IMPOSSIBLE TASK STUDY      1

 

Running head: NEUROTICISM AND CONSCIENTIOUSNESS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

              Neuroticism and Conscientiousness During an Impossible Task

 

 

Kellyrose Wright

 

 

St. Bonaventure University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Abstract

 

The purpose of this study is to investigate the performance between Neuroticism and Conscientiousness on an impossible task. Past studies have discovered a negative relationship between Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, as well as a positive relationship between Conscientiousness and motivation. This study will test the hypothesis that there is a negative relationship between Neuroticism and motivation.      A 2 (conscientiousness) x 2 (neuroticism) factorial was designed. A main effect for conscientiousness was predicted: high conscientious should spend more time trying to solve the impossible task. A main effect for neuroticism was also predicted: those high in neuroticism would spend less time on the impossible task. Additionally, an interaction was predicted showing that time spent on the impossible task would depend on level of neuroticism and level of conscientiousness. The predicted main effects and interaction were obtained. .   

 

 

 

                                                                                               

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Neuroticism and Conscientiousness During an Impossible Task

 

            Neuroticism is one of the Big Five personality traits. The Big Five are five factors

 

of trait personality which appear the most often, and which encompass other related,

 

 smaller traits. The dimension of Neuroticism “Measures individuals according to

 

their emotional stability and personal adjustment” (Costa & McCrae; in Burger, 184).

 

Individuals with high Neuroticism scores tend to have wildly varying mood swings and

 

frequently experience emotional distress. Individuals with low Neuroticism scores are

 

usually well adjusted and calm, and do not demonstrate the maladaptive emotional

 

reactions than people with high Neuroticism scores do.                                                             

     Conscientiousness is also one of the Big Five Personality Traits. This dimension

 

refers to how self-disciplined and controlled individuals are (Costa & McCrae; in Burger,

 

187).  Individuals with high Conscientiousness scores and usually organized, determined,

 

and plan things in order to achieve success. Individuals on the low end of

 

Conscientiousness are not dependable, easily distracted from tasks, and careless. The

 

characteristics which define Conscientiousness often apply to work situations, and many

 

researchers refer to this dimension as ‘Will to Achieve’ (book 187).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

                                   

 

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             Conscientiousness has been shown to be closely related to motivation, which is an important variable in determining performance on many types of tasks. Motivation has been defined as the choice of a) expending effort, b) the level of effort expended, and c) persisting at that level of effort (Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2003). Therefore, conscientiousness and general performance are related through the factor of motivation.                       It has been demonstrated that Neuroticism and Conscientiousness are inversely related to each other. In regards to Self-Handicapping as measured by the Self-Handicapping Scale, it was found to be positively related to Neuroticism and negatively related to Conscientiousness. There is a negative relationship between Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, which is mediated by the construct of self-handicapping (Ross et al,2002). Self-Handicapping is defined as “A tendency for an individual to create obstacles to successful achievement in performance or competitive situations in order to protect or enhance one’s self-esteem” (Ross et al,2002). It had already been discovered that there was a positive correlation between Self-Handicapping and negative affect, which is very similar to Neuroticism. This study investigated the relationship between Self-Handicapping and two of the domain scales of the Five Factor Model of Personality, Neuroticism and Conscientiousness. Ross stated that many investigators had previously reported a negative relationship between these two domains. It was hypothesized that Self-Handicapping would cause this negative relationship to be mediated. In order for a mediational effect to be demonstrated, Neuroticism and Conscientiousness must have a    

                                                                                   

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significant correlation, and the mediator must be related to these variables as well as reducing the significance of their relationship when it is controlled. These were all fulfilled in Ross’ study, as Self-Handicapping not only reduced the correlation between Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, but changed the correlation to a positive one. Because the hypothesis was validated, it is true that Neuroticism and Conscientiousness are significantly negatively correlated, because that is one of the necessary parts of proving mediation.                                                                                                              Costa and McCrae, the creators of the NEO-PI, have performed many tests comparing the five factors to each other, and have reported the relationships between these factors. In Table 5 of their assessment, “Internal Consistency and Factor Structure of NEO-PI-R Scales, the data demonstrate that every facet of Conscientiousness is negatively correlated to Neuroticism; and every facet of Neuroticism is negatively correlated to Conscientiousness (Costa & McCrae, 1992). In Table 11, “Correlations of Age, Sex, and Education with NEO PI-R Domain Scales”, the correlations of each of these three factors with Conscientiousness are inversely related to the correlations of these factors with Neuroticism (Costa & McCrae, 1992). These analyses clearly demonstrate the negative correlation between Conscientiousness and Neuroticism.                                       Personality Traits such as Neuroticism and Conscientiousness can predict achievement or lack of achievement. Neuroticism may impair academic performance, while Conscientiousness may lead to higher academic achievement. High Neuroticism scores are related to low mental speed and lower scores on ability tests. The personality

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factor most consistently associated with academic performance is Conscientiousness. High Conscientiousness scores predict better academic performance (Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2003). This study was one of the first to consider that personality, not just intelligence, is a good predictor of academic success. In fact, it was claimed that “Personality factors on their own are powerful enough to explain a moderate percentage of the variance in academic performance (Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2003). This study also claimed that low Neuroticism scores are related to high mental speed, and that Conscientiousness is the personality factor most positively correlated to achievement. Furthermore, individuals who are higher in Conscientiousness have been shown to perform work significantly better than other individuals (Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2003). As hypothesized, both Neuroticism and Conscientiousness were significant predictors of examination achievement in this study; the former being negatively correlated and the latter being positively correlated. Therefore, it was shown that personality is significantly related to academic performance.                                                                       In a threeee year longitudinal study of British University students, Conscientiousness was significantly positively correlated to examination grades, while Neuroticism was significantly negatively correlated with examination grades. Furthermore, these traits were found to account for 15% of the variance in this study (Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2003). The main idea behind this study was that individual difference variables can be used to explain how personal traits affect academic

                                                                                   

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success. The personality factor which is most indicative of academic success is        Conscientiousness. Therefore, I hypothesize that there will be a main effect of Conscientiousness on time spent trying to solve an impossible task.                                       

      Neuroticism is the personality factor which is most negatively correlated with academic success. It has even been proposed that Conscientiousness may add to academic performance beyond an individual’s intellectual ability (Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2003). In this study by Chamorro-Premuzic et al, it was found that the subtraits of Conscientiousness which were most positively correlated with academic performance were dutifulness and achievement striving. Additionally, the subtraits of Neuroticism most negatively correlated with academic performance were anxiety and impulsiveness.                   In groups of both successful and unsuccessful boys, the need for achievement and expressed motivation of a fantasy nature was associated with Neuroticism. However, when real-life examples were used, the need for achievement dropped. This drop was positively correlated with Neuroticism (Finlayson, 2002). The idea behind this study was that measures of success in school are related to: 1)The need for achievement, and 2)Neuroticism, which  was conceptualized as “Reflecting the general level of arousal or drive which a subject has”. In the Finlayson study, two groups of students were divides into two groups as being either ’successful’ or ’unsuccessful’ academically. These decisions were made based on the past academic performance of the students. Expressed motivation was then measured in each group by administering two questionnaire measurements of expressed motivation- one of fantasy achievement and one representing

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reality achievement. It was hypothesized that the unsuccessful group of students would express more motivation towards fantasy achievement and the successful group would express more motivation towards reality achievement. The reason for this hypothesis was that the unsuccessful students had higher Neuroticism scores than the successful students, and that Neuroticism is related to a loss of reality and an increased belief in fantasy  (Finlayson, 2002). Therefore, I predict that there will be a main effect of Neuroticism on Conscientiousness.                                                                                                                            Conscientiousness has been shown to be strongly related to achievement and motivation (Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham, 2003). Neuroticism has been shown to be negatively related to achievement. It has also been demonstrated that Neuroticism and Conscientiousness are inversely related. It would be logical to assume, then, that Neuroticism is negatively related to motivation. Motivation can be measured through the use of an impossible task. It is hypothesized that individuals with high Conscientiousness would be expected to take more time attempting to solve the impossible task, because a measure of Conscientiousness is achievement striving. Therefore, individuals with higher Conscientiousness scores will be more strongly driven to complete an assignment or task because it will make them feel as if they have achieved something. Conversely, it is hypothesized that individuals with high Neuroticism scores will take less time attempting to solve the impossible task, as they are easily distracted and less likely to achieve. If the impossible task is used to measure motivation, it is hypothesized that Neuroticism is negatively related to motivation. In conclusion, it is hypothesized that there will be a

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main effect of both Neuroticism and Conscientiousness on time spent trying to solve an impossible task; as well as an interaction between Neuroticism and Conscientiousness.        

      Method

  Participants                                                                                                                          This study consisted of 40 male and female undergraduate students. The participants must be at least 18 years of age, be able to read, and must not have participated in the study Conscientiousness and Performance on an Impossible Task (Vittore et al, 2003).                                                                                                      Materials                                                                                                                                    This study required the use of the NEO-PI personality index, as well as a list of 10 unsolvable anagrams. The NEO Personality Index was proven to be reliable in a study by Young and Schinka in which scores from the Personality Assessment Inventory were compared to scores from the NEO-PI and found to have significant consistency. The validity of the NEO-PI was demonstrated in a study by Quirk et al. in which results from the NEO-PI were compared with results from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, demonstrating that the NEO-PI did indeed measure the personality traits it attempted to measure. The use of anagrams, particularly impossible anagrams, has been performed in the past, such as in the 1973 study by Berger, in which students were given either solvable or unsolvable anagrams and asked to attribute their performance on these tasks to either ability or luck.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

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Procedure                                                                                                                   Participants will first be administered the NEO-PI personality test and asked to

 

complete it fully. When they have finished, they will be given a sheet with the unsolvable

 

anagrams on it. They will be told that they can leave whenever they choose, and need not                

 

finish or even do any of the anagrams. The time when they begin attempting to solve the

 

anagrams will be recorded, as well as the time when they give up attempting to solve the

 

anagrams and leave the study. The subjects will then be given a debriefing statement

 

telling them the purpose of the study and explaining the variables and the hypothesis.

 

Results.                                                                                                                                   

 

            Results were analyzed by using an Analysis of Variance. A main effect of

 

Conscientiousness was found, with F(1,36)=115.676, p<.001. Individuals who were high

 

in Conscientiousness spent more time attempting to solve the impossible task. There was

 

also a main effect of Neuroticism, with F(1,36)=111.258, p<.001. Individuals who were

 

high in Neuroticism spent less time attempting to solve the impossible task.  Finally,

 

there was a significant interaction, with F(1,36)=17.187, p<.01. See Table 1 on page 15,

 

as well as Figure 1 on page 17.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                   

 

 

 

                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Discussion                   

 

            The study has demonstrated that individuals who are high in Conscientiousness

 

spend more time attempting to solve an impossible task. Conversely, individuals who are

 

high in Neuroticism spend less time attempting to solve an impossible task. Individuals

 

who are high in Neuroticism and high in Conscientiousness perform the same as

 

individuals who are low in Neuroticism and low in Conscientiousness. This suggests that

 

the effect of Conscientiousness and the effect of Neuroticism are the same.                                           

            There is also an interaction between Conscientiousness and Neuroticism on time

 

spent trying to solve an impossible task. Therefore, the amount of time a high

 

Conscientious person spends trying to solve the impossible task depends on whether that

 

person is high or low in Neuroticism. The effect of each level of personality type on time

 

spent trying to solve a task depends on which level of the other personality type the

 

individual falls in.                                                                                                                                  

            It has been shown that Conscientiousness is highly related to motivation and

 

achievement striving. Both of these traits are what lead highly conscientiousness people

 

to spend more time attempting to solve an impossible task. Furthermore, since

 

Conscientiousness is negatively correlated to Neuroticism, people who are high in

 

Neuroticism spend less time attempting to solve the impossible task.                                         

            These results have great implications for employers in deciding amongst

 

prospective employees. It is most beneficial for employers to hire people who are high in

 

motivation and achievement striving. As this is the case, the results of my study indicate

 

that employers would be better off hiring individuals who are high in Conscientiousness

 

and low in Neuroticism, which counters the effects of Conscientiousness.                      

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                                                                References  

Berger, C.R. (1973). Task performance and attribution communication as        determinants of interpersonal attraction.  Speech Monographs , 40,  280-286.                     

Burger, J.M. (2000). Personality. Connecticut: Wadsworth.                               

Chamorro-Premuzic, T. & Furnham, A. (2003). Personality predicts academic performance: Evidence from two longitudinal university samples. Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 319-336.                                                                 

Chamorro-Premuzic, T. & Furnham, A. (2003). Personality traits and academic examination performance. European Journal of Personality, 17(3), 237-250.       

Costa, P.T. & McCrae, R.R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) Professional Manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.   

 

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Finlayson, D.S. (1972). Expressed achievement motivation in relation to the achievement motive, neuroticism and school success. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 42(1), 65-70.                                                                                  

Ross, S.R.; Canada, K.E.; & Rausch, M.K. (2002). Self-handicapping and the Five Factor Model of personality: Mediation between neuroticism and conscientiousness. Personality & Individual Differences, 32(7), 1173-1184.                                 

Quirk, S.W. et al. (2003). On the Usefulness of Measures of Normal Personality for Clinical Assessment: Evidence of the Incremental Validity of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 15(3), 311-325.               

Young, M.S. & Schinka, J.A. (2001). Research validity scales for the NEO-PI-R: Additional evidence for reliability and validity. Journal of Personality Assessment, 76(3), 412-420.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Table  1

                                                                                                               

 

                                                                                               

 

Analysis of Variance for Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and the Interaction between these two Variables

                                                                                   

                  

 

 

                                               

 

 

Source

Sum-of-Squares

df

Mean-Square

F-ratio

P

CON

      7262.963

1

      7262.963

      115.676

      0.000

NEU

      6985.592

1

      6985.592

      111.258

      0.000

CON*NEU

      1079.143

1

      1079.143

      17.187

      0.000

Error

      2260.342

36

      62.787

 

 

                                                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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                                                            Figure Caption

 

Figure 1. The effects of Neuroticism and Conscientiousness During an Impossible Task

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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