Normative based beliefs as a basis for perceived changes in personality traits across the lifespan.

This article presents a new framework for understanding how people think personality changes across the life span. In two studies we examined the correspondence among how people thought their personalities would change, how people in general change, and changes found in a meta-analysis of changes in personality. We conceptualized and measured personality in terms of the Big Five model (FFM). In Study 1 participants rated either how they had changed from the past to the present or how they would change from the present to the future. We found that for openness to experience and social vitality participants thought these traits had increased from the past to the present, whereas participants did not think they would change from the present to the future. In contrast, participants thought that conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability would increase from the present to the future, although they did not report changes in most of these traits from the past to the present. The changes that occurred in Study 1 correspond to changes of personality found in previous research. In Study 2 participants rated themselves and other people on the FFM traits for each of nine intervals representing the lifespan. We found that people perceived changes in themselves to be similar to the changes found in meta-analyses, and perceptions of change in the self-corresponded to perception of changes for others. We believe these results can be explained by recognizing that people share normative based beliefs about how people change at certain age. Nevertheless, we also found that people perceived themselves as better than others, i.e., relatively greater increases in some positive traits and relatively smaller decreases in some negative traits, being first among equals. We discuss possible explanations for this phenomenon, which according to our knowledge, has not been discussed in this context previously.

School anxiety profiles in Spanish adolescents and their differences in psychopathological symptoms.

School anxiety and psychopathological symptoms tend to co-occur across development and persist in adulthood. The present study aimed to determine school anxiety profiles based on Lang's model of the triple response system (cognitive anxiety, psychophysiological anxiety, and behavioral anxiety) and to identify possible differences between these profiles in psychopathological symptoms (depression, hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, somatization, anxiety, psychoticism, obsessive-compulsive, phobic anxiety, and paranoid ideation). The School Anxiety Inventory (SAI) and the Symptom Assessment-45 Questionnaire (SA-45) were administered to 1525 Spanish students (49% girls) between 15 and 18 years old (M = 16.36, SD = 1.04). Latent Profile Analysis identified four school anxiety profiles: Low School Anxiety, Average School Anxiety, High School Anxiety, and Excessive School Anxiety. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed statistically significant differences among the school anxiety profiles in all the psychopathological symptoms examined. Specifically, adolescents with Excessive School Anxiety showed significantly higher levels of the nine psychopathological symptoms than their peers with Average School Anxiety and Low School Anxiety. In addition, the Excessive School Anxiety profile scored significantly higher in phobic anxiety than the High School Anxiety group. These findings allow to conclude that it is necessary enhance well-being and reduce psychopathology of those adolescents who manifest high and very high reactivity in cognitive, psychophysiological, and behavioral anxiety.

Test-retest reliability of the HEXACO-100-And the value of multiple measurements for assessing reliability.

Despite the widespread use of the HEXACO model as a descriptive taxonomy of personality traits, there remains limited information on the test-retest reliability of its commonly-used inventories. Studies typically report internal consistency estimates, such as alpha or omega, but there are good reasons to believe that these do not accurately assess reliability. We report 13-day test-retest correlations of the 100- and 60-item English HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised (HEXACO-100 and HEXACO-60) domains, facets, and items. In order to test the validity of test-retest reliability, we then compare these estimates to correlations between self- and informant-reports (i.e., cross-rater agreement), a widely-used validity criterion. Median estimates of test-retest reliability were .88, .81, and .65 (N = 416) for domains, facets, and items, respectively. Facets' and items' test-retest reliabilities were highly correlated with their cross-rater agreement estimates, whereas internal consistencies were not. Overall, the HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised demonstrates test-retest reliability similar to other contemporary measures. We recommend that short-term retest reliability should be routinely calculated to assess reliability.

A meta-analysis of sex differences in animal personality: no evidence for the greater male variability hypothesis.

The notion that men are more variable than women has become embedded into scientific thinking. For mental traits like personality, greater male variability has been partly attributed to biology, underpinned by claims that there is generally greater variation among males than females in non-human animals due to stronger sexual selection on males. However, evidence for greater male variability is limited to morphological traits, and there is little information regarding sex differences in personality-like behaviours for non-human animals. Here, we meta-analysed sex differences in means and variances for over 2100 effects (204 studies) from 220 species (covering five broad taxonomic groups) across five personality traits: boldness, aggression, activity, sociality and exploration. We also tested if sexual size dimorphism, a proxy for sex-specific sexual selection, explains variation in the magnitude of sex differences in personality. We found no significant differences in personality between the sexes. In addition, sexual size dimorphism did not explain variation in the magnitude of the observed sex differences in the mean or variance in personality for any taxonomic group. In sum, we find no evidence for widespread sex differences in variability in non-human animal personality.

Two genetic analyses to elucidate causality between body mass index and personality.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Many personality traits correlate with BMI, but the existence and direction of causal links between them are unclear. If personality influences BMI, knowing this causal direction could inform weight management strategies. Knowing that BMI instead influences personality would contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms of personality development and the possible psychological effects of weight change. We tested the existence and direction of causal links between BMI and personality. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We employed two genetically informed methods. In Mendelian randomization, allele scores were calculated to summarize genetic propensity for the personality traits neuroticism, worry, and depressive affect and used to predict BMI in an independent sample (N = 3 541). Similarly, an allele score for BMI was used to predict eating-specific and domain-general phenotypic personality scores (PPSs; aggregate scores of personality traits weighted by BMI). In a direction of causation (DoC) analysis, twin data from five countries (N = 5424) were used to assess the fit of four alternative models: PPSs influencing BMI, BMI influencing PPSs, reciprocal causation, and no causation. RESULTS: In Mendelian randomization, the allele score for BMI predicted domain-general (ß = 0.05; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.08; P = 0.003) and eating-specific PPS (ß = 0.06; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.09; P < 0.001). The allele score for worry also predicted BMI (ß = -0.05; 95% CI: -0.08, -0.02; P < 0.001), while those for neuroticism and depressive affect did not (P ≥ 0.459). In DoC, BMI similarly predicted domain-general (ß = 0.21; 95% CI:, 0.18, 0.24; P < 0.001) and eating-specific personality traits (ß = 0.19; 95% CI:, 0.16, 0.22; P < 0.001), suggesting causality from BMI to personality traits. In exploratory analyses, links between BMI and domain-general personality traits appeared reciprocal for higher-weight individuals (BMI > ~25). CONCLUSIONS: Although both genetic analyses suggested an influence of BMI on personality traits, it is not yet known if weight management interventions could influence personality. Personality traits may influence BMI in turn, but effects in this direction appeared weaker.

Themes of the dark core of personality.

Enduring patterns of socially aversive behavior are ascribed to stable personality disorders (such as narcissistic or antisocial tendencies) in clinical psychology or to so called "dark" traits in personality psychology. As recently shown, the substantial overlap among the latter constructs is attributable to a single underlying disposition, called the Dark Factor of Personality (D). Whereas evidence supports the conceptualization of D as the core of aversive traits, the structure of the specific factors of D received less empirical attention so far. To this end, this study further scrutinizes the internal structure of D with items stemming from 12 different aversive traits assessed in three large and heterogeneous samples (total N > 160,000). Specifically, we (a) explored the bifactor structure of D using a modified "bass-ackwards" approach, (b) cross-validated the identified factor solutions via confirmatory factor analyses, and (c) examined the empirical relation of D and the specific factors to five criterion measures. Results indicate that a bifactor structure modeling D along with five specific factors-or themes-labeled Callousness, Deceitfulness, Narcissistic Entitlement, Sadism, and Vindictiveness, best describes the internal structure of D. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Personality types revisited-a literature-informed and data-driven approach to an integration of prototypical and dimensional constructs of personality description.

A new algorithmic approach to personality prototyping based on Big Five traits was applied to a large representative and longitudinal German dataset (N = 22,820) including behavior, personality and health correlates. We applied three different clustering techniques, latent profile analysis, the k-means method and spectral clustering algorithms. The resulting cluster centers, i.e. the personality prototypes, were evaluated using a large number of internal and external validity criteria including health, locus of control, self-esteem, impulsivity, risk-taking and wellbeing. The best-fitting prototypical personality profiles were labeled according to their Euclidean distances to averaged personality type profiles identified in a review of previous studies on personality types. This procedure yielded a five-cluster solution: resilient, overcontroller, undercontroller, reserved and vulnerable-resilient. Reliability and construct validity could be confirmed. We discuss wether personality types could comprise a bridge between personality and clinical psychology as well as between developmental psychology and resilience research.

Physical topography is associated with human personality.

Regional differences in personality are associated with a range of consequential outcomes. But which factors are responsible for these differences? Frontier settlement theory suggests that physical topography is a crucial factor shaping the psychological landscape of regions. Hence, we investigated whether topography is associated with regional variation in personality across the United States (n = 3,387,014). Consistent with frontier settlement theory, results from multilevel modelling revealed that mountainous areas were lower on agreeableness, extraversion, neuroticism and conscientiousness but higher on openness to experience. Conditional random forest algorithms confirmed mountainousness as a meaningful predictor of personality when tested against a conservative set of controls. East-west comparisons highlighted potential differences between ecological (driven by physical features) and sociocultural (driven by social norms) effects of mountainous terrain.

Type D personality and metabolic syndrome among Finnish female municipal workers.

BACKGROUND: Type D personality is a combination of high negative affectivity (NA) and high social inhibition (SI). This personality trait is suspected to impair cardiovascular patients' recovery. The 2016 European Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice recommend screening of psychosocial risk factors as Type D personality. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between Type D personality and Metabolic syndrome (MetS) in working-age female population. METHODS: Six hundred thirty-four female employees with mean age of 48 ± 10 years were evaluated. Type D personality and its components (NA) and (SI) were screened with DS14 questionnaire. The definition of MetS was based on measurements done by trained medical staff. We investigated the relationship between Mets and Type D personality, NA and SI using the logistic regression models adjusting for age, education years, leisure-time physical activity, smoking, alcohol use and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: The prevalence of Type D personality was 10.6% (n = 67) [95% CI: 8.3 to 13.2] and MetS 34.7% (n = 220). Type D personality or its subcomponents were not associated with MetS. Women with Type D personality had significantly worse quality of sleep and lower LTPA. They were also more often unsatisfied with their economic situation, they had more often depressive symptoms and psychiatric disorders than non-D type persons. There were no differences in risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. CONCLUSION: Screening for Type D personality among working- age, reasonably healthy female population seems not to be practical method for finding persons with risk for cardiovascular disease.

A facet atlas: Visualizing networks that describe the blends, cores, and peripheries of personality structure.

We created a facet atlas that maps the interrelations between facet scales from 13 hierarchical personality inventories to provide a practically useful, transtheoretical description of lower-level personality traits. We generated this atlas by estimating a series of network models that visualize the correlations among 268 facet scales administered to the Eugene-Springfield Community Sample (Ns = 571-948). As expected, most facets contained a blend of content from multiple Big Five domains and were part of multiple Big Five networks. We identified core and peripheral facets for each Big Five domain. Results from this study resolve some inconsistencies in facet placement across instruments and highlight the complexity of personality structure relative to the constraints of traditional hierarchical models that impose simple structure. This facet atlas (also available as an online point-and-click app at tedschwaba.shinyapps.io/appdata/) provides a guide for researchers who wish to measure a domain with a limited set of facets as well as information about the core and periphery of each personality domain. To illustrate the value of a facet atlas in applied and theoretical settings, we examined the network structure of scales measuring impulsivity and tested structural hypotheses from the Big Five Aspect Scales inventory.

Assessing the Big Five personality traits using real-life static facial images.

There is ample evidence that morphological and social cues in a human face provide signals of human personality and behaviour. Previous studies have discovered associations between the features of artificial composite facial images and attributions of personality traits by human experts. We present new findings demonstrating the statistically significant prediction of a wider set of personality features (all the Big Five personality traits) for both men and women using real-life static facial images. Volunteer participants (N = 12,447) provided their face photographs (31,367 images) and completed a self-report measure of the Big Five traits. We trained a cascade of artificial neural networks (ANNs) on a large labelled dataset to predict self-reported Big Five scores. The highest correlations between observed and predicted personality scores were found for conscientiousness (0.360 for men and 0.335 for women) and the mean effect size was 0.243, exceeding the results obtained in prior studies using 'selfies'. The findings strongly support the possibility of predicting multidimensional personality profiles from static facial images using ANNs trained on large labelled datasets. Future research could investigate the relative contribution of morphological features of the face and other characteristics of facial images to predicting personality.

Links between observed and self-reported driving anger, observed and self-reported aggressive driving, and personality traits.

Driving anger increases risk-taking in traffic and road traffic accident involvement. Herein, we examine the links between self-reported and observed driving anger, self-reported and observed aggressive driving, and personality traits. Specifically, sixty drivers drove in an anger-inducing simulated driving scenario. A video camera recorded their verbal and gestural expression during the simulator drive. Two weeks before the simulator drive, we assessed participants' basic personality traits, driving anger expression, and aberrant driving behaviour via an online survey. State anger was measured immediately before and after the simulator drive. From recorded simulator and video data, we obtained four measures: the number of accidents (simulator), an aggressive driving score (simulator), verbal expression of driving anger (video), and related gestures and headshakes (video). Verbal and gestural expression while driving were related to an increase in state anger in the simulator drive and different self-reported measures: While observed verbal expression was positively related to lapses and negatively related to constructive expression, gestural expression was positively related to both self-reported violations and self-reported aggressive expression. The traits Emotionality and Honesty-Humility were related to an increase in state anger and to verbal expression in the simulator drive, yet, age and gender modified the relation to personality traits. Results can support the development of personalised anger management interventions and anger mitigating in-vehicle devices.

Disentangling stereotypes from social reality: Astrological stereotypes and discrimination in China.

Because stereotypes and social reality are mutually reinforcing, it is often unclear whether a given stereotype has emerged from preexisting social reality, or has shaped social reality over time to resemble the stereotype (e.g., via discrimination). To address this chicken-or-egg problem, we advance an integrative model that captures not only endogenous stereotype formation from social reality, but also exogenous stereotype formation without social reality. When arbitrary social categories are introduced, the cultural meanings of category cues (e.g., semantic category names) can be exogenously projected as stereotypes onto those social categories. To illustrate exogenous stereotype formation, we examined a novel form of stereotyping and discrimination in China based on astrological signs, which were introduced into China from the West. Studies 1a, 1b, and 2 revealed that astrological stereotypes are salient in China (but not in the United States). These stereotypes were likely produced exogenously because of how the signs were translated into Chinese. In particular, Virgos are stereotyped as having disagreeable personalities, likely because of Virgo's Chinese translation as "virgin" (Study 3). This translation-based stereotype led Chinese individuals to discriminate against Virgos in romantic dating (Study 4) and in simulated job recruitment (Studies 5 and 6). Studies 7 and 8 confirmed that astrological stereotypes are inaccurate and astrological discrimination is irrational: Astrological sign predicted neither personality (N = 173,709) nor job performance (N = 32,878). Overall, our research disentangles stereotypes from social reality by providing a real-world demonstration that stereotypes can form without preexisting social reality, yet still produce discrimination that can then shape social reality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

An atlas of personality, emotion and behaviour.

A novel two-dimensional matrix taxonomy, or atlas, of personality, emotion and behaviour is presented. The two dimensions of the atlas, affiliation and dominance, are demonstrated to have theoretical foundations in neurobiology and social psychology. Both dimensions are divided into five ordinal categories, creating a square matrix of 25 cells. A new catalogue of 20,669 English words descriptive of personality, emotion, behaviour, and power is also presented. The catalogue is more comprehensive than previous catalogues, and is novel in its inclusion of intrapersonal, group, and societal behaviours. All words in the catalogue were scored according to the atlas, facilitating visualisation in two dimensions. This enabled a contiguous and novel comparison of existing psychological taxonomies, as well as broader societal concepts such as leadership, ethics, and crime. Using the atlas, a novel psychological test is developed with improved sensitivity and specificity.

Personality traits as an organizing framework for personality pathology.

We review evidence establishing important parallels between the general structure of psychopathology, the more specific structure of personality pathology and the structure of normal-range personality. We then present data to explicate the nature of associations between the alternative model of personality disorder (AMPD)-as operationalized by the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-and the domains and facets subsumed within the five-factor model of personality. Our data demonstrate substantial links between four of the five domains within these models but also indicate that the AMPD could be realigned to enhance its convergence with the five-factor model of personality. Based on our data, we tentatively propose an expanded four-facet model of AMPD Negative Affectivity (Anxiousness, Depressivity, Hostility and Emotional Lability); an alternative bipolar scheme for Detachment that includes two positively keyed (Withdrawal and Anhedonia) and two negatively keyed (Risk Taking and Attention Seeking) facets; a broader five-facet model of Antagonism (Deceitfulness, Manipulativeness, Callousness, Grandiosity and Suspiciousness); and a reduced two-facet model of Disinhibition (Irresponsibility and Impulsivity). These alternative scores generally showed superior convergent and discriminant validity when compared with current measures of the AMPD domains but also raise other issues. Our findings highlight the strong overlap between normal and pathological personality and clarify the nature of the associations between them. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Aberrant personality tendencies and academic success throughout engineering education.

OBJECTIVE: In a longitudinal field study, we investigated the predictive associations between six aberrant personality tendencies (schizotypal, avoidant, borderline, antisocial, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive) and academic success of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics students. METHOD: Bachelor students of Industrial Engineering at a Dutch technical university (N = 432, Mage  = 18.45; 87.3% male) filled out the NEO-PI-R and aberrant tendencies were operationalized by the five-factor model (FFM) compound technique. Indicators of academic achievement (grades) and persistence (credit points earned per year, re-enrollment, study duration) were made available by the academic office. RESULTS: Validities across the 3 years of the study program consistently support the role of two aberrant tendencies: Individuals with high antisocial tendency reached lower academic achievement, took longer to finish their study, and had a higher risk of dropout. The obsessive-compulsive tendency was associated with higher grade-point average, faster study progress, and higher retention rates and effects were still visible while controlling for known predictors (high school grades, Conscientiousness). Contrary to our expectations, we found no evidence for inverted U-shaped relationships. CONCLUSIONS: We used the compound technique for aberrant tendencies based on the FFM in the academic context and our findings support the importance of personality-based psychopathological tendencies for academic success.

Bruno Klopfer Award Address: Five-Factor Model Personality Disorder Scales.

The predominant model of general personality structure is the Five-Factor Model (FFM), consisting of the five broad domains of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. A hypothesis of long-standing interest has been that personality disorders can be understood as extreme or maladaptive variants of the domains and facets of the FFM. The purpose of this article was to discuss the development and validation of FFM personality disorder scales. These scales assess the DSM-5 Section II personality disorders from the perspective of the FFM, as well as maladaptive variants of both poles of all five domains of the FFM.

Predicting trait emotional intelligence from HEXACO personality: Domains, facets, and the general factor of personality.

OBJECTIVE: The current study provides a comprehensive analysis of the overlap between trait emotional intelligence (EI) and personality. This overlap was examined using the HEXACO personality framework at both the domain and the facet levels, and through varying methods of deriving a general factor of personality (GFP). METHOD: A sample of 1,370 Australian adults (51% male, age in years M = 45.5, SD = 11.7, range: 21-71) completed the 200-item HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised and the Modified Assessing Emotions Scale measure of self-reported Trait EI. RESULTS: The strongest domain correlations with Total EI emerged for Extraversion (r = .67) followed by Openness (r = .39), Conscientiousness (r = .35), and Agreeableness (r = .26). Large adjusted multiple correlations were obtained when predicting Total EI from HEXACO domains (.74) and facets (.81). The correlations of the GFP and Total EI ranged from .53 to .64 depending on how the GFP was operationalized. CONCLUSION: Trait EI is largely captured by the HEXACO personality framework, whereby Extraversion or the GFP provides a rough initial approximation, but composites of domains and facets provide progressively better representations.

Linking personality types to depressive symptoms: A prospective typology based on neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness.

From a traditional variable-centered perspective, the personality traits specifically linked to depressive symptoms are neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness (NEC). Few studies have considered the interactive effects of personality traits within individuals from the taxonomic perspective. We explored novel NEC personality subtypes in general and subthreshold depressive subjects by using graph-based classification algorithms and multiple external validators. Personality and depressive symptoms were assessed in 1055 healthy subjects (150 with subthreshold depression) using the NEO-PI-R and BDI at baseline. NEC personality data were used to identify subtypes in healthy and subthreshold depressive samples, and external validators, including current and longitudinal depressive symptoms and seven subcortical gray matter volumes, were examined. Four novel NEC personality types in the general sample showed superior current and longitudinal behavioral validation of depressive symptoms as well as some discrimination in biological indicators (putamen, nucleus accumbens, and amygdala). Four profiles defined in subthreshold depression selectively exhibited meaningful differences in longitudinal depressive symptoms. In both samples, some types adhere to the principles previously described NEC three-way interaction. The resulting typology, especially the four types in the general population, linked depressive symptoms provided a superior description of within-person organization of neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness.

Obtaining and losing the bipolarity of the five-factor model through factor analysis.

The predominant model of general personality structure is arguably the 5-factor model (FFM), consisting of the 5 broad domains of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. A FFM of personality disorder (FFMPD) has proposed maladaptive variants at both poles of the FFM. The purpose of the current study was to identify a subset of FFMPD scales, using factor analysis, that illustrate the bipolarity present in the FFMPD, but equally important, to demonstrate that the presence of bipolarity is impaired by a number of concerns, including the impact of nondiametric scales and the occupation of interstitial space. All of the FFMPD scales were administered to 443 community participants recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Bipolarity was evident in a series of factor analyses of subsets of FFMPD scales, with the exception of openness due to the presence of nondiametric scales. Scales identified in the current study can be used to provide an alternative measure of maladaptive personality structure, particularly if there is an interest in assessing for maladaptive variants at both poles, but an additional point of emphasis in the current study was also the fragility of this bipolar factor structure within factor analytic research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).