Research Feed

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

RESEARCH
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
Universals and Variations in Musical Preferences: A Study of Preferential Reactions to Western Music in 53 Countries
Greenberg et al. · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Personality Processes and Individual Differences · January 2022

This massive study of over 350,000 people across six continents reveals that preferences for Western music follow universal patterns that transcend cultural boundaries. By analyzing both genre favorability and direct audio reactions, researchers identified five consistent latent factors of musica...

RESEARCH
Agreeableness
The Health Behavior Model of Personality in the Context of a Public Health Crisis
Willroth et al. · Psychosomatic Medicine · January 2021

This study suggests that individuals lower in agreeableness are more likely to resist or fail to comply with behavioral health mandates, such as those issued during public health crises. The findings indicate that tailoring health communication strategies to personality differences could improve ...

RESEARCH
Agreeableness
Psychological characteristics associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and resistance in Ireland and the United Kingdom
Murphy et al. · Nat Communications · January 2021

Based on representative data from Ireland and the United Kingdom, this study found that approximately 31-35% of the population displayed COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy or resistance. While these groups varied in sociodemographic backgrounds, they shared consistent psychological profiles across both n...

RESEARCH
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
How personality and policy predict pandemic behavior: Understanding sheltering-in-place in 55 countries at the onset of COVID-19
Gotz et al. · American Psychologist · January 2021

Applying a Lewinian interactionist framework, this study examined how both government policy and personality traits influenced sheltering-in-place behavior across 54 countries. Researchers found that while strict government policies effectively increased compliance, individual personality traits ...

RESEARCH
Conscientiousness Agreeableness Neuroticism
Just the Way You Are: Linking Music Listening on Spotify and Personality
Anderson et al. · Social Psychological and Personality Science · January 2021

This study leverages massive streaming data from Spotify to demonstrate that musical preferences are a powerful window into personality. By analyzing millions of songs and over 200 behavioral metrics, researchers used machine learning to predict Big Five traits with high accuracy. The findings ch...

RESEARCH
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
Personality and parenting
Prinzie et al. · Handbook of parenting: Being and becoming a parent · January 2019

This chapter offers a comprehensive introduction to the theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence linking personality to parenting. It begins by establishing the core concepts within personality psychology and parenting research, then transitions into a detailed review of how specific traits ...

RESEARCH
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness
Maternal personality and psychopathology as determinants of parenting behavior: A quantitative integration of two parenting literatures
McCabe · Psychological Bulletin · January 2014

This meta-analysis demonstrates that maternal personality and psychopathology are deeply interconnected determinants of parenting. Mothers with high Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness, alongside low Neuroticism and psychopathology, consistently exhibited more adaptive warmth and c...

RESEARCH
Extraversion Openness Agreeableness Conscientiousness Neuroticism
International Personality Item Pool: A Scientific Collaboratory for the Development of Advanced Measures of Personality Traits and Other Individual Differences
Johnson, J.A. · International Personality Item Pool · January 2014

The site includes over 3,000 items and over 250 scales that have been constructed from the items. New items and scales are developed on an irregular basis. The items and scales are in the public domain. This work offers a robust scientific foundation for understanding the stable patterns of human...

RESEARCH
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
The relations between parents' Big Five personality factors and parenting: a meta-analytic review
Prinzie et al. · Journal of personality and social psychology · January 2009

A meta-analysis of nearly 6,000 parent-child dyads indicates that a parent’s personality serves as a significant resource for their caregiving style. Higher levels of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness correlate with increased warmth and behavioral control. Furthermore, ...

RESEARCH
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
Personality and the Prediction of Consequential Outcomes
Ozer & Benet · Annual Review of Psychology · January 2006

The Big Five personality factors serve as powerful heuristics for predicting outcomes across multiple life domains. At the individual level, traits are linked to health, happiness, and identity. Interpersonally, they shape the quality of family and romantic relationships. Finally, at the institut...

RESEARCH
Extraversion Agreeableness
The interplay of traits and motives on volunteering: Agreeableness, extraversion and prosocial value motivation
Carlo et al. · Personality and Individual Differences · January 2005

This study examines how personality traits and internal motives interact to drive volunteerism. Researchers found that 'prosocial value motivation' (the desire to help others) is the bridge that links Agreeableness and Extraversion to actual volunteering. Interestingly, as Agreeableness decreases...

RESEARCH
Agreeableness
Forgiveness and personality traits
Brose et al. · Personality and Individual Differences · January 2005

This study investigated the link between our ability to forgive others and the Big Five personality traits. The findings show that people who are more Agreeable tend to forgive more easily, while those higher in Neuroticism may find it more difficult to let go of grudges. Interestingly, the resea...

RESEARCH
Conscientiousness Agreeableness
Delinquent Behavior and the Five-Factor Model: Hiding in the Adaptive Landscape? <i>Individual Differences Research</i>, 2(1), 38-62
Wiebe · Individual Differences Research · January 2004

This study questions whether the Five-Factor Model fully captures traits relevant to criminal behavior. It finds that only agreeableness and conscientiousness consistently predict offending, while additional criminogenic traits (such as deception and self-deception) add substantial explanatory po...

RESEARCH
Agreeableness Neuroticism
Work experiences and personality development in young adulthood
Roberts et al. · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · January 2003

This longitudinal research reveals a reciprocal relationship between personality and professional life during the transition into adulthood. While personality traits at age 18 significantly predict both objective and subjective work experiences by age 26, the reverse is also true: early career ex...

RESEARCH
Openness Extraversion Agreeableness
Meta-analysis of the relationship between the five-factor model of personality and Holland's occupational types
Barrick et al. · Personnel Psychology · January 2003

This study examines the connection between the Big Five personality traits and Holland’s RIASEC occupational types. The findings reveal that while these models overlap, they measure distinct aspects of an individual. The strongest links exist between Enterprising roles and Extraversion, as well a...

RESEARCH
Extraversion Agreeableness
Dispositional and organizational influences on sustained volunteerism: An interactionist perspective
Penner · Journal of Social Issues · December 2002

Volunteerism is defined as long-term, planned prosocial behavior that benefits strangers within an organizational context. This research highlights that sustained service is driven by both dispositional variables (such as specific personality traits and religiosity) and organizational factors, su...

RESEARCH
Extraversion Agreeableness
The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography
McCullough et al. · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · January 2002

Research across four studies identifies gratitude as a distinct disposition strongly linked to higher well-being, prosociality, and spirituality. Notably, the grateful disposition is negatively associated with envy and materialism. These relationships remain significant even when controlling for ...

RESEARCH
Openness Extraversion Agreeableness
Meta-analyses of Big Six interests and Big Five personality factors
Larson et al. · Journal of Vocational Behavior · January 2002

This meta-analysis identifies robust links between Holland’s Big Six vocational interests and the Big Five personality domains. The strongest connections include Artistic with Openness (r=.48), Enterprising with Extraversion (r=.41), and Social with Extraversion (r=.31). These findings indicate t...

RESEARCH
Extraversion Agreeableness
Agreeableness, extraversion, and peer relations in early adolescence: Winning friends and deflecting aggression
Jensen-Campbell et al. · Journal of Research in Personality · January 2002

This longitudinal research identifies Agreeableness as the primary personality dimension influencing adolescent peer relations and social safety. While both Agreeableness and Extraversion correlate with peer acceptance, Agreeableness uniquely serves as a protective shield against victimization. S...

RESEARCH
Agreeableness Neuroticism
Perceived personality associations with differences in sense of humor: Stereotypes of hypothetical others with high or low senses of humor
Cann, A. & Calhoun, L.G. · Humor: International Journal of Humor Research · July 2001

This research highlights how a strong sense of humor acts as a powerful social asset by shaping how others perceive our personality. Across two studies, observers consistently linked a 'well above average' sense of humor to a suite of socially desirable traits. Specifically, individuals with a gr...