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How to Change Conscientiousness: The Sociogenomic Trait Intervention Model
Abstract
Conscientiousness, the propensity to be organized, responsible, self-controlled, industrious, and rule-following, is related to numerous important outcomes including many forms of psychopathology. Given the increasing awareness of the importance of conscientiousness, it is becoming common to want to understand how to foster it. In this paper we first describe and update a recent model that was put forward as a theoretically informed intervention to change conscientiousness. We then consider recent life span theories focused on conscientiousness that might inform how best to use existing interventions as well as identify potential moderators of the effectiveness of intervention. Finally, we integrate these perspectives into a framework for how to foster conscientiousness that we label the Sociogenomic Trait Intervention Model (STIM).
... This can be achieved by creating awareness about personality and its importance and by teaching behavior change skills (Allemand and Flückiger, 2017;Roberts et al., 2017a). 3 To what extent interventions that target specific traits can be effective in improving labor market outcomes remains an open question. ...
... It includes inter-related facets such as industriousness, organization, self-control, responsibility, persistence, decisiveness, conventionality, and punctuality. 3 For example, initial evidence from high-income contexts shows that psychological interventions using smartphone apps can help people to change personality traits in desired directions in adulthood (Stieger et al., 2020(Stieger et al., , 2021 (STIM) by Roberts et al. (2017a), and a recent intervention program developed by Stieger et al. (2020) for Swiss participants, which we adapted to our particular context. Our sample consists of 386 workers employed at baseline in the construction of a new express train in Dakar, Senegal. ...
... Third, we contribute to an ongoing debate about whether particular traits can be changed in adulthood and answer this question in the context of low-skilled workers in a low-income country (Allemand and Flückiger, 2017;Roberts et al., 2017a). Most of the current evidence 6 Aghion et al. (2019) further highlight the role of complementarities between soft skills of low-skilled workers and a firm's other assets. ...
... If conscientiousness accounts for the gender gap in academic achievement, including this trait in admission procedures may disadvantage male students. Instead, since personality traits, including conscientiousness, are malleable (e.g., Roberts et al., 2017), higher education institutions may consider promoting conscientiousness in students who are low on this trait. Teaching students to be more organized, careful, and to think about the consequences of their actions can result in students becoming more conscientious (Roberts et al., 2017). ...
... Instead, since personality traits, including conscientiousness, are malleable (e.g., Roberts et al., 2017), higher education institutions may consider promoting conscientiousness in students who are low on this trait. Teaching students to be more organized, careful, and to think about the consequences of their actions can result in students becoming more conscientious (Roberts et al., 2017). ...
... For example, students can be taught certain behaviors such as being more organized and careful in their work, can be encouraged to think about the consequences of their actions, and can be helped in increasing their self-control. Roberts et al. (2017) suggest that eventually, if such changes in behavioral states become extended, internalized, and automatic, these changes in states will infer personality trait change, that is, becoming more conscientious. ...
In recent decades, female students have been more successful in higher education than their male counterparts in the United States and other industrialized countries. A promising explanation for this gender gap are differences in personality, particularly higher levels of conscientiousness among women. Using Structural Equation Modeling on data from 4719 Dutch university students, this study examined to what extent conscientiousness can account for the gender gap in achievement. We also examined whether the role of conscientiousness in accounting for the gender gap differed for students with a non-dominant ethnic background compared to students with a dominant ethnic background. In line with our expectations, we found that conscientiousness fully mediated the gender gap in achievement, even when controlling for prior achievement in high school. This was the case among both groups of students. These findings provide insight into the mechanisms underlying the gender gap in achievement in postsecondary education settings. The current study suggests that the use of conscientiousness measures in university admission procedures may disadvantage male students. Instead, the use of such measures may be a fruitful way to identify those students who may benefit from interventions to improve their conscientiousness. Future research could examine how conscientiousness can be fostered among students who are low in conscientiousness.
... Given the importance of conscientiousness, other researchers have investigated how to modify people's level of conscientiousness. While one study reported how to do this, another study asserted that conscientiousness is difficult to change (Baranski et al., 2020;Roberts et al., 2017). One suggested way to improve conscientiousness is to change the relevant states that are associated with conscientiousness, such as social environment and appropriate timing with motivation to change (Roberts et al., 2017). ...
... While one study reported how to do this, another study asserted that conscientiousness is difficult to change (Baranski et al., 2020;Roberts et al., 2017). One suggested way to improve conscientiousness is to change the relevant states that are associated with conscientiousness, such as social environment and appropriate timing with motivation to change (Roberts et al., 2017). As to the appropriate timing to increase conscientiousness, the study focused on the growth years between early life and adulthood. ...
... In this chapter, I considered conscientiousness as one possible factor affecting time management. For this investigation, I designed a study to verify whether an intervention can increase conscientiousness when the cultural environment changes for adults, filling a gap left by Roberts et al. (2017). I also tried to uncover how time management training affects the conscientiousness of transnational ICT workers, which was not covered by Baranski et al. (2020). ...
Some low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) aim to designate the information and communication technology (ICT) sector as a central pillar to expedite their economic development, and a key element of ICT sector development is to nurture capable ICT workers. Scholars and policymakers concerned with those ICT workers tend to focus on nurturing hard technical skills; however, there is increasing evidence that “soft factors”—less tangible elements that affect the performance and behavior of ICT workers—are just as important. In this dissertation, I investigated the importance of certain soft factors for the development of ICT professionals, and ultimately the entire ICT sector, in LMICs. I use mixed methods across four projects that consisted of interviews to derive hypotheses, surveys for socio-economic correlation analysis, and a field experiment to evaluate the impact of training. My research focused mainly on young ICT professionals from Bangladesh and Rwanda—LMICs that focus on the ICT industry—who had foundational training in ICT and who had the potential to be ICT leaders in their countries. It was known that international experience such as study abroad programs could have dramatic effects on professionals from LMICs, but little was known about the actual impact of such programs, or whether their impact could be gained through other means. This dissertation consists of four interrelated projects. Project 1 analyzed what group of university students majoring in ICT in Bangladesh was most likely to be interested in experiences abroad. I found that top-tier university students tended to prefer to work in high-income countries and others expected to remain in Bangladesh, and the desire to go abroad correlated with parental income, attendance at elite universities, gender, and the presence of role models abroad. Project 2 explored the reported strengths and challenges of Rwanda’s ICT sector. I found that (1) there are sincere and widely shared aspirations for ICT-led national development; (2) policy support for ICT entrepreneurship is successful at helping to start ICT-based businesses but not at maintaining them or helping them succeed; and (3) some challenges in higher education exist. Project 3 found a gap between the expectations that Rwandan had for studying abroad and the learning outcomes of their international experiences. Specifically, while the candidates expected to have knowledge-based growth (e.g., hard skills), the returnees identified experience-based growth and mindset changes as the main learning outcomes. Based on the findings in Project 3, Project 4 implemented an intervention to develop the soft factors for young ICT engineers in Bangladesh who were interested in working abroad. The results suggest that soft factors training for ICT human resources can have some positive effect on individuals’ adaptation to new environments when they started working, especially in a foreign country. This dissertation makes several new contributions. First, these findings support the critical role of experiences abroad in cementing soft factors among ICT workers, and point to these workers’ potential value in their home countries’ national ICT sector development. Second, it builds on the existing theory of brain circulation by opening an avenue of inquiry about the initial emigration required for brain circulation; indeed, it appears that there is much to be understood with respect to migration dynamics pre-diaspora. Third, I argue that leap-frogging into a robust ICT economy is unlikely but that ICT workers’ development can be accelerated.
... As individual dispositions are important regulators of behavior (Strelau 1996), we hypothesized that both potential risk and protective factors can be found in the field of personality. State-ofthe-art research shows that one's personality traits can change throughout life due to aging, major life changes or experiences but also through targeted interventions (Robert et al. 2017), thus exploring this area seems even more justified. ...
... People with higher self-discipline and self-control may regulate their impulses more effectively and thus avoid consuming caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco as well as other sleep-impairing behaviors in the hours just before going to sleep, thus having better sleep hygiene, which in turn improves their quality of sleep. The role of conscientiousness seems even more vital when interpreted together with research showing that this trait can be fostered and developed through various interventions (Robert et al. 2017). Even a two-week intervention may affect the level of selfdiscipline, a facet of conscientiousness if the accompanying behavioral change becomes habitual and one sees such change as desirable and feasible (Stieger et al. 2020). ...
... Even a two-week intervention may affect the level of selfdiscipline, a facet of conscientiousness if the accompanying behavioral change becomes habitual and one sees such change as desirable and feasible (Stieger et al. 2020). These behavioral changes at the narrow level may lead to personality change at the trait level (Robert et al. 2017). In light of these findings, diurnal preference and personality traits may be viewed as important factors to consider in both prevention and diagnostics of depression. ...
Due to the undeniably morning orientation of the social clock, the evening chronotype can be associated with negative consequences, both at the affective and cognitive levels. Evening-oriented individuals are more susceptible to affective disorders, show poorer educational achievements and consume stimulants more often than morning-oriented individuals. However, little is known about potential factors that may attenuate or amplify these negative emotional consequences of the evening preference. Thus, our aim was to examine whether personality traits interplay with chronotype in predicting depressive symptoms. We assessed the Big Five and the Big Two personality traits, morningness-eveningness and depressive symptoms in an online sample of 913 Polish individuals (468 females, 445 males), aged 18–35 (M = 26.34, SD = 5.15). Eveningness, higher neuroticism, lower conscientiousness and lower alpha-stability were associated with higher depressive symptoms. The magnitude of the association between eveningness and depressive symptoms decreased with higher conscientiousness and alpha-stability, as well as with lower neuroticism. In conclusion, high neuroticism, low conscientiousness and low alpha-stability increase the risk of depressive symptoms, particularly among evening chronotypes. The patients’ chronotypes and personality traits should be taken into account in both the prevention and diagnostics of depression.
... Personality refers to a set of psychological characteristics that impact and explain persistent and distinct patterns of emotion, thoughts, and behaviors (Roberts et al., 2017). Researchers have studied personality theories for many years. ...
... Individuals who are conscientious tend to be very thoughtful and intentional. In addition, they are goal-driven and organized (Roberts et al., 2017). An entrepreneur with conscientiousness personality trait is trustworthy, diligent, methodical, selfdisciplined, and resourceful, with a strong drive for task accomplishments. ...
Purpose
In this paper, we investigate two research queries pertaining to the success of small family business succession. First, we examine how the Big-5 personality traits of descendant entrepreneurs influence the success of their family business succession. Second, we investigate whether descendant entrepreneurs whose personality traits are congruent with the values of their family business, would lead to the success of their family business succession, through the mediating role of descendant entrepreneur-family business value congruence (DE-FBVC).
Methodology
We rely on the person-organization fit theory for our conceptual framework and we collected primary data from 124 respondents designated as chairman and managing directors in small family businesses.
Results
Our results show that a descendant entrepreneur’s openness, extroversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness traits are likely to lead to successful family business succession, but a descendant entrepreneur with neuroticism trait is unlikely to do so. In addition, our results reveal that the DE-FBVC mediates the relationship between openness and extroversion traits with succession success positively, but between neuroticism trait and succession success negatively. By contrast, we find that DE-FBVC does not mediate the relationship between conscientiousness and agreeableness traits with succession success.
Originality
The findings of our study suggest that while four of the Big-5 personality traits matter for the success of small family business succession, specific personality traits of descendant entrepreneurs which are found to be congruent with the values of their family business, will also lead to succession success.
... Most models focus on cognitive functioning, motivation, setting goals, and self-monitoring, e.g., Social-Cognitive Theory [4], Goal Systems Theory model [5], and Self-Regulated Learning models [6][7][8]. In contrast, Trait Models [9,10] have in their core emotional regulation skills and abilities. In Trait Models, individual differences in self-regulation are explained by differences in personality traits like impulsivity and conscientiousness. ...
... The researchers have developed different approaches to translating self-regulation models into measurable variables [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. As a result, there is a profusion of tools that assess specific domains of self-regulation. ...
Self-regulation is associated with life satisfaction, well-being, and life success. For adolescents, who may be exposed to peer pressure and engage in risky behaviors, the ability to self-regulate or control emotions, thoughts, and behaviors is crucial for healthy development. While self-regulatory skills have long been recognized as important for many areas of life, instruments to measure self-regulation remain limited, especially in Poland. The aim of this study was to adapt and validate the Self-Regulation Scale in the Polish adolescent sample. The data for this study were obtained as part of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children 2021/2022 pilot study. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed that the instrument has satisfying psychometric properties. A three-factor structure of the instrument was obtained with cognitive, behavioral, and emotional subscales, which corresponds to the original instrument and theoretical assumptions. The final version of instrument contains 24 items, and based on the statistical analysis, it is concluded that it is suitable to be used in adolescent samples.
... There has been some theoretical discussion of personality change through intervention (Allemand & Flückiger, 2017;Martin et al., 2014). Some of these conceptual frameworks focus on specific traits, such as conscientiousness (Magidson et al., 2014;Roberts, Hill, & Davis, 2017) or negative emotionality (Sauer-Zavala et al., 2017), and others on self-regulation processes (Rebele et al., 2021). Overall, these frameworks promote a bottomup approach in which psychological interventions target specific and narrowly defined behaviors, thoughts, and feelings at specific times and in specific situations, rather than acting directly on the traits. ...
... Thus, the goal is to apply specific treatments and adhere closely to carefully developed guidelines and manuals ( Javaras et al., 2019). For example, a recent theoretically informed intervention framework for changing conscientiousness suggests changing behavioral expressions associated with conscientiousness in ways so that the change is enduring (Roberts, Hill, & Davis, 2017), and one way to do so is through behavioral activation. This is a specific therapeutic intervention intended to increase engagement, across numerous life domains, in goal-directed activities that are considered important, enjoyable, and in accordance with individual values. ...
A highly relevant but provocative research question is whether and how one can intentionally change personality traits through psychological interventions, given that traits are relatively stable by definition. Recently, research has begun to investigate personality change through intervention in nonclinical populations. One attractive and innovative interventional avenue may lie in using digital applications to guide and support people in their desire to change their personality and trigger change processes. This article provides a rationale for nonclinical personality-change interventions and discusses motivations to change, the potential of using digital applications for intervention efforts, key studies that illustrate this emerging field of research, and future directions.
... To this end, recent efforts in the psychopathology literature have focused on the development of treatments that directly foster change in traits that represent transdiagnostic risk factors for multiple mental health conditions. For example, Roberts, Hill, and Davis (2017) have argued for the value of fostering change in trait conscientiousness-the analogue to CON in the Big Five taxonomy-based on the prominence of conscientiousness in the development and maintenance of all forms of psychopathology, particularly SUD (Kotov, Gamez, Schmidt, & Watson, 2010;Roberts, Jackson, Burger, & Trautwein, 2009). Specifically, in their sociogenomic trait intervention model (STIM), Roberts, Hill, and Davis (2017) argue that behavioral activation techniques focused on creating structure, accountability, and increased engagement in activities consistent with one's values promote increased monitoring of one's daily activities and behaviors and, in turn, increase attention to goalsetting and planning (a la increases in CON/conscientiousness). ...
... For example, Roberts, Hill, and Davis (2017) have argued for the value of fostering change in trait conscientiousness-the analogue to CON in the Big Five taxonomy-based on the prominence of conscientiousness in the development and maintenance of all forms of psychopathology, particularly SUD (Kotov, Gamez, Schmidt, & Watson, 2010;Roberts, Jackson, Burger, & Trautwein, 2009). Specifically, in their sociogenomic trait intervention model (STIM), Roberts, Hill, and Davis (2017) argue that behavioral activation techniques focused on creating structure, accountability, and increased engagement in activities consistent with one's values promote increased monitoring of one's daily activities and behaviors and, in turn, increase attention to goalsetting and planning (a la increases in CON/conscientiousness). An overarching assumption of treatment models targeted at personality change is that such approaches may be more efficient, and potentially more cost-effective, in the treatment of psychopathology than focusing on change in manifest symptoms of mental disorders (Sauer-Zavala, Wilner, & Barlow, 2017;Widiger & Oltmanns, 2017). ...
Prior research suggests that personality traits change during substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. However, the extent to which changes in traits during SUD treatment are associated with subsequent improvements in treatment outcomes remains untested. Among U.S. military veterans (n = 200) enrolled in SUD residential treatment, we examined whether changes in the personality factors of positive emotionality (PEM), negative emotionality (NEM), and constraint (CON) during treatment were associated with subsequent changes in abstinence self-efficacy and SUD symptoms. We analyzed data at treatment entry, discharge, and 12-months post-discharge via univariate and bivariate latent change score models. During treatment, PEM, CON, and abstinence self-efficacy increased, while NEM decreased, on average. Changes in NEM and CON were largely sustained, whereas PEM and abstinence self-efficacy significantly decreased post-treatment. SUD symptoms decreased from pre- to post-treatment. In bivariate models, higher levels of NEM at baseline were associated with less improvement in both abstinence self-efficacy during treatment and SUD symptoms pre- to post-treatment. Higher levels of CON at baseline were associated with greater improvement in SUD symptoms pre- to post-treatment, and increases in CON during treatment were associated with greater retention of treatment gains in abstinence self-efficacy post-treatment. Greater improvements in CON during treatment were also associated with greater improvements in SUD symptoms pre- to post-treatment in unadjusted (p = 0.041) but not adjusted models (p = 0.089). Our findings suggest that personality changes marked by improvements in impulse control over the course of SUD treatment may be linked to subsequent improvements in treatment outcomes and may have value as a proximal treatment target among SUD patients during residential care.
... Of these, 354 unique articles passed the initial title and abstract screening phase, with 39 articles passing the final full-text screening phase (Figure 1; Moher et al., 2009). Common rationales for rejections included low relevance to the workforce (e.g., clinical interventions; Roberts, Hill, & Davis, 2017), failing to provide a meta-analysis or review, or a lack of discussion about the malleability of the construct(s). It should be noted that in some cases a source article pertained to more than one noncognitive construct. ...
... Among the appealing features of noncognitive constructs are that they predict workplace success to a degree similar to traditional factors such as cognitive skills yet are potentially more malleable (e.g., Roberts, Hill, & Davis, 2017;Roberts, Luo, et al., 2017). Our review supported the malleability of several distinct noncognitive constructs. ...
We reviewed the current state of the literature on the intervention‐based development of interpersonal skills (e.g., teamwork, leadership) and intrapersonal skills (e.g., personality, motivation, etc.) relevant to success in workplace contexts. We adopted a multidisciplinary approach to our review, evaluating research from 39 reviews and meta‐analyses from several fields such as educational psychology, industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology, medicine, and personality psychology, among others, to examine the extent to which noncognitive constructs change as a result of intervention. We discuss key findings and trends and conclude by identifying gaps in the literature and directions for future research. Overall, findings suggest optimism regarding the malleability of noncognitive constructs.
... In this regard, educators or practitioners can better locate adolescents from low-income families for future intervention or prevention programs. For instance, for those with low levels of conscientiousness, educators or practitioners should organize some activities to improve their levels of conscientiousness [69]. ...
Using research data gathered from multiple sources, the current study explored positive aspects of peer relationship profiles (indexed by peer-nominated acceptance and self-reported friendships) in a person-centered approach among early adolescents from low-income families. Moreover, this study investigated the unique and combined associations of adolescents' attachment to mothers and parent-rated conscientiousness with emerging peer relationship profiles. A total of 295 early adolescents (42.7% girls; Mage = 10.94, SD = 0.80) were involved in this study. Latent profile analysis identified three empirically derived peer relationship profiles: "isolated" (14.6%), "socially competent" (16.3%), and "average" (69.1%). Moderation analyses further showed that adolescents with secure attachment to mothers tend to have group memberships in socially competent and average profiles than the isolated profile. Such an association pattern was more heightened for those with higher conscientiousness (versus lower conscientiousness).
... Recent evidence suggests that individuals can change and sustain their behavioural tendencies through wilful effort and consistent practices, not only in the short-term, but also in the long-term (Roberts et al., 2017;Stieger et al., 2021). Mindfulness interventions involve training centred on practising nonevaluative and non-judgemental awareness towards present experience (e.g., breathing exercises, meditation). ...
Leaders occupy the most critical roles in organizations. A growing body of research on mindfulness in the field of leadership suggests that mindfulness is a highly beneficial factor for various leader and organizational outcomes. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively review the research related to leader mindfulness from the perspectives of both self-report mindfulness levels and mindfulness interventions. Meta-analytic results from 54 independent samples and 9,414 leaders suggest that leader mindfulness significantly relates to leaders’ well-being (e.g., stress), relationships (e.g., relationship qualities, leadership styles), and job performance, as well as followers’ well-being and job performance. Moreover, we found strong support for the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions in improving leader well-being. We also found a significant difference between leader mindfulness levels before and after the intervention. The difference of post-test scores between the intervention and control groups was not statistically significant, though the effect was in the predicted direction. Through this quantitative review, we synthesize findings on leader mindfulness and mindfulness interventions for leaders, identify research gaps in the literature, and lay a solid foundation for advancing research on leader mindfulness.
... In terms of practical implications, the current study suggests that conscientiousness and online learning experience are reasonable targets for intervention in experimental research on reducing procrastination in online learning environments. Roberts et al. (2017) offered theoretical perspectives on how to change conscientiousness. Scholars who aim to target conscientiousness in future experimental studies are encouraged to consult their work. ...
Academic procrastination refers to individuals' unnecessary postponement of their coursework and is harmful for academic performance. When situated in self‐placed and remote learning environments, students' tendency to procrastinate increases. Therefore, understanding why students procrastinate and identifying who is more likely to delay unnecessarily in online learning environments is an important area to study. The goal of this study was to respond to this call by examining the structural relations between conscientiousness, prior online learning experience, achievement emotions and academic procrastination in online learning environments using structural equation modelling. In particular, two main facets of conscientiousness—proactive and inhibitive—were examined in order to understand which facet was more responsible for procrastination, how each facet was related to procrastination and to determine which facet of conscientiousness should be the primary target for intervention in future experimental research. A total of 746 students from 49 secondary and postsecondary schools participated in the current study. The results showed that the proactive aspect of conscientiousness was negatively related to academic procrastination through the pathway of enjoyment. The inhibitive aspect of conscientiousness was negatively related to academic procrastination through the pathways of negative emotions. Although prior online learning experience did not have a significant and direct association with academic procrastination, it was indirectly related to students' tendency to put off coursework through the pathways of enjoyment and negative emotions. Of all the paths, negative emotions had the strongest associations with academic procrastination in online learning environments. The findings of indirect effects suggest that students with low conscientiousness, the inhibitive aspect in particular, and few prior online learning experiences are more likely to procrastinate in online classes possibly owing to the suboptimal emotional experiences aroused during their learning processes.
Practitioner notes
What is already known about this topic Conscientiousness has a direct association with academic procrastination in in‐person classes.
Prior online learning experience has direct associations with students' adaptive regulatory processes in online classes.
Achievement emotion is an integral part of online learning.
What this paper adds Conscientiousness has a direct association with academic procrastination in online learning environments.
Prior online learning experience has no direct associations with academic procrastination in online learning environments.
Conscientiousness indirectly relates to academic procrastination through achievement emotions in online learning environments.
Prior online learning experience indirectly relates to academic procrastination through achievement emotions in online learning environments.
Implications for practice and/or policy Instructors are suggested to pay attention to students with low conscientiousness and few prior online learning experiences since they are more likely to procrastinate in online learning environments.
Students' tendency to procrastinate in online learning environments is strongly associated with their emotional experience.
... Conscientiousness spectrum such as impulse control, are both changeable and continue to develop and change well into adulthood Roberts et al., 2006). Thus, the levels of conscientiousness can be increased (Roberts et al., 2017) and can be low (Toegel and Barsoux, 2012). Besides a slight decrease between early and mid-adolescence, we grow more conscientious with age (Van den Akker et al., 2014). ...
... Researchers have theorized that consciousness has the potential to be improved with interventions, although these interventions are only hypothetical and have not seen testing (Roberts, Hill, & Davis, 2017). Developing an effective intervention that improves the conscientiousness facets could greatly benefit those who lack important life skills such as selfdiscipline and organizational skills. ...
The five-factor model of personality (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness to experience) is an empirically based personality model that has been utilized in multiple psychological assessments. Recent works have found Block & Block’s (1980) three personality profiles (resilient, overcontrolled, undercontrolled) within the context of the five-factor model. This study performed a latent class analysis using a short FFM assessment from the SAPA project, a free online personality test. The intention of this study was to replicate the three personality profiles within the five-factor model. Four latent classes were included in the final solution. Two of the three personality profiles emerged in the latent class analysis. For the other two classes, one was found in other works and the other has not been found before to this author’s knowledge. Three other covariates were included in the analysis: gender, age, and educational attainment. Implications of the findings are discussed. Advisor: Rafael J. de Ayala
... -providing accurate information about the effectiveness of different charities -teaching people smart heuristics for choosing a career with high a positive social impact (Todd, 2016) -presenting values that are linked to welldoing as socially desirable (Maio et al., 2009) intentional personality change psychological interventions for motivating and supporting a person's deliberate efforts to change one or more personality traits (e.g., conscientiousness) (Allemand & Flückiger, 2022) -deliberately thinking and acting like a conscientious person to make conscientiousness a habit (Roberts, et al., 2017;Stieger et al., 2021) -cultivating compassion through loving kindness meditation (Condon et al., 2013;Jazaieri et al., 2013;Leiberg et al., 2011;Weng et al., 2013) character education classroom instruction and other educational activities designed to help people cultivate character virtues, such as fairness, honesty, generosity, and courage (Kristjánsson, 2014(Kristjánsson, , 2015. ...
People’s intentional pursuit of prosocial goals and values (i.e., well-doing) is critical to the
flourishing of humanity in the long run. Understanding and promoting well-doing is a shared goal across many fields inside and outside of social and personality psychology. Several of these fields are (partially) disconnected from each other and could benefit from more integration of existing knowledge, interdisciplinary collaboration, and cross-fertilization. To foster the transfer and integration of knowledge across these different fields, we provide a brief overview with pointers to some of the key articles in each field, highlight connections, and introduce an integrative model of the psychological mechanisms of well-doing. We identify some gaps in the current understanding of well-doing, such as the paucity of research on well-doing with large and long-lasting positive consequences. Building on this analysis, we identify opportunities for high-impact research on well-doing in social and personality psychology, such as understanding and promoting the effective pursuit of highly impactful altruistic goals.
... As mentioned earlier, such effects were observed for N and E, in both predictive directions, and for the effect of C on reported IADL limitations. This observation emphasizes the importance of building interventions aimed at changing traits (Hudson & Fraley, 2015;Roberts et al., 2017;Stieger et al., 2021), and call for more interventions of personality change in samples of older adults specifically. Alternatively, intervention research that aims at compensating IADL limitation through assistive care could also investigate if increases in independence (i.e. ...
Personality traits have been reported to predict difficulties in performing instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) in old age, such as preparing meals or shopping. However, little is known about the reciprocal effects on personality. In this study, we examined bidirectional relationships between personality traits and the capacity to perform IADL using four waves of longitudinal data from 3540 older adults (aged 65 years and older) from the Health and Retirement Study. We applied a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model to separate between- and within-person effects across time and compared it to a traditional cross-lagged panel model. At the between-person level, higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness were associated with more IADL limitations. Within individuals across time, increases in neuroticism and decreases in conscientiousness and extraversion were associated with increases in IADL limitations 4 years later. In contrast, increases in IADL limitations only predicted increases in neuroticism and decreases in extraversion. These results indicate that some personality traits affect and are affected by limitations in functional capacities in old age. Results of the within-person model build a strong foundation for future personality interventions as a pathway to maintain high functioning in old age.
... Treatment involves helping the patient find safer and healthier activities that still fit with their need for excitement and novelty. Moreover, the sociogenomic trait intervention model (Roberts et al., 2017) has been adapted to a specific treatment approach for problems related to low levels of conscientiousness corresponding to features of Disinhibition. ...
... Conscientiousness is also a dimension of the big five personal traits, and it describes a person who is very careful. Their traits include being organised, methodical and thorough (Roberts, Hill & Davis 2017). These types of people are very mindful of details, and they have goal-directed behaviours (Bieleke, Keller & Gollwitzer 2021). ...
Background: Although small businesses, including internet cafes, contribute to the country’s economy, the majority of internet cafes fail to survive for more than 2 years after their first year of operation.
Aim: The main aim of this article was to promote the growth and survival of small businesses in the telecommunication industry through profiling owner–managers and the business performance of internet cafés in the Free State province, South Africa.
Setting: The study focuses on the relationship between the personality of owner–managers and the performance of internet cafés.
Methods: This study draws on a quantitative approach in line with the positivist paradigm, with a participation of 88 owner–managers who completed the questionnaires.
Results: The findings of the study showed that conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness to experience traits are positively related to the performance of internet cafes.
Conclusion: Despite most studies investigating the relationship between the performance of internet cafes and the personality traits of owner–managers, this study concludes that there is a relationship between the two variables. This informs institutions that provide funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to encourage people with conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness to experience personality traits to pursue businesses in the technology industry.
... Sometimes, however, it makes sense to attempt to change one's more general tendency (i.e., one's trait) rather than to try to develop characteristic adaptations to compensate for it. Personality traits can be changed by most forms of psychotherapy (Roberts, Luo, et al., 2017), and interventions are also being developed specifically targeting personality trait change (Barlow et al., 2017;Hudson & Fraley, 2015;Magidson et al., 2014;Roberts, Hill, & Davis, 2017;Stieger et al., 2020). It is important for people to know that voluntary trait change is possible and that strategies are being developed to assist with such change. ...
Value Fulfillment Theory (VFT) is a philosophical theory of well-being. Cybernetic Big Five Theory (CB5T) is a psychological theory of personality. Both start with a conception of the person as a goal-seeking (or value-pursuing) organism, and both take goals and the psychological integration of goals to be key to well-being. By joining VFT and CB5T, we produce a cybernetic value fulfillment theory in which we argue that well-being is best conceived as the fulfillment of psychologically integrated values. Well-being is the effective pursuit of a set of nonconflicting values that are emotionally, motivationally, and cognitively suitable to the person. The primary difference in our theory from other psychological theories of well-being is that it does not provide a list of intrinsic goods, instead emphasizing that each person may have their own list of intrinsic goods. We discuss the implications of our theory for measuring, researching, and improving well-being.
... Finally, disinhibition, or trait impulsivity, is characterized by sensation-seeking (the tendency to seek out novel and thrilling experiences), lack of deliberation (the tendency to act without thinking), lack of persistence (an inability to remain focused on a task), and urgency (the tendency to act rashly in response to positive and negative emotional experiences; Cyders et al., 2007;Whiteside et al., 2005). Roberts and colleagues have published several theoretical accounts of how to alter this trait in treatment (Magidson et al., 2014;Roberts et al., 2017). They suggest that individuals' expectancies about their performance on certain tasks, along with how much they value these actions, predict conscientious behaviors (e.g., paying bills on time, subjugating impulses that would be gratifying in the short-term; Eccles, 2009). ...
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a heterogenous condition, and variations in its presentation may be accounted for by individual differences in personality dimensions. Extant treatments for BPD are long term and intensive; it is possible that prioritizing the personality-based difficulties that underlie an individual's symptoms may improve the efficiency of care. This article describes the conceptual background for the development of a novel, personality-based intervention for BPD (BPD Compass), which was informed by recent research on personality mechanisms maintainin this condition, and was designed to address gaps left by existing treatments and to be maximally efficient and disseminable. BPD Compass is a comprehensive, short-term package with a fully modular design that allows for personalization (e.g., all skills can be presented in isolation or in any order based on pretreatment assessment). We discuss the theoretical background for its development, an overview of the skills included in the treatment, as well as preliminary efficacy data. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
... This poses a serious challenge for policy interventions aimed at combating misinformation and effectively promoting public health information. Whereas previous intervention designs have focused on emphasizing the veracity of news (Pennycook, McPhetres, et al., 2020;Pennycook & Rand, 2019a) or preserving access to reputable news (Allen et al., 2020), more effective interventions may need to target aspects of individuals' personality such as conscientiousness to reduce the spread of fake news (Magidson et al., 2014;Roberts et al., 2017). ...
Sharing misinformation can be catastrophic, especially during times of national importance. Typically studied in political contexts, the sharing of fake news has been positively linked with conservative political ideology. However, such sweeping generalizations run the risk of increasing already rampant political polarization. We offer a more nuanced account by proposing that the sharing of fake news is largely driven by low conscientiousness conservatives. At high levels of conscientiousness there is no difference between liberals and conservatives. We find support for our hypotheses in the contexts of COVID-19, political, and neutral news across eight studies (six preregistered; two conceptual replications) with 4,642 participants and 91,144 unique participant-news observations. A general desire for chaos explains the interactive effect of political ideology and conscientiousness on the sharing of fake news. Furthermore, our findings indicate the inadequacy of fact-checker interventions to deter the spread of fake news. This underscores the challenges associated with tackling fake news, especially during a crisis like COVID-19 where misinformation impairs the ability of governments to curtail the pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
... Recent evidence suggests that individuals can change and sustain their behavioural tendencies through wilful effort and consistent practices, not only in the short-term, but also in the long-term (Roberts et al., 2017;Stieger et al., 2021). Mindfulness interventions involve training centred on practising nonevaluative and non-judgemental awareness towards present experience (e.g., breathing exercises, meditation). ...
... Therefore, based on the results of this study, we argue that rather than selecting students based on their level of conscientiousness, higher education institutions may consider fostering conscientiousness in students who are low on this trait and may need improvements in their achievement, for example, through student support services (Verbree et al., under review) or an intervention provided via a smartphone application (Stieger et al., 2021). Teaching students to be more organized, careful, and to think about the consequences of their actions can result in students becoming more conscientious (Roberts, Hill, & Davis, 2017), although more research is needed into the most effective interventions to stimulate students' conscientiousness levels. ...
In the present study it is investigated whether students enrolled in different academic fields of study have differing personality traits (i.e., conscientiousness and openness) and whether the relationship between these traits and academic achievement differs by academic field. Using Structural Equation Modeling on data from a large sample of university students, this study examined to what extent students' levels of conscientiousness and openness differ by academic field and whether these personality traits have differential predictive value for academic achievement for students in different academic fields. We found that students who are more open to experience and less conscientious are more likely to enroll in a program in the academic field of arts/humanities than in another field. There were no differences in the predictive value of these personality traits for academic achievement by academic field when controlling for prior performance in high school. These findings emphasize the general effectiveness of conscientiousness in explaining academic achievement and also call for the consideration of academic fields or college majors in personality research. Besides having theoretical implications, these findings have practical implications for higher education.
... Finally, disinhibition, or trait impulsivity, is characterized by sensation-seeking (the tendency to seek out novel and thrilling experiences), lack of deliberation (the tendency to act without thinking), lack of persistence (an inability to remain focused on a task), and urgency (the tendency to act rashly in response to positive and negative emotional experiences; Cyders et al., 2007;Whiteside et al., 2005). Roberts and colleagues have published several theoretical accounts of how to alter this trait in treatment (Magidson et al., 2014;Roberts et al., 2017). They suggest that individuals' expectancies about their performance on certain tasks, along with how much they value these actions, predict conscientious behaviors (e.g., paying bills on time, subjugating impulses that would be gratifying in the short-term; Eccles, 2009). ...
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a heterogenous condition and variations in its presentation may be accounted for by individual differences in personality dimensions. Extant treatments for BPD are long-term and intensive; it is possible that prioritizing the personality-based difficulties that underlie an individual’s symptoms may improve the efficiency of care. This manuscript describes the conceptual background for the development of a novel, personality-based intervention for BPD (BPD Compass) informed by recent research on personality mechanisms maintaining this condition to address gaps left by existing treatments and be maximally efficient and disseminable. BPD Compass is a comprehensive, short-term package with a fully modular design that allows for personalization (e.g., all skills can be presented in isolation or in any order based on pre-treatment assessment). We discuss the theoretical background for its development, an overview of the skills included in the treatment, as well as preliminary efficacy data.
... Recent evidence suggests that individuals can change and sustain their behavioural tendencies through wilful effort and consistent practices, not only in the short-term, but also in the long-term (Roberts et al., 2017;Stieger et al., 2021). Mindfulness interventions involve training centred on practising nonevaluative and non-judgemental awareness towards present experience (e.g., breathing exercises, meditation). ...
... One common belief about personality traits is that they do not change at all since a personality trait represents the "relatively enduring, automatic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors" (Roberts et al., , p. 1316. However, Roberts, Hill, and Davis (2017) meta-analysis on personality trait change through clinical interventions showed clear evidence that significant changes in personality traits could take place over an average time of 24 weeks. A trait is a consistent manifestation of a state over time and situations. ...
The purpose of this study was to examine why college students procrastinated in online courses from a self-regulated learning perspective. A sample of 207 college students participated in this study. Using path modeling, the results showed that students' perceived content relevance and technology usability indirectly predicted academic procrastination through the roles of task value and emotional cost. Conscientiousness was also an important predictor of academic procrastination. Perceived instructor engagement and peer interaction did not predict academic procrastination. These findings revealed that academic procrastination in online courses was a complex phenomenon and stemmed from the interrelationships between college students' perceptions of learning context, personal characteristics, and motivational beliefs. Practical implications for addressing academic procrastination in online courses are discussed in this paper.
... This suggests that changes in personality traits are not uniquely the result of a specific therapeutic technique from a certain type of therapy but can rather be explained by shared principles (common factors) across different types of clinical therapies (34)(35)(36). Building on clinical intervention research, recent conceptual work on personality trait change recognized the potential benefit of focusing on shared principles of clinical change rather than methods driven by specific schools of clinical psychology to target personality traits in nonclinical samples (21,34,(37)(38)(39). ...
Personality traits predict important life outcomes such as success in love and work life, wellbeing, health, and longevity. Given these positive relations to important outcomes, economists, policy-makers, and scientists have proposed intervening to change personality traits to promote positive life outcomes. However, non-clinical interventions to change personality traits are lacking so far in large-scale naturalistic populations. This study (N = 1,523) examined the effects of a 3- month digital personality change intervention using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and the smartphone application PEACH (PErsonality coACH). Participants who received the intervention showed greater self-reported changes compared to participants in the waitlist control group who had to wait one month before receiving the intervention. Self-reported changes aligned with intended goals for change and were significant for those desiring to increase on a trait (d = 0.52) and for those desiring to decrease on a trait (d = -0.58). Observers such as friends, family members or intimate partners also detected significant personality changes in the desired direction for those desiring to increase on a trait (d = 0.35). Observer-reported changes for those desiring to decrease on a trait were not significant (d = -0.22). Moreover, self- and observer reported changes persisted until three months after the end of the intervention. This work provides the strongest evidence to date that normal personality traits can be changed through intervention in non-clinical samples.
... This suggests that changes in personality traits are not uniquely the result of a specific therapeutic technique from a certain type of therapy but can rather be explained by shared principles (common factors) across different types of clinical therapies (34)(35)(36). Building on clinical intervention research, recent conceptual work on personality trait change recognized the potential benefit of focusing on shared principles of clinical change rather than methods driven by specific schools of clinical psychology to target personality traits in nonclinical samples (21,34,(37)(38)(39). ...
Significance
Personality traits have consequences and are malleable throughout the lifespan. However, it is unclear if and how personality traits can be changed in desired directions. A 3-mo digital personality change intervention was deployed, and a large-scale randomized controlled trial ( n = 1,523) was conducted to examine the effects of intended personality change in a nonclinical sample. The intervention group showed greater changes than the control group, and changes aligned with intended goals for change. Observers also perceived personality changes, but reported changes were less pronounced. Moreover, self- and observer-reported changes persisted until 3 mo after the end of the intervention. These findings provide the strongest evidence to date that normal personality traits can be changed through intervention in nonclinical samples.
... Changing how one thinks about or appraises a given situation by learning to accept that different thoughts and feelings may appear (40,44) Response modulation Break habits Disrupting behavioral habits related to self-control by replacing routines with new or alternatives activities that should be (a) easy to implement in daily life, (b) require a simple "yes or no" decision and (c) should not be too time-consuming (habit change) (45,46) Response modulation Every beginning is hard Activate behavioral activities by writing down five behavioral activities that promotes goal striving, weighting these activities from easy to difficult to implement, and then start with the simplest one (behavioral activation) (47,48) and contact details of the psychological counseling service of the University of Zurich for appropriate treatments and they can also contact the study office for more information. ...
This protocol describes a study that will test the effectiveness of a 7-week non-clinical digital coaching intervention to promote self-control. The goal of the coaching is to support and guide people who are willing and motivated to improve their self-control with the help of the smartphone application MindHike. The coaching is based on a process model of self-control and aims to target five groups of self-control strategies. The goal of the study is to examine the effectiveness of the digital coaching intervention. A single-arm study design with pre-test, post-test and 2-month follow-up assessments and process assessments will be used to evaluate the 7-week digital coaching intervention. The digital coaching includes 49 daily lessons that are organized along 7 weekly core themes. Study participants will be at least 150 adults aged 18 years and older who are willing and motivated to improve their self-control using the MindHike application. This is the first study testing the effectiveness of a digital coaching intervention to promote self-control. Given that this approach proves effective, it could be easily implemented in various non-clinical settings such as education, health, relationship, and work, and in clinical settings. Due to its digital low-threshold character, it could also reach large numbers of people.
... The Big Five personality inventory [1] appears to be one of the most well-received, in large part because it does not classify respondents into specific 'boxes' but assigns them a score along continua of behavior. Multiple studies have investigated the potential links between personality traits and student success (e.g., [2][3][4][5][6][7]). For university students and engineering students, in particular, two of the five factors most commonly identified as related to student success are Openness and Conscientiousness. ...
The field of personality psychology could contribute to the aims of educational research, but several misconceptions may hold back this synthesis. We address three “misconceptions” about personality psychology that are surprisingly pervasive outside of that field: that there are personality types, that personality is fixed, and that the existence of personality implies that situations are unimportant. We then cover four ways that personality psychology can assist educational aims: personality can be used to (1) boost our ability to accurately predict educational outcomes, (2) inform educational interventions, (3) support the academic development of all learners in personalised learning interventions, and (4) be employed as target outcomes for education. In the process, we show how personality relates to important educational outcomes, outline theoretical links with educationally relevant concepts like socio-emotional skills, and include an overview of current personality scales that can be used when getting started. Through this paper, we hope to stimulate and enthuse researchers to advance synthesis between the disciplines.
Emotion suppression may be linked to poor health outcomes through elevated stress-related physiology. The current meta-analyses investigate the magnitude of the association between suppression and physiological responses to active psychological stress tasks administered in the laboratory. Relevant articles were identified through Medline, PsychINFO, PubMed, and ProQuest. Studies were eligible if they (a) used a sample of healthy, human subjects; (b) assessed physiology during a resting baseline and active psychological stress task; and (c) measured self-report or experimentally manipulated suppression. Twenty-four studies were identified and grouped within two separate random effects meta-analyses based on study methodology, namely, manipulated suppression (k = 12) and/or self-report (k = 14). Experimentally manipulated suppression was associated with greater physiological stress reactivity compared to controls (Hg = 0.20, 95% CI [0.08, 0.33]), primarily driven by cardiac, hemodynamic, and neuroendocrine parameters. Self-report trait suppression was not associated with overall physiological stress reactivity but was associated with greater neuroendocrine reactivity (r = 0.08, 95% CI [0.01, 0.14]). Significant moderator variables were identified (i.e., type/duration of stress task, nature of control instructions, type of physiology, and gender). This review suggests that suppression may exacerbate stress-induced physiological arousal; however, this may differ based upon the chosen methodological assessment of suppression.
Background
The Acquired Preparedness Model suggests that highly impulsive individuals develop stronger positive alcohol expectancies which in turn predicts heavier drinking. However, most acquired preparedness studies have focused solely on between-person relations, despite theory to suggest potential developmental-specific within-person relations. Therefore, the current study tested the Acquired Preparedness Model from late adolescence into adulthood, while disaggregating within- from between-person relations.
Methods
Data (N=653) come from a multigenerational study of familial Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) spanning three waves five years apart. Participants reported their lack of conscientiousness, sensation seeking, positive alcohol expectancies, and binge drinking at each wave. First, missing data techniques were used to create a “ghost timepoint,” allowing the specification of four developmental-specific timepoints representing late adolescence (age 18-20), emerging adulthood (age 21-25), young adulthood (age 26-29), and adulthood (age 30-39). Second, a Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model tested between-person and within-person relations among variables.
Results
At the between-person level, lack of conscientiousness and sensation seeking were correlated with higher positive expectancies, and positive expectancies were correlated with more binge drinking. There were no within-person prospective relations among conscientiousness, sensation seeking, and positive expectancies. However, within-person increases in lack of conscientiousness during late adolescence predicted within-person increases in emerging adult binge drinking, and within-person increases in late adolescent and emerging adult binge drinking predicted within-person increases in lack of conscientiousness during emerging and young adulthood, respectively. Similarly, within-person increases in late adolescent and young adult sensation seeking predicted within-person increases in binge drinking during emerging adulthood and adulthood, respectively. Binge drinking did not reciprocally predict sensation seeking.
Conclusions
Findings suggest that acquired preparedness effects may be between-person rather than within-person. However, several within-person developmental-specific relations among conscientiousness, sensation seeking, and binge drinking were observed, outside of expectancies. Findings are discussed in terms of theory and prevention.
Background: Addiction is an increasingly prevalent issue and one with dark consequences for both physical and mental health. As the number of addictions increases with new technological innovations and changing social environments make certain addictions more dangerous, it is important to investigate ways to influence the development and growth of such addictions. Personality has been shown to interact with addiction in a bidirectional fashion, however while there is a wealth of data connecting personality and addiction, these studies are vitally limited in a number of ways this study aims to rectify.
Methods: This study examined the unique associations of ten different types of addictions (alcohol, smoking, drug, sex, social media, shopping, exercise, gambling, internet gaming, and internet use addictions) with the Big-5 personality dimensions of extraversion (E), emotional stability (ES), agreeableness (A), conscientiousness (C), and openness to experience (O), controlling for gender and age effects. Participants (N = 968; males = 64.3%) were adults from the general Australian community, with age ranging from 18 to 64 years (mean = 29.54 years; SD = 9.36 years).
Results: The findings, based on multiple regression analyses, showed that the different types of addictions were associated with different groups of the personality dimensions. Most of the addictions were however associated with low E, A and C, and many were additionally associated with low A. The theoretical, clinical and research implications of the findings are discussed.
Conclusions: In summary, the findings of the study showed that different addictions can be grouped together into general patterns of association different groups of the personality dimensions. There are several of these such patterns showing that different personality profiles are associated with different kinds of addictions.
Personality disorder affects more than 10% of the population but is widely ignored by health professionals as it is viewed as a term of stigma. The new classification of personality disorder in the ICD-11 shows that we are all on a spectrum of personality disturbance and that this can change over time. This important new book explains why all health professionals need to be aware of personality disorders in their clinical practice. Abnormal personality, at all levels of severity, should be taken into account when choosing treatment, when predicting outcomes, when anticipating relapse, and when explaining diagnosis. Authored by leading experts in this field, this book explains how the new classification of personality disorders in the ICD-11 helps to select treatment programmes, plan long-term management and avoid adverse consequences in the treatment of this patient group.
The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has accentuated the role and interplay of numerous educational factors, inviting pedagogical research concerning online education. Using self-determination theory’s basic psychological needs and fundamental learning theories, identified educational factors were integrated into three pathways: (1) autonomy, technology acceptance, and self-regulation of learning; (2) relatedness, authentic happiness, and a classroom community; and (3) competency, harmonious passion, and trait conscientiousness. This study extends educational research by elucidating the relationships between psychological need fulfilment, educational factors, and students’ expectations of their future grades during the impact of COVID-19. Australian university students (N = 226, 77% female) completed questionnaires assessing their experience of home isolation, factors of each hypothesised pathway, and their expected grades. Structural equation modelling revealed that higher need fulfilment significantly predicted engagement in educational factors and that educational factors are complexly interrelated, providing resilience, motivation, and the mechanisms that facilitate learning. Most importantly, relatedness between academics and students positively influenced all learning pathways. Reciprocal determinism demonstrated the most substantial association with expected grades, and new insight was gained into the interrelationships of passion, trait conscientiousness, and self-regulation of learning.
Researchers, theorists, and practitioners have expressed a renewed interest in the longitudinal dynamics of personality characteristics in adulthood, including organic life span trajectories and their amenability to volitional change. However, this research has apparently not yet expanded to include the Dark Triad (psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism), despite approximately 2 decades of research that has thoroughly examined other important issues related to construct validity and interpersonal behavior. We argue that researchers in postsecondary, occupational, and community‐based settings are in a unique position to study the important phenomenon of Dark Triad malleability, as they are less hindered by obstacles in clinical and forensic contexts that have generated largely inconclusive results. In this article, we discuss several examples of methods for evaluating, quantifying, and interpreting Dark Triad malleability, examples of relevant extant training programs, possibilities for developing new programs, and factors that may moderate training efficacy, including Dark Triad levels themselves. Beyond addressing a fundamental question regarding the nature of these traits, the Dark Triad's destructive tendencies suggest that efforts to reduce them would provide myriad societal benefits and could propel Dark Triad research in an important new direction.
Different personality traits respond differently to unfavourable life situations. Unemployment can have several negative social, economic, and domestic consequences. Many people use social media for a variety of reasons. The aim of this study is to examine the way different personality traits respond to Facebook in the period of unemployment. Data was obtained from 3,002 unemployed respondents in Nigeria. The study used regression model to analyse the data. Among the five personality traits, results indicated that the relationship between neuroticism and online social support was negative. However, the relationship between online social support and satisfaction was positive. The study highlights several theoretical and practical implications.
This study examined how depression and psychosocial protective factors, such as self-efficacy and conscientiousness, were related to parenting competence and child behavior among families living in poverty. The sample included 238 families (37% White, 25% Black, 19% Latinx, 17% Multiracial, and 2% Asian; 42% of parents reporting clinically significant symptoms of depression) with young children (mean age = 31 months, 51% female). Latent profile analysis identified five distinct subgroups of parents who differed on levels of depression and psychosocial protective factors. A small group of parents who had high levels of depression and low levels of protective factors displayed the least parenting competence and had children with lower levels of adjustment. At the same time, parents in two other profiles had high levels of depression, but moderate or high levels of protective factors, and displayed average parenting competence and had children who displayed average or above average levels of adjustment. In this study, depression appeared less predictive of parenting competence and child behavior than the psychosocial protective factors. This study suggests that many parents, despite having depression and living in poverty, exhibit psychosocial protective factors that are associated with high levels of parenting competence and rear children who are doing well.
The present study was designed to test the CONscientiousness × Interest Compensation (CONIC) model in a longitudinal setting (four time points; N = 3,880 students). For this purpose, we first examined the power of conscientiousness (measured with student and parent reports) and interest in predicting perceived academic effort in three school subjects (Math, German, and English). In a second step, we investigated whether conscientiousness and interest interacted in a compensatory pattern as predicted by the CONIC model. Results showed that conscientiousness and interest significantly and positively predicted future perceived academic effort. In addition, conscientiousness and interest interacted in a compensatory manner, such that interest was less important for perceived academic effort in students who were high in conscientiousness (and vice versa).
Given the well-documented importance of counterproductive workplace behavior and organizational citizenship behavior (together nontask performance), it is important to clarify the degree to which these behaviors are attributable to organizational climate versus preexisting individual differences. Such clarification informs where these behaviors stem from, and consequently has practical implications for organizations (e.g., guiding prioritization of selection criteria). We investigated familial resemblance for nontask performance among twins, nontwin and adoptive siblings, parents and offspring, and midlife and late-life couples drawn from two, large-scale studies: the Minnesota Twin Family Study and the Sibling Interaction Behavior Study. Similarity among family members' (e.g., parents-offspring, siblings) engagement in nontask performance was assessed to estimate the degree to which preexisting individual differences (i.e., genetic variability) and the environment (i.e., environmentality) accounted for variation in counterproductive and citizenship behavior. We found that degree of familial resemblance for nontask performance increased with increasing genetic relationship. Nonetheless, genetically identical individuals correlated only moderately in their workplace behavior (r = .29-.40), highlighting the importance of environmental differences. Notably, family members were more similar in their counterproductive than citizenship behavior, suggesting citizenship behavior is comparatively more environmentally influenced. Spouse/partner similarity for nontask behavior was modest and did not vary between midlife and late-life couples, suggesting spousal influence on nontask performance is limited. These findings offer insight to organizations regarding the degree of nature (individual differences) and nurture (including organizational factors) influences on nontask performance, which has implications for the selection of interventions (e.g., relative value of applicant selection or incumbent interventions). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Рожкова Ксения Викторовна — младший научный сотрудник лаборатории исследований рынка труда факультета экономических наук Национального исследовательского университета «Высшая школа экономики». E-mail: krozhkova@hse.ru (контактное лицо для переписки) Рощин Сергей Юрьевич — кандидат экономических наук, заведующий лабораторией исследований рынка труда факультета экономических наук Национального исследовательского университета «Высшая школа экономики». E-mail: sroshchin@hse.ru Адрес: 109028, Москва, Покровский б-р, 11. Некогнитивные навыки, формирование которых обусловлено генетикой и ранними этапами социализации, являются важным компонентом человеческого капитала, влияющим на многие экономические и социальные результаты деятельности человека в течение его жизни. Одним из каналов влияния в данном случае может выступать индивидуальный образовательный выбор. Исследование фокусируется на вкладе некогнитивных навыков в выбор траектории в высшем образовании: в наличие намерений продолжать обучение в вузе, вероятность получения высшего образования, выбор направления обучения и уровня селективности вуза. Эмпирической основой исследования послужили данные Российского мониторинга экономического положения и здоровья населения НИУ ВШЭ за 2011 и 2016–2018 гг. Для оценки некогнитивных навыков используются две наиболее влиятельные психологические концепции—Большая пятерка и локус контроля. Анализируются образовательные намерения подростков в возрасте 15–19 лет, а также состоявшийся образовательный выбор молодежи в возрасте от 23 до 29 лет. Для анализа используются пробит-модели, мультиномиальные и упорядоченные логит-регрессии. Установлено, что ключевыми с точки зрения образовательных намерений и результатов являются такие психологические факторы, как открытость новому опыту, невротизм, добросовестность и внутренний локус контроля, однако результаты варьируют в зависимости от социально-экономических характеристик и пола респондентов.
Treatments for depression have improved, and their availability has markedly increased since the 1980s. Mysteriously the general population prevalence of depression has not decreased. This “treatment-prevalence paradox” (TPP) raises fundamental questions about the diagnosis and treatment of depression. We propose and evaluate seven explanations for the TPP. First, two explanations assume that improved and more widely available treatments have reduced prevalence, but that the reduction has been offset by an increase in: 1) misdiagnosing distress as depression, yielding more “false positive” diagnoses; or 2) an actual increase in depression incidence. Second, the remaining five explanations assume prevalence has not decreased, but suggest that: 3) treatments are less efficacious and 4) less enduring than the literature suggests; 5) trial efficacy doesn't generalize to real-world settings; 6) population-level treatment impact differs for chronic-recurrent versus non-recurrent cases; and 7) treatments have some iatrogenic consequences. Any of these seven explanations could undermine treatment impact on prevalence, thereby helping to explain the TPP. Our analysis reveals that there is little evidence that incidence or prevalence have increased as a result of error or fact (Explanations 1 and 2), and strong evidence that (a) the published literature overestimates short- and long-term treatment efficacy, (b) treatments are considerably less effective as deployed in “real world” settings, and (c) treatment impact differs substantially for chronic-recurrent cases relative to non-recurrent cases. Collectively, these 4 explanations likely account for most of the TPP. Lastly, little research exists on iatrogenic effects of current treatments (Explanation 7), but further exploration is critical.
A growing body of research suggests that personality traits can be changed through intervention. Theorists have speculated that successful interventions may require (1) that participants autonomously choose which traits they change and (2) that they be deeply invested in the change process. The present studies tested these propositions by examining whether interventions to change conscientiousness and emotional stability can be successful when (1) participants are randomly assigned traits to change or (2) they are naïve with respect to the intervention’s target trait. Results indicated that participants could be randomly assigned to change conscientiousness—even if they were unaware that the intervention was targeting conscientiousness. In contrast, interventions targeting emotional stability were effective only if participants both (1) autonomously chose to work on emotional stability and (2) received an effective intervention. These findings have practical implications for designing interventions—and they suggest that different traits may develop via different processes.
Objective.
Changeability of personality over short-term intervals has increasingly become a focus of research. However, the role played by argumentation interventions in short-term variations has scarcely been examined.
Methods.
In two experiments (Ns = 363 and 320), we investigated how processing positive and negative argumentation regarding extraversion (Study 1: watching a lecture; Study 2: elaborating self-invented arguments) affects self-reports on this trait and attitude towards it. The experiments included three waves of measurements with argument manipulation (in favour of or against extraversion) immediately prior to Time 2 (Study 2 also included a control group).
Results.
Mean-level changes in extraversion across time moments, measured with the longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis, were consistently negligible. Conversely, there were some indications that argumentation about extraversion could have immediate short-term effects on attitudes towards this trait. The random-intercept cross-lagged model showed that rank-order consistency stemmed from a trait-like intercept, which was particularly large for trait extraversion compared to the attitude. The autoregressive and cross-lagged effects of residual within-person variation were consistently small and mostly non-significant.
Conclusion.
Our findings suggest that extraversion and the attitude towards it maintained their temporal continuity within three months, even under a single exposure to arguments pro and contra this trait.
The article presents a review of literature systematizing findings on the contribution of non-cognitive skills to higher education choice-making. The concept of higher education choice-making in this paper embraces the decision to embark on a college degree, the probability of successful degree completion, the choice of academic discipline, and other related aspects. A priority focus is given to publications in economics since the economic approach differs a lot from approaches in other social sciences.
In addition, the article explores the methodological characteristics of non-cognitive skills research in economics. The results of literature analysis point to the relevance of non-cognitive skills in explaining individual educational choices and allow drawing some inferences for education policy.
Personality psychology, which seeks to study individual differences in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that persist over time and place, has experienced a renaissance in the last few decades. It has also not been reviewed as a field in the Annual Review of Psychology since 2001. In this article, we seek to provide an update as well as a meta-organizational structure to the field. In particular, personality psychology has a prescribed set of four responsibilities that it implicitly or explicitly tackles as a field: ( a) describing what personality is—i.e., what the units of analysis in the field are; ( b) documenting how it develops; ( c) explaining the processes of personality and why they affect functioning; and ( d) providing a framework for understanding individuals and explaining their actions, feelings, and motivations. We review progress made over the last 20 years to address these four agendas and conclude by highlighting future directions and ongoing challenges to the field.
Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
We examined the measurement characteristics and cross-cultural measurement invariance of growth mindset, mastery orientation, and grit among Indonesian (N=55,964) and US (N =440) adolescents. We found support for strong invariance across males and females for all factors in both contexts. Indonesian females reported higher growth mindset and mastery orientation latent means than Indonesian males. We found mixed evidence for cross-cultural measurement invariance using two approaches. A Bayesian approach supported measurement invariance for mastery orientation and grit, whereas each factor achieved only configural or weak invariance using subsampling approach based in frequentist estimation. Notably, higher levels of each construct were associated with higher grades in Indonesia and in the US. We conclude that while some measurement issues warrant future investigation, growth mindset, mastery orientation, and grit conceptually translate to the Indonesian context and are promising targets for academic achievement interventions for Indonesian youth and perhaps youth in the broader Global South.
International student mobility (ISM) is an important educational means to promote the international (job market) potential of university students. Beyond that, it constitutes a context of personality development in young adulthood. With the present research, we tried to integrate the perspectives of applied and personality research in addressing the following questions. First, we scrutinized the robustness of ISM effects on personality development as we controlled for effects of sociodemographic characteristics and implemented a waiting group design ( N = 3070). Second, we explored ISM anticipation effects as well as the moderation of ISM effects by previous international mobility experiences. Finally, in view of the public discourse on the benefits of “Erasmus crowds”, we assessed the roles of international and host relationships with regard to the personality development of sojourners. The results largely corroborated the robustness of ISM effects on personality development. No ISM anticipation effects occurred, and effects of current ISM engagement were largely unaffected by previous international mobility experiences. Finally, international contact experiences were associated with personality development above and beyond effects of host country contacts. Implications for the understanding of personality development and potential inferences for the organization and improvement of ISM programs are discussed.
A large body of literature supports the strong association between personality features and psychopathology. This research has, however, had little influence on day‐to‐day therapeutic practice, particularly in cognitive behavioral approaches that have traditionally focused on addressing the symptoms of categorically defined diagnoses. Indeed, there are few CBT protocols aimed at altering the personality features. Recently, however, the CBT literature has displayed an increased focus on identifying alternative higher‐order, dimensional mechanisms that may underscore the development and maintenance of broad classes of psychopathology (e.g., aversive reactivity to emotions, reward sensitivity, and performance expectancies). There is ample evidence linking these processes to DSM disorder severity; however, they may also represent a functional link between the personality domains and the disorder symptoms organized beneath them. The functional mechanisms through which an individual's personality confers risk for psychopathology may be naturally amenable to cognitive behavioral elements, and targeting these processes in treatment has the potential to address both disorder symptoms and underlying personality vulnerabilities. Thus, the identification of intermediate functional mechanisms may help bridge the gap between personality science and clinical practice.
The current article presents a theoretical framework of the short- and long-term processes underlying personality development throughout adulthood. The newly developed TESSERA framework posits that long-term personality development occurs due to repeated short-term, situational processes. These short-term processes can be generalized as recursive sequence of T: riggering situations, E: xpectancy, S: tates/ S: tate E: xpressions, and R: e A: ctions (TESSERA). Reflective and associative processes on TESSERA sequences can lead to personality development (i.e., continuity and lasting changes in explicit and implicit personality characteristics and behavioral patterns). We illustrate how the TESSERA framework facilitates a more comprehensive understanding of normative and differential personality development at various ages during the life span. The TESSERA framework extends previous theories by explicitly linking short- and long-term processes of personality development, by addressing different manifestations of personality, and by being applicable to different personality characteristics, for example, behavioral traits, motivational orientations, or life narratives.
Objective:
The present study investigated Big Five personality trait development in the transition to early adolescence (from the fifth to eighth grade).
Method:
Personality traits were assessed in 2,761 (47% female) students over a 3-year period of time. Youths' self-reports and parent ratings were used to test for cross-informant agreement. Acquiescent responding and measurement invariance were established with latent variable modeling.
Results:
Growth curve models revealed three main findings: (a) Normative mean-level changes occurred for youths' self-report data and parent ratings with modest effects in both cases. (b) Agreeableness and Openness decreased for self-reports and parent ratings whereas data source differences were found for Conscientiousness (decreased for self-reports and remained stable for parent ratings), Extraversion (increased for self-reports and decreased for parent ratings), and Neuroticism (remained stable for self-reports and decreased for parent ratings). (c) Girls showed a more mature personality overall (self-reports and parent ratings revealed higher levels of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness) and became more extraverted in the middle of adolescence (self-reports).
Conclusions:
Personality change modestly during early adolescence whereby change does not occur in the direction of maturation and substantial differences exists between parent-ratings and self-reports. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
The rising number of newly insured young adults brought on by health care reform will soon increase demands on primary care physicians. Physicians will face more young adult patients, which presents an opportunity for more prevention-oriented care. In the present study, we evaluated whether brief observer reports of young adults' personality traits could predict which individuals would be at greater risk for poor health as they entered midlife. Following the cohort of 1,000 individuals from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study (Moffitt, Caspi, Rutter, & Silva, 2001), we show that very brief measures of young adults' personalities predicted their midlife physical health across multiple domains (metabolic abnormalities, cardiorespiratory fitness, pulmonary function, periodontal disease, and systemic inflammation). Individuals scoring low on the traits of Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience went on to develop poorer health even after accounting for preexisting differences in education, socioeconomic status, smoking, obesity, self-reported health, medical conditions, and family medical history. Moreover, personality ratings from peer informants who knew participants well, and from a nurse and receptionist who had just met participants for the first time, predicted health decline from young adulthood to midlife despite striking differences in level of acquaintance. Personality effect sizes were on par with other well-established health risk factors such as socioeconomic status, smoking, and self-reported health. We discuss the potential utility of personality measurement to function as an inexpensive and accessible tool for health care professionals to personalize preventive medicine. Adding personality information to existing health care electronic infrastructures could also advance personality theory by generating opportunities to examine how personality processes influence doctor-patient communication, health service use, and patient outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
The ability of personality traits to predict important life outcomes has traditionally been questioned because of the putative small effects of personality. In this article, we compare the predictive validity of personality traits with that of socioeconomic status (SES) and cognitive ability to test the relative contribution of personality traits to predictions of three critical outcomes: mortality, divorce, and occupational attainment. Only evidence from prospective longitudinal studies was considered. In addition, an attempt was made to limit the review to studies that controlled for important background factors. Results showed that the magnitude of the effects of personality traits on mortality, divorce, and occupational attainment was indistinguishable from the effects of SES and cognitive ability on these outcomes. These results demonstrate the influence of personality traits on important life outcomes, highlight the need to more routinely incorporate measures of personality into quality of life surveys, and encourage further research about the developmental origins of personality traits and the processes by which these traits influence diverse life outcomes.
© 2007 Association for Psychological Science.
While there is a general consensus that temperament forms the enduring, biologically based foundation of personality and that this biological basis should imply some continuity within the individual across time, there is a limited literature exploring linkages between these areas. The purpose of this article was to provide an initial assessment of the relation between a two-factor model of temperament in early/middle childhood and the five-factor model of personality in late adolescence/young adulthood. Data were gathered from 115 children who had participated in a longitudinal study of early/middle childhood and who provided follow-up data 15 years later. Significant linkages were found between the two time periods. At the facet level, temperament in early and middle childhood accounted for an average of 32% of the variance in personality in late adolescence/early young adulthood. At the domain level, temperament accounted for an average of 34% of the variance.
Conscientiousness is a personality construct that is a core determinant of health, positive aging, and human capital. A large body of work has contributed to our understanding of this important aspect of personality, but there are multiple conceptual and methodological issues that complicate our understanding of conscientiousness. Toward this end, we review (a) the conceptual standing of conscientiousness as a personality trait, (b) past research focusing on the underlying dimensions of conscientiousness, (c) the nomological network in which conscientiousness is embedded, and (d) the diverse methods that have been used to assess dimensions of conscientiousness. We conclude with recommendations for improving our understanding of the construct of conscientiousness, methods of assessment, and etiological underpinnings of conscientiousness. We believe this article can serve an important role in the larger goal of better understanding conscientiousness and its core role in the health of our society. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
The Conscientiousness (C) of the self and significant others influences health by way of mediational chains involving socioeconomic attainment, the avoidance and neutralization of stressors, the promotion of health behaviors and the minimization of risk behaviors, and the management of symptoms and diseases. Yet, meta-analyses reveal that these associations are moderated by factors that are not well understood. We propose the Life Course of Personality Model (LCP Model), which comprises a series of hypotheses that suggest how such mediational chains are subject to 2 sources of contingency. First, the mechanisms by which C translates into health and the avoidance of risk change from early childhood to late adulthood, involving processes that are specific to phases of the life course; also, however, C influences health by way of continuous processes extending over many decades of life. Second, C may be more consequential in some social contexts than in others, and when accompanied by some constellations of personality characteristics than by others. That is, the mediational processes by which C translates into health and the avoidance of disease are likely moderated by timing, social context (including the C of others), and other aspects of the individual's personality. We consider methodological implications of the LCP Model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
This article investigates how personality and cognitive ability relate to measures of objective success (income and wealth) and subjective success (life satisfaction, positive affect, and lack of negative affect) in a representative sample of 9,646 American adults. In cross-sectional analyses controlling for demographic covariates, cognitive ability, and other Big Five traits, conscientiousness demonstrated beneficial associations of small-to-medium magnitude with all success outcomes. In contrast, other traits demonstrated stronger, but less consistently beneficial, relations with outcomes in the same models. For instance, emotional stability demonstrated medium-to-large associations with life satisfaction and affect but a weak association with income and no association with wealth. Likewise, extraversion demonstrated medium-to-large associations with positive affect and life satisfaction but small-to-medium associations with wealth and (lack of) negative affect and no association with income. Cognitive ability showed small-to-medium associations with income and wealth but no association with any aspect of subjective success. More agreeable adults were worse off in terms of objective success and life satisfaction, demonstrating small-to-medium inverse associations with those outcomes, but they did not differ from less agreeable adults in positive or negative affect. Likewise, openness to experience demonstrated small-to-medium inverse associations with every success outcome except positive affect, in which more open adults were slightly higher. Notably, in each of the five models predicting objective and subjective success outcomes, individual differences other than conscientiousness explained more variance than did conscientiousness. Thus, the benefits of conscientiousness may be remarkable more for their ubiquity than for their magnitude.
Considerable evidence suggests that personality traits may be changeable, raising the possibility that personality traits most linked to health problems can be modified with intervention. A growing body of research suggests that problematic personality traits may be altered with behavioral intervention using a bottom-up approach. That is, by targeting core behaviors that underlie personality traits with the goal of engendering new, healthier patterns of behavior that, over time, become automatized and manifest in changes in personality traits. Nevertheless, a bottom-up model for changing personality traits is somewhat diffuse and requires clearer integration of theory and relevant interventions to enable real clinical application. As such, this article proposes a set of guiding principles for theory-driven modification of targeted personality traits using a bottom-up approach, focusing specifically on targeting the trait of conscientiousness using a relevant behavioral intervention, Behavioral Activation (BA), considered within the motivational framework of expectancy value theory (EVT). We conclude with a real case example of the application of BA to alter behaviors counter to conscientiousness in a substance-dependent patient, highlighting the EVT principles most relevant to the approach and the importance and viability of a theoretically driven, bottom-up approach to changing personality traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
Research on the causes of delinquency has a long research history, often with an undue focus on how cognitive ability serves as the main predictor of delinquent activity. The current review examines interventions that focus on psychological factors other than cognitive ability, and discusses how several of these programs have demonstrated efficacy in reducing delinquent behavior. Our review uncovers certain themes shared by a number of effective interventions. First, these interventions tend to emphasize rigorous and consistent implementation. Second, effective interventions often incorporate the family environment. Third, several effective interventions have focused on promoting adaptive social skills. In conclusion, our review discusses the possibility that these interventions have proven efficacious in part because they promote adaptive personality trait development.
Conscientious individuals tend to experience a number of health benefits, not the least of which being greater longevity. However, it remains an open question as to why this link with longevity occurs. The current study tested two possible mediators (physical health and cognitive functioning) of the link between conscientiousness and longevity.
We tested these mediators using a 10-year longitudinal sample (N = 512), a subset of the long-running Health and Retirement Study of aging adults. Measures included an adjective-rating measure of conscientiousness, self-reported health conditions, and three measures of cognitive functioning (word recall, delayed recall, and vocabulary) included in the 1996 wave of the HRS study.
Our results found that conscientiousness significantly predicted greater longevity, even in a model including the two proposed mediator variables, gender, age, and years of education. Moreover, cognitive functioning appears to partially mediate this relationship.
This study replicates previous research showing that conscientious individuals tend to lead longer lives, and provides further insight into why this effect occurs. In addition, it underscores the importance of measurement considerations.
Following from the seminal work of Ferster, Lewinsohn, and Jacobson, as well as theory and research on the Matching Law, Lejuez, Hopko, LePage, Hopko, and McNeil developed a reinforcement-based depression treatment that was brief, uncomplicated, and tied closely to behavioral theory. They called this treatment the brief behavioral activation treatment for depression (BATD), and the original manual was published in this journal. The current manuscript is a revised manual (BATD-R), reflecting key modifications that simplify and clarify key treatment elements, procedures, and treatment forms. Specific modifications include (a) greater emphasis on treatment rationale, including therapeutic alliance; (b) greater clarity regarding life areas, values, and activities; (c) simplified (and fewer) treatment forms; (d) enhanced procedural details, including troubleshooting and concept reviews; and (e) availability of a modified Daily Monitoring Form to accommodate low literacy patients. Following the presentation of the manual, the authors conclude with a discussion of the key barriers in greater depth, including strategies for addressing these barriers.
Policy-makers are considering large-scale programs aimed at self-control to improve citizens' health and wealth and reduce crime. Experimental and economic studies suggest such programs could reap benefits. Yet, is self-control important for the health, wealth, and public safety of the population? Following a cohort of 1,000 children from birth to the age of 32 y, we show that childhood self-control predicts physical health, substance dependence, personal finances, and criminal offending outcomes, following a gradient of self-control. Effects of children's self-control could be disentangled from their intelligence and social class as well as from mistakes they made as adolescents. In another cohort of 500 sibling-pairs, the sibling with lower self-control had poorer outcomes, despite shared family background. Interventions addressing self-control might reduce a panoply of societal costs, save taxpayers money, and promote prosperity.
We performed a quantitative review of associations between the higher order personality traits in the Big Three and Big Five models (i.e., neuroticism, extraversion, disinhibition, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness) and specific depressive, anxiety, and substance use disorders (SUD) in adults. This approach resulted in 66 meta-analyses. The review included 175 studies published from 1980 to 2007, which yielded 851 effect sizes. For a given analysis, the number of studies ranged from three to 63 (total sample size ranged from 1,076 to 75,229). All diagnostic groups were high on neuroticism (mean Cohen's d = 1.65) and low on conscientiousness (mean d = -1.01). Many disorders also showed low extraversion, with the largest effect sizes for dysthymic disorder (d = -1.47) and social phobia (d = -1.31). Disinhibition was linked to only a few conditions, including SUD (d = 0.72). Finally, agreeableness and openness were largely unrelated to the analyzed diagnoses. Two conditions showed particularly distinct profiles: SUD, which was less related to neuroticism but more elevated on disinhibition and disagreeableness, and specific phobia, which displayed weaker links to all traits. Moderator analyses indicated that epidemiologic samples produced smaller effects than patient samples and that Eysenck's inventories showed weaker associations than NEO scales. In sum, we found that common mental disorders are strongly linked to personality and have similar trait profiles. Neuroticism was the strongest correlate across the board, but several other traits showed substantial effects independent of neuroticism. Greater attention to these constructs can significantly benefit psychopathology research and clinical practice.
This article reports a meta-analysis of personality-academic performance relationships, based on the 5-factor model, in which cumulative sample sizes ranged to over 70,000. Most analyzed studies came from the tertiary level of education, but there were similar aggregate samples from secondary and tertiary education. There was a comparatively smaller sample derived from studies at the primary level. Academic performance was found to correlate significantly with Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness. Where tested, correlations between Conscientiousness and academic performance were largely independent of intelligence. When secondary academic performance was controlled for, Conscientiousness added as much to the prediction of tertiary academic performance as did intelligence. Strong evidence was found for moderators of correlations. Academic level (primary, secondary, or tertiary), average age of participant, and the interaction between academic level and age significantly moderated correlations with academic performance. Possible explanations for these moderator effects are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided.
Following up on growing evidence that higher levels of conscientiousness are associated with greater health protection, the authors conducted a meta-analysis of the association between conscientiousness-related traits and longevity.
Using a random-effects analysis model, the authors statistically combined 20 independent samples. In addition, the authors used fixed-effects analyses to examine specific facets of conscientiousness and study characteristics as potential moderators of this relationship.
Effect sizes were computed for each individual sample as the correlation coefficient r, based on the relationship between conscientiousness and mortality risk (all-cause mortality risk, longevity, or length of survival).
Higher levels of conscientiousness were significantly and positively related to longevity (r = .11, 95% confidence interval = .05-.17). Associations were strongest for the achievement (persistent, industrious) and order (organized, disciplined) facets of conscientiousness.
Results strongly support the importance of conscientiousness-related traits to health across the life span. Future research and interventions should consider how individual differences in conscientiousness may cause and be shaped by health-relevant biopsychosocial events across many years.
In a response to comments by P. T. Costa, Jr., and R. R. McCrae on the current authors' original article, the authors show that Costa and McCrae's writings on personality suggest a belief in immutability of personality traits. The authors agree with Costa and McCrae that new personality trait models that provide an accurate lower order structure of personality traits are needed and explain why the Revised NEO Personality Inventory is not the correct model for that purpose. The authors provide direct evidence refuting the hypothesis that personality traits change only because of biologically based intrinsic maturation. The authors present arguments supporting the contention that meta-analyses should be preferred to single longitudinal studies when drawing inferences about general patterns of personality development. Finally, the authors point out why the differences between their position and Costa and McCrae's are important.
Antisocial behavior, substance use, and impulsive and aggressive personality traits often co-occur, forming a coherent spectrum of personality and psychopathology. In the current research, the authors developed a novel quantitative model of this spectrum. Over 3 waves of iterative data collection, 1,787 adult participants selected to represent a range across the externalizing spectrum provided extensive data about specific externalizing behaviors. Statistical methods such as item response theory and semiparametric factor analysis were used to model these data. The model and assessment instrument that emerged from the research shows how externalizing phenomena are organized hierarchically and cover a wide range of individual differences. The authors discuss the utility of this model for framing research on the correlates and the etiology of externalizing phenomena.
Conscientiousness is a spectrum of constructs that describe individual differences in the propensity to be self-controlled, responsible to others, hard-working, orderly, and rule abiding. This chapter discusses the factors that are critical for the development of conscientiousness. It introduces a bread-making analogy, stating that the creation and development of conscientiousness is akin to making sourdough bread. The analogy identifies the key ingredients that serve as the basis to conscientiousness, the environmental conditions under which conscientiousness is fostered, and the timing issues critical to the full development of the trait. The chapter also discusses the implications of this transactional model of the development of conscientiousness for interventions intended to foster conscientiousness in students.
In this paper, I seek to update the sociogenomic model of personality traits (Roberts & Jackson, 2008). Specifically, I seek to outline a broader and more comprehensive theoretical perspective on personality traits than offered in the original version of the sociogenomic model of personality traits. First, I review the major points of our 2008 paper. Second, I update our earlier model mostly with insights derived from a deeper reading of evolutionary theoretical systems, such as those found in life-history theory and ecological-evolutionary-developmental biology. In particular, this revision incorporates two evolutionary-informed systems, labeled "pliable" and "elastic" systems, that provide new insights into how personality traits develop. Third, I describe some of the implications of this new understanding of the biological and evolutionary architecture that underlies human phenotypes such as personality traits. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
The current meta-analysis investigated the extent to which personality traits changed as a result of intervention, with the primary focus on clinical interventions. We identified 207 studies that had tracked changes in measures of personality traits during interventions, including true experiments and prepost change designs. Interventions were associated with marked changes in personality trait measures over an average time of 24 weeks (e.g., d = .37). Additional analyses showed that the increases replicated across experimental and nonexperimental designs, for nonclinical interventions, and persisted in longitudinal follow-ups of samples beyond the course of intervention. Emotional stability was the primary trait domain showing changes as a result of therapy, followed by extraversion. The type of therapy employed was not strongly associated with the amount of change in personality traits. Patients presenting with anxiety disorders changed the most, and patients being treated for substance use changed the least. The relevance of the results for theory and social policy are discussed.
Why are some people more skilled in complex domains than other people? According to one prominent view, individual differences in performance largely reflect individual differences in accumulated amount of deliberate practice. Here, we investigated the relationship between deliberate practice and performance in sports. Overall, deliberate practice accounted for 18% of the variance in sports performance. However, the contribution differed depending on skill level. Most important, deliberate practice accounted for only 1% of the variance in performance among elite-level performers. This finding is inconsistent with the claim that deliberate practice accounts for performance differences even among elite performers. Another major finding was that athletes who reached a high level of skill did not begin their sport earlier in childhood than lower skill athletes. This finding challenges the notion that higher skill performers tend to start in a sport at a younger age than lower skill performers. We conclude that to understand the underpinnings of expertise, researchers must investigate contributions of a broad range of factors, taking into account findings from diverse subdisciplines of psychology (e.g., cognitive psychology, personality psychology) and interdisciplinary areas of research (e.g., sports science).
Across four studies, we developed and validated a measure of people’s goals to change their personality traits. In doing so, we explored the prevalence and correlates of such change goals. We found that the vast majority of people want to change aspects of their personalities, and that these desires are organized around the big-five personality dimensions. Change goals were related to theoretically relevant predictors, including life satisfaction and current personality traits. In three subsequent daily-diary studies, we found that change goals were discriminant from more generalized trait-relevant motives, and that change goals were negatively correlated with daily behavior, to the extent that traits and behavior covaried. Implications for studying people’s goals and attempts to change their personality traits are discussed.
This chapter provides an overview of a new theoretical framework that serves to integrate personality psychology and other fields, such as organizational behavior. The first section describes a structural model of personality that incorporates traits, motives, abilities, and narratives, with social roles. The second section describes basic patterns of continuity and change in personality and how this might be relevant to organizational behavior. The third section describes the ASTMA model of person–organization transaction (attraction, selection, transformation, manipulation, and attrition), which describes the primary transactions between personality and organizational experiences across the life course. The goal for the chapter is to build a bridge between modern personality psychology and organizational behavior, such that the two fields can better inform one another.
The benefits of living a conscientious life have been demonstrated across multiple domains, and yet, few studies have sought to explain how the positive effects in one area may help explain those in another. The current paper considers the possibility that conscientious individuals live healthier lives by virtue of having greater success in their relationships. Using both past research and new findings to support our model, we set forth a framework by which to consider how conscientiousness affects relationship functioning, which in turn leads to better physical, emotional, and psychological health. In so doing, we also provide a new outlook on the health benefits associated with conscientiousness, and how these may be conferred by relationship success.
This paper summarizes recent evidence on what achievement tests measure; how achievement tests relate to other measures of "cognitive ability" like IQ and grades; the important skills that achievement tests miss or mismeasure, and how much these skills matter in life. Achievement tests miss, or perhaps more accurately, do not adequately capture, soft skills-personality traits, goals, motivations, and preferences that are valued in the labor market, in school, and in many other domains. The larger message of this paper is that soft skills predict success in life, that they causally produce that success, and that programs that enhance soft skills have an important place in an effective portfolio of public policies.
Objective:
Many life span personality-and-health models assume that childhood personality traits result in life-course pathways leading through morbidity to mortality. Although childhood conscientiousness in particular predicts mortality, there are few prospective studies that have investigated the associations between childhood personality and objective health status in adulthood. The present study tested this crucial assumption of life span models of personality and health using a comprehensive assessment of the Big Five traits in childhood (M age = 10 years) and biomarkers of health over 40 years later (M age = 51 years).
Methods:
Members of the Hawaii Personality and Health Cohort (N = 753; 368 men, 385 women) underwent a medical examination at mean age 51. Their global health status was evaluated by well-established clinical indicators that were objectively measured using standard protocols, including blood pressure, lipid profile, fasting blood glucose, and body mass index. These indicators were combined to evaluate overall physiological dysregulation and grouped into five more homogeneous subcomponents (glucose intolerance, blood pressure, lipids, obesity, and medications).
Results:
Lower levels of childhood conscientiousness predicted more physiological dysregulation (β = -.11, p < .05), greater obesity (β = -.10, p < .05), and worse lipid profiles (β = -.10, p < .05), after controlling for the other Big Five childhood personality traits, gender, ethnicity, parental home ownership, and adult conscientiousness.
Conclusions:
These findings are consistent with a key assumption in life span models that childhood conscientiousness is associated with objective health status in older adults. They open the way for testing mechanisms by which childhood personality may influence mortality through morbidity; mechanisms that could then be targeted for intervention.
The present study investigated the relationship of traits from the 5-factor model of personality (often termed the “Big Five”) and general mental ability with career success. Career success was argued to be comprised of intrinsic success (job satisfaction) and extrinsic success (income and occupational status) dimensions. Data were obtained from the Intergenerational Studies, a set of 3 studies that followed participants from early childhood to retirement. The most general findings were that conscientiousness positively predicted intrinsic and extrinsic career success, neuroticism negatively predicted extrinsic success, and general mental ability positively predicted extrinsic career success. Personality was related to career success controlling for general mental ability and, though adulthood measures of the Big Five traits were more strongly related to career success than were childhood measures, both contributed unique variance in explaining career success.
Typical assessments of personality traits collapse behaviors, thoughts, and feelings into a single measure without distinguishing between these different manifestations. To address this lack of specification, the current study develops and validates a measure that assesses a number of broad behaviors associated with the personality trait of conscientiousness (the Behavioral Indicators of Conscientiousness; BIC). Findings suggest that the lower-order structure of conscientious behaviors is mostly similar to the lower-order structure in extant trait measures. Furthermore, a daily diary method was used to validate the BIC against frequency counts of conscientious behavior. Overall, the results identify specific behaviors that conscientious individuals tend to perform and highlight possible advantages of this approach over broad trait assessment.
The past decade has witnessed a resurgence of interest in behavioral interventions for depression. This contemporary work is grounded in the work of Lewinsohn and colleagues, which laid a foundation for future clinical practice and science. This review thus summarizes the origins of a behavioral model of depression and the behavioral activation (BA) approach to the treatment and prevention of depression. We highlight the formative initial work by Lewinsohn and colleagues, the evolution of this work, and related contemporary research initiatives, such as that led by Jacobson and colleagues. We examine the diverse ways in which BA has been investigated over time and its emerging application to a broad range of populations and problems. We close with reflections on important directions for future inquiry.
In this essay I consider the future of personality development in light of the past effects of Personality and Assessment on the field of personality in general and personality development in particular. The essay is organized around 1) the effect of Mischel's book on the foundational theories informing personality development; 2) definitions of personality traits; 3) an alternative model of personality traits, described as the sociogenomic model of personality traits, that can bridge the divide that still characterizes the field of personality development; 4) the application of the sociogenomic model of personality traits to issues of personality trait development, and 5) a "Newtonian" vision for the future of personality psychology.
In this article, we address a number of issues surrounding biological models of personality traits. Most traditional and many contemporary biological models of personality traits assume that biological systems underlying personality traits are causal and immutable. In contrast, sociogenomic biology, which we introduce to readers in this article, directly contradicts the widely held assumption that something that is biological, heritable, or temperamental, is unchangeable. We provide examples of how seemingly unchanging biological systems, such as DNA, are both dependent on environments for elicitation and can be modified by environmental changes. Finally, we synthesize sociogenomic biology with personality psychology in a model of personality traits that integrates this more modern perspective on biology, physiology, and environment that we term sociogenomic personality psychology. We end the article with a discussion of the future directions of sociogenomic personality psychology.
Researchers of broad and narrow traits have debated whether narrow traits are important to consider in the prediction of job performance. Because personality-performance relationship meta-analyses have focused almost exclusively on the Big Five, the predictive power of narrow traits has not been adequately examined. In this study, the authors address this question by meta-analytically examining the degree to which the narrow traits of conscientiousness predict above and beyond global conscientiousness. Results suggest that narrow traits do incrementally predict performance above and beyond global conscientiousness, yet the degree to which they contribute depends on the particular performance criterion and occupation in question. Overall, the results of this study suggest that there are benefits to considering the narrow traits of conscientiousness in the prediction of performance.
Activity scheduling is a behavioral treatment of depression in which patients learn to monitor their mood and daily activities, and how to increase the number of pleasant activities and to increase positive interactions with their environment. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized effect studies of activity scheduling. Sixteen studies with 780 subjects were included. The pooled effect size indicating the difference between intervention and control conditions at post-test was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.60 - 1.15). This is a large effect. Heterogeneity was low in all analyses. The comparisons with other psychological treatments at post-test resulted in a non-significant pooled effect size of 0.13 in favor of activity scheduling. In ten studies activity scheduling was compared to cognitive therapy, and the pooled effect size indicating the difference between these two types of treatment was 0.02. The changes from post-test to follow-up for activity scheduling were non-significant, indicating that the benefits of the treatments were retained at follow-up. The differences between activity scheduling and cognitive therapy at follow-up were also non-significant. Activity scheduling is an attractive treatment for depression, not only because it is relatively uncomplicated, time-efficient and does not require complex skills from patients or therapist, but also because this meta-analysis found clear indications that it is effective.