Research Feed

This PRISMA-guided systematic review synthesized 14 studies (2020–2025) on Big Five/HEXACO traits and vocational outcomes in adolescents. Conscientiousness and Openness were positive correlates of career maturity, decision-making self-efficacy, and vocational identity in several studies, though Conscientiousness's effect often weakened or reversed once RIASEC interests or self-efficacy were added as predictors. Neuroticism (and its HEXACO counterpart, Emotionality) was the most consistent trait, reliably linked to greater decisional difficulty and career self-doubt. Extraversion and Agreeableness showed more selective associations, aligning with enterprising/social interests. RIASEC personality–aspiration congruence varied by culture (moderate in a collectivistic Asian sample versus low in a rural Latin American sample) though this contrast rests on just one study per context.

This study tracked 334 psychiatric inpatients across treatment, examining how Big Five traits changed alongside depression severity. Neuroticism declined significantly while Conscientiousness and Extraversion increased; these trait changes correlated strongly with depression reduction. At the symptom level, higher Neuroticism predicted slower improvement across sadness, guilt, insomnia, and work difficulty, while higher Extraversion and Agreeableness predicted faster gains in specific symptoms like pessimism and self-blame; Conscientiousness showed no item-level effects.

This study used eye-tracking with 30 construction workers (extreme scorers on the Big Five) to examine how personality traits relate to hazard-related visual attention in work-at-height scenarios. High-Agreeableness and High-Conscientiousness workers showed the most hazard-oriented attention—longer fixations on critical zones, higher risk-area fixation probability, and the top two Visual Attention Efficacy scores (0.839 and 0.765). High-Openness and High-Extraversion workers displayed broader, more exploratory scanning but weaker focus on high-risk areas, yielding the lowest efficacy scores (0.163 and 0.137). High-Neuroticism workers showed fragmented, unstable attention patterns, landing at an intermediate efficacy level (0.230), consistent with Attentional Control Theory's account of anxiety impairing top-down attentional control.

Study of 139 male Saudi pre-medical students found openness to experience and extraversion positively predicted performance on both academic writing (r=0.292, r=0.171) and oral presentations (r=0.310, r=0.205), while conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism showed no significant correlations. Writing and oral proficiency were themselves strongly correlated (r=0.500), suggesting shared cognitive processes. Findings support tailoring communication training around personality profiles (fostering curiosity and social engagement) rather than relying solely on traditional academic predictors like conscientiousness.

Survey of 165 Chinese international high school students found clear links between music taste and Big Five traits: K-pop and electronic music fans scored higher on extraversion; those preferring Chinese pop, Chinese-style, and classical music scored higher on conscientiousness and agreeableness; and rap, rock, and indie/folk fans scored higher on openness but lower on emotional stability. The study (a student-authored project using simplified scales) suggests students gravitate toward music matching their personality and emotional needs, with streaming algorithms, fan culture, and exam stress further reinforcing these patterns.

In a study of 1,349 Greek adults, higher Neuroticism predicted greater insomnia severity, while Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Agreeableness showed protective associations (though the latter two didn't hold up independently in multivariate models). Facet-level analyses linked insomnia specifically to Neuroticism's anxiety and depression facets, lower organization, and lower energy. Notably, anxiety weakened the Neuroticism-insomnia link at higher levels rather than strengthening it, suggesting personality traits matter most when distress is mild-to-moderate, with implications for tailoring insomnia treatment to a person's current emotional state.

Study of 276 Swedish medical students and 471 practicing surgeons found students preferring surgical specialties showed lower neuroticism, higher extraversion, and (after adjustment) higher conscientiousness than peers preferring non-surgical fields. Female students scored higher than male students in conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Comparisons with surgeons suggested traits intensify with career stage (surgeons showed the most pronounced conscientiousness/low neuroticism profile, followed by surgery-interested students) supporting a self-selection-plus-socialization model rather than purely innate predisposition.

Study of 520 parents and adult children in strained relationships found distinct personality predictors of estrangement for each group. Among parents, higher extraversion (particularly the enthusiasm facet) predicted greater odds of being estranged by an adult child, possibly reflecting expressive, contact-seeking styles that adult children experience as pressure rather than warmth. Among adult children, higher openness predicted lower odds of initiating estrangement, likely due to greater tolerance for value differences and flexible conflict resolution. No other Big Five traits were significant in either group, though higher education also reduced estrangement odds among adult children.

The study found that among 451 Turkish campers, Big Five personality traits collectively predicted both leisure activity involvement and behavioral loyalty (repeat campsite visits). Specific trait-level findings indicated that emotionally stable individuals were more likely to revisit familiar sites, viewing challenges as adventure rather than stress. Conscientious campers favored reliable, safe sites and showed stronger loyalty, while extraverted campers were drawn to socially active settings. Those higher in openness tended toward variety-seeking, potentially weakening loyalty. Agreeableness supported loyalty when group dynamics and service quality were positive. Leisure involvement mediated personality's effect on loyalty, and this pathway was amplified when place dependence was high.

Analyzing four large panels (N=63,502), this study found reciprocal, small effects between loneliness and Big Five traits over 4-year intervals. Higher-than-typical extraversion, conscientiousness, and emotional stability each predicted lower subsequent loneliness (βs ≈ -0.02 to -0.04). Conversely, elevated loneliness predicted later declines in extraversion, conscientiousness, and emotional stability (βs ≈ -0.02 to -0.03). Agreeableness and openness showed weaker, less consistent associations, suggesting a genuinely bidirectional but modest relationship between loneliness and specific personality traits.

In 116 Indonesian psychology undergraduates, neuroticism was significantly positively associated with academic stress (r = 0.207), while extraversion (r = -0.331), agreeableness (r = -0.346), conscientiousness (r = -0.199), and openness (r = -0.366) showed significant negative associations. Openness had the strongest protective effect. Findings suggest sociability, empathy, discipline, and cognitive flexibility buffer academic stress, while emotional instability heightens vulnerability, extending Western personality-stress research to a collectivist educational context.

In 296 adolescents tracked over two years, student-teacher agreement on Big Five traits was highest for Extraversion (highly observable, low evaluativeness) and lowest for Neuroticism (less observable, more evaluative). Conscientiousness showed stronger agreement for girls than boys. Teachers consistently rated Extraversion, Openness, and (for girls) Neuroticism lower than students' self-ratings. Both personality traits and social competencies showed high temporal stability, with teacher ratings more stable than self-ratings, and agreement remained consistently low across the study period.

In 239 university students, conscientiousness emerged as the strongest personality predictor of both general and sport-specific mental toughness, with agreeableness showing smaller positive contributions. Neuroticism wasn't linked to mental toughness directly but predicted higher competitive anxiety among athletes. Training frequency correlated with both toughness types, and general mental toughness related to academic performance. Sport-specific mental toughness negatively predicted competitive anxiety, suggesting conscientiousness and emotional stability jointly shape resilience under pressure.

This narrative review of 31 studies finds that chronic stress is consistently associated with higher neuroticism and lower levels of the remaining four Big Five traits. The neuroticism link is the strongest and most well-replicated; evidence for reduced conscientiousness is moderate; associations with extraversion, agreeableness, and openness are meaningful but largely cross-sectional. The relationship is likely bidirectional, and social support, coping strategies, and socioeconomic status all moderate these effects.

Wu, Van der Linden, Liu et al. (2026) asked whether creativity is better predicted by individual personality traits or by an overall personality profile. Using 197 Chinese college students, they found that people who score high across all five traits simultaneously (open, conscientious, outgoing, agreeable, and emotionally stable) tend to be rated as more creative by peers and themselves, and perform better on creative thinking tasks. No single trait explained as much as the combined profile.

Aravindh et al. (2026) surveyed 260 retired older adults in Chennai, India, finding that roughly one-third showed problematic or at-risk internet use. Among Big Five traits, conscientiousness was negatively associated with internet addiction while neuroticism and openness were positively associated; extraversion and agreeableness showed no significant links. Younger age, higher education, and prior government employment were also independent predictors of problematic use.

This meta-analysis pooled 51 studies (about 45,800 people) on personality and internet pornography use. Problematic use, meaning viewing that feels out of control, tracked most closely with sexual compulsivity and impulsivity, and more weakly with neuroticism and anxious attachment. Conscientiousness and self-control ran the opposite way: more disciplined people used less. Agreeableness was slightly negative, while extraversion and openness showed only tiny links. Effects were modest and correlational, so personality alone doesn't explain or cause use.

Friesen, Rebasso, Chow, and Djupe (2026) surveyed 964 U.S. adults during the 2020 election cycle, finding that more extraverted people enjoyed political activities more, regardless of whether those activities were done alone or with others. Notably, extraverted men got a bigger enjoyment boost from politics than equally extraverted women, especially for activities involving debate or disagreement. Since enjoying politics predicts actually doing it, this gap may help explain why women participate less politically.

Zavhorodnia and Shepelova (2026) studied 147 Ukrainian university students (mean age 24, 78% women) during wartime martial law. Emotional stability was the strongest protective factor for subjective well-being, followed by openness, extraversion, and conscientiousness. Agreeableness unexpectedly predicted well-being decline, likely reflecting emotional exhaustion from caregiving demands in a predominantly female sample. Openness mediated effects of extraversion and novelty tolerance, and emotional stability moderated openness's protective role.

Wilson and Calanchini (2026) examined how cultural tightness — the strength of social norms and intolerance of deviance — predicts personality at regional levels. Across U.S. states, tighter regions scored higher in conscientiousness and lower in openness. Cross-nationally (56 countries), tighter nations scored lower in extraversion and the creativity facet of openness. Agreeableness, neuroticism, and most conscientiousness facets showed no consistent relationships with tightness.