Paul D. Trapnell

Self-Concept Clarity: Measurement, Personality Correlates, and Cultural Boundaries

Self-concept clarity (SCC) references a structural aspect oftbe self-concept: the extent to which selfbeliefs are clearly and confidently defined, internally consistent, and stable. This article reports the SCC Scale and examines (a) its correlations with self-esteem (SE), the Big Five dimensions, and self-focused attention (Study l ); (b) its criterion validity (Study 2); and (c) its cultural boundaries (Study 3 ). Low SCC was independently associated with high Neuroticism, low SE, low Conscientiousness, low Agreeableness, chronic self-analysis, low internal state awareness, and a ruminative form of self-focused attention. The SCC Scale predicted unique variance in 2 external criteria: the stability and consistency of self-descriptions. Consistent with theory on Eastern and Western selfconstruals, Japanese participants exhibited lower levels of SCC and lower correlations between SCC and SE than did Canadian participants.

Psychometric and Geometric Characteristics of the Revised Interpersonal Adjective Scales (IAS-R)

Previous research has suggested that the Interpersonal Adjective Scales (IAS) have properties that are compatible with the substantive, structural, and external characteristics required by the circumplex-based interpersonal theory which guided scale construction procedures. In the present study, we describe an item-analytic procedure that identifies and selects items in terms of their estimated geometric location within a circumplex model and we apply the procedure to the task of reducing the 128-item IAS to a 64-item short form version (IAS-R). Scales constructed to conform to a circumplex model are evaluated by somewhat different structural criteria than are those developed to conform to other multivariate models and these differences are illustrated. The resultant IAS-R was found to have improved substantive and structural characteristics and acceptable reliability. We discuss possible applications of this highly efficient measure of interpersonal behavior.

Personality Structure: The Return of the Big Five

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the history of the big five dimensions of personality structure. It suggests a cumulative convergence of thought that constitutes the longest, and quite possibly the most important. There are many citations that are meant to highlight significant issues that have occurred in the evolution of the contemporary five-factor model. Taxonomies of trait-descriptive terms may be employed for a variety of purposes by lexicographers, psycholinguists, cognitive psychologists, and other students of language. These may also serve as a basis for the construction of instruments in the development of multivariate models of personality structure. The 1950s was a period of interrupted development in the history of the big five model and it was not until the end of that decade that the importance of Fiskes demonstration was recognized. It was also a period in which factor of analytic approaches to personality structure flourished. From the relatively crude criterion of topical citation counts, it might appear that interest in, and advocacy of, the Big Five model suffered a number of false starts over the years and then exploded in the eighties. The development was more gradual.

Socially desirable responding and sexuality self‐reports

We assessed the impact of two distinct forms of socially desirable responding—self‐deceptive enhancement and impression management—on sexuality self‐reports (n = 504) under anonymous testing conditions. Results revealed significant positive relationships between self‐deceptive enhancement and sexual adjustment variables for both sexes. Impression management was significantly negatively related to a number of intrapersonal (e.g., unrestricted sexual fantasies, sexual drive) and interpersonal (e.g., sexual experience, virginity status) sexual behaviors for females, and to unrestricted sexual attitudes and fantasies for males. We calculated correlations were first calculated between self‐deceptive enhancement, impression management, and personality and conservatism scores. Self‐deceptive enhancement and impression management were significantly associated with personality for males and females, and with conservatism for females only. When personality and conservatism variance were partialed out, associations ...

Effects of Self-Presentation Strategies on Personality Profiles and their Structure

To examine the claim that self presentation distorts the structure of personality dimensions, 370 subjects were asked to respond as job applicants to a measure of the Big Five personality traits and two measures of socially desirable responding (SDR): Self-Deceptive Enhancement and Impression Management. They were randomly assigned to respond using one of seven strategies: fake the best possible candidate, fake good without arousing suspicion, play up your good points, respond honestly, be modest, fake bad without arousing suspicion, fake worst. The SDR scales and the Big Five were highly intercorrelated under all strategies except honest responding. Further analyses suggested that the high intercorrelations were due to outliers, not to a true convergence of dimensions. It was concluded that self presentation can either inflate or deflate intercorrelations among evaluative scales. Self presentation in individuals was best diagnosed by the Impression Management and Conscientiousness scales.

Birth Order Effects on Personality and Achievement Within Families

We investigated birth order effects on personality and achievement in four studies (N = 1,022 families) including both student and adult samples. Control over a wide range of variables was effected by collecting within-family data: Participants compared their siblings (and themselves) on a variety of personality and achievement dimensions. Across four diverse data sets, first-borns were nominated as most achieving and most conscientious. Later-borns were nominated as most rebellious, liberal, and agreeable. The same results obtained whether or not birth order was made salient (to activate stereotypes) during the personality ratings. Overall, the results support predictions from Sulloways niche model of personality development, as well as Zajoncs confluence model of intellectual achievement.

Openness versus intellect: A lexical left turn

In a recent article, Saucier (1992) disputed McCraes (1990) view that lexically defined Intellect differs in fundamental ways from questionnaire‐defined Openness to Experience, and that these differences are due to lexical underrepresentation of some openness facets. A re‐analysis of Sauciers (1992) lexical data and questionnaire ‘Factor V’ from three samples are presented, which calls into question Sauciers conclusion that the Openness‐against‐Intellect debate may be ‘much ado about nothing’. Two facets of incommensurability are identified between Intellect and Openness variants of Factor V: competency and liberalism.

Ethnic and gender differences in sexuality: Variations in sexual behavior between Asian and non-Asian university students

Seven hundred and two (346 non-Asian, 356 Asian) undergraduate volunteers were assessed in a confidential laboratory setting on levels of interpersonal sexual behavior (e.g., petting, intercourse), intrapersonal sexual behavior (e.g., fantasy, masturbation), and sociosexual restrictiveness (e.g., lifetime number of partners, number of “one-night stands”). The purpose was to examine possible differences in sexual behavior between Asian and non-Asian Canadian university students and to determine the association between North American residency and the sexual behavior of Asians. The role of gender on sexual behavior both across and within ethnic groups was also examined. Statistical analyses revealed that Asian students were significantly more conservative than non-Asian students on all measures of interpersonal sexual behavior and sociosexual restrictiveness. Significant differences were also noted between Asian and non-Asian students on most measures of intrapersonal sexual behavior. With the exception of two fantasy items, length of residency in Canada was unrelated to interpersonal sexual behavior, intrapersonal sexual behavior, or sociosexual restrictiveness among Asians. Although gender differences were substantial for intrapersonal sexual behaviors such as fantasy and masturbation, no significant gender differences were found for measures of interpersonal sexual experience, with the exception of reported number of one-night stands.

The relation between early abuse and adult sexuality

One thousand and thirty‐two (566 non‐Asian; 466 Asian) undergraduates were assessed in a confidential laboratory setting regarding levels of physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and a wide range of sexuality variables. The purpose was to examine relationships between specific forms of early abuse and later adult sexuality, and to assess potential gender and ethnic differences in these associations. Independent of other forms of abuse, sexual abuse in females was significantly positively related to sexual drive and experience, range of sexual fantasies, liberal sexual attitudes, frequency of intercourse and masturbation, and likelihood of engaging in unrestricted sexual behaviors and fantasies, and was negatively related to virginity status. Among males, emotional abuse was significantly associated with poor body image and sexual dissatisfaction, independent of the other forms of abuse. There were no significant differences in associations between early abuse and sexuality between person...

Ethnic gender and length-of-residency influences on sexual knowledge and attitudes.

We examined potential differences in sexual knowledge and attitudes between 702 Canadian undergraduates of Asian (n = 356) and European (n = 346) ancestry. We also examined potential influences of length of residency in Canada on these variables among Asians, and the role of gender both across and within ethnic groups. The primary purpose was to examine whether length of exposure to North American sexual values influences sexual knowledge or attitudes among Asians living in Canada. Results revealed that compared to Europeans, Asians held more conservative sexual attitudes and demonstrated significantly less sexual knowledge. Recent Asian immigrants were significantly more likely than Canadian‐born or long‐term Canadian residents to hold conservative sexual attitudes on a number of sexuality items. Among Asians and Non‐Asians, males reported more negative attitudes toward homosexuals than did females; females held more conservative sexual attitudes toward uncommitted sexual relations than did males. The fi...