Uncovering the Affective Core of Conscientiousness: The Role of Self-Conscious Emotions
Department
Psychology
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-2012
Abstract
We conducted 3 studies to test the idea that guilt is a key affective component of Conscientiousness and that it can account for the relation between Conscientiousness and negative affect. Study 1 used meta-analysis to show that Conscientiousness was associated with specific emotions and overall negative affect but was most strongly associated with guilt. Conscientiousness was negatively related to guilt experience but positively related to guilt proneness. Also, guilt experience mediated the relation between Conscientiousness and negative affect. Study 2 (N = 142) examined the relation between facets of Conscientiousness and guilt. We replicated results from Study 1 and showed that the relation between Conscientiousness and guilt was not due to overlap with Extraversion and Neuroticism. Study 3 (n = 176) examined the interplay between Conscientiousness and guilt on grades in a short-term longitudinal study. These studies showed that Conscientiousness is primarily related to guilt and highlighted the importance of examining the emotional substrate of Conscientiousness.
Publication Title
Journal of Personality
Publisher Statement
© 2012 The Authors
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-6494.2011.00720.x
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Fayard, Jennifer V., Roberts, Brent W., Robins, Richard W., Watson, David. "Uncovering the Affective Core of Conscientiousness: The Role of Self-Conscious Emotions," Journal of Personality, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 80:1 (2012) Feb., 1-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2011.00720.x
Comments
Linked is the Author's manuscript. The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2011.00720.x.