Women's well-being: The role of individual differences

The intrinsic variance of beauty judgment

Recall memory and sequential dependence threaten the independence of successive beauty ratings. Such independence is usually assumed when using repeated measures to estimate the intrinsic variance of a rating. We call "intrinsic" the variance of all possible responses that the participant could give on a trial. Variance arises within and across participants. In attributing the measured variance to sources, the first step is to assess how much is intrinsic. In seven experiments, we measure how much of the variability across beauty ratings can be attributed to recall memory and sequential dependence. With a set size of one, memory is a problem and contributes half the measured variance. However, we showed that for both beauty and ellipticity, with set size of nine or more, recall memory causes a mere 10% increase in the variance of repeated ratings. Moreover, we showed that as long as the stimuli are diverse (i.e., represent different object categories), sequential dependence does not affect the variance of beauty ratings. Lastly, the variance of beauty ratings increases in proportion to the 0.15 power of stimulus set size. We show that the beauty rating of a stimulus in a diverse set is affected by the stimulus set size and not the value of other stimuli. Overall, we conclude that the variance of repeated ratings is a good way to estimate the intrinsic variance of a beauty rating of a stimulus in a diverse set.

Prevalence and characteristics of childfree adults in Michigan (USA)

Childfree individuals choose not to have children, which makes them a distinctive group from parents who have had children, not-yet-parents who plan to have children, and childless indivduals who would have liked to have children. Most research on parental status and psychosocial characteristics has not effectively distinguished childfree individuals from other non-parents or has relied on non-representative samples. In this study, we use a representative sample of 981 Michigan adults to estimate the prevalence of childfree individuals, to examine how childfree individuals differ from parents and other types of non-parents in life satisfaction, political ideology, and personality, and to examine whether childfree individuals are viewed as an outgroup. We find that over a quarter of Michigan adults identified as childfree. After controlling for demographic characteristics, we find no differences in life satisfaction and limited differences in personality traits between childfree individuals and parents, not-yet-parents, or childless individuals. However, childfree individuals were more liberal than parents, and those who have or want(ed) children felt substantially less warm toward childfree individuals than childfree individuals felt toward each other. Given the prevalence of childfree individuals, the risks of their outgroup status, and their potential role in politics as a uniquely liberal group, it is important for demographic research to distinguish the childfree from others and to better understand these individuals.

Individual and Environmental Predictors of Age of First Intercourse and Number of Children by Age 27

Reproductive behavior characteristics may be influenced by both social and individual factors. Recent studies have revealed that personality traits might be related to reproductive characteristics in adulthood. Little is known about potential mediators or moderators of relations between personality and reproductive behavior. The present study examines the relation between personality traits measured in early adolescence and the number of children people have by age 27, with an attempt to identify moderation and mediation effects. We used data from the longitudinal cohort (N = 585) collected as a part of the Child Development Project. Personality was measured with the use of Lanthier's Big Five Personality Questionnaire. Results from regression analyses and structural equation models showed that four of the five personality traits (except extraversion) were related to the number of children individuals had by age 27, and these associations were mediated by the age of first intercourse and participants' familial and educational plans. We also identified moderation effects of IQ and SES both on the associations of personality traits with mediators and the number of children by age 27.

A 10-year prospective study of personality and reproductive success: Testing the mediating role of healthy living

OBJECTIVE

There is some evidence that personality relates to childbearing in adulthood but the importance of personality for reproductive capacity is unknown. This study explored cross-time associations between the major dimensions of trait personality and self-reported fertility and fecundity.

METHODS

A representative sample of young Australian adults [n = 4501; age range ≈ 18-44 (women), 18-54 (men)] provided information on personality, fertility, fertility intentions, fecundity and lifestyle factors (cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity) in 2006 and again in 2016. Older Australian adults [n = 4359; age ≥ 45 (women), ≥ 55 (men)] provided information on personality, lifestyle factors and completed fertility.

RESULTS

After controlling for sociodemographic factors, completed fertility was associated with higher agreeableness in both sexes, and lower conscientiousness and openness in women. In younger adults, higher levels of openness were associated with fewer children 10 years later in both sexes, and higher extraversion was associated with more children 10 years later in men. The association between fertility intentions and subsequent fertility was stronger among women scoring higher on conscientiousness, and women scoring higher on neuroticism were more likely to acquire medical or health difficulties in having children - an effect that was mediated by higher levels of cigarette smoking.

CONCLUSIONS

The study provides initial evidence for an association between personality and the acquisition of difficulties in having children.

Life Events and Personality Trait Change

OBJECTIVE

Theory and research have emphasized the impact of life events on personality trait change. In this article, we review prospective research on personality trait change in response to nine major life events in the broader domains of love and work.

METHOD

We expected to find that life events lead to personality trait change to the extent that they have a lasting influence on individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Moreover, we predicted that love-related life events such as marriage or parenthood would be more strongly related to changes in traits that emphasize affective content, whereas work-related life events would be more likely to lead to change in traits that reflect behavioral or cognitive content.

RESULTS

The current state of research provided some evidence that life events can lead to changes in personality traits and that different life events may be differently related to specific trait domains.

CONCLUSIONS

A more general conclusion emerging from this review is that the evidence for the nature, shape, and timing of personality trait change in response to life events is still preliminary. We discuss the implications of the results for theory and research and provide directions for future studies on life events and personality trait change.

Personality Trait Development During the Transition to Parenthood

Social investment theory (SIT) proposes that the transition to parenthood triggers positive personality trait change in early adulthood. Using data from a representative sample of first-time parents compared to nonparents, the results of rigorous tests do not support the propositions of SIT. Specifically, we found no evidence for the proposition that parents show more pronounced mean-level increases in emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness compared to nonparents. We did find that agreeableness and openness changed depending on how long someone was in the parent role. Finally, our results suggest that high extraversion and low openness in both genders and high conscientiousness in females predict the likelihood to enter into parenthood. Discussion focuses on why this transition seems to be unrelated to mean-level personality trait change and the implications of these results for SIT.

Personality Traits Increasingly Important for Male Fertility: Evidence from Norway

We study the relationship between personality traits and fertility using a survey of Norwegian men and women born from 1927 to 1968 (N = 7017 individuals). We found that personality relates to men's and women's fertility differently; conscientiousness decreases female fertility, openness decreases male fertility and extraversion raises the fertility of both sexes. Neuroticism depresses fertility for men, but only for those born after 1956. The lower male fertility in younger cohorts high in neuroticism cannot be explained by partnership status, income or education. The proportion of childless men (at age 40 years) has increased rapidly for Norwegian male cohorts from 1940 to 1970 (from about 15 to 25 per cent). For women, it has only increased marginally (from 10 to 13 per cent). Our findings suggest that this could be partly explained by the increasing importance of personality characteristics for men's probability of becoming fathers. Men that have certain personality traits may increasingly be avoiding the long–term commitment of having children, or their female partners are shunning entering this type of commitment with them. Childbearing in contemporary richer countries may be less likely to be influenced by economic necessities and more by individual partner characteristics, such as personality. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology

Birth-cohort effects in the association between personality and fertility

The present study investigated whether associations between individuals' personality traits and whether they have children have been modified by birth-cohort effects in the 20th-century United States. Participants were from the Midlife Development in the United States study (n = 6,259) and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (n = 3,994) and were born between 1914 and 1974. Data on personality traits of the Five Factor model and fertility history were collected in adulthood. Higher levels of openness to experience in both sexes and higher levels of conscientiousness in women were associated with lower fertility, and these associations strengthened linearly as birth cohorts became younger. In the total sample, high extraversion, low neuroticism, and women's high agreeableness were associated with high fertility rate, but there were no systematic cohort effects. The fertility decisions of people with certain personality traits may be influenced by prevailing societal and cultural circumstances.

Reproductive Behavior and Personality Traits of the Five Factor Model

We examined associations between Five Factor Model personality traits and various outcomes of reproductive behavior in a sample of 15 729 women and men from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) and Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) survey. Personality and reproductive history was self–reported in adulthood (mean age: 53 years). High extraversion, high openness to experience, and low neuroticism were associated with larger number of children in both sexes, while high agreeableness and low conscientiousness correlated with larger offspring number in women only. These associations were independent of marital status. There were also more specific associations between personality and timing of childbearing. The findings demonstrate that personality traits of the Five Factor Model are systematically associated with multiple reproductive outcomes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.