Research Feed

A curated collection of research papers, articles, and related news and media exploring the Big Five personality traits.

RESEARCH
The Other “Authoritarian Personality.”
Altemeyer · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · January 1998

This research examines how authoritarian and submissive personalities develop through social learning rather than innate traits. Submissiveness often originates from adolescent training in obedience and conventionalism. Conversely, authoritarians tend to be ethnocentric and maintain double standa...

RESEARCH
Personality measurement: Reliability and validity issues
West & Finch · Handbook of personality psychology · January 1997

This work introduces foundational research in personality measurement, emphasizing key issues such as the nature of psychological constructs, as well as the importance of reliability and validity. It highlights measurement approaches that not only assess traits but also advance theoretical unders...

RESEARCH
Psychological defense: Contemporary theory and research
Paulhus et al. · Handbook of personality psychology · January 1997

Psychological defense is the process of regulating painful emotions like anxiety and loss of self-esteem, often through unconscious mental processes. While early theories focused on internal conflicts regarding sex and aggression, more primitive mechanisms like denial protect against external rea...

RESEARCH
Personality influences on the choice of situations
Ickes et al. · Handbook of personality psychology · January 1997

This chapter explores how individuals maintain behavioral consistency by actively selecting environments that align with their traits. This 'person-situation fit' suggests that stability in behavior across time is not just an internal mechanism but a result of people choosing settings where their...

RESEARCH
Extraversion and Its Positive Emotional Core
Watson, D. & Clark, L.A. · Handbook of Personality Psychology · January 1997

This review examines the evolution and structure of extraversion, tracing its development from early typological views to modern trait-based models. It integrates foundational theories with contemporary perspectives linking extraversion to affect and personality frameworks. The authors propose a ...

RESEARCH
Openness Neuroticism
Intelligence, personality, and interests: Evidence for overlapping traits
Ackerman & Heggestad · Psychological Bulletin · January 1997

This study explores how intelligence, personality, and vocational interests overlap. It distinguishes between intelligence as 'maximal performance' (testing well) and 'typical performance' (everyday thinking). By analyzing these connections, the researchers identified four 'trait complexes'—socia...

RESEARCH
Personality and coping: three generations of research
Suls et al. · Journal of personality · December 1996

The study of how individuals manage stress has evolved through three distinct theoretical generations. Early psychoanalytic models initially merged personality and coping as one, while the subsequent transactional approach shifted focus toward situational factors and cognitive appraisals. The cur...

RESEARCH
Resilient, overcontrolled, and undercontrolled boys: Three replicable personality types
Robins et al. · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · January 1996

Research identifies three replicable personality types among adolescents (Resilients, Overcontrollers, and Undercontrollers) that generalize across different racial backgrounds. Resilients are characterized by high intelligence and ego resiliency, leading to academic success and low delinquency. ...

RESEARCH
Agreeableness
Meta-analytic review of research on hostility and physical health
Miller et al. · Psychological Bulletin · January 1996

This meta-analysis of 45 studies identifies hostility as an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD) and all-cause mortality. Using structured interviews to measure hostile potential yielded a correlation of r=.18 with CHD. Notably, the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale and similar cogn...

RESEARCH
Exploring careers with a typology: What we have learned and some new directions
Holland · American Psychologist · January 1996

Holland's typology emphasizes that professional flourishing depends on congruence between an individual’s personality and their work environment. When a person's RIASEC type aligns with their workplace characteristics, they experience higher job satisfaction, stability, and performance; conversel...

RESEARCH
Neuroticism
The longitudinal course of marital quality and stability: A review of theory, methods, and research
Karney & Bradbury · Psychological Bulletin · January 1995

This review of 115 longitudinal studies involving 45,000 marriages emphasizes that relationship success is a dynamic trajectory, not a static state. By evaluating decades of data, the authors developed an integrative model showing how individual vulnerabilities, external stressors, and adaptive c...

RESEARCH
Agreement among judges of personality: Interpersonal relations, similarity, and acquaintanceship
Funder et al. · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · January 1995

This study investigated how different groups—including parents, friends, and strangers—agree on an individual's personality traits. Researchers found that while knowing a person in the same context helps, it is not required for agreement; in fact, acquaintances who had never met agreed as much as...

RESEARCH
Conscientiousness
Psychosocial and behavioral predictors of longevity: The aging and death of the 'Termites
Friedman et al. · American Psychologist · January 1995

This longitudinal study followed a cohort of gifted children across several decades to determine how personality and family stress impact longevity. Researchers discovered that psychosocial factors, particularly impulsive or undercontrolled personality traits and the experience of parental divorc...

RESEARCH
Persons, Places, and Personality: Career Assessment Using the Revised NEO Personality Inventory
Costa et al. · Journal of Career Assessment · January 1995

This study highlights how the NEO PI-R and its 30 specific traits can be applied to vocational counseling and job placement. By using the NEO Job Profiler alongside the inventory, researchers can identify the specific personality requirements of an occupation, such as law enforcement. This dual a...

RESEARCH
Domains and facets: Hierarchical personality assessment using the Revised NEO Personality Inventory
Costa & McCrae · Journal of Personality Assessment · January 1995

This research explains the hierarchical structure of the NEO-PI-R, where five broad personality domains are each supported by six specific facets. While domain-level scores provide a quick overview of an individual, analyzing the facets offers a more precise psychological profile. This multi-leve...

RESEARCH
Temperamental qualities at age three predict personality traits in young adulthood: Longitudinal evidence from a birth cohort
Caspi & Silva · Child Development · January 1995

This longitudinal study demonstrates that behavioral styles identified at age 3 are significant predictors of personality traits in young adulthood. By age 18, 'Undercontrolled' children emerged as impulsive and aggressive, while 'Inhibited' children remained socially cautious and low in danger-s...

RESEARCH
Openness Extraversion Neuroticism
Relationship between the Five Factor model of personality and Axis I disorders in a nonclinical sample
Trull T.J. & Sher K.J., · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · January 1994

This study confirms the Five-Factor Model (FFM) effectively distinguishes individuals with Axis I disorders from those without. Across 468 young adults, personality dimensions provided unique diagnostic insights, even when accounting for general psychopathological symptoms. These findings highlig...

RESEARCH
The structure of phenotypic personality traits
Goldberg · American Psychologist · January 1993

This historical overview traces the evolution of the Big Five factor structure, which has become the dominant framework for studying individual differences. The taxonomy is rooted in the 'lexical hypothesis,' the idea that important personality traits are eventually encoded into language. Its dev...

RESEARCH
Openness Conscientiousness
Identity, self, and personality: I. Identity status and the five-factor model of personality
Clancy & Dollinger · Journal of Research on Adolescence · January 1993

This study connects James Marcia’s four identity statuses—Achievement, Foreclosure, Moratorium, and Diffusion—to the Big Five traits. Researchers found that Identity Achievers exhibit high Conscientiousness and Extraversion with low Neuroticism. Conversely, Foreclosure correlates with low Opennes...

RESEARCH
Recurrent personality factors based on trait ratings
Tupes & Christal · Journal of Personality · June 1992

This landmark study identifies five robust and recurring personality factors (Surgency, Agreeableness, Dependability, Emotional Stability, and Culture) which served as the foundational precursors to the modern Big Five. By analyzing 35 traits across eight highly diverse samples (ranging from airm...