Pathogen (but not other) threat attenuates the extraversion-positive affect link

Extraversion is one of the most powerful predictors of happiness. From an evolutionary perspective, however, it is unlikely that a personality trait is unconditionally beneficial. The present research examined whether extraversion's ‘happiness advantage’ diminishes in the presence of pathogen t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPersonality and individual differences Vol. 213; p. 112305
Main Authors Han, Hyunseop, Kim, Jinseok P., Shin, Ji-eun
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2023
Subjects
Extraversion
Happiness
Pathogen threat
Positive affect
Pathogen threat
Happiness
Extraversion
Positive affect
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Summary:Extraversion is one of the most powerful predictors of happiness. From an evolutionary perspective, however, it is unlikely that a personality trait is unconditionally beneficial. The present research examined whether extraversion's ‘happiness advantage’ diminishes in the presence of pathogen threat, a context in which extraverted behaviors could bring more harm (i.e., infection) than good. Two studies found that pathogen threat can attenuate the relationship between extraversion and experiences of positive affect (PA). In Study 1, the extraversion-PA link was weaker but still significant among participants with stronger motive to avoid infectious diseases. In Study 2, the extraversion-PA link became non-significant when pathogen threat was experimentally cued. Moreover, this effect was specific to the threat of pathogens, but not others (i.e., physical violence). The present findings shed light on boundary conditions where extraversion may not always translate to greater happiness.
ISSN:0191-8869
1873-3549
DOI:10.1016/j.paid.2023.112305