Personality Taxonomy Research Articles

Exploring the Role of Spirituality in the Context of the Five Factor Model of Personality in a South African Sample

The study explored the relationship between the Five Factor Model of personality and spirituality by using the NEO PI-R (Costa & McCrae, 1992) and the Spiritual Transcendence Scale (STS) (Piedmont, 1999) respectively. Participants were 94 psychology undergraduate students at a large South African university (mean age = 19.1 years; SD =1.43, males =19, females=75). Data were analyzed using both correlations as well as principal components analysis with varimax rotation. Evidence from both correlations and factor analysis suggest separate domains within the FFM as well as a separate factor for spirituality. These results provide support for claims that aspects of spirituality are not accounted for by the FFM as operationalised by the NEO-PI-R and by implication the FFM may not be a complete taxonomy of personality.

How Introspections Concerning Cloninger’s Concepts of Temperament and Character Influence Eysenckian Personality Structure

Two studies examine the consequences of distinguishing between self-report responses on the Eysenck Personality Profiler (Eysenck et al. The European Journal of Psychological Assessment 8: 109–117, 1992) in terms of Cloninger’s concepts of Temperament and Character (Cloninger et al. Archives of General Psychiatry 50: 975–990, 1993). Character is thought to reflect conscious, maturation-related influences on personality, while Temperament is thought to reflect instinctive, biologically-based influences. In Study one, one-hundred and thirty-three participants (76.6% female) classify primary scales of the Eysenck Personality Profiler as relating to Character or Temperament. Impulsiveness, Anxiety and Aggression are perceived as the most Temperament-based scales, while Responsibility, Manipulativeness and Assertiveness are perceived as the most Character-based scales. In Study two, one-hundred and seventy-seven participants (74.4% female) complete the Eysenck Personality Profiler using the standard response scale, while one-hundred and thirty-eight participants (62.3% female) complete the Eysenck Personality Profiler using a scale which distinguishes between Character and Temperament. Results demonstrate differences in the factor structure and concurrent validity of the Eysenck Personality Profiler when scoring distinguishes between Temperament and Character. We conclude that the concepts of Temperament and Character might usefully be applied to Eysenck’s personality taxonomy.

Phenotypic and Genetic Associations Between the Big Five and Trait Emotional Intelligence

This study reports the first behavioral genetic investigation of the extent to which genetic and/or environmental factors contribute to the relationship between the Big Five personality factors and trait emotional intelligence. 213 pairs of adult monozygotic twins and 103 pairs of same-sex dizygotic twins completed the NEO-PI-R and the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue). Replicating previous non-twin studies, many significant phenotypic correlations were found between the Big Five factors - especially Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness - and the facets, factors, and global scores derived from the TEIQue. Bivariate behavioral genetic model-fitting analyses revealed that these phenotypic correlations were primarily attributable to correlated genetic factors and secondarily to correlated non-shared environmental factors. The results support the feasibility of incorporating EI as a trait within existing personality taxonomies.

Relationships between religiosity, spirituality, and personality: A multivariate analysis

It has been purported that univariate analyses may be too simplistic when studying correlates of religiosity and spirituality ( Thoresen & Harris, 2002). Consequently, the current study evaluated the relationships between religiosity, spirituality, and personality at both the univariate and multivariate levels. Our results suggest strong relationships between these constructs at both levels. At the univariate level, all religiosity and spirituality variables, excluding the Extrinsic orientation, demonstrated significant associations with the Big Five. However, at the multivariate level, the Extrinsic orientation, in conjunction with the Quest orientation and the Intrinsic orientation, demonstrated a significant association with the Big Five. These findings support the supposition that religious and spiritual constructs ought to be examined at a multivariate level and further explicates the nature of religious and spiritual constructs by grounding them within a comprehensive taxonomy of personality.

Personality Testing and Industrial–Organizational Psychology: Reflections, Progress, and Prospects

As the title suggests, this article takes a broad perspective on personality as it is conceptualized and measured in organizational research, and in the spirit of this Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology journal, we framed the article as a series of 7 questions. These 7 questions deal with (1) personality and multidimensional models of performance, (2) personality taxonomies and the five-factor model, (3) the effects of situations on personality–performance relationships, (4) the incremental validity of personality over cognitive ability, (5) the need to differentiate personality constructs from personality measures, (6) the concern with faking on personality tests, and (7) the use of personality tests in attempting to address adverse impact. We dovetail these questions with our perspectives and insights in the hope that this will stimulate further discussion with our readership.

Age differences in temperament, character and depressive mood: a cross‐sectional study

This study explores the effect of age on mean-levels of the personality traits defined in Cloninger's personality taxonomy, and investigates the relevance of personality traits for predicting depression levels in adults aged 18 to 94 years. We divided our sample (466 participants) into four age groups (young adult, adult, mature adult and elderly). Personality was measured using the Temperament and Character Inventory, and depression was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Analysis of variance showed mean-level changes for all the personality traits except Self-D. Post hoc analyses revealed a decrease in the level of novelty seeking with age and an increase in the level of self-transcendence for the two oldest age groups. Reward dependence was highest among the youngest participants, whereas harm avoidance was highest for both the youngest and the oldest age groups. Depression correlated positively with harm avoidance and age but negatively with self-transcendence. Impulsiveness, curiosity and social dependency decrease with age, whereas spirituality increases. Young and elderly adults are more fearful and socially inhibited. Harm avoidance and self-transcendence are the most relevant personality traits for predicting levels of depression.

Personality in middle childhood: A hierarchical structure and longitudinal connections with personality in late adolescence

Research on the structure of personality in middle childhood, while advancing, is still in the early stages of development. In this study, we employed a group of 1563 twins to elucidate the hierarchical structure of personality in middle childhood and provide connections to established personality traits in adult populations. Our results provide evidence for a higher-order structure of personality in middle childhood that maps on to recent findings in adult populations supporting hierarchical relationships among 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-factor models of personality. In addition, primary higher-order personality traits rated by parents at age 11 showed substantial predictive validity for analogous traits rated by self at age 17. We discuss our results within the context of developing a convergent hierarchical taxonomy of personality in middle childhood and the importance of multi-informant investigations.

The Dispositional Sources of Job Satisfaction: A Comparative Test

This study related three personality taxonomies—positive affectivity and negative affectivity (PA and NA), the five‐factor model (the “Big Five”), and core self‐evaluations—to job satisfaction in an integrative test. In a longitudinal design with multi‐source data, results indicated that the traits from all three taxonomies generally were significantly related to job satisfaction, even when the traits and job satisfaction were measured with independent sources. However, when all three typologies were examined concurrently, the core self‐evaluations typology was the only typology that was significantly related to job satisfaction. The study extends research on the validation of these frameworks by assessing convergent and discriminant validity issues, and shows that core self‐evaluations adds to our understanding of the dispositional source of job satisfaction.

Personality-focused coaching for leadership development.

The University of AucklandBusiness SchoolThe science of personality measurement in the workplace has developed a greatdeal in the past 2 decades, and the Þve-factor model (FFM) is generallyrecognized as the most notable taxonomy of OnormalO personality. Meanwhile,coaching has become a well-established method of one-on-one leadershipdevelopment in many organizations. Given the research investigating the rela-tionship between the FFM and work-related behavior and performance, includ-ing leadership, the authorsO aim is to advocate the proÞling of personalityagainst the FFM to provide a useful framework for behavioral change inexecutive coaching. Coaching typically deals with skill deÞcits, performanceproblems, change challenges, and issues raised by the executive himself orherself, and a research-based understanding of personalityÐbehavior linkagescan provide valuable insights for the coach and coachee and a path forward toa wide range of coaching challenges.Keywords: coaching, executive coaching, Þve-factor model, leadership devel-opment, personality

Type-D personality is a stable taxonomy in post-MI patients over an 18-month period

Objective type-D personality comprises a risk factor for adverse prognosis in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, concerns that type-D personality may not be a stable personality taxonomy and that progression of CVD may contribute to the manifestation of type-D personality have been voiced. The present study examined the stability of type-D personality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and evaluated the influence of demographic and clinical risk factors and mood status on the stability of type-D personality during the course of 18 months. Methods Patients hospitalized for acute MI ( N=475) were assessed on demographic and clinical variables, type-D personality, depression, and anxiety at three time points, using both self-report measures and diagnostic interviews. Longitudinal hierarchical latent class regression models were used to examine the stability of type-D personality and the influence of potential confounders. Results type-D personality was a stable construct. Multivariate analysis showed that demographic and clinical characteristics, time ( P=.11), and intraindividual variability in depressive ( P=.19) and anxiety ( P=.18) symptoms over time did not affect type-D status. The mean levels of depressive ( P=.05) and anxiety ( P<.0001) symptoms within a subject over time were significantly related to type-D status. Conclusion type-D personality is a stable taxonomy over an 18-month period in post-MI patients. type-D classification was not confounded by variability in mood status and by disease severity. These findings support the importance of including personality variables in cardiovascular research and the need for intervention trials targeting this personality taxonomy in order to enhance secondary prevention in CVD patients.

Personality and smoking status: A meta-analysis

We used meta-analytic techniques in an attempt to clarify the strength and direction of the association between smoking status and personality, which narrative reviews have indicated remains a largely inconsistent literature. Included were cross-sectional studies that reported personality data for healthy, adult smokers and nonsmokers using measures of personality traits derived from Eysenck's tripartite taxonomy of human personality. Of the 25 studies that contributed to the meta-analysis, 22 reported data on smoking status and extraversion and 22 reported data on smoking status and neuroticism. Meta-analysis using a fixed-effects framework indicated a significant difference between smokers and nonsmokers on both extraversion (p<.001) and neuroticism (p<.001) traits, which remained significant when a random-effects framework was used to accommodate significant between-study heterogeneity. These data from cross-sectional observational studies published between 1972 and 2001 indicate that both increased extraversion and increased neuroticism are associated with an increased likelihood of being a smoker rather than a nonsmoker, although in both cases the effect sizes indicated by the meta-analysis were small. We found no evidence that the strength of these associations varied with year of publication.

Evaluating models of the personality–psychopathology relationship in children and adolescents

Connections between personality traits and psychopathology in children and adolescents have frequently been reported in research studies. However, despite the occurrence of significant and systematic relationships between personality and mental disorders in childhood, a thorough understanding of the cause, nature, and implications of these relationships is lacking. In this paper, a comprehensive taxonomy of childhood personality is used to link research on children with that on adults, as well as provide a framework for discussing the personality–psychopathology relationship. Next, research on children and adolescents is integrated into various proposed models of the personality–psychopathology relationship. Finally, clinical implications and future directions are proposed for research on personality and psychopathology in children.

Psychometric properties of the Lithuanian version of The NEO PI-R

Personologists from many countries have consulted the natural language when developing personality taxonomies. Presently, the Big Five factor structure represents the most popular lexically derived personality taxonomy. The Five-Factor model consists of hierarchical trait organization and comprises five basic personality dimensions or factors. These factors are often termed the “Big Five” and represent the general consensus in differential psychology. The five factors are named Neuroticism (N), Extraversion (E), Openness (O), Agreeableness (A), and Conscientiousness (C). The five-factor model developed by Costa and McCrae (1985) is operationalized in the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI R) (Costa, McCrae, 1992).The replicability and ubiquity of the Big Five have led many personality psychologists to advocate this structure as a basic framework for personality description and assessment. The generalizability across different cultures and languages is crucial for the evaluation of a personality taxonomy or structure. When using selfreports, it is critical for trait psychologists to ascertain whether the same sets of assertions are equivalent, i. e. whether they convey the same meanings across languages and cultures that are different from the one in which they were originally generated. Like any kind of assessment based on informants, NEO PI-R is susceptible to the influence of culture and language. This makes analysis of psychometric properties and standardization necessary for the culture in which they are going to be used.This study examined the psychometric properties of the Lithuanian version of the NEO PI-R in a sample of 317 adults (104 men and 213 women, age 19–64). With respect to reliability, although internal consistency and homogeneity estimates of five dimensions were all acceptable the results suggested rather high levels of internal consistency and homogeneity for most of the facet scales with few exceptions. The similarity of reliability with English studies gives to these dimensions and facets scales, the needed stability for future practical applications, as well as for research.Next, in this study we deal with the examination of construct or structural equivalence. To determine the structure of its underlying factor, the Lithuanian NEO PI-R scores of item-level (240 items) were subjected to the principal components analysis with varimax rotation. Factorial analysis identified the same five factors as in other countries. 28 from 30 facet scales (all, except Impulsivity (N5) and Activity (E4)) had chief loadings in the predicted factor. This confirms the generalizability and sufficient fit to the theoretical model.Third, our results with respect to mean scores revealed significant differences between the Lithuanian sample and the USA normative sample for Neuroticism, Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness domains. Overall, this study has provided evidence to support the conjecture that personality structure transcends cultural differences. The conclusions of this study are in line with these recent findings, and they support McCrae and Costa’s (1997) hypothesis that the FFM represents a universal personality structure.

An alternative multi‐language structure for personality attributes

A scientific taxonomy of human personality attributes should optimally be based on studies from multiple languages and cultures. Study 1 demonstrates convergence between seven‐factor structures found in previous studies of Filipino and Hebrew languages. Study 2 shows that this ‘Multi‐Language Seven’ (ML7) factor model overlaps partially with the Big Five model, but includes four rather than three affective–interpersonal factors, replicates in American English lexical data nearly as well as the Big Five, and has close correspondences to the structure upon which two Italian lexical studies have converged. Correlates were used to clarify interpretation of ML7 factors labelled Gregariousness, Self‐Assurance, Even Temper ‘versus Temperamentalness’, Concern for Others, Conscientiousness, Originality/Virtuosity, and Negative Valence ‘or Social Unacceptability’. These studies indicate the viability of a lexically derived ‘etic’ alternative to the Big Five. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

The genetic and environmental relationship between Cloninger's dimensions of temperament and character.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether Cloninger's revised 7-factor model of personality showed incremental validity over his four dimensions of temperament. A sample of 2517 Australian twins aged over 50 between 1993 and 1995 returned completed self-reported measures of Self-directedness, Cooperativeness, and Self-transcendence from Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory. Many of these twins had participated in a 1988 study containing Cloninger's temperament measures of Harm Avoidance, Novelty Seeking, Reward Dependence and Persistence. Contrary to theoretical expectations, univariate analyses revealed that familial aggregation for the character dimensions could be entirely explained by additive gene action alone. Although temperament explained 26, 37 and 10% of additive genetic variance in Self-directedness, Cooperativeness and Self-transcendence, respectively, seven genetic factors were required to explain the genetic variance among the TPQ dimensions, and almost all of the non-shared environmental variance was unique to each dimension of character. Our results indicate that the inclusion of all seven dimensions in a taxonomy of personality is warranted.

Factor structure of English-language personality type-nouns.

Although type-nouns (e.g., idiot, hero) are important in person description, lexical studies of personality have concentrated on adjectives. This study tested structural hypotheses using 372 highly familiar English-language type-nouns and descriptions by 607 participants of either themselves, a liked, or a disliked target person. One- and 2-factor structures were most robust, and replicated similar structures found in previous adjectival studies. Additionally, the structure with 8 orthogonal factors had good replicability and applicability within single-gender subsamples; as in previous studies of type-nouns, it included factors corresponding directly to Extraversion and Intellect/Openness, but also to Attractiveness and Masculinity (or Ruggedness). The Big Five was only weakly replicated. Personality taxonomies based on adjectives are unlikely to be comprehensive, because type-nouns have different content emphases.

Interpersonal Personality Measures Show Circumplex Structure Based on New Psychometric Criteria

The importance of the interpersonal circle in organizing the interpersonal domain is complemented by its empirical relations with broader personality taxonomies and with more specific personality variables. Yet circumplex structure in interpersonal measures has often been investigated using the "eyeball test" rather than using circumplex criteria of known effectiveness. Simulations (Acton, 1999) showed the effectiveness of 5 exploratory criteria (3 entirely new) that assess the properties of equal spacing, constant radius, and no preferred rotation. Along with Browne's (1992) criterion, these were applied to the Interpersonal Checklist (ICL; LaForge & Suczek, 1955; N = 763), Interpersonal Adjective Scales (IAS; Wiggins, 1979; Ns = 716 and 187), Revised IAS (IAS-R; Wiggins, Trapnell, & Phillips, 1988; N = 474), Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Circumplex Scales (IIP-C; Alden, Wiggins, & Pincus, 1990; Ns = 616 and 1,381), and Inventory of Interpersonal Goals (IIG; Horowitz, Dryer, & Krasnoperova, 1997; N = 318). In corroboration of interpersonal theory, all showed circumplex structure.

Making Better Use of Technology by Creating a Personal Taxonomy of Instructional Media

(2001). Making Better Use of Technology by Creating a Personal Taxonomy of Instructional Media. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas: Vol. 75, No. 1, pp. 14-17.

Personnel selection and the five-factor model: reexamining the effects of appplicant's frame of reference.

Recently, 2 separate yet related criticisms have been levied against the adequacy of the five-factor model (or Big Five) as a descriptive taxonomy of job applicant personality: frame of reference effects (M. J. Schmit & A. M. Ryan, 1993) and socially desirable responding (A. F. Snell & M. A. McDaniel, 1998). Of interest, although both criticisms suggest that the five-factor model is inadequate, the frame of reference effects criticism suggests that the factor structure should be more complex, whereas socially desirable responding suggests that it should be less complex in job applicant contexts. The current research reports the results of a new study demonstrating the adequacy of the five-factor model as a descriptor of job applicant, job incumbent, and student personality. Implications for personality assessment and concurrent validation designs using personality measures are also discussed.

Relationship of core self-evaluations to goal setting, motivation, and performance.

A newly developed personality taxonomy suggests that self-esteem, locus of control, generalized self-efficacy, and neuroticism form a broad personality trait termed core self-evaluations. The authors hypothesized that this broad trait is related to motivation and performance. To test this hypothesis, 3 studies were conducted. Study 1 showed that the 4 dispositions loaded on 1 higher order factor. Study 2 demonstrated that the higher order trait was related to task motivation and performance in a laboratory setting. Study 3 showed that the core trait was related to task activity, productivity as measured by sales volume, and the rated performance of insurance agents. Results also revealed that the core self-evaluations trait was related to goal-setting behavior. In addition, when the 4 core traits were investigated as 1 nomological network, they proved to be more consistent predictors of job behaviors than when used in isolation.