The Role of Conscientiousness in Common Failure Situations Affecting Subjective Well-being Personality and Life Outcomes Tammy Ho University of Kent Word count: 2493 Abstract Recent research has examined the circumstances under which the usually positive Big Five trait of conscientiousness has led to higher levels of distress in individuals. Although these effects have been evident in severe forms of failure such as unemployment, this area of personality has yet to be sufficiently explored. The idea of whether the conscientiousness trait is also of hindrance in lower levels of failure is of interest. It is hypothesised that conscientious individuals will have a greater negative affect after a non-severe failure-task than …show more content…
Due to the positive associations made with conscientiousness, it may be considered as the hallmark of all personality traits, which is related to success in many important facets of life (Boyce, Wood & Brown, 2010, Roberts et al., 2014 & Ashton, 2013). It is unsurprising then that according to DeNeve & Cooper (1998), conscientiousness is considered the most important predictor of life satisfaction, as well as being influential in an individual’s subjective well being (SWB). The trait of conscientiousness facilitates individuals to act upon behaviors that are directed towards certain circumstances that lead to a positive SWB (McCrae & Costa, 1991). Thus, conscientiousness is identified as being a contributory characteristic, having an indirect influence on the well-being of an individual (McCrae & Costa, 1991; DeNeve & Cooper, 1998). Evident in a study with college students, Furr and Funder (1998) suggest that those with high conscientiousness may only experience short-term effects of life satisfaction. Additionally, correlations between conscientiousness and life satisfaction were found to be between 0.2 and 0.3 (Furr & Funder,
Recent research has examined the circumstances under which the usually positive big five trait of conscientiousness has led to higher levels of distress in individuals. Although these effects have been evident in severe forms of failure such as unemployment, this area of personality has yet to be sufficiently explored. The idea of whether the conscientiousness trait is also of hindrance in lower levels of failure is of interest. It is hypothesised that conscientious individuals will have a greater negative affect after a non-severe failure-task than those who are less conscientious. Data is collected qualitatively through self-report questionnaires, measuring conscientiousness with items based on the Behavioural Indicators of
After taking the Project 2 assessment, I found that I have an agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience personality (Project 2 Assessment, 2017). At times, I can sympathize with people’s feelings. Usually, I can have a better understanding of why someone is thinking a way if I understand what they think. I am completely a conscientiousness person. I always want to do well with any task that is in from of me. Also, I am always thinking and planning things to do.
Chow and Roberts (2014) examined these personality traits (i.e., neuroticism and conscientiousness) to conduct cross-sectional, prospective and correlated-change analyses. The goal was to confirm past research which stated that neuroticism and conscientiousness were could be strong predictors of depression. Chow and Roberts then extended their analyses by using a representative sample of older adults. They used this sample to determine whether changes in these traits would predict a change in depression. They examined variables such as physical health, and life satisfaction to explore the reasoning as to why personality traits could contribute to depression (38). They hypothesized that they would be able to replicate existing data which suggested that neuroticism and conscientiousness would have an association with depression. They believed they
From the research examined, it was hypothesised that the more time individuals spent on SNSs the more socially and emotionally lonely they would be. It was also hypothesised that there would be a negative relationship between conscientiousness and time spent on SNSs. Finally, because there has not been enough research in the area the last hypothesis is posed as a research question, to determine whether there is a relationship between conscientiousness and social and emotional
Extraversion is in essence the trait, which comprises all the optimistic social personality traits (Johnson, 2011). Conscientious individuals are highly organized. They are looked upon as highly dedicated workers, which most of the time leads to complete avoidance of pleasure activities (Johnson, 2011).
It is, of course, evident, that the generalized positive changes perceived through social maturity do not apply to all individuals; some people contradict the normative positive progression of traits or show no change at all, which can be demonstrated through individual differences in personality trait change (Roberts and Wood, 2006). Roberts, Caspi and Moffitt (2003) contend that life and career occurrences are connected to changes in personality characteristics and for those individual’s who obtain more successful and fulfilling careers in early adulthood the traits of conscientiousness and emotional stability rose disproportionately. Furthermore, Roberts and Wood (2006) argue that not all personality changes occur in a positive direction, as an example the researchers state that individuals performing activities that are counterproductive, involve aggression and/or indolence are likely to show a decrease in the traits of conscientiousness and emotional
Mindfulness is a concept that is well documented in the psychological world. In ancient contempla-tive traditions and religions such as Buddhism, where awareness and being conscious of surround-ings is practised in day to day life. Theorists from all schools of thought, including the personality schools of thought and psychotherapy have mentioned the “importance of observant, open awareness and attention in the optimization of self-regulation and wellbeing” (Brazier, 1995; Mar-tin, 1997). Mindfulness also shares aspects of the Openness to Experience dimension of personali-ty which has been researched by Costa and McRae who have proposed the ‘big five’, which coor-dinate how well traits go together in people’s descriptions of rating
After completing the inventory based on Jane Loevinger’s work, I designate myself at Conscientious stage according to her model. Reason for this is goals and concepts are obtainable and recognized, and a new logic of duties are presented. In this model, I see choices being accessible at your own leisure. “I think of myself as having choices in life, not just a pawn of fate” (p.R49). Three of the most personally significant qualities that I would like to acquire are “I have a deep understanding of other peoples’ viewpoints, and because of this would view my relationships with others as having greater mutuality” (p.R49). I chose this quality because I believe for individuals to have a greater understanding forms a stronger bond of support
Those that will be covered in this overview consist of quality of life, coping styles, unhappiness, and faith in a fair world. Prior investigation has established that a perceived quality of life is swayed by an individual’s level of optimism. Other aspects, such as coping styles and social connections have been positively correlated with a high quality of life. This is a very subjective phrase and has been demarcated in many ways. One meaning states that quality of life is centered on the personal assessment of one's possessions and contentment with these possessions (Harju & Bolen, 1998).
The study randomly assigned participants to either express an optimism and gratitude letter. Whereby the control group generate a list of activities from the previous week over the course of an 8 week period. Well-being was measured instantly before and after, for a 6 months intervention period. According to the article, the results of the study indicates that performance of an “optimistic thinking” activity predicted a much greater maintained change in subject well-being compare to a control condition. In contrast to Seligman et al. (2005), happiness-enhancing activities can maintain a person’s well-being improvements for up to 6 months. The activities that was best believed to maintain a person’s well-being were: positive emotion pleasure, engaged in a positive matter in life and lastly, having a meaningful life were the better route to increase happiness. The researchers examined whether the three interventions will increase lastingly happiness and decreased depressive symptoms. In the study, participants were fully aware of the conditions to embellish
Gatewood, Field, and Barrick (2011) assert that personality data can provide valid information for guiding selection decisions, as long as it is collected appropriately. Additionally, personality characteristics influence performance at work, specifically conscientiousness and emotional stability. These traits can greatly influence employee performance in various areas due to their connections to employee capability for hard work, persistence, and ability to manage stress. Managers also care greatly about the personality traits of potential applicants, sometimes even more than is warranted. While the predictive validity of personality traits has shown to be modest for job performance, it does exist. Furthermore, the authors assert that personality
A satisfied life is hard to achieve. There are many behaviors that can be beneficial in making a more effective life. Some of these factors are personal and internal and some are external and involve other people.
Conscientiousness: My score conscientiousness is high with a score of 81. I a hundred percent agree with my score in my past experience I always been a hard worker. My self-efficacy score is high with a 73. My parents always encouraged me to work hard and if I fail to keep trying with the intention to be successful. This motivation made me take control of my life without hesitation. My orderliness was not a shock and I received a high score of 73. I am well-organized and like to stick to my schedule. I hate to be late on appointments or not schedule study hours for my upcoming exams. My dutifulness is average with a score of 67. I do obey rules and find it reasonable the majority of the time. My achievement-striving was a reasonable high score
In the discipline of personality psychology, it is crucial for researchers to conduct studies using universal terms and scales, so that they may effectively compare results and further their line of research. However, when it concerns personality traits, such a comprehensive catalogue has not always been available – in fact, it has taken until up until the late 20th century to develop a list of essential personality traits and create scales that measure these dimensions reliably (John, Naumann, & Soto, 2008). The current set of these widely used traits is called the “Big Five” personality traits, and encompasses five broad dimensions - Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. Of the five, this paper will focus on Conscientiousness, a trait that describes individuals with impulse control who are highly organized, thorough, planful, efficient, responsible, reliable, and dependable, to name just a handful of characteristics associated with the trait (John, Naumann, & Soto, 2008). Those low in the trait, on the other hand, are more frequently careless and irresponsible (McShane & Steen, 2012). Although studies have shown Conscientiousness to be a predictor of various life outcomes such as health and longevity, this paper will focus on the findings that support Conscientiousness as a predictor of job performance and, when one is high in the trait, success in
Those employees that are higher in conscientiousness will be more likely to be driven to show OCB as a possible means of satisfying their personal need for success and accomplishment. Scholars suggested that OCB could be driven by the desire to have an increase in job satisfying experiences and not just the desire to help others or reciprocate favorable treatment. LMX quality enhances job satisfaction, which further increases OCB. An average corrected correlation of .36 was found between job satisfaction and OCB. This is proved by pointing out the correlation between trait conscientiousness and job satisfaction (.21). Scholars and practitioners have regarded OCB as a valuable form of behavior since OCB’s use by the employees can be used for attaining greater LMX quality and satisfying job experiences and not just for signifying the response from the satisfaction stemming from a better valued LMX relationship (Lapierre and Hackett, 2007, p. 550).