Personality and the prediction of short-duration emotional reactions

Abstract

Three converging studies (N=1413) presented initial evidence on the associations between personality dimensions and emotions (short-duration emotional reactions). We evaluated two distinct conceptual models of personality-emotion associations. The Continuity Model was based on the literature relating personality to moods; it was dimensional in structure and was associated with a two-system (appetitive and aversive) approach to motivation. This model proposed broad associations between Extraversion and Neuroticism and positive and negative emotional phenomena, respectively. The Alternative Model was associated with a categorical structure of emotions and a multi-system approach to motivation. This model proposed that specific dimensions of personality were associated with specific categories of emotions and specific stimuli (or content). Using emotionally evocative pictures and various kinds of self-report measures, we tested these models in three studies. Results favored the Alternative Model.