Multi-assay approach shows species-associated personality patterns in two socially distinct gerbil species.

We aimed to investigate whether two closely related but socially distinct species of gerbils differ in personality patterns. Using a suit of multivariate repeated assays (docility test, dark-light emergence test, startle test, novel object test, elevated platform test, and stranger test), we assessed contextual and temporal consistency of docility, boldness, exploration, anxiety, and sociability in the solitary midday gerbil, Meriones meridianus, and social Mongolian gerbil, M. unguiculatus. We revealed contextually consistent and highly repeatable sex-independent but species-specific personality traits. Species differed in temporal repeatability of different behaviours, and contextual consistency was more pronounced in solitary M. meridianus than in social M. unguiculatus. This finding contradicts the social niche specialization hypothesis, which suggests that personality traits should be more consistent in more social species. Instead, we hypothesize that social complexity should favour more flexible and less consistent behavioural traits. The habituation effect indicative of learning abilities was weak in both species yet stronger in social M. unguiculatus, supporting the relationship between the sociality level and cognitive skills. In both species, only a few different behavioural traits covaried, and the sets of correlated behaviours were species-specific such that the two species did not share any pair of correlated traits. Between-species differences in personality traits, habituation, and behavioural syndromes may be linked to differences in sociality. The lack of prominent behavioural syndromes is consistent with the idea that context-specific individual behavioural traits might be favoured to allow more flexible and adequate responses to changing environments than syndromes of correlated functionally different behaviours.

Affective super-traits and/or individual patterns: a variable-centered and a person-centered approach of primary emotional aspects of personality.

Theoretical approaches of personality structure are diverse. We examine the primary emotional aspects of personality as the correspondence of two mainstream constructs: the lexically-based Big Five (BIG5) and the biologically-based Affective Neuroscience Theory (ANT) within two approaches. In the variable-centered approach (VCA), our aim is to identify affective super-traits; while in the person-centered approach (PCA) to uncover latent profile patterns. 240 participants (177 women, 63 men) completed the 112-item affective neuroscience personality scales (ANPS), and the 44-item Big Five Inventory (BFI). We identified four super-traits: Negative emotions (FEAR, SADNESS, Emotional instability), Positive emotions and stimulation (SEEK, Extraversion), Affiliation and social bonds (reversed ANGER, CARE, Agreeableness), Self-regulation (PLAY, Conscientiousness. Based on the VCA, we conclude that the four super-traits represent two main affective tendencies (Positive emotions and approaching, Negative emotions and avoidance), interpersonal (Affiliation) and intrapersonal (Self-regulation) dynamics of personality. As a result of Latent Profile Analysis in the PCA, we explored three latent groups with different patterns of primary emotional traits based on their responsiveness (Highly emotional, Balanced, Low emotional). Our findings provide a holistic approach to emotional aspects of personality, and might have further implications for clinical psychology, neuroscience, and cross-cultural studies on emotions.

Life events sometimes alter the trajectory of personality development: Effect sizes for 25 life events estimated using a large, frequently assessed sample.

OBJECTIVE: Personality changes across the life span. Life events, such as marriage, becoming a parent, and retirement, have been proposed as facilitating personality growth via the adoption of novel social roles. However, empirical evidence linking life events with personality development is sparse. Most studies have relied on few assessments separated by long time intervals and have focused on a single life event. In contrast, the content of life is composed of small, recurrent experiences (e.g., getting sick or practicing a hobby), with relatively few major events (e.g., childbirth). Small, frequently experienced life events may play an important and overlooked role in personality development. METHOD: The present study examined the extent to which 25 major and minor life events alter the trajectory of personality development in a large, frequently assessed sample (Nsample = 4904, Nassessments = 47,814, median retest interval = 35 days). RESULTS: Using a flexible analytic strategy to accommodate the repeated occurrence of life events, we found that the trajectory of personality development shifted in response to a single occurrence of some major life events (e.g., divorce), and recurrent, "minor" life experiences (e.g., one's partner doing something special). CONCLUSION: Both stark role changes and frequently reinforced minor experiences can lead to personality change.

Impact of hypomanic personality traits on brain functional connectivity during a dynamic theory-of-mind task.

Hypomanic personality traits are present in the general population and represent a risk factor for developing bipolar disorder. This personality style, notably its social component, is linked to difficulties in theory of mind (i.e., ability to infer mental states). Exploring the neural correlates of mental states' inference in individuals with these personality traits can provide meaningful insights into the development of bipolar disorder. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the potential impact of hypomanic traits on brain activation and task-based connectivity strength during a dynamic theory of mind task in a nonclinical population. A total of 52 nonclinical participants were recruited, and hypomanic traits were assessed with the Hypomanic Personality Scale. The severity of hypomanic traits was positively associated with right middle and inferior frontal gyri activations (in high vs. low inference in nonemotional condition and emotion vs. no emotion in high inference, respectively). It was also associated with stronger connectivity between the salience network (i.e., bilateral putamen and pallidum) and bilateral superior temporal gyri (high inference in nonemotional condition), and between cerebellar and temporal areas (high inference in emotional condition). These changes may either reflect adaptations or differential processing, and further studies are therefore mandatory.

From multimodal features to behavioural inferences: A pipeline to model engagement in human-robot interactions.

Modelling the engaging behaviour of humans using multimodal data collected during human-robot interactions has attracted much research interest. Most methods that have been proposed previously predict engaging behaviour directly from multimodal features, and do not incorporate personality inferences or any theories of interpersonal behaviour in human-human interactions. This work investigates whether personality inferences and attributes from interpersonal theories of behaviour (like attitude and emotion) further augment the modelling of engaging behaviour. We present a novel pipeline to model engaging behaviour that incorporates the Big Five personality traits, the Interpersonal Circumplex (IPC), and the Triandis Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour (TIB). We extract first-person vision and physiological features from the MHHRI dataset and predict the Big Five personality traits using a Support Vector Machine. Subsequently, we empirically validate the advantage of incorporating personality in modelling engaging behaviour and present a novel method that effectively uses the IPC to obtain scores for a human's attitude and emotion from their Big Five traits. Finally, our results demonstrate that attitude and emotion are correlates of behaviour even in human-robot interactions, as suggested by the TIB for human-human interactions. Furthermore, incorporating the IPC and the Big Five traits helps generate behavioural inferences that supplement the engaging behaviour prediction, thus enriching the pipeline. Engagement modelling has a wide range of applications in domains like online learning platforms, assistive robotics, and intelligent conversational agents. Practitioners can also use this work in cognitive modelling and psychology to find more complex and subtle relations between humans' behaviour and personality traits, and discover new dynamics of the human psyche. The code will be made available at: https://github.com/soham-joshi/engagement-prediction-mhhri.

Psychosocial risk factors of technological addictions in a sample of Spanish University students: The influence of Emotional (Dys)Regulation, personality traits and Fear of Missing Out on internet addiction.

Perception of the need to be online can lead to the compulsive use of the Internet. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between Internet Addiction and Social Media Addiction and some psychological variables that could influence the onset of these disorders (FoMO, Emotional Dysregulation, Personality traits). The sample was composed by 598 Spanish university students aged from 18 to 35 (471 women and 118 men; average age = 21.56; standard deviation = 2.73). Participants responded to an online questionnaire regarding the use of Internet (IAT), the use of social media (BSMAS), Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), Emotional (Dys)regulation (DERS) and personality traits (BFI-15). Correlation analysis showed a positive relationship between FoMO, Social Media Addiction, Internet Addiction, Emotional (Dys)regulation and Neuroticism dimension of Big five. Also, we observed a negative relationship between Internet Addiction and Social Media Addiction, Conscientiousness dimension of Big Five, and gender. The tested mediation model highlighted that the total effect of the DERS on the IAT score was significant as well as its indirect effect via the BSMAS and FoMO scores was positive and significant. In conclusion, we proposed a new integrated model for understanding the characteristics, predictors, and risk factors of IA.

Transdiagnostic phenomena of psychopathology in the context of the RDoC: protocol of a multimodal cross-sectional study.

In the past, affective and cognitive processes related to psychopathology have been examined within the boundaries of phenotype-based diagnostic labels, which has led to inconsistent findings regarding their underlying operating principles. Investigating these processes dimensionally in healthy individuals and by means of multiple modalities may provide additional insights into the psychological and neuronal mechanisms at their core. The transdiagnostic phenomena Neuroticism and Rumination are known to be closely linked. However, the exact nature of their relationship remains to be elucidated. The same applies to the associations between Hedonic Capacity, Negativity Bias and different Emotion Regulation strategies.This multimodal cross-sectional study examines the relationship of the transdiagnostic phenomena Neuroticism and Rumination as well as Hedonic Capacity, the Negativity Bias and Emotion Regulation from a RDoC (Research Domain Criteria) perspective. A total of 120 currently healthy subjects (past 12 months) will complete several questionnaires regarding personality, emotion regulation, hedonic capacity, and psychopathologies as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during cognitive and emotional processing, to obtain data on the circuit, behavioral and self-report level.This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between cognitive and affective processes associated with psychopathologies as well as their neuronal correlates. Ultimately, a grounded understanding of these processes could guide improvement of diagnostic labels and treatments. Limitations include the cross-sectional design and the limited variability in psychopathology scores due to the restriction of the sample to currently healthy subjects.

Personality traits and the risk of sensory impairment: Evidence from the National Health and Aging Trends Study.

OBJECTIVE: Sensory impairment has pervasive effects on older individuals' quality of life and health. Although recent research found an association between personality traits and the risk of hearing and vision impairment, data on older adults is limited, and no study has examined dual-sensory impairment. Therefore, the present study examined the prospective relationship between personality traits and risk of hearing, vision, and dual sensory impairment among older adults. METHOD: Participants were older adults aged 67 to 94 years (N = 829) from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS). Personality traits, demographic, clinical (body mass index, diabetes, and high blood pressure), and behavioral (smoking and physical activity) factors were assessed in 2013/2014. Objective measures of hearing and vision were obtained in 2021. RESULTS: Controlling for demographic factors, higher conscientiousness was associated with a lower risk of hearing (OR: 0.81; 95%CI: 0.67-0.97, p = .022), vision (OR: 0.83, 95%CI: 0.71-0.97, p = .022) and dual sensory impairment (OR: 0.70, 95%CI: 0.56-0.86, p < .001). Higher openness (OR: 0.81, 95%CI: 0.68-0.97, p = .023) and neuroticism (OR: 0.74, 95%CI: 0.62-0.88, p < .001) were associated with a lower risk of hearing impairment. Clinical and behavioral covariates partially accounted for these associations. CONCLUSION: Consistent with other age-related health and cognitive outcomes, conscientiousness may be protective against sensory impairment. Surprisingly, neuroticism had a protective effect for hearing, but not vision. The findings provide novel evidence for an association between personality and sensory impairment among older adults.

The impact of sensation seeking personality trait on acute alcohol-induced disinhibition.

BACKGROUND: Acute alcohol-related behavioral disinhibition has been well studied. But whether individual differences in the personality trait sensation seeking affect alcohol-induced behavioral disinhibition remains uncertain. METHODS: The present study used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technique and a response inhibition task (i.e., Go/No-Go) to determine the impact of the sensation seeking trait on the relationship between acute alcohol administration and inhibitory control capacity, and further investigate the neural mechanisms underlying this behavioral effect. Twenty-five high-sensation seekers and twenty-six low-sensation seekers were enrolled in this study. These participants attended two sessions: once for alcohol intake (0.5g/kg) and once for placebo intake (0g/kg). RESULTS: Our results showed that high-sensation seekers relative to low-sensation seekers showed a significant decrease in inhibition accuracy under alcohol versus the placebo condition. Moreover, reduced prefrontal activity following acute alcohol consumption was more pronounced in high-sensation seekers compared with low-sensation seekers. CONCLUSIONS: These findings showed that alcohol-induced behavioral disinhibition was affected by the personality trait sensation seeking and that recruitment of the prefrontal cortex contributed to the observed behavioral effect.

Motor performance in joint action tasks: The impact of dyadic motive fit.

In many daily situations, two or more individuals need to coordinate their actions to achieve a common goal and perform successfully. Past research on joint action has predominantly focused on the question of how such interactions are accomplished. Here we focus on the impact of inter-individual, trait-like differences to predict joint action performance. More specifically, we examined whether performance in a joint action task is moderated by the (in)congruence of individuals' motive dispositions. To this end, 27 dyads performed a joint action task in which they had to navigate a ball through a maze with each partner using a joystick and each being responsible for either moving the ball along the x-axis or the y-axis. As dependent measures, we analyzed dyads' performance (times and errors). As trait-like predictors, we assessed implicit and explicit motives by means of the Picture Story Exercise and the Unified Motive Scale, respectively. Linear regression modeling revealed that congruent explicit affiliation motives predict faster best times and that higher congruent implicit achievement motives are associated with reduced errors. Exploratory Response Surface Analyses yielded identical results for the affiliation motive. These findings provide initial evidence to suggest that interindividual differences and in motives as well as their fit are related to joint action performance. Future directions of this new paradigm and novel ways to analyze dyadic motive fits and their relation to joint action performance are discussed.

Morning affect or sleep inertia? Comparing the constructs and their measurement.

The construct of Morning Affect (MA; alertness upon awakening/time required to feel fully awake) emerged from exploratory factor analysis of morningness-eveningness questionnaires, and while it has been equated with morningness-eveningness preference it has much conceptual overlap with sleep inertia (SI; the transitional state between sleep and being fully awake). The current study compared questionnaire measures of these constructs to help clarify their inter-relationships. A volunteer sample of 453 students at an English-medium university in China completed an online survey including the Sleep Inertia Questionnaire (SIQ), the Morningness-Eveningness-Stability-Scale-improved (MESSi), with subscales for MA, Eveningness, and Distinctness (amplitude of diurnal variation), and the reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ). Measures of depression, sleep quality, mindfulness, and personality were also included. Exploratory factor analysis of the SIQ, MESSi, and rMEQ items revealed seven factors: Cognitive, Emotional, and Physiological SI, Responses to SI (including one MA item), and Duration of SI (one SIQ item, 3/5 MA items, and one rMEQ item); Morningness-Eveningness (MESSi Eveningness items, plus 3/5 rMEQ items); Distinctness (3/5 MESSi items). These results suggest that Morning Affect may be better characterised as a general measure of sleep inertia, and may contribute to ongoing development/refinement of questionnaire measures of circadian functioning.

Optimism and pessimism as predictors of seizure group among patients with intractable seizure disorders.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the Revised Optimism-Pessimism Scale (PSM-R) as a measure of attributional style, and the incremental utility of optimism and pessimism as predictors of seizure group, in an intractable seizure disorder sample. Participants included adult patients with epileptic seizures (ES; n = 151) and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES; n = 173) whose diagnoses were confirmed by prolonged video/EEG monitoring (PVEM). Optimism and pessimism scores were computed from abbreviated versions of the MMPI for all participants. Analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between optimism, pessimism, and MMPI clinical scale scores. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to generate a model for the prediction of seizure group. Results supported the validity of the PSM-R as a measure of attributional style in an intractable seizure disorder sample. Both optimism and pessimism provided significant incremental predictive utility over and above other predictors of seizure group. There are advantages of using the proposed prediction model over other alternative differential diagnostic procedures, including lower cost, greater availability, and increased standardization. Overall, results indicated that attributional style is a clinically relevant index of personality and cognitive response to stress among an intractable seizure disorder sample.

Behavioral regulation relies on interacting forces and predictive models.

OBJECTIVE: We discuss how our recent neural network model of personality and motivation can explain many aspects of the regulation of behavior. METHOD: Contrary to approaches that focus on a goal-corrected, set-point, and discrepancy-reducing mechanism, we argue that many aspects of regulation can be understood in terms of two other mechanisms. First, many aspects of the stability and coherence of personality, as well as the dynamics of personality, can be understood in terms of the interaction of forces within organized motivational systems, and their interaction with features of the environment and interoceptive states, that identify an individual's current needs. This has been described as a settling point or equilibrium of forces model, rather than a set-point architecture. Second, regulation has been shown to depend also on the use of predictive models of the world, either learned or innate. Such models can be thought of as feedforward models, in contrast to the feedback models characteristic of set-point, goal-corrected systems. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We describe a neural network model of these processes that simulates the behavior over time and situations of an individual and shows how important regulatory processes can operate through a process of interactive forces and predictive models of the world.

Gender, Personality, and Cognitive Resilience Against Early-Life Disadvantage.

OBJECTIVES: Early-life disadvantage (ELD) relates to lower late-life cognition. However, personality factors, including having an internal locus of control (LOC) or a conscientious personality, relate to resilience and effective stress coping. We explore whether personality factors convey resilience against the negative effects of ELD on cognition, by gender, in Mexico. METHODS: Using the 2015 Mexican Health and Aging Study, we estimated expected cognition using multiple ELD markers to identify a subsample in the lowest quartile of expected cognition given ELD (n = 2,086). In this subsample, we estimated cross-sectional associations between personality and having above-median observed cognitive ability (n = 522) using logistic regression. RESULTS: Among those in the lowest quartile of expected cognition, a more internal LOC (ß = 0.32 [men] and ß = 0.44 [women]) and conscientious personality (ß = 0.39 [men] and ß = 0.17 [women]) were significantly associated with having above-median cognitive ability in models adjusted for demographic confounders. Larger benefits of conscientiousness were observed for men than women. Associations between personality and having above-median cognitive ability remained statistically significant after further adjustment for health, stress, and cognitive stimulation variables, regardless of gender. DISCUSSION: Personality factors may convey resilience among individuals who experienced ELD, potentially breaking the link between ELD and worse late-life cognition. Structural factors and gender roles may affect how much women benefit from personality factors.

A person-centered approach to resilience and vulnerability in emerging adulthood: Predictions from parenting and personality in adolescence.

In this person-centered study, we identified different profiles of resilience and vulnerability in emerging adulthood in response to previously experienced stressful life events. Additionally, we examined whether mothers' and fathers' parenting and participants' personality traits in adolescence predicted these profiles. Data from the Flemish Study on Parenting, Personality, and Development (N = 346 families) were used. At T1 (2004; Mage = 11 years), T2 (2007), and T3 (2009), mothers and fathers reported on their parenting and their child's personality. At T4 (2018; Mage = 25 years), emerging adults retrospectively self-reported the occurrence and impact of 22 stressful life events and rated current behavior problems and subjective well-being. Latent profile analysis revealed three profiles: Competent (71%; low stress, low behavior problems, high subjective well-being), Vulnerable (21%; average stress, high behavior problems, low subjective well-being), and Resilient (9%; high stress, average behavior problems, average subjective well-being). Emerging adults in the Resilient profile had experienced higher levels of maternal positive parenting and were less emotionally stable and conscientious than those in the Competent profile. Furthermore, emerging adults in the Vulnerable profile were less emotionally stable than their peers in the Competent profile. These findings reveal new insights into the heterogeneous patterns of emerging adults' adaptation following stressful life events.

Personality coherence as a personality dynamics-related concept.

Extant theoretical models of personality coherence/incoherence do not sufficiently address the challenge of explaining personality coherence dynamics and the role of psychological mechanisms, including temperament and attention. To overcome these limitations, the Complex-System Approach to Personality (C-SAP) postulates that personality coherence is a within-person structure that arises from the functional consistency/inconsistency between personality traits/types, underlain by specific attentional and temperament mechanisms that have integrative and regulatory potential. The dominant (reactive, regulative) function of stimulation processing in temperament types is the foundation for assessing personality coherence. This paper presents a revised, fine-grained model of personality coherence-originally arising from the C-SAP-that is enriched by a focus on personality coherence dynamics in relation to behavioral consistency. The methodological principles necessary for studying personality coherence dynamics are outlined in detail. This paper also addresses: (a) research methods for relating personality coherence/incoherence to behavioral consistency/inconsistency, and (b) situational contexts that are important to these personality dynamics. In addition, personality coherence dynamics in relation to the self and character and the impact of the C-SAP assumption that behaviors are more stable than traits/types on the relation between personality coherence and behavioral consistency are discussed.

The Predictive Validity of Consensual and Unique Facets of Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness in Five Personality Inventories.

Consensual facet structures help to unify a highly fractured personality literature, but mask information obtained from unique personality facets assessed by individual personality inventories. The current study identifies the consensual and unique facets of neuroticism, conscientiousness, and agreeableness based on analyses of five widely used personality inventories (Disinhibition Inventory-I [DIS-I], Faceted Inventory for the Five-Factor model [FI-FFM], HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised [HEXACO-PI-R], NEO Personality Inventory-3 [NEO-PI-3], and Temperament and Affectivity Inventory [TAI]) in a community sample (N = 440). Factor analyses revealed that neuroticism consisted of three consensual facets (distress/depression, anger, and sentimental anxiety) and four unique facets (shyness, regret/self-doubt, lassitude, and distractibility); conscientiousness consisted solely of four consensual facets (achievement striving, order, attentiveness, and responsibility); and agreeableness consisted solely of four consensual facets (prosociality, anger, venturesomeness, and trust). Regression analyses indicated that unique neuroticism facets predicted significant incremental variance across a range of psychological disorders. These results have significant implications for how neuroticism, conscientiousness, and agreeableness should be modeled at the lower order level in psychopathology research.

The personality meta-trait of stability and carotid artery atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Several personality traits increase the risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Because many of these traits are correlated, their associations with disease risk could reflect shared variance, rather than unique contributions of each trait. We examined a higher-order personality trait of Stability as related to preclinical atherosclerosis and tested whether any such relationship might be explained by correlated variation in cardiometabolic risk factors. METHOD: Among 798 community volunteers, lower-order traits of Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were modeled as latent variables (from self- and informant ratings) and used to estimate the second-order factor, Stability. Cardiometabolic risk was similarly modeled from indicators of glycemic control, blood pressure, adiposity, and lipids. Carotid artery atherosclerosis was measured as intima-media thickness (IMT) by duplex ultrasonography. RESULT: A structural equation model incorporating direct and indirect effects showed lower Stability associated with greater IMT, and this relationship was accounted for by the indirect pathway via cardiometabolic risk. Secondary analyses showed that: (1) Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were unrelated to IMT independent of Stability; and (2) Stability predicted variation in IMT when estimated from informant-, but not self-rated, traits. CONCLUSION: Personality traits may associate with atherosclerotic burden through their shared, rather than unique, variance, as reflected in Stability.

Rethinking aversive personality: Decomposing the Dark Triad traits into their common core and unique flavors.

OBJECTIVE: To explain and predict unethical behavior, much attention has been devoted to the "Dark Triad of Personality", a set of three socially aversive personality traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Despite its popularity, research on the Dark Triad has been beset by recurring concerns surrounding the distinctiveness of its components. Herein, we propose an alternative theoretical view that conceptualizes the Dark Triad traits as specific manifestations of the common core of aversive traits (conceptualized as the Dark Factor of Personality, D) flavored by unique, essentially non-aversive characteristics. METHOD: In two studies (total N > 1000), we test this idea by examining the conceptual and empirical overlap and specificity of the Dark Triad traits vis-à-vis D and each other. RESULTS: Findings support the conceptualization of the Dark Triad traits as flavored manifestations of D and also reveal a marked discrepancy between the current conceptualization of the Dark Triad traits and the empirical structure of its subdimensions. In fact, evidence clearly failed to support the existence of a triad of traits. CONCLUSION: Conceptualizing single aversive traits as a conjunction of core D aspects and essentially non-aversive characteristics (admiration; disinhibition vs. planfulness; vulnerability vs. boldness) holds promise to move the field forward.

A closer look at the domain-specific associations of openness with language achievement: Evidence on the role of intrinsic value from two large-scale longitudinal studies.

BACKGROUND: Many empirical investigations focus on how personality traits and academic motivation are related to academic achievement. Regarding the personality traits described in the five-factor model, prior research has shown associations between openness to experience and language achievement in particular. Following the principle of trait activation, associations with intrinsic value can explain these domain-specific relationships of openness with achievement. AIMS: This study investigated whether intrinsic value mediates the associations of openness to experience with language achievement to understand these associations more closely. Based on the principle of trait activation, we combined openness to experience with intrinsic value as a motivational construct more proximal to behaviour. SAMPLES: We capitalized on two large-scale longitudinal data sets (N = 1994; M = 16.8 years; 51% female; and N = 2722; M = 17.34 years; 58% female) of German-speaking students in upper secondary education with two points of measurement, respectively. METHODS: We assessed achievement using report card grades and standardized test scores, capturing three language subskills: reading and listening, measured by standardized tests, and writing competencies, measured by essay assignments. We conducted mediation analysis using bootstrapped confidence intervals and robust standard errors to account for dependencies in the data due to students clustered within classrooms. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our results show that intrinsic value mediated the relationship between openness and achievement in English as a foreign language. The results remained stable when controlling for prior achievement, predicting achievement gains. Our investigation provides empirical insights into the manifestations of personality in academic contexts. We discuss the limitations of our approach, with a focus on the use of a mediation analysis in this research design.