gritty and non-gritty individuals? Do they use language differently? In this paper, we seek to answer these questions using a social media setting. We build a new crowd-sourced Twitter corpus that contains the posts of 464 users along with their grit scores, and explore how grit correlates with other major behavioural and personality traits. We then train machine learning classification models to predict the grit level of an individual using his/her Twitter posts, and show that language can be effectively used to infer this personality trait.

Faking Good: An Investigation of Social Desirability and Defensiveness in an Inpatient Sample With Personality Disorder Traits

ABSTRACTAccurate interpretations of psychological assessments rely heavily on forthright reporting. However, researchers and practitioners recognize that examinees can easily invalidate their test results by underreporting symptoms or overstating positive attributes. Rogers (2008) delineated two distinct but related forms of positive impression management (PIM): defensiveness (denying symptoms and psychological impairment) and social desirability (putting forth an exaggeratedly positive image). Although these two have often been combined in past research, this study sought to investigate each separately via a mixed within- and between-subjects simulation design. Simulation scenarios included a special rehabilitation program for the defensiveness (DF) condition and a competitive job for social desirability (SD). The study used the Personality Inventory for DSM–5 (PID–5; Krueger, Derringer, Markon, Watson, & Skodol, 2012) and recruited 106 inpatients from a psychiatric hospital. As expected, inpatients with prominent personality traits substantially suppressed them under both PIM conditions. Having shown the susceptibility of the PID–5 to intentional distortion, two empirically derived and conceptually based validity scales were next developed to address this important concern. Pending further validation, they might contribute to screening PIM presentations, thus promoting the PID–5's clinical utility. Continued research is needed across multiscale inventories for differentiating PIM presentations.

Psychological Profiling of Prisoners

Introduction: The relation between criminal behavior and different dimensions of personality features were studied extensively and available literature on offenders has described different personality traits observed in them. However very few literature is available on Indian population. Aim: To find the prominent personality traits, attribution styles used and level of sensation seeking among prisoners. Method: the study design used was cross-sectional design. 30 offenders from Sabarmati Central Jail were selected using purposive sampling. Tools: To assess attribution style, personality traits and sensation seeking behavior, following tool were used. Attribution Style Questionnaire, Eysenck‘s Personality Questionnaire, Brief Sensation Seeking Scale Result:43% prisoners scored high on neuroticism trait. 55% prisoners showed extraversion and 60 % females showed neuroticism as a predominant personality trait. 66.67 % prisoners had internal locus of control. 76.67 % prisoners had low level of sensation seeking. Implication: this study will throw light upon the criminal behavior and personality of prisoners which will be beneficial for future therapy work.

Personality dimensions measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) in subjects with social phobia

The present study investigated personality dimensions by means of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) in subjects with social phobia with or without a co-existing avoidant personality disorder. Thirty-one individuals with social phobia were recruited through advertisement and diagnosed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV I and II psychiatric disorders. Comorbid Axis I psychiatric disorders were diagnosed in 29% of the cases. Co-occurring personality disorders were present in 55.8% of the cases, and avoidant personality disorder in 48.4%. The social phobia subjects, as compared to healthy controls of the same age, scored significantly higher in the TCI dimension measuring Harm avoidance but significantly lower in Persistence, Self-directedness, Cooperativeness and Self-transcendence. Presence of avoidant personality disorders in the social phobia subjects was associated with significantly higher Harm avoidance, particularly on the subscale Shyness with strangers. In conclusion, individuals with social phobia were characterized by high comorbidity of avoidant personality disorder and deviations in TCI personality dimensions. Enhanced Harm avoidance was the most prominent personality trait. The observed deviations in TCI dimensions were primarily related to the social phobia itself and not to the presence of concurrent personality disorders.

Personality types and suicidal behavior: an exploratory study.

This study used cluster analysis to explore prominent personality traits among a sample of suicidal psychiatric patients (n = 86), with a goal of identifying distinct clusters based on descriptive personality traits as measured by the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (MCMI-II). Three clusters were identified, accounting for 97% of study participants with available data. Additional analyses were conducted to explore differences and similarities among the three groups. The three clusters were comparable with respect to symptomatology (i.e., depression, anxiety, hopelessness), psychiatric diagnoses, and negative life stress, suggesting that cluster differences were not due to severity of disturbance (i.e., symptom severity) or diagnosis. Although all three clusters evidenced prominent negativistic and avoidant traits and two of the clusters showed prominent borderline traits, each was characterized by a distinct trait with implications for interpersonal functioning. Results are discussed in terms of implications for treatment and future research, particularly the importance of the therapeutic relationship with suicidal patients.

Relationship between sympathovagal tone and personality traits

This study evaluates the relationship between an individual's autonomic tone and his prominent personality traits. Parasympathetic tone was assessed by the high frequency component of heart rate variability, sympathetic tone was assessed by the pre-ejection period which was derived from the impedance cardiogram. 51 subjects participated in the study who were free of any clinically relevant psychological or physical disorder. Subgroups of subjects were formed showing either a high or a low level of sympathetic and parasympathetic tone respectively. A wide range of personality traits was evaluated by using well-known psychometric questionnaires. Results of two-factor ANOVAs revealed substantial differences in personality characteristics depending on the level of sympathetic and parasympathetic tone respectively. There were, however, no significant interaction effects. Correlational analysis showed remarkable relationships between sympathetic tone and some prominent personality traits. By introducing one of these personality traits (anxiety) as a covariate into two-factor ANCOVAs the originally obtained results were markedly altered.

Personality traits and psychiatric and somatic morbidity among kleptomaniacs.

Although the behaviour of kleptomania has been identified for decades, very little is known about the reasons, prevalence, course and treatment of this disorder. Current knowledge about kleptomania is generally derived from case reports or from material collected from highly selected groups. There are no published systematic studies of personality traits among kleptomaniacs, and knowledge of somatic and psychiatric co-morbidity is limited. The purpose of the present study was to describe personality characteristics, psychiatric disorders and somatic illness among kleptomaniacs. A total of 37 patients (two-thirds of whom were female) who fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for kleptomania were recruited by advertising in a daily newspaper. Monotony avoidance was a prominent personality trait, as was a low degree of socialization. Depression and anxiety were also very common, as was a history of attempted suicide. Somatic illness was commonly reported, and a high proportion of the kleptomaniacs were regularly receiving pharmacological treatment for either psychiatric or somatic illness. The representativeness of this group of kleptomaniacs is as yet unknown. However, the present study is based on the largest sample of patients fulfilling DSM-III-R/DSM-IV criteria for kleptomania to date who were not primarily recruited through the medical or legislative systems.

Mental comorbidity of chronic insomnia in general practice attenders using DSM‐III‐R

The major aim of this study was to investigate links between chronic insomnia and mental and personality disorders using the DSM-III-R classification. Of a sample of 2512 general practice attenders, 105 with a chronic insomnia complaint over a 4-month period were evaluated for mental and personality disorders. In addition, the significance of other factors such as personality traits, social functioning and the patient's own estimation of sleep quality was studied. Sixty-six patients got a diagnosis of a current insomnia using a structured interview for DSM-III-R. Fifty percent of them had at least one additional current Axis I or II diagnosis. Affective disorders were most common as principal psychiatric diagnosis followed by substance use disorders. The general practitioners were poor in recognizing their patients' chronic insomnia complaints and the high percentage of substance abusers among them. The important role of psychopathology in chronic insomnia sufferers was indicated by the high number of patients who displayed prominent personality traits. The predominant personality pattern was characterized by a pattern of internalization of problems combined with an anxious-depressive reaction style. In summary, strong associations between chronic insomnia, mental disorders and psychopathology were confirmed by this investigation.

Clinical psychosomatic research.

Psychosomatic medicine embrances the influence of psychological factors on the development and course of diverse physical symptoms. Reasons are given why it is recognized that physical morbidity is influenced by such factors, with illustrations from the authors' research on acute ischemic heart disease, peptic ulcer and bronchial asthma. The nature of the psychological factors can be elucidated with the use of recently developed psychometric tests; these relate particularly to mood disturbance, either attributable to affective disorder or prominent personality traits. To insure that samples studied are representative of the disease or symptom being considered, and that all relevant variables are taken into account, the research approach usually necessitates a multidisciplinary team.