A contrarian view of the five-factor approach to personality description

Issues in Grounded Cognition and How to Solve Them - the Minimalist Account

The field of grounded cognition is concerned with how concepts are represented by re-activation of the bodily modalities. Considerable empirical work supports this core tenet, but the field is rife with meta-theoretical issues which prevent meaningfully progressing beyond this. We describe these issues and provide a solution: an overarching theoretical framework. The two most commonly cited grounded cognition theories are perceptual symbol systems and conceptual metaphor theory. Under perceptual symbol systems, concepts are represented by integrating fragments of multi-modal percepts in a simulator. Conceptual metaphor theory involves a limited number of image schemas, primitive structural regularities extracted from interaction with the environment, undergoing a limited number of transformations into a concept. Both theories constitute important developments to understanding mental representations, yet we argue that they currently impede progress because they are prematurely elaborate. This forces them to rely on overly specific assumptions, which generates a lack of conceptual clarity and unsystematic testing of empirical work. Our minimalist account takes grounded cognition 'back to basics' with a common-denominator framework supported by converging evidence from other fields. It postulates that concepts are represented by simulation, re-activating mental states that were active when experiencing this concept, and by metaphoric mapping, when concrete representations are sourced to represent abstract concepts. This enables incremental theory development without uncertain assumptions because it allows for descriptive research while nonetheless enabling falsification of theories. Our proposal provides the tools to resolve meta-theoretical issues and encourages a research program that integrates grounded cognition into the cognitive sciences.

Specific, situated, intra-individual, ambivalent, and open: integrating and advancing the research on entrepreneurial passion

While the research on passion for entrepreneurial activities has produced many definitions, measures, and models specifying components, predictors, and outcomes of the construct, integrating these disparate approaches with each other and with current developments in psychological science remains a challenge for the next generation of research studies. This review connects the research on entrepreneurial passion with current innovations and debates in measurement and method development, motivation, personality, and developmental psychology. The review proposes to reconsider how to measure entrepreneurial passion by (1) specifying the exact facets of entrepreneurial passion in theoretical models and measures, and (2) using psychometric and co-endorsement network models to examine the relationships among the facets and the facets' relationships with relevant predictors and outcomes. (3) The article proposes to link passion research to ongoing debates about states, traits, and emerging stability by formulating and testing process models that distinguish between state- and trait development and include recursive feedback loops. (4) The review connects research on entrepreneurial passion to current debates in emotion and motivation research by proposing to examine the ambivalent motivation and mixed emotions accompanying entrepreneurial passion with intra-individual methods. (5) To help passion researchers build on each other's work and enhance the trustworthiness of their work, the review calls for cumulative scientific insights by adopting multi-lab collaborations and other open science practices. (6) Finally, the review proposes a new, integrative theoretical model that distinguishes between the facets that drive affective thriving and those driving perseverance in the face of obstacles.

Determining the number of attributes in the GDINA model

Exploratory cognitive diagnosis models have been widely used in psychology, education and other fields. This paper focuses on determining the number of attributes in a widely used cognitive diagnosis model, the GDINA model. Under some conditions of cognitive diagnosis models, we prove that there exists a special structure for the covariance matrix of observed data. Due to the special structure of the covariance matrix, an estimator based on eigen-decomposition is proposed for the number of attributes for the GDINA model. The performance of the proposed estimator is verified by simulation studies. Finally, the proposed estimator is applied to two real data sets Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English (ECPE) and Big Five Personality (BFP).

Perceptions of Monica Geller in Friends: A Pilot Study on Personality Frameworks and Parasocial Relationships

This pilot study investigated how viewers perceive Monica Geller's personality using three evidence-based personality models: Big Five, HEXACO, and Cloninger's Biopsychosocial Model. Additionally, it examined how these perceptions are associated to audiences' engagement in parasocial relationships with this iconic character from the sitcom Friends. A sample of sixty-three participants assessed Monica's personality by responding to the Big Five Inventory (BFI), the HEXACO-60, and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-60). Participants also completed the Multidimensional Measure of Parasocial Relationships (MMPR). Personality scores were contextualized against U.S. population norms (NBFI = 711, NHEXACO = 1126, NTCI = 1948) and Pearson correlations were conducted to explore associations between personality traits and the Affective, Behavioral, Cognitive, and Decisional dimensions of parasocial engagement. Normative comparisons revealed Monica's perceived Openness and Agreeableness in the Big Five and her Openness and Agreeableness in the HEXACO as significantly below average, while her Big Five Neuroticism and her HEXACO Conscientiousness were significantly above average. In the Biopsychosocial Model, Monica's Persistence was significantly higher than population norms, while Cooperativeness was significantly lower. Big Five Agreeableness showed correlations across all parasocial engagement dimensions. HEXACO Emotionality was strongly linked to the Affective and Behavioral dimensions, while Honesty-Humility was associated with Cognitive parasocial engagement. In the Biopsychosocial Model, Reward Dependence and Cooperativeness were associated with Cognitive and Affective parasocial engagement, while Self-Directedness was linked to the Behavioral dimension. The Biopsychosocial Model offered the most comprehensive insights, capturing the multidimensional nature of viewer-character engagement. The Big Five and HEXACO models added valuable perspectives, particularly in explaining that traits associated with trust and kindness are linked to decision making. These findings emphasize the importance of integrating multiple personality frameworks to advance the understanding of parasocial relationship engagement, shedding light on the nuanced ways personality traits shape audience perceptions and relationships with media characters, with significant implications for media psychology and personality research. Limitations and avenues for future developments are discussed, building on the insights from this pilot study.

The relationships of personality traits on perceptions and attitudes of dentistry students towards AI

INTRODUCTION

Artificial intelligence (AI) has gained significant attention in dentistry due to its potential to revolutionize practice and improve patient outcomes. However, dentists' views and attitudes toward technology can affect the application of AI. This perception and attitude can be affected by the personality traits of individuals. This study aims to evaluate the perceptions and attitudes of dentistry students toward AI.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on dental students at Ordu University Faculty of Dentistry, involving a sample of 83 students. The study utilized the Big Five 50 Test to evaluate personality traits and a 5-point Likert scale to gather data on 20 statements regarding AI in dentistry. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics software, and a chi-square test was employed to assess the relationship between the personality traits of dental students and their attitudes towards artificial intelligence, as well as the relationship between the gender of dental students and their attitudes towards artificial intelligence. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

RESULTS

The study involved 83 participants, with 29 male and 54 female participants. The most common personality traits were Openness and Agreeableness, whereas the least common was Extraversion. Participants found AI useful and believed it could help dentists evaluate radiographs. However, the least agreed statement was that they would trust AI more than a dentist in evaluating radiograph results. A statistically significant difference was found between personal traits of dental students and in expressions comparing dentists and AI. Males were more familiar with AI than females.

CONCLUSION

This study found that attitudes towards AI in dentistry vary based on personality traits. Developing educational strategies tailored to these traits can help foster more positive attitudes and improve AI integration into dental practice.

The intraindividual dynamics of university students' motivation and emotions: The role of autonomy-supportive learning climates and learning activities

BACKGROUND

The motivation and emotions of students are context dependent. There are specific moments when students may find their coursework more or less motivating, resulting in stronger or milder emotional responses. Identifying factors directly controllable by teachers empowers them to effectively address challenging situations characterized by lower motivation and increased negative emotions.

AIMS

We aimed to investigate how learning activities and students' perception of teaching practices fostering autonomy relate to competence and value beliefs, and emotions in the context of course participation within higher education.

SAMPLE

Seventy-seven Taiwanese university students provided 762 learning reports associated with their course participation experiences.

METHODS

The experience sampling method (ESM) was used. Participants responded to ESM surveys on their phones for 14 days, reporting motivational beliefs, emotions and contextual characteristics of the course if they indicated active participation in a course upon receiving notifications from their phones.

RESULTS

A significant portion of the variation is attributed to situational fluctuation, suggesting that academic emotions and competence and value beliefs vary within students across measurements. An increase in students' perception of an autonomy-supportive learning climate correlates with higher competence beliefs, intrinsic value and positive emotions, coupled with reduced perceived costs and negative emotions. In contrast to lectures, engaging in independent hands-on work, participating in group collaborative projects or interactive discussions appear to inspire motivation or evoke stronger emotional responses in students.

CONCLUSIONS

Teachers' teaching practices and classroom learning activities play a pivotal role in shaping students' situational motivation and emotions.

Burnout and Personality Profiles Among Chinese Nurses

Although many studies have examined the relationship between the five dimensions of personality and nurse burnout, few studies have examined the relationship between nurse burnout and the overall personality profile. In addition, nurses' demographic characteristics have been found to be related to nurses' burnout level, but the results have been inconsistent. This study aimed to determine personality profiles based on the Big Five personality model in a sample of Chinese nurses then analyze the relationship between burnout and personality profiles and demographics. A total of 1423 nurses were sampled and assessed using the Big Five Inventory and the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory. A k-means cluster analysis was used to divide participants into different personality profiles. Multivariate analysis of variance and binomial logistic regression were used to examine the relationship of burnout with personality profiles and demographics. Cluster analysis identified three personality profiles among nurses: resilient, ordinary, and distressed. For each dimension of the Big Five Inventory and Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, there was a significant difference between different personality profiles, with effect sizes being from 0.37 to 0.57. Nurses with a distressed personality profile were 4.52 times more likely to be diagnosed with burnout than nurses with an ordinary profile, while nurses with a resilient personality profile had a 55% reduction in burnout compared to nurses with an ordinary profile. The results suggested that hospital administrators should focus on nurses with a distressed personality profile to identify potential burnout nurses as early as possible. The findings also enabled hospital administrators to consider the different personality profiles of nurses and the specific requirements of the job to select suitable candidates.

Resilient, undercontrolled, and overcontrolled personality types in Hong Kong youths and the association with mental health outcomes

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between RUO types and mental health in a youth sample in Hong Kong.

BACKGROUND

Previous research has found that Resilient, Undercontrolled, and Overcontrolled (RUO) personality types derived from Big Five personality traits are associated with mental health outcomes. Most studies, however, have predominantly been conducted in Western societies.

METHOD

Clinical diagnostic interviews and self-rated measures of psychological constructs, covering resilience, rumination, self-esteem and more, were administered to 860 youths aged 15 to 24 recruited from an ongoing epidemiological youth mental health study in Hong Kong.

RESULTS

Three personality clusters were identified. The first (mean age = 19.6, 63.3% female) and second (mean age = 19.5, 60.7% female) cluster both have characteristics of the under- and overcontrolled personalities. The third personality type resembled the resilient profile in RUO typology (mean age = 19.6, 50.5% female) and showed the lowest prevalence of poor mental health.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that the replicability of the RUO profiles was only partial in a Hong Kong sample predominantly Chinese. The resilient profile was replicated but not the undercontrolled and overcontrolled profiles proposed by previous studies. The findings of the current study implicated that culturally contextual considerations are necessary when relating mental health to personality.

Self-management, self-care, and self-help in adolescents with emotional problems: a scoping review

This study aimed to review the existing published and grey literature describing the concepts of self-management, self-care, and self-help, and to capture strategies or techniques related to these concepts, for adolescents with emotional problems. Emotional problems are rising amongst adolescents, yet timely access to specialist mental health treatment is limited to those with greater severity of mental health difficulties. Self-management, self-care, and self-help strategies may be used by adolescents with emotional problems both in terms of those waiting for treatment and to prevent relapse. Given the overlap in existing definitions and the lack of clarity around these concepts in an adolescent mental health context, a scoping review of the literature is warranted to provide clarity. Eligible studies were those involving adolescents aged 10 to 19 years with symptoms of emotional problems. Studies referenced self-management, self-care, or self-help, not involving a professional, in this population. Quantitative, qualitative, economic, and mixed methods studies, as well as systematic, scoping, and literature reviews, from 2000 onwards and in the English language, were eligible for inclusion. A systematic search was conducted of both published and grey literature. Databases searched included PsycINFO, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL Plus. Mednar was also searched for unpublished studies and grey literature. Tables  of themes, terms, and associated strategies are presented alongside a thematic analysis of the results. 62 articles were included. These were 20 quantitative studies, 14 systematic reviews, 10 qualitative studies, five review papers, four book chapters, four mixed methods studies, two dissertations, two meta-analyses and one scoping review and systematic review. Most of the included articles referenced self-help (n = 51), followed by self-management (n = 17) and self-care (n = 6). A total of 12 themes were identified from a reflexive thematic analysis of descriptions (and associated strategies) of self-management, self-help, or self-care in included texts. This scoping review provides clarity on the similarities and differences between how these concepts are discussed, and the strategies which are associated with each of these concepts in the relevant literature. Implications for policy and intervention development for adolescents' self-management, self-help, and self-care of their mental health are discussed. There is considerable overlap in both the ways in which these concepts are described, and the strategies or approaches proposed in relation to them, supporting previous research suggesting these strategies should be grouped under a single term, such as "self or community approaches." More research is needed for self-management, self-help, and self-care amongst marginalized groups as these adolescents may have the highest unmet need for mental health support.

Development of the Hogan Personality Content Single-Items Inventory

The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) and Hogan Developmental Survey (HDS) are among the most widely used and extensively well-validated personality inventories for organizational applications; however, they are rarely used in basic research. We describe the Hogan Personality Content Single-Items (HPCS) inventory, an inventory designed to measure the 74 content subscales of the HPI and HDS via a single-item each. We provide evidence of the reliability and validity of the HPCS, including item-level retest reliability estimates, both self-other agreement and other-other (or observer) agreement, convergent correlations with the corresponding scales from the full HPI/HDS instruments, and analyze how similarly the HPCS and full HPI/HDS instruments relate to other variables. We discuss situations where administering the HPCS may have certain advantages and disadvantages relative to the full HPI and HDS. We also discuss how the current findings contribute to an emerging picture of best practices for the development and use of inventories consisting of single-item scales.

Nursing students' personality (Temperament and Character), burnout symptoms, and health and well-being

Background

About 9 million nurses will be needed by 2030. To face these unprecedented times, governments/institutions focus on educating as many nursing students as possible. This strategy is clouded by burnout and lack of both health and well-being among students and by the fact that personality is one of the major determinants of these health outcomes. Nevertheless, recent findings show that personality is a complex adaptive system (i,e., nonlinear) and that combinations of people's temperament and character traits (i.e., joint personality networks) might provide further information to understand its development, academic burnout, and lack of health and well-being.

Aims

Our aims were to investigate the linear relationship between nursing students' personality, burnout, health, and well-being; investigate the linear mediational effects of personality and burnout on health and well-being; and investigate differences in these health outcomes between/within students with distinct joint personality networks (i.e., nonlinear relationships).

Method

Swedish nursing students (189 women, 29 men) responded to the Temperament and Character Inventory, The Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey for Students, and the Public Health Surveillance Well-Being Scale. We conducted correlation analyses and Structural Equation Modeling and, for the nonlinear relationships, Latent Profile Analysis and Latent Class Analysis for clustering and then Analyses of Variance for differences in health outcomes between/within students with distinct personality networks. This study was not pre-registered.

Results

High levels of health and well-being and low burnout symptoms (low Emotional Exhaustion, low Cynicism, and high Academic Efficacy) were associated with low Harm Avoidance and high Self-Directedness. Some personality traits were associated with specific health outcomes (e.g., high Self-Transcendence-high Emotional Exhaustion and high Persistence-high Academic Efficacy) and their effects on health and well-being were mediated by specific burnout symptoms. Cynicism and Emotional Exhaustion predicted low levels of health and well-being, Academic Efficacy predicted high levels, and Cynicism lead both directly and indirectly to low levels of health and well-being through Emotional Exhaustion. We found two joint personality networks: students with an Organized/Reliable combination who reported being less emotionally exhausted by their studies, less cynical towards education, higher self-efficacy regarding their academic work/skills, and better health and well-being compared to nursing students with an Emotional/Unreliable combination.

Conclusions

The coherence of temperament-character, rather than single traits, seems to determine students' health outcomes. Thus, nursing education might need to focus on helping students to develop professional skills and health-related abilities (e.g., self-acceptance and spiritual-acceptance), by supporting self-awareness.

Domain-Specific Greed

Greed, the insatiable and excessive desire and striving for more even at the expense of others, may be directed toward various goods. In this article, we propose that greed may be conceptualized as a domain-specific construct. Based on a literature review and an expert survey, we identified 10 domains of greed which we operationalized with the DOmain-SPEcific Greed (DOSPEG) questionnaire. In Study 1 (N = 725), we found support for the proposed structure and convergent validity with related constructs. Bifactor-(S-1) models revealed that generic greed is differentially related to the greed domains, indicating that generic greed primarily captures a striving for money and material things. In the second study (N = 591), we found that greed domains had incremental validity beyond generic greed with regard to corresponding criteria assessed via self- and other-reports. We conclude that greed can be conceptualized as a domain-specific construct and propose an onion model reflecting this structure.

The Misinformation Susceptibility Test (MIST): A psychometrically validated measure of news veracity discernment

Interest in the psychology of misinformation has exploded in recent years. Despite ample research, to date there is no validated framework to measure misinformation susceptibility. Therefore, we introduce Verification done, a nuanced interpretation schema and assessment tool that simultaneously considers Veracity discernment, and its distinct, measurable abilities (real/fake news detection), and biases (distrust/naïvité-negative/positive judgment bias). We then conduct three studies with seven independent samples (Ntotal = 8504) to show how to develop, validate, and apply the Misinformation Susceptibility Test (MIST). In Study 1 (N = 409) we use a neural network language model to generate items, and use three psychometric methods-factor analysis, item response theory, and exploratory graph analysis-to create the MIST-20 (20 items; completion time < 2 minutes), the MIST-16 (16 items; < 2 minutes), and the MIST-8 (8 items; < 1 minute). In Study 2 (N = 7674) we confirm the internal and predictive validity of the MIST in five national quota samples (US, UK), across 2 years, from three different sampling platforms-Respondi, CloudResearch, and Prolific. We also explore the MIST's nomological net and generate age-, region-, and country-specific norm tables. In Study 3 (N = 421) we demonstrate how the MIST-in conjunction with Verification done-can provide novel insights on existing psychological interventions, thereby advancing theory development. Finally, we outline the versatile implementations of the MIST as a screening tool, covariate, and intervention evaluation framework. As all methods are transparently reported and detailed, this work will allow other researchers to create similar scales or adapt them for any population of interest.

Illustrating psychometric tests, scales, and constructs: An R package for Item Pool Visualization

Researchers assessing psychological constructs have to understand and choose between several competing measures. Item Pool Visualization (IPV, Dantlgraber et al., 2019) was developed to offer a systematic and detailed portrayal of the actual content and internal balance of competing measures. To enable the use of IPV, we developed and present here the IPV R package. Its aim is to allow researchers to add IPV to their repertoire with minimal effort. Creating IPV charts from raw data requires two simple function calls, because the package streamlines model specification, model estimation, and chart creation. It improves IPV conceptually by introducing the aggregate center distance and the item overview chart. It provides many customization options and generates high-quality, vector-based PDF output. The workflow of the package is explained using a reproducible open data example from a personality assessment.

An investigation into the use of smart home devices, user preferences, and impact during COVID-19

With the goal of designing smart environments that can support users' physical/mental well-being, we studied users' experiences and different factors that can influence success of smart home devices through an online study conducted during and after the COVID-19 restrictions in June 2021 (109 participants) and March 2022 (81 participants). We investigated what motivates users to buy smart home devices, and if smart home devices may have the potential to improve different aspects of users' well-being. As COVID-19 emphasized a situation where people spent a significant amount of time at home in Canada, we also asked if/how COVID-19 motivated purchase of smart-home devices and how these devices affected participants during the pandemic. Our results provide insights into different aspects that may motivate the purchase of smart home devices and users' concerns. The results also suggest that there may be correlations between the use of specific types of devices and psychological well-being.

Analysis of the Relationship between Higher-Order Factor Structure of Personality Disorders and the Five-Factor Model of Personality

The growing body of evidence on the dimensional classification of personality disorders (PD) has resulted in its acceptance in the ICD-11 classification, which abolished categories and retains only a general description of PD. Specifying the type of PD is optional, and the suggested domains represent maladaptive variants of the five-factor model of personality (FFM). The aim of our study was to explore the existence of a joint structure between maladaptive and normal personality traits, and to investigate how these structures are integrated. The study included 223 patients who had been diagnosed with PD and completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Personality Disorders and the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R). To determine the degree of overlap between PD domains and NEO PI–R scales, a canonical analysis of covariance was conducted. Our findings showed a relationship between the internalizing PD spectrum (consisting of avoidant, dependent, and borderline traits with detached and anankastic traits) and high neuroticism, low conscientiousness, and moderately low agreeableness and extroversion, suggesting the existence of a broad personality disorder factor. However, the internalizing dimensions exhibited a more pronounced effect within this construct. Furthermore, we identified a second function that demonstrated a link between the externalizing PD spectrum (including narcissistic, histrionic, and antisocial traits) and high extraversion, high openness, and low agreeableness, suggesting the existence of an externalizing factor. Overall, our findings provide evidence for a joint structure of maladaptive and normal personality traits in a sample of personality disorders and emphasize the importance of integrating the FFM model in PD evaluation in clinical practice, suggesting that differentiating between major subgroups could assist in adjusting therapeutic approaches.

“Transforming” Personality Scale Development: Illustrating the Potential of State-of-the-Art Natural Language Processing

Natural language processing (NLP) techniques are becoming increasingly popular in industrial and organizational psychology. One promising area for NLP-based applications is scale development; yet, while many possibilities exist, so far these applications have been restricted—mainly focusing on automated item generation. The current research expands this potential by illustrating an NLP-based approach to content analysis, which manually categorizes scale items by their measured constructs. In NLP, content analysis is performed as a text classification task whereby a model is trained to automatically assign scale items to the construct that they measure. Here, we present an approach to text classification—using state-of-the-art transformer models—that builds upon past approaches. We begin by introducing transformer models and their advantages over alternative methods. Next, we illustrate how to train a transformer to content analyze Big Five personality items. Then, we compare the models trained to human raters, finding that transformer models outperform human raters and several alternative models. Finally, we present practical considerations, limitations, and future research directions.

Studies in the Mentality of Literates: 3. Conceptual Structure and Nonsense of Personality Testing

In this study, third in a series of studies of the relationships between the dominant type of the Word Meaning Structure (WMS) and various psychic processes, response patterns on personality questionnaires with Likert-type response format of individuals with different levels of education (including adult illiterates) in Brazil (N = 102) and in Estonia (N = 520) were assessed with person oriented methods of data analysis. We found that responses to two personality questionnaires (International Personality Item Pool Questionnaire, IPIP-Q60 and Estonian Collectivism Scale, ESTCOL) are inconsistent and do not correspond to theories that underlie construction and interpretation of such assessment tools. Two novel ways to assess inconsistent response patterns were developed. The Consistency Index (CI) characterizes between-item inconsistency and the Determinacy Index (DI) characterizes within-item inconsistency. The dominant type of the WMS and the level of education were related to both CI and DI. Higher level of between-item inconsistency characterizes everyday conceptual thinkers with lower levels of education and higher level of within-item inconsistency was observed among logical conceptual thinkers with higher levels of education. Systematic relationships between WMS and inconsistent patterns of responses indicate that responses on personality questionnaires cannot be interpreted in terms of personality characteristics. The results of our study also provide further support to the idea that dominant type of the WMS is a pervasive characteristic of the psyche and determines qualitatively possibilities and limits of the psychic processes. The results of this study are in agreement with the idea that WMS defines the "Great Divide."

Which profile of people tends to ignore preventive measures against COVID-19? The role of intelligence and the big five personality traits

Although a considerable amount of research has been done on the role of personality traits in the prediction of compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures, the possible role of intelligence has been studied far less. For this reason, the main goal of the current study was to determine what the predictive role of intelligence is when considered together with the Big Five personality traits. A total of 404 participants answered three instruments: the Overall Personality Assessment Scale (OPERAS), which assesses personality traits, the COmpliance with pandemic COmmands Scale (COCOS), which assesses compliance, and the test of intelligence International Cognitive Ability Resource (ICAR Sample Test). The results show that all variables are correlated with compliance, although the weight of emotional stability on compliance was not significant. The only variable negatively related to compliance was extraversion. The results of the structural equation modelling suggest that intelligence has a direct relationship with compliance, and an indirect relationship through openness to experience. According to the results, intelligence is an important variable that should be considered in the prediction of compliance with these preventive measures.

The NB5I

Abstract. Personality is usually measured by means of self-ratings. Despite some drawbacks, the method is here to stay, and improving on it, particularly regarding social desirability, is essential. One way to do this is evaluative neutralization, that is, to rephrase items such that it is less obvious to the respondent what would be a desirable response. We present a 120-item evaluatively neutralized five-factor inventory and compare it to the IPIP-NEO ( Goldberg et al., 2006 ). Psychometric analyses revealed that the new inventory has high factor homogeneity, relatively independent facets with acceptable homogeneity and normally distributed ratings, and relatively evaluatively neutral ratings (as indicated by the level of item popularity). In sum, this new inventory captures the same personality variance as other five-factor inventories but with less influence from individual differences in evaluative responding, resulting in less correlation between factors and a factor structure more in line with the simple structure model than many other five-factor inventories. Evaluatively neutralized inventories should be particularly useful when the factor structure is central to the research question and focuses on discriminant validity, such as identifying theoretically valid relationships between personality traits and other concepts.

The Construct Validity of Intellect and Openness as Distinct Aspects of Personality through Differential Associations with Reaction Time

The construct validity of group factor models of personality, which are typically derived from factor analysis of questionnaire items, relies on the ability of each factor to predict meaningful and differentiated real-world outcomes. In a sample of 481 participants, we used the Big Five Aspect Scales (BFAS) personality questionnaire, two laboratory-measured reaction time (RT) tasks, and a short-form test of cognitive ability (ICAR-16) to test the hypothesis that the Intellect and Openness aspects of Big Five Openness to Experience differentially correlate with reaction time moments. We found that higher scores on the Intellect aspect significantly correlate with faster and less variable response times, while no such association is observed for the Openness aspect. Further, we found that this advantage lies solely in the decisional, but not perceptual, stage of information processing; no other Big Five aspect showed a similar pattern of results. In sum, these findings represent the largest and most comprehensive study to date on personality factors and reaction time, and the first to demonstrate a mechanistic validation of BFAS Intellect through a differential pattern of associations with RT and Big Five personality aspects.

The social evolution of individual differences: Future directions for a comparative science of personality in social behavior

Personality is essential for understanding the evolution of cooperation and conflict in behavior. However, personality science remains disconnected from the field of social evolution, limiting our ability to explain how personality and plasticity shape phenotypic adaptation in social behavior. Researchers also lack an integrative framework for comparing personality in the contextualized and multifaceted behaviors central to social interactions among humans and other animals. Here we address these challenges by developing a social evolutionary approach to personality, synthesizing theory, methods, and organizing questions in the study of individuality and sociality in behavior. We critically review current measurement practices and introduce social reaction norm models for comparative research on the evolution of personality in social environments. These models demonstrate that social plasticity affects the heritable variance of personality, and that individual differences in social plasticity can further modify the rate and direction of adaptive social evolution. Future empirical studies of frequency- and density-dependent social selection on personality are crucial for further developing this framework and testing adaptive theory of social niche specialization.

The personality of newly graduated and employed nurses: Temperament and character profiles of Swedish nurses

Background

One of the challenges of the 21st century is the high turnover rate in the nursing profession due to burnout and mental illness. From a biopsychosocial perspective, an individual's personality is an important vulnerability-resilience factor that comprises four temperament traits (i.e., a person's emotional reactions) and three character traits (i.e., self-regulation systems). Indeed, different personality profiles are associated to different coping strategies and health outcomes.

Objective

We investigated and mapped the temperament and character of Swedish newly graduated and employed nurses' in relation to the Swedish general population and an age-matched sub-sample.

Design

In this cross-sectional study, nurses self-reported their personality (Temperament and Character Inventory) at the beginning of their employment.

Setting

The data collection was conducted at a hospital in the South of Sweden.

Participants

A total of 118 newly graduated and employed nurses (Mage = 25.95±5.58) and 1,564 individuals from the Swedish general population participated in the study.

Methods

We calculated T-scores and percentiles for all seven personality dimensions using the Swedish norms (N = 1,564). The profiles were calculated by combining high/low percentiles scores in three temperament dimensions (Novelty Seeking: N/n, Harm Avoidance: H/h, and Reward Dependence: R/r) and in the three character dimensions (Self-Directedness: S/s, Cooperativeness: C/c and Self-Transcendence: T/t).

Results

Regarding T-scores, the nurses reported moderately lower Novelty Seeking (> 0.5 SD), slightly higher Harm-Avoidance (about 0.5 SD), moderately higher Persistence (> 0.5 SD) and Reward Dependence (> 0.5 SD), and extremely lower Self-Directedness (> 1 SD). The prevalence of the most common temperament profiles among the nurses (Swedish general population in brackets) were: 39.80% [10.90%] Cautious (nHR), 21.20% [10.90] Reliable (nhR), and 15.30% [16.50%] Methodical (nHr). The prevalence of the most common character profiles among the nurses were: 31.40% [4.90%] Dependent (sCt), 25.40% [14.40%] Apathetic (sct), and 19.50% [8.80%] Moody (sCT).

Conclusions

The analyses of the personality profiles showed that Low Novelty Seeking (79%), high Harm Avoidance (65%) high Reward Dependence (80%), low Self-Directedness (95%), and low Self-Transcendence (60%) were more prevalent among the newly graduated and employed nurses. This may partially explain newly graduated nurses' difficulties at work and high turnover rate. After all, a well-developed character is of special importance when working with patients with serious and terminal illness or under large global crises, such as the current pandemic. Hence, both education at universities and development at work need to be person-centered to reduce stress levels and promote positive self-regulation strategies.

NegotiAct: Introducing a Comprehensive Coding Scheme to Capture Temporal Interaction Patterns in Negotiations

In the present research, we developed NegotiAct, a comprehensive coding scheme for negotiations, comprising 47 mutually exclusive behavioral codes. NegotiAct was derived by systematically integrating (i) 89 extant coding schemes for negotiations, (ii) pertinent findings from negotiation research, and (iii) specific interaction behaviors that were previously not considered in coding schemes for negotiations (e.g., active listening). To facilitate the application of NegotiAct, we designed a coding manual with precise instructions and with definitions and examples for every code. NegotiAct can be customized to address many research questions in experimental settings as well as field research by splitting codes into more specific behaviors. Thereby, differentiated codes can always be traced back to the original codes, preserving comparability across studies and facilitating cumulative research. In combination with interaction analytical methods, NegotiAct enables scholars to detect and investigate specific communication patterns across the negotiation process. As a first empirical validation of NegotiAct, we demonstrate a substantial interrater reliability for 18 videotaped negotiations (κ = .80) and conduct an exploratory validation analysis, studying the relation of multi-issue offers, active listening, and joint gains.

The effect of personality traits on employees' annual salaries in Chinese startups

Personality is a relatively regular habit of a person. It exerts a specific influence on personal behavior and the corresponding results. At the same time, personality can provide a certain degree of explanation for the differences among individuals in behavior and the related consequences. Economic differences are one of the discrepancies that exist among individuals. In order to explore the quantitative relationship between personality and individual income, this study takes 376 active employees of Chinese startups as the primary research objects. Additionally, considering the simplification and convenience of the survey, the annual salary investigated by this study is the pre-tax income of active startup employees. It uses quantitative methods to analyze the relationship between their personality traits and annual salary. Unlike the measures used in previous studies, this study employed the HEXACO-60 Inventory created by Ashton and Lee to investigate employees' personality traits. Compared to the Big Five model, HEXACO (Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, eXtraversion, Consciousness, Open to Experience, and Agreeableness) adds a new dimension to evaluate personality traits, called Honesty-Humility (H-H). H-H did not appear in previous studies related to personality and individual income. Therefore, there is no reference to the relationship between H-H and personal earnings. Considering that the content of H-H is highly consistent with the components of inter locus of control and the core spirit advocated by the Confucian culture, which influences Chinese people profoundly, this paper proposes a bold hypothesis, that is, H-H has a positive correlation with employees' annual salaries. Meanwhile, other corresponding hypotheses for the correlation between the other personality traits in HEXACO and employees' annual salaries are proposed. After that, the above hypotheses are tested with the help of correlation analysis. Then, the following conclusions can be quickly drawn. Consciousness, eXtraversion, Open to Experience, and Honesty-Humility positively correlate with employees' annual salaries. In comparison, Emotionality and Agreeableness negatively correlate with employees' annual salaries.

Social cognition theories and behavior change in COVID-19: A conceptual review

The COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented health, economic, and social consequences worldwide. Although contact reductions and wearing face coverings have reduced infection rates, and vaccines have reduced illness severity, emergence of new variants of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and the shift from pandemic to endemic patterns of infection, highlights the importance of ongoing preventive behavior adherence to manage future outbreaks. Research applying social cognition theories may assist in explaining variance in these behaviors and inform the development of efficacious behavior change interventions to promote adherence. In the present article, we summarize research applying these theories to identify modifiable determinants of COVID-19 preventive behaviors and the mechanisms involved, and their utility in informing interventions. We identify limitations of these applications (e.g., overreliance on correlational data, lack of long-term behavioral follow-up), and suggest how they can be addressed. We demonstrate the virtue of augmenting theories with additional constructs (e.g., moral norms, anticipated regret) and processes (e.g., multiple action phases, automatic processes) to provide comprehensive, parsimonious behavioral explanations. We also outline how the theories contribute to testing mechanisms of action of behavioral interventions. Finally, we recommend future studies applying these theories to inform and test interventions to promote COVID-19 preventive behavior adherence.

FROM INNER TO OUTER: EXPLORING THE RnD EMPLOYEE INNOVATIVE BEHAVIOUR IN HIGH-TECH INDUSTRY

Innovation is widely recognised as an important issue. It is important to understand which individual characteristics promote innovative behaviour. This is particularly relevant for research and development (R&D) employees who are expected to contribute innovative ideas in their firms. R&D employees in high-end technology industries are the subjects of study in this research. Statistic methods, such as regression analysis, ANOVA, and ANCOVA, are employed to examine several hypotheses. The results reveal that personality traits defined as “openness to experiences” and “extraversion” are positively associated with innovative behaviour. Conscientiousness regarding accountability in work also spurs innovative behaviour. An individual who has the extraversion trait combined with a lifestyle defined as “practical leadership” is both extroverted and willing to absorb new knowledge and a steady, responsible practitioner.

Measurement practices in hallucinations research

Introduction: In several sub-fields of psychology, there has been a renewed focus on measurement practices. As far as we are aware, this has been absent in hallucinations research. Thus, we investigated (a) cross-study variation in how hallucinatory experiences are measured and (b) the reliability of measurements obtained using two tasks that are widely employed in hallucinations research.Method: In Study 1, we investigated to what extent there was variation in how the Launay-Slade Hallucination Scale (LSHS) has been used across 100 studies. In Study 2, we investigated the reliability of the measurements obtained through source monitoring and signal detection tasks, using data from four recent publications. Materials/data are available at doi: 10.17605/osf.io/d3gnk/.Results: In Study 1, we found substantial variation in how hallucinatory experiences were assessed using the LSHS and that descriptions of the LSHS were often incomplete in important ways. In Study 2, we reported a range of reliability estimates for the measurements obtained using source monitoring and signal discrimination tasks. Some measurements obtained using source monitoring tasks had unacceptably low levels of reliability.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that suboptimal measurement practices are common in hallucinations research and we suggest steps researchers could take to improve measurement practices.

As soon as there was life, there was danger: the deep history of survival behaviours and the shallower history of consciousness

It is often said that fear is a universal innate emotion that we humans have inherited from our mammalian ancestors by virtue of having inherited conserved features of their nervous systems. Contrary to this common sense-based scientific point of view, I have argued that what we have inherited from our mammalian ancestors, and they from their distal vertebrate ancestors, and they from their chordate ancestors, and so forth, is not a fear circuit. It is, instead, a defensive survival circuit that detects threats, and in response, initiates defensive survival behaviours and supporting physiological adjustments. Seen in this light, the defensive survival circuits of humans and other mammals can be conceptualized as manifestations of an ancient survival function-the ability to detect danger and respond to it-that may in fact predate animals and their nervous systems, and perhaps may go back to the beginning of life. Fear, on the other hand, from my perspective, is a product of cortical cognitive circuits. This conception is not just of academic interest. It also has practical implications, offering clues as to why efforts to treat problems related to fear and anxiety are not more effective, and what might make them better. This article is part of the theme issue 'Systems neuroscience through the lens of evolutionary theory'.

Integrative Review of the Recent Literature on Human Resilience: From Concepts, Theories, and Discussions Towards a Complex Understanding

Resilience may be viewed as the capacity of an individual, or perhaps of a dynamic system, to adjust and adapt positively to adversities and disruptions that impact one's functioning and development. Yet a common statement in the literature is that there are still today numerous ways of defining and conceiving resilience. This multiplicity of approaches calls for clarification and generates a need of common theoretical ground. Therefore, this review aims to examine, to clarify and to synthesize how "human" resilience is conceptualized within the recent human sciences literature to help answer the question: 'What are the key approaches, concepts, and definitions of resilience?". Following Whittemore and Knafl (2005, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2005.03621.x) methods, an integrative review of the recent resilience literature (2013-2019) was undertaken. Four databases were used for the search: PsycINFO, PubMed, ERIC, Google Scholar. A reference and citation tracking was then performed on the papers identified. Sixty-nine papers passed all the stages (identification, screening, eligibility, inclusion) and formed the sample. Results show that resilience definitions are nowadays either about "adapting and bouncing back to previous levels of health" or about "thriving and rising above the adversity towards increased levels of health." Results also show that resilience features-antecedents, mechanisms, consequences-are mainly conceptualized in a vertical sequence where an antecedent influences another or influences a mechanism leading to consequences. This paper concludes that modern conceptions can fit within a transactional and constructivist approach that goes beyond the former approaches by providing a more nuanced and realistic picture of the resilience process and by viewing it as a dynamic and person-situation-defined process.

The origins of cognitive skills and non-cognitive skills: The long-term effect of in-utero rainfall shocks in India

Skills are an important predictor of labour, education, and wellbeing outcomes. Understanding the origins of skills formation is important for reducing future inequalities. This paper analyses the effect of shocks in-utero on human capital outcomes in childhood and adolescence in India. Combining historical rainfall data and longitudinal data from Young Lives, we estimate the effect of rainfall shocks in-utero on cognitive and non-cognitive skills development over the first 15 years of life. We find negative effects of rainfall shocks on receptive vocabulary at age 5, and on mathematics and non-cognitive skills at age 15. The negative effects on cognitive skills are driven by boys, while the effect for both cognitive and non-cognitive skills are driven by children of parents with lower education, suggesting that prenatal shocks might exacerbate pre-existing inequalities. Our findings support the implementation of policies aiming at reducing inequalities at very early stages in life.

Sociability as a personality trait in animals: methods, causes and consequences

Within animal populations there is variation among individuals in their tendency to be social, where more sociable individuals associate more with other individuals. Consistent inter-individual variation in 'sociability' is considered one of the major axes of personality variation in animals along with aggressiveness, activity, exploration and boldness. Not only is variation in sociability important in terms of animal personalities, but it holds particular significance for, and can be informed by, two other topics of major interest: social networks and collective behaviour. Further, knowledge of what generates inter-individual variation in social behaviour also holds applied implications, such as understanding disorders of social behaviour in humans. In turn, research using non-human animals in the genetics, neuroscience and physiology of these disorders can inform our understanding of sociability. For the first time, this review brings together insights across these areas of research, across animal taxa from primates to invertebrates, and across studies from both the laboratory and field. We show there are mixed results in whether and how sociability correlates with other major behavioural traits. Whether and in what direction these correlations are observed may differ with individual traits such as sex and body condition, as well as ecological conditions. A large body of evidence provides the proximate mechanisms for why individuals vary in their social tendency. Evidence exists for the importance of genes and their expression, chemical messengers, social interactions and the environment in determining an individual's social tendency, although the specifics vary with species and other variables such as age, and interactions amongst these proximate factors. Less well understood is how evolution can maintain consistent variation in social tendencies within populations. Shifts in the benefits and costs of social tendencies over time, as well as the social niche hypothesis, are currently the best supported theories for how variation in sociability can evolve and be maintained in populations. Increased exposure to infectious diseases is the best documented cost of a greater social tendency, and benefits include greater access to socially transmitted information. We also highlight that direct evidence for more sociable individuals being safer from predators is lacking. Variation in sociability is likely to have broad ecological consequences, but beyond its importance in the spread of infectious diseases, direct evidence is limited to a few examples related to dispersal and invasive species biology. Overall, our knowledge of inter-individual variation in sociability is highly skewed towards the proximate mechanisms. Our review also demonstrates, however, that considering research from social networks and collective behaviour greatly enriches our understanding of sociability, highlighting the need for greater integration of these approaches into future animal personality research to address the imbalance in our understanding of sociability as a personality trait.

The General Factor of Personality as Ego-Resiliency

It was originally hypothesized by Block that what has come to be known as the General Factor of Personality (GFP) reflects ego-resiliency. We test Block's hypothesis in two studies. In Study 1 a meta-analysis (N = 15,609) examining the relationship between the GFP and ego-resiliency/resilience was conducted. In Study 2 (N = 157) archival data from Block and Block was used to examine the association between rater judged ego-resiliency across childhood, adolescence, and into early adulthood and the GFP based on self-report in early adulthood. Using structural equation modeling for the meta-analytic data, the correlation between the GFP and ego-resiliency/resilience was estimated at r = 0.93. Using a trait-state occasion model to test the hypothesis in Study 2, the correlation between the GFP and rated ego-resiliency was estimated at r = 0.85. The results of the two studies offer substantial support for Block's original hypothesis. Given the strength of the associations between the GFP and ego-resiliency/resilience one may conclude that the two constructs largely reflect the same underlying phenomenon.

Sibling Constructs: What Are They, Why Do They Matter, and How Should You Handle Them?

Researchers often study constructs that are conceptually and/or empirically related, but distinct (i.e., "sibling constructs"). In social-personality psychology, as well as psychology more generally, there is little guidance for how to deal with sibling constructs, which can result in researchers ignoring or mishandling them. In this article, we start by situating sibling constructs in the literature on the jingle-jangle fallacies. Then, we outline 10 conceptual and empirical criteria for determining the degree to which, and in what ways, constructs may share a sibling relationship, using self-esteem and grandiose narcissism as a running example. Finally, we discuss strategies for handling sibling constructs in a systematic and transparent way. We hope that the procedures described here will help social-personality psychologists identify sibling constructs, understand when and why they pose problems for their research, and adopt strategies that ameliorate their adverse effects.

Statistical Evaluation of Person-Oriented Mediation Using Configural Frequency Analysis

Mediation analysis helps explain how and why two variables are related, providing information for investigating causal processes useful for theoretical and applied research (MacKinnon 2008). Inference from mediation analysis typically applies to the population, but researchers and clinicians are often interested in making inference to individual clients or small sub-populations of people. Person-oriented approaches focus on the differences between people, or latent groups of people, to ask how individuals differ across variables. A recently proposed method allows for the analysis of person differences as part of mediation. The method from configural frequency analysis, which we call configural frequency mediation, is based on log-linear modeling of contingency tables. The complexity of configural frequency mediation and its use of a causal steps mediation method, may contribute to the lack of application and study of this promising method since its introduction in the literature a decade ago (von Eye et al. 2009, 2010) In this paper we clarify the steps used for configural frequency mediation and report the results of a large statistical simulation study evaluating the method and comparing it to the variable-oriented traditional method using logistic regression analysis. Overall, configural frequency mediation analysis tended to have excessive type I error rates but we describe an alternative approach to configural mediation analysis based on a joint significance test that had adequate performance. We also clarify the decision rules that define configural mediation analysis and develop a test for configural frequency mediation using a joint significance mediation method.

Prosocial behavior and altruism: A review of concepts and definitions

The field of prosociality is flourishing, yet researchers disagree about how to define prosocial behavior and often neglect defining it altogether. In this review, we provide an overview about the breadth of definitions of prosocial behavior and the related concept of altruism. Common to almost all definitions is an emphasis on the promotion of welfare in agents other than the actor. However, definitions of the two concepts differ in terms of whether they emphasize intentions and motives, costs and benefits, and the societal context. In order to improve on the conceptual ambiguity surrounding the study of prosociality, we urge researchers to provide definitions, to use operationalizations that match their definitions, and to acknowledge the diversity of prosocial behavior.

The dispositional basis of human prosociality

Individual differences in prosocial behavior have been consistently observed in a variety of contexts. Here, we summarize and critically discuss recent developments in two research agendas on the dispositional basis of human prosociality: a personality approach, proposing a variety of trait concepts and corresponding measures to predict prosocial behavior in different situations; and a behavioral consistency approach, testing for consistency in prosocial behaviors and its underlying latent disposition(s) across situations. Drawing on different properties of situations (so-called situational affordances), we outline a theoretical framework that can help integrate these so far hardly connected research agendas. We also point out limitations of prior research, such as a lack of theory, and provide suggestions on how to overcome them.

On the Comparability of Basic Personality Models: Meta-Analytic Correspondence, Scope, and Orthogonality of the Big Five and HEXACO Dimensions

Models of basic personality structure are among the most widely used frameworks in psychology and beyond, and they have considerably advanced the understanding of individual differences in a plethora of consequential outcomes. Over the past decades, two such models have become most widely used: the Five Factor Model (FFM) or Big Five, respectively, and the HEXACO Model of Personality. However, there is no large-scale empirical evidence on the general comparability of these models. Here, we provide the first comprehensive meta-analysis on (a) the correspondence of the FFM/Big Five and HEXACO dimensions, (b) the scope of trait content the models cover, and (c) the orthogonality (i.e., degree of independence) of dimensions within the models. Results based on 152 (published and unpublished) samples and 6,828 unique effects showed that the HEXACO dimensions incorporate notable conceptual differences compared to the FFM/Big Five dimensions, resulting in a broader coverage of the personality space and less redundancy between dimensions. Moreover, moderator analyses revealed substantial differences between operationalizations of the FFM/Big Five. Taken together, these findings have important theoretical and practical implications for the understanding of basic personality dimensions and their assessment.

A less evaluative measure of Big Five personality: Comparison of structure and criterion validity

Researchers and practitioners have long been concerned about detrimental effects of socially desirable responding on the structure and criterion validity of personality assessments. The current research examined the effect of reducing evaluative item content of a Big Five personality assessment on test structure and criterion validity. We developed a new public domain measure of the Big Five called the Less Evaluative Five Factor Inventory (LEFFI), adapted from the standard 50-item IPIP NEO, and intended to be less evaluative. Participants ( n = 3164) then completed standard (IPIP) and neutralized (LEFFI) measures of personality. Criteria were also collected, including academic grades, age, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, protesting, religious worship, music preferences, dental hygiene, blood donation, other-rated communication styles, other-rated HEXACO personality, and cognitive ability (ICAR). Evaluativeness of items was reduced in the neutralized measure. Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability were maintained. Correlations between the Big Five were reduced in the neutralized measure and criterion validity was similar or slightly reduced in the neutralized measure. The large sample size and use of objective criteria extend past research. The study also contributes to debates about whether the general factor of personality and agreement with socially desirable content reflect substance or bias.

Understanding learners' completion intention of massive open online courses (MOOCs): role of personality traits and personal innovativeness

Purpose

The present study investigates the influence of five personality traits based on the Big Five model, i.e. extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness to experience and personal innovativeness on learners' intention to complete MOOCs.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed model was empirically tested using cross-sectional design. The primary data were gathered through a survey of 515 students at five higher educational institutions in the National Capital Region of Delhi, India. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesized relationships in the proposed model.

Findings

The study has found significant associations between the personality traits, personal innovativeness and MOOC completion intention. The findings indicate that extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness to experience and personal innovativeness have significant positive effects whereas neuroticism has no significant effect on MOOCs continuance intention. Personal innovativeness has been found to mediate the relationships between all the personality traits and MOOCs completion intention of learners.

Practical implications

Our findings can potentially address the issue of drop-out rates of MOOCs in developing countries such as India. The findings of the study are helpful for MOOCs providers and other stakeholders. The MOOC developers should develop courses with wide scope so as to accommodate learners with different personality profiles. Additionally, during the enrolment process, MOOC providers can identify the students' attributes through personality tests. This will help in customizing the study material and teaching pedagogy as per the needs of the students.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the growing area of research in MOOCs usage by exploring the influence of personality traits on learners' behaviour towards completing MOOCs. Since the learners' intention to complete MOOCs is a major concern for MOOC developers, hence the present study makes a worthwhile contribution as it is a relatively under-researched area.

Clarifying Problems in Behavioural Control: Interface, Lateness and Consciousness

The target paper highlights a number of unresolved issues that, I believe, continue to impede the construction of a viable model of behavioural control in personality psychology; namely, (a) the relationship between controlled and automatic processing (the ‘interface’ problem’) and (b) the time it takes for controlled processes, including consciousness, to be generated (the ‘lateness’ problem). The diversity of views expressed in the commentatories indicates that these are, indeed, real and unresolved problems. This response is structured around the following key questions. (1) How long–term goal planning interfaces with the automatic machinery of behaviour? (2) The extent of the impact of the ‘lateness’ of controlled (including conscious) processes for building models of behavioural control? (3) How best to characterise the personality traits associated with the FFFS, BIS and BAS? (4) How does the BIS control mismatch detection, the generation of error signals, and response inhibition and switching? (5) Is consciousness really a necessary explanatory construct in models of behavioural control? (6) Might neural ‘crosstalk’ of encapsulated action–goal response systems point to the functional significance of consciousness? (7) What are the implications of issues raised in the target paper for lexical and social–cognitive approaches to personality? I conclude by re–iterating the importance of the problems of ‘lateness’ and ‘interface’ for the construction of a viable model of behavioural control sufficient for the fostering of theoretical integration within personality psychology as well as affording the building of conceptual bridges with general psychology. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Extrinsic Convergent Validity Evidence to Prevent Jingle and Jangle Fallacies

In psychology, there have been vast creative efforts in proposing new constructs and developing measures to assess them. Less effort has been spent in investigating construct overlap to prevent bifurcated literatures, wasted research efforts, and jingle-jangle fallacies. For example, researchers could gather validity evidence to evaluate if two measures with the same label actually assess different constructs (jingle fallacy), or if two measures with different labels actually assess the same construct (jangle fallacy). In this paper, we discuss the concept of extrinsic convergent validity, a source of validity evidence demonstrated when two measures of the same construct, or two measures of seemingly different constructs, have comparable correlations with external criteria. We introduce a formal approach to obtain extrinsic convergent validity evidence using tests of dependent correlations and evaluate the tests using Monte Carlo simulations. Also, we illustrate the methods by examining the overlap between the self-control and grit constructs, and the overlap among seven seemingly different measures of the connectedness to nature construct. Finally, we discuss how extrinsic convergent validity evidence supplements other sources of evidence that support validity arguments of construct overlap.