Personality Psychology

Engineering love

by Brian Earp

Savulescu, J. and Sandberg, A. (2012). Love machine: Engineering lifelong romance. New Scientist, 2864, 28-29.

Essay partially adapted from Earp, B. D., Sandberg, A., and Savulescu, J. (2012). Natural selection, childrearing, and the ethics of marriage (and divorce): Building a case for the neuroenhancement of human relationships. Philosophy & Technology, forthcoming [see "profile" box in article].

Available at the New Scientist website: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428646.200-love-machine-engineering-lifelong-romance.html

New Scientist BIG IDEA section, May 2012.

With break-up and divorce a major part of modern life, it looks... more New Scientist BIG IDEA section, May 2012.

With break-up and divorce a major part of modern life, it looks like we may be outliving our inborn capacity to love. But there could be a way to outwit evolution and make love last.

Also available at New Scientist: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428646.200-love-machine-engineering-lifelong-romance.html.

Is the creative person tough-minded, curious or kind?

by Simon Boag

Milton, A., Saab, P., Wilson, P., & Boag, S. (2008). Is the creative person tough-minded, curious or kind? In S. Boag (Ed.), Personality Down Under: Perspectives from Australia (283-291). New York: Nova Science publishers.

Eysenck (1993) proposes that creativity correlates with the personality construct of Psychoticism (P) in populations... more Eysenck (1993) proposes that creativity correlates with the personality construct of Psychoticism (P) in populations with high intelligence. However, this theory has only, at best, received mixed support, and recently Reuter et al. (2005) found that a biologically-based construct (SEEK), related to curiosity and problem solving, was instead related to creativity rather the P. The present study explored the relationship between personality and creativity further by using a multifaceted assessment approach to creativity, which included a self-report creativity instrument, a convergent thinking measure, and figural and verbal divergent thinking measures, across a population of 75 ‘non-artistic’ degree university students (Non-Art) and 26 College of Fine Arts students (Art). No evidence for Eysenck’s (1993) psychoticism-creativity link was found when comparing the groups, whereas the SEEK construct correlated with self-reported creativity. Of particular interest were the findings for participants without English as their first language, where the SEEK construct positively correlated with both divergent thinking and self-reported creativity. Additionally, a personality construct related to ‘caring’ was unexpectedly the strongest correlate of creativity. Implications of these findings are discussed.

The role of Emotional Stability in Twitter Conversations

by Fabio Celli

Celli, F., Rossi, L. (2012) The role of Emotional Stability in Twitter Conversations. In Proceedings of Workshop on Semantic Analysis in Social Media, in conjunction with EACL 2012, Avignon.

On Erich Fromm: why he left the Frankfurt school

by Caroline Kamau

Kamau, C. (2012).

Chapter synopsis: 'On Erich Fromm: Why he left the Frankfurt School':

-Biography: Erich Fromm
-Erich... more Chapter synopsis: 'On Erich Fromm: Why he left the Frankfurt School':

-Biography: Erich Fromm
-Erich Fromm was very critical of Freudian psychoanalysis. The Frankfurt School disapproved of that.
-Tension arose between Fromm and Horkheimer/Adorno/Marcuse and other pro-Freudian contemporaries
-Erich Fromm had reservations about the Frankfurt School's desire to merge psychoanalysis with Marxist theory
-Controversy arose over the Frankfurt School's decision not to publish a manuscript that Fromm wrote, with Weiss. This was a report of their landmark authoritarian personality study of 1931. The topic and methodology shaped the Frankfurt School's later research into authoritarianism (e.g. Adorno et al.'s famous studies).

This chapter also discusses Erich Fromm's work post-Frankfurt School:
--Fromm on social neurosis
--Fromm on thoughts as a form of self-presentation or impression management
--Fromm's theoretical focus on self identity, rather than instincts
--Fromm's theory about personality traits
--Fromm on empiricism and psychology versus psychoanalysis

Does psychology really need another personality textbook?

by Simon Boag

Boag, S. (2009). Does psychology really need another personality textbook? [Review of the book Personality theories: Critical perspectives]. PsycCRITIQUES-Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, 54 (41).

Horváth K., Martos J., Mihalik B., Bódizs R. (2011) Is the social brain theory applicable to human individual differences? Relationship between Sociability personality dimension and brain size. Evolutionary Psychology, 9(2): 244-256

by Klára Horváth

The role of conceptual analysis in personality research

by Simon Boag

Boag, S. (2011). The role of conceptual analysis in personality research. In S. Boag & N. Tiliopoulos (Eds.), Personality and Individual Differences: Theory, Assessment and Application (pp. 321-330) . New York: Nova.

The proliferation of personality and individual differences constructs is testament to the vibrancy of research in... more The proliferation of personality and individual differences constructs is testament to the vibrancy of research in this field. Furthermore, all such constructs would make some claim to receiving empirical support. However, while additional empirical research will help further determine the merit of these conceptions, this paper proposes that conceptual analysis is another tool available to researchers to help critically evaluate our constructs of interest. Conceptual analysis involves assessing both the clarity and coherency of our constructs as well as examining the relations between them. A useful direction here is scrutinising constructs in terms of intrinsic properties (what something is ) and relations (what something does ) to help both clarify and evaluate the coherency of these constructs, as well as build bridges between apparently disparate concepts. Given the perceived need for unification in psychology, conceptual analysis provides yet another tool for assessing the relationship of constructs to one another and contributing to a coherent account of ‘persons'. While conceptual analysis may appear to be too ‘philosophical' to some, it is none other than our critical thinking skills in action. Implications for personality psychology are discussed.

Description and explanation within personality psychology research

by Simon Boag

Boag, S. (2010). Description and explanation within personality psychology research. In R. E. Hicks (Ed.), Personality and Individual Differences: Current Directions (pp. 21-29). Bowen Hills, QLD: Australian Academic Press.

Personality psychology generally involves both describing personality factors and explaining how such factors arise... more Personality psychology generally involves both describing personality factors and explaining how such factors arise and go on to influence other things. However, since there are various meanings of the term ‘personality', and the causal role of personality is often ambiguous, there are numerous theoretical and practical problems involved in both of these pursuits. This paper proposes a theoretical framework for clarifying both the descriptive and explanatory tasks within personality psychology. The work of description is discussed here in terms of classifying personality factors in terms of intrinsic properties and relationships. The importance of causal antecedents and mechanisms for explanation in personality psychology is then addressed, and problems with teleology and constitutive relations identified. The ‘self' is used to illustrate problems in both personality description and explanation and suggestions for avoiding potential theoretical and conceptual problems within personality research are discussed.

A brief history of personality and individual differences research in Australia

by Simon Boag

Boag, S. (2008). A brief history of personality and individual differences research in Australia. In S. Boag (Ed.), Personality Down Under: Perspectives from Australia (pp. 7-20). New York: Nova.

While there are various accounts describing the development of Australian psychology generally there exists at present... more While there are various accounts describing the development of Australian psychology generally there exists at present no account of the development of personality and individual differences research within Australia specifically. This paper provides an overview of the development of personality and individual differences research within Australia through examining the research interests of the pioneers of Australian psychology. This reveals that Australian psychology from the beginning was, both in theory and practice, chiefly a psychology of personality and individual differences. This chapter highlights key theoretical directions in Australian personality research, as well as noting practical applications of personality and individual differences research to clinical psychology, education and industry. The early contributions from the pioneers of Australian psychology to this field are highlighted, and their impact on later developments within personality and individual differences research discussed.

Explanation in personality psychology: ‘verbal magic' & the Five-Factor Model

by Simon Boag

Boag, S. (2011). Explanation in personality psychology: ‘verbal magic' & the Five-Factor Model. Philosophical Psychology, 24 (2), 223-243.

Scientific psychology involves both identifying and classifying phenomena of interest (description) and revealing the... more Scientific psychology involves both identifying and classifying phenomena of interest (description) and revealing the causes and mechanisms that contribute towards these phenomena arising (explanation). Within personality psychology, some propose that aspects of behaviour and cognition can be explained with reference to personality traits. However, certain conceptual and logical issues cast doubt upon the satisfactoriness of traits as coherent explanatory constructs. This paper discusses ‘explanation' in psychology and the problems of circularity and reification. An analysis of relations and intrinsic properties is then developed to address the logical requirements necessary for circumventing these problems. An examination of McCrae and Costa's defense of traits as explanatory constructs, in terms of ‘tendencies' and ‘dispositions', highlights logical issues that prevent traits, so defined, from explaining trait-like behaviours and cognitions. The logical requirements for a coherent trait explanatory account are outlined and possible explanatory directions in trait-approaches are discussed. The ongoing tendency towards fallacious reasoning in psychology and suggestions for preventing this are further examined.

Learning styles, personality types, and reading comprehension performance

by Faiz Sathi Abdullah

Co-published with Nabi Sadeghi. Zalina Kasim and Tan Bee Hoon (2012).

This study aims at reviewing the relationship between learning styles, personality and reading comprehension... more This study aims at reviewing the relationship between learning styles, personality and reading comprehension performance. Over the last two decades, ample studies have been done to examine the relationship between learning styles, learner’s personality and performance in academic settings. The reviewed studies substantiate that there is a relationship between personality types and/or traits of the learners, the way they establish their learning styles and their academic success in school and university both at an undergraduate and postgraduate level. Therefore, learners depending on the type of their personality resort to different learning styles or preferences which-in turn- affect their learning performance. However, there are no studies – either theoretical or empirical – examining exclusively the role of personality and learning styles on reading comprehension performance. Moreover, the findings with regard to the bulk of research on the relationship between personality and success in reading comprehension- are not that congruent. Accordingly, due to the scarcity of the research on showing the
relationship between personality, learning styles and chievement in reading comprehension, and also incongruity of the research results on personality and reading comprehension performance - the current study proposes that further research on the above areas would seem imperative.

Coolness: An Empirical Investigation

by Ilan Dar-Nimrod

Dar-Nimrod, I., Hansen, I. G., Proulx, T., Lehman, D. R., Chapman, B. P., & Duberstein, P. R. (in press). Coolness: An Empirical Investigation. Journal of Individual Differences.

Some people are routinely described as “cool” but it is unknown whether this descriptor conveys trait-like information... more Some people are routinely described as “cool” but it is unknown whether this descriptor conveys trait-like information beyond mere likeability or popularity. This is the first systematic quantitative investigation of coolness from a trait perspective. Three studies of North Americans (N = 918) converged to identify personality markers for coolness. Study 1 participants described coolness largely by referring to socially desirable attributes (e.g., social, popular, talented). Study 2 provided further evidence of the relationship between coolness and social desirability, yet also identified systematic discrepancies between valuations of coolness and social desirability. Factor analyses (Studies 2 and 3) indicated that coolness was primarily conceptualized in terms of active, status-promoting, socially desirable characteristics (“Cachet coolness”), though a second orthogonal factor (“Contrarian coolness”) portrayed cool as rebellious, rough, and emotionally controlled. Study 3, which examined peer valuations of coolness, showed considerable overlap with abstract evaluations of the construct. We conclude that coolness is reducible to two conceptually coherent and distinct personality orientations: one outward focused and attuned to external valuations, and the other more independent, rebellious, and countercultural. These results have implications for both basic and applied research and theory in personality and social psychology.

Personality traits and perceived social support among depressed older adults

by Alexis Franzese

Soto Luhmann_Who can buy happiness? Personality Traits Moderate the Effects of Stable Income Differences and Income Fluctuations on Life Satisfaction

by Maike Luhmann

2012, Advanced online publication, Social Psychological and Personality Science

Authors:
Christopher J. Soto & Maike Luhmann

The present research tested whether the Big Five personality dimensions—Extraversion, Agreeableness,... more The present research tested whether the Big Five personality dimensions—Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience—moderate the effects of income on life satisfaction. We analyzed data from three large-sample, nationally representative, longitudinal studies: the British Household Panel Survey, the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, and the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. Neuroticism consistently moderated the effects of both stable between-person income differences and within-person income fluctuations on life satisfaction. Specifically, income predicted satisfaction more strongly for highly neurotic individuals than for their emotionally stable peers. These findings illustrate that the effects of life circumstances on subjective well-being can vary considerably across individuals, depending on their basic personality traits.

Sexual Orientation and Psychiatric Vulnerability: A Twin Study of Neuroticism and Psychoticism

by Brendan Zietsch

Predicting sensation seeking from dopamine genes: Use and misuse of genetic prediction

by Brendan Zietsch

critique of mind//intentionality

by stanley wilkin

investigative article. Published widely.

Does observation of intentionality prove the mind's existence Does observation of intentionality prove the mind's existence

Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire: Psychometric properties in a sample of the general population

by Anna Muro

Morningness-Eveningness, Sex, and the Alternative Five Factor Model of Personality

by Anna Muro

Personality, self-estimated intelligence, and uses of music: A Spanish replication and extension using structural equation modeling

by Anna Muro