You and Your Interactions: Big Five Aspects, Attachment Insecurity, and the Need to Belong
Faculty Sponsor(s)
Yanna Weisberg
Location
Jereld R. Nicholson Library: Grand Avenue
Subject Area
Psychology
Description
Certain personality traits [e.g., attachment orientation, Big Five (B5) traits (especially Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism), Anxiety, Depression, and the Need to Belong (NTB)] describe how individuals may interact in interpersonal situations. We explored how traits are associated with each other, as well as associations with self-reported interpersonal situations. Participants completed measures of the B5 Aspects [e.g., Politeness and Compassion aspects of Agreeableness], Adult Attachment, NTB scales, Depression and Anxiety. The second sample focused on interpersonal situations and associations among the traits, with participants reporting on recent social events. Consistent with previous research, NTB was negatively associated with attachment avoidance and positively associated with attachment ambivalence, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism in both samples. Contrary to previous findings, NTB was positively associated with Extraversion and with Depression. Both insecure attachment orientations were positively associated with Neuroticism and negatively associated with Extraversion, though only attachment avoidance was negatively associated with Agreeableness. In terms of social interactions, those higher in NTB, attachment insecurity, and Neuroticism reported more behaviors related to social anxiety. This work highlights the utility of the aspect level of Big Five measurement to investigate associations between personality traits and also interpersonal situations.
Recommended Citation
Dirksen, Catherine and Weisberg, Yanna, "You and Your Interactions: Big Five Aspects, Attachment Insecurity, and the Need to Belong" (2018). Linfield University Student Symposium: A Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Achievement. Event. Submission 41.
https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/symposium/2018/all/41
You and Your Interactions: Big Five Aspects, Attachment Insecurity, and the Need to Belong
Jereld R. Nicholson Library: Grand Avenue
Certain personality traits [e.g., attachment orientation, Big Five (B5) traits (especially Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism), Anxiety, Depression, and the Need to Belong (NTB)] describe how individuals may interact in interpersonal situations. We explored how traits are associated with each other, as well as associations with self-reported interpersonal situations. Participants completed measures of the B5 Aspects [e.g., Politeness and Compassion aspects of Agreeableness], Adult Attachment, NTB scales, Depression and Anxiety. The second sample focused on interpersonal situations and associations among the traits, with participants reporting on recent social events. Consistent with previous research, NTB was negatively associated with attachment avoidance and positively associated with attachment ambivalence, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism in both samples. Contrary to previous findings, NTB was positively associated with Extraversion and with Depression. Both insecure attachment orientations were positively associated with Neuroticism and negatively associated with Extraversion, though only attachment avoidance was negatively associated with Agreeableness. In terms of social interactions, those higher in NTB, attachment insecurity, and Neuroticism reported more behaviors related to social anxiety. This work highlights the utility of the aspect level of Big Five measurement to investigate associations between personality traits and also interpersonal situations.
