Evidence for a Heritable General Factor of Personality in Two Studies

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 254-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Livia Veselka ◽  
Julie Aitken Schermer ◽  
K. V. Petrides ◽  
Philip Anthony Vernon
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Model Fitting ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
General Factor Of Personality ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
And Behavior

AbstractTwo studies were conducted to see whether a general factor of personality (GFP) could be extracted from different measures of personality. Using samples of twins in both studies also allowed an assessment of the extent to which genetic and/ or environmental factors contributed to individual differences in the GFPs that were found. In Study 1, principal components analysis of the Big Five personality traits in combination with four scales of mental toughness yielded a strong GFP and behavior genetic model-fitting showed that individual differences in this GFP were fully accounted for by genetic and nonshared environmental factors. In Study 2, a GFP was extracted from the Big Five traits in combination with 15 facets of emotional intelligence. Individual differences in this GFP were also fully accounted for by genetic and nonshared environmental factors. These studies add to the growing body of research demonstrating the existence of a GFP and replicate one previous report of its heritability.

Beyond the Big Five: The Dark Triad and the Supernumerary Personality Inventory

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Livia Veselka ◽  
Julie Aitken Schermer ◽  
Philip A. Vernon
Keyword(s):  
Big Five ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Model Fitting ◽  
Personality Inventory ◽  
Dark Triad ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
General Factor Of Personality ◽  
Big Five Model ◽  
Correlated Factors

The Dark Triad of personality, comprising Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy, was investigated in relation to the Supernumerary Personality Inventory (SPI) traits, because both sets of variables are predominantly distinct from the Big Five model of personality. Correlational and principal factor analyses were conducted to assess the relations between the Dark Triad and SPI traits. Multivariate behavioral genetic model-fitting analyses were also conducted to determine the correlated genetic and/or environmental underpinnings of the observed phenotypic correlations. Participants were 358 monozygotic and 98 same-sex dizygotic adult twin pairs from North America. As predicted, results revealed significant correlations between the Dark Triad and most SPI traits, and these correlations were primarily attributable to common genetic and non-shared environmental factors, except in the case of Machiavellianism, where shared environmental effects emerged. Three correlated factors were extracted during joint factor analysis of the Dark Triad and SPI traits, as well as a heritable general factor of personality — results that clarified the structure of the Dark Triad construct. It is concluded that the Dark Triad represents an exploitative and antisocial construct that extends beyond the Big Five model and shares a theoretical space with the SPI traits.

Emotion and Behavior: A General Factor of Personality From the EAS Temperament Survey and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 668-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Livia Veselka ◽  
Julie Aitken Schermer ◽  
Caroline Just ◽  
Yoon-Mi Hur ◽  
J. Philippe Rushton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Social Desirability ◽  
Principal Factor ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties Questionnaire ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Order Dimension ◽  
General Factor Of Personality ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties ◽  
And Behavior

The mothers of 603 pairs of 3- to 13-year-old twins in Korea completed the Emotionality, Activity, Sociability (EAS) Temperament Survey and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in reference to their twins. Principal factor analysis of the seven scales comprising these measures yielded a general factor on which all the scales had moderate to large loadings. Univariate behavioral genetic analyses showed that individual differences on this general factor could best be accounted for by additive genetic and non-shared environmental effects, with a heritability of 53%. The results strengthen the construct validity of the general factor of personality (GFP) by extracting this higher-order dimension from disparate measures, and have implications regarding social desirability criticisms applied to the GFP theory.

Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Humor Styles: A Replication Study

2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip A. Vernon ◽  
Rod A. Martin ◽  
Julie Aitken Schermer ◽  
Lynn F. Cherkas ◽  
Tim D. Spector
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
North America ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Model Fitting ◽  
Humor Styles ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Mz Twins

AbstractOne thousand and seventy three pairs of adult monozygotic (MZ) twins and 895 pairs of same sex adult dizygotic (DZ) twins from the United Kingdom (UK) completed the Humor Styles Questionnaire: a 32-item measure which assesses two positive and two negative styles of humor. MZ correlations were approximately twice as large as DZ correlations for all four humor styles, and univariate behavioral genetic model fitting indicated that individual differences in all of them can be accounted for entirely by genetic and nonshared environmental factors, with heritabilities ranging from .34 to .49. These results, while perhaps not surprising, are somewhat at odds with a previous study that we conducted in North America (Vernon et al., in press) in which genetic factors contributed significantly to individual differences in the two positive humor styles, but contributed far less to the two negative styles, variance in which was instead largely due to shared and nonshared environmental factors. We suggest that differences between North American and UK citizens in their appreciation of different kinds of humor may be responsible for the different results obtained in these two studies.

Phenotypic and Genetic Associations Between the Big Five and Trait Emotional Intelligence

2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 524-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip A. Vernon ◽  
Vanessa C. Villani ◽  
Julie Aitken Schermer ◽  
K. V. Petrides
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Trait Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Genetic Associations ◽  
Behavioral Genetic ◽  
Phenotypic Correlations

AbstractThis study reports the first behavioral genetic investigation of the extent to which genetic and/or environmental factors contribute to the relationship between the Big Five personality factors and trait emotional intelligence. 213 pairs of adult monozygotic twins and 103 pairs of same-sex dizygotic twins completed the NEO-PI-R and the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue). Replicating previous non-twin studies, many significant phenotypic correlations were found between the Big Five factors — especially Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness — and the facets, factors, and global scores derived from the TEIQue. Bivariate behavioral genetic model-fitting analyses revealed that these phenotypic correlations were primarily attributable to correlated genetic factors and secondarily to correlated non-shared environmental factors. The results support the feasibility of incorporating EI as a trait within existing personality taxonomies.

scholarly journals A meta-analysis on individual differences in primary emotional systems and Big Five personality traits

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Marengo ◽  
Kenneth L. Davis ◽  
Gökçe Özkarar Gradwohl ◽  
Christian Montag
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Big Five Personality Traits ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Affective Neuroscience ◽  
Emotional Systems

AbstractThe Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) were constructed as a self-report assessment to measure individual differences in Jaak Panksepp’s cross-species primary emotional systems: SEEKING, PLAY, CARE (positive emotions) and FEAR, SADNESS, ANGER (negative emotions). Beginning with the first published work on the ANPS in 2003, individual differences on the ANPS measures of these six primary emotional systems have been consistently linked to Big Five personality traits. From a theoretical perspective, these primary emotional systems arising from subcortical regions, shed light on the nature of the Big Five personality traits from an evolutionary perspective, because each of these primary emotional systems represent a tool for survival endowing mammalian species with inherited behavioral programs to react appropriately to complex environments. The present work revisited 21 available samples where both ANPS and Big Five measures have been administered. Our meta-analytical analysis provides solid evidence that high SEEKING relates to high Openness to Experience, high PLAY to high Extraversion, high CARE/low ANGER to high Agreeableness and high FEAR/SADNESS/ANGER to high Neuroticism. This seems to be true regardless of the ANPS inventory chosen, although much more work is needed in this area. Associations between primary emotional systems and Conscientiousness were in the lower effect size area across all six primary emotions, thereby supporting the idea that Conscientiousness rather seems to be less directly related with the subcortical primary emotions and likely is the most cognitive/cortical personality construct out of the Big Five. In sum, the present work underlines the idea that individual differences in primary emotional systems represent evolutionarily ancient foundations of human personality, given their a) meaningful links to the prominent Big Five model and b) their origins lying in subcortical areas of the human brain.

scholarly journals A less evaluative measure of Big Five personality: Comparison of structure and criterion validity

2021 ◽  
pp. 089020702110129
Author(s):  
Joshua K Wood ◽  
Jeromy Anglim ◽  
Sharon Horwood
Keyword(s):  
Big Five ◽  
Personality Assessment ◽  
Blood Donation ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Criterion Validity ◽  
Communication Styles ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Large Sample Size ◽  
Academic Grades

Researchers and practitioners have long been concerned about detrimental effects of socially desirable responding on the structure and criterion validity of personality assessments. The current research examined the effect of reducing evaluative item content of a Big Five personality assessment on test structure and criterion validity. We developed a new public domain measure of the Big Five called the Less Evaluative Five Factor Inventory (LEFFI), adapted from the standard 50-item IPIP NEO, and intended to be less evaluative. Participants ( n = 3164) then completed standard (IPIP) and neutralized (LEFFI) measures of personality. Criteria were also collected, including academic grades, age, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, protesting, religious worship, music preferences, dental hygiene, blood donation, other-rated communication styles, other-rated HEXACO personality, and cognitive ability (ICAR). Evaluativeness of items was reduced in the neutralized measure. Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability were maintained. Correlations between the Big Five were reduced in the neutralized measure and criterion validity was similar or slightly reduced in the neutralized measure. The large sample size and use of objective criteria extend past research. The study also contributes to debates about whether the general factor of personality and agreement with socially desirable content reflect substance or bias.

scholarly journals On the Etiology of Aesthetic Chills: a Behavioral Genetic Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Bignardi ◽  
Rebecca Chamberlain ◽  
Sofieke T Kevenaar ◽  
Zenab Tamimy ◽  
Dorret I Boomsma
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Genetic Study ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Physiological Factors ◽  
Somatic Marker ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
Sources Of Variation ◽  
Behavioral Genetic Study

Aesthetic chills, broadly defined as a somatic marker of peak emotional-hedonic responses, are experienced by individuals across a variety of human cultures. Yet individuals vary widely in the propensity of feeling them. These individual differences have been studied in relation to demographics, personality, and neurobiological and physiological factors, but no study to date has explored the genetic etiological sources of variation. To partition genetic and environmental sources of variation in the propensity of feeling aesthetic chills, we fitted a biometrical genetic model to data from 14127 twins (from 8995 pairs), collected by the Netherlands Twin Register. Both genetic and unique environmental factors accounted for variance in aesthetic chills, with heritability estimated at .36 ([.33, .39] 95% CI). We found females more prone than males to report feeling aesthetic chills. However, a test for genotype x sex interaction did not show evidence that heritability differs between sexes. We thus show that the propensity of feeling aesthetic chills is not shaped by nurture alone, but it also reflects underlying genetic propensities.

scholarly journals Environmental Factors Determine Where the Dutch Live: Results From the Netherlands Twin Register

2005 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 312-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonneke Willemsen ◽  
Danielle Posthuma ◽  
Dorret I. Boomsma
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Model Fitting ◽  
Residential Area ◽  
Postal Code ◽  
Young Cohort ◽  
Dutch Population ◽  
Urbanization Level ◽  
Age Cohorts

AbstractThe heritability of the degree of residential area urbanization in twins and their siblings in the Dutch population was examined. The postal code was known for 6879 twins and 2724 siblings registered with the Netherlands Twin Register and born between 1940 and 1983. Using data from Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, 2001), these postal codes could be related to residential area characteristics, including urbanization level. The degree of urbanization was assessed on a 5-point scale: very heavy, heavy, moderate, low and not urbanized. Genetic model-fitting was carried out in three age cohorts: young adults (born 1975 to 1983), adults (born 1965 to 1974) and older adults (born 1940 to1964). Twin and sibling resemblance in urbanization level was expressed in polychoric correlations. These correlations decreased from the youngest cohort (.66 to .86) to the oldest cohort (.20 to .58). In all 3 age cohorts, genetic factors did not contribute to familial resemblance. The influence of common environment decreased in importance from the young cohort (70% to 83%) to the old cohort (46% to 47%) and was lower in women than in men in all but the oldest age cohort. This study did not replicate Australian findings of a genetic contribution in the older cohorts; common environmental factors and, increasingly with age, unique environmental factors determine where the Dutch live. Future studies in European and other populations will reveal whether these results are specific to the Dutch population.

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