Further specification of the five robust factors of personality.

Factor analysis of teacher ratings of 499 6th graders on 43 adjectives (e.g., curious, fearful) supported a 5-factor model of personality trait information. The factors are interpreted as reflecting introversion–extraversion, conscience-governed concern for others, will, anxiety, and intellect. A weak 6th factor related to creativity was also observed. Findings are discussed in relation to the existence of additional factors, the possibility that the correlations reflect the language used by raters rather than behavioral traits, and the potential utility of the ratings. The relation of the 5 robust factors to theories of interpersonal relations, H. J. Eysenck's (1953) 3-factor model, R. B. Catell's (1947) multiple-factor system, and studies of the semantic meaning of personality terms is also considered. (65 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reification, "faking," and the Big Five.

Comments on L. R. Goldberg's (see record 1993-17546-001) account of the struggle to identify the structure of personality traits through factor analysis, and the problems of "faking" and reification associated with assessment of the Big Five traits. It is suggested that the Big Five proponents confront the problem of reification and take into account claims of the constructionist conception of personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Gender characteristics and adjustment: A longitudinal study": Addendum.

Reports an error in "Gender characteristics and adjustment: A longitudinal study" by Jennifer Aubé and Richard Koestner (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1992[Sep], Vol 63[3], 485-493). The authors would like to acknowledge that the age 41 longitudinal data used in their study were collected by David McClelland, Carol Franz, Joel Weinberger, Richard Koestner, and Joseph Healy. This data collection was supported by a grant from the Seaver Institute. The data are currently being archived at the Henry Murray Research Center of Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Massachusetts. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1993-01033-001.) Used a prospective longitudinal design to investigate the long-term developmental implications of gender-related interests and traits. Archival data were available for Ss in the R. R. Sears et al (1957) study. Men, who at age 12 yrs endorsed interests and undesirable traits more typically associated with women, had poorer social–personal adjustment at ages 31 and 41 yrs. No effects were found for women. Feminine expressive traits at age 31 yrs did not impact on 41-yr-old adjustment for either men or women, whereas masculine instrumental traits were positively related for both. These findings support a multidimensional view of gender and indicate that harsher consequences follow when adolescent boys endorse nontraditional gender-related interests and undesirable traits than when girls do so. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

'The structure of phenotypic personality traits": Author's reactions to the six comments.

L. R. Goldberg replies to the comments by R. O. Kroger and L. A. Wood (see record 1994-17497-001), S. Guastello (see record 1994-17488-001), D. R. Comer (see record 1994-17481-001), H. J. Eysenck (see record 1994-17486-001), W. D. Shadel and D. Cervone (see record 1994-17520-001), and H. E. Cattell (see record 1994-17479-001) on Goldberg's (PA, Vol 80:17546) article on the Big Five personality traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The structure of phenoytypic personality traits": Comment.

Comments on L. R. Goldberg's (see record 1993-17546-001) account of the Big Five taxonomy as scientific taxonomy of personality traits. It is argued that the Big Five taxonomy lacks the essential features of scientific theory; there is little concern with personality theory, with making testable deductions, and with demonstrating that the personality factors fit in with the results obtained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integration versus differentiation of fluid/crytallized intelligence in old age.

Used an intra-age simulation approach to evaluate several models of psychometric intelligence differing primarily along the developmental continuum of differentiation–integration for older adults. 109 adults (aged 60–89 yrs) were administered a battery of 17 ability tests selected to mark R. B. Catell's (1971) and J. L. Horn's (1970, 1978) fluid (Gf) and crystallized intelligence (Gc) and speed dimensions. Using the Gf/Gc model of intelligence and intermediate outcomes as guidelines, structural models with between 7 and 1 factors were successively evaluated by confirmatory factor analysis. Three main findings emerged. First, models with fewer factors provided better fits to the data. Second, a model with a general factor and 3 group factors was especially acceptable based on empirical and theoretical criteria. Third, it was not possible to obtain an acceptable solution for the older Ss that would directly parallel the Gf/Gc structural pattern of 1st-stratum factors reported for younger age groups. In concert, the findings support a neointegration, or dedifferentiation, view of psychometric intelligence in old age. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality traits change in adulthood: Reply to Costa and McCrae (2006).

In a response to comments by P. T. Costa, Jr., and R. R. McCrae (see record 2006-00818-002) on the current authors' original article (see record 2006-00818-001), 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. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How leaders really emerge.

Comments on the article by R. J. Hackman and R. Wageman (see record 2006-23492-007) which offered several research questions that should be productive for furthering leadership research. This comment summarizes some recent progress on one of those questions, "Not what are the traits of leaders, but how do leaders' personal attributes interact with situational properties to shape outcomes?" (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Substance and artifact in the higher-order factors of the Big Five": Correction to McCrae et al. (2008).

Reports an error in "Substance and artifact in the higher-order factors of the Big Five" by Robert R. McCrae, Shinji Yamagata, Kerry L. Jang, Rainer Riemann, Juko Ando, Yutaka Ono, Alois Angleitner and Frank M. Spinath (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2008[Aug], Vol 95[2], 442-455). In this article, an incorrect DOI was published. The correct DOI for this article is 10.1037/0022-3514.95.2.442. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2008-09787-013.) J. M. Digman (1997) proposed that the Big Five personality traits showed a higher-order structure with 2 factors he labeled α and β. These factors have been alternatively interpreted as heritable components of personality or as artifacts of evaluative bias. Using structural equation modeling, the authors reanalyzed data from a cross-national twin study and from American cross-observer studies and analyzed new multimethod data from a German twin study. In all analyses, artifact models outperformed substance models by root-mean-square error of approximation criteria, but models combining both artifact and substance were slightly better. These findings suggest that the search for the biological basis of personality traits may be more profitably focused on the 5 factors themselves and their specific facets, especially in monomethod studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender characteristics and adjustment: A longitudinal study.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 64(1) of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (see record 2010-03552-001). The authors would like to acknowledge that the age 41 longitudinal data used in their study were collected by David McClelland, Carol Franz, Joel Weinberger, Richard Koestner, and Joseph Healy. This data collection was supported by a grant from the Seaver Institute. The data are currently being archived at the Henry Murray Research Center of Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Massachusetts.] Used a prospective longitudinal design to investigate the long-term developmental implications of gender-related interests and traits. Archival data were available for Ss in the R. R. Sears et al (1957) study. Men, who at age 12 yrs endorsed interests and undesirable traits more typically associated with women, had poorer social–personal adjustment at ages 31 and 41 yrs. No effects were found for women. Feminine expressive traits at age 31 yrs did not impact on 41-yr-old adjustment for either men or women, whereas masculine instrumental traits were positively related for both. These findings support a multidimensional view of gender and indicate that harsher consequences follow when adolescent boys endorse nontraditional gender-related interests and undesirable traits than when girls do so. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analysis of the relation between personality traits and leadership perceptions: An application of validity generalization procedures.

Reexamines, via meta-analysis, the relation between personality traits and leadership perceptions or extent of leader emergence, arguing that prior research on trait theories and leadership has been misinterpreted as applying to a leader's effect on performance when it actually pertains to the relation of leadership traits to leadership emergence. Further, based on current theories of social perceptions, several traits were expected to be strongly related to leadership perceptions. The meta-analytic technique of validity generalization was used with the 15 articles identified by R. D. Mann (see record 1960-04194-001) as investigating the relationship between personality traits and leadership. These studies were then pooled with 9 subsequent studies in an additional set of meta-analyses. Results support the expectation in that intelligence, masculinity–femininity, and dominance were significantly related to leadership perceptions. Findings show that variability across studies in the relation of these traits to leadership perceptions could be explained largely by methodological factors, indicating that contingency theories of leadership perceptions may not be needed. Both of these results contrast with the conclusions of earlier nonquantitative literature reviews on traits and leadership perceptions and with conventional thinking in the leadership area. (62 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sociopolitical effects on personality research.

Comments on L. R. Goldberg's (see record 1993-17546-001) history of the Big Five framework of personality traits and elaborated on its use. The reasons why industrial/organizational psychologists de-emphaszied the impact of personality on the job peformance in the late 1960s and 1970s and re-emphasized it in the 1980s are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence for extending the circumplex model of personality trait language to self-reported moods.

Examined the extent to which the circumplexes generated by behavioral measures would agree with H. R. Conte and R. Plutchik's (see record 1982-05700-001) circumplex of semantic ratings. Conte and Plutchik hypothesized that the order and spacing of personality traits on the circle define their structure rather than underlie certain dimensions. 140 undergraduates rated 33 adjectives (17 from the Conte and Plutchik circumplex) according to how they described their mood. The ratings were done twice a day for 15 consecutive days. The self-ratings formed a circumplex that closely agreed with Conte and Plutchik's circumplex of personality traits. The order of items generated by self-ratings following a here-and-now instruction set scarcely differed from that of a circumplex representing the same ratings averaged over a 2-wk period. The configuration became more elliptical in a progression from the statelike measures (here-and-now ratings) to pure trait measures (averages), but measurement bias was the most probable cause of the distortion. Allowing for the limitations of small samples of items and raters, the findings show that the circumplex model represents a valid theoretical construct and does not arise from measurement error or from an illusory implicit personality theory. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A closer look at Galbraith's "closer look."

Responds to comments by R. C. Galbraith (see record 1982-11821-001) on the mathematical properties and empirical basis of R. B. Zajonc and G. B. Markus's (see record 1975-09290-001) confluence model of sibling spacing and intellectual development. The present authors contest Galbraith's critique of the model's internal consistency and predictive validity, and state that if Galbraith's data on Mormon college students are analyzed properly, they may shed light on within- and between-families factors affecting intellectual development. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disentangling the Underlying Dimensions of Psychopathy and Conduct Problems in Childhood: A Community Study.

The psychometric and predictive validity of callous-unemotional (CU) traits as an early precursor of conduct disorder and antisocial behavior were assessed. A community sample of children (4-9 years of age) were tested 12 months apart with the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD; P. J. Frick & R. D. Hare, 2002), a measure of early signs of psychopathy in children. Factor analysis supported the structure of the APSD. Given controversy surrounding construct overlap between psychopathy and conduct problems, a factor analysis was conducted on pooled items from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and APSD. A 5-factor solution resulted: antisocial, hyperactivity, CU traits, anxiety, and peer problems. CU traits added small but significant improvements in the 12-month prediction of antisocial behavior for boys and older girls, after controlling for Time 1 measures. These results indicate that although the dimensions of the APSD overlap with dimensions of the disruptive behavior disorders, CU traits have unique predictive validity in childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On "Sir Cyril Burt in perspective."

Responds to A. R. Jensen's (see record 1979-12278-001) criticism of M. McAskie's (see record 1979-12282-001) article on the interpretation of C. Burt's kinship data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of automatism of social judgments.

Two studies, with 28 Ss, examined the development and correlates of automatic processing. Ss judged the suitability for a given occupation of a stimulus person described by traits or performed a similar stereotyped judgment task. Results show that automatism developed relatively rapidly (within a few dozen trials) and required repeated execution of the same process, not necessarily with the same content. Increases in processing efficiency, the ability to transfer the increased efficiency to new information content, and memory storage were related to automatism of a process developed through practice. A tentative theoretical account is presented that relates these results to others in social cognition and cognitive psychology, particularly those reported by J. R. Anderson (1983) on the architecture of cognition and by E. R. Smith (see record 1984-28664-001) on social inference processes. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on "The case of William McDougall."

Agrees that R. A. Jones's (see record 1988-03145-001) account of W. McDougall's decline and fall in the field of psychology in terms of the elaboration-likelihood model of R. E. Petty and J. T. Caciappo (1986) is plausible. However, McDougall's negative image surely had more important sources than the mass media. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

More or less "me" in past, present, and future: Perceived lifetime personality during adulthood.

This article examines whether adults perceive different levels of their own personality traits at different target ages, and what the differences are. Using abbreviated versions of assessments of the 5-factor model of personality (NEO-FFI, P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1989) and of well-being (C. D. Ryff, 1989), 398 heterogeneous participants (age 26–64) described their own personality (a) in the present, (b) when they were 20–25 years old, (c) when they will be 65–70 years old, and (d) in the ideal. Participants' responses across the 3 target ages indicated moderate change across adulthood and more variability than is typically observed in longitudinal studies of adult personality development. Anticipated late adulthood personality contained more losses than gains, although all target ages showed some gains. Participants' perceptions were characterized by early adulthood exploration, middle adulthood productivity, and later adulthood comfortableness. Additionally, older adults reported slightly lower ideals but in other ways responded very similarly to younger and middle-aged adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)