Key result
Higher openness to experience and extraversion are linked to steeper declines in resting-state CNS arousal.
Why the study?
Previous empirical studies linking CNS arousal to personality traits have yielded inconclusive results, largely due to small sample sizes and reliance solely on EEG alpha power.
Cross-Sectional (n=468)
No
Effect estimate: rS = -0.173
p-value: p=0.0002
Higher levels of extraversion and openness to experience are associated with lower levels of CNS arousal in the resting state, supporting the arousal regulation model.
Supports arousal regulation model; leaves open cardiovascular relevance and requires causal confirmation.
Based on Eysenck’s pioneering work, CNS arousal has long been considered an encouraging biological candidate that may explain individual differences in human personality. Yet, results from empirical studies remained inconclusive. Notably, the vast majority of published results have been derived from small samples, and EEG alpha power has usually served as exclusive indicator for CNS arousal. In this study, we selected N = 468 individuals of the LIFE-Adult cohort and investigated the associations between the Big Five personality traits and CNS arousal by using the low-resolution electromagnetic tomography-based analysis tool VIGALL. Our analyses revealed that subjects who reported higher levels of extraversion and openness to experience, respectively, exhibited lower levels of CNS arousal in the resting state. Bayesian and frequentist analysis results were especially convincing for openness to experience. Among the lower-order personality traits, we obtained strongest evidence for neuroticism facet ‘impulsivity’ and reduced CNS arousal. We regard these findings as well in line with the postulations of Eysenck and Zuckerman and consistent with the assumptions of the ‘arousal regulation model’. Our results also agree with meta-analytically derived effect sizes in the field of individual differences research, highlighting the need for large studies with at least several hundreds of subjects.
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Jawinski et al. (2020) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy adults (n=468). Big Five personality traits (Extraversion and Openness to experience) was evaluated on CNS arousal in the resting state (EEG-vigilance slope index) (rS = -0.173, p=0.0002). Higher levels of openness to experience (rS = -0.173) and extraversion (rS = -0.137) were significantly associated with steeper declines in resting-state central nervous system arousal.
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