{"title":"The influence of personality traits on the effect of persuasion strategies: A systematic literature review","authors":"Sander Palm, Maria Tims","doi":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113412","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113412","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Scientists have long been interested in how to predict and influence human behavior. To influence human behavior, the effectiveness of persuasion strategies has been studied in marketing, business and psychology. Recently, persuasion strategies that match individual personality traits are assumed to be more effective in influencing behavior. This systematic literature review aims to take stock of these studies to answer the research question: <em>What is the influence of personality traits on the effect of persuasion strategies on influencing individual behavior?</em> The systematic literature review of 80 articles ranging from 1982 till September 2024 reveals three key findings. First, the review highlights the differences in effectiveness among matching (i.e., participants encounter persuasion strategies tailored to their individual personalities), contra-matching (i.e., a randomly selected persuasion strategy is used), and non-matching (no persuasion strategies are employed) persuasion strategies based on personality traits. Specifically, matching strategies are significantly more effective than non-matching ones whereas contra-matching strategies are often found to be counterproductive. Second, the review assesses the level of susceptibility to persuasion strategies for the different personality traits from the five-factor model: Those possessing the trait agreeableness are most responsive to persuasion strategies, while those high on neuroticism are least affected. Third, an overview is presented that outlines effective persuasion strategies for each personality trait within the five-factor model, indicating variations in the effectiveness of distinct persuasion strategies across traits. The findings indicate that matching persuasion strategies with personality traits instead of one-size-fits-all persuasion strategies creates an opportunity to improve their effectiveness on influencing individual behavior.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48467,"journal":{"name":"Personality and Individual Differences","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 113412"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144864418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Measuring contrarianism: Conceptual framework and scale validation","authors":"Trystan Loustau , Brooke Magnus , Gregg Sparkman","doi":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113396","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113396","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The term “contrarian” often refers to those who “go against the grain”. Although many pieces of conventional psychological wisdom focus on the tendency to conform (e.g., groupthink, conformity, social norms), people also actively resist social pressure and deviate from social norms. Contrarianism, the extent to which someone adopts beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that diverge from the mainstream, plays a key role in shaping social change. While other constructs measure compliance to direct requests, others' wishes or commands (e.g., agreeableness, reactance), no construct to date hones in on the tendency to or frequency with which one deviates from observed norms in one's environment. Across six high-powered studies (total <em>N</em> = 2434), we developed and validated the Contrarianism Scale (21-items, single factor) for measuring trait contrarianism and six supplemental scales for measuring four key dimensions for classifying contrarianism and five proximal motives for contrarianism. We provide evidence of the scale's high internal and test-retest reliability, convergent and divergent validity from relevant psychological traits, and power for predicting real-world contrarianism beliefs and behaviors. These scales enable researchers and other professionals to study the psychological effects of individual-level contrarianism.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48467,"journal":{"name":"Personality and Individual Differences","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 113396"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144861181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Javier I. Borráz-León , Markus J. Rantala , Ana Lilia Cerda-Molina , Dario Maestripieri
{"title":"Dark Triad traits and depression symptoms in non-clinical populations: A pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis","authors":"Javier I. Borráz-León , Markus J. Rantala , Ana Lilia Cerda-Molina , Dario Maestripieri","doi":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113417","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113417","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The aim of this study was to quantitatively investigate the strength and shape of the relationship between Dark Triad personality traits—narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—and the occurrence of depression symptoms in non-clinical populations. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 44 studies involving a total of 34,037 participants. Specific analyses focused on: grandiose narcissism and depression (<em>k</em> = 38, 47 samples); vulnerable narcissism and depression (<em>k</em> = 7, 7 samples); Machiavellianism and depression (<em>k</em> = 33, 38 samples), and psychopathy and depression (<em>k</em> = 31, 36 samples). The meta-analysis revealed 1) a negative non-significant association between grandiose narcissism and depression symptoms; 2) a large and positive association between vulnerable narcissism and depression; 3) a small-to-moderate and positive association between Machiavellianism and depression; and 4) a small-to-moderate and positive association between psychopathy and depression. These findings provide a deeper and more nuanced understanding of how Dark Triad personality traits are associated with depression, with potentially novel and important implications for the etiology and treatment of psychopathology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48467,"journal":{"name":"Personality and Individual Differences","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 113417"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144841400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The differential relationship of state Machiavellianism and psychopathy with daily negative affect","authors":"Dawid Walczak, Radosław Rogoza","doi":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113416","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113416","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Machiavellianism and psychopathy are characterized by the experience of negatively valanced emotional states such as anger, and hostility. Despite the similarities in their antagonistically-oriented character, both traits are characterized by the different pattern of antagonistic response. Thus, in our intensive longitudinal study we aimed to examine their relation with daily negative affect. In total, 317 participants have completed the measures of Machiavellianism, psychopathy and negative affect for 30 consecutive days (<em>k</em> = 9230 observations). Whereas increases of both, Machiavellianism and psychopathy were predicted by the preceding increase of negative affect, such relation was one-directional for Machiavellianism, which did not predict successive increases of negative affect, but bi-directional for psychopathy. Such differentiating pattern may suggest that psychopathy may follow a self-perpetuating cycle of antagonistic response, whereas Machiavellianism, may be connected to hindering the experience of negatively valanced emotions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48467,"journal":{"name":"Personality and Individual Differences","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 113416"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144830059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does the goodness in authenticity extend to psychopathic and sadistic people?: considering morality-based prosociality and wellbeing","authors":"William Hart, Joshua T. Lambert","doi":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113418","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113418","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Authenticity is frequently conceptualized as beneficial to the self and society, but do its positive implications generalize to everyone? We investigated this matter in the context of sadism and psychopathy. Prior work has linked authenticity to greater prosociality and wellbeing; presumably, because most people regard the authentic self as moral/good, being authentic implies being prosocial and incurring benefits of prosociality on wellbeing. However, because psychopathic and sadistic people regard the true self as less moral/good, authenticity may relate more weakly or not at all to prosociality for them. U.S. adults (<em>N</em> = 446) completed questionnaires assessing authenticity, psychopathy, sadism, prosociality, and indicators of wellbeing. The associations between authenticity and greater prosociality or wellbeing were reduced as a function of sadism or psychopathy. Additional analyses revealed that the authenticity*sadism or authenticity*psychopathy effects on wellbeing could be partly attributed to prosociality; however, we also found that the authenticity*sadism or authenticity*psychopathy effects on prosociality could be partly attributed to wellbeing. Such evidence seems suggestive of reciprocal relations between prosociality and wellbeing. The present data are the first to show that authenticity may do less to “brighten up” the behavior of those who are more vs. less antagonistic, which could have implications for wellbeing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48467,"journal":{"name":"Personality and Individual Differences","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 113418"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144830057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brian W. Haas , Xiaobin Lou , Victoria Wai Lan Yeung , Liman Man Wai Li , M. Azhar Hussain , Mohsen Joshanloo , Michael Harris Bond , Farida Guemaz , Mahmoud Boussena , Ángel Sánchez-Rodríguez , Nuha Iter , Olha Vlasenko , Vivian Miu-Chi Lun , Nur Amali Aminnuddin , İdil Işık , Oumar Barry , Márta Fülöp , David Igbokwe , Mladen Adamovic , Ragna Benedikta Garðarsdóttir , Kuba Krys
{"title":"Beliefs about a brighter future for all humanity as an evolutionary adaptation to pathogen prevalence","authors":"Brian W. Haas , Xiaobin Lou , Victoria Wai Lan Yeung , Liman Man Wai Li , M. Azhar Hussain , Mohsen Joshanloo , Michael Harris Bond , Farida Guemaz , Mahmoud Boussena , Ángel Sánchez-Rodríguez , Nuha Iter , Olha Vlasenko , Vivian Miu-Chi Lun , Nur Amali Aminnuddin , İdil Işık , Oumar Barry , Márta Fülöp , David Igbokwe , Mladen Adamovic , Ragna Benedikta Garðarsdóttir , Kuba Krys","doi":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113398","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113398","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>An important question in cogntive and evolutionary psychology is how the human mind anticipates the future and copes with stress and risk of disease. The parasite-stress model suggests that many patterns of human behavior and thought are adaptations to varying levels of exposure to parasites and pathogens. A growing body of health psychology research shows a link between positive future thinking and resiliency to various forms of disease. In this study, we investigate the link between historical pathogen prevalence in countries and individuals' perception of the future of humanity. We surveyed 18,981 participants across 68 nations, examining their beliefs about how well humanity will be doing 1000 years from now compared to the present. We found that individuals residing in regions with higher historical disease risk tend to have more positive views about the future of humanity than individuals residing in areas with lower historical disease risk. The difference could not be attributed to several other stress-inducing factors, such as climate stress, population density or objective or subjective socioeconomic indicators. This research contributes to a growing body of evidence demonstrating how disease risk shapes human cognition and encourages future exploration of the evolution of temporal forecasting and consciousness.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48467,"journal":{"name":"Personality and Individual Differences","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 113398"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144830112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Konrad S. Jankowski, Jeremiasz Górniak, Marcin Zajenkowski
{"title":"Estradiol levels in relation to chronotype and sleep loss in women","authors":"Konrad S. Jankowski, Jeremiasz Górniak, Marcin Zajenkowski","doi":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113414","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113414","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During puberty, both sexes experience a well-documented shift toward eveningness, suggesting that physiological changes during this developmental stage drive this transition. Sex hormones have been proposed as a key factor in this shift, a hypothesis that has been corroborated in men—several studies using different methodologies have confirmed that higher testosterone levels are linked to eveningness in males. However, research examining a similar phenomenon in women—specifically, the relationship between major female sex hormones and chronotype—remains limited. In this pre-registered study, with hypotheses formulated prior to data collection, we expected that in females, eveningness would be associated with higher estradiol levels. We used an observational, between-subjects design with a sample (<em>N</em> = 186) of naturally cycling young women who were free of hormonal medications, contraceptive use, and endocrine disorders. Participants self-reported their chronotype and morningness-eveningness, and their hormone levels were assessed from blood samples collected during the early follicular phase. Results showed no association between estradiol levels and chronotype or morningness-eveningness. However, lower estradiol levels were observed in individuals experiencing greater sleep loss throughout the weekdays. These findings suggest that estradiol does not influence habitual sleep timing but may be diminished by insufficient sleep.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48467,"journal":{"name":"Personality and Individual Differences","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 113414"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144830113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Haykal Hafizul Arifin , Mirra Noor Milla , Bagus Takwin , Ali Mashuri
{"title":"Sin, divine forgiveness, and repentance: Disrupting the psychological path to extremism","authors":"Haykal Hafizul Arifin , Mirra Noor Milla , Bagus Takwin , Ali Mashuri","doi":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113419","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113419","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>How does the experience of sinfulness translate into extremist ideologies? In this study, we integrate Significance Quest Theory (SQT) and Goal Systems Theory (GST) to examine sinfulness as a motivational driver for adopting a militant extremist mindset (MEM). We investigate how divine forgiveness-seeking behavior and perceived forgiveness serve as moderators in this process. Using a cross-sectional study (<em>N</em> = 254), we examine how sinfulness and forgiveness-seeking influence perceived forgiveness and how they predict MEM and radical intentions. By using regression and moderated mediation analyses, our results show that forgiveness-seeking and perceived forgiveness both had an effect on the mechanism. Sinfulness predicted both MEM and radical intentions. Sinfulness will lead to radicalism intentions through MEM, particularly in individuals who are high in forgiveness-seeking but low in perceived forgiveness. In contrast, when both forgiveness-seeking and perceived forgiveness were high, the association between MEM and radical intention weakened substantially. These results show that being sinful does not always lead to radicalization; rather, its psychological effects depend on the presence of redemptive alternatives. These findings contribute to the body of research on radicalization by showing that divine forgiveness can act as a motivational buffer that might prevent individuals from becoming fixated on violent goals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48467,"journal":{"name":"Personality and Individual Differences","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 113419"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144830114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jeewon Jeon , Chaebin Yoo , Sujin Park , Boyoon Kim , Jaehoon Yoo , M. Justin Kim , Daeun Park
{"title":"Grit buffers against stress-induced physiological response","authors":"Jeewon Jeon , Chaebin Yoo , Sujin Park , Boyoon Kim , Jaehoon Yoo , M. Justin Kim , Daeun Park","doi":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113390","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113390","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Grit is widely recognized for its role in individual success, potentially by mitigating the impact of stress. However, prior research has primarily demonstrated grit’s buffering effect using self-report measures. In this study, we examined whether grit moderates physiological stress responses, as measured by skin conductance response (SCR). Specifically, we hypothesized that exposure to a challenging situation would elicit heightened SCR and that this response would be attenuated in individuals with higher grit levels. A total of 128 undergraduates participated in a laboratory experiment in which their SCR was recorded before and during a frustrating task (i.e., mirror-tracing task). Results indicated that individuals with higher grit exhibited lower SCR arousal during the task compared to those with lower grit, suggesting that grit buffers against physiological stress responses. This effect remained significant even after controlling for conscientiousness and self-control, underscoring grit’s unique contribution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48467,"journal":{"name":"Personality and Individual Differences","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 113390"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144826309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Boqiang Zhao , Changlin Liu , Palizhati Muhetaer , Ping Hu
{"title":"Mapping self-control strategies: A cross-cultural network analysis in collectivist and individualist contexts","authors":"Boqiang Zhao , Changlin Liu , Palizhati Muhetaer , Ping Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113413","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.paid.2025.113413","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recent theoretical perspectives suggest that self-control could be achieved not only through “effortful” inhibition of impulses but also through strategies that prevent impulses from arising. Cultural models of agency and self-regulation propose that self-concepts shaped by collectivism and individualism lead to different preferences for self-control strategies. However, limited research has explored these cultural differences. This study employed network analysis to examine cross-cultural variations in self-control strategies. The Self-Control Strategy Scale (SCSS) was administered to 732 Chinese participants and 838 American participants to compare their network structures of self-control strategy. Results indicated notable differences in the self-control strategy networks between the two cultural groups. Specifically, in the Chinese self-control strategy network, situation selection emerged as the most central strategy, while reappraise dominated the American network. These findings suggest that collectivist cultures prioritize externally-scaffolded strategies (e.g., situation selection), whereas individualist cultures emphasize intra-psychic strategies (e.g., reappraise).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48467,"journal":{"name":"Personality and Individual Differences","volume":"247 ","pages":"Article 113413"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144826320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}