Do You Know Your Own Personality? How Hypomania May Bias Self- Reported Extraversion

Personality is regarded as stable over time, and thus measures of personality assume that personality traits are largely unaffected by one's state. However, several studies demonstrate that personality measurements can be biased by one's state, calling into question the construct validity of personality measures which rely on the self-report method. In addition, Dupuis and colleagues have recommended that potential subpopulations who may be disproportionately vulnerable to these state effects be found. This study (N = 63) used a 2 factor (thought speed: fast, slow) design to experimentally induce rapid thought speed (RTS), a state comparable to hypomania, prior to extraversion measurement on the basis that hypomania and extraversion are positively correlated concepts. It was predicted that inducing RTS would bias participants to report greater extraversion than those who were not induced with RTS. Predisposition to hypomania was measured prior to the RTS induction as those highly predisposed may constitute a subpopulation particularly vulnerable to this state effect. Results indicated no support for a positive correlation between extraversion and predisposition to mania, nor support for the biasing effect of RTS on extraversion measurement. However, a significant interaction effect between predisposition to hypomania and extraversion score was identified, which revealed a near-significant correlation between these variables in the fast condition only. Null results are attributed to failure to induce RTS and a potentially unrepresentative sample. Replication with sufficient amendments is recommended and broader implications are discussed.