Variation In Personality Traits Research Articles

The bold and the sperm: positive association between boldness and sperm number in the guppy.

Assessing the consequences of personality traits on reproductive success is one of the most important challenges in personality studies and critical to understand the evolutionary implications of behavioural variability among animals. Personality traits are typically associated with mating acquisition in males, and, hence, linked to variation in their reproductive success. However, in most species, sexual selection continues after mating, and sperm traits (such as sperm number and quality) become very important in determining post-mating competitive success. Here, we investigate whether variation in personality traits is associated with variation in sperm traits using the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), a species with high levels of sperm competition. We found a positive association between boldness and sperm number but not sperm velocity, suggesting that bolder males have increased post-copulatory success than shyer individuals. No association was found between exploration and sperm traits. Our work highlights the importance of considering post-copulatory traits when investigating fitness consequences of personality traits, especially in species with high levels of female multiple matings and hence sperm competition.

Revisiting the Role Parenting Styles on Personality Development of Adolescents: A Study of District Multan, Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Parenting styles generally refer to the child care practices of parents through which parents socialize their children. Diana Baumrind described three parenting styles based on two mechanisms ‘’responsiveness and demandingness’’ of parents; these parenting styles are named as authoritarian parenting style, authoritative parenting and permissive parenting style; On the other hand, personality can be defined in terms of individual differences in thinking feeling and behaving. The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of parenting style on personality development of adolescents in district Multan. Buri’s parental authority questionnaire (PAQ)) and John & Srivastava’s Big Five inventory (BFI) were used to analyze the relationship of parental child care practices and adolescent’s personality traits. The study assessed Big-five personality traits and derived parenting styles (Authoritarian, Authoritative and Permissive) from scores underlying domains of parental responsiveness and parental demandingness. 281 respondents including males and females were selected through convenient sampling technique. Linear regression model was used to find out the produced variance due to criterion variable in dependent variable. Results from linear regression explained the relationship between parenting styles and personality traits with respect to gender of the respondents which depicted 23% variation in personality traits due to permissive parenting style, 14.5% variation in personality traits due to authoritarian parenting style and only 9% variation in personality traits due to authoritative parenting style. To conclude, authoritative parenting style is more likely to associated with Big five personality traits rather than authoritarian and permissive parenting style.

The Influence of Personality on Small Fish Migration and Dispersal in the Everglades

The Everglades is characterized by seasonal hydrologic variation that expands and reduces aquatic habitats. Fish like Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki), Bluefin Killifish (Lucania goodei), Golden Topminnow (Fundulus chrysotus) and Sailfin Molly (Poecilia latipinna) annually move to and from temporary wetlands. Field studies have indicated cyclic changes in activity and directionality for some fishes moving across the landscape and that rates vary among species. Laboratory experiments were performed to test the hypotheses that personality traits related to migration, including boldness, exploration and activity vary among fishes from locations with different hydrology and during periods of differing hydrology. Strong dispersers like Eastern Mosquitofish and Golden Topminnow were bolder when water levels were changing and were superior, as explorers of unknown environments, to species whose populations take longer to recover in seasonal wetlands. Poorer dispersers like Bluefin Killifish and Sailfin Molly lacked variation in personality traits related to seasonal dispersal. The results confirm prior studies showing seasonally changing activity levels by migrating fishes and demonstrate that seasonal personality changes are partially responsible. Understanding how and why fish move into and out of temporary wetlands is critical to the management of short-hydroperiod water levels to maintain an accessible food supply for wading birds.

Роль негативных личностных черт в психологической адаптации

The paper reflects one of the aspects of the research carried out within the framework of the project “Nature of variability of negative personality traits: a twin study”. The research reviews the adaptive component of negative personal traits. The sample of the study consisted of 136 members of monozygotic twins and 401 only children in their families aged 18-78. Life satisfaction was a generalized metric of psychological adaptation. It is shown that a number of negative personality traits (in particular, narcissism, authoritarianism) positively correlate with life satisfaction. The biased value of various personality traits, which can also indirectly serve as an indicator of adaptability of these psychological properties, was assessed using a semantic differential. The age-related changes in the perfect image of the self, which are associated primarily with some more attractive negative personal traits, as well as the multidirectional desired changes in personality traits in themselves and the twin (more power and conflict in themselves and less of the same in the brother/sister) also indicate that a number of negative personal traits play a positive role in psychological adaptation. It is assumed that these traits can have a compensatory function during stress, and the destructiveness of these traits can have a greater impact on people around than on themselves.

Motives Behind Cyberbullying Perpetration: A Test of Uses and Gratifications Theory.

Drawing from Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT), this study explored the interplay between personality traits (online disinhibition, moral disengagement, narcissism, and aggression) and cyberbullying perpetration motives (entertainment, revenge, harm, and dominance) through structural equation modeling. The participants were a convenience sample of 598 cyber bully-victims who were Turkish university students (229 females, 362 males, and seven unknown). The findings empirically supported UGT for conceptualization of cyberbullying perpetration. Almost half of the participants (49.7%) cyberbullied someone twice or more during the preceding 6 months, and males cyberbullied others significantly more than females. In terms of the structural interrelationships, (a) online disinhibition was the only personality trait related to cyberbullying others for entertainment; (b) moral disengagement and aggression were the two variables associated with the revenge motive of cyberbullying perpetration; (c) although online disinhibition was negatively related to cyberbullying others for harm, moral disengagement and aggression were positively linked to harm; and (d) moral disengagement and narcissism were the two personality trait variables associated with the dominance motive of cyberbullying perpetration. Results imply that UGT offers a new understanding about cyberbullying perpetration to researchers, theorists, and practitioners. Personality traits play an important role in cyberbullying perpetration motives and behaviors. Thus, personality traits should be considered in prevention and intervention efforts against cyberbullying. The earlier the personality characteristics of the young individuals are identified, the earlier they can be prevented from engaging in cyberbullying perpetration. Also, sports activities, social events, competitive contests, or leisure and recreational activities offered by university managements can help the university youth to keep away from cyberbullying perpetration and to satisfy motives in more appropriate ways.

Body dissatisfaction and its relation to Big Five personality factors and self-esteem in young adult college women in India.

Introduction:Eating disorders are increasingly becoming common among men and women across the world. Body dissatisfaction is found to be one of the prominent risk factors for the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Research suggests that the internalization of culturally unattainable ideals is in fact mediated by self-esteem and personality factors such as high neuroticism, perfectionism, and impulsiveness. Studies on body image concerns in the cultural context of the Indian population are limited. We aimed to study the prevalence of body image dissatisfaction and its association with self-esteem and personality traits among young Indian women.Materials and Methods:Using a cross-sectional design we studied on 555 female college students of North India. Data was collected using self-reported questionnaires: Sociodemographic pro forma, Body Shape Questionnaire (-8C), Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, and Mini-International Personality Item Pool.Results:The mean age of the participants in the study was 22.24 years (±2.75). Twenty-seven percent of the participants had moderate-to-severe body concern. Body shape dissatisfaction significantly correlated with higher body mass index (BMI) (rs = 0.12, P = 0.003) and lower self-esteem (rs = −0.22, P < 0.001). Among the personality traits, only neuroticism (beta = 0.35, P = 0.01) and conscientiousness (beta = 0.29, P = 0.031) significantly predicted body shape dissatisfaction.Conclusion:A significant percentage of young women in this study had a negative body image associated with higher BMI, lower self-esteem, high neuroticism, and high conscientiousness. Thus, consideration of individual variations in personality traits and self-esteem is important understanding body image concerns. This can help in selection of better interventions in the treatment of body image dissatisfaction.

Traços de personalidade, atitude ao endividamento e conhecimento financeiro: um retrato dos servidores da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

As constantes evidências de analfabetismo financeiro, bem como o elevando nível de endividamento da sociedade, faz com que esses temas tenham de ser mais bem explorados para que alternativas a esses problemas possam emergir. Assim, tem-se como objetivo identificar quais aspectos influenciam a atitude ao endividamento e o conhecimento financeiro de servidores da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) considerando variáveis de perfil e traços de personalidade. Para tanto foi feita uma pesquisa online através de um questionário com os servidores (técnico-administrativos e docentes) da UFSC. Os dados foram analisados através do software SPSS. Os principais resultados, revelados por meio da aplicação de um questionário, demonstraram a predominância dos traços de personalidade “conscienciosidade” e “abertura à experiência”, além de indicarem elevado conhecimento financeiro e baixa atitude ao endividamento, o que aponta um perfil menos suscetível a problemas financeiros dentre os servidores. No entanto, ainda há aqueles com maior tendência a apresentarem baixa educação financeira e elevada atitude ao endividamento, sendo os demais resultados direcionados à identificação desses, os quais devem ser priorizados em cursos de capacitação.

The connection between social cohesion and personality: A multilevel study in the Kyrgyz Republic.

As the discourse around societal cohesion grows and policy makers increasingly turn their attention towards improving cohesion, understanding its role for the lives of individuals becomes ever more important. Our study examines whether the social cohesion of the immediate living context is related to the strength of Big Five personality traits among individuals. Using data from a community survey of 6252 adults living in 30 rural sub‐districts in the Kyrgyz Republic, where social cohesion is a sizable policy concern, we conduct a multilevel analysis of the relationship between sub‐district cohesion and individual personality. Results indicate that higher levels of cohesion are significantly related to higher individual levels of agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness. However, no relationship is found with extraversion or neuroticism. Thus, where a social entity has higher cohesion, this entity will also have inhabitants with a greater prosocial and communal orientation towards others, greater conscientiousness and more openness to experience. These findings imply that social cohesion may be one geographical social indicator related to variation in personality traits. Moreover, the findings suggest that understanding social cohesion requires both macro‐ and micro‐perspectives and that its connection to these particular personality traits should be taken into consideration.

Is Within–Individual Variation in Personality Traits Associated with Changes in Health Behaviours? Analysis of Seven Longitudinal Cohort Studies

Personality traits are related to health behaviours, but it is unknown whether changes in personality would lead to changes in health behaviours. We examined whether naturally occurring, within–individual variation in personality traits over time is associated with corresponding changes in smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and body mass index. Data were from seven longitudinal cohort studies with a total sample of 56 786 participants with two or three repeated measurements of the Five Factor Model personality traits assessed over 4 to 19 years. Repeated measurements were used to tease apart between–individual and within–individual associations. In the within–individual analysis, all the personality traits were associated with physical activity, and extraversion was associated with risky alcohol consumption. There were no other within–individual associations. In the between–individual analysis, lower conscientiousness, emotional stability, agreeableness, and openness to experience, and higher extraversion, were associated with many risky health behaviours. Our findings suggest that health behaviours are related mostly to stable, between–individual differences in personality traits, but changes in adult personality may have only limited association with changes in health behaviours. © 2018 European Association of Personality Psychology

Scars of a Lifetime

Scars of a Lifetime

Accounting for multi-dimensional dependencies among decision-makers within a generalized model framework: An application to understanding shared mobility service usage levels

Activity-travel choices of individuals are influenced by spatial dependency effects. As individuals interact and exchange information with, or observe the behaviors of, those in close proximity of themselves, they are likely to shape their behavioral choices accordingly. For this reason, econometric choice models that account for spatial dependency effects have been developed and applied in a number of fields, including transportation. However, spatial dependence models to date have largely defined the strength of association across behavioral units based on spatial or geographic proximity. In the current context of social media platforms and ubiquitous internet and mobile connectivity, the strength of associations among individuals is no longer solely dependent on spatial proximity. Rather, the strength of associations among individuals may be based on shared attitudes and preferences as well. In other words, behavioral choice models may benefit from defining dependency effects based on attitudinal constructs in addition to geographical constructs. In this paper, frequency of usage of car-sharing and ride-hailing services is modeled using a generalized heterogeneous data model (GHDM) framework that incorporates multi-dimensional dependencies among decision-makers. The model system is estimated on the 2014–2015 Puget Sound Regional Travel Study survey sample, with proximity in latent attitudinal constructs defined by a number of personality trait variables. Model estimation results show that social dependency effects arising from similarities in attitudes and preferences are significant in explaining shared mobility service usage. Ignoring such effects may lead to erroneous estimates of the adoption and usage of future transportation technologies and mobility services.

Habitat-dependent effects of personality on survival and reproduction in red squirrels

Variation in intrinsic (body mass, reproductive condition) and extrinsic factors (habitat quality, spatio-temporal variation in food availability) can affect the costs and benefits of personality traits. Relationships between personality and fitness components can vary with changes in population density and/or habitat quality. Here, using capture-mark-recapture data of individually marked Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), we explored whether indices of boldness and exploration are correlated with local survival in either of the sexes and with a measure of reproductive success in females, under different conditions of food availability. PCA scores derived from the number of captures (trappability) and number of different traps where an individual was captured (trap diversity), in the first 1 or 2 years of presence, were used as indices of personality (boldness and pure exploration). The relationships between boldness and local survival differed between habitats in both sexes. Bold squirrels survived better than shy ones in Norway spruce forest, while in the other two study areas (Scots pine or mixed spruce-fir forest), survival was lower for bolder squirrels. Pure exploration behavior was negatively correlated with local survival in all habitats and in both sexes. Female reproductive success increased with body mass and decreased with the tendency to explore, a relationship consistent across habitat types. Bolder females did not have a reproductive advantage in years of poor food availability. We suggest that costs and benefits of boldness vary with spatio-temporal differences in availability of high-quality food resources which may help to maintain variation in personality in red squirrels in heterogeneous landscapes. Differences in personality among individuals can affect their survival or reproductive success. We investigated the relationship between personality traits and fitness components in Eurasian red squirrels under different food availability. We scored boldness and exploration using indices derived from capture-mark-recapture data. Bold red squirrels survived longer than shy ones in spruce forest where food availability varied strongly between years. Instead, in mixed forests with more stable food supplies, shy individuals survived longer. Heavy females produced more litters in their lifetime than those with lower body mass. Explorative squirrels were more likely to die young and to produce no or few litters, independent of the habitat they lived in. Our results suggest that variation in personality traits within populations of Eurasian red squirrels was maintained by changing fitness benefits in relation to habitat type in pulsed resource systems.

The relevance/significance of stimuli appraisals for personality traits in an academic context

Though appraisals are recognised as an important cognitive-affective process linking traits to emotions, motivations, and behaviours, previous research on the relationship between personality traits and appraisals has been limited by not considering relevance/significance-appraisals. This study used 120 university students to investigate the relationship between conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism, and pleasantness- and relevance/significance appraisals of academic-related words (in the categories of academic-approach, academic-avoidance, performance-evaluative, and academic-neutral). The results suggested that both pleasantness- and relevance/significance-appraisals were important for explaining the variation in personality traits. Overall, stimuli-appraisals accounted for 35% of the variance in conscientiousness, and 49% of the variance in an aspect of conscientiousness related to approach/achievement.

Variation in personality traits across a metal pollution gradient in a free-living songbird

Anthropogenic contaminants could alter traits central to animal behavioral types, or personalities, including aggressiveness, boldness and activity level. Lead and other toxic metals are persistent inorganic pollutants that affect organisms worldwide. Metal exposure can alter behavior by affecting neurology, endocrinology, and health. However, the direction and magnitude of the behavioral effects of metal exposure remain equivocal. Moreover, the degree to which metal exposure simultaneously affects suites of correlated behavioral traits (behavioral syndromes) that are controlled by common mechanisms remains unclear, with most studies focusing on single behaviors. Using a model species for personality variation, the great tit (Parus major), we explored differences in multiple behavioral traits across a pollution gradient where levels of metals, especially lead and cadmium, are elevated close to a smelter. We employed the novel environment exploration test, a proxy for variation in personality type, and also measured territorial aggressiveness and nest defense behavior. At polluted sites birds of both sexes displayed slower exploration behavior, which could reflect impaired neurological or physiological function. Territorial aggression and nest defense behavior were individually consistent, but did not vary with proximity to the smelter, suggesting that metal exposure does not concurrently affect exploration and aggression. Rather, exploration behavior appears more sensitive to metal pollution. Effects of metal pollution on exploration behavior, a key animal personality trait, could have critical effects on fitness.

Testing the state-dependent behavior models in humans: Environmental harshness moderates the link between personality and mating

In behavioral ecology, state-dependent models are frequently used for the explanation of inter-individual variance in personality traits. Environmental characteristics are one of the external states which could influence this variance. The model predicts that environmental harshness should be related to fast life-history personality traits and that these traits should be more beneficial for fitness-related behavior in a harsh environment. In order to test the state-dependent behavior models in humans, we explored the relations between environmental harshness (exposure to long-term inter-group conflict), HEXACO personality traits and mating success (N=204). We found that exposure to conflict is related to a fast life-history personality profile: lower Honesty, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, followed by higher Extraversion. Furthermore, interaction effects showed that high Extraversion and low Emotionality are related to higher mating success, but only in a harsh environment. All obtained results are in line with state-dependent models predictions. Research findings reveal the rich explanatory potential of behavioral ecological models in explaining key questions of human behavior, such as inter-individual variance in personality.

Lack of association between NeuroD1/D6 gene polymorphism and heroin dependence in Han-chinese male population

Objectives: Heroin dependence (HD) is a chronic brain disease with genetic contribution. NeuroD1/D6 are neurogenic differentiation factors that play a role in development and differentiation of the brain. In this study, we intended to investigate the association of NeuroD1/D6 gene polymorphism and the occurrence of HD, and the role of this genetic variability in specific personality traits of HD patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 694 individuals were recruited in this study (313 HD patients and 381 normal controls). Patients with HD were further classified into four clinical subgroups to reduce heterogeneity. Genetic variants of selected single-nucleotide polymorphisms in NeuroD1 (rs1801262, rs16867467, and rs2583016) and NeuroD6 (rs2233404) were genotyped. We used the Chinese version of tridimensional personality questionnaire to assess specific personality traits in subjects. Results: For allele and genotype frequency analysis, we found a weak association between NeuroD1 rs16867467 and patients with HD (P < 0.05). Nonetheless, the association findings could not remain significant after Bonferroni's correction. For specific personality traits, NS score was negatively correlated with age in both study groups (P < 0.05); however, the NeuroD SNPs were not associated with the novelty-seeking/harm avoidance scores in patients with HD. Conclusions: Our study suggests that NeuroD1/D6 gene polymorphism may neither be associated with the occurrence of HD nor did these polymorphisms influence the personality traits in patients with HD.

The genetics of human personality.

Personality traits are the relatively enduring patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors that reflect the tendency to respond in certain ways under certain circumstances. Twin and family studies have showed that personality traits are moderately heritable, and can predict various lifetime outcomes, including psychopathology. The Research Domain Criteria characterizes psychiatric diseases as extremes of normal tendencies, including specific personality traits. This implies that heritable variation in personality traits, such as neuroticism, would share a common genetic basis with psychiatric diseases, such as major depressive disorder. Despite considerable efforts over the past several decades, the genetic variants that influence personality are only beginning to be identified. We review these recent and increasingly rapid developments, which focus on the assessment of personality via several commonly used personality questionnaires in healthy human subjects. Study designs covered include twin, linkage, candidate gene association studies, genome-wide association studies and polygenic analyses. Findings from genetic studies of personality have furthered our understanding about the genetic etiology of personality, which, like neuropsychiatric diseases themselves, is highly polygenic. Polygenic analyses have showed genetic correlations between personality and psychopathology, confirming that genetic studies of personality can help to elucidate the etiology of several neuropsychiatric diseases.

Behavioral phenotype predicts physiological responses to chronic stress in proactive and reactive birds

Animal species display significant variation in personality traits among individuals, and two main coping styles have been identified and termed “proactive” and “reactive”. Further, these coping styles appear to correlate directly with the strength of the physiological stress response exhibited by those individuals. In our study system, white laying hens are reactive, flighty, and exhibit large hormonal and behavioral responses to acute stress, while brown laying hens are proactive, exploratory, and exhibit low hormonal and behavioral responses to acute stress. The objective of the current study was to determine if personality type also corresponds to differences in multiple measures of stress when birds are subjected to a chronic stressor. We tested the responses of hens to chronic stress applied by providing feed according to an unpredictable schedule for 14 days, and measured corticosterone concentrations in circulation, expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs), molecules known to protect cells in response to stress, and the ratios of heterophils:lymphocytes in blood, two immune cells known to change in quantity in circulation during chronic stress. We predicted that white hens would show greater physiological responses to the chronic stress treatment. Plasma corticosterone levels significantly increased after 7 days of treatment and returned to baseline levels on day 14, but did not differ significantly between strains. H:L ratios, on the other hand, were significantly elevated by day 7 of treatment, and increased significantly more in brown hens than white. HSP70 and HSP90 expression levels were significantly higher after stress began in white hens than brown. Our results showed that brown hens were more reactive in one response (H:L ratios) while white hens were more reactive in another (HSP expression). These different reactions to the same stressor may represent different strategies for dealing with the same stressor.

Correlations between the DSM-IV categorical model and the alternative DSM-5 model

Introduction: The diversity of personality traits and rigidity of the categorical model of personality disorders has favored the introduction of a new dimensional model in DSM 5. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to find certain correlations between the traits of the categorical model and the facets of the alternative DSM-5 model, the description of the 6 personality disorders undescribed from this model's perspective and testing the reliability of PID-5 inventory at the level of domains. Methods: We included in our study a group of 155 students (n=155) who completed the “Personality Disorder Questionnaire 4” (PDQ-4) and the “Personality Inventory for DSM-5” (PID-5). Results: We found strong positive correlations between the schizoid personality traits and detachment (r=0.61; p=0.0001); between schizotypal personality traits and psychoticism (r=0.61; p=0.0001); between avoidant personality disorders and negative affectivity (r= 0.60; p=0.0001). Rehabilitation has been assessed by means of Cronbach's alpha factor. Beside the Disinhibition domain (alpha=0.65) we have noticed reliability indices with alpha values over 0.7. Conclusions: The alternative DSM-5 model, through its 25 trait facets, becomes a very important tool in the assessment of the personality profile.

영어교사의 성격특성과 직무만족의 관계에서 자기효능감의 매개효과 연구

The purpose of this study is to analyze how the personality traits and self-efficacy of English teachers influence their job satisfaction. Previous studies have shown the effects of self-efficacy and personality traits on various fields of job satisfaction. According to those studies, factors related to their job satisfaction also need to be analyzed, thus leading to improved learning performances among English learners. The results of the study are as follows. First, conscientiousness and extroversion affected self-efficacy based on the analysis of the influence of personality traits. Second, conscientiousness and extroversion also affected job satisfaction among the English teachers based on the analysis of the influence of personality traits on job satisfaction. Finally, self-efficacy had a significant influence on the relationship of conscientiousness and job satisfaction, as well as on the relationship of extroversion and job satisfaction, according to the analysis of the mediating effect between the personality traits and job satisfaction of the English teachers. It is important to note that extroversion significantly improved job satisfaction of the English teachers, and the variables of personality traits and self-efficacy can create positive synergistic effects on their job satisfaction. It was concluded that improved job satisfaction may help raise personal life satisfaction of English teachers, thereby, resulting in better quality English education and English learning environments.