Search

The goal of the present study was to examine the motivational underpinnings of helping behavior by looking at self-regulatory demands in relation to pro-social personality traits. Across two experiments, we explored the idea that helping behavior is easier or more intrinsically motivated for those high in pro-social traits, and requires more effortful regulation for those low in pro-social traits. We reasoned that helping behavior may be less sensitive to fatigue, and less fatiguing, for pro-social people in an ego-depletion paradigm. Specifically, in Study 1 (n = 79), we hypothesized that people high in pro-social traits would show better Stroop task performance, following an initial helping task. In Study 2 (n = 91), we expected to find higher helping rates for those high on pro-social traits following a difficult Stroop task manipulation. Contrary to our predictions, Study 1 suggested that those high in pro-social traits were more cognitively depleted following helping, compared to those low in pro-social traits; in Study 2 high pro-social trait scores were associated with less persistence on a helping task following depletion. Overall, our findings suggest that helping behavior is more difficult or effortful for the dispositionally pro-social. Discussion focuses on possible explanations of and degree of confidence in this suggestion.

Personality traits describe average tendencies, yet momentary behaviors in trait domains vary widely. Notably, both dispositional introverts and extraverts experience greater positive affect when behaving in extraverted ways. We test a potential explanation: extraverted behavior may evoke more positive social feedback from others. In Study 1, participants who were randomly assigned to interact with confederates who acted extraverted (vs. introverted) displayed more positive verbal and nonverbal social behaviors during interactions. Behaviors were rated by the participant, confederate, and an observer (via video). Study 2 reversed roles; neutral confederates who interacted with participants who were randomly assigned to act extraverted (vs. introverted) displayed more positive social behaviors. This research extends previous findings by examining how enacted extraversion influences interaction dynamics.

Aron and Aron (1997) introduced the personality construct of high sensitivity, characterized by a presumably physiological, overactive sensory-processing sensitivity. Their measure of high sensitivity, the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS), predicts negative life-outcomes. However, previous research questioned the unidimensional nature of the questionnaire, and proposed its division into two- or three-factor models, with a handful of items reflecting a distinct type of sensitivity. Two studies ( N = 154 and N = 118) extended previous findings by showing that this distinct sensitivity subscale had the weakest correlations with the full HSP scale and its other subscales, and that it had a distinctive and more desirable pattern of associations with personality traits and well-being measures, compared to other sensitivities. Our findings suggest that not all sensory-processing sensitivities are associated with undesirable life-outcomes, and emphasize the value of developing sensitivity measures further.

Research has established relationships between the personality dimensions of neuroticism and BIS and broad negative emotional reactivity. However, few researchers have examined the relationships among neuroticism, BIS, and discrete negative emotional reactivities. The present study examined whether individuals scoring high on neuroticism and BIS were more reactive across four discrete negative mood inductions, relative to those scoring low on these traits. Participants ( n = 166) completed personality questionnaires, measures of current mood, viewed a specific mood-inducing film clip (sadness, anger, fear or disgust) and then reported their moods a second time. Results revealed that neuroticism/BIS was associated with high reactivity to the fear and sadness inductions. Neuroticism/BIS did not predict anger or disgust reactivity, but neuroticism/BIS and extraversion/BAS interacted in predicting anger. Although further research is needed to extend generalizability, it appears that neuroticism and BIS predict negative emotional reactivity broadly, but not ubiquitously.

The goal of the present study was to explore how parental BIS/BAS relates to parenting styles, and to investigate if subjective well-being (SWB) moderates these associations. Mothers ( n = 95) were asked to complete measures of personality, parenting styles, and life satisfaction (SWB). Results revealed that mothers who reported high BAS were significantly more likely to report being nurturing and were either more likely to be authoritative (high nurture and high control) or neglectful (low nurture and low control). Subsequent analyses revealed that mothers high in both BAS and SWB were significantly more likely to be authoritative, whereas mothers high in BAS and low in SWB were significantly more likely to be neglectful. Results suggest the value of considering personality in parenting research.

Certain voluntary human participant pool procedures (e.g. where the participant selects when to participate in experiments) can compromise the representativeness of samples and the efficacy of random assignment procedures. In this study we recorded the time and date that university students participated in two experiments run during two different months in the same semester, and found significant test–retest correlations between times of participation. These correlations suggest that when students participate in psychological research may be a stable characteristic related to personality. We then correlated composite (combined across the two experiments) time and date scores with an array of standard demographic and personality measures, and found that experiment participation time was related to several personality variables (e.g. sensation seeking, morningness, achievement motivation). We conclude that, although the effect is likely to be small, some voluntary sign-up procedures and experimental procedures can introduce systematic bias in the form of personality differences.

This study used a comprehensive measure of personality, the NEO PI-R to assess the broad traits and narrower facets of personality that predict time of participation in a University subject pool across one semester. A variety of additional demographic and academic variables (e.g. grade point average, semesters completed, current number of semester credits being taken, total degree credits earned) were investigated as they related to both time of participation and enjoyment of participation. Significant associations were found that replicated previous research (e.g. extraverts participate later; compliant persons participate earlier) and previously unreported associations were identified (e.g. openness and its facets correlate significantly with time of participation). Suggestions as to how to avoid these potential experimental confounds and increase truer random assignment of subject pool participants to experimental research are made.