Personality and performance on digit span tests in online and offline settings.

This paper describes two studies examining links between personality and performance on a cognitive test in online and laboratory settings. Study 1 was completed online. 345 participants passively recruited through a personality assessment website completed a Five Factor Model personality inventory derived from the International Personality Item Pool. They then completed an online text-based digit span test. This required participants to repeat increasingly longer strings of digits, either in the same order (forward) or in the opposite of the presentation order (reverse). Conventional digit span tasks ask participants to respond verbally; in this instance they responded by typing the digits. Agreeableness and Openness to Experience each had small but significant associations with forward and reverse digit span. In a second, laboratory based, study, 103 participants completed paper versions of the IPIP Five Factor inventory, the NEO-FFI, and a battery of cognitive tests including the WAIS 4 digit span test. In this instance, Agreeableness and Openness to Experience were not significantly correlated with digit span measures. Taken together, these studies suggest that personality characteristics may influence performance on an online cognitive test. This effect was not seen in an offline version of the study. The paper will consider potential implications for online testing, for equivalence of online and offline methods, and for links between personality and performance on this cognitive test.

The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: results of the International Body Project I

This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.

The personality attributes and leisure activities of the internet users: a Taiwanese case study

This study aims to examine the relationship between the personality attributes of Internet users and their leisure activities. A questionnaire survey was undertaken which revealed that most Internet users are single males aged between 21-30 belonging to the lower income groups, employed in information technology or related fields. The personality attributes of the sample showed a tendency towards a mixed locus control category. The survey indicated that the preferred leisure activities of this population group are reading, collecting and computer-based activities. However, ‘movement’ and collecting were the only leisure activities to show a significant correlation with the users’ personality attributes.

Examination of the factor structure of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) among British and Trinidadian adults

Much debate in schizotypal research has centred on the factor structure of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), with research variously showing higher-order dimensionality consisting of two to seven dimensions. In addition, cross-cultural support for the stability of those factors remains limited. Here, we examined the factor structure of the SPQ among British and Trinidadian adults. Participants from a White British sub-sample (n = 351) resident in the UK and from an African Caribbean sub-sample (n = 284) resident in Trinidad completed the SPQ. The higher-order factor structure of the SPQ was analysed through confirmatory factor analysis, followed by multiple-group analysis for the model of best-fit. Between-group differences for sex and ethnicity were investigated using multivariate analysis of variance in relation to the higher-order domains. The model of best-fit was the four-factor structure, which demonstrated measurement invariance across groups. Additionally, these data had an adequate fit for two alternative models: a) 3 factors and b) a modified 4-factor. The British sub-sample had significantly higher scores across all domains than the Trinidadian group, and men scored significantly higher on the disorganised domain than women. The four-factor structure received confirmatory support and, importantly, support for use with populations varying in ethnicity and culture.