Research Feed

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

RESEARCH
Extraversion Openness Agreeableness Conscientiousness Neuroticism
Understanding Consumer Responses to Robotic Cafés: A Person–Environment Interaction Perspective
Eojina Kim, Seonwoo Ko, Heesun Park · Cornell Hospitality Quarterly · April 2026

Using Big Five personality traits and Latent Profile Analysis, this study segments South Korean robotic café customers into two profiles: "Mindful Consumers" (higher neuroticism, lower openness) and "Future-Forward Consumers" (higher openness, extraversion, agreeableness). The latter reported stronger emotional engagement and word-of-mouth intentions, especially in fully automated settings. The study demonstrates how trait configurations can predict real-world consumer behavior and inform differentiated service design strategies.

RESEARCH
Extraversion Openness Agreeableness Conscientiousness Neuroticism
Personality Traits and Working Relationships among the Employees of a Public Secondary School
Fregel Lou Prado · International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research · April 2026

This correlational study of 80 Filipino public school employees examined how Big Five traits relate to workplace relationship quality. Employees scored high on agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and extraversion, with moderate neuroticism. All four high-scoring traits positively and significantly correlated with communication, trust, job performance, and perceived leadership style. Neuroticism showed no significant relationship with any of these factors, suggesting it is a poor predictor of workplace relationship quality.

NEWS
Extraversion Openness Agreeableness Conscientiousness Neuroticism
How I changed my personality in six weeks
Laurie Clarke · BBC · January 2026

Journalist Laurie Clarke, who scored with a high percentile for neuroticism on the Big Five personality test, spent six weeks deliberately trying to shift her personality traits through targeted behavioral exercises such as meditating, journaling, attending social events, and practicing kindness. Drawing on real psychological research, she found measurable results: her neuroticism dropped to the 50th percentile, extraversion and agreeableness both improved noticeably. She concludes that intentional personality change is possible, though modest, and requires consistent effort.

RESEARCH
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
Big-Five personality traits and dream experiences: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Marin et al. · Dreaming · January 2026

This meta-analysis of over 65,000 participants confirms that Big Five traits significantly shape our nocturnal experiences. Neuroticism is the primary predictor of nightmare frequency and emotional distress, while Openness correlates with high dream recall, vividness, and lucid dreaming. Extraversion mainly influences the social sharing of dreams. These findings support 'continuity models,' suggesting that our waking affective vulnerabilities and cognitive styles directly extend into our dream lives.

RESEARCH
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Neuroticism
Personality traits can predict which exercise intensities we enjoy most, and the magnitude of stress reduction experienced following a training program
Ronca et al. · Front. Psychol · July 2025

This study highlights that core personality traits are powerful predictors of baseline fitness and the specific exercise intensities individuals enjoy. Notably, participants scoring high in Neuroticism experienced the most significant stress-reduction benefits from aerobic training, suggesting a targeted emotional utility for exercise. Across the spectrum, Openness, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion further dictate these behavioral patterns, providing a scientific basis for how stable traits influence physical health. By understanding these links, interventions can be better tailored to leverage an individual's personality for improved well-being and long-term fitness adherence.

NEWS
Extraversion Openness Agreeableness Conscientiousness Neuroticism
A Personality Expert Says This Is Exactly Why You Keep Getting Stressed Out—and Explains How to Manage It
Justin Bariso · Inc. · May 2025

The article argues that understanding your personality through the Big Five model (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism) can help reduce stress. When core personality needs go unmet, people exhibit stress behaviors. By identifying where you fall on each trait's spectrum, you can better recognize your personal needs and adjust your habits and environment accordingly; ultimately becoming a calmer, more effective version of yourself.

RESEARCH
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism
Linking Big Five personality traits to components of diet: A meta-analytic review
Allen et al. · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · January 2025

This large-scale meta-analysis of over 150,000 participants explores how the Big Five traits influence dietary habits. Researchers found that lower Neuroticism and higher levels of Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Agreeableness consistently predict a healthier diet. These traits affect everything from fruit intake to emotional eating patterns. Interestingly, the positive link between Agreeableness and healthy eating becomes even stronger as people get older.

RESEARCH
Extraversion Openness Neuroticism
"I guess that's why they call it the blues": Personality and the interplay between emotion and genre
Goyal, Yash;Hanji, Shivani;Carlson, Emily;Surana, Aayush;Kala, Divy;Alluri, Vinoo · European Journal of Personality · September 2024

Using Last.fm listening data from 541 users, this study examined how Big Five traits relate to naturally occurring music preferences, analyzing genre tags, emotion tags, and their co-occurrence. Extraversion correlated with high-energy genres like hip-hop, rap, and techno, as well as nostalgic hip-hop and jazz. Openness linked to jazz subgenres. Neuroticism predicted preference for mellow, atmospheric genres like shoegaze and dream-pop, co-occurring with low-arousal emotions like sadness and tenderness, while negatively correlating with high-arousal trance and world music.

RESEARCH
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Neuroticism
The Relationship Between Big Five Personality Traits and Sleep Patterns: A Systematic Review
Guerreiro et al. · Nature and science of sleep · March 2024

This systematic review of 58,812 participants demonstrates that Big Five personality traits significantly influence sleep. High Neuroticism consistently correlates with poor sleep quality and disturbances, while Conscientiousness is a strong predictor of 'morningness' and better sleep hygiene. These findings suggest that personality-driven behaviors shape our nocturnal routines, highlighting the potential for personalized clinical interventions that account for individual psychological profiles to improve long-term sleep health.

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 musical preference that remain stable across different countries. These preferences are closely linked to the Big Five personality traits regardless of location; for instance, Extraversion consistently predicts a liking for upbeat Contemporary styles, while Openness correlates with a preference for complex Sophisticated music. Because these correlations (along with those involving gender and ethnicity) are so invariant, the findings suggest a deep, universal connection between human psychology and musical taste.

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 remained significant predictors of behavior. Specifically, high levels of Openness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism were linked to staying home, while Extraversion was associated with lower compliance. Notably, the influence of Openness and Neuroticism weakened as government restrictions became more stringent, suggesting that while personality drives behavior in flexible environments, strong external policies can partially override these internal tendencies.

RESEARCH
Openness Extraversion Neuroticism
Five-factor model personality traits and verbal fluency in 10 cohorts
Sutin et al. · Psychology and Aging · January 2019

This meta-analysis of 90,000 participants identifies Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, and Conscientiousness as key predictors of verbal fluency. These traits consistently correlate with word retrieval across all age groups, independent of education. Notably, the protective effects of these personality profiles are strongest in older adults and those with less education, highlighting their significant role in maintaining cognitive resilience against age-related decline.

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 influence caregiving behaviors. The chapter concludes by identifying critical gaps in the current literature, proposing future research directions, and summarizing the broader implications of these personality-parenting associations.

RESEARCH
Conscientiousness Extraversion Neuroticism
Personality and sleep quality: Evidence from four prospective studies
Stephan et al. · Health Psychology · January 2018

This large-scale longitudinal study involving over 22,000 adults demonstrates a powerful, bidirectional relationship between personality and sleep quality. Lower Neuroticism and higher Extraversion were the strongest predictors of better sleep, often outweighing demographic factors. Conversely, low Conscientiousness predicted a decline in sleep quality over time. Notably, the relationship is reciprocal: poor sleep quality was associated with 'detrimental' personality trajectories, including steeper declines in Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. These findings suggest that sleep is not just a health outcome influenced by personality, but a critical factor in maintaining a stable and healthy personality profile as we age.

RESEARCH
Openness Extraversion Neuroticism
Personality and physical activity: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Wilson & Dishman · Personality and Individual Differences · January 2015

This meta-analysis examined links between Big Five personality traits and physical activity across over 60 studies. Extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness showed small positive associations with activity, while neuroticism showed a small negative link; agreeableness was not related. Effects varied across study designs and samples. Overall, findings suggest personality has modest but meaningful connections to physical activity, highlighting the need for stronger measures and longitudinal research.

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 control. Path analyses suggest these traits do not act in isolation; rather, shared variance among these psychological characteristics explains their collective impact on parenting behavior, highlighting the need for more integrated family interventions.

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 personality and their significant real-world implications across different environments.

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, Agreeable parents with low Neuroticism are more likely to support a child’s autonomy. Although these effects are small, they remain consistent across various assessment methods and family structures.

RESEARCH
Extraversion Neuroticism
Coping efforts in daily life: Role of Big Five traits and problem appraisals
David & Suls · Journal of Personality · June 2008

This study investigated how the Big Five traits and problem appraisals influence how men cope with daily stressors. Researchers found that low perceived control shifts coping from direct action toward distraction and acceptance, while stressor severity increases reliance on religion and catharsis. Importantly, traits like Neuroticism and Conscientiousness not only predict specific coping strategies but also moderate how individuals react to the severity and uncontrollability of a stressful event.

RESEARCH
Openness Conscientiousness Extraversion Neuroticism
Personality correlates of physical activity: a review and meta-analysis
Rhodes & Smith · British journal of sports medicine · January 2006

A meta-analysis of studies spanning nearly four decades identifies Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism as the primary personality drivers of physical activity. Specifically, individuals who are more outgoing and disciplined tend to exercise more, while those higher in emotional instability are less active. Interestingly, traits like Openness and Agreeableness showed no significant link to activity levels. While more research is needed on specific types of exercise, these core personality-activity relationships appear remarkably consistent across different ages, genders, and cultures.