Relationships between the big five personality characteristics and performance on behavioral decision making tasks

• Published in: Personality and individual differences 2020-07, Vol.160, p.109931-11, Article 109931
• Main Authors: Buelow, Melissa T., Cayton, Charles
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agreeableness; Balloon analogue risk task; Big five; Columbia card task; Conscientiousness; Decision making; Extraversion; Five factor model; Gambling; Game of dice task; Impulsivity; Iowa gambling task; Neuroticism; Openness; Personality; Personality traits; Risky decision making; Task performance; Undergraduate students
• ISSN: 0191-8869; 1873-3549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.109931

•Few studies examined the big five personality characteristics and behavioral decision making.•The present study examined performance on the IGT, BART, CCT, and GDT.•Across two studies, minimal relationships were seen between the big five and decision making.•Higher agreeableness was associated with less risk on the IGT than lower agreeableness in Study 2 only. Although significant research exists of a relationship between impulsivity and performance on behavioral risky decision making tasks, relatively few studies examined performance on these tasks as a function of the big five personality characteristics. The present study sought to investigate relationships between the big five personality characteristics and performance on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), Columbia Card Task (CCT), and Game of Dice Task (GDT). Two samples of undergraduate student participants (n = 318 Study 1; n = 531 Study 2) completed the IGT, BART, CCT, GDT, and assessment of the big five in a random order. Results of the two studies indicated minimal relationships between performance on the decision making tasks and neuroticism, extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness, but some evidence of a relationship between agreeableness and the CCT in Study 2 only. The present results are among the first examining relationships between the big five and performance on the CCT and GDT, and largely replicate findings of limited relationships between these personality characteristics and performance on the IGT and BART. Future research should further examine personality predictors of performance on these tasks, as they are increasingly used to differentiate patient and non-patient samples.