The happy personality: a meta-analysis of 137 personality traits and subjective well-being - PubMed

Meta-Analysis

The happy personality: a meta-analysis of 137 personality traits and subjective well-being

K M DeNeve et al. Psychol Bull. 1998 Sep.

Abstract

This meta-analysis used 9 literature search strategies to examine 137 distinct personality constructs as correlates of subjective well-being (SWB). Personality was found to be equally predictive of life satisfaction, happiness, and positive affect, but significantly less predictive of negative affect. The traits most closely associated with SWB were repressive-defensiveness, trust, emotional stability, locus of control-chance, desire for control, hardiness, positive affectivity, private collective self-esteem, and tension. When personality traits were grouped according to the Big Five factors, Neuroticism was the strongest predictor of life satisfaction, happiness, and negative affect. Positive affect was predicted equally well by Extraversion and Agreeableness. The relative importance of personality for predicting SWB, how personality might influence SWB, and limitations of the present review are discussed.

Comment in

• Is a repressive-defensive coping style really so bad? Comment on DeNeve and Cooper (1998).

  Pauls CA. Pauls CA. Psychol Bull. 2007 Nov;133(6):907-9; discussion 910. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.133.6.907. Psychol Bull. 2007. PMID: 17967085

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