The curvilinear relationship between state neuroticism and momentary task performance

A daily diary and two experience sampling studies were carried out to investigate curvilinearity of the within-person relationship between state neuroticism and task performance, as well as the moderating effects of within-person variation in momentary job demands (i.e., work pressure and task complexity). In one, results showed that under high work pressure, the state neuroticism-task performance relationship was best described by an exponentially decreasing curve, whereas an inverted U-shaped curve was found for tasks low in work pressure, while in another study, a similar trend was visible for task complexity. In the final study, the state neuroticism-momentary task performance relationship was a linear one, and this relationship was moderated by momentary task complexity. Together, results from all three studies showed that it is important to take into account the moderating effects of momentary job demands because within-person variation in job demands affects the way in which state neuroticism relates to momentary levels of task performance. Specifically, we found that experiencing low levels of state neuroticism may be most beneficial in high demanding tasks, whereas more moderate levels of state neuroticism are optimal under low momentary job demands

The curvilinear relationship between state neuroticism and momentary task performance

A daily diary and two experience sampling studies were carried out to investigate curvilinearity of the within-person relationship between state neuroticism and task performance, as well as the moderating effects of within-person variation in momentary job demands (i.e., work pressure and task complexity). In one, results showed that under high work pressure, the state neuroticism-task performance relationship was best described by an exponentially decreasing curve, whereas an inverted U-shaped curve was found for tasks low in work pressure, while in another study, a similar trend was visible for task complexity. In the final study, the state neuroticism-momentary task performance relationship was a linear one, and this relationship was moderated by momentary task complexity. Together, results from all three studies showed that it is important to take into account the moderating effects of momentary job demands because within-person variation in job demands affects the way in which state neuroticism relates to momentary levels of task performance. Specifically, we found that experiencing low levels of state neuroticism may be most beneficial in high demanding tasks, whereas more moderate levels of state neuroticism are optimal under low momentary job demands

Addressing neuroticism in psychological treatment

Neuroticism has long been associated with psychopathology and there is increasing evidence that this trait represents a shared vulnerability responsible for the development and maintenance of a range of common mental disorders. Given that neuroticism may be more malleable than previously thought, targeting this trait in treatment, rather than its specific manifestations (e.g., anxiety, mood, and personality disorders), may represent a more efficient and cost-effective approach to psychological treatment. The goals of the current manuscript are to (a) review the role of neuroticism in the development of common mental disorders, (b) describe the evidence of its malleability, and (c) review interventions that have been explicitly developed to target this trait in treatment. Implications for shifting the focus of psychological treatment to underlying vulnerabilities, such as neuroticism, rather than on the manifest symptoms of mental health conditions, are also discussed.First author draf

Life satisfaction, household income and personality traits

We show that personality traits mediate the effect of income on Life Satisfaction. The effect is strong in the case of Neuroticism, which measures the sensitivity to threat and punishment, in both the British Household Panel Survey and the German Socioeconomic Panel. Neuroticism increases the usually observed concavity of the relationship: Individuals with higher Neuroticism score enjoy income more than those with lower score if they are poorer and enjoy income less if they are richer. When the interaction between income and neuroticism is introduced, income does not have significant effect on his own. To interpret the results, we present a simple model where we assume that (i) Life Satisfaction is dependent from the gap between aspired and realized income, and this is modulated by Neuroticism and (ii) income increases in aspirations with a slope less than unity, so that the gap between aspired and realized income increase with aspirations. From the estimation of this model we argue that poorer tend to overshoot in their aspiration, while rich tend to under-shoot. The estimation of the model also shows substantial effect of traits on income

Preliminary Evidence That CD38 Moderates the Association of Neuroticism on Amygdala-Subgenual Cingulate Connectivity.

CD38 genetic variation has been associated with autism spectrum disorders and social anxiety disorder, which may result from CD38's regulation of oxytocin secretion. Converging evidence has found that the rs3796863 A-allele contributes to increased social sensitivity compared to the CC genotype. The current study examined the moderating role of CD38 genetic variants (rs3796863 and rs6449182) that have been associated with enhanced (or reduced) social sensitivity on neural activation related to neuroticism, which is commonly elevated in individuals with social anxiety and depression. Adults (n = 72) with varying levels of social anxiety and depression provided biological samples for DNA extraction, completed a measure of neuroticism, and participated in a standardized emotion processing task (affect matching) while undergoing fMRI. A significant interaction effect was found for rs3796863 x neuroticism that predicted right amygdala-subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) functional connectivity. Simple slopes analyses showed a positive association between neuroticism and right amygdala-sgACC connectivity among rs3796863 A-allele carriers. Findings suggest that the more socially sensitive rs3796863 A-allele may partially explain the relationship between a known risk factor (i.e. neuroticism) and promising biomarker (i.e. amygdala-sgACC connectivity) in the development and maintenance of social anxiety and depression

Short communication: a hierarchy of items within Eysenck’s EPI

Based on the recent finding of a hierarchical scale for Neuroticism in the NEO-Five Factor Inventory, two further personality inventories: the Eysenck Personality Inventory and Goldberg’s International Personality Item Pool were analysed using the Mokken Scaling Procedure for hierarchical scales. Items from two dimensions of the Eysenck Personality Inventory: Neuroticism and Extraversion produced hierarchical scales of 12 and five items, respectively. The Neuroticism items ran from items expressing mild to more extreme worry and the Extraversion items ran from mild sociability to more extreme ‘showing off’. The utility of hierarchical scales in personality measurement is discussed in terms of furthering theoretical understanding of personality and also practical application. In addition, the reasons why only one of these scales should produce hierarchical sets of items is discussed

Do personality states predict momentary task performance? The moderating role of personality variability

We investigated how state neuroticism and state conscientiousness related to momentary task performance and tested whether these relationships were affected by the extent to which a person varies in his level of state neuroticism/conscientiousness across situations. We hypothesized that state neuroticism relates negatively, while state conscientiousness relates positively to momentary task performance. Moreover, for both personality dimensions, we expected the state personality-momentary task performance relationship to be stronger for employees who behave, feel, and think more consistently across situations. These hypotheses were tested using a 10-day experience sampling study in a large financial institution. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that state neuroticism related negatively and state conscientiousness positively to momentary task performance. Moreover, the relationship between state conscientiousness and momentary task performance was stronger for people lower insituational within-person conscientiousness variability. From a theoretical point of view, our findings suggest that personality states relate to momentary task performance and that this relationship is stronger for people low insituational within-person variability. From a practical point of view, they emphasize the importance of taking into account an employee's state personality levels and the variability herein, in addition to assessing his/her overall trait level of personality

Extraversion and neuroticism in sexually dysfunctional men suffering from erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation: a cross-sectional study

The role of personality traits in sexual complaints and dysfunctions is ever more evident. However, the literature is very scarce as to the possible relationships between such personality traits and specific sexual dysfunctions like ED, PE or both, their subtypes as to time of onset and severity levels. The main aim of the present study was to investigate if Neuroticism and Extraversion have different roles and trends in men suffering from PE and/or ED, both lifelong and acquired. Moreover, we verified if, by adopting DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 criteria for diagnosing PE, some differences emerged in percentages of diagnosed cases. The sample consisted of 222 patients aged 18-70. The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-15) was used to assess erectile function, and the Premature Ejaculation Severity Index (PESI) was used to assess the severity of PE dysfunction. Neuroticism and Extraversion were measured with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R). In our results, Neuroticism and Extraversion were dependent on the kind of sexual dysfunction and its severity. These results suggest that type, time of onset and severity of sexual dysfunctions should be considered as related to specific personality characteristics and vice versa

Neuroticism, extraversion, stressful life events and asthma: a cohort study of middle-aged adults

ABSTRACT Background: Stressful life events can trigger asthma exacerbations, but could also contribute to the development of incident asthma. However, only few studies have investigated the association between stressful life events and adult asthma prospectively. Likewise, stress-related personality traits (e.g. neuroticism and extraversion) may increase asthma risk, but this has been examined in only one prospective study. We therefore aimed to investigate the association between neuroticism, extraversion, stressful life events and incident asthma. Methods: A population-based sample of 5114 middle-aged adults completed questionnaires between 1992 and 1995. Among those alive in 2002/2003, 4010 (83%) were followed-up by questionnaires. Exposures of interest included neuroticism, extraversion and three stressful life events (unemployment, having broken off a life partnership and death of a close person). Associations with incident asthma were estimated by multivariable risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) using Poisson regression. Results: High vs low neuroticism predisposed to developing asthma (RR = 3.07, 95% CI = 1.71–5.48), but high extraversion did not (RR = 1.30, 95% CI = 0.79–2.15). Having broken off a life partnership significantly increased asthma risk (RR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.20–4.21) in contrast to death of a close person (RR = 1.06, 95% CI = 0.64–1.75) or unemployment (RR = 1.65, 95% CI = 0.72–3.78). Conclusions: High levels of neuroticism may increase the risk of asthma in middle-aged adults. Having broken off a life partnership was the only stressful event, which was associated with incident asthma. Synthesized with evidence from earlier studies, this could reflect that interpersonal conflicts may increase asthma risk, possibly along an immunological pathway

Perceived susceptibility to negative consequences of risky sexual behavior among college students

Research has shown that college students understand the risks associated with risky sexual behavior, but make up to close to 50% of new STI cases every year. Previous research suggests that lower perceived susceptibility to negative consequences, extroversion, openness, and neuroticism are all related to risky sexual behavior. Three hypotheses are proposed. Hypothesis one proposes that men and women will have significantly different levels of perceived susceptibility. Hypothesis two proposes that perceived susceptibility, extroversion, openness, and neuroticism predict sexual risk taking. Finally, hypothesis three proposes that perceived susceptibility will be negatively correlated with sexual risk taking, whereas extroversion, openness, and neuroticism will be positively correlated with sexual risk taking. Hypothesis one was not supported, hypothesis two was supported, and hypothesis three was only partially supported. Future directions in safe sex education are suggested.Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance ServicesThesis (M.A.