WHEN SITUATIONS ACTIVATE MORE THAN ONE TRAIT CONCURRENTLY: A STUDY OF NEUROTICISM AND CONSCIENTIOUSNESS IN EVALUATIVE AND NON-EVALUATIVE SITUATIONS

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Davidson, A. (2019). WHEN SITUATIONS ACTIVATE MORE THAN ONE TRAIT CONCURRENTLY: A STUDY OF NEUROTICISM AND CONSCIENTIOUSNESS IN EVALUATIVE AND NON-EVALUATIVE SITUATIONS. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

Most scholars have come to believe behavior is determined by an interaction of personality traits and situations. Trait activation theory (Tett & Guterman, 2000) and Fleeson’s (2001, 2007) conceptualization of the trait-situation interaction both suggest that a situation can activate a specific trait and lead to trait-related behaviors. However, while both of these perspectives can accommodate the notion that multiple traits can be active in a particular situation, theory and research have largely focused on single traits. This paper seeks to address this gap by examining evaluative situations, which I believe will activate both neuroticism and conscientiousness. Data were gathered using experience sampling method and are analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling to observe the within-person state conscientiousness and state neuroticism correlation when accounting for the situation. Results showed that state neuroticism and state conscientiousness scores were higher in evaluative situations than in non-evaluative situations. However, I expected situation-type would moderate the relationship between state neuroticism and state conscientiousness. While multi-level modeling did reveal a significant moderating effect, it did not take the form expected. Results are interpreted with respect to trait activation theory and Fleeson’s perspective on state variability.Keywords: Trait-activation theory, personality distributions, personality states, neuroticism, conscientiousness, experience sampling method

Details
Author

Davidson, Amber

Title

WHEN SITUATIONS ACTIVATE MORE THAN ONE TRAIT CONCURRENTLY: A STUDY OF NEUROTICISM AND CONSCIENTIOUSNESS IN EVALUATIVE AND NON-EVALUATIVE SITUATIONS

Physical Description

1 online resource (37 pages) : PDF

Date

2019

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

Most scholars have come to believe behavior is determined by an interaction of personality traits and situations. Trait activation theory (Tett & Guterman, 2000) and Fleeson’s (2001, 2007) conceptualization of the trait-situation interaction both suggest that a situation can activate a specific trait and lead to trait-related behaviors. However, while both of these perspectives can accommodate the notion that multiple traits can be active in a particular situation, theory and research have largely focused on single traits. This paper seeks to address this gap by examining evaluative situations, which I believe will activate both neuroticism and conscientiousness. Data were gathered using experience sampling method and are analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling to observe the within-person state conscientiousness and state neuroticism correlation when accounting for the situation. Results showed that state neuroticism and state conscientiousness scores were higher in evaluative situations than in non-evaluative situations. However, I expected situation-type would moderate the relationship between state neuroticism and state conscientiousness. While multi-level modeling did reveal a significant moderating effect, it did not take the form expected. Results are interpreted with respect to trait activation theory and Fleeson’s perspective on state variability.Keywords: Trait-activation theory, personality distributions, personality states, neuroticism, conscientiousness, experience sampling method

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

Psychology
Personality

Degree

M.A.

Keywords

Conscientiousness
Experience Sampling Method
Neuroticism
Personality Distributions
Personality Sates
Trait-Activation Theory

Subject Area

Psychology Industrial/Organizational

Advisor(s)

Heggestad, Eric

Committee Members

Canevello, Amy
Banks, George

Degree Note

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2019.

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Davidson_uncc_0694N_12060

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:1920