Morehead State University
Aspects of Personality Involved in Persistence
Abstract
The purpose for this study was to measure characteristics of personality and their individual effects on persistence. Participants were required to solve, solvable and unsolvable anagrams. The operational definition of persistence was the amount of time a participant spent solving the anagrams. The personality aspects being examined in this study included Narcissism, Explanatory Style, Personal Achievement, Goal Orientation/Achievement, and Aspects of Motivation. The study began by asking each participant which type of media they preferred most (paper or computer). Then participants were randomly assigned to receive the anagrams in the paper or computer format first. Through counterbalancing, all participants received both formats. Then the participants completed a variety of personality assessments. Following the assessments, the participants were instructed to solve three sets of anagrams (easy, hard, and unsolvable) once using paper/pencil and one using the computer. There were five anagrams per set. The time spent solving each set of anagrams was recorded. It was hypothesized that individuals with higher scores for narcissism would spend less time persisting on the anagrams. We also hypothesized that participants who had a more stable score for Explanatory Style would spend more time persisting as would participants with a mastery style of Adaptive Learning. The data from 17 participants suggests negative correlations between narcissism scores and time spent persisting on anagrams, with the greatest negative correlation coming from the unsolvable anagrams in both formats. The higher the narcissism score, the less time spent persisting on anagrams. Data analyses were inconclusive for time spent persisting and scores on the Patterns of Adaptive Learning . The scores for Explanatory Style tended to be negatively correlated with narcissism scores. The link between the various personality measures and persistence are discussed.
Aspects of Personality Involved in Persistence
The purpose for this study was to measure characteristics of personality and their individual effects on persistence. Participants were required to solve, solvable and unsolvable anagrams. The operational definition of persistence was the amount of time a participant spent solving the anagrams. The personality aspects being examined in this study included Narcissism, Explanatory Style, Personal Achievement, Goal Orientation/Achievement, and Aspects of Motivation. The study began by asking each participant which type of media they preferred most (paper or computer). Then participants were randomly assigned to receive the anagrams in the paper or computer format first. Through counterbalancing, all participants received both formats. Then the participants completed a variety of personality assessments. Following the assessments, the participants were instructed to solve three sets of anagrams (easy, hard, and unsolvable) once using paper/pencil and one using the computer. There were five anagrams per set. The time spent solving each set of anagrams was recorded. It was hypothesized that individuals with higher scores for narcissism would spend less time persisting on the anagrams. We also hypothesized that participants who had a more stable score for Explanatory Style would spend more time persisting as would participants with a mastery style of Adaptive Learning. The data from 17 participants suggests negative correlations between narcissism scores and time spent persisting on anagrams, with the greatest negative correlation coming from the unsolvable anagrams in both formats. The higher the narcissism score, the less time spent persisting on anagrams. Data analyses were inconclusive for time spent persisting and scores on the Patterns of Adaptive Learning . The scores for Explanatory Style tended to be negatively correlated with narcissism scores. The link between the various personality measures and persistence are discussed.