scholarly journals Educational Attainment and Personality Are Genetically Intertwined

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1631-1639 ◽  
Author(s):  
René Mõttus ◽  
Anu Realo ◽  
Uku Vainik ◽  
Jüri Allik ◽  
Tõnu Esko

Heritable variance in psychological traits may reflect genetic and biological processes that are not necessarily specific to these particular traits but pertain to a broader range of phenotypes. We tested the possibility that the personality domains of the five-factor model and their 30 facets, as rated by people themselves and their knowledgeable informants, reflect polygenic influences that have been previously associated with educational attainment. In a sample of more than 3,000 adult Estonians, education polygenic scores (EPSs), which are interpretable as estimates of molecular-genetic propensity for education, were correlated with various personality traits, particularly from the neuroticism and openness domains. The correlations of personality traits with phenotypic educational attainment closely mirrored their correlations with EPS. Moreover, EPS predicted an aggregate personality trait tailored to capture the maximum amount of variance in educational attainment almost as strongly as it predicted the attainment itself. We discuss possible interpretations and implications of these findings.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
René Mõttus ◽  
Anu Realo ◽  
Uku Vainik ◽  
Jüri Allik ◽  
Tõnu Esko

AbstractHeritable variance in psychological traits may reflect genetic and biological processes that are not necessarily specific to these particular traits but pertain to a broader range of phenotypes. We tested the possibility that Five-Factor Model personality domains and their 30 facets, as rated by people themselves and their knowledgeable informants, reflect polygenic influences that have been previously associated with educational attainment. In a sample of over 3,000 adult Estonians, polygenic scores for educational attainment (EPS; interpretable as estimates of molecular genetic propensity for education) were correlated with various personality traits, particularly from the Neuroticism and Openness domains. The correlations of personality traits with phenotypic educational attainment closely mirrored their correlations with EPS. Moreover, EPS predicted an aggregate personality trait tailored to capture maximum amount of variance in educational attainment almost as strongly as it predicted the attainment itself. We discuss possible interpretations and implications of these findings.



2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtland S. Hyatt ◽  
Emily S. Hallowell ◽  
Max M. Owens ◽  
Brandon M. Weiss ◽  
Lawrence H. Sweet ◽  
...  

Abstract Quantitative models of psychopathology (i.e., HiTOP) propose that personality and psychopathology are intertwined, such that the various processes that characterize personality traits may be useful in describing and predicting manifestations of psychopathology. In the current study, we used data from the Human Connectome Project (N = 1050) to investigate neural activation following receipt of a reward during an fMRI task as one shared mechanism that may be related to the personality trait Extraversion (specifically its sub-component Agentic Extraversion) and internalizing psychopathology. We also conducted exploratory analyses on the links between neural activation following reward receipt and the other Five-Factor Model personality traits, as well as separate analyses by gender. No significant relations (p < .005) were observed between any personality trait or index of psychopathology and neural activation following reward receipt, and most effect sizes were null to very small in nature (i.e., r < |.05|). We conclude by discussing the appropriate interpretation of these null findings, and provide suggestions for future research that spans psychological and neurobiological levels of analysis.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kadri Arumäe ◽  
René Mõttus ◽  
Uku Vainik

Various personality traits are known to correlate with body mass index (BMI). However, rarely have studies looked beyond BMI to understand how adiposity and other metabolic characteristics relate to psychological traits. We explored personality traits’ phenotypic and genetic associations with basal metabolic rate (BMR) and an improved index of adiposity—relative fat mass (RFM)—and assessed how personality traits’ associations with RFM differ from their associations with BMI. In a subsample of the Estonian Biobank (N = 3,535), we correlated RFM, BMI, and BMR, as well as their polygenic scores, with the five domains and 30 facets of NEO Personality Inventory-3. Various traits, notably Openness and its facets, associated with RFM above and beyond BMI. Assertiveness consistently correlated with BMR, mirroring associations with conceptually similar traits in non-human animals, but not with RFM as may have been expected based on previous studies. Genetic analyses suggested that some personality trait–metabolic marker associations have genetic bases while others may be environmental in origin. The use of BMI can lead to both attenuated and inflated estimates of personality trait–adiposity associations. Personality traits may be involved in the development of overweight, but metabolic variables may additionally contribute to differences in personality traits.



2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 812-830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonela Tommasel ◽  
Alejandro Corbellini ◽  
Daniela Godoy ◽  
Silvia Schiaffino

Purpose – Followee recommendation is a problem rapidly gaining importance in Twitter as well as in other micro-blogging communities. To find interesting users to follow, most recommendation systems leverage different factors such as graph topology or user-generated content, among others. Those systems mostly disregard, however, the effect of psychological characteristics, such as personality, over the followee selection process. As personality is considered one of the primary factors that influence human behaviour, the purpose of this paper is to shed some light on the impact of personality traits on followee selection. Design/methodology/approach – The authors performed a data analysis comparing the similarity among Twitter users and their followees regarding personality traits. The authors analysed three different similarity measures. First, the authors computed an overall similarity considering the five personality traits or dimensions of the Five-Factor model as a whole. Second, the authors computed the dimension-to-dimension similarity considering each individual personality trait independently of each other. Third, the authors computed a cross-dimension similarity considering each personality dimension in relation to the others. Findings – This study showed that personality should be considered as a distinctive factor in the process of followee selection. However, personality dimensions should not be analysed as a whole as the overall personality similarity might not accurately assess the actual matching between individuals. Instead, the performed data analysis showed the existence of relations among the individual dimensions. Thus, the importance of considering each personality trait with respect to others is stated. Originality/value – This study is among the firsts to study the impact of personality, one of the primary factors that influence human behaviour and social relationships, in the selection of followees in micro-blogging communities.



Assessment ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 107319112110061
Author(s):  
Jared R. Ruchensky ◽  
M. Brent Donnellan ◽  
Christopher J. Hopwood ◽  
John F. Edens ◽  
Andrew E. Skodol ◽  
...  

Structural models of personality traits, particularly the five-factor model (FFM), continue to inform ongoing debates regarding what personality attributes and trait domains are central to psychopathy. A growing body of literature has linked the constructs of the triarchic model of psychopathy (boldness, meanness, disinhibition) to the FFM. Recently, researchers developed both item and regression-based measures of the triarchic model of psychopathy using the NEO Personality Inventory–Revised—a popular measure of the FFM. The current study examines the correlates of these two FFM-derived operationalizations of the triarchic model using data from the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study. The two approaches had strong convergent validity coefficients and similar patterns of criterion-related validity coefficients. Meanness related to greater personality pathology characterized by exploitation of others and poor attachment, whereas disinhibition related to indicators of greater negative affect and poor behavioral constraint. Boldness related to reduced negative affect and greater narcissistic personality traits. Although the item and regression-based approaches showed similar patterns of associations with criterion-variables, the item-based approach has some practical and psychometric advantages over the regression-based approach given strong correlations between the meanness and disinhibition scores from the regression approach.





2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 91-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Kożusznik ◽  
Anita Pollak ◽  
Dominik Adamek ◽  
Damian Grabowski

Abstract Our article presents work on the development and validation of Influence Regulation and Deinfluentization Scale (DEI-beh). Reviewing concepts regarding its influence constitutes an introduction to the original deinfluentization concept coined by Barbara Kożusznik. The author’s theory has provided the basis for creating a diagnostic tool. The elaborated DEI-beh method consists in evaluating conditions which determine managerial effectiveness and shape reciprocal influences among team members. Our article describes this tool’s creation and its validation procedure. Positive relationships between DEI-beh’s individual dimensions and temperament characteristics, defined in Pavlov’s concept (1952), and selected personality traits, proposed in the Five-Factor Model Personality by Costa and McCrae (1992), confirm the tool’s external validity.



2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 299-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarete Vollrath ◽  
Markus A. Landolt ◽  
Karin Ribi

Previous studies based on a variety of behaviour, temperament, and personality measures identified a pattern of over‐activity, impulsiveness, emotional instability, and aggressiveness in children who are prone to accidents. The present study is the first to study accident‐prone children by means of a comprehensive test for the assessment of the Five Factor model (Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children (HiPIC) (Mervielde & De Fruyt, 1999). 118 children, aged 6–15 years, who were hospitalized due to an accident‐related injury, were contrasted with 184 school‐children of the same age. Lower socio‐economic status was under‐represented in both groups. Children who were exposed to accidents had higher scores on the facets of energy, optimism, and non‐shyness (Extraversion domain), and lower scores on the facets of concentration and achievement striving (Conscientiousness domain). There was no indication of higher aggressiveness, impulsiveness, or emotional instability in the group exposed to accidents, and there were no gender‐by‐accident interactions. Results suggest that there is a relatively benign pattern of personality traits that is related to greater accident hazard in children. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.



2002 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uwe Wolfradt ◽  
Jörg Felfe ◽  
Torsten Köster

This study examines the relationship between self-perceived emotional intelligence (EI) measured by the Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) [1] and other personality measures including the five-factor-model. The EI construct has lately been re-defined as the ability to think intelligently about emotions and to use them to enhance intelligent thinking [2]. Two studies provide support that self-reported EI is mainly associated with personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, self-perceived creativity), life satisfaction and thinking styles with only a low relation to verbal intelligence. Furthermore, persons higher in the EI dimension “emotional efficacy” produced more creative performances than persons low in this domain. These findings suggest that self-reported EI cannot be considered as a rational form of intelligence so that it does qualify to fit into the framework of personality traits.



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