Social role and birth cohort influences on gender-linked personality traits in women: A 20-year longitudinal analysis.

BackgroundClinical depression is associated with reductions in white-matter integrity in several long tracts of the brain. The extent to which these findings are localized or related to depressive symptoms or personality traits linked to disease risk remains unclear.MethodMembers of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (LBC936) were assessed in two waves at mean ages of 70 and 73 years. At wave 1, they underwent assessments of depressive symptoms and the personality traits of neuroticism and extraversion. Brain diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were obtained at the second wave and mood assessments were repeated. We tested whether depressive symptoms were related to reduced white-matter tract fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of integrity, and then examined whether high neuroticism or low extraversion mediated this relationship.ResultsSix hundred and sixty-eight participants provided useable data. Bilateral uncinate fasciculus FA was significantly negatively associated with depressive symptoms at both waves (standardized β=0.12–0.16). Higher neuroticism and lower extraversion were also significantly associated with lower uncinate FA bilaterally (standardized β=0.09–0.15) and significantly mediated the relationship between FA and depressive symptoms.ConclusionsTrait liability to depression and depressive symptoms are associated with reduced structural connectivity in tracts connecting the prefrontal cortex with the amygdala and anterior temporal cortex. These effects suggest that frontotemporal disconnection is linked to the etiology of depression, in part through personality trait differences.

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Beliefs and Attributions toward Computing Technology

Journal of Organizational and End User Computing ◽

10.4018/joeuc.2015070102 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

pp. 27-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Richard D. Johnson ◽

Natasha Veltri ◽

Jason B. Thatcher

Keyword(s):

Personality Traits ◽

Social Role ◽

Social Cues ◽

Attributions Of Responsibility ◽

Computer Interfaces ◽

The Social ◽

User Personality ◽

Moderating Role ◽

Made In

This study critiques and extends the work of , who investigated the relations between social cues in an interface, user personality, user beliefs about the social role and capabilities of computers, and the attributions of responsibility users made for their interactions and outcomes with a computer. In this study, rather than examining the simple, direct effects investigated previously, we examine the moderating role of social cues in the interface. In addition, building upon recent findings from psychology, the authors assess personality traits individually, rather than aggregating them. To evaluate the theorized relations, 152 individuals participated in a controlled laboratory experiment, where social cues in two computer interfaces were manipulated. Results indicate that social cues moderate the relations between personality, beliefs about the social role of computing, and the attributions made. In addition, the results suggest that disaggregating personality traits is theoretically and practically richer than aggregating them.

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