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Abstract: The authors argue that a new six-dimensional framework for personality structure--the HEXACO model--constitutes a viable alternative to the well-known Big Five or five-factor model. The new model is consistent with the cross-culturally replicated finding of a common six-dimensional structure containing the factors Honesty-Humility (H), Emotionality (E), eExtraversion (X), Agreeableness (A), Conscientiousness (C), and Openness to Experience (O). Also, the HEXACO model predicts several personality phenomena that are not explained within the B5/FFM, including the relations of personality factors with theoretical biologists' constructs of reciprocal and kin altruism and the patterns of sex differences in personality traits. In addition, the HEXACO model accommodates several personality variables that are poorly assimilated within the B5/FFM.

Abstract: Personality may directly facilitate or constrain coping, but relations of personality to coping have been inconsistent across studies, suggesting a need for greater attention to methods and samples. This meta-analysis tested moderators of relations between Big Five personality traits and coping using 2,653 effect sizes drawn from 165 samples and 33,094 participants. Personality was weakly related to broad coping (e.g., Engagement or Disengagement), but all 5 traits predicted specific strategies. Extraversion and Conscientiousness predicted more problem-solving and cognitive restructuring, Neuroticism less. Neuroticism predicted problematic strategies like wishful thinking, withdrawal, and emotion-focused coping but, like Extraversion, also predicted support seeking. Personality more strongly predicted coping in young samples, stressed samples, and samples reporting dispositional rather than situation-specific coping. Daily versus retrospective coping reports and self-selected versus researcher-selected stressors also moderated relations between personality and coping. Cross-cultural differences were present, and ethnically diverse samples showed more protective effects of personality. Richer understanding of the role of personality in the coping process requires assessment of personality facets and specific coping strategies, use of laboratory and daily report studies, and multivariate analyses.

Abstract: The Big Five Inventory (BFI) is a self-report measure designed to assess the high-order personality traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. As part of the International Sexuality Description Project, the BFI was translated from English into 28 languages and administered to 17,837 individuals from 56 nations. The resulting cross-cultural data set was used to address three main questions: Does the factor structure of the English BFI fully replicate across cultures? How valid are the BFI trait profiles of individual nations? And how are personality traits distributed throughout the world? The five-dimensional structure was robust across major regions of the world. Trait levels were related in predictable ways to self-esteem, sociosexuality, and national personality profiles. People from the geographic regions of South America and East Asia were significantly different in openness from those inhabiting other world regions. The discussion focuses on limitations of t...

Abstract: This research program explored links among prosocial motives, empathy, and helping behavior. Preliminary work found significant relations among components of self-reported empathy and personality (N = 223). In Study 1, the authors examined the generality of prosocial behavior across situations and group memberships of victims (N = 622). In Study 2, empathic focus and the victim's outgroup status were experimentally manipulated (N = 87). Study 3 (N = 245) replicated and extended Study 2 by collecting measures of prosocial emotions before helping. In Study 4 (N = 244), empathic focus and cost of helping as predictors of helping behavior were experimentally manipulated. Overall, prosocial motivation is linked to (a) Agreeableness as a dimension of personality, (b) proximal prosocial cognition and motives, and (c) helping behavior across a range of situations and victims. In persons low in prosocial motivation, when costs of helping are high, efforts to induce empathy situationally can undermine prosocial behavior.

Abstract: Personality constructs have been demonstrated to be useful for explaining and predicting attitudes, behaviors, performance, and outcomes in organizational settings. Many professionally developed measures of personality constructs display useful levels of criterion-related validity for job performance and its facets. In this response to Morgeson et al. (2007), we comprehensively summarize previously published meta-analyses on (a) the optimal and unit-weighted multiple correlations between the Big Five personality dimensions and behaviors in organizations, including job performance; (b) generalizable bivariate relationships of Conscientiousness and its facets (e.g., achievement orientation, dependability, cautiousness) with job performance constructs; (c) the validity of compound personality measures; and (d) the incremental validity of personality measures over cognitive ability. Hundreds of primary studies and dozens of meta-analyses conducted and published since the mid 1980s indicate strong support for using personality measures in staffing decisions. Moreover, there is little evidence that response distortion among job applicants ruins the psychometric properties, including criterion-related validity, of personality measures. We also provide a brief evaluation of the merits of alternatives that have been offered in place of traditional self-report personality measures for organizational decision making. Given the cumulative data, writing off the whole domain of individual differences in personality or all self-report measures of personality from personnel selection and organizational decision making is counterproductive for the science and practice of I-O psychology.

Abstract: This field study examines the joint effects of social exchange relationships at work (leader-member exchange and team-member exchange) and employee personality (conscientiousness and agreeableness) in predicting task performance and citizenship performance. Consistent with trait activation theory, matched data on 230 employees, their coworkers, and their supervisors demonstrated interactions in which high quality social exchange relationships weakened the positive relationships between personality and performance. Results demonstrate the benefits of consonant predictions in which predictors and outcomes are matched on the basis of specific targets. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.

Abstract: Investing in normative, age-graded social roles has broad implications for both the individual and society. The current meta-analysis examines the way in which personality traits relate to four such investments -- work, family, religion, and volunteerism. The present study uses meta-analytic techniques (K = 94) to identify the cross-sectional patterns of relationships between social investment in these four roles and the personality trait domains of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. Results show that the extent of investment in social roles across these domains is positively related to agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and low psychoticism. These findings are more robust when individuals are psychologically committed to rather than simply demographically associated with the investment role.

Abstract: Two studies investigated whether situations are associated with the manifestation of Big Five trait contents in behavior. Several times per day for 2 or 5 weeks, participants reported their current Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Emotional Stability states and rated the concurrent situation on several characteristics. Multilevel models tested for the average individual's contingency of each Big Five state on each situation characteristic and for whether individuals differed from each other reliably in those contingencies. Results showed that (1) there are psychologically active characteristics of situations on which trait-manifesting behavior is contingent; (2) contingencies on psychologically active characteristics of varying situations are part of the explanation for the sizeable within-person variability in behavior; (3) individuals differ reliably in their contingencies, and such individual differences may partially explain individual differences in amount of variability; and (4) the situation characteristics that are psychologically active differ by trait. These findings suggest that within-person variability in personality states is meaningful and is related to situations, that personality psychology should characterize situations in terms of their relevance to personality states, and that process and individual-difference structure approaches can be integrated in personality psychology.

Abstract: . Interest in the prediction of academic success in higher education has grown considerably in recent years in German-speaking countries. While the validity of school grades and admission tests has been investigated by meta-analyses and large-scale studies at least in the United States, less is known about noncognitive predictors of academic success. The present meta-analysis investigates the impact of the Big Five personality factors on academic success at university. A total of 258 correlation coefficients from 58 studies published since 1980 were included. Grades, retention, and satisfaction served as success criteria. Correlations were corrected for attenuation caused by measurement error. Results show that the influence of personality traits on academic achievement depends on the success criterion. While Neuroticism is related to academic satisfaction (? = -.369, k = 8), Conscientiousness correlates with grades (? = .269, k = 41). Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness have n...

Abstract: keywords agreeableness, alternative mating strategies, altruism, assortative mating, behavior genetics, commitment, conscientiousness, costly signaling theory, equilibrium selection, emotion, empathy, ethics, evolutionary psychology, fitness indicators, genetic correlations, good genes, good parents, good partners, human courtship, kin selection, kindness, individual differences, intelligence, mate choice, mental health, moral virtues, mutation load, mutual choice, person perception, personality, reciprocal altruism, sexual fidelity, sexual selection, social cognition, virtue ethics “Human good turns out to be the activity of the soul exhibiting excellence.” Aristotle (350 BC)

Abstract: Personality-relationship transactions were investigated in a general population sample of young German adults with three assessments over 8 years. Four general findings were obtained. First, personality development was characterized by substantive individual differences in change. Second, bivariate latent growth models indicated that individual differences in personality change were substantially associated with change in peer and family relationships. Third, forming a partner relationship for the first time moderated the maturation of personality. This finding was replicated over two subsequent time intervals with independent subgroups. Fourth, higher neuroticism and higher sociability predicted which of the singles began a partner relationship during the next 8 years. The results confirm that individual differences in personality development predict and result from life transitions and relationship experiences.

Abstract: Political psychology has paid rather little attention to personality traits when explaining political attitudes and political behavior in mass publics. The present paper argues that personality traits contribute to our understanding of political attitude formation and decision making of ordinary citizens. Based on the Five Factor Model of Personality, we state hypotheses regarding the effects of personality traits on partisan attitudes and vote choice in Germany. We test the hypotheses using survey data obtained from a random sample of the Germans eligible to vote. The evidence confirms that personality traits indirectly affect partisan attitudes and voting behavior in Germany in predictable ways even after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. More specifically, Openness makes citizens more inclined to support parties endorsing social liberalism whereas low scores on Conscientiousness increase the likelihood of liking and voting for parties subscribing to economic or social liberalism as do high levels on Agreeableness. High levels of Neuroticism appear to promote support for parties that offer shelter against material or cultural challenges.

Abstract: The role of the Big Five traits in the occupational stressor-strain relationship was investigated among 211 managers. Direct, mediated, and moderated effect models were used to investigate whether the Big Five affect strain directly (independently of stress), indirectly (via stress and coping), or interactively with stress. Personality, stress, coping, and strain variables were measured and analyzed with path analysis and hierarchical regression. The Neuroticism-physical strain relationship was partially mediated by perceived role conflict and substance use, and the Neuroticism-psychological strain relationship was mediated by perceived stress. Extraversion had a direct, positive effect on physical and psychological strain, and there was preliminary support for a moderating role of Conscientiousness in the perceived stressor-strain relationship. Agreeableness and Openness were unrelated to strain.

Abstract: This study investigated the stability of the Big Five personality traits in adulthood from age 33 to 42. Participants (89 men, 103 women) were drawn from the ongoing Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development. The results showed that the mean-level of Neuroticism decreased whereas the mean-level of Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness increased from age 33 to 42. The Structural Equation Modeling analyses revealed both gender differences and similarities in the rank-order stability of the Big Five: Neuroticism and Extraversion were more stable in men than in women, whereas Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were as stable in men as in women. Stability coefficients for the Big Five personality traits across 9 years were moderate to high, ranging from 0.73 to 0.97 in men and from 0.65 to 0.95 in women. The highest gender-equal stability was found for Openness to Experience and the lowest for Conscientiousness.

Abstract: Empathizing and systemizing have recently been put forward as two important individual-difference dimensions, whose different mean levels in men and women are argued to account for many psychological sex differences. This paper presents a series of studies designed to investigate the reliability and validity of the empathizing and systemizing quotients (EQ & SQ), to relate them to existing personality constructs, and to replicate reported sex and sexual orientation-related differences. Correlations with interests and social behaviour suggest the two measures are valid. However, empathizing appears essentially equivalent to agreeableness in the five-factor model of personality. Systemizing cannot be reduced to established personality dimensions, though it is moderately correlated with conscientiousness and openness. Men have higher levels of systemizing than women, and non-heterosexual women higher than heterosexuals. However, no differences were found between heterosexual and non-heterosexual men. Although systemizing and empathizing account for a number of observed sex differences, there are others they do not explain.

Abstract: The authors examine the within-individual dynamics of Big-5 personality states over time in people's daily lives. They focus on the magnitude of this within-individual variability, and the associations between personality states, short-term goals, and subjective well-being states. A total of 101 undergraduate students participated in a 10-day interval-contingent diary study. The authors' findings, based on multilevel procedures, establish a considerable amount of within-individual variability that is both (a) equal or larger than that observed between individuals and (b) larger or similar to other constructs assessed with a state approach (e.g., self-esteem and mood). In addition, both neuroticism and extraversion states are systematically related to the short-term pursuit of approach-avoidance goals. Finally, support was obtained for the mediating role of both neuroticism and extraversion states of the association between goals and subjective well-being. In sum, the authors' findings testify to the importance and utility of studying within-individual variability in personality states over time.

Abstract: Using multiple theoretical perspectives (stress, conservation of resources, and deviance), we investigated the relationship between burnout and personality Burnout is measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishments), and personality is captured with the Mini-Marker Inventory (extroversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness to experience, and emotional stability) Regression analyses controlling for demographic characteristics, based on 265 instructors of a large state university, indicated that emotional exhaustion is negatively related to extroversion and emotional stability and positively related to openness to experience Depersonalization is negatively related to agreeableness and emotional stability Personal accomplishments are positively related to extroversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability Implications of the results are discussed

Abstract: A sample of 134 (93 female, 41 male) university students were evaluated with measures of relational and physical aggression, as well as measures of the five personality factors (NEO Five-Factor Inventory; Costa and McCrae, 1992), depression and anxiety (Beck Depression Inventory; Beck, 1987 and Anxiety Inventory; Beck, 1990), and general emotional understanding and functioning (Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory; Bar-On, 1997). Gender differences were found such that the men reported more physical aggression and less Extraversion, with trends for less Neuroticism and less Agreeableness, than the women (NEO-FFI). Additionally, the women had higher Bar-On Interpersonal overall factor scores, including higher scores for the component Empathy, Social Responsibility, and Interpersonal Relationship subscales, than the men. Relational and physical aggression showed different patterns of association with other personality and emotional measures for men and women. In men, higher physical aggression was associated with lower Agreeableness and lower Extraversion. In women, higher physical aggression was associated with higher Conscientiousness, more depression, lower Bar-On EQI Stress Management and higher adaptability. Relational aggression was associated with lower Agreeableness and a lower Bar-On EQI overall score for both men and women. In men, higher relational aggression was additionally associated with more Neuroticism. In women, higher relational aggression was also associated with lower Conscientiousness, and lower Bar-On EQI Interpersonal factor scores.