Big five personality traits and health behaviors
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Big five personality traits and health behaviors
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[post_date] => 2024-12-26 08:37:37
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[post_content] => Practice Passage (Question 1-5)
*This passage is the property of Khan Academy and has been reformatted into an AAMC-style interface in their entirety by MedLife Mastery. MedLife Mastery does not endorse and is not an affiliate of Khan Academy.
The five-factor model of personality states that there are five basic facets of human personality (known as the big five), which include neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (expressed by the acronym, OCEAN). These five facets are measured on a continuum, and individuals are typically placed on the spectrum for each trait based on scores from a questionnaire . Some differences between individuals who score high and low on measures of big five personality traits are outlined in Table 1.
A researcher is interested in how personality relates to health behaviors, specifically regular exercise and healthy food consumption. She designs a study that examines the relationship between big-five factors and health behaviors in college students, and organizes her data to see if those relationships vary by gender.
200 college students from a private university are invited to participate in a study of personality and health behaviors. The sample includes equal numbers of men and women between the ages of 18 and 24 (mean age = 20.53). Each participant completes questionnaires that assess personality traits, exercise, and diet. The exercise questionnaires record type, frequency, and duration rates of different types of exercises, while the diet questionnaire includes questions about dietary choices on a weekly basis (like frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption). Table 2 summarizes correlations between high scores of personality traits and high levels of positive health behaviors (indicated by higher scores on measures).
*Statistically significant at p<.05.
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[question] => Which of the following statements is not supported by the data outlined in Table 2?
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[answer] => 2
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
Positive correlations between personality characteristics and health behaviors (indicated by a positive number) tell us that as the trait increases, engagement in health behaviors increases.
Negative correlations between personality characteristics and health behaviors (indicated by a negative number) tell us that as the trait increases, engagement in health behaviors decrease.
There is a positive correlation between agreeableness and exercise in males – this tells us that as men were more agreeable, they engaged in more exercise. The statement that “highly agreeable men from the sample exercise more often” is supported by the data.
There is a positive correlation between neuroticism and healthy diet in females – this tells us that as women were more neurotic, they ate healthy foods more often. The statement that “highly neurotic women from the sample eat healthy foods more often” is supported by the data.
There is a negative correlation between extraversion and healthy diet in males – this tells us that as men were more extraverted, they ate healthy foods less often. The statement that “highly extraverted men from the sample eat healthy foods less often” is supported by the data.
There is a positive correlation between openness and exercise in females – this tells us that as women were more open, they exercised more frequently. The statement that “highly open women from the sample exercise less often” is not supported by the data.
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[each_answer] => A. Highly extraverted men from the sample eat healthy foods less often.
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[each_answer] => B. Highly open women from the sample exercise less often.
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[each_answer] => C. Highly neurotic women from the sample eat healthy foods more often.
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[each_answer] => D. Highly agreeable men from the sample exercise more often.
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[1] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 3873426850
[question] => Which of the following would be the most effective way to reduce social desirability bias in this study?
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[answer] => 3
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
Social desirability bias is the tendency to respond to questions in a way that is socially acceptable or in a way that makes the respondent appear to have desirable traits. It is an issue in personality research, because individuals want to appear certain ways.
Asking fewer personally sensitive questions may decrease social desirability bias, but it would also probably decrease the validity of the research, and therefore would not be the most effective method.
Administering an additional questionnaire that assesses social desirability would control for social desirability, but it would not actually reduce it. In this instance, individuals who responded in a way that was socially desirable would have their data statistically altered, but it still may not accurately reflect their views.
Information given confidentially (not shared with anyone) over the phone is an improvement over in-person questionnaire administration and would decrease social desirability bias, but it is not the most effective method listed.
Administering the questionnaires anonymously over the internet would most effectively reduce social desirability bias. Individuals are more likely to be honest when they do not fear judgment – a computer cannot judge a person, so they would feel comfortable responding honestly, thus reducing social desirability bias.
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[each_answer] => A. Administer the questionnaires confidentially over the phone.
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[each_answer] => B. Administer questionnaires that ask fewer personally sensitive questions.
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[each_answer] => C. Administer the questionnaires anonymously over the internet.
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[each_answer] => D. Administer an additional questionnaire that assesses social desirability.
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[2] => Array
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[quiz_unique_key] => 83407773
[question] => Which of the following statements does NOT accurately describe personality traits?
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[answer] => 2
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
Personality traits are defined as enduring psychological qualities, meaning they are relatively stable. Though there is some room for change, many adults have personality traits that remain consistent throughout their lifetime.
Personality traits are also defined as qualities that differentiate people from one another because they contribute to distinctive patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving.
Personality traits are often influenced by culture in subtle but pervasive ways. Members of a particular culture typically share personality traits because cultures represent a system of long-standing, shared beliefs and values.
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[each_answer] => A. Personality traits are relatively stable over time.
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[each_answer] => B. Personality traits are not influenced by culture.
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[each_answer] => C. Personality traits influence behavior.
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[each_answer] => D. Personality traits differentiate people from one another.
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[quiz_unique_key] => 2261298308
[question] => Which of the following would be a critique of the study from a psychoanalytic perspective of personality?
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[answer] => 3
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
Trait theory offers statistical probabilities and descriptions of behavior, but a common critique is that it offers no real insight into underlying causes of personality. This is not a critique from a psychoanalytic perspective.
The idea that information about personality must be observable and take external/environmental influences into account is rooted in behavioral theory, not psychoanalysis.
Humanist theories about personality are centered around the idea that humans have free will and can actively shape their experience with the world.
Psychoanalytic theory of personality states that personality is a subconscious construct and cannot be perceived accurately by an individual.
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[0] => Array
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[each_answer] => A. Conclusions about the data may not be accurate because the information gathered is superficial and traits are a statistical generalization about behavior.
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[each_answer] => B. Conclusions about the data may not be accurate because the information gathered is not observable and does not take external influences into account.
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[each_answer] => C. Conclusions about the data may not be accurate because respondents are not able to truly assess their own subconscious traits, desires and processes.
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[each_answer] => D. able to truly assess their own subconscious traits, desires and processes.
Conclusions about the data may not be accurate because the information gathered is based on the assumption that humans do not have free will.
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[question] => If extraversion were classified as a complex variable with an infinite number of distinctions (very introverted, very extraverted, slightly introverted, etc), what type of variable would it be classified as?
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[answer] => 4
[description] => Reason for the Correct Answer:
A nominal variable is categorical and cannot be ranked in order. As an example, there are many different eye colors (green, blue, brown, etc) but they can’t be put in any order.
An ordinal variable is categorical and can be ranked in order. An example could be education experience (elementary school graduate, secondary school graduate, some college, or college graduate) – these can be put in order from lowest to highest.
Dichotomous variables have only two levels. Examples include “yes or no” and “deceased or alive.”
Continuous variables represent complex variables with an infinite number of distinctions; extraversion is a continuous variable.
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[each_answer] => A. Ordinal variable
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[each_answer] => B. Dichotomous variable
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[each_answer] => C. Nominal variable
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[each_answer] => D. Continuous variable
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