Personality Psychology and EconomicsAuthor info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Almlund, Mathilde (almlund@uchicago.edu) (University of Chicago)
Duckworth, Angela Lee (duckwort@psych.upenn.edu) (University of Pennsylvania)
Heckman, James J. (jjh@uchicago.edu) (University of Chicago)
Kautz, Tim (tkautz@uchicago.edu) (University of Chicago)
Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):
Mathilde Almlund
James J. Heckman
Abstract
This paper explores the power of personality traits both as predictors and as causes of academic and economic success, health, and criminal activity. Measured personality is interpreted as a construct derived from an economic model of preferences, constraints, and information. Evidence is reviewed about the "situational specificity" of personality traits and preferences. An extreme version of the situationist view claims that there are no stable personality traits or preference parameters that persons carry across different situations. Those who hold this view claim that personality psychology has little relevance for economics. The biological and evolutionary origins of personality traits are explored. Personality measurement systems and relationships among the measures used by psychologists are examined. The predictive power of personality measures is compared with the predictive power of measures of cognition captured by IQ and achievement tests. For many outcomes, personality measures are just as predictive as cognitive measures, even after controlling for family background and cognition. Moreover, standard measures of cognition are heavily influenced by personality traits and incentives. Measured personality traits are positively correlated over the life cycle. However, they are not fixed and can be altered by experience and investment. Intervention studies, along with studies in biology and neuroscience, establish a causal basis for the observed effect of personality traits on economic and social outcomes. Personality traits are more malleable over the life cycle compared to cognition, which becomes highly rank stable around age 10. Interventions that change personality are promising avenues for addressing poverty and disadvantage.
Showing posts with label personality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personality. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Personality Traits and Economics
The Borghans et al (2008) Journal of Human Resources paper is cited over 200 times at this stage and is likely to be one of the most cited papers ever published in the journal (the famous Blinder decomposition paper has over 2000 citations but is nearly 40 years old). Almlund, Duckworth, Heckman and Kautz have written another extensive paper developing the literature on personalilty and economics linked here.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Talk on Genetics and Personality Tomorrow (Wednesday) Night
Topic: ISS talk Wednesday 9th February
Irish Skeptics Feb 08 09:05PM ^
Dear all,
I am writing to remind you that our 2011 lecture series begins tomorrow
night, Wednesday 9th February, with a talk by Dr Kevin Mitchell of the Dept
of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, who will give a presentation entitled:
*Born that way - how the wiring of the brain makes us who we are*
Time: 8:00pm
Where: Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2.
Admission: €3 for members and concessions; €6 for non-members.
Hope you can make it,
With Best Wishes,
Noirin Buckley
on behalf of the ISS
Description:
Dr Kevin Mitchell heads up a lab specialising in developmental neurogenetics. He previously presented to the Irish Skeptics Society during April last on the genetics of perception. The response at the time was so overwhelmingly positive that we have decided to invite him back. This time he will examine how genetic and neurodevelopmental variation affects how the brain is wired, which in turn has a predominant influence on major personality traits and other psychological characteristics. He will also comment on how nature interacts with nurture.
Irish Skeptics
Dear all,
I am writing to remind you that our 2011 lecture series begins tomorrow
night, Wednesday 9th February, with a talk by Dr Kevin Mitchell of the Dept
of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, who will give a presentation entitled:
*Born that way - how the wiring of the brain makes us who we are*
Time: 8:00pm
Where: Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2.
Admission: €3 for members and concessions; €6 for non-members.
Hope you can make it,
With Best Wishes,
Noirin Buckley
on behalf of the ISS
Description:
Dr Kevin Mitchell heads up a lab specialising in developmental neurogenetics. He previously presented to the Irish Skeptics Society during April last on the genetics of perception. The response at the time was so overwhelmingly positive that we have decided to invite him back. This time he will examine how genetic and neurodevelopmental variation affects how the brain is wired, which in turn has a predominant influence on major personality traits and other psychological characteristics. He will also comment on how nature interacts with nurture.
Monday, January 31, 2011
The Grand Challenges of Personality and Individual Differences for Social, Behavioral and Economic Science
Written on behalf of the Association for Research in Personality. Document available here: NSF Grand Challenge.
Abstract. Individuals respond differently to social situations, economic circumstances, and physical environments, with important consequences for physical and mental health, occupational attainment, economic well‐being, community involvement, and mortality itself. The key questions in the psychological study of personality and individual differences are: What are the primary dimensions of personality and ability how can they best be measured? What are the origins of these individual differences? What are the psychological processes that underlie individual differences in personality? To what degree and in what ways is personality stable, variable, and changeable across the lifespan? What are the behavioral implications of personality and how do these implications vary with situational circumstances? What are the long‐term implications of personality for important life outcomes and how do these implications vary according to the nature of physical, social and cultural environment? Personality psychology is a “hub” discipline that stands at the crossroads of social psychology and economics, and also cognitive science, developmental psychology, health psychology, and biology. The key questions of personality psychology thus are both foundational and potentially transformative of broad areas of social science.
Abstract. Individuals respond differently to social situations, economic circumstances, and physical environments, with important consequences for physical and mental health, occupational attainment, economic well‐being, community involvement, and mortality itself. The key questions in the psychological study of personality and individual differences are: What are the primary dimensions of personality and ability how can they best be measured? What are the origins of these individual differences? What are the psychological processes that underlie individual differences in personality? To what degree and in what ways is personality stable, variable, and changeable across the lifespan? What are the behavioral implications of personality and how do these implications vary with situational circumstances? What are the long‐term implications of personality for important life outcomes and how do these implications vary according to the nature of physical, social and cultural environment? Personality psychology is a “hub” discipline that stands at the crossroads of social psychology and economics, and also cognitive science, developmental psychology, health psychology, and biology. The key questions of personality psychology thus are both foundational and potentially transformative of broad areas of social science.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The Psychology of Facebook
Of the 20 most popular websites in the world, 13 relate to corporations that have European headquarters in Ireland: Ebay, Google, Yahoo and Facebook. The last three of these corporations have been the source of much commentary on this blog. Facebook (FB) has 1.5 millions users in Ireland and it is competing strongly with Google for web-user time-allocation. The chart below (from comScore/Citi) shows FB's increasing share of web-user time-allocation since 2006. FB has an explicit interest in internet economics and it has been mentioned many times before on this blog: from ambient awareness to the App Economy, FB search data to Mulley Com's study of FB eye-tracking, the choice architecture of FB, the FB Global Happinness Index, and of course, the debate on whether FB-use hurts students' grades.
Earlier this week in the Irish Times, Eoin Burke Kennedy wrote an interesting article about the psychology of FB. "Extroverted people tend to have more friends on Facebook but reveal less about themselves while introverts disclose more personal details but to a smaller group." Extraversion is one of the Big 5 personality traits: often discussed on this blog in the context of non-cognitive ability. Here and here, for example. The Big 5 personality traits have also been discussed on this blog before - in relation to social networking and web-users' choice of email address. Readers who find these topics interesting may want to read about the developing field of cyberpsychology - this subject encompasses all the psychological phenomena that are associated with or affected by emerging technology.
The content of the Irish Times article (mentioned above) is based on work by Dublin Business School psychologist Dr Ciarán McMahon. "McMahon has conducted an extensive review of the psychological literature on Facebook to better understand what makes it tick". McMahon runs a blog, PsychBook Research, which links to one of his recent presentations: "Facebook and psychology: What we know so far". While the Geary Blog has often mentioned the career opportunities for economists in corporations such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft; and opportunities for applied economists in private sector firms such as Netflix, SeatGeek, Yapta, Inon and Nielsen; opportunities for psychologists seem likely in Facebook, and in other Web 2.0 commerce.
Earlier this week in the Irish Times, Eoin Burke Kennedy wrote an interesting article about the psychology of FB. "Extroverted people tend to have more friends on Facebook but reveal less about themselves while introverts disclose more personal details but to a smaller group." Extraversion is one of the Big 5 personality traits: often discussed on this blog in the context of non-cognitive ability. Here and here, for example. The Big 5 personality traits have also been discussed on this blog before - in relation to social networking and web-users' choice of email address. Readers who find these topics interesting may want to read about the developing field of cyberpsychology - this subject encompasses all the psychological phenomena that are associated with or affected by emerging technology.
The content of the Irish Times article (mentioned above) is based on work by Dublin Business School psychologist Dr Ciarán McMahon. "McMahon has conducted an extensive review of the psychological literature on Facebook to better understand what makes it tick". McMahon runs a blog, PsychBook Research, which links to one of his recent presentations: "Facebook and psychology: What we know so far". While the Geary Blog has often mentioned the career opportunities for economists in corporations such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft; and opportunities for applied economists in private sector firms such as Netflix, SeatGeek, Yapta, Inon and Nielsen; opportunities for psychologists seem likely in Facebook, and in other Web 2.0 commerce.
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