Journal of Research in Personality最新文献

The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) provides a comprehensive description of psychopathology and maladaptive personality traits but does not include etiological theorizing. Psychodynamic theory offers such theorizing, describing motivational conflicts that can be processed either in active (progressive) or passive (regressive) modes. We related motivational conflicts to HiTOP dimensions for the first time. Two studies (four samples, N = 580) showed replicable associations: passive conflict processing displayed stronger and more distributed associations with psychopathology, whereas active processing was associated with lower, yet more specific psychopathology. Particular symptoms were associated with different conflicts, showing that different etiological factors may underlie similar psychopathological signs. Motivational dynamics offer guidance for diagnosis and treatment of psychopathology.

We examined age trends in mean scores on self-report scales of the HEXACO Personality Inventory—Revised (HEXACO-PI-R) in a cross-sectional sample of 147,564 South Korean respondents with ages ranging from 14 to 70 years. The most prominent trends were observed for the Honesty-Humility and Conscientiousness factor scales, where in each case respondents in their 60s averaged about one full standard deviation unit higher than did respondents under 20. Within several factor scales, facet-level scales differed widely in their age trends. The pattern of the Korean age trends was generally similar to that observed in a previous study involving persons mostly from English-speaking countries. This similarity suggests that some of the observed age trends could reflect universal developmental tendencies.

Positive, negative, and disorganized schizotypy dimensions are associated with differential patterns of symptoms and impairment. Historically, disorganized schizotypy has been the least studied of the three schizotypy dimensions. Disorganized schizotypy has been found to be associated with emotional dysregulation, negative affect, and neuroticism. The current study examined the overlapping and differential associations of disorganized schizotypy and neuroticism with experiences assessed in daily life using experience sampling methodology (ESM). A total of 279 undergraduates completed the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale and the NEO-FFI neuroticism subscale, followed by ESM surveys administered eight times daily for one week. The ESM surveys assessed affect, appraisals of the current situation, social experiences, and schizotypic experiences in daily life. Disorganized schizotypy and neuroticism had similar bivariate associations with daily life experiences. However, multilevel regression analyses indicated that, when entered simultaneously, disorganized schizotypy was predominately associated with elevated schizotypic experiences, negative affect, and emotional dysregulation, whereas neuroticism was associated with elevated negative affect and diminished positive affect. The findings indicate that the pathological expressions of disorganized schizotypy are not simply ascribable to its overlap with neuroticism. Furthermore, the results provide further evidence that disorganized schizotypy is a complex construct that involves disruption of emotion regulation, as well as cognition, communication, and behavior.

Loneliness—the subjective experience of social isolation—is a common experience that can become an enduring feature of everyday life. How does feeling lonely relate to spending time alone? In this descriptive-exploratory study, we used the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR), a naturalistic observation tool that samples sounds from participants’ daily lives, to assess time spent alone as an index of social isolation. We combined data from three samples (N = 426) to examine the association between subjective and objectively-assessed isolation, and whether the association varies as a function of gender, marital status, and age. The constructs are weakly but significantly correlated, and spending more than 75% of time alone was associated with much higher loneliness scores, especially among older adults.

Prior studies have documented a link between narcissism and both pornography use and feelings of addiction to pornography, yet most have used unidimensional measures of narcissism, which provide inadequate coverage of narcissistic traits. This work examined relationships between a three-factor model of narcissism and both self-reported pornography use and self-reported addiction to pornography. Across two samples of undergradautes, two national samples in the U.S., and one pre-registered national sample in the U.S. (Aggregate N across sample > 6,500), we found consistent positive associations only between narcissistic antagonism and pornography use and perceived addiction. These findings suggest that the more entitled, exploitative, and caustic aspects of narcissism are likely driving links between narcissism more broadly and pornography related variables.

People’s attachment orientation contributes to their emotional experiences. However, the associations between attachment orientation and emotion dynamic features have remained unclear. In this preregistered study, we tested the associations of attachment orientation with baseline level, variability, inertia, and differentiation of emotions using two ecological momentary assessment adult samples (N = 122; N = 127). Attachment anxiety predicted a higher baseline level of negative emotions in both samples and a lower baseline level of positive emotions in one sample. Attachment avoidance predicted a lower baseline level of positive emotions in both samples. After covarying baseline level, no associations of attachment orientation were detected with variability, inertia, and differentiation. Our findings suggest that attachment orientation is associated with baseline level rather than other emotion dynamic features.

We hypothesized that people’s personal belief in a just world (PBJW) is associated with decreased relationship-based dishonesty. We tested our hypothesis in 11 studies using community samples and different methodological approaches. One internal meta-analysis across all 11 studies (total N = 4970) yielded a negative but non-significant overall effect (Fisher’s z = −0.07), thus providing no support for our hypothesis. A more detailed look revealed that studies measuring estimated levels of partner’s dishonesty yielded significantly stronger negative associations to people’s PBJW compared to studies that measured dishonesty emanated by oneself. We discuss what the results mean for research on belief in a just world and derive new approaches for future research in this field.

The relation between Need for Cognition and well-being receives increasing research interest. We report two studies linking Need for Cognition to well-being in a population representative sample of N = 200 participants and in two further subsamples comprising students (n = 256) and working adults (n = 198). Higher Need for Cognition was strongly associated with increased positive affect and lower burnout levels. Students with higher Need for Cognition were more satisfied with the content of their studies, working individuals reported increased job satisfaction. Our results support the notion of associations between Need for Cognition and well-being while it is necessary to distinguish between well-being facets and burnout dimensions. They indicate that Need for Cognition should be considered a resource for well-being.

Do people feel better about themselves on days when they are more satisfied with their relationship? This study addressed this question in a sample of 238 first-time parents who provided daily reports of their self-esteem and relationship quality 6 weeks before, 6 months after, and 18 months after the birth of their first child. Consistent with theory and between-person evidence, we found both mothers and fathers to have higher self-esteem on days when they were more satisfied with their relationship than on an average day. The link between daily relationship quality and self-esteem was robust across the transition to parenthood and generalized across people with different levels of dispositional self-esteem and ages.