Examining Relational Aggression in an Individual Differences Context

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Tackett ◽  
Avantè J. Smack ◽  
Kathleen W. Reardon
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Relational Aggression ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Personality Pathology ◽  
Normal Range ◽  
Relationally Aggressive ◽  
Internal And External Factors

Individual differences, such as normal-range personality, personality pathology, and genetics (specifically behavioral genetics), are variables or constructs that can be used to distinguish people. Individual differences have also been used to understand differences in antisocial behavior, including relational aggression, and can help inform the scientific conceptualization of this behavior. This chapter summarizes evidence for individual differences in relational aggression in three dimensions: normal-range personality, personality pathology, and behavioral genetics. Relationally aggressive behaviors are associated with normal-range personality traits, including high negative affect and low interpersonal and intrapersonal self-regulation. Relational aggression also overlaps with personality pathology. With regard to genetics, relational aggression can be explained by genetic factors and also shows substantial influences from environmental factors. Taken together, relational aggression is probably influenced by a number of internal and external factors, and individual differences research highlights potential heterogeneity in the construct.

Viewing relational aggression through multiple lenses: Temperament, personality, and personality pathology

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 863-877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Tackett ◽  
Shauna C. Kushner ◽  
Kathrin Herzhoff ◽  
Avante J. Smack ◽  
Kathleen W. Reardon
Keyword(s):  
Relational Aggression ◽  
Externalizing Problems ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Parent Report ◽  
Personality Pathology ◽  
Relationally Aggressive ◽  
Trait Level ◽  
Dispositional Trait ◽  
Personality Psychopathology

AbstractDispositional trait frameworks offer great potential to elucidate the nature and development of psychopathology, including the construct of relational aggression. The present study sought to explore the dispositional context of relational aggression across three dispositional frameworks: temperament, personality, and personality pathology. Participants comprised a large community sample of youth, aged 6 to 18 years (N= 1,188; 51.2% female). Ratings of children's relational aggression, temperament, personality, and personality pathology traits were obtained through parent report (86.3% mothers). Results showed convergence and divergence across these three dispositional frameworks. Like other antisocial behavior subtypes, relational aggression generally showed connections with traits reflecting negative emotionality and poor self-regulation. Relational aggression showed stronger connections with temperament traits than with personality traits, suggesting that temperament frameworks may capture more relationally aggressive content. Findings at the lower order trait level help differentiate relational aggression from other externalizing problems by providing a more nuanced perspective (e.g., both sociabilityandshyness positively predicted relational aggression). In addition, there was little evidence of moderation of these associations by gender, age, or age2, and findings remained robust even after controlling for physical aggression. Results are discussed in the broader context of conceptualizing relational aggression in an overarching personality-psychopathology framework.

Genetics and Psychology: Beyond Heritability

2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 229-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Plomin ◽  
Essi Colledge
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
Nonshared Environment ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms ◽  
Asking Questions ◽  
Psychological Dimensions

The questions whether and how much genetic factors affect psychological dimensions and disorders represent important first steps in understanding the origins of individual differences. Because it is now widely accepted that genetic influences contribute importantly to individual differences throughout psychology, genetic research is moving beyond merely estimating heritability to asking questions about how genetic mechanisms work. We focus on two examples of ways in which genetic research is going beyond heritability. The first is to use genetically sensitive designs to identify specific environmental influences, taking into account two of the most important findings from behavioral genetics: nonshared environment and genotype-environment correlation. The second is to use the new tools of molecular genetics to identify specific genes responsible for the substantial heritability of a variety of behavioral traits.

Twin Study of Impulsive Buying and its Overlap with Personality

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Bratko ◽  
Ana Butkovic ◽  
Michael Bosnjak
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Twin Study ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Five Factor Model ◽  
Genetic Influences ◽  
Impulsive Buying ◽  
Age And Sex

This study explores the origins of individual differences in impulsive buying from a behavioral genetics perspective. It also assesses whether phenotypic associations between personality and impulsive buying tendency can be attributed to overlapping genetic factors. Data were collected via mail for 339 twin pairs. Personality traits according to a five-factor model and impulsive buying were measured. The results indicate that additive genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental influences may be important for individual differences in impulsive buying. Phenotypic correlations with Impulsivity (r = .32), Neuroticism (r = .23), and Extraversion (r = .20) are largely driven by the overlapping genetic influences. Together with age and sex personality traits explain 25% of individual differences in impulsive buying tendency. These results add to our understanding of individual differences in impulsive buying and the nature of its relationship with personality.

Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia During Sleep and Waking

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Stoakley ◽  
Karen J. Mathewson ◽  
Louis A. Schmidt ◽  
Kimberly A. Cote
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia ◽  
Slow Wave Sleep ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Nrem Sleep ◽  
Sinus Arrhythmia ◽  
Affective Style ◽  
Waking State ◽  
Optimal Period ◽  
The Stability

Abstract. Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is related to individual differences in waking affective style and self-regulation. However, little is known about the stability of RSA between sleep/wake stages or the relations between RSA during sleep and waking affective style. We examined resting RSA in 25 healthy undergraduates during the waking state and one night of sleep. Stability of cardiac variables across sleep/wake states was highly reliable within participants. As predicted, greater approach behavior and lower impulsivity were associated with higher RSA; these relations were evident in early night Non-REM (NREM) sleep, particularly in slow wave sleep (SWS). The current research extends previous findings by establishing stability of RSA within individuals between wake and sleep states, and by identifying SWS as an optimal period of measurement for relations between waking affective style and RSA.

scholarly journals Genetic and environmental architecture of conscientiousness in adolescence

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuke Takahashi ◽  
Anqing Zheng ◽  
Shinji Yamagata ◽  
Juko Ando
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Effortful Control ◽  
Genetic Variance ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Genetic Analyses ◽  
Environmental Correlations ◽  
Per Se

AbstractUsing a genetically informative design (about 2000 twin pairs), we investigated the phenotypic and genetic and environmental architecture of a broad construct of conscientiousness (including conscientiousness per se, effortful control, self-control, and grit). These four different measures were substantially correlated; the coefficients ranged from 0.74 (0.72–0.76) to 0.79 (0.76–0.80). Univariate genetic analyses revealed that individual differences in conscientiousness measures were moderately attributable to additive genetic factors, to an extent ranging from 62 (58–65) to 64% (61–67%); we obtained no evidence that shared environmental influences were observed. Multivariate genetic analyses showed that for the four measures used to assess conscientiousness, genetic correlations were stronger than the corresponding non-shared environmental correlations, and that a latent common factor accounted for over 84% of the genetic variance. Our findings suggest that individual differences in the four measures of conscientiousness are not distinguishable at both the phenotypic and behavioural genetic levels, and that the overlap was substantially attributable to genetic factors.

Influence of genetic factors and institutional environment on entrepreneurial activity: evidence from a twin study in Italy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Zunino
Keyword(s):  
Twin Study ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Behavioral Genetics ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Alternative Theory ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Institutional Environments ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment

Abstract Genetic factors influence entrepreneurial activity, but we know little about how genetic factors influence entrepreneurial activity when the institutional environment is favorable. Two theories from behavioral genetics explain the gene–environment interaction. One theory argues that a favorable environment favors the development of genetic factors and their influence. An alternative theory posits that unfavorable environment triggers the development of genetic factors and their influence. I test these two competing theories with a twin study based in Italy. I compare the influence of genetic factors in provinces where the institutional environment favors entrepreneurial activity with provinces where the institutional environment is unfavorable to entrepreneurial activity. I found consistent evidence that genetic factors exert a larger influence in favorable institutional environments, suggesting that favorable institutional environments complement genetic factors.

Individual differences in visual attention and self-regulation: A multimethod longitudinal study from infancy to toddlerhood

2019 ◽  
Vol 180 ◽  
pp. 104-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanne B. Geeraerts ◽  
Roy S. Hessels ◽  
Stefan Van der Stigchel ◽  
Jorg Huijding ◽  
Joyce J. Endendijk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Self Regulation

Interest as the Missing Motivator in Self-Regulation

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Sansone ◽  
Dustin B. Thoman
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Goal Pursuit ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Goal Striving ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
And Performance

Abstract. Typically, models of self-regulation include motivation in terms of goals. Motivation is proposed to fluctuate according to how much individuals value goals and expect to attain them. Missing from these models is the motivation that arises from the process of goal-pursuit. We suggest that an important aspect of self-regulation is monitoring and regulating our motivation, not just our progress toward goals. Although we can regulate motivation by enhancing the value or expectancy of attaining the outcome, we suggest that regulating the interest experience can be just as, if not more, powerful. We first present our model, which integrates self-regulation of interest within the goal-striving process. We then briefly review existing evidence, distinguishing between two broad classes of potential interest-enhancing strategies: intrapersonal and interpersonal. For each class of strategies we note what is known about developmental and individual differences in whether and how these kinds of strategies are used. We also discuss implications, including the potential trade-offs between regulating interest and performance, and how recognizing the role of the interest experience may shed new light on earlier research in domains such as close relationships, psychiatric disorders, and females' choice to drop out of math and science.

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