Browsing by Subject "Personality"

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Authoritarianism and Personality: Conceptual Issues and the Role of Biased Responding
(2013-05) Ludeke, Steven
In this dissertation I address two topics concerning authoritarianism: (1) the role of self-report bias in the assessment of the correlates of authoritarianism, and (2) the question of whether authoritarianism is appropriately conceptualized as a personality trait. I addressed the first topic in Studies 1 and 2. Study 1 used two samples to highlight the role of the individual's perceptions of trait desirability in predicting bias in that individual's self-reports. The individual's views of the desirability of a trait were shown to be an effective predictor of variance that remained in self-report for that trait after the variance shared with peer-reported and/or objectively-assessed levels of that trait have been removed, indicating that people were more prone to exaggerate their levels of a trait when they personally viewed that trait as desirable. In a direct comparison against socially desirable responding measures, which identify individuals who claim exaggerated levels of general patterns of traits, individual perceptions of the desirability of traits were found to predict equal or greater amounts of bias in self-report measures, depending on the trait. As previous studies had reported that authoritarians scored highly on measures of socially desirable responding, Study 2 applied the concepts of Study 1 to identify whether and how authoritarians exaggerate trait levels in self-reports. I found that authoritarians and nonauthoritarians were prone to distinct patterns of exaggerations in self-reports, where these exaggerations were explained by the different views of trait desirability held by authoritarians versus nonauthoritarians. There is thus nothing about authoritarianism per se that was connected to a tendency to misrepresent one's true trait levels; rather, its connection with exaggeration in self-reports derived from its association with perceptions of trait desirability. In Study 3, I addressed recent challenges to the original "trait" conception of authoritarianism in a longitudinal twin study. I found that, consistent with the results observed for other personality traits, authoritarianism was highly stable over time, and this stability was influenced primarily by genetic factors.
Choosing a “Source of Truth”: The Implications of using Self versus Interviewer Ratings of Interviewee Personality as Training Data for Language-Based Personality Assessments
(2022-12) Auer, Elena
Advancement in research and practice in the application of machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) in psychological measurement has primarily focused on the implementation of new NLP techniques, new data sources (e.g., social media), or cutting-edge ML models. However, research attention, particularly in psychology, has lacked a major focus on the importance of criterion choice when training ML and NLP models. Core to almost all models designed to predict psychological constructs or attributes is the choice of a “source of truth.” Models are typically optimally trained to predict something, meaning the choice of scores the models are attempting to predict (e.g., self-reported personality) is critical to understanding the constructs reflected by the ML or NLP-based measures. The goal of this study was to begin to understand the nuances of selecting a “source of truth” by identifying and exploring the impact of the methodological effects attributable to choosing a “source of truth” when generating language-based personality scores. There were four primary findings that emerged. First, in the context of scoring interview transcripts, there was a clear performance difference between language-based models predicting self-reported scores and interviewer ratings such that language-based models could predict interviewer ratings much better than self-reported ratings of conscientiousness. Second, this is some of the first explicit empirical evidence of the method effects that can occur in the context of language-based scores. Third, there are clear differences between the psychometric properties of language-based self-report and language-based interviewer rating scores and these patterns seemed to be the result of a proxy effect, where the psychometric properties of the language-based ratings mimicked the psychometric properties of the human ratings they were derived from. Fourth, while there was evidence of a proxy effect, language-based scores had slightly different psychometric properties compared to the scores they were trained on, suggesting that it would not be appropriate to fully assume the psychometric properties of language-based assessments based on the ratings the models were trained on. Ultimately, this study is one of the first attempts towards better isolating and understanding the modular effects of language-based assessment methods and future research should continue the application of psychometric theory and research to advances in language-based psychological assessment tools.
Clinician acceptance of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs): relating personality factors to continuance intention
(2011-12) McClellan, Molly Ann
Many models currently exist for evaluating acceptance and continued use of technology. However, none of these models are healthcare specific, nor do they involve aspects of users' personality. Although the five-factor model (FFM) of personality has been effectively used in psychology and human resources and management research to predict attitudes, cognitions, and behaviors, it has not been effectively integrated into a technology acceptance model. This paper proposes a new model of technology acceptance and continued use for clinicians. Survey results from 244 medical and dental residents and fellows were used to analyze the relationships between personality factors and the technology acceptance constructs of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and continuance intention. Clinicians scored highest in agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience and lowest in neuroticism. Neuroticism was negatively related to effort expectancy. Agreeableness was positively related to both continuance intention and social influence. The results of this study demonstrate the further need for research in the area of personality and technology acceptance, as well as the need for healthcare specific models.
Closed Personalities: The Psychological Roots of Autocratic Support
(2022-04) Armendariz Miranda, Paula
Why do some citizens support autocratic forms of government while others prefer democratic ones? Despite all the tragedy that dictatorships have brought to humanity some individuals still believe that autocracy is desirable. My dissertation seeks to uncover why citizens living in the same country and experiencing the same phenomena, show different preferences and support for authoritarianism and democracy. In this, I argue that individuals who are wary of diversity and individual autonomy – what psychologists would call individuals with closed personalities – crave autocratic political structures that suppress citizen participation, individual autonomy, and plurality of political expression. This form of government provides such individuals with psychological security and reassurance, particularly during times of perceived crisis and civil disobedience.
Comparing Phenotypic, Genetic, and Environmental Associations between Personality and Loneliness
(2022-05) Freilich, Colin
As a risk factor for mortality, loneliness is comparable in magnitude to obesity and physical activity. Given its public health relevance, efforts have been made to understand individual differences in loneliness. Four of the Big Five personality traits have emerged as consistent cross-sectional correlates. However, the etiology of links between the Big Five and loneliness is unclear, as are relations with more specific facets of personality. To fill these gaps, we estimated phenotypic, genetic, and environmental associations between loneliness and both broader and more narrow personality dimensions. Traits that indexed Negative Emotionality (e.g., Neuroticism, Stress Reactivity, and Alienation) and low Positive Emotionality (e.g., Extraversion, Well-Being, Social Closeness) had the strongest associations with loneliness, though low Conscientiousness, low Achievement, low Agreeableness, and high Aggression were also implicated. These phenotypic associations were explained both genetically (.30 < |rg| < .80) and environmentally (.10 < |re| < .35), consistent with an etiology involving several domains of personality underlying the development of loneliness.
Coping with the Pandemic: A Qualitative Exploration of How Female Millennial Consumers Use Retail Therapy
(2023-05) Langefels, Erika
The focus of this dissertation study was to explore retail therapy behaviors of female millennial consumers in the novel context of the coronavirus pandemic. Personality was an additional attribute examined to understand how it impacts attitudes and behaviors towards shopping in these conditions. This study took a qualitative grounded theory approach by conducting semi-structured in-depth interviews of 19 millennial women, most of whom had partners and children. The findings suggest themes that seek to redefine the meaning of retail therapy and offer new factors driven by the pandemic that led to an increased need to seek retail therapy. Online shopping led to an increase in package deliveries to the home which made shopping behaviors more visible to partners, creating a new dynamic of feelings of guilt within relationships. Inventory shortages both online and in store created frustration for participants that exhibit completionist type personalities. This study demonstrates how retail therapy shopping itself has changed – RT theory should be defined more broadly to include treat shopping as a reward for good outcomes or avoidance of negative ones, and that shopping for treats for others is a form of RT. Additionally, novel conclusions about relationship guilt and completionism as factors that drive retail therapy shopping have changed because of the pandemic are discussed. Outcomes of this study offer several theoretical implications by contributing to existing studies on retail therapy and related topics, as well as offering a novel research approach of qualitative research. Practical implications of this study are realized by providing insight to the retail industry on the female millennial consumer’s therapeutic shopping needs in a post-pandemic paradigm.
Delay and probability discounting: a longitudinal study of neural, cognitive, and emotional processes contributing to adolescent development.
(2010-06) Olson, Elizabeth Ayer
Adolescence is a time of rapid change in neurobehavioral characteristics, including emotional functioning, cognitive performance, and brain structure and function. The development of decision-making was examined in a group of adolescents (age 9-23) followed longitudinally over a two-year period. Delay and probability discounting tasks were used to assess decision-making. Change in discounting was examined in relation to baseline intelligence, working memory performance, personality factors, and internalizing and externalizing behaviors. In addition, contributions of brain structural features to the development of discounting behavior were analyzed. These included cortical thickness, white matter volume, subcortical volume, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures including fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity. Delay discounting, but not probability discounting, showed significant maturation within individuals. Greater than expected maturation in delay discounting was seen in individuals with lower internalizing and externalizing psychopathology and higher positive emotionality. Brain structural factors predisposing toward greater than expected maturation included lower right frontal cortical thickness, larger cinguate and cuneate white matter volumes, larger hippocampal volumes, thicker parahippocampal gyrus cortical thickness, lower fractional anisotropy in the right temporal-parietal-occipital junction, and lower fractional anisotropy in the right amygdala/ pallidum/ hippocampus. Behavioral factors predisposing toward greater than expected change in probability discounting included female sex (for younger participants) and working memory performance (for males). Brain structural factors predisposing toward greater than expected change included cingulate white matter volume and higher mean diffusivity in the left parieto-occipital area. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for development of decision-making processes during adolescence.
The dyadic trait fit between adolescent aggression and parent alienation in a process involving family interactions, adoption status, and adolescent externalizing behavior.
(2012-05) Koh, Bibiana D.
To better understand the small but noteworthy risk for externalizing behaviors for adopted youth, the present study tested a complex family process involving personality and family interactions as an explanation of adopted adolescent adjustment. Goodness of fit theory, person-environment transactional theory, and Family Communication Patterns Theory (FCPT) informed the study. Data from 615 families from the Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study (SIBS; McGue et al., 2007) were used to test study hypotheses using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM). Personality was assessed using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ). Observational data were used to measure family members' individual communicative behavior, operationalized as Conformity- and Conversation-orientations, and adolescent conflict. Overall, findings supported the personality-initiated family process and the study's central hypothesis. Indeed, the dyadic trait fit (DTF) between adolescent aggression and parent alienation had an affect on a family interactive process that explained substantial variance in adolescent externalizing behavior. The direct associations among study constructs explained the most variance (and accounted for the largest increases in variance) in adolescent Conversation, parent Conversation, adolescent conflict, and adolescent externalizing behavior. Moreover, direct associations between adoption status and (a) conflict and (b) externalizing appear to be far more complex than previous research has suggested.
Exploring the Construct Validity of Principal Ratings as a Measure of Teacher Performance Using Meta-Analysis
(2014-12) Logan, Kristi
Multiple meta-analyses have been conducted exploring the relationships between subjective and objective performance, multi-source performance ratings, and ratings and personality. Rarely has this work included the occupation of teachers. This meta-analytic research explores three areas of teacher performance: (1) What is the relationship between principal ratings and student achievement scores? (2) What is the relationship between principal ratings and ratings completed by students, peers, parents, and other classroom observers, and the relationships between these ratings with one another? (3) What is the relationship between principal ratings and personality ratings completed either by the teacher (self-ratings) or others? Data was gathered from published and unpublished sources and analyzed using the Hunter and Schmidt (2004) psychometric meta-analytic method. The correlation between principal ratings and student gain was .17, similar to what has been found in the past (Medley and Coker, 1987). Value-added scores produced a greater relationship with principal ratings (r = .23) than when all gain results were used. Arithmetic tests (r = .24) exhibited the largest relationship with principal ratings. Multiple source rater data results found that principal ratings had moderate relationships between peers (r = .57), students (r = .31) and other classroom observers (r = .45). Student ratings exhibited their largest relationship with parent ratings, (r = .53). Self-ratings had low relationships with all other rating groups. Personality ratings generated either by teacher self-ratings or ratings by others using an overall prosocial personality factor correlated .28 and .45, respectively with principal ratings. Results using other ratings of personality showed that Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability are the most important for predicting high levels of performance (r = .23, for both). The results exploring the relationships between principal ratings and self-ratings of personality found low correlations for the global Big Five dimensions, ranging from -.11 to .06. Overall, this research provides new information about the relationships that principal ratings have with other criteria and predictors. It raises many questions that can be explored in future research.
Exploring the Neural Correlates of Openness/Intellect and Related Constructs Using New and Best Practices in Personality Neuroscience
(2024-05) Sassenberg, Tyler
Personality neuroscience aims to understand the associations of brain structure and function with stable patterns of thought, behavior, emotion, and motivation. One broad personality dimension of interest in this field is Openness/Intellect. This trait describes individual differences in engagement with semantic and perceptual information, and subsumes a variety of societally relevant facets pertaining to higher-order cognitive processing. This dissertation examines the functional neural correlates of a number of facets beneath Openness/Intellect, including intelligence, creativity, and Psychoticism (sub-clinical psychosis proneness). Across three studies, this research aims to expand on past findings demonstrating associations of these traits with functional properties among broad macroscale brain networks implicated in abstract higher-order cognition, all within the context of broader predictive processing accounts of brain function. The first study showcases a functional gradient approach to test associations of creative achievement with functional similarity of higher-order brain networks. The second study demonstrates associations of intelligence, Openness/Intellect, and Psychoticism with various forms of dynamic brain network flexibility. Lastly, the third study explores individual differences in signatures of self-organized criticality in the brain, and how it relates to intelligence and Psychoticism. Through a variety of methods, these findings converge on the notion of Openness/Intellect and its facets being associated with individual differences in abstract information processing capabilities among broad cortical networks. This research provides a more nuanced perspective of the neural correlates of Openness/Intellect by demonstrating how its adaptive and maladaptive facets are related to different and complementary functional properties in the brain. Beyond Openness/Intellect, this research helps provide future avenues for understanding the associations of other normative and pathological personality dimensions with properties of brain function.
Functional Brain Networks and the Openness-Psychosis Continuum
(2019-10) Blain, Scott
Psychosis proneness has been linked to heightened Openness to Experience and to cognitive deficits. Openness and psychotic disorders are associated with the default and frontoparietal networks, and the latter network is also robustly associated with intelligence. We tested the hypothesis that functional connectivity of the default and frontoparietal networks is a neural correlate of the openness-psychoticism dimension. Participants in the Human Connectome Project (N = 1003) completed measures of psychoticism, openness, and intelligence. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to identify intrinsic connectivity networks. Structural equation modeling revealed relations among personality, intelligence, and network coherence. Psychoticism, openness, and especially their shared variance, were related positively to default network coherence and negatively to frontoparietal coherence. These associations remained after controlling for intelligence. Intelligence was positively related to frontoparietal coherence. Research suggests psychoticism and openness are linked in part through their association with connectivity in networks involving experiential simulation and cognitive control. We propose a model of psychosis risk that highlights roles of the default and frontoparietal networks. Findings echo research on functional connectivity in psychosis patients, suggesting shared mechanisms across the personality-psychopathology continuum.
Handedness and Motivational Asymmetries as Precursors to Personality and Political Ideology
(2018-08) Broadwell, Katie
Recent research and theorizing in political psychology have favored a social cognitive model of political ideology, in which conservative attitudes arise from a need for psychological security in a threatening world. In keeping with this worldview, conservatism has been linked to a greater tendency to withdraw from threats, while liberalism has been associated with approach-related behaviors. However, several conflicting findings from other research streams belie such straightforward explanations, and the relative dearth of neural evidence makes it difficult to trace political approach and withdrawal motivations back to their roots in the brain. Connecting these motivational tendencies to neural activity would help establish a more nuanced causal model of political ideology, but doing so first requires a meaningful explanation grounded in theory. Parallel findings in another area of research suggest one such possibility. Big Five personality domains demonstrate relationships with measures of approach and withdrawal motivation, while maladaptive personality traits appear to show similar motivational connections. Importantly for purposes of theory development, the measures of approach and withdrawal associated with the Big Five have also been independently associated with activity in specific brain areas. EEG studies have shown that approach motivation corresponds to increased left-hemisphere activation in frontal areas whereas withdrawal motivation relates to greater frontal right-hemisphere activation. Therefore, cerebral motivational asymmetries present a plausible mechanism by which brain activity could influence levels of approach and withdrawal motivation, which in turn could lead to differences in personality and political ideology. Since adequately powered neuroimaging studies are often financially and logistically prohibitive, an additional benefit of this model is that it can be tested using a proxy variable that also demonstrates unique associations with the variables of interest. Handedness has long been tied to hemispheric lateralization, likely due to shared genetic influences, with empirical evidence supporting a relationship between left- and inconsistent-handedness and increased right-hemisphere activity. Right- and consistent-handedness, on the other hand, appear to be related to greater left-hemisphere activation. Using handedness in lieu of hemispheric activation, while not without its drawbacks, made it possible to indirectly test the aforementioned model in the present study in a larger online sample (N = 499) and to investigate how handedness, an often-overlooked variable in most areas of psychology, related to personality and political constructs. Participants from the University of Minnesota and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk completed a series of online survey measures to address the broader question of whether approach and withdrawal motivation explain any observed relationships between handedness and personality and political ideology. Additionally, the current study tested a variety of relationships between variables that are rarely included in the same study (e.g., recently developed measures of maladaptive personality and political ideology). Another aim of the present study was to explore methodological issues that have plagued the various literatures it connects, such as the artificial dichotomization of handedness scores and differing theoretical and operational definitions of approach and withdrawal motivation. In an effort to address divergent results from questionnaire and behavioral measures in the literature, I also designed an approach/avoidance task for inclusion in the study. Results indicated that approach and withdrawal motivation may partially account for relationships between handedness and personality and political ideology, although additional research is needed to clarify unexpected findings. Results from the present study are interpreted in terms of conflicting theories from the political, cognitive, and personality literatures, and future research is proposed to address lingering uncertainties in this domain of study.
Individual differences in adolescent and young adult daily mobility patterns and their relationships to big five personality traits: a behavioral genetic analysis.
(2022-05) Alexander, Jordan
Youth behavior changes and their relationships to personality have generally been investigated using self-report studies, which are subject to reporting biases and confounding variables. Supplementing these with objective measures, like GPS location data, and twin-based research designs, which help control for confounding genetic and environmental influences, may allow for more rigorous, causally informative research on adolescent behavior patterns. To investigate this possibility, this study aimed to (1) investigate whether behavior changes during the transition from adolescence to emerging adulthood are evident in changing mobility patterns, (2) estimate the influence of adolescent personality on mobility patterns, and (3) estimate genetic and environmental influences on mobility, personality, and the relationship between them. Twins aged Fourteen to twenty-two (N=709, 55% female) provided a baseline personality measure, the Big Five Inventory, and multiple years of smartphone GPS data from June 2016 - December 2019. Mobility, as measured by daily locations visited and distance travelled, was found via mixed effects models to increase during adolescence before declining slightly in emerging adulthood. Mobility was positively associated with Extraversion and Conscientiousness (r of 0.17 ̶ 0.25, r of 0.10 ̶ 0.16) and negatively with Openness (r of -0.11 ̶ -0.13). ACE models found large genetic (A = 0.56 ̶ 0.81) and small-moderate environmental (C of 0.12 ̶ 0.28, E of 0.07 ̶ 0.15) influences on mobility. A and E influences were highly shared across mobility measures (rg = 0.70, re= 0.58). Associations between mobility and personality were partially explained by mutual genetic influences (rg of -0.27 ̶ 0.53). Results show that as autonomy increases during adolescence and emerging adulthood, we see corresponding increases in youth mobility. Furthermore, the heritability of mobility patterns and their relationship to personality demonstrate that mobility patterns are informative, psychologically meaningful behaviors worthy of continued interest in psychology.
Individual Differences in Social Cognition and Behavior: a Personality Psychology Framework
(2021-08) Blain, Scott
Though humans are universally social, we vary considerably in our ability and motivation to form and maintain relationships. One approach to explaining this variation looks to identify the mechanisms that facilitate social behavior, including social cognition and reward sensitivity. Much of this work, however, is methodologically lacking and fails to provide comprehensive explanatory frameworks. This dissertation applies insights from personality psychology to improve our understanding of individual differences in social cognition and interpersonal functioning, focusing on the broad traits most descriptive of social behavior: Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Trait Affiliation. Across four studies attempting to elucidate the neurocognitive mechanisms of these traits, various methods—including questionnaires, behavioral tasks, fMRI, and psychometric techniques—were used to elucidate how and why individuals vary in their social abilities, behaviors, and associated outcomes. Study 1 was a multi-task investigation of how three Agreeableness-Antagonism subfactors differentially predict social cognitive ability. Study 2 used fMRI, along with personality questionnaires and behavioral tasks, to examine associations among Agreeableness, social cognitive ability, and function of the brain’s default network, applying structural equation modeling and a Bayesian individualized cortical parcellation approach. Study 3 failed to replicate classic associations demonstrated between measures of depressivity and reward sensitivity, suggesting that instead, reward sensitivity is related primarily to Extraversion. Finally, Study 4 explored Trait Affiliation, an important dimension at the intersection of Agreeableness and Extraversion, and presents a new Trait Affiliation Scale, along with evidence for its reliability, validity, and practical utility. Collectively, this work represents a high standard of statistical power and methodological rigor, utilizing a total of eight independent samples ranging from N = 195 to N = 25,732. Across these studies, social cognitive ability and reward sensitivity are further established as important psychological mechanisms underlying individual differences in social functioning. The work presented here also offers methodological contributions and broader theoretical insights into the understanding of personality and its relation to psychopathology. In sum, this dissertation paves the way to a better understanding of how and why individuals vary in our social abilities, interpersonal interactions, and relationship success, in addition to serving as an argument for the broad utility of personality psychology’s methods and theories.
The interrelations of childhood conscientiousness, nonindependent and independent adversity, and adult physical health
(2020-07) Ramakrishnan, Jyothi
Researchers have urged a lifespan approach to health promotion, intervening at earlier stages in life in order to shape physical health across time (Shonkoff et al., 2009). Intriguing findings suggest that the personality trait conscientiousness in childhood predicts physical health later in adulthood. Unfortunately, pathways linking personality to health are not well understood, requiring further elucidation before developing interventions that target conscientiousness as a strategy for promoting later health (Friedman et al., 2014). The present study addressed several gaps in the literature, testing models in which personality and health were measured at multiple time points; testing mediation effects of personality on later health; the joint effects of childhood conscientiousness and childhood/adolescent independent and nonindependent adversity exposure on health; whether conscientiousness moderates the influence of adversity on heath; and the role of childhood conscientiousness on health outcomes in an earlier period in adulthood than is typically examined. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of 205 families, focused on students attending urban elementary schools who were followed for 20 years into young adulthood. Multimethod and well-validated measures of personality, adversity, and physical health were derived from interviews and questionnaires with participants, parents, and teachers. Models were tested separately for two different age 30 health outcomes in young adulthood – body mass index (BMI), and a latent variable indexing health status, based on three indicators: self-rated health, functional impairment, and sum of lifetime illnesses. Results indicated that higher childhood conscientiousness predicted lower young adult BMI, even after consideration of childhood health, the emerging adulthood personality trait of constraint measured at age 20, adversity across childhood and adolescence, age, and sex. Across both models, emerging adulthood constraint did not directly predict young adult BMI or health status, and did not mediate effects of conscientiousness assessed in childhood on either young adult health outcome. Nonindependent adversity (experiences likely influenced by a person’s own behavior) predicted young adult health status but not young adult BMI. Personality did not moderate the effects of adversity on either young adult health outcome. Some support was found consistent with the possibility that nonindependent adversity in adolescence mediates the relationship between childhood conscientiousness and young adult health status, but results are inconclusive. Findings highlight the potentially unique importance of conscientiousness in childhood for health 20 years later in young adulthood. Limitations and implications of these results for illuminating complex models linking personality, adversity, and health over the earlier decades of the lifespan are discussed, as well as the possibility that childhood conscientiousness may be a target for interventions to promote adult physical health.
The interrelationship between personality traits and major depressive disorder during adolescence and early adulthood.
(2012-07) DiRago, Ana Clara
Background: Research literature has documented a relationship between personality traits and depression. However, no prospective studies have explored the influence of depression on personality development during adolescence and young adulthood. Objective: The purpose of this dissertation is to examine how depression affects personality development, and conversely, how personality traits confer risk for depression using the context of normative developmental change in adolescence and early adulthood as a frame of reference. Method: Participants included twins from the 11-year-old and 17-year-old cohorts of the Minnesota Twin-Family Study (MTFS). In order to assess the bidirectional influence between depression and personality, groups were created based on age of depression onset and course. Personality was assessed using scales from the MPQ, a personality instrument designed to assess personality characteristics in normal populations. The impact of the onset of depression on each personality variable was examined using linear mixed models (LMM) in SPSS. Results: In the first study, Negative Emotionality (NEM) in mid-adolescence acted as a vulnerability factor, and was associated with the onset of depression. Greater levels of Stress Reaction and Alienation were associated with an earlier onset persisting course; later onset of depression was associated with an increase in these traits. In mid-adolescence never depressed individuals scored higher than all groups in Well-Being. The onset of depression corresponded to a decrease in WB, while remission was associated with an increase in WB. In the second study, elevated NEM predicted the development of new cases of MDD in late adolescence and young adulthood. In those with adolescent onset depression, low Positive Emotionality (PEM) was associated with persisting course. Late onset and earlier persisting depression were associated with PEM decreasing from age 17 to 24. Low Constraint (CON) in adolescence was associated with a persisting course. In the third study, greater levels of NEM were associated with the onset of depression, suggesting NEM indexes underlying vulnerability. Earlier onset persisting depression slowed down the normative age-related decrease in NEM. Recurring depression was associated with lower levels of PEM. Higher PEM was associated with remission. CON had no effect on the onset and course of depression. Conclusion: NEM predicted the subsequent onset of MDD, was moderately influenced by clinical state, and influenced the course of depression. Findings for CON were weak and inconsistent. PEM did not act as vulnerability. However, lower levels of PEM were associated with persisting depression, while higher levels were associated with remission. To conclude, the association between MDD and personality varies with the course of MDD, and indicates both that personality is relevant to prognosis and that the course of MDD may alter personality.
Interview assessment of boldness: construct validity and empirical links to psychopathy and fearlessness.
(2009-08) Hall, Jason Robert
The triarchic model of psychopathy (Patrick, Fowles, & Krueger, in press) conceptualizes this intriguing disorder in terms of three distinct elemental phenotypes: disinhibition, reflecting tendencies toward deficient behavioral control and externalizing psychopathology; meanness, reflecting deliberate cruelty and agentic exploitation of others; and boldness, reflecting resilience to life stress, calmness in the face of threat, and social dominance. The predominant instrument for assessing criminal psychopathy, Hare's (1991, 2003) Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), appears to tap the disinhibition and meanness facets of psychopathy directly and substantially, but captures boldness only indirectly and to a modest degree. Given its reliance on antisocially deviant indicators, the PCL-R is also ill-suited to investigation of non-criminal psychopathy in community settings. Thus, the primary aim of the present study was to evaluate the construct validity and neurobiological correlates of a newly-developed interview measure of the phenotypic boldness construct. Relationships between the Boldness Interview (BI) and multi-modal measures of psychopathy, externalizing psychopathology, and personality traits with theoretical or empirical links to the boldness construct were investigated in a sample of incarcerated adult males. The present study also investigated relationships between the BI measure and emotional modulation of the startle blink reflex - a well-validated physiological measure of fear reactivity that has previously been linked to the interpersonal-affective features of PCL-R psychopathy - in a picture-viewing paradigm. Results strongly supported the construct validity of the BI. Consistent with theory and prediction, BI total scores were: substantially and positively related to the PCL-R Interpersonal facet, the fearless dominance factor of the self-report Psychopathic Personality Inventory (Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996), and self-reported narcissism, thrill-seeking, and dominance; negatively related to self-report measures of harm avoidance, trait anxiety, fear, and internalizing symptoms; and largely unrelated to externalizing psychopathology. Total scores on the BI were also related to reduced startle amplitude during aversive pictures in the picture-viewing paradigm. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the assessment and conceptualization of psychopathy (particularly non-criminal psychopathy) as well as the neurobiological underpinnings of the disorder.
Investigating the presence of nonlinear personality--job performance relationships
(2013-07) Walmsley, Philip T.
This research examines the form of the relationship between Big Five-oriented personality predictors and occupational performance throughout the predictor and criterion score ranges. Building on rationale that individuals can be either "too low" or "too high" in their standing on various personality attributes for optimal performance, previous research has produced discrepant findings with regard to whether and when to expect curvilinear relationships between these attributes and job performance. Previous studies have relied on small samples and unsystematic sampling, a variety of performance criteria, the use of personality inventories for which construct validity evidence is not immediately available, and a focus on only one or two of the Big Five personality factors (typically conscientiousness). If personality--performance relationships exhibit nonlinearity within the score range where decisions are made, there could be immediate implications for the inferences that could be drawn from the use of such test scores, such as whether top-down or cutoff-score based uses are most appropriate. Incorporating large sample (n > 11,000) operational personality and performance data, this research had several goals: (a) replicate and extend previous research on conscientiousness and emotional stability to clarify existing conflicts in findings, (b) provide the first major tests of nonlinearity for agreeableness, openness, and extraversion, and (c) use a theoretically linked framework to identify and test for relevant occupation-level moderating variables by incorporating job complexity and personality based job analytic information. Results showed a general lack of meaningful curvilinear effects for each Big Five scale in relation to overall job performance. Any expected declines in performance at high ends of the predictor range were very small on average, and would be highly unlikely to produce scenarios in which those passing a realistic cut score would be expected to underperform those screened out due a curvilinear effect. Indices of job complexity and the importance of the personality trait to performance did not exhibit moderating effects for the forms of each personality--performance relationship. Results are useful for evaluating whether nonlinearity is likely to be an issue when self-report personality assessments are used to make decisions with tangible employment consequences. Even with slight curvilinear trends for several of the scales examined, the results suggest that curvilinearity is highly unlikely to present problems for typical uses of personality test scores in employment settings.
Making feedback compelling: examining the format of written development feedback to promote feedback insight and retention
(2013-11) Higdem, Jana L.
Individual assessment for development reflects a large and growing investment by organizations in their leaders and high potential personnel. A critical component in effectively directing leader development is providing feedback based on assessment results. This study examines the effect of including two features in written developmental feedback, namely a graphical display and development suggestions, on important feedback outcomes. A 2x2 experimental design was utilized randomizing the inclusion of graphs and development suggestions as conditions. 311 undergraduate students completed personality scales relevant to leadership and received feedback in a leader development context. They also completed general personality questionnaires and provided their ACT scores as a measure of cognitive ability. Participants then responded to items addressing important feedback reactions, including feedback acceptance, gaining insight, and intentions to improve. They also drafted free response behavioral plans to improve their leadership based on the feedback they received for each of four leader characteristics. One week later, participants responded to items which assessed the accuracy of their feedback recall. Results indicate that graphical displays of results promote more accurate recall of one's standing relative to meaningful referent groups and may help illuminate important goal-state discrepancies. Additionally, the results showed a positive effect of development suggestions on gaining insight from the feedback and driving the direction of behavioral development intentions. Thus both of these features can be useful for driving behavior change following developmental assessment and feedback. Personality and cognitive ability were also found to impact the reception and retention of feedback. These results can inform how practitioners should communicate written personality feedback to recipients to ensure maximum value. Such implementation would be particularly beneficial for participants of psychological assessment in business contexts where subsequent development is often considered a critical outcome.
Meta-Analyses of Personality and Cognitive Ability
(2014-08) Stanek, Kevin
Personality and cognitive ability are the two most important domains of individual differences in terms of their breadth and impact on human behavior. An abundance of research has examined the relations between these domains, but previous empirical reviews of this literature have suffered from three key deficiencies. First, previous meta-analyses of personality and cognitive ability relied on biased, insular strategies to identify and obtain the relevant literature. This limitation has resulted in relatively small numbers of relatively homogeneous studies being used to understand each relation. Second, previous reviews were organized around less-comprehensive and less-detailed construct frameworks, especially in the personality domain. This limitation made previous findings for various personality trait categories liable to influence from unspecified mixtures of variance attributable to multiple constructs. This limitation also precluded a systematic approach to examining or understanding relations at the lower, aspect and facet levels of personality. Finally, previous reviews of personality and cognitive ability lacked empirical keys/maps for matching constructs across measures. The current meta-analyses endeavored to remedy these deficiencies and fully elucidate the relations between personality and cognitive ability by employing a more comprehensive primary source identification strategy and more empirically-grounded frameworks for organizing the personality and cognitive ability domains. Personality and cognitive ability are not entirely independent domains of individual differences and the overlap extends beyond commonly recognized personality traits. Results highlight the importance of: (1) considering personality aspects and facets, (2) distinguishing general and specific cognitive abilities, and (3) considering the global Big Five dimensions, aspects, facets, and compounds jointly. Openness/Intellect, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness results all contained findings that differed by aspect. Facets of personality also displayed relations with cognitive ability constructs that were disparate from the relations observed at the global factor and even at the aspect level. Similarly, results for several personality constructs indicated that distinguishing between cognitive abilities at the general factor and specific component levels was important. Overall, the findings suggest even more points of overlap between cognitive abilities and personality constructs than previously recognized.

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