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Recent findings have shown that both trait levels of personality and situational variability in its expression are of importance. So here, the Big Five personality traits of 77 professional and 125 amateur stand-up comedians were compared with two large matched samples ( N > 100,000). The comedians were also observed while performing, which enabled a comparison of their stage personalities with situational requirements on 10 selected NEO-PIR facets. Both amateurs and professionals showed higher openness-to-experience, extraversion, and lower conscientiousness than their norm samples, while professionals also evidenced greater neuroticism. Irrespective of trait standing, with regard to most NEO-PIR facets, professionals expressed the appropriate on-stage persona and were better able to regulate their personality to conform to situational requirements than amateurs. This is consistent with research showing that individuals regulate their personality to conform to situational and goal requirements, and adds the finding that successful comedians demonstrate enhanced adaptability compared with amateurs.

Communicating intelligence research : media misrepresentation, the Gould Effect and unexpected forces

A growing body of empirical evidence now supports a negative association between dark traits in leaders and the psychological health of employees. To date, such investigations have mostly focused on psychopathy, nonspecific measures of psychological wellbeing, and have not considered the mechanisms through which these relationships might operate. In the current study (N = 508), we utilized other-ratings of personality (employees rated leaders' personality), psychometrically robust measures, and sophisticated modeling techniques, to examine whether the effects of leaders' levels of narcissism and psychopathy on employee depression are mediated by workplace bullying. Structural equation models provided clear evidence to suggest that employee perceptions of both leader narcissism and psychopathy are associated with increased workplace bullying (25.8% and 41.0% variance explained, respectively) and that workplace bullying fully mediates the effect of leader narcissism and psychopathy on employee depression (21.5% and 20.8% variance explained, respectively). However, when psychopathy and narcissism were modeled concurrently, narcissism did not explain any variance in bullying, suggesting that it is the overlap between psychopathy and narcissism, namely, the "dark core," which primarily accounts for the observed effects. We examined this assertion empirically and explored the unique effects of the subfactors of psychopathy. (PsycINFO Database Record

Sex differences in personality, though widely commented on, have rarely been investigated either outside of the Five Factor Model, or using the most sophisticated methodologies. The current article looks to address this gap in research by applying Multi-Group Covariance and Means Structural Analysis (MG-CMSA) to the US standardisation sample ( n = 10,261) of the 16PF5. The results indicated that the assumptions of measurement invariance do not hold for the global scales of the 16PF5. Consequently, mean differences were only investigated in the 15 primary personality scales. Women reported substantially higher levels of Sensitivity ( d = −2.29) and Warmth ( d = −.89). Moderate sex differences were located in a number of further scales. Women reported higher levels of Apprehension ( d = −.60) whilst men reported higher levels of Emotional Stability ( d = .53), Dominance ( d = .54), and Vigilance ( d = .36). These differences were shown to be systematically larger than estimates of mean differences in the same scales from observed scores.

We used structural equation modeling to test the hypothesis that a General Factor of Personality (GFP) occupies the apex of the hierarchy of personality disorders in three validation samples of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology — Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ). In a general population sample (N= 942), we found a GFP explained 34% of the variance in four first-order factors and 33% of the variance in all 18 scales. In a twin sample (N= 1,346), a GFP explained 35% of the variance in four first-order factors and 34% of the variance in all 18 scales. In a clinical sample (N= 656), a GFP explained 34% of the variance in four first-order factors and 30% of the variance in all 18 scales.

A General Factor of Personality (GFP) occupies the apex of the hierarchy in three prominent personality disorder inventories. On the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III, a GFP accounted for 41% of the variance in two second-order factors, 31% of the variance in five first-order factors, and 26% of the variance in all 24 scales. On the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology, a GFP accounted for 61% of the variance in six first-order factors and 36% of the variance in all 18 scales. In a cross-validation study of the Personality Assessment Inventory, a GFP accounted for 65% of the variance in two second-order factors, 47% of the variance in five first-order factors, and 27% of the variance in all 18 scales.

The hypothesis that a General Factor of Personality (GFP) occupies the apex of the hierarchical structure of personality was examined in the validation sample of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. A maximum likelihood estimation model that went from the 11 primary traits to five higher-order traits resembling the Big Five, and from there to the Big Two (Plasticity, Stability), and from there to the Big One, provided a good fit to the data, explaining 25% of the variance in the two second-order factors. We consider the GFP from the perspective of evolutionary life-history theory.

Background This study examines the effects of integrated and segregated schooling on Northern Irish children's self-reported contact and friendship with members of the other denominational group in school and community settings. Aim To assess the effects of cross group friendships and cross group contacts in school and outside school on children's political attitudes. Sample A cross-sectional design was employed with 1732 children being assessed at three age levels 11,12 & 14 years in eight-matched integrated, maintained (Catholic) and controlled (Protestant) schools. Method Lisrel modelling was used to investigate the interrelationships among cross group friendship quality, cross group contacts in school and outside school and children's political attitudes. Results Intergroup contact within and outside school was reported frequently in integrated schools but only occasionally in segregated schools. Modelling revealed that cross group contacts in school and outside school were both associated with less extreme political attitudes. Friendship quality with cross group members had no significant effects on political attitudes. Conclusions The results provide support for educating Protestants and Catholics together as a means of moderating attitudes and creating cross-community friendships in a divided society.

In three studies, we analyzed validation data from personality questionnaires to test whether a general factor of personality (GFP) occupies the apex of the multi-factorial hierarchy. In Study 1, we carried out a cross-validation study of the Comrey Personality Scales (Ns = 746, 2097) and found a GFP explained 41% of the reliable variance in a model that went from the eight primary traits to three higher-order factors (Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Empathy), and from there to the GFP. In Study 2, we analyzed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (N=2600) and found a GFP explained 49% of the variance in two second-order factors and 20% of the total reliable variance in a model that went from the 10 clinical scales to four higher-order factors to two second-order factors to the big one. In Study 3, we analyzed the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (N=840) and found a bi-factor model in which a GFP accounted for 41% of the reliable variance with significant loadings on four of the five factors (Open-Mindedness, 0.49; Social Initiative, 0.36; Emotional Stability, 0.38; and Flexibility, 0.95).

In two studies, we used structural equation models to test the hypothesis that a General Factor of Personality (GFP) occupies the apex of the hierarchy of personality. In Study 1, we found a GFP that explained 45% of the reliable variance in a model that went from the Big Five to the Big Two to the Big One in the 14 studies of inter-scale correlations ( N = 4496) assembled by Digman (1997). A higher order factor of Alpha/Stability was defined by Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Agreeableness, with loadings of from 0.61 to 0.70, while Beta/Plasticity was defined by Openness and Extraversion with loadings of 0.55 and 0.77. In turn, the GFP was defined by Alpha and Beta with loadings of 0.67. In Study 2, a GFP explained 44% of the reliable variance in a similar model using data from a published meta-analysis of the Big Five ( N = 4000) by Mount, Barrick, Scullen, and Rounds (2005). Strong general factors such as these, based on large data sets with good model fits that cross validate perfectly, are unlikely to be due to artifacts and response sets.

Meta-analyses are presented of sex differences in (1) the (mental) arithmetic subtest of the Wechsler intelligence tests for children and adolescents (the WISC and WPPSI tests), showing that boys obtained a mean advantage of .11d; (2) the (mental) arithmetic subtest of the Wechsler intelligence tests for adults (the WAIS tests) showing a mean male advantage of .47d; (3) the digit span subtest of the Wechsler intelligence tests for children and adolescents (the WISC and WPPSI tests), showing that girls obtained a mean advantage of .134d; (4) the digit span subtest of the Wechsler intelligence tests for adults (the WAIS tests) showing a male advantage of .116d among adults. These results show that the sex differences on mental arithmetic are not consistent with the sex differences on digit span. It is proposed that the reason for this is that mental arithmetic is a measure of working memory capacity while digit span is a measure of immediate memory capacity. If this is accepted, the results indicate that there is virtually no sex difference in immediate memory capacity (measured by digit span) but a small male advantage among children and a substantial male advantage among adults in working memory capacity (measured by mental arithmetic). The results are further interpreted in terms of Kyllonen's theory that working memory capacity is g. If this is accepted, it follows that males have an advantage in g and that the higher average means obtained by men in IQ tests like the WAIS and the Progressive Matrices is attributable to their advantage in g.

There is scientific and popular dispute about whether there are sex differences in cognitive abilities and whether they are relevant to the proportions of men and women who attain high-level achievements, such as Nobel Prizes. A recent meta-analysis (Lynn, R., and Irwing, P. (2004). Sex differences on the progressive matrices: a meta-analysis. Intelligence, 32, 481–498.), which suggested that males have higher mean scores on the general factor in intelligence (g), proved especially contentious. Here we use a novel design, comparing 1292 pairs of opposite-sex siblings who participated in the US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY1979). The mental test applied was the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), from which the briefer Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) scores can also be derived. Males have only a marginal advantage in mean levels of g (less than 7% of a standard deviation) from the ASVAB and AFQT, but substantially greater variance. Among the top 2% AFQT scores, there were almost twice as many males as females. These differences could provide a partial basis for sex differences in intellectual eminence.

Sex differences on the WISC-R (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised) are examined in a sample of 1258 11 year olds in Mauritius. Boys obtained a significantly higher Full Scale IQ by 5.8 IQ points. Boys obtained a higher Performance IQ by 6.5 IQ points and a higher Verbal IQ by 1.0 IQ points. On the subtests, girls obtained a significantly higher mean on Coding while boys obtained significantly higher means on Similarities, Picture Completion, Block Design, Object Assembly and Mazes. There was no significant sex difference on Digit Span. Two methods were adopted for determining whether boys had an advantage on Spearman's g. First, calculated from the first principal component of a principal components analysis, boys had an advantage on Spearman's g of 6.15 IQ points. Second, using the method of entering the sex difference on each of the subtests as point-biserial correlations, including these in the full matrix of subtest correlations for factor analysis and examining the factor loading of sex on g produced a correlation between sex and g of .224, the equivalent of a sex difference of 6.9 IQ points. Thus the sex difference on the Full Scale IQ was found to be a good approximate measure of the difference in g. The pattern of sex differences in Mauritius is compared with that in eight other countries and found to be generally similar, although the boys' advantage is greater in Mauritius than elsewhere. The variance in boys is slightly greater than in girls, but is only significant for Block Design.

A meta-analysis is presented of 57 studies of sex differences in general population samples on the Standard and Advanced Progressive Matrices (SPM and APM, respectively). Results showed that there is no difference among children aged 6–14 years, but that males obtain higher means from the age of 15 through to old age. Among adults, the male advantage is 0.33d equivalent to 5 IQ points. These results disconfirm the frequent assertion than there are no sex differences on the progressive matrices and support a developmental theory that a male advantage appears from the age of 15 years. A meta-analysis of 15 studies of child samples on the Colored Progressive Matrices showed that among children aged 5–11 years boys have an advantage of 0.21d equivalent to 3.2 IQ points.

Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) was administered to a sample of 2735 12- to 18-year-olds in Estonia. Both a scree test and the consistent Akaike information criterion (CAIC) indicated the presence of three significant factors. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed the loadings of the items on the three factors, which were identified as the gestalt continuation found by van der Ven and Ellis [Pers. Individ. Differ. 29 (2000) 45], verbal–analytic reasoning and visuospatial ability. Further analysis of the three factors showed a higher order factor identifiable as g. Examination of age by sex differences showed that on all four factors girls performed better than boys at the age of 12, there was no sex difference at age 14, while boys performed better than girls at the age of 17, although not significantly on visuospatial ability.

Sex differences on the Advanced Progressive Matrices are reported for a sample of 2222 American college students. Males obtained a significantly higher mean of 3.4 IQ points, contrary to the frequently made contention that there is no sex difference on the Progressive Matrices but confirming the position of Lynn (1994, 1999) that from the age of 16 years males obtain a higher mean on the Progressive Matrices than females. The standard deviation was a little but not significantly greater in females, contrary to the frequent assertion that the male variance for intelligence is greater than the female.

To date, research into personality traits among gamblers has been largely inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to assess the predictive values of three personality traits on pathological gambling (sensation seeking, deferment of gratification and competitiveness) – two of which (deferment of gratification and competitiveness) have never been investigated before. A questionnaire was administered to 114 gamblers of whom 38% were classified as pathological gamblers according to the DSM-IV criteria. The questionnaire included the Sensation Seeking Scale (Zuckerman, M. (1984). Sensation seeking: a comparative approach to a human trait. Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 7, 413–471.), the Deferment of Gratification Scale (Ray, J.J. and Najman, J. (1986). The generalisability of deferment of gratification. Journal of Social Psychology, 126, 117–119.) and the Gambling Competitiveness Scale constructed by the authors specifically for this study. Results showed that competitiveness had a strong positive predict...

Self-perceptions of children from the integrated school sector in Northern Ireland were compared with those of children attending religiously segregated schools. In a cross-sectional study, the self-perceptions of 546 boys and girls aged 11–13 years and 14–15 years, at two integrated comprehensive and five segregated post-primary schools in Northern Ireland, were measured using the Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985). The results of a School Type (2) Year Group (3) Gender (2) Religion (2) MANCOVA, controlling for social class and ethos of schools, demonstrated a significant main effect for school type, with significant univariate effects favouring those at the integrated schools in the domains of physical appearance ( p 5 .01), social acceptance ( p 5 .01) global self-worth ( p 5 .05), and athletic competence ( p 5 .05). No evidence of a School Type Year Group interaction suggests that these differences existed on entrance to the two types of school. A main effect for gender, favouring boys in physical appearance ( p 5 .001), athletic competence ( p 5 .05), and global self-worth ( p 5 .05), and girls on behavioural conduct ( p 5.001), supported previous studies. Meanwhile, a post hoc analysis on the only significant interaction effect, for School Type Religion, showed that Catholic adolescents from the integrated sector perceived themselves to be significantly more scholastically competent than those from the segregated sector ( p 5 .05). To further assess the development and stability of self-esteem among these adolescents, a long-term longitudinal study is indicated.

This paper has the three objectives of attempting to replicate a previous study in which it was found that males have substantially greater general knowledge in most fields or domains than females, and of determining how far sex differences in general knowledge are a function of differences in either Gf (fluid intelligence), or experience. The results confirmed the previous study to the effect that males have higher means in a general knowledge factor of approximately.50 d (half a standard deviation). It was found further that there was no significant sex difference in Gf measured by Baddeley's Grammatical Reasoning Test, and only a low correlation between general knowledge and Gf. Analysis of covariance showed that differential experience as indicated by 'A'-level points and socio-economic status had only a marginal impact on the observed sex difference. The results are interpreted as showing that sex differences in general knowledge cannot be explained as a function of differences in either Gf or experience. It is proposed further that general knowledge should be regarded as a new second-order factor and designated as semantic memory.

In order to examine its higher-order factor structure, we applied confirmatory factor and invariance analysis to item level data from the US standardization sample of the 16PF5, divided into a calibration sample (N = 5,130) and a validation sample (N = 5,131). Using standard assessments of model fit, all primary factors displayed good to excellent model fit, thus suggesting the scales to be broadly unidimensional. Results indicated a drop in model fit in both the structural and configurally invariant second order models, suggesting some level of misspecification in the global scales of Extraversion, Anxiety, Tough-Mindedness, Independence, and Self-Control. However, the degree of misspecification was slight. Overall, the analyses generally supported the proposed structure of the 16PF5.

This paper is concerned with the issues of the factorial structure of long-term semantic memory, with what are the major domains of long-term memories for different kinds of information and knowledge, and whether these are positively intercorrelated to form a general factor of long-term semantic memory. The methodology of the study consisted of the construction of a test of general knowledge, which endeavoured to cover all major areas or domains of general knowledge in western cultures. This was administered to 509 females and 209 males, mean age 20.9 years, most of whom (638) were undergraduate students. Nineteen measures conforming to primary domains of general knowledge were subjected to confirmatory factor analyses, using LISREL 8.30. A model with six first-order factors (Physical Health and Recreation, Current Affairs, Fashion, Family, Arts and Science) showed a good fit to the data (SRMR=0.047). In a subsequent higher-order factor analysis, the six first-order factors loaded substantially (range 0.54–0.90) on a single second-order factor (SRMR=0.050). Thus, all domains of general knowledge tested in the study were positively intercorrelated and explicable in terms of a strong general factor of long-term semantic memory ability. The six first-order factors are probably expressions of interests.

A general information or knowledge test, which was shown to measure 19 domains of general knowledge, six first-order factors and one second-order general factor, was constructed. Data obtained from 469 female and 167 male undergraduates were tested for sex differences using Student's t and Hotelling's multivariate t. It was found that males obtained significantly higher means than females on the second-order general factor and on four of the six first-order factors identified as information about Current Affairs, Physical Health and Recreation, Arts and Science. Females obtained a significantly higher mean than males on the first-order factor identified as Family. There was no sex difference on the remaining first-order factor identified as Fashion. The results confirm the findings in a number of standardisation samples of the Wechsler tests that males obtain higher average scores than females on the Information subtests and that this is not attributable to a bias in favor of males on these tests.

The effects of Abacus training in mental computation on intelligence assessed with the standard progressive matrices (SPM) was investigated in a sample of 3185 children aged between 7 and 11 years in Sudan. The sample was divided into two groups matched for scores on the SPM, sex, age and urbanization. The experimental group was given an intensive Abacus program training for two hours per week for 34 weeks. The control group did not receive any training. Following the end of the training the control and the experimental groups were retested with the SPM. Controlling for practice effects, the experimental group gained a statistically significant 7.11 IQ points attributable to the training. The experimental group also performed significantly faster following training. The results suggest that the introduction of a greater emphasis on problem solving skills in Sudanese schools may be expected to increase general intelligence.

Background. While studies of students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness (SETEs) have a long history in the United States, few studies have been carried out with United Kingdom students. Aims. This paper examines the utility of using a questionnaire approach to assess teaching effectiveness with United Kingdom students. Structural modelling was used to examine perceived relationships between teacher, course and student characteristics. Sample. A total of 1708 full-time undergraduate students undertaking degrees in health and social science courses at the University of Ulster participated in the study. Method. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and structural modelling techniques (LISREL 8) were employed to investigate participants' responses to the Teaching Effectiveness Survey, a measure of students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness. Results. Perceived Teaching Quality was found to be related to course characteristics. Teacher, course and student characteristics together explained 88 per cent of the variance in students' Overall Evaluations with Teaching Quality, course and student characteristics explaining 42 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent respectively. Conclusion. The results suggest that questionnaire items derived from American studies can be used effectively with United Kingdom students. Students' perceptions of overall course effectiveness were found to be dependent on student and course characteristics as well as teacher inputs.

Northern Irish children's use of relationship rules when inter acting with own and other group members was examined using a rule endorsement methodology derived from Argyle & Henderson (1984, 1985). A total of 503 children, who ranged from 9-11 years old and who attended Protestant (state) or Catholic (maintained) schools were presented with four vignettes depicting instances of positive and negative in-group and out-group behaviour. The results revealed that children use rules in a simplistic manner with a single intimacy factor underlying their ratings. Children differentiated clearly between positive or negative behaviour in their use of rules. Denominational information had a smaller effect on children's ratings, with both Protestant and Catholic children displaying a significant preference for `Protestant' as opposed to `Catholic' actors. The results are discussed in terms of other examples of children's self-derogation found in Northern Ireland and the utility of this methodology in understanding in-group and out-group bias in intergroup encounters and relationships.

While it is now widely recognized that a general factor (GFP) can be extracted from most personality data, this finding has been subject to numerous critiques: (1) that the GFP is an artefact due to socially desirable responding; (2) that it is factorially indeterminate; (3) that it can be more parsimoniously modelled using blended variables; (4) that it shows less genetic variance due to dominance than should be true of a fitness trait; (5) that it correlates more weakly with g than would be predicted from Life History theory; (6) that it cannot be recovered across personality inventories. We present new evidence and argument to show that each of these critiques is open to reasonable doubt. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

A recent hypothesis is that a general factor of personality (GFP) occupies the apex of the hierarchy of personality as well as the apex of the personality disorders in the same way in which g , the general factor of mental ability, occupies the apex in the organization of cognitive abilities (Rushton, Bons, & Hur, 2008 ). High scores on the GFP indicate what is meant by someone having a “ good ” personality; low scores indicate what is meant by a “ diffi cult ” personality, in other words someone who is hard to get along with. Individuals high on the GFP are altruistic, agreeable, relaxed, conscientious, sociable, and open, with high levels of well being and self esteem. Because the GFP defi nes clear positive and negative poles, it provides potential for understanding the socially “ advantaged ” (those with high levels of emotional intelligence) as well as the socially “ challenged ” (those more likely to suffer a personality disorder). The GFP can be viewed as a dimension of social effectiveness. The explanation we favor for the GFP is that it arose through evolutionary selection for socially desirable traits that facilitate performance across a wide range of contexts (Rushton et al., 2008 ). This follows a proposal by Darwin (1871) that natural selection acted directionally, to endow people with more cooperative and less contentious personalities than their archaic ancestors or nearest living relatives, the chimpanzees. Rushton et al. (2008) conjectured that individuals high on the GFP left more progeny, since people prefer as mates, fellow workers, and leaders those who are altruistic, conscientious, and emotionally stable. People able to cooperate in groups were also more likely to win competitions and wars. The alternative to the GFP being substantive is that it results from artifacts of scale construction and from evaluative bias such as responding in a socially desirable manner. The main empirical impetus for identifying a GFP comes from the observation that the Big Five factors typically intercorrelate, despite claims that they are

We examined whether the General Factor of Personality (GFP) is related to the g factor of cognitive ability using data from the Vietnam Experience Study which randomly sampled 4462 Vietnam War veterans from a total sample of about five million Vietnam era army veterans. Exclusionary criteria included passing a fitness test, achieving a final rank of no higher than sergeant, and scoring above the 10th percentile on a pre-induction general aptitude test, but otherwise the sample is broadly representative of the U.S. male population for the period 1965-1971. A hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and 15 cognitive ability tests yielded three first-order factors from the MMPI (Somatization, Internalization, and Externalization), and four first-order factors from the cognitive ability tests (Memory, Dexterity, Crystallized, and Fluid intelligence). At the apex of both measures was a general factor and we were able to fit a model which integrated both structures. This model provided a close fit to the data (χ 2=3114.1, df=235, RMSEA=.052, SRMR=.047, NNFI=.97), and provided an estimate of -.23 for the correlation between g and the GFP(Abnormal), that is, the higher the g score the higher the score on the GFP. One possible reason for the low correlation is restriction of range in the sample. Another is that intelligence and personality are to a degree mutually exclusive strategies, the first aimed at generating resources and the second at maximizing one's share of resources. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

Background: Sex differences in personality are believed to be comparatively small. However, research in this area has suffered from significant methodological limitations. We advance a set of guidelines for overcoming those limitations: (a) measure personality with a higher resolution than that afforded by the Big Five; (b) estimate sex differences on latent factors; and (c) assess global sex differences with multivariate effect sizes. We then apply these guidelines to a large, representative adult sample, and obtain what is presently the best estimate of global sex differences in personality. Methodology/Principal Findings: Personality measures were obtained from a large US sample (N = 10,261) with the 16PF Questionnaire. Multigroup latent variable modeling was used to estimate sex differences on individual personality dimensions, which were then aggregated to yield a multivariate effect size (Mahalanobis D). We found a global effect size D = 2.71, corresponding to an overlap of only 10% between the male and female distributions. Even excluding the factor showing the largest univariate ES, the global effect size was D = 1.71 (24% overlap). These are extremely large differences by psychological standards. Significance: The idea that there are only minor differences between the personality profiles of males and females should be rejected as based on inadequate methodology. © 2012 Del Giudice et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

It has been suggested that attitudes towards emotional expression constitute one vulnerability factor for psychological disorder following the experience of a stressful life-event. However, although there has been much research on what are thought to be dysfunctional attitudes, no suitable measure currently exists with which to test this prediction. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to construct a measure of negative cognitions and behaviours concerning emotional expression. Psychometric data are presented on a 20-item scale with high internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.90). Convergent validity of the scale was demonstrated by an examination of its association with seeking social support (r= − 0.46), in a sample of 180 undergraduates. Four second order factors were also identified: one behavioural coping style subscale (e.g. ‘when I'm upset I bottle up my feelings’); and 3 cognitive subscales to do with; (1) the meaning (e.g. ‘turning to someone else for advice or help is a sign of weakness’), (2) the expression (e.g. ‘I should always have complete control over my feelings’), and (3) the consequences (e.g. ‘my bad feelings will harm other people if I express them’) of showing emotions.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the General Factor of Personality (GFP) and Self-Esteem. We found a GFP that explained 57% of the reliable variance in a model that went from the Big Five to the Big Two to the Big One in a secondary analysis of a sample of 628,640 participants, reported by Erdle, Gosling, and Potter (2009) using an interactive website on the Internet. The GFP in turn accounted for 67% of the variance in the measure of Self-Esteem. We discuss alternative possibilities to account for the relationship. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Background Recent research has suggested that intergroup contacts with out-group members can both reduce prejudice and is associated with attitude change. Aim This study extends prior work in Northern Ireland to examine parental and schooling effects on children's attitudes in a post-conflict environment. Sample A large-scale cross-sectional survey of secondary schoolchildren (N = 1,732) and their parents (N = 800) in Northern Ireland assessed the effects of in-school and out-of-school intergroup contacts on intergroup attitudes. Method Multivariate analysis of variance was employed to examine associations between children's political attitudes and parental, group membership, school, and contact variables. Conclusions The results suggest that parental attitudes, group membership, and cross-group contacts explain the majority of variance (58%) in children's political attitudes. The findings provide a comprehensive account of the factors that influence children's political attitudes within a deeply divided society and offer teachers and educationalists a way to improve community relations in a segregated society.

In four studies, we tested the hypothesis that a General Factor of Personality (GFP) occupies the apex of the hierarchy. In Study 1, a GFP was found in 16 sets of Big Five inter-scale correlations (N = 6412) which explained 54% of the variance in the two first-order factors. In Study 2, a GFP was found in validation samples from the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey (N = 2917) which explained 36% of the variance in three first-order factors and 21% of the total reliable variance in a model that went from 10 primary traits to 3 higher-order traits to the GFP. In Study 3, a GFP was found in a validation sample of the California Psychological Inventory (N = 6000) which explained 35% of the variance in two second-order factors, 17% of the variance in six first-order factors, and 20% of the total reliable variance in 20 primary traits. In Study 4, a GFP was found in two validation samples of the Temperament and Character Inventory (N = 1285) which explained 49% of the variance in three first-order factors and 24% of the total reliable variance in a model that went from 7 primary traits to 3 higher-order traits to the GFP. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In three studies, a General Factor of Personality (GFP) was found to occupy the apex of the hierarchical structure. In Study 1, a GFP emerged independent of method variance and accounted for 54% of the reliable variance in a multitrait–multimethod assessment of 391 Italian high school students that used self-, teacher-, and parent-ratings on the Big Five Questionnaire — Children. In Study 2, a GFP was found in the seven dimensions of Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory as well as the Big Five of the NEO PI-R, with the GFPtci correlatingr= .72 with the GFPneo. These results indicate that the GFP is practically the same in both test batteries, and its existence does not depend on being extracted using the Big Five model. The GFP accounted for 22% of the total variance in these trait measures, which were assessed in 651 pairs of 14- to 30-year-old Japanese twins. In Study 3, a GFP accounted for 32% of the total variance in nine scales derived from the NEO PI-R, the Humor Styles Questionnaire, and the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire assessed in 386 pairs of 18- to 74-year-old Canadian and U.S. twins. The GFP was found to be 50% heritable with high scores indicating openness, conscientiousness, sociability, agreeableness, emotional stability, good humor and emotional intelligence. The possible evolutionary origins of the GFP are discussed.

Arising from: S. Blinkhorn Nature 438, 31-32 (2005); Blinkhorn replies. Steve Blinkhorncriticizes our study of samples of university students, in which we found that the average IQ of men is 4.6 points higher than that of women, as measured by the Progressive (or Raven's) Matrices. He maintains that there is a negligible sex difference in adult intelligence. We believe that the principal error of Blinkhorn's criticism is that he does not consider our result in the context of several other studies showing that adult males have an IQ advantage of around 4-6 IQ points.

A meta-analysis is presented of 22 studies of sex differences in university students of means and variances on the Progressive Matrices. The results disconfirm the frequent assertion that there is no sex difference in the mean but that males have greater variability. To the contrary, the results showed that males obtained a higher mean than females by between .22d and .33d, the equivalent of 3.3 and 5.0 IQ conventional points, respectively. In the 8 studies of the SPM for which standard deviations were available, females showed significantly greater variability (F(882,656) = 1.20, p.02), whilst in the 10 studies of the APM there was no significant difference in variability (F(3344,5660) = 1.00, p.05).

It has been suggested that self-concept has both an evaluative and an affective dimension. Measures of self-concept, task satisfaction and performance were obtained from a sample of 188 Northern Irish university students. Using confirmatory factor analysis (LISREL 8), it was shown that, whereas a one-factor model did not fit the self-concept data, a two-factor model in which evaluative items loaded on one factor and affective items on the other, demonstrated a good fit (Incremental Fit Index (IFI) = 0.99). Further, a structural model in which evaluative self-concept was related to performance and affective self-concept was related to task satisfaction also fitted (IFI = 0.99). Thus, both the discriminant and construct validity of affective and evaluative self-concept were demonstrated. This may mean that previous studies have underestimated the magnitude of relationships between self-concept and other variables such as achievement.

This study employed both hierarchical and Bi-factor multi-group confirmatory factor analysis with mean structures (MGCFA) to investigate the question of whether sex differences are present in the US standardization sample of the WAIS-III. The data consisted of age scaled scores from 2450 individuals aged from 16 to 89 years. The findings were more or less uniform across both analyses, showing a sex difference favoring men in g (0.19–0.22d), Information (0.40d), Arithmetic (0.37–0.39d) and Symbol Search (0.40–0.30d), and a sex difference favoring women in Processing Speed (0.72–1.30d).