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Extraversion and Neuroticism Mediate Associations Between Openness, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness and Affective Well-Being

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Abstract

It is recognized that personality traits are strong predictors of affective well-being. However, it is not clear how the Big Five personality traits significantly contribute to positive and negative affect. The aim of the present study was to determine whether extraversion and neuroticism mediate the relationships between openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness and affective well-being. A sample of 238 undergraduates completed the Big Five Inventory and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. The results indicated that extraversion fully mediated the effect of openness on positive affect and that neuroticism fully mediated the influence of openness and conscientiousness on negative affect, while agreeableness had a direct effect on positive and negative affect, with only partial mediation via extraversion and neuroticism, separately. These results partially support the notion that extraversion and neuroticism have a temperamental effect on positive and negative affect and that openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness have an instrumental effect on affective well-being.

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Acknowledgments

As the first author I want to thank Yuanyuan An at Beijing Normal University for her support in my research. We want to direct our gratitude to participants who made the study possible.

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  1. Institute of Developmental Psychology, School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, XinJieKouWai St., HaiDian District, Beijing, 100875, People’s Republic of China

    Rui-Ping Zhang & Li Tsingan

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  1. Rui-Ping Zhang
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  2. Li Tsingan
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Correspondence to Rui-Ping Zhang.

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Zhang, RP., Tsingan, L. Extraversion and Neuroticism Mediate Associations Between Openness, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness and Affective Well-Being. J Happiness Stud 15, 1377–1388 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-013-9482-3

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