Personality Styles and Behavior in Men and Women
Faculty Mentor
Sara Haden
Major/Area of Research
Psychology
Description
INTRODUCTION: Personality and behavior are influenced by a combination of biological and psychological factors, with gender being an important factor in psychological research (Costa, Terracino, & McCrae, 2009). Studies have explored the differences in traits such as communication styles, emotional expression and social behavior between men and women (Costa, Terracino, & McCrae, 2001). Understanding these differences is important because it can improve communication and even mental health awareness, while also helping to challenge the stereotypes. However, a lot of existing research relies on broad stereotypes and does not always reflect how these differences show in real-world populations. There is a gap in research focusing on diverse groups, such as college-aged individuals from different backgrounds. This study aims to address that gap by examining personality styles and behavior across gender within a larger, more diverse group. It is hypothesized that women that score higher in neuroticism and lower in agreeableness will show significantly higher aggression levels.
METHOD: The sample consisted of approximately 36 participants both male and female individuals. Of total sample, 86.1% were female and 13.9% were male representing college-aged population. Participants were recruited from Long Island University and other Universities and other social media platforms (e.g., Instagram and messenger) Participants ranged in age from 18-38 years old included both male and female individual, representing a typical college-aged population. Personality traits were assessed using the Big Five Personality Trait (BFPT), which measures openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (John & Srivastava, 1999). Aggressive behavior was measured using the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ), which evaluated physical aggression, anger, hostility, and verbal aggression (Buss-Perry, 1992). All responses were recorded on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Participants completed the survey online through Google Forms, and the data were analyzed using Jamovi to examine the relationship between traits and aggressive behavior.
RESUTLS: A Pearson product-moment correlation was conducted to examine the relationship between personality traits, as measured by the Big Five Personality Traits (BFPT), and aggressive behavior, as measured by the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPA). The analysis revealed no statistically significant relationship between the two variables, r(27) = -.02, p = .920. The correlation coefficient was extremely small and negative, which indicated that there is no linear association between personality and aggressive behavior. These findings suggest that, within this sample, variations in personality traits were not meaningfully related to differences in levels of aggression. In addition, independent samples t-tests were conducted to examine gender differences in personality trait and aggressive behavior. No statistically significant differences were found between males and females for personality traits, t(34) = 1.53, p = .136, or for aggressive behavior, t(27) = -.01, p = .994.
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between personality traits and aggressive behavior in men and women. A Pearson product-moment correlation analysis indicated that there was no significant relationship between overall personality and aggression (r(27) = -.02, p = .920). These findings suggest that personality traits, as measured by the BFPT model, may not strongly predict aggressive behavior within this sample. Although prior research found association between certain personality traits and aggression (Buss & Perry, 1992; John & Srivastava, 1999), the present results did not support a significant relationship. This could be due to the influence of other factors like environmental stressor or situational context or even individual differences that were not captured in the current measures. Future research should examine specific personality traits and include a much larger, more diverse samples to have a better understanding of how personality may relate to aggressive behavior. No significant relation was found. The hypothesis that women who score higher in neuroticism and low is agreeableness would show higher aggression was not supported.
Personality Styles and Behavior in Men and Women
INTRODUCTION: Personality and behavior are influenced by a combination of biological and psychological factors, with gender being an important factor in psychological research (Costa, Terracino, & McCrae, 2009). Studies have explored the differences in traits such as communication styles, emotional expression and social behavior between men and women (Costa, Terracino, & McCrae, 2001). Understanding these differences is important because it can improve communication and even mental health awareness, while also helping to challenge the stereotypes. However, a lot of existing research relies on broad stereotypes and does not always reflect how these differences show in real-world populations. There is a gap in research focusing on diverse groups, such as college-aged individuals from different backgrounds. This study aims to address that gap by examining personality styles and behavior across gender within a larger, more diverse group. It is hypothesized that women that score higher in neuroticism and lower in agreeableness will show significantly higher aggression levels.
METHOD: The sample consisted of approximately 36 participants both male and female individuals. Of total sample, 86.1% were female and 13.9% were male representing college-aged population. Participants were recruited from Long Island University and other Universities and other social media platforms (e.g., Instagram and messenger) Participants ranged in age from 18-38 years old included both male and female individual, representing a typical college-aged population. Personality traits were assessed using the Big Five Personality Trait (BFPT), which measures openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (John & Srivastava, 1999). Aggressive behavior was measured using the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ), which evaluated physical aggression, anger, hostility, and verbal aggression (Buss-Perry, 1992). All responses were recorded on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Participants completed the survey online through Google Forms, and the data were analyzed using Jamovi to examine the relationship between traits and aggressive behavior.
RESUTLS: A Pearson product-moment correlation was conducted to examine the relationship between personality traits, as measured by the Big Five Personality Traits (BFPT), and aggressive behavior, as measured by the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPA). The analysis revealed no statistically significant relationship between the two variables, r(27) = -.02, p = .920. The correlation coefficient was extremely small and negative, which indicated that there is no linear association between personality and aggressive behavior. These findings suggest that, within this sample, variations in personality traits were not meaningfully related to differences in levels of aggression. In addition, independent samples t-tests were conducted to examine gender differences in personality trait and aggressive behavior. No statistically significant differences were found between males and females for personality traits, t(34) = 1.53, p = .136, or for aggressive behavior, t(27) = -.01, p = .994.
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between personality traits and aggressive behavior in men and women. A Pearson product-moment correlation analysis indicated that there was no significant relationship between overall personality and aggression (r(27) = -.02, p = .920). These findings suggest that personality traits, as measured by the BFPT model, may not strongly predict aggressive behavior within this sample. Although prior research found association between certain personality traits and aggression (Buss & Perry, 1992; John & Srivastava, 1999), the present results did not support a significant relationship. This could be due to the influence of other factors like environmental stressor or situational context or even individual differences that were not captured in the current measures. Future research should examine specific personality traits and include a much larger, more diverse samples to have a better understanding of how personality may relate to aggressive behavior. No significant relation was found. The hypothesis that women who score higher in neuroticism and low is agreeableness would show higher aggression was not supported.