Adrian Furnham

Neto, Joana; Neto, Félix & Furnham, Adrian (2024)

Correlates of money attitudes among Portuguese people

Financial Planning Review Doi: 10.1002/cfp2.1189

This study examined the psychometric features of the New Money Attitudes Questionnaire (NMAQ) in a Portuguese population and the relations between money attitudes, participant demographics, well-being, and personality factors. The sample comprised 241 participants aged between 18 and 66 years. They completed the NMAQ and measures of financial well-being, loneliness, and personality. The results of a CFA displayed a good fit for the five-factor model of the NMAQ, and adequate reliability. Men scored significantly higher than women in Power and Status, and women scored significantly higher than men in Mindful and Responsible. The effect of age on money attitudes was not significant. Participants with lower educational levels scored significantly greater than those with higher educational level in Power and Status and Financial Literacy Worries. Well-being and personality factors explained a significant amount of variance regarding money attitudes.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2024)

Correlates of maternal Openness

Nordic Psychology, s. 1- 13. Doi: 10.1080/19012276.2024.2384898

This study explored correlates of maternal trait Openness, drawing on data from a large, nationally representative sample of children in the UK. This was collected from mothers when their children were at the age of 9 months, 3, 7, 11 and 15 years old. The outcome variable was maternal trait Openness, in a sample of 7,856 mothers who were, on average, 28 years old when their child was born. Structural equation modelling showed that maternal psychological distress and self-esteem, as well as parent-child relationship, children’s behavioural problems and maternal educational qualifications all had modest, but significant and direct, effects on maternal trait Openness. The strongest predictor was maternal educational qualifications, though all effect sizes were small. Age was significantly, and positively, associated with the outcome variable. Speculations about processes and mechanisms are made. The limitations are also discussed.

Furnham, Adrian & Cuppello, Stephen (2024)

Sex, Personality, and Mate Preferences

Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences Doi: 10.1037/ebs0000362 - Full text in research archive

In this study, we examined demographic, ideological, and personality difference correlates of ratings of 27 characteristics in a potential mate. In all, 288 mainly middle-aged adults completed two questionnaires: one assessing personality (high potential trait indicator) and one on mate preference (Mate Preferences Scale). Sex differences, where p< .001 and d > 0.40, revealed only one on personality (competitiveness) but five other factors (attractiveness, earnings, emotional stability, height, and sexiness) in line with previous studies. Correlations indicated that participant trait ambiguity tolerance and competitiveness (low agreeableness) were most closely related to mate choices and preferences for normality, good genes, and religious compatibility. A factor analysis of the ratings indicated five interpretable factors. Regressions, with the mate choice factors as criterion and demography, ideology, and the six traits as predictor variables demonstrated many of the traits related to mate preference ratings. Implications and limitations are noted.

Dogaru, Isabela; Furnham, Adrian & McClelland, Alastair (2024)

Understanding how the presence of music in advertisements influences consumer behaviour

Acta Psychologica, 248, s. 1- 8. Doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104333 - Full text in research archive

This study investigated how consumer behaviour is influenced by music's emotional valence (sad vs. happy) in advertisements. Female participants (N = 134) watched the same four advertisements with either happy or sad background music. The advertisements were split into two advertising breaks which were embedded in a television programme. Participants were tested on their recognition and recall of the advertised material, as well as their intentions to buy the advertised products. As predicted, the results revealed that brand recognition was higher with sad background music in the advertisements, while buying intention was higher when the advertisements were paired with happy background music. Although overall advertisement free recall was found to be better for sad than happy music, musical valence was not found to affect product recall. The findings are discussed in terms of the power of emotions and the possible effects of brand attitudes and music congruity. Limitations and suggestions for future research are presented.

Cheng, Helen & Furnham, Adrian (2024)

Social, Demographic, and Psychological Factors Associated with Middle-Aged Mother’s Vocabulary: Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study

Journal of Intelligence, 12(6) Doi: 10.3390/jintelligence12060057

Based on a sample of 8271 mothers, this study explored a set of psychological and sociodemographic factors associated with their vocabulary, drawing on data from a large, nationally representative sample of children born in 2000. The dependent variable was maternal vocabulary assessed when cohort members were at fourteen years of age, and the mothers were in their mid-forties. Data were also collected when cohort members were at birth, 9 months old, and at ages 3, 7, 11 and 14 years. Correlational analysis showed that family income at birth, parent–child relationship quality at age 3, maternal educational qualifications at age 11, and maternal personality trait Openness at age 14 were significantly and positively associated with maternal vocabulary. It also showed maternal malaise at 9 months and children’s behavioral adjustment at age 7, and maternal traits Neuroticism and Agreeableness at age 14 were significantly and negatively associated with maternal vocabulary. Maternal age was also significantly and positively associated with vocabulary. Regression analysis showed that maternal age, malaise, parent–child relationship quality, children’s behavioral adjustment, maternal educational qualifications, and traits Openness and Agreeableness were significant predictors of maternal vocabulary, accounting for 33% of total variance. The implications and limitations are discussed.

Cuppello, Stephen; Treglown, Luke & Furnham, Adrian (2024)

INTELLIGENCE, PERSONALITY, AND MANAGEMENT LEVEL

Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, s. 1- 18. Doi: 10.1037/cpb0000269

Which is a better determinant of achieving senior positions in management: ability or personality? In this study, over 50,000 adults, in very different organizations, completed a multidimensional intelligence test (General Intelligence Assessment), and a subsample (n = 2,368) also completed a personality test (High Potential Traits Inventory). They specified their age (modal 31 years), sex (34% female), and management level (ML; junior 34%, middle 39%, senior executive 27%). People at the most senior ML scored highest on all IQ subtests, particularly word meaning and number speed, but not perceptual speed. Regressions indicated that age, as expected, was the best predictor of ML but that gender, as well as word meaning and number score, was also significantly related to ML. Following correlations, which showed four traits (particularly ambiguity tolerance and conscientiousness) were related to ML, we performed regressions (hierarchical and ordinal logistic) to investigate to what extent there was incremental validity of personality over intelligence, and intelligence over personality, in explaining ML, controlling first for sex and age. Results suggested that personality added 4% incremental variance over intelligence, but the latter added less than 1% over the former. Traits ambiguity acceptance, risk approach, and conscientiousness were all significant predictors of ML. Limitations of various aspects of this study and implications for interventions are considered. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

Leka, Jona & Furnham, Adrian (2024)

Correlates of climate change skepticism

Frontiers in Psychology, 15, s. 1- 13. Doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1328307

While much research has examined the correlates of climate change beliefs from an alarmist perspective, less work has systematically measured climate change skepticism. This study aims to create a comprehensive tool capturing climate skeptics’ beliefs and test its association with individual difference variables. 502 European adults completed a 22-item questionnaire on climate change (CC) skepticism as well as measures of ambiguity tolerance, belief in a just world (BJW), dark-side personality traits, and self-esteem. Principal components analysis revealed a four dimension structure of CC. Political ideology was the most consistent and significant predictor across the climate change skepticism factors. Dark-side traits, also played a role. Future research should further validate this measure and explore how climate change information could be tailored to different audiences. Understanding the nuances and causes of climate skepticism can enable more effective communication to promote sustainability.

Campbell-Hewson, Cristina; Grover, Simmy, Furnham, Adrian & McClelland, Alastair (2024)

To what extent do lay people and healthcare providers differ in the allocation of scarce medical resources in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Clinical Ethics, s. 1- 24. Doi: 10.1177/14777509241248966

Studying the most ethical way to allocate scarce medical resources has been of interest within the last year, due to shortages associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to establish differences between what healthcare providers (HCP) and laypeople consider to be the most ethical way to prioritise the distribution of scarce resources. Healthcare providers (n = 100) and laypeople (n = 102) were asked to rank ethical principles from most to least ethical for the allocation of ICU beds in a COVID-19 outbreak, COVID-19 vaccinations and organ transplantation, and the rankings from each scenario across the two groups were compared. Results indicated that HCPs preferred utilitarian principles informed by medical knowledge, such as ‘prognosis’, whereas laypeople preferred less situation-specific and prioritarian principles, such as ‘sickest first’, replicating pre-pandemic findings. Laypeople showed increased in-group agreement when ranking principles, potentially due to the collective experience of the pandemic. Demographic variables such as older age, identifying as Black, Asian or minority ethnic and greater experience with COVID-19, were also associated with a preference for ‘prognosis’.

Furnham, Adrian & Cuppello, Stephen (2024)

Correlates of the Dark Tetrad

Acta Psychologica, 245, s. 1- 7. Doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104222 - Full text in research archive

This study explored demographic, ideological, self-rating and personality traits correlates of the Dark Tetrad (DT4) which measures Narcissism (Special), Machiavellianism (Crafty), Psychopathy (Wild), and Sadism (Mean) traits. In total, 447 adults completed three tests: a bright-side, work-related, personality test (HPTI: High Performance Type Indicator), a dark-side test (Short Dark Tetrad) and a number of self-ratings. Correlations and regressions showed that all four dark traits were associated with low Adjustment (Neuroticism), but also with high Risk-Taking and Competitiveness (low Agreeableness). The various measures accounted for a third of the variance in explaining the Mean (Sadistic) score, and 40 % for Special (Narcissism). Trait Competitiveness was most closely associated with all four dark traits.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2024)

Predicting job satisfaction: Findings from the British Cohort Study

Personality and Individual Differences, 224, s. 1- 7. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2024.112653

This study examines factors influencing adult job satisfaction (JS) measured at age 42 years, using a large and nationally representative dataset of 4593 adults (48.5 % females) in the UK. Correlational analysis showed that parental social status measures (at birth), childhood intelligence (at age 10), teenage internal locus of control (at age 16), adult-achieved education (at ages 34) and occupation (at age 38) were all significantly and positively associated with adult job satisfaction at age 42. Structural equation modelling showed that parental social status, teenage locus of control, and adult-achieved education and occupation, all had significant and direct effects on adult job satisfaction, accounting for 19 % of the total variance. The strongest predictor of adult job satisfaction was occupational prestige. Further, significance of mediation tests showed that both adult-achieved education and occupation were mediators as well as predictors, that the effect of childhood intelligence on JS mainly mediated through adult-achieved education and occupation. Implications are considered.

Swami, Viren; Voracek, Martin, Todd, Jennifer, Furnham, Adrian, Horne, George & Tran, Ulrich S. (2024)

Positive self-beliefs mediate the association between body appreciation and positive mental health

Body image, 48, s. 1- 8. Doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101685

Previous work has supported direct, positive associations between body appreciation and positive mental health, but has largely neglected to examine possible indirect mechanistic pathways. Here, we propose one relevant mediational pathway, wherein body appreciation is associated with positive mental health via positive self-beliefs (i.e., cognitions that lead individuals to view themselves, their lives, and/or their futures under a positive outlook). To test this hypothesis, we asked an online sample of 496 adults (249 women, 247 men) from the United Kingdom to complete measures of body appreciation, positive self-beliefs, and positive mental health. Participants also completed measures of self-efficacy and resilience, and provided their demographic information. Correlational analysis revealed significant, positive, and strong associations between body appreciation and facets of positive self-beliefs and positive mental health, respectively. Structural equation modelling showed that positive self-beliefs mediated the association between body appreciation and positive mental health after controlling for self-efficacy and resilience. This model was robust across women and men separately, and the mediational effects remained intact in sensitivity and robustness analyses. We discuss ways in which greater body appreciation may help individuals develop and maintain positive self-beliefs, which in turn shape mental health outcomes.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2024)

The role of parents, teachers, and pupils in IQ test scores: Correlates of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) from 74 countries

Personality and Individual Differences, 219 Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2023.112513 - Full text in research archive

This study reports the associations between the intelligence of over half a million 15-year-olds in 74 countries, assessed by the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and their socio-economic and psychological correlates. Correlational analysis indicates that an individual's average PISA score in 2018 significantly correlated with parental education, pupils' attitudes to teaching and learning in schools, student academic confidence in reading, parental support, school motivation, self-esteem and self-determination. Regression analyses showed six variables that were significant predictors of average scores, accounting for 24 % of the total variance: maternal and paternal education, students' academic confidence in reading, school motivation, and self-determination. The strongest predictor of the average IQ was academic confidence in reading (β = 0.36, p < .001), followed by maternal education (β = 0.16, p < .001). Implications and limitations of this research are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian; Cuppello, Stephen & Fenton-O'Creevy, Mark (2024)

Correlates of Stock Market Investment

Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics (JNPE) Doi: 10.1037/npe0000189

In this study, we were concerned with the correlates of stock market (SM) participation. In all, 1,202 working adults indicated whether or not they invested in the stock market, and which was split almost equally between those that did and did not. We were interested in the extent to which their demography (age, sex, education), self-assessed wealth, as well as personality traits predicted their participation. We used a six-factor robust measure of work personality (High Potential Trait Indicator). Correlational analysis indicated that the strongest correlation of stock market participation were wealth, sex, age, and trait Risk Tolerance. We then did a binary logistic regression which indicated that being male increased the odds of having invested in the stock market by 91%, and an increase of 1 year in age increased the odds by 3%. Ambiguity Acceptance and trait Competitiveness were among the High Potential Trait Indicator personality variables that were significant predictors of stock market investment. Implications and limitations are acknowledged.

Furnham, Adrian (2023)

Correlates of Self-Assessed Creativity

Creativity. Theories – Research - Applications, 10(1-2), s. 110- 118. Doi: 10.2478/ctra-2023-0008 - Full text in research archive

The aim of this study was to examine demographic, ideological, and personality trait correlates of self-assessed creativity. A large group (N = 1,299) of adults estimated their creativity score on a 100-point scale. This rating was related to participants’ demographics (sex, age, education), ideology (religious and political beliefs), self-confidence, and six personality traits. The regression indicated that those who thought of themselves as more creative were more optimistic, higher on trait Curious (Open), but lower on trait Adjustment (low Neuroticism) and trait Competitive (low Agreeableness), and had higher self-esteem. The status of self-assessed/estimated creativity is discussed alongside limitations and recommendations for future research.

Swami, Viren; Tran, Ulrich S, Stieger, Stefan, Aavik, Toivo, Ranjbar, Hamed Abdollahpour, abedayo, sulaiman, Afhami, Reza, Ahmed, Oli, Aimé, Annie, Akel, Marwan, Halbusi, Hussam, Alexias, George, Ali, Khawla F., Alp-Dal, Nursep, Alsalhani, Anas B., Álvares-Solas, Sara, Amaral, Ana Carolina Soares, Andrianto, Sonny, Aspden, Trefor, Argyrides, Marios, Aruta, John Jamir Benzon R., Atkin, Stephen L., Ayandele, Olusola, Baceviciene, Migle, Bahbouh, Radvan, Ballesio, Andrea, Barron, David, Bellard, Ashleigh, Bender, Sóley S., Beydag, Kerime, Birovljević, Gorana, Blackburn, Marie-Eve, Borja-Alvarez, Teresita, Borowiec, Joanna, Bozogáňová, Miroslava, Bratland-Sanda, Solfrid, Browning, Matthew H. E. M., Brytek-Matera, Anna, Burakova, Marina, Çakır-Koçak, Yeliz, Camacho, Pablo, Camilleri, Vittorio Emanuele, Cazzato, Valentina, Cerea, Silvia, Chaiwutikornwanich, Apitchaya, Chaleeraktrakoon, Trawin, Furnham, Adrian, Otterbring, Tobias, Borgen, Christine Sundgot, Trangsrud, Lise Katrine Jepsen & Voracek, Martin (2023)

Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age

Body image, 46, s. 449- 466. Doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.07.010 - Full text in research archive

The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset – with data collected between 2020 and 2022 – to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research.

Furnham, Adrian & Robinson, Charlotte (2023)

Stoicism: Bright and Dark Side Correlates

Journal of Individual Differences Doi: 10.1027/1614-0001/a000415 - Full text in research archive

This study examined stoicism as a coping style. Just over 500 people completed a new, short, multi-dimensional stoicism scale; a short measure of the Big Five (Bright-side personality); the PID-6BF which measures personality disorders along five dimensions (Dark-side personality), and various self-ratings. Analysis of the stoicism scale at both the domain and five facet levels showed that it was related to gender (males scored higher), education (graduates scored higher), trait Extraversion and Openness, as well as Detachment and Psychoticism. Regressions indicated that stoics were Closed-to-Experience, Introverted, and high on Detachment. There were many differences between the regression results onto the different factors. The adaptiveness of stoicism is discussed. Limitations are acknowledged.

Murdan, Sudaxshina; Wei, Li, van Riet-Nales, Diana A., Gurmu, Abyot Endale, Usifoh, Stella Folajole, Tăerel, Adriana-Elena, Yıldız-Peköz, Ayca, Krajnović, Dušanka, Azzopardi, Lilian M., Brock, Tina, Fernandes, Ana I., dos Santos, André Luis Souza, Anto, Berko Panyin, Vallet, Thibault, Lee, Eunkyung Euni, Jeong, Kyeong Hye, Akel, Marwan, Tam, Eliza, Volmer, Daisy, Douss, Tawfik, Shukla, Sharvari, Yamamura, Shigeo, Lou, Xiaoe, van Riet, Bauke H.G., Usifoh, Cyril O., Duwiejua, Mahama, Ruiz, Fabrice & Furnham, Adrian (2023)

Association between culture and the preference for, and perceptions of, 11 routes of medicine administration: A survey in 21 countries and regions

Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy (ERCSP), 12 Doi: 10.1016/j.rcsop.2023.100378 - Full text in research archive

Medicines can be taken by various routes of administration. These can impact the effects and perceptions of medicines. The literature about individuals' preferences for and perceptions of the different routes of administration is sparse, but indicates a potential influence of culture. Our aim was to determine: (i) any association between one's culture and one's preferred route of medicine administration and (ii) individual perceptions of pain, efficacy, speed of action and acceptability when medicines are swallowed or placed in the mouth, under the tongue, in the nose, eye, ear, lungs, rectum, vagina, on the skin, or areinjected. Medicines can be taken by various routes of administration. These can impact the effects and perceptions of medicines. The literature about individuals' preferences for and perceptions of the different routes of administration is sparse, but indicates a potential influence of culture. Our aim was to determine: (i) any association between one's culture and one's preferred route of medicine administration and (ii) individual perceptions of pain, efficacy, speed of action and acceptability when medicines are swallowed or placed in the mouth, under the tongue, in the nose, eye, ear, lungs, rectum, vagina, on the skin, or areinjected. A total of 4435 participants took part in the survey. Overall, the oral route was the most preferred route, followed by injection, while the rectal route was the least preferred. While the oral route was the most preferred in all cultures, the percentage of participants selecting this route varied, from 98% in Protestant Europe to 50% in the African-Islamic culture. A multinomial logistic regression model revealed a number of predictors for the preferred route. Injections were favoured in the Baltic, South Asia, Latin America and African-Islamic cultures while dermal administration was favoured in Catholic Europe, Baltic and Latin America cultures. A marked association was found between culture and the preference for, and perceptions of the different routes by which medicines are taken. This applied to even the least favoured routes (vaginal and rectal). Only women were asked about the vaginal route, and our data shows that the vaginal route was slightly more popular than the rectal one.

Furnham, Adrian (2023)

Personality Facets and Intelligence: Compensation and Investment

PSYCHOLOGY, 14(10), s. 1651- 1669. Doi: 10.4236/psych.2023.1410096 - Full text in research archive

This paper revisits the issue of the relationship between personality (the Big Five traits), measured at domain and facet level, and intelligence using two general measures of intelligence. The samples under investigation were over 14,000 adults who were all middle-aged business people attending Assessment Centres in Great Britain. It focused on trying to resolve inconsistent findings by focusing on facet level analyses, using large adult populations and two measures of intelligence. It also explored the Compensation hypothesis associated with Conscientiousness, and the Investment hypothesis associated with Openness-to-Experience. Correlational results are reported for both males and females and which were very consistent, as well as regression results. At the domain level the results were consistent: four traits, particularly Conscientiousness, were negatively associated with the IQ test scores, while Openness was positively associated. Both studies showed many similar results at the facet level, with facets of the same trait often being strongly positively (O5), but also negatively (O2), associated with intelligence. Overall, effect sizes suggest that personality accounted for relatively little of the variance in intelligence scores: though Openness and its facets showed consistent correlations. Results are discussed in terms of the two prominent mini-theories that link personality traits to intelligence. Limitations of various aspects of this study and implications are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2023)

Correlates of Conscientiousness: Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study

The Journal of Genetic Psychology Doi: 10.1080/00221325.2023.2279143 - Full text in research archive

This study explored correlates of the trait Conscientiousness drawing on longitudinal data from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), with a sample of 7,436 mothers. Data were collected when participants’ children were born and again at ages nine months, 3, 11, and 14 years. Structural equation modeling showed that the family poverty indicator, self-esteem, parent-child relationship, children’s behavioral problems, and education all had significant and direct effects on maternal trait Conscientiousness. The strongest predictor was self-esteem (measured over 13 years previously), followed by children’s behavioral problems and parent-child relationship quality. The implications for helping mothers and their children are considered and limitations are discussed.

Bakhiet, Salaheldin Fararh; Ziada, Khaled Elsayed, Abdelrasheed, Nasser Siad Gomaa, Dutton, Edward, Madison, Guy, Almalki, Nabil Sharaf, Ihsan, Zohra, Furnham, Adrian & Essa, Yossry Ahmed Sayed (2023)

Sex and national differences in internet addiction in Egypt and Saudi Arabia

Acta Psychologica, 240 Doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.104043 - Full text in research archive

Background: Understanding individual differences in psychology, and how they relate to specific addictions, may allow society to better identify those at most risk and even enact policies to ameliorate them. Internet addiction is a growing health concern, a research focus of which is to understand individual differences and the psychology of those most susceptible to developing it. Western countries are strongly overrepresented in this regard. Method: Here, sex and national differences in internet addiction are measured, using Young's ‘Internet Addiction Test,’ in two non-Western countries, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. >800 students aged 18 and 35 years (M = 20.65, SD = 1.48) completed a multidimensional internet addiction instrument. The instrument measures traits such as Withdrawal and Social Problems, Time Management and Performance and Reality Substitute. Results: Analyses revealed that males scored higher than females and Saudis higher than Egyptians on nearly all scales, including the total score. Factor analysis of the 20-item instrument revealed three factors, all exhibiting sex and culture differences. Conclusions: These findings add to the body of evidence that males are higher than females in problematic internet use, as they are in addictive behaviors in general. Our findings may also imply that restrictions on male-female interaction, which are more pronounced in Saudi Arabia, may elevate the prevalence of internet addiction. The internet is also easier and cheaper to access in Saudi Arabia than in Egypt.

Furnham, Adrian & Cuppello, Stephen (2023)

Maladaptive (dark-side) and adaptive (bright-side) personality traits and defense styles

Acta Psychologica, 239 Doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.104002 - Full text in research archive

This study explores the relationship between bright- and dark-side personality traits and four major styles of defense mechanisms (DMs) as this relationship remains unexplored and important in understanding the DMs. In all, 435 adult working participants (241 men; 194 women; Mean age 46.06 yrs) mainly in middle management jobs, completed a 78-item, six-trait measure of bright-side personality (HPTI: High Potential Type Indicator), a 25-item five-trait measure of the dark-side personality (PID-5;BF: DSM-5—Brief Form) and 88-item, four-styles measure of defense mechanisms (Defense Style Questionnaire). The aim was to examine demographic (sex, age, education), ideological and personality trait correlates of the DMs. It was hypothesized that the dark-side traits, particularly Detachment would be most strongly related to the DMs. Thereafter, a hierarchical linear regression was performed with each DM factor as criterion and predictors being demography, ideology, selfesteem as well as bright- and dark-side personality traits. Detachment was associated with all DMs, particularly Maladaptive (r = 0.68) and Image Distorting Style (r = 0.38) while Conscientiousness was associated with none. One implication concerns the assessment of DMs by standard tests. Limitations are acknowledged and include method invariance and sample homogeneity.

Furnham, Adrian & Cuppello, Stephen (2023)

Exploring the relationship between personality and money scripts while controlling for demography, ideology, and self-esteem

Financial Planning Review, 6(3) Doi: 10.1002/cfp2.1167

Financial planners seek to learn more about their clients' personalities andmoney scripts due to the significant influence these factors have on financialbehavior and decision-making. This study surveyed 288 adults with a personal-ity assessment (HPTI: High Potential Trait Indicator), and their money scripts(KMSI-R: Klontz Money Script Inventory) while controlling for demography(sex, age, and education), ideology (religious, political beliefs, and optimism),and self-esteem (measurements of personal ratings on a variety of scales).The results indicated that each of the six traits measured by the HPTI(Conscientiousness, Adjustment, Curiosity, Risk Approach, Ambiguity Accep-tance, and Competitiveness) related to the four money scripts measured by theKMSI-R (avoidant, worship, status, and vigilance). More Adjustable individ-uals were less likely to have Money Avoidance scripts, whereas more Competi-tive people had higher Money Worship and Money Status scripts. The studyunderlined the role of personality variables in understanding money beliefs.

Boustani, Lynn; Furnham, Adrian & Grover, Simmy (2023)

Openness to Experience, Fluid Intelligence and Secondary Psychopathology

Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 43(1), s. 83- 99. Doi: 10.1177/02762366231171534 - Full text in research archive

The present study tests the idea that individuals high on both trait Openness-to-Experience and fluid intelligence can suffer from an overactive mental state that depletes cognitive capability and leads to restless and impulsive behavior. In all, 118 participants (58 females, 59 males) were tested using the multidimensional assessment of fluid intelligence (GIA), an Open-to-Experience trait measure (HEXACO), and Levenson's secondary psychopathy questionnaire. Although analysis of variance (ANOVA) analyses revealed no interaction between Openness and fluid intelligence, an examination of the lower-order items of Openness and GIA revealed significant interactions in the female sample, particularly with esthetic appreciation. The results also suggest Openness as a unique predictor of secondary psychopathy, however the same does not hold true for fluid intelligence. The findings are discussed in relation to personnel selection procedures. Key considerations for attention capacity and activation theory are proposed. Sample size limitations are acknowledged.

Mayiwar, Lewend; Hærem, Thorvald & Furnham, Adrian (2023)

Individual differences in fear and self-distancing predict information processing via problem construal

Personality and Individual Differences, 215 Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2023.112383 - Full text in research archive

In two preregistered online studies (NTotal = 984; Prolific), we examined how individual differences in fear and self-distancing predict information processing in decision-making involving risk in a business scenario. Dispositional fear was positively related to urgent and affective intuitive processing and negatively related to analytical processing. Self-distancing was positively related to analytical processing. These relations occurred indirectly via problem construal. Dispositional fear predicted less concrete problem construal, which in turn predicted more urgent intuitive processing and less analytical processing. In contrast, habitual self-distancing predicted more concrete problem construal, which in turn predicted more analytical processing and less urgent intuitive processing. Surprisingly, dispositional fear had a negative indirect relation with affective intuitive processing via more abstract problem construal, and habitual self-distancing had a positive indirect relation with affective processing via more concrete problem construal. Overall, these findings suggest that, in contrast to emotionally regulated decision-makers, fearful decision-makers’ tendency to construe problems less concretely (i.e., more abstractly) might hinder their ability to concretize and analyze problems involving risk.

Cuppello, Stephen; Treglown, Luke & Furnham, Adrian (2023)

Intelligence, Personality and Tolerance of Ambiguity

Journal of Intelligence, 11(6) Doi: 10.3390/jintelligence11060102 - Full text in research archive

In this study, 3836 adults completed a personality test (the HPTI) and a multidimensional intelligence test (GIA). Two prominent theories that link personality traits to intelligence (compensation and investment) were tested. There were more sex differences in the personality traits than in the IQ scores. Correlational and regression analyses results provided little evidence for either theory but pointed to the role of tolerance of ambiguity as a consistently significant, positive correlate of IQ at both the facet and domain levels. The role of this neglected trait is discussed. Limitations of various aspects of this study and its implications are considered.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2023)

The Big-Five personality factors, cognitive ability, health, and social-demographic indicators as independent predictors of self-efficacy: A longitudinal study

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology Doi: 10.1111/sjop.12953 - Full text in research archive

This study set out to examine to what extent a set of psychological, health and socio-demographic factors are associated with self-efficacy (SE) in a large sample of over 12,000 participants over a two-year period. We were interested in the correlates of self-efficacy (criterion variable) with gender, age, education and occupation, the Big-Five personality factors and cognitive ability, as well as mental and physical health (predictor variables). Regression analyses showed that four of the Big-Five personality factors (extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness), cognitive ability, mental and physical health, gender, education and occupation were all significant and independent predictors of self-efficacy, accounting for 23% of the variance of the outcome variable. Personality variables, particularly Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, were the most powerful predictors of SE two years later. The implications for encouraging SE in individuals are discussed.

Fenton-O'Creevy, Mark & Furnham, Adrian (2023)

Personality and wealth

Financial Planning Review, 6(2) Doi: 10.1002/cfp2.1158 - Full text in research archive

To what extent do personality traits predict wealth in adulthood over and above standard demographic factors? In all 3240 adults in the UK completed a Big Five personality test and reported on their property wealth, savings and investments, and their physical valuable items. We also had data on their age, education, household income and gender. Correlations and regressions showed that the demographics, particularly age and income were, as expected clearest correlates of wealth. Conscientious was positively and agreeableness, neuroticism and extraversion were negatively associated with savings and investments. The data pointed clearly to conscientiousness as the most important personality trait in wealth accumulation. Implications of these results as well as limitations of the study are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian (2023)

Life is not Fair: Get Used to It! A Personal Perspective on Contemporary Social Justice Research

Social justice research, 36(3), s. 293- 304. Doi: 10.1007/s11211-023-00417-7 - Full text in research archive

This paper offers a very personal perspective on the Social Justice research world, much of which is to be found in this journal. It is my contention that this research has become too inward looking and detached from other mainstream and important issues. I also highlight some areas that I think neglected such as the Problem of Evil and Stoicism as a coping mechanism for misfortune.

Furnham, Adrian & Robinson, Charlotte (2023)

Correlates of beliefs about, and solutions to, the problem of evil

Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 26(2), s. 182- 193. Doi: 10.1080/13674676.2023.2219633 - Full text in research archive

This study explored people’s attitudes towards various explanations for the theological Problem of Evil. Five hundred adults rated the importance of 16 possible solutions to the Problem of Evil. Participants also indicated their religious and political beliefs, their Belief in a Just World and their endorsement of Conspiracy Theories. Results showed that many differences in ratings were a function of religious beliefs and belief in the afterlife. The 16 solutions were subjected to a factor analysis which revealed three factors labelled Deistic, Luck and Chance, and Human Behaviour. Those who claimed to be more religious, and believed in an afterlife, were more likely to support Deistic solutions. These solutions were also supported by younger, less educated, and less intelligent people who believed in the Just World and Conspiracy theories. Just World beliefs were related to Luck/Chance explanations, whereas believing in Conspiracy theories related to Human Behaviour explanations.

Furnham, Adrian & Horne, George (2023)

The perceived usefulness of a degree as a function of discipline

British Journal of Guidance and Counselling Doi: 10.1080/03069885.2023.2174951 - Full text in research archive

Over 500 British respondents rated the extent to which a degree in 35 different subjects/disciplines (Anthropology to Zoology) would lead to useful skills acquisition and thence a well-paid job. These ratings factored into five groups: Social/Applied Natural Sciences and Humanities; Professional and Applied STEM; Languages; People and Information Management; and Pure Science. These ratings were then related to eight individual difference variables (demography, ideology, self-evaluations) through correlational and regression analysis. Applied STEM and Pure Science factors were considered the most useful (with minimal disagreement), whereas there were a number of demographic correlates on the factors considered to be less useful. Speculations are made about the origin and validity of these beliefs. Implications of these results, and limitations are acknowledged.

Horne, George & Furnham, Adrian (2023)

Social Distancing and Shopping Behaviour: The Role of Anxiety, Attention, and Awareness on Safety Preferences while Queuing during the COVID-19 Pandemic

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH), 20(5) Doi: 10.3390/ijerph20054589 - Full text in research archive

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic increased global anxiety, and many people shopped less frequently. This study quantifies customer preferences in where to shop while following social distancing regulations, specifically focusing on customers’ anxiety. Collecting data online from 450 UK participants, we measured trait anxiety, COVID-19 anxiety, queue awareness, and queue safety preferences. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to develop novel queue awareness and queue safety preference variables from new items. Path analyses tested the hypothesised relationships between them. Queue awareness and COVID-19 anxiety were positive predictors of queue safety preference, with queue awareness partially mediating the effect of COVID-19 anxiety. These results suggest that customers’ preferences for shopping at one business and not another may depend on safe queueing and waiting conditions, especially in those more anxious about COVID-19 transmission. Interventions that target highly aware customers are suggested. Limitations are acknowledged and areas for future development are outlined.

Swami, Viren; Voracek, Martin, Furnham, Adrian, Robinson, Charlotte & Tran, Ulrich S. (2023)

Support for weight-related anti-discrimination laws and policies: Modelling the role of attitudes toward poverty alongside weight stigma, causal attributions about weight, and prejudice

Body image, 45, s. 391- 400. Doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.04.005 - Full text in research archive

In the present study, we sought to position support for weight-related anti-discrimination laws and policies within a broader political and socioeconomic context. Specifically, we hypothesised that individualistic (rather than structural) anti-poverty attitudes would provide the basis for negative weight-related dispositions. To test this hypothesis, we asked 392 respondents from the United Kingdom to complete measures of support for weight-related anti-discrimination laws and policies, attributions about the causes of being larger-bodied, and weight-related stigma and prejudice. Path analysis with robust maximum likelihood estimation indicated that greater individualistic anti-poverty attitudes were significantly and directly associated with lower support for weight-related anti-discrimination laws and policies. This direct association was also significantly mediated by weight-related stigma and via a serial mediation involving both weight-related stigma and prejudice. Although greater individualistic anti-poverty attitudes were significantly associated with greater personal attributions for being larger-bodied, the latter did not emerge as a significant mediation pathway. The present findings highlight the importance of considering broader political and socioeconomic contextual factors that may provide a basis for the development, maintenance, and manifestation of negative weight-related dispositions.

Furnham, Adrian & Sherman, Ryne A. (2023)

Beliefs about personal change

Acta Psychologica, 232 Doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103821 - Full text in research archive

In all, 510 Europeans completed an online questionnaire rating their beliefs about personal change, including the established Dweck Mindset measure. Their ratings of 27 characteristics from BMI to sexual preference factored into 5 interpretable factors labelled Personality, Beliefs and Habits, Health, Social Status and Physical. Correlation indicated beliefs about change were most related to religious beliefs but also sex and age. Dweck ratings of ability and personality growth were logically related to beliefs about change on the five factors and also to religious beliefs and self-rated optimism. Regressions indicated that being religious was the most consistent predictor about change, as well as age and education. Many beliefs about change were in direct contraction to the academic literature on the topic. Implications and limitations are acknowledged.

Furnham, Adrian & Horne, George (2023)

Sex in the dark: Sex differences on three measures of dark side personality

Acta Psychologica, 234 Doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103876 - Full text in research archive

This study examined sex differences in the scores on three different measures of the personality disorders (PDs) all derived from on-line surveys. Two groups (total N = 871) completed the Coolidge Axis-II Inventory which assessed 14 PDs; two groups (total N = 732) completed the Short Dark Tetrad which assessed 4 PDs; four groups (total N = 1558) completed the Personality Inventory for DSM-5—Brief Form which assessed 5 PD dimensions. Cohen's d after ANOVAs, and binary regression analysis revealed consistent findings. In this study we calculated 63 d statistics of which 5 were d > 0.50 and 28 were d > 0.20. In two samples, each using two different instruments, men scored higher than women on Anti-Social, Narcissistic and Sadistic PD which is a consistent finding in the literature. Speculations are made about the origin of these differences. Limitations are acknowledged.

Furnham, Adrian & Robinson, Charlotte (2023)

Correlates of Self-Assessed Optimism

Current Research in Behavioral Sciences (CRBS), 4 Doi: 10.1016/j.crbeha.2022.100089 - Full text in research archive

What are the bright- and dark-side personality trait, ideological belief, and mind-set correlates of self-assessed optimism? This paper reports on four studies, with a total N > 2000. In each, participants rated to what extent they were an optimist on an 8-point scale (high to low). We obtained demographic (age, sex) and ideological (political and religious beliefs) data in each study, as well as self-ratings on four variables (e.g., attractiveness, intelligence) which we aggregated and labelled self-esteem, which had alphas ranging from .70 to .80. We assessed personality, intelligence and other belief systems in different studies. Study 1 showed older, more religious, but less intelligent males with higher self-esteem and Belief in a Just World (BJW) were more optimistic. Study 2 showed older, more religious people, with higher self-esteem were more optimistic. Study 3 showed Open, Extraverted, Agreeable, Emotionally Stable, religious people with higher self-esteem and low on Negative Affectivity and Detachment, but high on Disinhibition, were most optimistic. Study 4 showed older, more religious people with higher self-esteem and lower Dweck fixed personality mindset beliefs were more optimistic. The concept and correlates of dispositional optimism and its measurement are discussed. Limitations and implications are noted.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2023)

The stability and correlates of quality-of-life scores over five years: Findings from a British cohort

Personality and Individual Differences, 204 Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2022.112034

This study explored a nationally representative longitudinal data set of 5273 adults, all born in 1958, examining the stability and change of quality-of-life (QoL) over five years. It also examined the associations between QoL and a set of socio-demographic, psychological and health variables in relation to QoL at both points in time. Results showed that self-report QoL scores were fairly stable over five years (r = 0.59), though there was a statistically significant increase in the total scores of QoL between age 50 to age 55 years. Correlational analysis showed parental social status indicators (measured at birth), childhood intelligence (measured at age 11 years), educational qualifications (measured at age 33 years), occupational levels, income and health, and the Big-Five personality factors (all measured at age 50 years) were all significantly associated with adult QoL. The strongest correlate of adult QoL was self-assessed health measured five years earlier, followed by the Big-Five personality factors, education and occupation, as well as parental social status. Gender was not significantly associated with QoL at either time points. Multiple linear regression analyses showed income, health and three of the Big-Five personality factors (Extraversion, Emotional Stability, Conscientiousness) were significant and independent predictors of QoL at age 55 years. After entering the initial QoL assessed five years earlier, health, traits Extraversion and Emotional Stability and initial QoL were significant predictors of the outcome variable. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.

Cuppello, Stephen; Treglown, Luke & Furnham, Adrian (2023)

Personality and management level: Traits that get you to the top

Personality and Individual Differences, 206 Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2023.112108

In this study we investigated whether personality traits differ among people at difference management levels, controlling for demographic variables. In total, 10,836 people completed a personality test and provided information about their managerial level. Managerial level was positively associated most with traits Risk Aversion, Ambiguity Acceptance and Conscientiousness. Analysis of covariance and regressions indicated that personality traits accounted for around 6.6 % of the variance above the demographic variables, particularly age. Results are broadly in alignment with previous studies in this area, but suggested the importance of two traits that are not explicitly assessed in the Big Five Factor Models: Ambiguity Acceptance and Attitude to Risk (Courage). Implications and limitations are acknowledged.

Trahair, Cassidy; MacDonald, Kristi B., Furnham, Adrian & Schermer, Julie Aitken (2022)

Altruism and the Dark Triad

Current Issues in Personality Psychology, 10(3), s. 234- 239. Doi: 10.5114/cipp.2022.113436 - Full text in research archive

Background: The Dark Triad literature examining pro-social behaviours is minimal, with mixed results. Participants and procedure: This study investigates the relationships between the Dark Triad and altruistic behaviours based on self-report data from 286 adults. Altruism was assessed using two scales: a general measure as well as a more recent scale measur-ing compassionate altruism towards family, friends, and strangers. Results: Machiavellianism negatively correlated with general altruism; however, when controlling for the other dark variables plus age and gender in a regression, narcissism was the only Dark Triad trait that significantly predicted altruism. None of the Dark Triad traits were significantly related to or predictive of compassionate altruism. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the Dark Triad and altruism relationships are not straightforward, and that, surprising-ly, strong negative relationships between the traits and altruism are not found. Limitations and future research direc-tions are discussed.

Todd, Jennifer; Swami, Viren, Aspell, Jane E., Furnham, Adrian, Horne, George & Stieger, Stefan (2022)

Are some interoceptive sensibility components more central than others? Using item pool visualisation to understand the psychometric representation of interoception

PLOS ONE, 17(12) Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277894 - Full text in research archive

Interoception refers to the processing of stimuli originating within the body and is widely considered a multidimensional construct. However, there remains a lack of consensus regarding the definition and measurement of the subjective, self-reported component, referred to here as interoceptive sensibility. As a contribution to knowledge on the topic, we sought to examine the construct commonality and distinguishability of seven self-report measures of interoceptive sensibility using Item Pool Visualisation (IPV), an illustrative method that locates item pools from within the same dataset and illustrates these in the form of nested radar charts. Adults from the United Kingdom (N = 802) completed seven measures of interoceptive sensibility, and the data were subjected to IPV. Results demonstrated that, of the included measures, the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness-2 provided the closest and most precise measurement of the core interoceptive sensibility construct (i.e., core of the entire investigated item pool). The Body Awareness Questionnaire and the Private Body Consciousness Scale were also centrally located measures, while the Body Perception Questionnaire and the Body Responsiveness Scale appear to tap more distal aspects of the core construct. We discuss implications for interpreting complicated data patterns using measures of interoceptive sensibility and, more generally, for measuring the construct of interoceptive sensibility.

Treglown, Luke & Furnham, Adrian (2022)

Age, Sex, Education, Emotional Intelligence, Cognitive Intelligence, and Management Level: A Study from Great Britain

Journal of General Management (JGM) Doi: 10.1177/03063070221107128 - Full text in research archive

Do non-, first-line, middle and senior managers differ in their cognitive ability and emotional intelligence? In this study we interested in the demographic and ability differences of people at different management levels. Over 6000 adults completed a multidimensional intelligence test (IQ) with five subscales and a measure of Trait Emotional Intelligence (EQ) with 15 subscales. First, we examined sex, age, educational and management level correlates of both EQ and IQ. Whilst there were many significant results, effect sizes were small. The focus of the paper was the regression using management level as the criterion variable and demography, EQ and, IQ as the predictor variables at facet and domain levels. Age and sex, particularly the former, accounted for nearly 30% of the variance, but both EQ and IQ added incremental variance. Facet level variance showed that specifically IQ number speed, and EQ sociability and emotionality (negatively) related to managerial level. Implications for general management and limitations are acknowledged.

Furnham, Adrian & Robinson, Charlotte (2022)

Sex Difference in Estimated Intelligence and Estimated Emotional Intelligence and IQ Scores

The Journal of Genetic Psychology Doi: 10.1080/00221325.2022.2140025 - Full text in research archive

In five different online studies of community samples, participants (N > 2,200) estimated their IQ and EQ on a single scale and completed three different, short, untimed intelligence tests. In all studies, women estimated their IQ significantly lower than men (effect sizes from 0.22–0.47) and estimated their EQ higher (effect size 0.04–0.32). In only one study were there actual sex differences in IQ test scores. All correlations between the two estimates were significant and positive, and ranged from .37 < r < .47. The robustness of the IQ-EQ hubris-humility effect across measures and populations is discussed. Limitations are acknowledged, particularly in the use of tests.

Ciuvat, Roberta-Maria; Furnham, Adrian & McClelland, Alastair (2022)

Sex Does Not Sell: The Effect of Sexual Content on Advertisement Effectiveness and Interference with Memory for Program Information

Perceptual and Motor Skills Doi: 10.1177/00315125221138395 - Full text in research archive

Does increasing the sexual content of advertisements lead, though memory processes, to greater sales? By employing a between-participants design, we aimed to explore how sexual advertising affects explicit and implicit memory, and whether it impairs memory for information preceding the commercials (retroactive interference) or following the commercials (proactive interference). We randomly assigned 182 young participants in the UK to one of two groups who watched the same TV program containing an advertisement break during which either sexual or nonsexual advertisements were shown, while brands were held constant across conditions. Participants were then tested on their explicit and implicit memory for both the advertising content and program information. Results revealed that implicit memory was better for nonsexual than for sexual advertisements. Unexpectedly, there was no group difference in participants’ explicit memory for the advertisements. Further, sexual advertising resulted in retroactive interference with program information, whereas proactive memory for program information was not impaired. We acknowledge various study limitations and discuss proposals for future research.

Fenton-O'Creevy, Mark & Furnham, Adrian (2022)

Money attitudes, financial capabilities, and impulsiveness as predictors of wealth accumulation

PLOS ONE, 17(11) Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278047 - Full text in research archive

In this study we examined three correlates of personal wealth–financial capability, buying impulsiveness, and attitudes to money in a large UK adult sample (N = 90,184). We were interested in how these psychological variables related to personal wealth controlling for well-established demographic correlates: age, education, gender, and household income. We drew on three personal wealth variables based on savings and investments, property wealth and personal items. Using correlational and regression analysis we tested three specific hypotheses which each received support. Our variables accounted for around half the variance with respect to property value, and two thirds with respect to investments. The hierarchical regression onto the savings and investment factor showed two thirds of the variance was accounted for: the demographic variables accounted for 27% of the variance, money attitudes an additional 14%; financial capability an additional 24% and buying impulsivity no additional variance. Age, income, and planning ahead were the most powerful and consistent predictors of wealth variables, with associating money with security as an important predictor for savings and investments. Implications for helping improve financial literacy and capability are noted. Limitations are acknowledged.

Coleman, Geoff; Furnham, Adrian & Treglown, Luke (2022)

Exploring the Dark side of conscientiousness. The relationship between conscientiousness and its potential derailers: perfectionism and narcissism

Current Psychology Doi: 10.1007/s12144-022-03828-y - Full text in research archive

The current study aimed to identify what individual differences and situational variables cause derailment in highly conscientious people. Data were from a representative working sample of 716 participants across 27 industries, spanning both management and non-management roles. We tested four hypotheses with regard to bright- and dark-side personality traits and the relationship between boss/manager and staff member. Hierarchical linear regressions revealed mixed findings for Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) as a stressor. For maladaptive perfectionism it was confirmed, but not for adaptive perfectionism or narcissism. Results suggest introverts may be more prone to maladaptive perfectionism, even with higher levels of conscientiousness if there are lower LMX levels. Overall, the findings suggest selecting for conscientiousness alone and discounting other personality traits and situational variables may be detrimental in practice. Further implications are discussed alongside the study limitations.

Furnham, Adrian & Robinson, Charlotte (2022)

Correlates of belief in climate change: Demographics, ideology and belief systems

Acta Psychologica, 230 Doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103775 - Full text in research archive

This paper reports on two studies that examine correlates of attitudes to climate change (ACC). In the first study, five hundred participants completed five questionnaires and an intelligence test as well as two related measures of ACC. Using correlations and regressions we examined the relationship between ACC and demography (gender, age, education), ideology (political and religious beliefs), intelligence, self-beliefs, Belief in a Just World and the endorsement of Conspiracy Theories. One climate change questionnaire factored into three factors labelled Impact, Fatalism, and Personal action. The most consistent finding was that political opinions were most strongly related to climate change beliefs: more conservative thinkers denied that individuals could do anything. In the second study, also with 500 participants, we asked one question concerning how seriously they took the issue of global warming. Again, we examined the relationship with this response and the participants' demography, ideology and self-ratings. Political beliefs primarily were related to global warming concerns, as in the first study. Results are discussed in terms of climate change as an ideology and the possible changing of these beliefs. Limitations, like the representativeness of the sample and the single-item measure in the second study are acknowledged.

Arnulf, Jan Ketil; Robinson, Charlotte & Furnham, Adrian (2022)

Dispositional and ideological factor correlate of conspiracy thinking and beliefs

PLOS ONE, 17(10) Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273763 - Full text in research archive

This study explored how the Big Five personality traits, as well as measures of personality disorders, are related to two different measures of conspiracy theories (CTs)The two measures correlated r = .58 and were applied to examine generalisability of findings. We also measured participants (N = 397) general knowledge levels and ideology in the form of religious and political beliefs. Results show that the Big Five and ideology are related to CTs but these relationships are generally wiped out by the stronger effects of the personality disorder scales. Two personality disorder clusters (A and B) were significant correlates of both CT measures, in both cases accounting for similar amounts of variance (20%). The personality disorders most predictive of conspiracy theories were related to the A cluster, characterized by schizotypal symptoms such as oddities of thinking and loose associations. These findings were corroborated by an additional analysis using Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). LSA demonstrated that the items measuring schizotypal and related symptoms are cognitively related to both our measures of CTs. The implications for the studying of CTs is discussed, and limitations are acknowledged.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2022)

Childhood onset of migraine, gender, psychological distress and locus of control as predictors of migraine in adulthood

Psychology, Health & Medicine Doi: 10.1080/13548506.2022.2129083 - Full text in research archive

This study explored a set of psychological and socio-demographic factors in childhood and adulthood associated with migraines assessed at age 42 years. Data were drawn from a large, nationally representative, prospective longitudinal study: the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). In total, 5628 cohort members with data on parental social class at birth, cognitive ability (intelligence), self-esteem and locus of control at age 10 years, psychological distress and educational qualifications at age 34, and current occupation at age 42 years were examined. We assessed whether or not they regularly experienced migraines at age 42 years. Logistic regression analysis showed that childhood migraine, gender and adult psychological distress, as well as childhood locus of control (for females only), were significant and independent predictors of the prevalence of migraine in adulthood. Childhood migraine seemed to have a long-lasting effect on adult migraine, and psychological distress also appeared to detrimentally affect adult migraine over time.

Furnham, Adrian; Robinson, Charlotte & Grover, Simmy (2022)

Consensual ideas for prioritizing patients: correlates of preferences in the allocation of medical resources

Ethics & behavior Doi: 10.1080/10508422.2022.2113081 - Full text in research archive

Five hundred adults indicated their preferences about the fairness and ethics of allocating scarce medical interventions. They also completed an IQ test, a measure of self-esteem and the extent to which they believed in a Just World, as well as General Conspiracy Theories. Results confirmed previous studies which showed a strong preference for the Utilitarian “saves most lives,” followed by the Prioritization “sickest first” and “youngest first,” preferences. Correlations and regressions indicated relatively few significant individual difference correlates of allocation preferences, with IQ being the major exception. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Swami, Viren; Barron, David & Furnham, Adrian (2022)

Associations between Schizotypal Facets and Symptoms of Disordered Eating in Women

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH), 19(18) Doi: 10.3390/ijerph191811157 - Full text in research archive

Research has suggested that schizotypy—a personality organisation representing latent vulnerability for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders—may be elevated in women with symptoms of disordered eating. However, studies have not fully considered associations between symptoms of disordered eating and multidimensional schizotypy. To overcome this limitation, we asked an online sample of 235 women from the United States to complete measures of symptoms of disordered eating (drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, and bulimic symptoms) and multidimensional schizotypy. Correlational analyses indicated significant associations between drive for thinness and bulimic symptoms, respectively, and most schizotypal facets. Body dissatisfaction was significantly associated with only two schizotypal facets. Overall, the strength of correlations was weak-tomoderate. Regression results indicated that only the schizotypal feature of excessive social anxiety was significantly associated with all risk for disordered eating factors. These results are consistent with aetiological models of disordered eating that highlight socio-affective difficulties as risk factors for symptoms of disordered eating.

Furnham, Adrian; Robinson, Charlotte & Haakonsen, Jon Magnus F (2022)

Hire Ambitious People: Bright- and Dark-Side Personality and Work Engagement

Journal of Individual Differences Doi: 10.1027/1614-0001/a000380

Is work engagement, like job satisfaction, primarily a function of personality? In total, 397 working adults completed a short, reliable, three-facet model of work engagement, a short IQ test, various self-ratings, a Big Five (bright-side) personality scale, and a measure of the personality disorders (dark-side). Work engagement was related to age, intelligence, positive self-ratings, and all the personality variables. A regression analysis revealed six variables significantly related to total work engagement: sex, age, IQ, ratings of personal ambitiousness, trait Neuroticism and Cluster A personality disorders. Regressions onto each of the three facets of work engagement showed slightly different findings, yet in each, older people with lower Cluster A scores and who rated themselves as ambitious scored higher on all facets. Over a third of the variance was explained in each regression. In every analysis, the rating of ambitiousness was most strongly related to work engagement. Implications and limitations are acknowledged.

Haakonsen, Jon Magnus F & Furnham, Adrian (2022)

COVID-19 Vaccination: Conspiracy Theories, Demography, Ideology, and Personality Disorders

Health Psychology Doi: 10.1037/hea0001222 - Full text in research archive

Objectives: To understand the role of personal experience, religious and political beliefs as well as conspiracy theory beliefs on the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination. Method: Just under 400 adults completed online questionnaires assessing to what extent they endorsed conspiracy theories (CTs) and an evidenced measure of personality disorders (PDs). One month later, they were asked about having the COVID-19 vaccine. We examined the relationship between demographic (age, sex, education), ideology (political and religious beliefs), general beliefs in CTs, PDs and attitudes toward vaccination. Results: We found, as anticipated, conservative political orientation, religiosity, Cluster A PDs, and conspiracy thinking correlated negatively with vaccine acceptance. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the group of vaccine accepting individuals differed from the group of individuals either hesitant or resistant to the vaccine with respect to education, personal ideology, general conspiracy theory adherence, and cluster A PDs. Multinomial logistic regression indicates that religiosity, conspiracy thinking, and lower levels of education predict vaccine hesitancy or rejection. Conclusion: Implications for “rolling out” the vaccine are discussed in terms of who to target and how to address misbeliefs about vaccination.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2022)

Early Predictors of Alpha and Beta Personality Factors in Adulthood

Journal of Individual Differences Doi: 10.1027/1614-0001/a000377 - Full text in research archive

This study examined the predictors of two higher factors of personality (Alpha and Beta) using a large nationally representative sample. In total, we had 5,476 participants data on family social status measured at birth, childhood intelligence ability assessed at age 11 years, behavioral problems and leisure activities (sports and parties) at age 16 years, psychological distress at age 23 years, optimism and educational qualifications at age 33 years, occupational prestige at age 42 years, and Big Five personality measured at age 50 years. We combined Big Five scores into Alpha and Beta factors. Correlational analysis showed that childhood intelligence, teenager behavioral problems and leisure activities, psychological distress, optimism, educational qualifications, and occupational prestige were all significant correlates of the Alpha and Beta factors. Structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that childhood intelligence, teenage behavioral problems, education and occupation as well as optimism were the direct predictors of the latent Alpha factor; and that childhood intelligence, education and occupation, psychological distress, and optimism were the direct predictors of the latent Beta factor. Gender was significantly associated with both Alpha and Beta factors. Implications and limitations are acknowledged.

Swami, Viren; Robinson, Charlotte & Furnham, Adrian (2022)

Positive Rational Acceptance of Body Image Threats Mediates the Association between Nature Exposure and Body Appreciation

Ecopsychology, 14(2), s. 118- 125. Doi: 10.1089/eco.2021.0029 - Full text in research archive

Mounting evidence suggests that exposure to natural environments is associated with more positive body image, but mechanistic pathways are not fully understood. In this study, we tested one such indirect pathway involving positive rational acceptance (PRA) (i.e., an adaptive body image coping strategy). A total of 401 participants from the United Kingdom completed measures of nature exposure, PRA, and body appreciation (i.e., a facet of positive body image). Correlational analyses indicated positive, although weak-to-moderate, associations between all three constructs. Mediation analysis supported the hypothesis that PRA mediates the association between nature exposure and body appreciation. These findings were robust in the total sample, as well as in women (n = 200) and men (n = 197) separately. These results highlight the potential benefit of nature exposure in terms of promoting adaptive body image coping strategies, which in turn are associated with more positive body image.

Neto, Joana; Neto, Félix & Furnham, Adrian (2022)

Predictors of students’ preferences for assessment methods

Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education Doi: 10.1080/02602938.2022.2087860 - Full text in research archive

The aim of this study is to examine whether a preference for specific assessment methods in higher education is associated with personality and character strengths. Two-hundred and seventy Portuguese students completed a survey of character strengths, a Big Five personality test and their preference for each of six higher education assessment methods. Participants most favoured continuous assessment and multiple choice over viva voce and dissertations. Regression analysis showed that demographic factors, character strengths and personality accounted for 3–7% of the variance in the preferred examination method. Findings partially replicate previous investigations. Limitations and further research options are suggested.

Swami, Viren; Barron, David & Furnham, Adrian (2022)

Appearance Orientation and Dating Anxiety in Emerging Adults: Considering the Roles of Appearance-Based Rejection Sensitivity, Social Physique Anxiety, and Self-Compassion

Archives of Sexual Behavior Doi: 10.1007/s10508-022-02367-8 - Full text in research archive

Emerging research has suggested that appearance-related factors, such as greater appearance orientation, are associated with dating anxiety in emerging adults, but much more could be done to understand mechanistic pathways and potential buffers. Here, we tested a moderated mediation model in which appearance-based rejection sensitivity and social physique anxiety were explored as mediators, and self-compassion was explored as a moderator, of the relationship between appearance orientation and dating anxiety. A total of 501 heterosexual emerging adults (248 women, 253 men) from the UK completed instruments measuring the aforementioned constructs. Relationships among all variables were largely similar across women and men, with only the association between social physique anxiety and appearance-based rejection sensitivity being significantly stronger in women. Mediation analysis in the total sample indicated that both social physique anxiety and appearance-based rejection anxiety were significant mediators. Additionally, we confirmed a serial mediation involving appearance orientation → appearance-based rejection sensitivity → social physique anxiety → dating anxiety. Conversely, self-compassion did not moderate the effects of either social physique anxiety or appearance-based rejection sensitivity on dating anxiety, although greater self-compassion was moderately associated lower dating anxiety. We suggest ways in which existing interventions aimed at reducing dating anxiety could be combined with body image interventions to reduce dating anxiety in heterosocial contexts.

Furnham, Adrian; Grover, Simmy & McClelland, Alastair (2022)

Choosing a coach: the influence of age, gender and experience in shaping preferences for business coaches

Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice Doi: 10.1080/17521882.2022.2112967 - Full text in research archive

The present study examined people’s preference for an executive coach. A sample of 504 participants completed a questionnaire in which they were asked to rate eight potential coaches stratified by sex (male vs. female), age (under 40 vs. over 50 years), as a proxy for experience, and background experience (business vs. psychology). There was a significant main effect of gender, with female coaches being preferred over male coaches; effect of experience, with less experienced coaches being preferred over those with more experience; and background, with those from a business background being preferred over those with a psychology background. There were more important interaction effects, particularly around the sex of the coach. These results are discussed in relation to the extant literature on preferences for different types of professionals. Implications and limitations are noted.

Arnulf, Jan Ketil; Robinson, Charlotte & Furnham, Adrian (2022)

Explanations for the Sources of Wealth: It Is Not a Just World

Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics (JNPE), 15(4), s. 210- 221. Doi: 10.1037/npe0000164 - Full text in research archive

Five hundred participants indicated the extent to which they thought very wealthy people had become rich from four routes: three by personal effort (executive, investor, entrepreneur) and one by inheritance. These ratings were correlated with their demography (sex, age), ideology (religious and political beliefs), self-ratings, intelligence (IQ) as well as their beliefs in a just world (BJW), and their endorsement of conspiracy theories. It appears that most people are aware of the importance that agentic sources of wealth play, favoring entrepreneurship as the main pathway to extreme wealth. However, BJW seems to come in two versions: A “bright side version” indicating a belief that hard work and persistence will prevail, and another pathway linking agentic outcomes to theories of conspiracy. Intelligence appears to play an important role in this, but closer scrutiny suggests that IQ mainly serves to moderate conspiracy beliefs. Consequences for conspiracy beliefs and social unrest are discussed.

Batey, M; Hughes, DJ, Mosley, A, Owens, CE & Furnham, Adrian (2022)

Psychopathy and Openness-to-experience as predictors of malevolent and benevolent creativity

Personality and Individual Differences, 196 Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2022.111715 - Full text in research archive

This study examined personality antecedents of idea generation when pursuing either benevolent or malevolent goals. Specifically, 308 participants completed two Divergent Thinking tests. A malevolent divergent thinking test (MDT) in which participants generated ideas to inflict revenge and a benevolent divergent thinking test (BDT) in which participants generated well-meaning ideas. In addition, participants provided self-ratings of their Openness-to-experience and Psychopathy. Drawing upon the Blind Variation Selective Retention Combinatorial model, we proposed a dual pathway model, in which Openness-to-experience was hypothesised to relate to BDT performance and psychopathy was hypothesised to relate to MDT performance. Structural Equation Models were consistent with hypotheses. Openness-to-experience was related to BDT but not MDT whereas Psychopathy was related MDT but not BDT. We also explored facet-level and aspect-level models, which revealed some interesting insights. In addition, we provide four key principles underlying the development of our MDT test that can serve as a guide for the construction of future tests.

Furnham, Adrian & Horne, George (2022)

Cover Ups and Conspiracy Theories: Demographics, Work Disenchantment, Equity Sensitivity, and Beliefs in Cover-ups

Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 38(1), s. 19- 25. Doi: 10.5093/jwop2022a2 - Full text in research archive

Beliefs in cover-ups take the perspective of conspiracy theories. This study examined demographic, ideological, and work-related attitudes (disenchantment, equity sensitivity) and ideas about events being covered up. Over 500 working adults completed a number of questionnaires including beliefs about official cover-ups and conspiracies (CT), work-related disenchantment, sensitivity to equity, personal demography as well as religious and political beliefs. CT and Work Disenchantment measures both had a good internal reliability. Correlations and regressions showed that sex, education, ethnicity and political beliefs, as well as a sense of entitlement and disenchantment at work, predicted beliefs in cover-ups. Facets of work disenchantment, particularly perceptions of organisational hypocrisy and personal disrespect at work were significantly related to the belief in cover-ups. Research implications and limitations are acknowledged.

Schermer, Julie Aitken; Furnham, Adrian & Treglown, Luke (2022)

Testing the differentiation of intelligence by neuroticism hypothesis

Current Research in Behavioral Sciences (CRBS), 3 Doi: 10.1016/j.crbeha.2022.100073 - Full text in research archive

The prediction that neuroticism (or emotional instability) will change the definition of an intelligence factor, or g, was tested in a large sample (N = 2,716) of British managers who completed both personality and intelligence measures. Specifically, we examine if the structure of mental abilities changes across levels of personality (with a focus on the neuroticism/adjustment dimension). The results demonstrate that, similar to a recent report, there is some evidence supporting the suggestion that intelligence scales inter-correlate higher for less adjusted individuals, but that the effect is not strong enough to impact intelligence and personality research.

Pyle, Emily; Furnham, Adrian & McClelland, Alastair (2022)

Corporate social and environmental responsibility advertising: Advertising effectiveness as a function of viewing context

Journal of Brand Management, 29, s. 301- 310. Doi: 10.1057/s41262-021-00269-z - Full text in research archive

This study investigated the effects of corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSER) advertising, and programme-advertisement congruency, on advertising effectiveness. In a between-subjects design, participants (N = 128) viewed either three CSER or three neutral advertisements for the same brands embedded in either a “sustainable” or “neutral” programme. Measures of memory for advertising (free recall, cued recall, and brand recognition), and buying intention were obtained. The percentage recall and buying intention scores were significantly higher for CSER than neutral advertisements, but there was no effect on brand recognition. There were no significant effects of programme type nor significant interactions between programme and advertisement types found. The effectiveness of CSER advertising as measured by free recall was found to vary as a function of the brand being advertised, which was attributed to differences in the type of message being carried by the CSER advertisements.

Joffe, Megan; Grover, Simmy, King, Jenny & Furnham, Adrian (2022)

Doctors in distress: The personality profile of derailing doctors

International Journal of Social Psychiatry Doi: 10.1177/00207640221075585 - Full text in research archive

Objective: This study looked at the bright and dark-side personality profile of distressed and potentially derailing doctors (82% male). The derailing doctors were on average 48.75 years old, and from many specialities, in particular, general practice and surgery. Method: In all, a group of 77 derailing British doctors, and a control group of 357 doctors completed a valid multidimensional test of bright-side (normal) personality (NEO-PI-R) and one of dysfunctional interpersonal themes (subclinical personality disorders) (HDS: Hogan Development Survey). Results: Controlling for sex and age, the derailing doctors were more Neurotic (less resilient), and less Agreeable, Conscientious, Extraverted and Open-to- Experience. They were also more Excitable (Borderline), Sceptical (Paranoid), Cautious (Avoidant), Reserved (Schizoid), Leisurely (Passive Aggressive) and Bold (Narcissistic). Discriminant analysis showed age, Neuroticism, Extraversion, Leisurely and Excitable were, in that order, the greatest personality discriminators between those who did and did not derail. Conclusion: More research needs to be done on doctor derailment to inform the selection and training of doctors.

Furnham, Adrian & Grover, Simmy (2022)

Few sex differences in dark side personality scale domains and facets

Current Research in Behavioral Sciences (CRBS), 3 Doi: 10.1016/j.crbeha.2022.100070 - Full text in research archive

This study examined sex differences in domain and facet scores on a new dark-side personality test (Hogan Development Survey: Form 5) measuring sub-clinical personality disorders. Over 50,000 adults completed the new HDS which assesses eleven dark-side traits and three facets of each. Comparing males and females on the 11 domains and 33 facets using t-tests and binary regressions we found that there were many significant differences on these scores, which replicated other studies. However, the Cohen's d statistic showed very few (5 out of 44) differences >0.20. The biggest difference was on Reserved (Schizoid) and few differences on Excitable (Borderline). Implications for researchers interested in assessment and selection are discussed along with limitations of the study.

Furnham, Adrian; Robinson, Charlotte & Grover, Simmy (2022)

Spenders and Savers, Tightwads and Spendthrifts: Individual Correlates of Personal Ratings of Being a Spender or a Saver

Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics (JNPE), 15(1) Doi: 10.1037/npe0000155 - Full text in research archive

There is limited literature on the causes, correlates, and consequences of being a saver (tightwad) or a spender (spendthrift). This paper reports on five studies which look at demographic, bright- and dark-side personality, money belief, and self-evaluation correlates of to what extent a person considers themselves a spender or saver. In each study, adult participants indicated their spender–saver habits on a single scale and completed a number of tests. The first study looked at trait correlates and showed savers were close-minded, conscientious, stable, extraverts. It also showed as predicted that savers were more likely to associate money with security, and not love or freedom, and claim to have better financial knowledge. The results from the second study on dark-side personality correlates indicated that spenders were more likely to have psychopathic tendencies, but less likely to be Machiavellian. The third study on personality disorder correlates of spender–saver tendencies suggested that spenders were likely to have elevated Cluster B personality disorders. The fourth study examined self-beliefs and showed savers rated themselves as more attractive, healthy, and intelligent than spenders. The fifth study, also using various self-ratings, showed spenders had more liberal political views, report higher emotional intelligence and are less likely to own their own home, while savers rated their physical health higher, and saw themselves as more entrepreneurial. Overall, the results suggest the simple saver–spender question is logically correlated with a number of individual difference variables with savers having a more positive profile. Implications and limitations are considered.

Carr, Hannah & Furnham, Adrian (2021)

Mental Health Literacy and Dementia

Psychiatry International, 2(2), s. 159- 168. Doi: 10.3390/psychiatryint2020012

Peters, Baylee & Furnham, Adrian (2021)

The Recognition of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Conduct Disorder in Adolescents and Adults—Assessing Differences in Mental Health Literacy

Psychiatry International, 2(2), s. 145- 158. Doi: 10.3390/psychiatryint2020011

Cheng, Helen & Furnham, Adrian (2021)

Factors Influencing Children’s Behavioral Problems: Results from a Longitudinal Study of British Children from Birth to Seven Years

Psychiatry International, 2(2), s. 224- 232. Doi: 10.3390/psychiatryint2020017 - Full text in research archive

Furnham, Adrian & Horne, George (2021)

Personality and demographic correlates of political ideology

Personality and Individual Differences Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.111320 - Full text in research archive

This paper was concerned with “bright” and “dark-side” personality trait correlates of political beliefs. In a series of three studies we asked people to rate their political beliefs on a simple, single, left-right, liberalism-conservatism dimension. We used three British Prolific samples: N = 500 (study 1); N = 506 (study 2) and 223 (study 3). Our major focus was on how much incremental variance can be accounted for by trait variables over demographic and other belief variables. In the first study we found three personality traits, particularly Conscientiousness was related to right-wing/Conservative and Openness to left-wing Liberal political beliefs: personality accounted for around 8% incremental variance over demographic and other belief variables. In the second study we found fewer significant correlations between personality and political beliefs, accounting for 3% of the variance but that the Militant Extremist Mindset factors added another 2% of the variance. In the third study we found evidence that three “dark-side” personality disorder factors namely Narcissism, Psychopathy and Sadism accounted for around 5% of incremental variance over demographic and belief variables. The implications and limitations of the results are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian & Robinson, Charlotte (2021)

Myths and misconceptions about personality traits and tests

Personality and Individual Differences Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.111381 - Full text in research archive

This study examined the prevalence of myths about personality traits as set out in a book (Donnellan & Luca, 2021) and beliefs in the predictive validity of personality tests. In all, 616 participants completed a questionnaire in which they rated the extent to which they thought statements/facts about personality traits were true or false, and whether personality test scores could predict behaviours like health, wealth and marital satisfaction. In total, 12 of these myths were rated as true (definitely or partly) by the majority of the participants, particularly those that implied personality change and instability over time. Only six were rated as probably false, two as definitely false, and five as “Don't Know” by the majority of respondents. Overall, participants thought tests predicted leadership and depression best, and longevity and future earnings least well. There were a number of systematic individual correlates of these beliefs which indicated that participants' religious and political beliefs were related to these myths and misconceptions. Limitations of this, and similar studies, are noted, and implications are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian & Horne, George (2021)

A facet measure of money madness: A preliminary analyses of a new questionnaire

Financial Planning Review, 4(3) Doi: 10.1002/cfp2.1131 - Full text in research archive

This study reports on the development of a new, facet level questionnaire to measure “money madness” based on a well-established, four-factor model. It reviews the papers currently available to researchers on those with “money troubles” such as financial distress. In this study, 256 adult participants from diverse backgrounds, who were recruited online, completed a 52-item questionnaire designed to measure three facets of each of the four money factors: Security, Power, Love, and Freedom. They also completed a financial literacy questionnaire which had two factors. The internal reliability of the four money factors was satisfactory but this was not the case for all the facets. Factor analysis partly confirmed the hypothesized structure. Regressions indicated that associating money with power was the best predictor of financial literacy. The use of a facet or factor measure and necessary future theoretical and psychometric developments are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian (2021)

Motivational profiles and safety-related traits

International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics (JOSE), 28(2), s. 1198- 1203. Doi: 10.1080/10803548.2021.1876394 - Full text in research archive

This article is concerned with the relationship between the job motivational and preference profile of individuals and their engagement in safety behaviours. Studies have investigated personality traits but not motive and value correlates of risk-related behaviour. More than 25,000 Americans completed a questionnaire on safety-related competencies in the workplace that measured six different, but related, safety-related traits. They also completed a motivational measure of preferences and values used extensively in personnel assessment and selection. The six safety dimensions yielded two factors labelled observant and resilient that, along with the total score, were the criterion variables. Step-wise regressions indicated that those with high needs for affiliation, hedonism and recognition tended to be less safety conscious. The two different factors also showed a different pattern of demographic and motivational correlates. Problems of method invariance are discussed, as well the role of job motivation individual differences in safety-related traits and competencies.

Furnham, Adrian & Impellizzeri, Sylvia (2021)

THE PERSONALITY AND MOTIVATION OF “QUANTS”: THE MATH GENIUSES OF WALL STREET

The Journal of Financial Management, Markets and Institutions, 9(1) Doi: 10.1142/S2282717X2150002X

Gordon, Pauline & Furnham, Adrian (2021)

The effect of gender stereotype content, program congruity, and liking on unconventional French television advertisement recall and purchase intention.

Psychology of Popular Media, 10(2), s. 248- 255. Doi: 10.1037/ppm0000320 - Full text in research archive

This study investigated the effect of the portrayal of unconventional gender roles in advert content, congruent program context, and liking of the advert on subsequent memory and purchase intention. In all, 186 French participants watched either a congruent-stereotype content program or an incongruent neutral one, with either 3 conventional or unconventional gender role adverts embedded within it. Results suggested that advert recall scores and product purchase intention ratings were significantly higher for unconventional adverts, in a congruent program context. Advert liking positively influenced memory and purchase intentions, but there were no significant differences in recall of unconventional adverts between genders.

Furnham, Adrian; Arnulf, Jan Ketil & Robinson, Charlotte (2021)

Unobtrusive measures of prejudice: Estimating percentages of public beliefs and behaviours

PLOS ONE, 16(12), s. 1- 12. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260042 - Full text in research archive

This study was concerned with how accurate people are in their knowledge of population norms and statistics concerning such things as the economic, health and religious status of a nation and how those estimates are related to their own demography (e.g age, sex), ideology (political and religious beliefs) and intelligence. Just over 600 adults were asked to make 25 population estimates for Great Britain, including religious (church/mosque attendance) and economic (income, state benefits, car/house ownership) factors as well as estimates like the number of gay people, immigrants, smokers etc. They were reasonably accurate for things like car ownership, criminal record, vegetarianism and voting but seriously overestimated numbers related to minorities such as the prevalence of gay people, muslims and people not born in the UK. Conversely there was a significant underestimation of people receiving state benefits, having a criminal record or a private health insurance. Correlations between select variables and magnitude and absolute accuracy showed religiousness and IQ most significant correlates. Religious people were less, and intelligent people more, accurate in their estimates. A factor analysis of the estimates revealed five interpretable factors. Regressions were calculated onto these factors and showed how these individual differences accounted for as much as 14% of the variance. Implications and limitations are acknowledged.

Swami, Viren; Robinson, Charlotte & Furnham, Adrian (2021)

Associations between body image, social physique anxiety, and dating anxiety in heterosexual emerging adults

Body image, 39, s. 305- 312. Doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.10.004 - Full text in research archive

Studies have suggested that body image is associated with dating anxiety, but are limited by small sample sizes, singular operationalisations of body image, and a lack of consideration of the concurrent effects of social physique anxiety. To overcome these gaps in the literature, we asked an online sample of 501 heterosexual emerging adults from the United Kingdom (age M = 21.16, 50.3% women) to complete measures of multidimensional body image, social physique anxiety, and dating anxiety. Correlational analyses indicated that more negative body image and social physique anxiety were both significantly associated with greater dating anxiety. However, in hierarchical regressions, the variance accounted for by body image variables was largely non-significant and weak after accounting for the effects of social physique anxiety. In exploratory analyses, we found that social physique anxiety mediated the relationship between the body image facet of appearance orientation and dating anxiety. These results highlight the importance of developing targeted interventions to reduce social physique anxiety and unhealthy appearance orientation in heterosocial dating contexts.

Furnham, Adrian & Robinson, Charlotte (2021)

Ideology, personality disorders and the militant extremist mindset

Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression Doi: 10.1080/19434472.2021.1995022 - Full text in research archive

This study examined the relationship between demographic factors, intelligence, individual ideology (politics and religious beliefs), all the personality disorders (PDs) and the militant extremism mindset (MEM). Nearly 400 adults completed various self-report measures in addition to the three-dimensional MEM questionnaire which assessed Proviolence, Vile World and Divine Power Beliefs. They also completed a measure of the personality disorders (SCATI) which was used to calculate the three higher-order clusters. Correlations indicated similar correlates of Proviolence and Vile World views, but different for Divine Power beliefs. Political, but not religious, beliefs were strongly and differently associated with the first two factors. The PDs were nearly all associated with the Vile World factor but very little with the Divine Power factor. Hierarchical regressions indicated that relatively few PDs were associated with the three Mindset beliefs. When the PDs were grouped into higher order Clusters, Cluster A and B, as well as personal political beliefs were most closely associated with the Proviolence and Vile World views. Implications and limitations are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research.

Fenton-O’Creevy, Mark & Furnham, Adrian (2021)

Financial Distress and Money Attitudes

Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics (JNPE), 14(3), s. 138- 148. Doi: 10.1037/npe0000143 - Full text in research archive

Keh, C.; Furnham, Adrian, McClelland, Alastair & Wong, Clinton (2021)

The Allocation of a Scarce Medical Resource: A Cross-Cultural Study Investigating the Influence of Life Style Factors and Patient Gender, and the Coherence of Decision-making

Ethics & behavior Doi: 10.1080/10508422.2021.1979978 - Full text in research archive

This study examined how lifestyle factors and gender affect kidney allocation to transplant patients by 99 British and Singaporean participants. Thirty hypothetical patients were generated from a combination of six factors (alcohol intake, smoking frequency, weight, exercise frequency, diet, and gender) and randomly paired four times. Participants saw 60 patient pairings and, in each pair, chose which patient would receive treatment priority. A Bradley-Terry model was used to derive coefficients for each factor per participant. A mean factor score (MFS) was then calculated across all participants for each factor. Participants gave lower priority to patients who drank more, were overweight, smoked more and exercised less. A patient’s diet and gender had no significant effect on allocation. There were no significant cross-cultural differences. There were moderate correlations between participants’ self-reported pre- and post-experiment ordering of decision criteria, and these measures and factor coefficients, suggesting a modest level of decision-making consistency. Between participants, moderate levels of concordance with respect to factor importance were observed for self-reported orderings of factors, and weaker agreement for model-derived coefficients. Very similar results were obtained for both British and Singaporean participants, and the implications of the findings are discussed.

Swami, Viren; Maïano, Christophe, Furnham, Adrian & Robinson, Charlotte (2021)

The intuitive eating scale-2: re-evaluating its factor structure using a bifactor exploratory structural equation modelling framework

Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Doi: 10.1007/s40519-021-01271-9 - Full text in research archive

Purpose Previous studies examining the appropriateness of the 4-factor model of intuitive eating scale-2 (IES-2) scores have returned equivocal results, which may reflect methodological limitations in the way IES-2 scores are modelled. Here, we applied a bifactor-exploratory structural equation modelling (B-ESEM) framework to better understand IES-2 multidimensionality. Methods A total of 603 participants from the United States completed the IES-2, alongside measures of body appreciation, body acceptance from others, and self-esteem. Our analyses compared the fit of various hypothesised models of IES-2 scores. Results Models of IES-2 scores based on confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) uniformly showed poor fit. ESEM models showed superior fit to CFA representations and a B-ESEM model showed improved fit over higher-order CFA and B-CFA representations of IES-2 scores. The optimal model was a B-ESEM model that accounted for, through correlated uniqueness (CU), the methodological artefact introduced by negatively-worded IES-2 items. This B-ESEM-CU model was fully invariant across gender and showed adequate construct validity. Conclusion The B-ESEM-CU framework appears well-suited to understand the multidimensionality of IES-2 scores. A model of IES-2 scores that yields a reliable latent indicator of global intuitive eating while allowing for simultaneous consideration of additional specific factors will likely provide more accurate accounting of the nature and outcomes of intuitive eating. Level of evidence Level III, cohort study.

Furnham, Adrian; Treglown, Luke & Topic, Daria (2021)

Trait emotional intelligence and job performance evaluations: evidence from self, manager, team and peer ratings

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 29(5), s. 1156- 1171. Doi: 10.1108/IJOA-07-2020-2316 - Full text in research archive

Purpose – The study aims to look at whether trait emotional intelligence (EI) was related to the job performance level of a manager, their immediate team and their peers. Design/methodology/approach – This study looked at the relationship between trait EI and performance appraisals, as evaluated by the person themselves, their peers, manager and team. Trait EI facets of 903 employees were compared to evaluated performance appraisals of the different groups four months later. Findings – All 15 of the correlations (20 < r < 0.42) between the emotional intelligence facets and self-ratings were significantly positive whilst for managers 10, peers 6 and team only 4 were significant, though all were positive. In line with affective primacy theory, structural equation modelling revealed performance was rated higher by non-manager colleagues when employees exhibited traits associated with positive interpersonal interactions. Originality/value – There are very few studies using multi-source ratings to explore the consequences of EI on a manager’s team and peers

Swami, Viren; Todd, Jennifer, Robinson, Charlotte & Furnham, Adrian (2021)

Self-compassion mediates the relationship between COVID-19-related stress and body image disturbance: Evidence from the United Kingdom under lockdown

Personality and Individual Differences, 183 Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.111130

The ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and attendant lockdown mandates may have detrimental effects on body image outcomes, which in turn highlights the importance of identifying protective factors. Here, we examined associations between COVID-19-related stress and body image disturbance, as well as the potential mediating and moderating role of self-compassion. During the third lockdown in the United Kingdom, we asked an online sample of adults (N = 600) to complete measures of COVID-19-related stress, body image disturbance, and self-compassion. Mediation analysis showed that higher COVID-19-related stress was significantly associated with greater body image disturbance, and that this relationship was mediated by self-compassion. In contrast, self-compassion did not significantly moderate the effects of stress on body image disturbance. These results suggest that promoting greater self-compassion may be a viable means of mitigating adverse outcomes from the COVID-19 pandemic on body image disturbance.

Ziada, Khaled Elsayed; van der Linden, Dimitri, Dutton, Edward, Almalki, Nabil Sharaf, Bakhiet, Salaheldin Farah Attallah, Ihsan, Zohra, Furnham, Adrian, Essa, Yossry Ahmed Sayed, Alqafari, Shehana Mohammed, Alsahli, Daghaim Saud & Aljbr, Abdulrahman Saad Rashd (2021)

Sex and Culture Differences in Cultural Intelligence: A Study Comparing Saudi Arabians and Egyptians

Sage Open, 11(3) Doi: 10.1177/21582440211044177 - Full text in research archive

Cultural Intelligence (CI) refers to the motivation and ability to understand and deal with cultural differences. As such, it is assumed to play a role in the effectiveness of social contact and communication between people from different cultures. Given its relevance to international relations, it is imperative to test which individual and group factors are associated with CI. Therefore, in the present study we examine cross-cultural and gender differences in CI. In one of their classes at their university, students (N = 829) from Egypt and Saudi Arabia completed a multidimensional measure of CI. The results showed an interesting pattern of interactions between country and gender, which indicated that Egyptian men did not significantly differ from co-national women, but Saudi men scored significantly lower than women. We suggest that the different patterns of results in the two countries may partly arise from different levels of exposure to different cultures and partly from subtle differences in the constitution of the samples. Knowledge of individual and group differences in cultural intelligence may potentially contribute to explaining differential levels of success in individuals or countries in dealing with cultural differences.

Furnham, Adrian & Grover, Simmy (2021)

Do you have to be mad to believe in conspiracy theories? Personality disorders and conspiracy theories

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, s. 1- 8. Doi: 10.1177/00207640211031614 - Full text in research archive

This study explored the relationship between belief in conspiracy theories and the personality disorders. A sample of 475 British adults, aged around 30 years, completed measures of Belief in Conspiracy Theories (CTs) and the Personality Disorders (PDs), as well as the SAPAS, a short intelligence test and two self-evaluations. Belief in CTs was correlated with nearly all PDs, as well as the three established higher order clusters (A: odd and eccentric; B: dramatic and emotional; C: anxious). A series of stepwise multiple regressions were computed. A final regression showed five of the variables (education, intelligence, Cluster A, B, and C) were significant, which indicated that less well-educated and less intelligent participants, scoring higher on two PD clusters (Cluster A and B) but lower on Cluster C, believed more in the CTs. Implications of the study for understanding the origin of CTs is discussed. Limitations of the study, particularly the sample and measures used, are acknowledged.

Swami, Viren; Andersen, Njål & Furnham, Adrian (2021)

A Bibliometric Review of Self-Compassion Research: Science Mapping the Literature, 1999 to 2020

Mindfulness Doi: 10.1007/s12671-021-01662-0 - Full text in research archive

Objectives Science mapping is a methodology that combines quantitative analysis, classification, and visualisation to identify the composition and inter-relationships between bibliographic objects. Although science mapping has proven useful in diverse fields, we are not aware of its application to self-compassion research, which we sought to rectify here. Specifically, we used bibliometric science mapping to identify the overarching structure of self-compassion research between 1999 and 2020. Methods We collected all articles using the search terms “self-compassion” and “self compassion” in the Web of Science database (N = 2185 articles). Keywords co-occurrence analysis, co-citation analysis, and network centrality analysis were used to describe the knowledge base and volume of self-compassion research. Results Our analyses identified four general themes in the self-compassion literature: “mental health and well-being”, “clinical outcomes”, “self-perceptions”, and “physical health and family issues”. The first three themes are relatively well-consolidated and represent core areas of research on self-compassion, whereas the fourth theme is relatively less well-connected and more emergent within the broader corpus. Conclusions Our results, and the provision of interactive maps and extensive tables, should allow readers to examine connections between research clusters and areas, generate novel research ideas, and more fully understand the knowledge base of self-compassion research.

Lim, Wilson; Furnham, Adrian & McClelland, Alastair (2021)

Investigating the effects of background noise and music on cognitive test performance in introverts and extraverts: A cross-cultural study

Psychology of Music Doi: 10.1177/03057356211013502 - Full text in research archive

Previous research found that introverts performed worse than extraverts on cognitive tasks in the presence of noise or music in a Western sample but not in an Asian sample. This is a cross-cultural part replication of these studies using a Western (British; N = 45) and Asian (Singaporean; N = 45) sample. Participants engaged in three cognitive tests in the presence of pop songs, background noise, and in silence. It was predicted that for British participants, introverts would perform worse than extraverts on all three tasks in the presence of background sounds, and performance would be worse in the presence of background sounds than in silence, but not for the Singaporean participants. The results did not show any performance differences between the background sound conditions for any of the tests across the two samples, nor any performance differences between extraverts and introverts across the background sound conditions, with three exceptions: extraversion for the British was a significant predictor of performance on the Raven’s test in the silence condition, extraversion was a significant predictor of performance for both groups on the mental arithmetic task in the silence condition, and extraversion was a significant predictor of performance for Singaporeans on the mental arithmetic task in the music condition.

Swami, Viren; Horne, George & Furnham, Adrian (2021)

COVID-19-related stress and anxiety are associated with negative body image in adults from the United Kingdom

Personality and Individual Differences, 170 Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110426 - Full text in research archive

The stress and anxiety caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic presents a serious threat to psychological well-being in populations worldwide and may also extend to body image outcomes. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a preliminary study in which an online sample of adults from the United Kingdom (N = 506, age M = 34.25 years) were asked to complete measures of perceived stress, stressful life events, trait anxiety, COVID-19-related stress and anxiety, and negative body image (body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness in women, body fat and muscularity dissatisfaction in men). The results of hierarchical regressions indicated that COVID-19-related stress and anxiety explained significant incremental variance in body image outcomes (Adj. ΔR2 = .02 to .10), over-and-above demographics (age and body mass index) and perceived stress, trait anxiety, and stressful life events. These findings suggest that COVID-19-related stress and anxiety may shape body image outcomes under conditions of physical and social distancing.

Lawrence, Helena; Furnham, Adrian & McClelland, Alastair (2021)

Sex Does Not Sell: Effects of Sexual Advertising Parameters on Women Viewers’ Implicit and Explicit Recall of Ads and Brands

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 128(2), s. 692- 713. Doi: 10.1177/0031512521990352 - Full text in research archive

This study investigated implicit and explicit memory effects of sexual and non-sexual advertisements embedded in either a sexual or non-sexual program among women viewers. We predicted that sexual appeals would facilitate implicit memory for the brand, and we explored whether program-type (sexual or non-sexual) and its associated congruity would impact or moderate recall of the surrounding advertisement among a small sample (n = 52) of exclusively women advertisement viewers. Sexual (versus non-sexual) advertising led to significantly worse implicit memory for the brand logo but better explicit recall for the advertisement scene itself. There was no effect of sexual appeals on explicit brand name recall, and no significant effect on advertisement recall of the program type. There was a significant interaction effect for program type and advertisement type for explicit recall of the advertisement scene, in which program-type moderated sexual advertisement recall. These results suggest that sexual advertising may increase memory for the advertisement at the expense of recalling the brand advertised. Limitations and implications of this study are discussed.

Grover, Simmy & Furnham, Adrian (2021)

The Dark Triad, emotional intelligence, self-monitoring and executive coach effectiveness and satisfaction

Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice Doi: 10.1080/17521882.2021.1881575 - Full text in research archive

In all 545 executive coaches completed a number of tests online which assessed their dark-triad, trait emotional intelligence, self-monitoring traits as well as measures of perceived career satisfaction and perceived coaching effectiveness. We tested twelve hypotheses concerning direct and mediated effects of the three individual difference variables on the two outcome variables. Emotional intelligence and Narcissism were most closely related to self-rated efficacy while Machiavellianism and Psychopathy was most closely associated with career satisfaction. Limitations and implications are noted as well as recommendations for practice.

Furnham, Adrian; MacRae, Ian & Tetchner, Jessica (2021)

Measuring work motivation: The facets of the work values questionnaire and work success

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 62(3), s. 401- 408. Doi: 10.1111/sjop.12723 - Full text in research archive

The current study investigates the factor structure of the Work Values Questionnaire (WVQ) which measures how important each of 44 different features of a job are to the respondent. Over 750 international working professionals, primarily from the UK, completed a survey which included the WVQ, and measures of self-perceived success. Factor analysis (both exploratory and confirmatory) was conducted to extract factors and facets. Structural equation modeling was used to compare model fit, and the extracted facets were regressed on subjective work success. The results show that the scales fit a coherent and interpretable model with two factors and six facets, fitting an intrinsic–extrinsic factorial structure, consistent with previous research. Work values and demographics accounted for between 13% and 17% of the variance in subjective work success. Three facets were significant predictors of work success: the intrinsic facets Affiliation and Recognition were positive predictors, and the extrinsic facet Security was a negative predictor, of perceived work success. Limitations and implications of this research are considered.

Furnham, Adrian & Treglown, Luke (2021)

The Dark Side of High-Fliers: The Dark Triad, High-Flier Traits, Engagement, and Subjective Success

Frontiers in Psychology, 12 Doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647676 - Full text in research archive

The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between bright-side, High Potential and dark-side Dark Triad traits, as well as work engagement on judgements of perceived success. In all, 290 working adults completed questionnaires assessing their High Potential Personality Traits (HPTI), their dark-triad traits, job engagement and self-rated success at work. The data showed that the three dark-triad traits (Narcissism, Psychopathy, Machiavellianism) were systematically and significantly correlated with High Potential traits Adjustment/neuroticism, Tolerance of Ambiguity and Conscientiousness. Three HPTI traits, namely curiosity, Conscientiousness, and courage, were systematically positively correlated with all three engagement measures. Narcissism was strongly related to all measures of engagement. Those with higher scores Adjustment, Courage, and Narcissism and of the male sex, rated their success highest. Job engagement mediated between high-flier and dark-side traits and success ratings. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian & Horne, George (2021)

Myths and misconceptions about intelligence: A study of 35 myths

Personality and Individual Differences, 181 Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.111014 - Full text in research archive

This study is concerned with the extent to which people believe in, and endorse, various myths about intelligence and intelligence testing. It examined the prevalence of myths about intelligence as set out in a recent book (Warne, 2020). Participants (N = 275) completed a questionnaire in which they rated the extent to which they thought various statements/facts about intelligence were essentially true or false. In all, eighteen of these myths were rated as true (definitely or partly), two as definitely false and six probably false by the majority of the participants. There were no significant demographic or personality correlates of the total correct score (determined by rating the myth as false). The discussion considers why, in this important area of psychology, myths, misconceptions and ignorance seem so difficult to dispel. Limitations of this, and similar, studies are noted, and implications are discussed.

Martinsen, Øyvind Lund; Furnham, Adrian, Grover, Simmy, Arnulf, Jan Ketil & Horne, George (2021)

Dark- and bright-side reactions to government advice about Covid-19, and a test of a method to moderate such reactions

Personality and Individual Differences, 181 Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.111016 - Full text in research archive

The aim of this paper was to study how individual differences in personality shape reactions to authorities' health advice during the COVID-19 pandemic and how such reactions can be modified. Three studies, with between 249 and 407 participants, investigated this. Study 1 used a longitudinal design, and included measures of personality (NEO-FFI3, SCATI), political orientation, age and gender as predictors of reactions toward COVID-19 advice and regulations. Studies 2 and 3 were randomised experiments testing effects of principles for behaviour modification on such reactions. In study 1, we found that being female, older, or having liberal political views, as well as neuroticism, agreeableness and conscientiousness in the higher ranges, were associated with constructive reactions. Externalising personality disorders were related to opposite reactions. In study 2, we found that the experimental instructions had a significant positive impact on such reactions. These results were replicated in study 3. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian & Treglown, Luke (2021)

Bright and Dark-Side Traits Associated With Interests in Commerce vs Science: Different Personality Profiles of the Scientist-Practitioner

Psychological Reports Doi: 10.1177/00332941211002134 - Full text in research archive

This study focused on the idea that there are predictable differences between those individuals who opt for Scientific rather than the Commerce/Practitioner jobs and consulting assignments. A total of 2278 adults from a variety of occupations completed three validated questionnaires: the first assessed the behavioural tendency of an individual when one is exposed to stress and which could derail one’s business career (HDS: Hogan Development Survey); the second the values and preferences that indicate work motivation (MVPI: The Motives, Values and Preferences Inventory), and the third, seven bright-side personality factors (HPI: Hogan Personality Inventory). The MVPI measured interests in scientific and commercial/enterprising activities. Correlations, regressions and SEM indicated both similarities and differences in the relationship between personality traits and values. Bright-side personality traits accounted for more the variance for those interested in Science while dark-side traits accounted for more variance for those interested in the Commerce. The biggest difference occurred in Inquisitiveness (Curiosity, Openness to Experience) which was much higher for those interested in science. Implications for personnel selection, job-fit and promotion were discussed.

Furnham, Adrian & Horne, George (2021)

The Tetradic Heart of Darkness: Comparing three dark-side instruments

Personality and Individual Differences, 179 Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110918 - Full text in research archive

In this two-study paper we examined three dark-side measures: the short Dark Tetrad measuring four dark-side traits; the SCATI measuring 14 personality disorders (PDs) and the SAPAS a single item measure for each disorder. The first study (N = 502) looked specifically at the new Dark Tetrad. Over 500 British Adults completed it and a confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the Tetrad factor structure. There were large sex differences in half of the items. We also examined demographic, ideological and self-rated correlates which showed ratings of political beliefs and self-rated attractiveness associated with different traits. The second study (N = 273) looked at the correlations between the three measures and the overlap between self-report tests of the same trait. All four of the Tetrad traits correlated with over half of the PDs. We found the highest correlation between the two scores of Narcissism, but that the single measure most associated with Borderline, Depressive and Dependent PD. The discussion considers the use of different clinical and sub-clinical instruments which measure the same variables.

Swami, Viren; Todd, Jennifer, Stieger, Stefan, Furnham, Adrian, Horne, George & Tylka, Tracy L. (2021)

Body acceptance by others: Refinement of the construct, and development and psychometric evaluation of a revised measure – The Body Acceptance by Others Scale-2

Body image, 36, s. 238- 253. Doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.11.007 - Full text in research archive

The Body Acceptance by Others Scale (BAOS) measures the degree to which individuals perceive body acceptance by others, but its factor structure is questionable. Here, we developed a revision of the BAOS (i.e., the BAOS-2) by designing novel items reflective of generalised perceptions of body acceptance by others. In three studies, we examined the psychometrics of the 13-item BAOS-2. Study 1, with United Kingdom adults (N = 601), led to the extraction of a unidimensional model of BAOS-2 scores and provided evidence of 4-week test-retest reliability. Study 2, with United Kingdom adults (N = 423), indicated that the unidimensional model of BAOS-2 scores had adequate fit and that scores were invariant across gender. Study 2 also provided evidence of convergent, construct, criterion, discriminant, and incremental validity. Study 3 cross-validated the fit of the unidimensional model in adults from the United State (N = 503) and provided evidence of invariance across gender and national group. Internal consistency coefficients of BAOS-2 scores were adequate across all three studies. There were no significant gender differences in BAOS-2 scores and a significant national difference had a negligible effect size. Thus, the BAOS-2 is a psychometrically-sound measure that can be utilised in future research.

Furnham, Adrian & Treglown, Luke (2021)

Sex differences in personality scores on six scales: Many significant, but mostly small, differences

Current Psychology Doi: 10.1007/s12144-021-01675-x - Full text in research archive

This study examined sex differences in domain and facet scores from six personality tests in various large adult samples. The aim was to document differences in large adult groups which might contribute new data to this highly contentious area. We reported on sex differences on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI); the Five Factor NEO-PI-R; the Hogan Personality Indicator (HPI); the Motives and Values Preferences Indicator (MVPI); the Hogan Development Survey (HDS) and the High Potential Trait Indicator (HPTI). Using multivariate ANOVAs we found that whilst there were many significant differences on these scores, which replicated other studies, the Cohen’s d statistic showed very few (3 out of 130) differences &gt;.50. Results from each test were compared and contrasted, particularly where they are measuring the same trait construct. Implications and limitations for researchers interested in assessment and selection are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian (2021)

Just world beliefs, personal success and beliefs in conspiracy theories

Current Psychology, s. 1- 7. Doi: 10.1007/s12144-021-01576-z - Full text in research archive

Do those who believe in conspiracy theories feel less happy and healthy than others? Do they believe the world is simply unjust? This study was concerned with how demographic factors, personal ratings of success, personal ideology (political and religious beliefs) and Just World Beliefs are related to Conspiracy Theories. In total, 406 participants completed two questionnaires: Just World scale (Rubin & Peplau, 1975) and Conspiracy Theories Inventory (Swami et al., 2010) and provided various personal details. The Just World Scale yielded two scores: Just and Unjust beliefs. Participants also reported on their health, happiness and success and a reliable composite measure of well-being was computed. A regression showed younger males, with Unjust World beliefs and politically right-wing views, were more likely to endorse Conspiracy Theories. The discussion revolved around explaining individual differences in accepting these theories. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian & Kanazawa, Satoshi (2020)

The Evolution of Personality

Workman, Lance; Reader, Will & Barkow, Jerome H (red.). The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior

Swami, Viren & Furnham, Adrian (2020)

The Influence of Personality on Aesthetic Preferences

Nadal, Marcos & Vartanian, Oshin (red.). The Oxford Handbook of Empirical Aesthetics

Furnham, Adrian (2020)

Personality and Creativity at Work

Mumford, Michael D. & Todd, E. Michelle (red.). Creativity and Innovation in Organizations

Furnham, Adrian (2020)

Demographic, Personality Trait and Personality Disorder Correlates of Aesthetic Motivation

Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 40(4), s. 333- 350. Doi: 10.1177/0276236620942917 - Full text in research archive

Gheewalla, Fatema; McClelland, Alastair & Furnham, Adrian (2020)

Effects of background noise and extraversion on reading comprehension performance

Ergonomics Doi: 10.1080/00140139.2020.1854352 - Full text in research archive

This study was concerned with the effects of acoustic distraction at work. Using a within-subject study we aimed to investigate the effect of background distraction on cognitive performance. In the presence of silence, white noise, and sirens, 55 fluent English speakers completed three equivalent variations of a reading comprehension task. As predicted, there was a significant main effect of background sound, with poorer performance in the presence of distraction (particularly sirens), but no interaction was found between distraction and extraversion. Thus, the findings partially replicated previous research in terms of distraction but were inconsistent with regard to the Eysenckian theory of arousal differences between introverts and extraverts. Implications of the effect of sirens on those they are not designed to alert are considered. Limitations of this study are also considered.

Cheng, Helen; Montgomery, Scott, Green, Andy & Furnham, Adrian (2020)

Biomedical, psychological, environmental and behavioural factors associated with adult obesity in a nationally representative sample

Journal of Public Health, 42(3), s. 570- 578. Doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdz009

Objective To identify personality, biomedical and behavioural factors associated with adult obesity in a large longitudinal sample. Method In total, 5360 participants with data on personality, neurological functioning, maternal smoking during pregnancy, education and occupation, physical exercise, adult self-reported BMI and obesity were included in the study. Obesity at 55 years was the outcome variable. Results The rates of obesity increased from 9.5 to 22.8% from age 33 to 55 years. Logistic regression analyses (adjusted estimates) showed that childhood neurological functioning (OR = 1.32: 1.07–1.63, P < 0.01), maternal smoking during pregnancy (OR = 1.42: 1.22–1.65, P < 0.001), educational qualifications (OR = 0.54: 0.37–0.79, P < 0.01), trait conscientiousness (OR = 0.80:0.74–0.86, P < 0.001) and physical exercise (OR = 0.87: 0.82–0.92, P < 0.001) were significant predictors of obesity at age 55 years for both men and women. Trait extraversion for men (OR = 1.16: 1.07–1.26, P < 0.001) and trait emotional stability for women (OR = 0.90: 0.82–0.99, P < 0.05) were also significant predictors of the outcome variable. Conclusion Biomedical, psychological, environmental and behavioural factors were all associated with adult obesity.

Furnham, Adrian & Sherman, Ryne A. (2020)

Dark side personality and safety-related traits

Personality and Individual Differences Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110510 - Full text in research archive

This study examined the relationship between eleven dark-side personality traits and six established safety competencies in a large sample. Over twenty-five thousand Americans completed a questionnaire on Safety-Related behaviour in the work-place which measured six different, but related, safety competencies. They also completed a Dark Side personality measure (Hogan Development Survey). Factor analysis revealed the six safety competencies consisted of two factors which, along with the total score, were the criterion variables. Step-wise regressions indicated that Dark Side traits Excitable (Borderline), Mischievous (Psychopath) and Colourful (Histrionic) were related negatively to the safety-related traits. In addition, the higher order Dark Side factor “Moving Against Others” (Cluster B) was associated with high risk, low safety competencies. There were interesting and important differences showing very different correlates of the three criterion variables. Problems of method invariance, as well the role of individual differences in safety-related traits and competencies, were discussed.

Grover, Simmy & Furnham, Adrian (2020)

The moderating effects of emotional stability on the relationship between the Dark Triad and different measures of risk-taking

Personality and Individual Differences Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110450 - Full text in research archive

In this study we explored the relationship between the dark triad and risk-taking, using three self-report and one behaviour measure of the risk-taking. Our focus was on whether trait Neuroticism moderated this relationship. As predicted, all dark triad and risk-taking measures were highly positively correlated with each other. Sex, age and the dark-side measures were used as predictor variables in a set of hierarchical regressions onto the four different measures of risk-taking. Whilst there were some differences, the most consistently significant predictor of risk-taking was secondary psychopathy. As predicted Neuroticism was found to moderate the effects of secondary psychopathy on all but one of the four risk-taking measures. The results are discussed in terms of individual difference correlates of risk-taking. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian; Horne, George & Grover, Simmy (2020)

Correlates of the Militant Extremist Mindset

Frontiers in Psychology, 11, s. 1- 7. Doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02250 - Full text in research archive

This study aimed to examine bright- and dark-side personality, personal beliefs (religion and politics) and self-evaluation correlates of beliefs in the Militant Extremist Mindset (MEM). In all, 506 young adults completed various self-report measures in addition to the three-dimensional MEM questionnaire. The measures included short measures of the Big Five traits, Self-Monitoring, Self-Evaluation and Personality Disorders, as well as demographic questions of how religious and politically liberal participants were. The Proviolence, Vile World, and Divine power mindsets showed varying correlates, with no consistent trend. Stepwise regressions showed that the demographic, personality and belief factors accounted for between 14% (Vile World) and 54% (Divine Power) of the variance, There were many differences between the results of three mindset factors, but personality disorder scores remained positive predictors of all three. The Vile World mindset was predicted by religiousness, liberalism, personality disorder scores and negative self-monitoring, but not personality traits. Religiousness had a contribution to all subscales and predicted the vast majority of the Divine Power mindset with smaller relationships with personality and personality disorders. Proviolence was predicted by the majority personality measures and sex.

Schermer, Julie Aitken & Furnham, Adrian (2020)

The differentiation of personality by intelligence hypothesis in a sample of British managers

Personality and Individual Differences, 167 Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110258 - Full text in research archive

In this study, we test the hypothesis that personality is more differentiated (variable) in individuals scoring higher in intelligence in a large sample (N = 16,258) of managers. In addition to a measure of intelligence and the Big Five personality factors, participants completed 11 “dark” personality scales in self-report format. The intelligence scores had a normal distribution. Following a tertile split for the intelligence scores, the higher and lower tertile group's standard deviations were compared. The higher ability tertile had significantly greater scale variances for most of the Big Five scales (with the exception of agreeableness) but the differences tended to be small. Only three of the “dark” personality scales had significantly larger standard deviations in the higher tertile group, but also these differences were small. The inter-scale correlations and exploratory factor analyses suggested less covariance among the upper intelligence group but not for single Big Five factor facets. These results demonstrate some, but not definitive, support for the differentiation of personality by intelligence hypothesis and expand on the test of the theory by suggesting that some of the darker personality scale responses may also differ depending on individual differences in intelligence.

Cheng, Helen & Furnham, Adrian (2020)

Correlates of maternal Emotional Stability: Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study

Personality and Individual Differences, 164 Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110119 - Full text in research archive

This study explored correlates of maternal Emotional Stability drawing on a longitudinal data, from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS): a sample of 10,925 mothers. Data were collected when children were at ages 9 months, and then 3 and 7 years. Structural equation modelling showed that family poverty indicator, maternal psychological distress, parent-child relationship, and children's behavioural problems all had significant and direct effects on maternal trait Emotional Stability (Neuroticism), accounting for 26% of the total variance. The strongest predictor was maternal psychological distress, followed by children's behavioural problems. Further, maternal psychological distress had direct effects on both parent-child relationship and children's behavioural adjustment. The implications and limitations are discussed.

Swami, Viren; Barron, David, Todd, Jennifer, Horne, George & Furnham, Adrian (2020)

Nature exposure and positive body image: (Re-)examining the mediating roles of connectedness to nature and trait mindfulness

Body image, 34, s. 201- 208. Doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.06.004 - Full text in research archive

Previous studies have reported a significant association between nature exposure and positive body image, but understandings of the mechanisms that help to explain this link remain nascent. Here, we considered the extent to which trait mindfulness and connectedness to nature, respectively, mediate the aforementioned relationship both in parallel and serially. An online sample of 398 participants (199 women, 196 men, 3 other; age M = 28.1 years) from the United Kingdom completed measures of self-reported nature exposure, mindful awareness and acceptance, connectedness to nature, and body appreciation. Results indicated that inter-correlations between scores on all measures were significant and positive. Following the elimination of non-significant pathways, path analysis resulted in an adequately-fitting model in which the direct relationship between nature exposure and body appreciation was significant. In addition, connectedness to nature – but not trait mindfulness – significantly mediated the direct relationship. Finally, we also found evidence of a serial mediation, where the association between nature exposure and body appreciation was mediated by mindful awareness followed by connectedness to nature. The implications of these results for scholarly and practitioner understanding of the impact of nature exposure on positive body image are discussed in conclusion.

Grover, Simmy; McClelland, Alastair & Furnham, Adrian (2020)

Preferences for scarce medical resource allocation: Differences between experts and the general public and implications for the COVID-19 pandemic

British Journal of Health Psychology Doi: 10.1111/bjhp.12439 - Full text in research archive

This study concerns what lay people believe is the best way to allocate scarce medical resources. A sample of 515 individuals completed a short questionnaire asking them to rank‐order eight different ethical positions with respect to the allocation of scarce resources. They showed a strong preference for the ‘saves most lives’ and ‘sickest first’ options, with ‘reciprocity’ and a ‘lottery’ being least favoured. There was a reasonable degree of unanimity amongst respondents and comparatively few correlations with individual difference factors such as demography. The preference results are compared to expert recommendations (Emanuel et al., 2020, N. Engl. J. Med., 382, 2049) made in light of the current coronavirus pandemic, and differences are highlighted. Implications for scare medical resource allocations are discussed, and limitations of the study acknowledged.

Swami, Viren; Furnham, Adrian, Horne, George & Stieger, Stefan (2020)

Taking it apart and putting it back together again: Using Item Pool Visualisation to summarise complex data patterns in (positive) body image research

Body image, 34, s. 155- 166. Doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.05.004 - Full text in research archive

Issues of construct commonality and distinguishability in body image research are typically addressed using structural equal models, but such methods can sometimes present problems of interpretation when data patterns are complex. One recent-developed tool that could help in summarising complex data patterns is Item Pool Visualisation (IPV), an illustrative method that locates item pools from within the same dataset and illustrates these in the form of single or nested radar charts. Here, we demonstrate the utility of IPV in visualising data patterns vis-à-vis positive body image. Five-hundred-and-one adults from the United Kingdom completed seven widely-used measures of positive body image and data were subjected IPV. Results demonstrated that, of the included measures, the Body Appreciation Scale-2 provided the closest and most precise measurement of a core positive body image construct. The Functionality Appreciation Scale and the Authentic Pride subscale of the Body and Appearance Self-Conscious Emotions Scale tapped more distal aspects. Our results also highlight possible limitations with the use of several other instruments as measures of positive body image. We discuss implications for research aimed at better understanding the nature of positive body image and interpreting complex data patterns in body image research more generally.

Fenton-O'Creevy, Mark & Furnham, Adrian (2020)

Personality, ideology, and money attitudes as correlates of financial literacy and competence

Financial Planning Review, 3(1) Doi: 10.1002/cfp2.1070 - Full text in research archive

This study looked at whether demographics, religious beliefs, political orientation, personality traits, and money attitudes are correlates of financial capability, knowledge and distress. Over 3,500 British participants completed multiple measures online. As hypothesized, demographics, religious beliefs, political orientation, personality traits, and money attitudes each explained unique variance in financial capability, financial knowledge, and financial distress. Regression and correlational results showed demographic factors particularly age, education, and income were significantly related to all criteria variables. Money attitudes explained additional variance in financial capability and distress beyond that explained by demography, ideology, and personality. Trait conscientiousness, money as security attitude, age, and income were most strongly correlated with financial capability and financial distress.

Andersen, Njål; Corr, Philip J. & Furnham, Adrian (2020)

A bibliometric analysis of H. J. Eysenck's research output: Clarifying controversy

Personality and Individual Differences Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.109935 - Full text in research archive

We present a bibliometric analysis of a large corpus of research work by H. J. Eysenck (1916–1997), who was one of the most famous and productive psychologists of the 20th century. It utilizes new bibliometric tools to update an analysis of Rushton (2001), examining how articles cluster in terms of themes and co-authors. We present our analysis in the light of a recent investigation by King's College London, which concluded that a number of Eysenck's papers are ‘unsafe’ and they recommended that journal editors should consider their retraction. We enquire about the relationship between these personality and fatal disease papers and the wider body of Eysenck's work. Our analysis revealed that these papers are part of a research topic that stands apart from his many other seminal contributions to psychological knowledge; and, even if they were all retracted, this would have little impact on the main corpus of his work. Our analysis and presentation shines a new light on the contribution of Britain's most productive, but sometimes controversial, psychologist.

Grover, Simmy & Furnham, Adrian (2020)

Personality at home vs. work: Does framing for work increase predictive validity of the Dark Triad on work outcomes?

Personality and Individual Differences Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.109848 - Full text in research archive

In a between subject design 903 people completed a robust Dark Triad and a Big Five trait measure and each group was asked to report their behaviour in two situations: at work or in general. Those individuals that were asked to think of work when reporting their personality reported behaviour that was more Extraverted, Conscientious, more Emotional Stable and less Machiavellian. Unexpectedly, there was no difference for Narcissism and Psychopathy. Gender differences were smaller in the work group than the non-work group suggesting situation may moderate gender differences in personality. Implications and limitations are acknowledged.

Grover, Simmy & Furnham, Adrian (2020)

Does emotional intelligence and resilience moderate the relationship between the Dark Triad and personal and work burnout?

Personality and Individual Differences Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.109979 - Full text in research archive

This paper used moderator analysis to test whether emotional intelligence and resilience moderated the relationship between the Dark Triad variables and burnout. 232 adults completed measures of all variables. Primary Psychopathy was found to reduce an individual's level of burnout. However, Secondary Psychopathy and Machiavellianism were expected to increase burnout, and although the correlation results supported this, the regression models did not. Narcissism, unexpectedly, had no significant relationship with burnout. As predicted, emotional intelligence provides a buffer against negative effects of the Dark Triad traits but also amplifies the positive effects, such as reducing burnout. Implication and limitations are considered.

Furnham, Adrian (2020)

Recruiting, selecting, retaining, and monitoring successful investment managers: A review of a scattered literature

Financial Planning Review, 3(1) Doi: 10.1002/cfp2.1071 - Full text in research archive

This article attempts a comprehensive and multi‐disciplinary review of a scattered literature on the characteristics of successful investment managers. It considers nonpeer reviewed papers and reports written by organizations and human resource experts but also empirical papers from those in disciplines such as business studies, economics, finance, psychology, and psychiatry. It focuses on three issues: Ability, personality, and motivation. Most of the studies have concentrated on motivation and various themes are apparent suggesting that it is possible to profile successful investment managers.

Furnham, Adrian & Grover, Simmy (2020)

Correlates of self-estimated intelligence

Journal of Intelligence, 8(1) Doi: 10.3390/jintelligence8010006 - Full text in research archive

This paper reports two studies examining correlates of self-estimated intelligence (SEI). In the first, 517 participants completed a measure of SEI as well as self-estimated emotional intelligence (SEEQ), physical attractiveness, health, and other ratings. Males rated their IQ higher (74.12 vs. 71.55) but EQ lower (68.22 vs. 71.81) than females but there were no differences in their ratings of physical health in Study 1. Correlations showed for all participants that the higher they rated their IQ, the higher their ratings of EQ, attractiveness, and health. A regression of self-estimated intelligence onto three demographic, three self-ratings and three beliefs factors accounted for 30% of the variance. Religious, educated males who did not believe in alternative medicine gave higher SEI scores. The second study partly replicated the first, with an N = 475. Again, males rated their IQ higher (106.88 vs. 100.71) than females, but no difference was found for EQ (103.16 vs. 103.74). Males rated both their attractiveness (54.79 vs. 49.81) and health (61.24 vs. 55.49) higher than females. An objective test-based cognitive ability and SEI were correlated r = 0.30. Correlations showed, as in Study 1, positive relationships between all self-ratings. A regression showed the strongest correlates of SEI were IQ, sex and positive self-ratings. Implications and limitations are noted.

Treglown, Luke & Furnham, Adrian (2020)

Birds of a feather work together: The role of emotional intelligence and cognitive ability in workplace interaction and advice networks

Personality and Individual Differences, 158(1) Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.109833 - Full text in research archive

The study investigated whether cognitive ability or trait emotional intelligence impacted the formation of task-contingent communication and advice seeking in the workplace. Contrary to the theory driven hypothesis, an employee's level of EI has no impact on their position within both interaction and advice networks. As predicted, those with higher levels of fluid intelligence represented ‘knowledge hubs’ and were sought out more by their colleagues. Those perceived to be capable of solving novel problems quickly and accurately had greater indegree centrality for both interaction and advice networks. Additionally, employees with similar levels of cognitive and emotional intelligence were more likely to have interaction and advice ties. This study suggests that employees do use affective judgements when evaluating the perceived utility of a relationship, but this is primarily influenced by how similar that person is to the evaluator and not the disposition of the evaluated.

Furnham, Adrian & Taylor, Nicola (2020)

The relationship between emotional intelligence and occupational personality scales in senior management

Personality and Individual Differences, 154(1) Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2019.109647 - Full text in research archive

This study attempted to examine the Emotional Intelligence (EI) domain and facet correlates of various personality-test derived occupational Scale dimensions like service, sales and management in a developing country. In all, 431 people completed two validated questionnaires: one measuring six occupational scales (HPI: Hogan Personality Inventory) and the other a revised measure of Emotional Intelligence (EQ-i.20). There were few gender differences on the both measures. Factor analysis of the EI measure yielded three rather than six factors. Hierarchical regressions showed some EI facets that were positively related to many of the occupational scales, some that were negatively related, and others related to none. Implications for selection and limitations of the study are considered.

Swami, Viren; Barron, David, Hari, Ranjeev, Grover, Simmy, Smith, Lee & Furnham, Adrian (2019)

The Nature of Positive Body Image: Examining Associations Between Nature Exposure, Self-Compassion, Functionality Appreciation, and Body Appreciation

Ecopsychology, 11(4), s. 243- 253. Doi: 10.1089/eco.2019.0019 - Full text in research archive

Cheng, Helen & Furnham, Adrian (2019)

Correlates of Adult Vocabulary Task Performance: Findings from a British Cohort

Journal of Intelligence, 7(1) Doi: 10.3390/jintelligence7010002 - Full text in research archive

This study explored a longitudinal data set of 4361 adults (2119 males and 2239 females) to examine factors that influence adult vocabulary task performance. Data were collected at birth, in childhood (age 10 years), during teenage years (age 16 years), and in adulthood (ages 30, 34, and 42 years) to examine the effects of family social status, childhood cognitive ability, teenager locus of control, psychological distress, educational qualifications, and occupational prestige in adulthood on an adult vocabulary task—an index of crystallized intelligence. Structural equation modeling showed that childhood cognitive ability, teenager locus of control, education, and occupation were all significant and direct predictors of adult vocabulary task performance. Parental social status affected the outcome variable mediated through educational qualifications. The strongest predictor of adult vocabulary task performance was childhood cognitive ability, followed by educational qualifications and locus of control. Finally, limitations were acknowledged.

Furnham, Adrian (2019)

The personality disorders and money beliefs and behaviors

Financial Planning Review, 2(2) Doi: 10.1002/cfp2.1046

Just over 400 participants completed a measure of the personality disorders (PDs) (the Coolidge Axis‐II Inventory – Short Form measuring 14 dimensions) and one of money beliefs (The New Money Attitudes Test measuring five factors). Correlational analysis showed few significant age, gender, and educational relationships to the five money factors but that the PDs were consistently related to many of the factors. Regressions revealed that the PDs were most strongly related to two factors: Power and Prestige and Financial Literacy Worries factors. The regressions accounted for almost a quarter of the variance in the outcome variables. Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of the origin of money beliefs. Limitations are noted.

Cheng, Helen & Furnham, Adrian (2019)

Childhood locus of control and self-esteem, education, psychological distress and physical exercise as predictors of adult obesity

Journal of Public Health, 41(3), s. 439- 446. Doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdy125 - Full text in research archive

Fenton-O'Creevy, Mark & Furnham, Adrian (2019)

Money Attitudes, Personality and Chronic Impulse Buying

Applied Psychology Doi: 10.1111/apps.12215 - Full text in research archive

Swami, Viren; Laughton, Ryan, Grover, Simmy & Furnham, Adrian (2019)

Asexuality is inversely associated with positive body image in British adults

Heliyon, 5(9) Doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02452 - Full text in research archive

Research on positive body image has infrequently considered sexual minority orientations beyond lesbians, gay men, and bisexual persons. Indeed, there is no existing research on the relationships between body image and asexuality, which refers to a lack of sexual attraction to anyone or anything. In two studies, we rectified this by examining associations between asexuality – operationalised as a continuous construct – and indices of positive body image. In Study 1, 188 Britons from the community completed measures of asexuality and body appreciation. Once the effects of self-identified sexual orientation, relationship status, and body mass index (BMI) had been considered, asexuality was found to be significantly and negatively associated with body appreciation in women and men. In Study 2, an online sample of 377 Britons completed measures of asexuality, body appreciation, functionality appreciation, body acceptance from others, and body image flexibility. Beyond the effects of sexual orientation, relationship status, and BMI, asexuality was significantly and negatively associated with all four body image constructs in men, and with body appreciation and functionality appreciation in women. Although asexuality only explained a small proportion of the variance in positive body image (3–11%) and further studies are needed, the relationship appears to be stable.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2019)

The Big-Five personality factors, mental health, and social-demographic indicators as independent predictors of gratification delay

Personality and Individual Differences, 150 Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2019.109533 - Full text in research archive

This paper reports on a study testing over 12,000 adults. We were interested in the correlates of gratification delay (GD) (as criterion variable) with gender, age, education and occupation, the Big-Five personality factors, and mental health (as predictor variables). Correlations and regressions showed that all the Big-Five personality factors, mental health, and a set of socio-demographic variables were significant and independent predictors of GD, accounting for 19% of the total variance of the outcome variable. As predicted, Conscientiousness was the strongest correlate. The implications of these findings are discussed along with the limitations of this research.

Godfrey Born, Charlotte; McClelland, Alastair & Furnham, Adrian (2019)

Mental health literacy for autism spectrum disorder and depression

Psychiatry Research, 279, s. 272- 277. Doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2019.04.004 - Full text in research archive

In this study, three hundred and sixty-eight participants answered a questionnaire consisting of three vignettes describing a person with depression, severe Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder/Asperger's Syndrome (AS). Each vignette was followed by thirteen questions concerning the participant's knowledge about diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Participants demonstrated good mental health literacy (MHL) for depression, but were poor at diagnosing ASD. Drug therapy was rated as the least effective treatment and ‘talking to a family member of friend’ was rated as the most effective for each disorder. The highest prognosis ratings were given to depression, and the lowest given to ASD. Participants demonstrated better MHL than expected, possibly due to the availability of information on the Internet and the increase in prevalence of mental illnesses such as depression and ASD among the general population.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2019)

Factors influencing adult savings and investment: Findings from a nationally representative sample

Personality and Individual Differences, 151 Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2019.109510 - Full text in research archive

This study explored a longitudinal data set of over 5766 adults examining factors that influence adult savings and investment. Data were collected at birth, in childhood (at age 11) and adulthood (at ages 33 and 50 yrs) to examine the effects of family social status, childhood intelligence, adult personality traits, education and occupation, and personal financial assessment on adult savings and investment. Results from structural equation modelling showed that parental social status, educational qualifications and occupational prestige, trait Conscientiousness, personal financial assessment and gender all had significant and direct effects on adult savings and investment, accounting for 26% of the total variance. The strongest predictor of adult savings and investment was their personal subjective financial assessment followed by educational qualifications and current occupational prestige. Limitations and implications are considered.

Furnham, Adrian & Grover, Simmy (2019)

A New Money Behavior Quiz

Journal of Individual Differences Doi: 10.1027/1614-0001/a000299 - Full text in research archive

This study reports on the development of a new questionnaire to measure money behaviors devised by the Financial Times (London). In all, 402 participants from diverse backgrounds, who were recruited online, completed the 29-item questionnaire. Six a priori money types were identified by financial experts, who did not know the salient psychological literature. The internal reliability of the factors was modest and there was some evidence of sex differences. Exploratory factor analyses failed to confirm the six-factor model, but did provide an alternative and interpretable typology. Further step-wise regression analysis showed the simple question: “Are you a spender or a saver?” was strongly related to almost every factor. Gender, age, and self-perceived wealth were also consistently correlated with the money types. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian & Lay, Alixe (2019)

The universality of the portrayal of gender in television advertisements: A review of the studies this century

Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(2), s. 109- 124. Doi: 10.1037/ppm0000161

Swami, Viren; Barron, David, Smith, Lee & Furnham, Adrian (2019)

Mental health literacy of maternal and paternal postnatal (postpartum) depression in British adults

Journal of Mental Health, s. 1- 8. Doi: 10.1080/09638237.2019.1608932 - Full text in research archive

Postnatal depression affects between 6 and 13% of new parents, but only a small proportion of individuals who meet diagnostic criteria receive optimal treatment. One reason for this is poor mental health literacy of postnatal depression. Studies have examined mental health literacy of maternal postnatal depression, but there are no similar studies of paternal postnatal depression, which we sought to rectify. A sample of 406 British adults was presented with vignettes describing cases of either maternal or paternal postnatal depression. Based on the vignettes, participants were asked to report if they thought anything was wrong with the targets and, if so, to describe what they thought was wrong. Participants also rated the targets on a range of attitudinal dimensions. Participants were more likely to indicate that something was wrong when the target was female (97.0%) compared to male (75.9%). Of those who believed something was wrong, 90.1% of participants correctly described the female target as experiencing postnatal depression, but only 46.3% did so for the male target. Participants also held more positive attitudes toward the female target than the male target. There is a gender binary in symptom recognition of postnatal depression, which highlights the need for greater awareness of paternal postnatal depression.

Furnham, Adrian & Petropoulou, Kelly (2019)

Mental health literacy, sub-clinical personality disorders and job fit

Journal of Mental Health, 28(3), s. 249- 254. Doi: 10.1080/09638237.2018.1437606 - Full text in research archive

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2019)

The change and stability of NEO scores over six-years: A British study and a short review

Personality and Individual Differences, 144, s. 105- 110. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2019.02.038 - Full text in research archive

This study investigated the change and stability of the Big-Five personality factors measured on a short scale. Fifteen similar studies using longer instruments were reviewed. In this study 7554 participants aged between 16 and 92 years completed a short 15 item FFM inventory twice six years apart in a large British sample. As expected, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Extroversion significantly increased, whereas Neuroticism significantly decreased, and Openness remained essentially the same over the time period. Participants were divided into six age groups and the results were broadly similar. Correlational analysis showed all five personality factors were considerably stable over six years after controlling for gender and age (r = 0.47 to r = 0.60, p < .001). Implications and limitations of using short scales particularly problems of measurement invariance, are acknowledged.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2019)

GHQ score changes from teenage to young adulthood

Journal of Psychiatric Research, 113, s. 46- 50. Doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2019.03.006 - Full text in research archive

This study investigated the change in the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) scores from teenage years to young adulthood using a large, nationally representative sample in the UK. It took account of socio-demographic variables, childhood intelligence, behavioural problems and self-esteem at teenage and educational qualifications in early adulthood. In total, 3942 cohort members had the complete data on GHQ at ages 16 and 30 years. T-tests showed that there was statistically significant increase of GHQ mean scores over the 14 years (p < .001), however at the item level there were changes in both directions. The analysis showed that over 14 years the test-retest correlation was r = 0.24, indicating a modest level of stability. The GHQ was significantly and negatively associated with self-esteem, and positively associated with childhood behavioural problems. Regression analysis showed that gender, self-esteem, and behavioural problems measured in the teenage years were all significant predictors of GHQ at both time points, indicating the long-term effects of psychological and behavioural factors on teenagers and young adults’ mental health outcome. The implications for early interventions in school and family settings are discussed.

Cheng, Helen & Furnham, Adrian (2019)

Teenage locus of control, psychological distress, educational qualifications and occupational prestige as well as gender as independent predictors of adult binge drinking

Alcohol, 76, s. 103- 109. Doi: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2018.08.008 - Full text in research archive

Cheng, Helen; Montgomery, Scott, Green, Andy & Furnham, Adrian (2019)

Childhood heart problems, adulthood emotional stability, and sex associated with self-report heart conditions in adulthood

Journal of Health Psychology, s. 1- 11. Doi: 10.1177/1359105318820107 - Full text in research archive

Martinsen, Øyvind L. & Furnham, Adrian (2019)

Cognitive style and competence motivation in creative problem solving

Personality and Individual Differences, 139, s. 241- 246. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2018.11.023 - Full text in research archive

This study was conceived by the idea that there exist different kinds of cognitive style-based, task competencies that have implications for task motivation and cognitive performance on creative problem-solving tasks/insight. Specifically, the relationships among the Assimilator–Explorer styles (Kaufmann, 1979), experimentally manipulated task competence for each style, and performance on insight tasks was examined. A total of 264 participants with a mean age of 17.4 years completed a cognitive style test, two measures of task motivation, and three practical construction-type insight tasks. Explorers with experimentally increased competence beliefs were hypothesized to perform less well on typical insight problems than Explorers with experimentally decreased competence beliefs, while Assimilators with increased levels of competence beliefs were expected to perform better than Assimilators with decreased competence beliefs. A randomized experiment with written instructions was conducted to test these hypotheses. The results supported the main hypothesis, yet an additional three-way interaction hypothesis among styles, experimentally manipulated task competence, and task structure was not supported. Limitations are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2019)

Personality Traits and Socio-Demographic Variables as Predictors of Political Interest and Voting Behavior in a British Cohort

Journal of Individual Differences, s. 1- 8. Doi: 10.1027/1614-0001/a000283 - Full text in research archive

This study examines the associations between socio-demographic variables, the Big Five personality traits, and the extent of political interest as well as voting behavior, in a large, nationally representative sample in the UK. The contribution of the Big Five personality traits to political issues over and above demography, education, and social class was the central focus. The analytic sample comprised 7,135 cohort members with complete data. Correlational analysis showed that personality traits and demographic variables were significantly associated with both political interest and voting behavior. Regression analysis showed that sex, education and occupation, and four of the five personality traits were significantly and independently associated with political interest in adulthood. Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Openness were significantly and positively associated with political interest, whereas Conscientiousness was negatively associated with the outcome variable. Personality accounted for incremental variance. Further, parental social class, education and occupation, and traits Emotional Stability and Openness were all significantly and positively associated with voting behavior. The results confirm other studies and show that personality traits account for unique variance over and above demographic factors in predicting political interests and behaviors.

Wong, Hiu Yan Amy; McClelland, Alastair & Furnham, Adrian (2019)

Advertisement-programme congruence in memory of sexual fragrance advertisements

Applied Cognitive Psychology Doi: 10.1002/acp.3523 - Full text in research archive

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2018)

Social-demographic indicators, cognitive ability, personality traits, and region as independent predictors of income: Findings from the uk household longitudinal study (ukhls)

Journal of Intelligence, 6(2), s. 1- 9. Doi: 10.3390/jintelligence6020019

Vimalanathan, Adshara & Furnham, Adrian (2018)

Comparing physical and mental health literacy

Journal of Mental Health, s. 1- 6. Doi: 10.1080/09638237.2018.1466050

Gajre, Meera; McClelland, Alastair & Furnham, Adrian (2018)

Allocating a scarce mental health treatment to the underweight and overweight

Journal of Mental Health, 27(6), s. 490- 495. Doi: 10.1080/09638237.2017.1370636

Furnham, Adrian (2018)

A Big Five facet analysis of sub-clinical dependent personality disorder (Dutifulness)

Psychiatry Research, 270, s. 622- 626. Doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.10.052

Furnham, Adrian (2018)

The bright and dark side of achievement motivation

Current Psychology, s. 1- 9. Doi: 10.1007/s12144-018-0060-z

Furnham, Adrian & Swami, Viren (2018)

Mental health literacy: A review of what it is and why it matters

International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice, Consultation, 7(4), s. 240- 257. Doi: 10.1037/ipp0000094

Furnham, Adrian (2018)

The Great Divide: Academic Versus Practitioner Criteria for Psychometric Test Choice

Journal of Personality Assessment, 100(5), s. 498- 506. Doi: 10.1080/00223891.2018.1488134

Harrison, Sophie; Grover, Simmy & Furnham, Adrian (2018)

The perception of sub-clinical personality disorders by employers, employees and co-workers

Psychiatry Research, s. 1- 10. Doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.05.036

Furnham, Adrian (2018)

Advertising: The contribution of applied cognitive psychology

Applied Cognitive Psychology, s. 1- 8. Doi: 10.1002/acp.3458 - Full text in research archive

This paper looks at the contribution of applied cognitive psychology primarily to the research on advertising. The first issue is to attempt to define and specify the unique contribution of applied, as opposed to “pure,” cognitive psychology to this research area. Next, the issue of the medium of message delivery is discussed. The importance of program involvement and mood impact on memory for advertisements is then reviewed. The major part of the review looks at the influence of humor, sex, violence, and unconventional sex roles in advertisements on their impact on viewer's memory. An attempt is made to document important and replicated findings in this area. Finally, some effort is made to consider future avenues of research.

Martinsen, Øyvind L.; Arnulf, Jan Ketil, Furnham, Adrian & Lang-Ree, Ole Christian (2018)

Narcissism and creativity

Personality and Individual Differences Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2018.09.032 - Full text in research archive

In this study, we investigated the relationship between narcissism, creative personality traits, ideational fluency, and accomplishments in various creative activities. We measured narcissism with the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Emmons, 1987), creative personality with the Creative Person Profile (Martinsen, 2011), creative potential with a figural measure of divergent thinking, and a biographical inventory was used to measure accomplishments in creative activities. The sample consisted of 1375 young adults, mainly men. The results showed that narcissism was associated with fluency, seven creative personality dispositions, and five measures of creative activities. The latter associations were in general significant even when controlling for traits and creative potential. The strongest relationship displayed with narcissism was with the creative personality traits, in particular ambition, agreeableness, and motivation. Implications and limitations are noted.

Furnham, Adrian & Murphy, Toni-Ann (2018)

Money types, money beliefs, and financial worries: An Australian study

Australian Journal of Psychology Doi: 10.1111/ajpy.12219 - Full text in research archive

Objective - To examine correlates of beliefs about money in Australia. The focus of this study was on correlates of individual money types, which looks at the extent to which money was associated with Freedom, Love, Power, and Security. Method - The National Money Research was conducted in Australia in May 2017. The total sample size was 3,285 adult respondents (18+) throughout the Commonwealth of Australia. The sample was representative of Australian adult population with regard to gender and age ratios. All participants completed a 115‐item questionnaire on money beliefs and behaviours. They also completed questionnaires on their financial general life satisfaction. Results - Factor analysis of the different measures yielded an interpretable factor structure. Those who associated money with Power and Freedom tended to be less satisfied with many aspects of their life (finances, friends, family life) while those who associated money with Security were more happy with their finances and health. Those who saw money as Love were happy with most aspects of their life, particularly their family life. The Money Mindset questionnaire factored into four clear factors labelled Security, Politics, Openness, and Trust of which the former was related to all of the four money types. There were also money type gender differences in who participants talked to about their financial situation. Implications and limitations are discussed. Conclusion - The results were both similar to, and different from, studies conducted in other countries.

Cheng, Helen; Montgomery, Scott, Treglown, Luke & Furnham, Adrian (2018)

Associations between childhood biomedical factors, maternal smoking, personality traits, Body and Mass Index and the prevalence of asthma in adulthood

Psychology and Health, 33(9), s. 1116- 1129. Doi: 10.1080/08870446.2018.1467014 - Full text in research archive

Objective: The study set out to investigate socio-economic, biomedical, health and behavioural and psychological factors in childhood and adulthood associated with the prevalence of asthma in adulthood, drawing data from The National Child Development Studies (NCDS), a birth cohort in the UK. Design: The National Child Development Study, a nationally representative sample of 17,415 babies born in Great Britain in 1958 and followed up at 7, 11, 33 and 50 years was used. Main Outcome Measure: The prevalence of asthma at age 50 was the outcome measure. The analytic sample consists of 5118 participants with complete data on a set of measures at birth, at ages 7, 11, 33 and 50 years. Results: Using logistic regression analyses, results showed that childhood asthma (OR = 6.77: 4.38–10.48, p < .001) and respiratory symptoms (OR = 1.83: 1.18–2.86, p < .01), maternal smoking during pregnancy (OR = 1.26: 1.00–1.59, p < .05), Body and Mass Index (BMI) (OR = 1.03: 1.02–1.05, p < .001), traits Neuroticism (OR = 1.13: 1.01–1.21, p < .05) and Conscientiousness (OR = 0.76: 0.76–0.96, p < .01), as well as sex (OR = 1.49: 1.15–1.94, p < .001) were all significantly associated with the prevalence of asthma in adulthood. Conclusion: The study shows that both childhood and adulthood psychological and sociological factors are significantly associated with the prevalence of asthma in adulthood, though more work need to be done in this area.

Ihsan, Zohra & Furnham, Adrian (2018)

The new technologies in personality assessment: A review

Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 70(2), s. 147- 166. Doi: 10.1037/cpb0000106

This article reviews various new approaches to assessing personality. They are divided into five areas: big data, wearable technology, gamification, video-résumés, and automated personality testing. These are briefly described and the available evidence for their psychometric properties considered. At this stage there is more absence of evidence of the psychometric properties of these new approaches than evidence of absence of their validity. There is limited, but growing, research on each of these methods that may offer new and improved ways of assessing personality. Test publishers and consultants report that their clients, interested in assessment, are eager to exploit the new technologies irrespective of there being good evidence of their reliability and validity.

Furnham, Adrian & MacRae, Ian (2018)

The dark side of work values

Current Psychology, s. 1- 7. Doi: 10.1007/s12144-018-9873-z

The current study investigates dark-side personality traits correlates of the revised Work Values Questionnaire (WVQ) which has two main factors (Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation) and each having three sub-factors. Participants also completed the Coolidge Axis-II Inventory (SCATI: Coolidge 2001) which measures fourteen sub-clinical personality disorders (PDs), and they rated their IQ and EQ. Males and younger people rated Recognition positively and Security negatively as work motivational factors. Regressions indicated that the PDs were more associated with Intrinsic Motivators, particularly Recognition and Affiliation. When the PDs were clustered according to DSM-V (APA 2015) guidelines it appeared that Cluster A was negatively, and Cluster B positively, associated with Intrinsic Motivation at domain and facet level. Implications and limitations are considered.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2018)

Early predictors of trait extraversion in adulthood: Findings from a nationally representative sample

Personality and Individual Differences, 135, s. 242- 247. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2018.07.026

In total, 5663 participants provided information on family social background measured at birth; family social life at age 7 years; childhood intelligence, childhood speech difficulties and oral ability assessed at 11 years; leisure activities (parties and sports) measured at age 16 years; optimism and educational qualifications measured at 33 years; occupational levels at 42 years; and trait Extraversion measured at 50 years. Parental social status, childhood social life, childhood intelligence and speech abilities, parties and sports, optimism, education and occupation were all significantly associated with Extraversion accounting for around a tenth of the variance. Structural equation modelling showed that six factors: childhood social life, childhood speech ability, parties and sports, optimism, and occupational levels were significant and independent predictors of trait Extraversion in adulthood for both men and women. Implications and limitations of the study are acknowledged.

Lay, Alixe & Furnham, Adrian (2018)

A New Money Attitudes Questionnaire

European Journal of Psychological Assessment Doi: 10.1027/1015-5759/a000474

This study reports on the development and validation of a new questionnaire to measure money attitudes and beliefs. In all, 268 participants from diverse backgrounds, who were recruited online, completed a 30-item questionnaire. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses verified a five-factor model. The factors were labeled: Achievement and Success, Power and Status, Mindful and Responsible, Saving Concerns, and Financial Literacy Worries. Results showed that demography (sex, age, and education), ideology (politics and religious practices), and self-rated happiness, success, and adjustment were related to all five factors, particularly the first two. Worries about Financial Literacy is an important and neglected factor in money attitudes research, which has implications for consumer well-being and protection. Limitations and implications are noted.

Akram, Zara; McClelland, Alastair & Furnham, Adrian (2018)

The effect of fear‐inducing content on memory for advertisements and on retroactive and proactive interference of programme information

Applied Cognitive Psychology, 32(4), s. 413- 419. Doi: 10.1002/acp.3409 - Full text in research archive

The current study focused on whether fear‐inducing content in television advertisements leads to better memory for the advertisement but also impairs memory for programme information that either precedes the advertisements (retroactive interference) or that follows the advertisements (proactive interference). Fifty‐four participants (48 female) aged 18 to 55 watched a programme that had an advertisement break in the centre. This consisted of 6 advertisements with either fear‐inducing or nonfear‐inducing content. Participants were tested on their recall and recognition of the advertisement information as well as their recall of the first half and second half of the programme. The results indicated that fear‐inducing advertisements were better recalled than those that elicited no fear, and there was also evidence of proactive interference from fear‐inducing advertisements on programme recall. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian & Fenton-O'Creevy, Mark (2018)

Personality and political orientation

Personality and Individual Differences, 129, s. 88- 91. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2018.03.020 - Full text in research archive

This study examined the incremental validity of the Big-Five personality traits over primarily demographic factors in predicting Left-Right political orientation (PO) in a large British adult sample. Gender and trait Openness was most strongly correlated with PO. The regression indicated that females who were better educated, less religious and of higher social class were more Left-Wing. Personality traits doubled the variance accounted for (4% to 9%) indicating that Open, more Agreeable people were more Left-Wing and Introverted, more Conscientious people more Right-Wing. Agreeableness and Neuroticism showed an interaction with social class, such that for high social class, Left-Wing orientation increased with Agreeableness (but not for low social class); and for high social class, Left-Wing orientation increased with Neuroticism, whilst for low social class, Right-Wing orientation increased with Neuroticism

Furnham, Adrian & Treglown, Luke (2018)

High potential personality and intelligence

Personality and Individual Differences, 128(1), s. 81- 87. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2018.02.025 - Full text in research archive

The present study investigated the relationship between six high flyer personality traits and intelligence measured at the domain and facet level. In all, 820 adults completed a multidimensional High Flyers Personality Inventory (measuring six traits) and a multidimensional intelligence test. Correlational analysis showed four traits were related to specific measures of IQ; particularly Conscientiousness, Risk Approach, Ambiguity Acceptance, and Competitiveness. Regressions showed the five IQ measures were differently related to the six high flyer traits, accounting for between three and 7% of the variance. Additionally, structural equation models (SEM) demonstrated that these relationships differ between male and female participants. Results are discussed in terms of the literature on the relationship between preference (personality) and power (ability) tests. Limitations are acknowledged.

Kou, Siyi; McClelland, Alastair & Furnham, Adrian (2018)

The effect of background music and noise on the cognitive test performance of Chinese introverts and extraverts

Psychology of Music, 46(1), s. 125- 135. Doi: 10.1177/0305735617704300 - Full text in research archive

Previous research has shown that background auditory distractors (music and sound/noise) have a more severe impact on introverts’ performances on complex cognitive tasks than extraverts (Dobbs, Furnham, & McClelland, 2011). The present study is a partial replication of Dobbs et al., but involving Chinese rather than English participants. Ninety-two Chinese participants (59 female) carried out three cognitive tasks with the presence of Chinese pop songs, background office noise, and silence. The results did not reveal any differences in performance as a function of the distraction condition, nor was there a difference in performance between extraverts and introverts. The failure to replicate is explained in terms of habituation to noisy environments among Chinese participants.

Treglown, Luke; Zivkov, Katarina, Zarola, Anthony & Furnham, Adrian (2018)

Intention to quit and the role of dark personality and perceived organizational support: A moderation and mediation model

PLOS ONE, 13(3) Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195155 - Full text in research archive

This study investigated the role of individual differences (dark personality) and situational factors (perceived organisational support) in explaining intention to quit. Four hundred and fifty-one (50 of which females) ambulance personnel completed three questionnaires (Hogan Development Survey; Perceived Organisational Support Survey; and a single item Intention to Quit measure) as a part of a selection and development assessment. Employees high on Excitable, Sceptical, and Mischievous, but low on Colourful were found to have greater intentions to quit. Additionally, employees high on Excitable, Sceptical, Reserved, and Leisurely, but low on Dutiful and Diligent had lower perceptions of organisational support. Structural Equation Modelling revealed that perceived organisational support plays both a mediating and moderating role on dark personality and intention to quit. Theoretical implications of personality’s role in perceived organisational support and intention to quit are discussed.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2018)

Conscientiousness and occupational prestige as independent predictors of the change of tobacco use in adulthood

Personality and Individual Differences, 127, s. 79- 84. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2018.02.003 - Full text in research archive

This study investigated the association between childhood intelligence, personality traits, parental social class, maternal smoking, educational qualifications and occupation prestige, and smoking status assessed at different ages. The study was based on a British birth cohort with nine follow-ups. At age 54 years, cohort members provided information on current tobacco use (Yes/No) and the frequency of daily cigarettes smoking. Response of the same questions was also collected four years earlier, at age 50 years. Results showed that among the 5316 participants with complete data, there was a significant (p < 0.001) decrease in the rates of current tobacco use from age 50 to age 54 years (17.9% and 15.0%). Logistic regression analyses showed that, whilst educational qualifications, occupational prestige, and three of the Big-Five personality traits (Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Openness) were all significant predictors of current smoking status at age 54 years. After controlling for the initial smoking status, measured four years earlier, only trait Conscientiousness and occupational prestige were significant and independent predictors of the outcome variable. Low intelligence predicted smoking status >39 years later, mediated by educational qualifications. Implications and limitations are noted.

Swami, Viren & Furnham, Adrian (2018)

Breast size dissatisfaction, but not body dissatisfaction, is associated with breast self-examination frequency and breast change detection in British women

Body image, 24, s. 76- 81. Doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.12.004 - Full text in research archive

Studies examining associations between body image and breast self-examination (BSE) have returned mixed findings, but this may be a function of focusing on global body image. Here, we examined the impact of breast size dissatisfaction specifically on BSE and behaviours in relation to breast change detection. A total of 384 British women completed measures of breast size dissatisfaction, body dissatisfaction, BSE frequency, confidence in detecting breast change, and delay in contacting their doctor upon detecting a breast change. Regression analyses indicated that greater breast size dissatisfaction, but not body dissatisfaction, was significantly associated with less frequent BSE and lower confidence in detecting breast change. Both breast size and body dissatisfaction were significantly associated with greater delay in consulting a doctor following breast change, but the former was the stronger predictor. These findings suggest that improving breast size satisfaction may be a useful means of promoting improved breast awareness and self-examination.

Barron, David; Furnham, Adrian, Weis, Laura, Morgan, Kevin, Towell, Tony & Swami, Viren (2018)

The relationship between schizotypal facets and conspiracist beliefs via cognitive processes

Psychiatry Research, 259(January), s. 15- 20. Doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.10.001 - Full text in research archive

This study sought to replicate previous work showing relationships between components of schizotypy and conspiracist beliefs, and extend it by examining the mediating role of cognitive processes. An international online sample of 411 women and men (mean age = 35.41 years) completed measures of the schizotypal facets of Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking and Ideas of Reference, conspiracist beliefs, and cognitive processes related to need for cognition, analytic thinking, and cognitive insight. Path analysis confirmed the associations between both schizotypal facets and conspiracist beliefs in the present sample. Confirmatory evidence was found for the association between analytic thinking and conspiracist beliefs, and results also suggested an association between cognitive insight and conspiracist beliefs. Cognitive insight also mediated the link between Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking and Ideas of Reference with conspiracist beliefs. However, analytic thinking provided a mediating link to conspiracy ideation for Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking and not Ideas of Reference. Finally, there was an association between Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking and need for cognition, but this path did not extend to conspiracist beliefs. These results suggest possible mediating roles for analytic thinking and self-certainty between schizotypy and conspiracist beliefs.

Fenton-O'Creevy, Mark; Dibb, Sally & Furnham, Adrian (2018)

Antecedents and consequences of chronic impulsive buying: Can impulsive buying be understood as dysfunctional self‐regulation?

Psychology & Marketing, 35(3), s. 175- 188. Doi: 10.1002/mar.21078 - Full text in research archive

Researchers reach different conclusions about the functional or dysfunctional nature of impulsive buying behavior. While many note the use of impulsive buying as a form of mood regulation, there is disagreement about whether this is functional or dysfunctional and the extent to which it causes financial harm. This paper draws on data from a U.K. national survey sample (N = 109,472) to contribute to these debates. Study results suggest that impulsive buying is more common for those who have most need to regulate mood and who have the least effective emotion regulation strategies. This suggests that impulsive buying may be understood as a failure of self‐regulation in relation to long‐term goals and as a strategy for mood regulation. Contrary to some prior claims in the retail management and marketing research literature, the study shows higher levels of impulsive buying to be associated with more adverse financial outcomes (which are not confined to the most extreme manifestations of the trait). While ineffective emotion regulation is associated with higher propensity to buy impulsively, the findings also suggest that effective emotion regulation may to some extent mitigate the adverse consequences of the propensity to buy impulsively. The implications for ethical management, research, and policy are considered.

Swami, Viren; Barron, David, Weis, Laura & Furnham, Adrian (2018)

To Brexit or not to Brexit: The roles of Islamophobia, conspiracist beliefs, and integrated threat in voting intentions for the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum

British Journal of Psychology, 109(1), s. 156- 179. Doi: 10.1111/bjop.12252 - Full text in research archive

We used an identities approach to examine voting intentions in the June 2016 UK referendum on membership of the European Union (EU). In April 2016, 303 British adults (58.7% women, age M = 34.73) indicated their voting intentions for the referendum and completed measures of identification with the national in-group, perceived threat from Muslim immigrants, belief in Islamophobic conspiracy narratives, Islamophobia, general conspiracist beliefs, ambiguity tolerance, and belief in a clash of civilizations. Path and mediation analyses indicated that greater belief in Islamophobic conspiracy theories mediated the link between Islamophobia and intention to vote to leave. Islamophobia and Islamophobic conspiracist beliefs also mediated the effects of perceived threat from Muslims on voting intentions. Other variables acted as antecedents of perceived threat or Islamophobic conspiracy narratives. These findings highlight the role that identity-based cognitions may have played in shaping voting intentions for the UK EU referendum.

Tommasi, Marco; Grassi, Paola, Balsamo, Michela, Picconi, Laura, Furnham, Adrian & Saggino, Aristide (2018)

Correlations Between Personality, Affective and Filial Self-Efficacy Beliefs, and Psychological Well-Being in a Sample of Italian Adolescents.

Psychological Reports, 121(1), s. 59- 78. Doi: 10.1177/0033294117720698

Adolescence is a critical period for the emergence of a balanced personality in adults. Extraversion, neuroticism, and affective self-efficacy beliefs in emotion regulation showed to be good predictors of psychological well-being in adolescents. We analyzed the association between affective self-efficacy beliefs, personality traits, and psychological well-being of 179 Italian adolescents. We also analyzed the connection between adolescents' filial self-efficacy beliefs and psychological well-being and possible moderating effects of self-efficacy beliefs on personality traits. Results show that extraversion, neuroticism, and self-efficacy beliefs in emotion regulation are correlated with psychological well-being, while filial self-efficacy does not. Self-efficacy beliefs do not show significant moderating effects on personality traits, even if self-efficacy beliefs in expressing positive emotions reduce negative characteristics of individuals with high level of psychoticism.

Furnham, Adrian & Petropoulou, Kelly (2017)

The Perceived Problems of People With Subclinical Personality Disorders: A Mental Health Literacy Study

Journal of Relationships Research, 8 Doi: 10.1017/jrr.2017.3

Furnham, Adrian & Crump, John (2017)

Personality correlates of passive-aggressiveness: a NEO-PI-R domain and facet analysis of the HDS Leisurely scale

Journal of Mental Health, 26(6), s. 496- 501. Doi: 10.3109/09638237.2016.1167853 - Full text in research archive

Background: This study looked at the relationship between “bright-side” and “dark-side” personality variables by focusing on the controversial trait of Passive-Aggressiveness. Around 4800 British adults completed the NEO-PI-R which measures the Big Five Personality factors at the Domain and the Facet level, as well as the Hogan Development Survey (HDS) which has a measure of Passive-Aggressiveness called Leisurely. im: To determine to what extent the well-established Big Five traits measured at both domain and facet level can account for the variance in a measure of passive-aggressiveness. Findings: Correlations and regressions indicated that Leisurely individuals are introverted, closed-minded Neurotics, with particular needs for order and deliberation. Neuroticism facets accounted for most of the variance. Overall, the Big Five measured at Domain and Facet level accounted for relatively small amounts of variance, suggesting the divergent validity of this measure of PAPD. Conclusions: This scale measures something that is not captured by comprehensive taxonomies of personality. Limitations and implications for clinical practice are noted.

Han, Da Eun; McClelland, Alastair & Furnham, Adrian (2017)

The Effects of Programme Context on Memory for Humorous Television Commercials

Applied Cognitive Psychology, 31(6), s. 586- 592. Doi: 10.1002/acp.3354 - Full text in research archive

This study investigated the effects of programme context on memory for humorous television advertisements in South Korean participants. Humorous and non-humorous Korean advertisements were embedded within two programme contexts; humorous and non-humorous. When the programme ratings of humour, enjoyment and involvement were higher, unaided recall was poorer. In addition, unaided recall of the advertisements was better when they were embedded within a non-humorous programme. However, there was no significant programme advertisement interaction effect. Overall, both free and cued-recall were higher for humorous advertisements than for the non-humorous advertisements. The findings are discussed in terms of cultural differences and changes in television programmes and advertising over time.

Furnham, Adrian (2017)

Dark side correlates of job reliability and stress tolerance in two large samples

Personality and Individual Differences, 117, s. 255- 259. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2017.06.020 - Full text in research archive

This study set out to examine how dark-side traits (derailers) are related to Stress Tolerance and Job Reliability. Over 8000 adult Britons from two separate assessment centres completed two validated questionnaires: the first measured the “dark-side” traits which can derail one’s career (HDS: Hogan Development Survey) and the second two established, criterion-related, scales called the Occupational Scales (HPI: Hogan Personality Inventory): Stress Tolerance which is associated with the ability to handle pressure well and not be tense and anxious; Job Reliability which identifies people who are honest, dependable and responsive to supervision. Hierarchical regressions showed that some “dark-side” factors like Excitable and Cautious were related to both Occupational variables while being Leisurely, Bold, Mischievous and Colourful were powerful negative predictors of work reliability. The Moving Against People factor was the strongest predictor of Stress Tolerance and Reliability while the Moving Away from People factor was also a powerful predictor of Reliability. The results highlight “dark-side” traits (Excitable, Cautious, Mischievous, Imaginative) which were most related to two crucial features of successful management.

Toverljani, Anita; McClelland, Alastair & Furnham, Adrian (2017)

The Effect of Sexual Programme Content on the Recall of Foreign Sexual and Non-sexual Advertisements

Applied Cognitive Psychology, 31(2), s. 199- 206. Doi: 10.1002/acp.3317

Cheng, Helen; Treglown, Luke, Montgomery, Scott, Kornilaki, Ekaterina N., Tsivrikos, Dimitrios & Furnham, Adrian (2017)

The associations between personality traits, education, occupation and the occurrence of eczema in adulthood

Journal of Health Psychology, 22(7), s. 916- 924. Doi: 10.1177/1359105315618457 - Full text in research archive

There were 5,834 participants with complete data on parental social class at birth, childhood cognitive ability tests scores at 11 years, educational qualifications at 33 years, the Big-Five Factor personality traits, occupational levels, and eczema ( measured at age 50 years). Results showed that eczema in childhood, educational achievement and occupational levels were significantly associated with the occurrence of reported eczema in adulthood. Emotionally Stable people (non Neurotic) were less likely to have eczema, but those with high Agreeableness and Openness more likely to have eczema. Childhood cognitive ability was significantly and positively associated with eczema in adulthood

Cheng, Helen & Furnham, Adrian (2017)

Personality traits neuroticism and openness as well as early abnormal eye conditions as predictors of the occurrence of eye problems in adulthood

Health Psychology Open (HPO), 4(2) Doi: 10.1177/2055102917716205 - Full text in research archive

This study set out to examine the associations between psychological, biomedical and socio-demographic factors in childhood and adulthood associated with the occurrence of self-reported eye conditions in adulthood. In total, 5706 participants with complete data on parental social class at birth, cognitive ability accessed at age 11years, abnormal eye conditions by the age of 16 years diagnosed by medical professionals, educational qualifications obtained at age 33 years, the Big Five Factor personality traits measured at age 50 years, current occupational levels and self-reported eye conditions at age 54 years were included in the study. Logistic regression analysis showed that among all the factors examined early abnormal eye conditions, traits neuroticism and openness as well as sex were the significant predictors of self-reported eye conditions in adulthood

Furnham, Adrian (2017)

Personality differences in managers who have, and have not, worked abroad

European Management Journal, 35(1), s. 39- 45. Doi: 10.1016/j.emj.2016.10.002

Jeon, Mina & Furnham, Adrian (2017)

Mental health literacy in South Korea

International Journal of Culture and Mental Health, 10(4), s. 353- 366. Doi: 10.1080/17542863.2017.1322623 - Full text in research archive

The study aimed to examine the Korean public’s recognition of mental disorders, attitudes towards mental disorders and knowledge and beliefs about professional or self-help for mental disorders. In all 253 participants were presented with case vignettes describing bulimia nervosa, bipolar disorder, substance addiction, depression, schizophrenia, OCD, ADHD, anorexia and social phobia. Participants were asked to identify described mental disorders in the vignettes, to rate each character’s adjustment to live with the mental problems and to rate the likelihood of suggesting several types of help for each character. Participants noted their previous history of exposure to mental disorders. Substance addiction was recognized the most (80.2%) and anorexia the least (10.7%). Participants responded the psychologist/psychiatrist’s help the most helpful. Of the nine mental disorders, the recognition of six mental disorders were significantly predicted by predictors included in this study, and amongst the factors, higher level of education was found to be the most significant predictor for high recognition of mental disorders. Compared to other countries, Korean’s ability to recognize mental disorders was poorer than British and there was difference between South Korean and other Eastern countries in terms of ability to recognize mental disorders even if they share similar culture. Limitations of this study were recognized

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2017)

Factors affecting adult trait Neuroticism in a nationally representative sample

Psychiatry Research, 256, s. 253- 257. Doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.06.030 - Full text in research archive

This study explores factors in childhood and adulthood that affect adult trait Neuroticism in a large, nationally representative sample. 5785 participants provided information on family social background measured at birth; Intelligence assessed at 11 years; Behavioural problems measured at 11 years; Malaise assessed at 23 years; Educational qualifications obtained at 33 years; Occupational levels at 42 years, and personality trait Neuroticism measured at 50 years. Structural equation modelling showed that sex, childhood Behavioural Problems, childhood Intelligence, Malaise in early adulthood, and Occupation were all significant and independent predictors of adult trait Neuroticism. Parental social status was significantly and negatively associated with Malaise at age 23, but was not a significant predictor of trait Neuroticism at age 50 years. Education predicted Neuroticism mainly through occupation. The strongest predictor of trait Neuroticism at 50 years was Malaise measured at 23 years, with a corrected correlation of r = .42 over the 27 year period. The results suggest some underlying biological/genetic mechanism.

Cheng, Helen; Green, Andy, Chapman, Benjamin P., Treglown, Luke & Furnham, Adrian (2017)

Educational achievement and traits emotional stability and agreeableness as predictors of the occurrence of backache in adulthood

Personality and Individual Differences, 117, s. 205- 209. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2017.06.008 - Full text in research archive

This study investigated the associations between psychological as well as social factors in childhood and adulthood and the occurrence of adulthood back pain in a longitudinal birth cohort study. The analytic sample comprises 5,698 participants with complete data on parental social class at birth, childhood cognitive ability tests scores at age 11, educational qualifications measured at age 33, personality traits were assessed at age 50, occupational levels, and back pain measured at age 54. Using logistic regression analyses, results showed that among all socio-demographic and psychological factors examined, only the highest educational qualification (OR=0.62: 0.41-0.93, p<.05) and traits emotional stability (OR=0.76: 0.71-0.83, p<.001) and agreeableness (OR=1.10: 1.01-1.21, p<.05) were significant predictors of the occurrence of back pain in adulthood. No significant sex differences were found for the prevalence of back pain in adulthood.

Wickstead, Robert & Furnham, Adrian (2017)

Comparing mental health literacy and physical health literacy: an exploratory study

Journal of Mental Health, 26(5), s. 449- 456. Doi: 10.1080/09638237.2017.1294743 - Full text in research archive

Background: This study compared mental health and physical health literacy using five health problems from each area. Aims: The aim was to determine whether the same group had better physical than mental health literacy Method: A sample of 263 participants completed an online questionnaire requiring them to name a problem/illness described in 10 vignettes and suggest treatment options. Five vignettes described mental health problems (anxiety, bipolar-disorder, depression, OCPD and schizophrenia) and five physical problems (angina, COPD, diabetes, a heart attack, and sinusitis). Participants were also asked to rate their sympathy and estimates of prevalence for each disorder. Results: Recognition of the mental health disorders was superior compared recognition of the physical disorders. Analysis of treatment beliefs, sympathy and prevalence ratings also showed significant differences between disorders. Conclusions: Results highlight the importance of education and the lack of public knowledge regarding major physical health conditions.

Lahrach, Y & Furnham, Adrian (2017)

Are modern health worries associated with medical conspiracy theories?

Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 99, s. 89- 94. Doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.06.004 - Full text in research archive

This study was concerned with whether Medical Conspiracy Theories (MCTs), along with other variables (demographics, ideology and health perceptions) are associated with Modern Health Worries (MHWs). MCTs were significantly associated with MHWs over and above all other variables. Older individuals, with more religious and right-wing beliefs had higher MHWs. In addition, those who used Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and individuals who perceived their mental health as worse than their peers were also more likely to display higher MHWs. Implications for helping health professions understand their patients' health-related beliefs and choices were discussed.

Swami, Viren; Arthey, Elizabeth & Furnham, Adrian (2017)

Perceptions of plagiarisers: The influence of target physical attractiveness, transgression severity, and sex on attributions of guilt and punishment

Body image, 22, s. 144- 147. Doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.06.009

Galliford, Natasha & Furnham, Adrian (2017)

Individual difference factors and beliefs in medical and political conspiracy theories

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 58(5), s. 422- 428. Doi: 10.1111/sjop.12382 - Full text in research archive

This study examined the relationship between a series of individual difference measures and belief in political and medical conspiracy theories. Participants (N=323) rated 20 conspiracy theories (10 medical, 10 political) and completed a set of questionnaires. Belief in political conspiracies was strongly positively correlated with belief in medical conspiracies. Belief in both conspiracy types was correlated with low self-esteem, low Conscientiousness, more right-wing political views, younger age, and greater belief in the benefits of Alternative Medicine. It was also correlated with religiousness and gender. Low Emotional Stability and Agreeableness were also correlated with belief in political conspiracies, and higher education level was correlated with belief in medical conspiracies. The findings generally demonstrated support for a monological belief system. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Teodorescu, Alexandra; Furnham, Adrian & MacRae, Ian (2017)

Trait correlates of success at work

International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 25(1), s. 36- 42. Doi: 10.1111/ijsa.12158 - Full text in research archive

Purpose: Identifying and developing high potential individuals is fundamental to successful companies and organisations. The present study focuses on the personality traits of high potential individuals. Design: The High Potential Traits Inventory (MacRae, 2012; MacRae & Furnham, 2014) was used to investigate associations between personality traits and subjective and objective measures of career success, in a sample of 383 employed individuals. Findings: Results indicate High Potential Traits Inventory (HPTI) personality traits relate to subjective and objective measures of success with Conscientiousness being the strongest predictor. The findings of the current study are consistent with previous research on High Flyers. Implications: Implications of the current study are discussed, suggesting a clearer operationalization of success is crucial for understanding the underlying mechanisms which lead from personality to potential. Originality/Value: This the validation of a new, robust and succinct measure designed to identify High Flyers in the workplace.

Cheng, Helen & Furnham, Adrian (2017)

Early indicators of self-esteem in teenagers: Findings from a nationally representative sample

Personality and Individual Differences, 116(Oct.), s. 139- 143. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2017.04.037 - Full text in research archive

This study explored a longitudinal data set of 3,096 British sixteen year olds with data collected in 1970, 1980, and 1986. It examined how parental social status at birth; intelligence, locus of control and behavioural problems all measured at aged 10 years influenced teenage self-esteem measured at aged 16 years. There were two related measures of self-esteem: General and School setting. Correlational analysis showed locus of control beliefs, childhood intelligence scores, behavioural problems and parental social status were all significantly related to the self-esteem measures. Structural Equation Modelling showed that childhood locus of control, childhood intelligence and behavioural problems were significant and independent predictors of self-esteem at age 16 years. Females had higher academic but lower general self-esteem compared to males. Limitations and implications of this study are considered.

Cheng, Helen; Montgomery, Scott, Treglown, Luke & Furnham, Adrian (2017)

Emotional stability, conscientiousness, and self-reported hypertension in adulthood

Personality and Individual Differences, 115, s. 159- 163. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2016.02.034 - Full text in research archive

Objective: To investigate social and psychological factors in childhood and adulthood associated with self-reported hypertension in adulthood. Method: Using data from the National Child Development Study, a nationally representative sample of 17,415 babies born in Great Britain in 1958 and followed up at 11, 33, and 50 years of age. Self-reported diagnosed hypertension by 50 years was the outcome measure. Results: In total, 5,753 participants with complete data on parental social class at birth, childhood cognitive ability tests scores at 11 years, educational qualifications at 33 years, personality traits, occupational levels, and self-reported hypertension (all measured at age 50 years) were included in the study. Using logistic regression analyses, results showed that sex (OR=0.60: 0.49-0.73, p<.001), educational qualifications (OR=0.59: 0.37-0.92, p<.05), and traits emotional stability (OR=0.84: 0.77-0.91, p<.001) and conscientiousness (OR=0.89: 0.82-0.98, p<.05) were all significantly associated with the occurrence of self-reported hypertension in adulthood. Conclusion: Both psychological factors and socio-demographic factors were significantly associated with self-reported hypertension in adulthood.

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2017)

Socio-Demographic Indicators, Intelligence,and Locus of Control as Predictors of Adult Financial Well-Being

Journal of Intelligence, 5(2) Doi: 10.3390/jintelligence5020011 - Full text in research archive

The current study investigated a longitudinal data set of 4790 adults examining a set of socio-demographic and psychological factors that influence adult financial well-being. Parental social status (at birth), childhood intelligence and self-esteem (at age 10), locus of control (at age 16), psychological distress (age 30), educational qualifications (age 34), current occupation, weekly net income, house ownership status, and number of rooms (all measured at age 38 years) were examined. Structural Equation Modelling showed that childhood intelligence, locus of control, education and occupation were all independent predictors of adult financial well-being for both men and women. Parental social status and psychological distress were also significant predictors of the outcome variable for men, but not for women. Whereas for women, in comparison to men, the effects of current occupation and childhood intelligence on the outcome variable appeared to be stronger. The strongest predictor of adult financial well-being was current occupational prestige, followed by educational achievement. The gender deferential of financial well-being indicators and its implications are discussed

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2017)

Childhood Cognitive Ability Predicts Adult Financial Well-Being

Journal of Intelligence, 5(3) Doi: 10.3390/jintelligence5010003 - Full text in research archive

This study set out to investigate to what extent childhood cognitive ability, along with personality traits, education and occupational status, as well as marital status influence adult financial success. Data were drawn from a large, prospective birth cohort in the UK, the National Child Development Study (NCDS). The analytic sample was comprised of 4537 cohort members with data on parental social class (at birth), cognitive ability (at age 11), educational qualifications (at age 33), personality traits (at age 50), current marital status and occupational prestige, and salary/wage earning level (all measured at age 54). Correlational results showed that parental social class, childhood cognitive ability, traits extraversion, emotional stability, conscientiousness, and openness, being married positively, being divorced or separated negatively, education and occupation as well as gender were all significantly associated with adult earning ability (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001). Effect sizes for the relationship between intelligence and income was moderate. Results of a multiple regression analysis showed that childhood cognitive ability, traits conscientiousness and openness, educational qualifications and occupational prestige were significant and independent predictors of adult earning ability accounting for 30% of the total variance. There was also a gender effect on the outcome variable. Numerous limitations are noted.

Lee, Cheuk Yan; Furnham, Adrian & Merritt, Christopher (2017)

Effect of directness of exposure and trauma type on Mental Health Literacy of PTSD

Journal of Mental Health, 26(3), s. 257- 263. Doi: 10.1080/09638237.2016.1276531 - Full text in research archive

Background: Research has demonstrated that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of the most widely recognized mental disorders (Furnham & Lousley, 2012), but recognition is affected by trauma type (Merritt et al., 2014). Aims: The current study investigated the effect of direct versus indirect exposure to traumatic event and trauma types on Mental Health Literacy (MHL) of PTSD. Methods: 233 participants were asked to identify the mental health problem after presentation of an unlabeled vignette describing a character experiencing PTSD symptoms. The six vignettes described the same symptoms but differed in directness (direct/indirect exposure) and trauma type (rape, military combat or man-made disaster). It was hypothesized that [1] recognition rate would be higher in direct than indirect conditions, and [2] higher in military combat, followed by man-made disaster, and lowest in rape condition. Results: Overall, correct recognition of PTSD was 42.5%. Recognition in direct exposure vignettes was significantly higher than indirect, supporting the first hypothesis. The second hypothesis was only partly supported. While PTSD recognition in rape vignettes was significantly lower than the other two scenarios, no difference was found between combat and man-made disaster trauma types. Conclusions: Our findings implied under-recognition of PTSD, with lack of awareness of different causes of PTSD and of PTSD from indirect trauma exposure. The latter finding is important in the light of DSM-V revisions to diagnostic criteria for PTSD.

Sneade, Michael & Furnham, Adrian (2016)

Hand Grip Strength and Self-Perceptions of Physical Attractiveness and Psychological Well-Being

Evolutionary Psychological Science, 2(2), s. 123- 128. Doi: 10.1007/s40806-016-0042-z

Yang, Jeremy; McClelland, Alastair & Furnham, Adrian (2016)

The effect of background music on the cognitive performance of musicians: A pilot study

Psychology of Music, 44(5), s. 1202- 1208. Doi: 10.1177/0305735615592265 - Full text in research archive

Gøtzsche-Astrup, Oluf; Jakobsen, Joan & Furnham, Adrian (2016)

The higher you climb: Dark side personality and job level

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 57(6), s. 535- 541. Doi: 10.1111/sjop.12305

Furnham, Adrian; Gee, Marcus & Weis, Laura (2016)

Knowledge of mental illnesses: Two studies using a new test

Psychiatry Research, 244(Oct.), s. 363- 369. Doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.06.058

Cheng, Helen; Treglown, Luke, Green, Andy, Chapman, Benjamin P., Kornilaki, Ekaterina N. & Furnham, Adrian (2016)

Childhood onset of migraine, gender, parental social class, and trait neuroticism as predictors of the prevalence of migraine in adulthood

Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 88, s. 54- 58. Doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.07.012 - Full text in research archive

Cheng, Helen; Deighton, Jessica, Wolpert, Miranda, Chapman, Benjamin P., Kornilaki, Ekaterina N., Treglown, Luke & Furnham, Adrian (2016)

Hay fever in childhood, traits Neuroticism and Conscientiousness as independent predictors of the occurence of hay fever in adulthood

Journal of Health Psychology, 21(10), s. 2367- 2375. Doi: 10.1177/1359105315576784

Treglown, Luke; Palaiou, Kat, Zarola, Anthony & Furnham, Adrian (2016)

The dark side of resilience and burnout: A moderation-mediation model

PLOS ONE, 11(6) Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0156279

Soh, Melinda; Zarola, Antonio, Palaiou, Kat & Furnham, Adrian (2016)

Work-related well-being

Health Psychology Open (HPO), 3(1), s. 1- 11. Doi: 10.1177/2055102916628380

Storek, Josephine & Furnham, Adrian (2016)

The role of gender, task success probability estimation and scores as predictors of the domain-masculine intelligence type (DMIQ)

Learning and Individual Differences, 50(Aug.), s. 23- 29. Doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2016.06.011

Furnham, Adrian; Humphries, Chris & Leung Zheng, Edward (2016)

Can successful sales people become successful managers? Differences in motives and derailers across two jobs

Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 68(3), s. 252- 268. Doi: 10.1037/cpb0000060

Furnham, Adrian; Ritchie, William & Lay, Alixe (2016)

Beliefs about the causes and cures of depression

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 62(5), s. 415- 424. Doi: 10.1177/0020764016644279 - Full text in research archive

Lui, Christopher; Wong, Cheuk & Furnham, Adrian (2016)

Mental health literacy in Hong Kong

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 62(6), s. 505- 511. Doi: 10.1177/0020764016651291 - Full text in research archive

Martinsen, Øyvind L.; Furnham, Adrian & Hærem, Thorvald (2016)

An Integrated Perspective on Insight

Journal of experimental psychology. General, 145(10), s. 1319- 1332. Doi: 10.1037/xge0000208

Grover, Simmy & Furnham, Adrian (2016)

Coaching as a developmental intervention in organisations: A systematic review of its effectiveness and the mechanisms underlying It

PLOS ONE, 11:0159137(7) Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159137

Cheng, Helen & Furnham, Adrian (2016)

The big-five personality traits, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and educational qualifications as predictors of tobacco use in a nationally representative sample

PLOS ONE, 11(1) Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145552

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2016)

Childhood intelligence, self-esteem, early trait neuroticism and behaviour adjustment as predictors of locus of control in teenagers

Personality and Individual Differences, 95, s. 178- 182. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2016.02.054

Furnham, Adrian & Crump, John (2016)

A Big Five facet analysis of a psychopath: The validity of the HDS mischievous scale of sub-clinical psychopathy

Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 57(2), s. 117- 121. Doi: 10.1111/sjop.12260

Martinsen, Øyvind L. & Furnham, Adrian (2016)

The Assimilator-Explorer styles and creativity

Personality and Individual Differences, 98, s. 297- 299. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2016.04.054

Palaioua, Kat; Zarolab, Antonio & Furnham, Adrian (2016)

The dark side of personality predicts positive and negative work attitudes

Personality and Individual Differences, 88, s. 12- 16. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2015.08.029

Furnham, Adrian & Crump, John (2015)

A big five facet analysis of a Paranoid Personality Disorder: The validity of the HDS Sceptical scale of subclinical paranoia

Journal of Individual Differences, 36(4), s. 199- 204. Doi: 10.1027/1614-0001/a000174

Furnham, Adrian & Crump, John (2015)

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Promotion at Work

PSYCHOLOGY, 6, s. 1510- 1515. Doi: 10.4236/psych.2015.612147

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2015)

The stability and change of malaise scores over 27 years: Findings from a nationally representative sample

Personality and Individual Differences, 79, s. 30- 34. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2015.01.027

Furnham, Adrian; Lee, Vanessa & Kolzeev, Vladimir (2015)

Mental health literacy and borderline personality disorder (BPD): what do the public “make” of those with BPD?

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 50(2), s. 317- 324. Doi: 10.1007/s00127-014-0936-7

Oluf, Gøtzsche-Astrup & Furnham, Adrian (2015)

The relationship between bright- and dark-side personality traits

Personality and Individual Differences, 87, s. 206- 211. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2015.08.002

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2015)

Associations between education, gender, social class personality traits, and religious faith and service attendance in a British cohort

Personality and Individual Differences, 86, s. 63- 66. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2015.06.014

Martinsen, Øyvind L. & Furnham, Adrian (2015)

Cognitive styles and performance on complex, structured tasks

Learning and Individual Differences, 42(Aug), s. 106- 109. Doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2015.07.013

King, James; McClelland, Alastair & Furnham, Adrian (2015)

Sex Really Does Sell: The Recall of Sexual and Non-sexual Television Advertisements in Sexual and Non-sexual Programmes

Applied Cognitive Psychology, 29(2), s. 210- 216. Doi: 10.1002/acp.3095

Cheng, Helen; Treglown, Luke, Montgomery, Scott & Furnham, Adrian (2015)

Associations between familial factor, trait conscientiousness, gender and the occurrence of type 2 diabetes in adulthood: Evidence from a British cohort

PLOS ONE, 10(5) Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122701

Cleridou, Kalia & Furnham, Adrian (2014)

Personality correlates of aesthetic preferences for art, architecture, and music

Empirical Studies of the Arts, 32(2), s. 231- 255. Doi: 10.2190/EM.32.2.f

Furnham, Adrian & Hughes, David J. (2014)

Myths and Misconceptions in Popular Psychology: Comparing Psychology Students and the General Public

Teaching of psychology, 41(3), s. 256- 261. Doi: 10.1177/0098628314537984

Storek, Josephine & Furnham, Adrian (2014)

Gender and task confidence as predictors of the Domain-Masculine Intelligence Type (DMIQ)

Personality and Individual Differences, 69, s. 43- 49. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2014.05.006

Furnham, Adrian & Cheng, Helen (2014)

The social influences on trait Conscientiousness: Findings from a nationally representative sample

Personality and Individual Differences, 69, s. 92- 97. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2014.05.017

Furnham, Adrian; von Stumm, Sophie & Fenton-O’Creevy, Mark (2014)

Sex Differences in Money Pathology in the General Population

Social Indicators Research, 123, s. 701- 711. Doi: 10.1007/s11205-014-0756-x

Reynolds, James; McClelland, Alastair & Furnham, Adrian (2014)

An investigation of cognitive test performance across conditions of silence, background noise and music as a function of neuroticism

Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 27(4), s. 410- 421. Doi: 10.1080/10615806.2013.864388

Furnham, Adrian; Treglown, Luke, Hyde, Gillian & Trickey, Geoff (2014)

The Bright and Dark Side of Altruism: Demographic, Personality Traits, and Disorders Associated with Altruism

Journal of Business Ethics Doi: 10.1007/s10551-014-2435-x

Furnham, Adrian; Richards, Steven, Rangel, Luis & Jones, Daniel N. (2014)

Measuring malevolence: Quantitative issues surrounding the Dark Triad of personality

Personality and Individual Differences, 67, s. 114- 121. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2014.02.001

Furnham, Adrian & Hamid, Aseel (2014)

Mental health literacy in non-western countries: A review of the recent literature

Mental Health Review Journal, 19(2), s. 84- 98. Doi: 10.1108/MHRJ-01-2013-0004

Furnham, Adrian (2014)

A bright side, facet analysis of histrionic personality disorder: the relationship between the HDS Colourful factor and the NEO-PI-R facets in a large adult sample

Journal of Social Psychology, 154(6), s. 527- 536. Doi: 10.1080/00224545.2014.953026

Cheng, Helen; Eysenck, Michael, Green, Andy & Furnham, Adrian (2014)

Correlates of adult functional memory: Findings from a British cohort

Intelligence, 47(Nov-Dec), s. 134- 140. Doi: 10.1016/j.intell.2014.09.007

Palaiou, Kat & Furnham, Adrian (2014)

Are bosses unique? Personality facet differences between CEOs and staff in five work sectors

Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 66(3), s. 173- 196. Doi: 10.1037/cpb0000010

Furnham, Adrian (2014)

How I got started: Curiosity and Dilettantism

Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28(5), s. 807- 808. Doi: 10.1002/acp.3020

Cheng, Helen; Green, Andy, Wolpert, Miranda, Deighton, Jessica & Furnham, Adrian (2014)

Factors influencing adult quality of life: Findings from a nationally representative sample in the UK

Personality and Individual Differences, 68, s. 241- 246. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2014.04.026

Koutoufa, Iakovina & Furnham, Adrian (2014)

Mental health literacy and obsessive–compulsive personality disorder

Psychiatry Research, 215(1), s. 223- 228. Doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2013.10.027

Furnham, Adrian (2014)

Increasing your intelligence: Entity and incremental beliefs about the multiple “intelligences”

Learning and Individual Differences, 32, s. 163- 167. Doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2014.03.001

Furnham, Adrian & Mansi, Angela (2014)

The self-assessment of the Cattell–Horn–Carroll broad stratum abilities

Learning and Individual Differences, 32, s. 233- 237. Doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2014.03.014

Furnham, Adrian; Hyde, Gillian & Trickey, Geoff (2014)

The dark side of career preference: dark side traits, motives, and values

Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 44(2), s. 106- 114. Doi: 10.1111/jasp.12205

Furnham, Adrian & Crump, John (2014)

The Dark Side of the MBTI: Psychological Type and Interpersonal Derailers

PSYCHOLOGY, 5(2), s. 166- 171. Doi: 10.4236/psych.2014.52026

Koutoufa, Iakovina & Furnham, Adrian (2014)

Psychiatric literacy: Lay beliefs of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 27(3), s. 277- 289. Doi: 10.1080/09515070.2014.897598

Furnham, Adrian & Milner, Rebecca (2013)

The impact of mood on customer behavior: Staff mood and environmental factors

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 20, s. 634- 641. Doi: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2013.06.001

Cheng, Helen & Furnham, Adrian (2013)

Correlates of Adult Binge Drinking: Evidence from a British Cohort

PLOS ONE, 8(11) Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0078838

Cheng, Helen & Furnham, Adrian (2013)

Personality traits, education, physical exercise, and childhood neurological function as independent predictors of adult obesity

PLOS ONE, 8(11) Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079586

Furnham, Adrian; Crump, John & Ritchie, William (2013)

What it takes: Ability, demographic, bright and dark side trait correlates of years to promotion

Personality and Individual Differences, 55(8), s. 952- 956. Doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2013.07.469

Leka, Jona; McClelland, A. & Furnham, Adrian (2013)

Memory for Sexual and Nonsexual Television Commercials as a Function of Viewing Context and Viewer Gender

Applied Cognitive Psychology, 27(5), s. 584- 592. Doi: 10.1002/acp.2939

Martinsen, Øyvind; Kaufmann, Geir & Furnham, Adrian (2011)

Cognitive Style and Creativity

Runco, Mark A. & Pritzker, Steven R. (red.). Encyclopedia of Creativity, Two-Volume Set, 2nd Edition

Arrindell, Willem A.; Eisemann, Martin Raimund, Richter, Jörg, Oei, Tian P.S., Caballo, Vicente, Ende, Jan van der, Sanavio, Ezio, Bages, Nuri, Feldman, Lya, Torres, Barbara, Sica, Claudio, Iwawaki, Saburo, Edelmann, Robert J., Crozier, W.R., Furnham, Adrian & Hudson, Barbara (2003)

Phobic anxiety in 11 nations:I.Dimensional constancy of the five-factor model

Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41(4), s. 461- 467. Doi: 10.1016/S0005-7967(02)00047-5

The Fear Survey Schedule-III (FSS-III) was administered to a total of 5491 students in Australia, East Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, and Venezuela, and submitted to the multiple group method of confirmatory analysis (MGM) in order to determine the cross-national dimensional constancy of the five-factor model of self-assessed fears originally established in Dutch, British, and Canadian samples. The model comprises fears of bodily injury–illness–death, agoraphobic fears, social fears, fears of sexual and aggressive scenes, and harmless animals fears. Close correspondence between the factors was demonstrated across national samples. In each country, the corresponding scales were internally consistent, were intercorrelated at magnitudes comparable to those yielded in the original samples, and yielded (in 93% of the total number of 55 comparisons) sex differences in line with the usual finding (higher scores for females). In each country, the relatively largest sex differences were obtained on harmless animals fears. The organization of self-assessed fears is sufficiently similar across nations to warrant the use of the same weight matrix (scoring key) for the FSS-III in the different countries and to make cross-national comparisons feasible. This opens the way to further studies that attempt to predict (on an a priori basis) cross-national variations in fear levels with dimensions of national cultures.

Furnham, Adrian; Treglown, Luke & Horne, George (2020)

The Psychology of Queuing

[Article in business/trade/industry journal]. PSYCHOLOGY, 11(3), s. 480- 498. Doi: 10.4236/psych.2020.113033 - Full text in research archive

Queuing is still a fundamental function of how many businesses operate, yet there is not a clear understanding to impact the queuing environment to increase the amount of time an individual is willing to wait, improving an individual’s queuing experience, as well as reduce frustration and reneging. This paper presents a synthesis of the academic literature on queuing phenomenon. In particular, the paper focuses on the social norms of queuing, how they are upheld, and reactions to when they are violated; and environmental moderators, examining the impact of factors such as queue length, presence of information, music, light, and scent. Issues like the effect of number of people in a queue, personal space and the ideal queuing environment are discussed. Finally, this paper addresses limitations within the current body of research as well as proposing an agenda for future research.

Furnham, Adrian (2020)

Ability, Demographic and Personality Predictors of Work Success

[Article in business/trade/industry journal]. PSYCHOLOGY, 11, s. 980- 991. Doi: 10.4236/psych.2020.116063 - Full text in research archive

Furnham, Adrian (2020)

Chopping and Changing: Demographic, Bright and Dark Side Trait Correlates of Job Changes

[Article in business/trade/industry journal]. PSYCHOLOGY, 11(1), s. 204- 216. Doi: 10.4236/psych.2020.111014 - Full text in research archive

Martinsen, Øyvind L. & Furnham, Adrian (2019)

The nomological net of personality constructs, creative personality constructs, intelligence, and creative potential.

[Academic lecture]. 3rd World Conference on Personality (WAPP 2019).

Furnham, Adrian (2019)

Culture Shock: A Review of the Literature for Practitioners

[Article in business/trade/industry journal]. PSYCHOLOGY Doi: 10.4236/psych.2019.1013119