2004
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Mens & Maatschappij
  4. Volume 100, Issue 2
  5. Article
Volume 100, Issue 2
  • ISSN: 0025-9454
  • E-ISSN: 1876-2816
file format pdf download PDF

Abstract

Abstract

Sociological theorizing has largely equated people’s personality with the social context in which they find themselves, neglecting a large body of work in psychology. This exploratory study examines how personality traits, as measured by the HEXACO model, are related to multidimensional inequality in the Netherlands. Using a large representative sample of the Dutch population ( = 6,773), we analyzed the relations between the six HEXACO traits and different forms of resources (economic, cultural, social, person, and total capital), as well as social class and people’s place of residence. All personality traits predicted at least one form of inequality, with extraversion and openness to experience showing the strongest and most consistent relations across all forms. People who scored higher on these traits tended to have more resources and belonged to higher social classes. These findings highlight the long-term consequences of individual differences in personality, and the importance of including personality traits in sociological and psychological research on multidimensional inequality.

© Ard J. Barends, Reinout E. de Vries & J. Cok Vrooman
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.5117/MEM2025.2.005.BARE
2025-06-01
2025-07-22
The full text of this item is not currently available.

References

  1. Adorno, T.W., Frenkel-Brunswik, E., Levinson, D.J., & Sanford, R.N. (1950). The Authoritarian Personality. New York: Harper and Row.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Ashton, M. C., & Lee, K. (2007). Empirical, theoretical, and practical advantages of the HEXACO model of personality structure. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 11(2), 150-166. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868306294907
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Ashton, M.C., Lee, K., Perugini, M., Szarota, P., de Vries, R.E., Di Blas, L., Boies, K., & De Raad, B. (2004). A six-factor structure of personality-descriptive adjectives: Solutions from psycholexical studies in seven languages. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(2), 356-366. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.2.356
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Ayoub, M., Gosling, S. D., Potter, J., Shanahan, M., & Roberts, B. W. (2018). The relations between parental socioeconomic status, personality, and life outcomes. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 9(3), 338-352. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617707
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Bader, M., Lilleholt, L., Schild, C., Hilbig, B. E., Moshagen, M., & Zettler, I. (2024). Basic personality and actual criminal convictions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000537
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Barends, A. J., & De Vries, R. E. (2024). Developing and improving personality inventories using generative artificial intelligence: The psychometric properties of a short HEXACO scale developed using ChatGPT 4.0. Journal of Personality Assessment. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.20
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Barends, A. J., Gierse, L., & De Vries, R. E. (2024). Masking and cancellation effects of HEXACO domains and facets in relation to work- and study-related burnout. Personality and Individual Differences, 225, 112673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2024.112673
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Bauman, Z. (2007). Consuming Life. Cambridge: Polity Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Becker, G.S. (1993). Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Bernardi, F., Hertel, F. R., & Yastrebov, G. (2018). A U-turn in inequality in college attainment by parental education in the US?. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 58, 33-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2018.09.003
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Borghans, L., Duckworth, A.L.,Heckman, J.J. & Ter Weel, B. (2008). The economics and psychology of personality traits. Journal of Human Resources43(4), 972-1059. https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.43.4.972
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. In J.Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241-258). New York: Greenwood.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Brown, R. M., Roberts, S. G., & Pollet, T. V. (2023). HEXACO personality factors and their associations with Facebook use and Facebook network characteristics. Psychological Reports. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941231176403
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Bukodi, E., & Goldthorpe, J. H. (in press). Understanding trends in social fluidity in Western Europe: class structural change and the OED triangle. European Sociological Review, jcae033. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcae033
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Campbell, R., & Heath, O. (2021). Fueling the populist divide: Nativist and cosmopolitan preferences for representation at the elite and mass level. Political Behavior, 43(4), 1707-1729. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-021-09743-5
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Ciani, A. S. C., & Capiluppi, C. (2011). Gene flow by selective emigration as a possible cause for personality differences between small islands and mainland populations. European Journal of Personality, 25(1), 53-64. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.774
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Ciani, A. S. C., Capiluppi, C., Veronese, A., & Sartori, G. (2007). The adaptive value of personality differences revealed by small island population dynamics. European Journal of Personality, 21(1), 3-22. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.595
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Costa Jr, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Four ways five factors are basic. Personality and Individual Differences, 13(6), 653-665. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(92)90236-I
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Costa Jr, P. T., McCrae, R. R., & Löckenhoff, C. E. (2019). Personality across the life span. Annual Review of Psychology, 70, 423-448. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-103244
     [Google Scholar]
  20. De Vries, R. E. (2013). The 24-item Brief HEXACO Inventory (BHI), Journal of Research in Personality, 47, 871-880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2013.09.003
     [Google Scholar]
  21. De Vries, R. E. (2016). De nachtmerrie van elke werkgever: Het explosieve mengsel van lage Integriteit, lage Consciëntieusheid en lage Verdraagzaamheid [The nightmare of every employer: The explosive mix of low Honesty-Humility, low Conscientiousness, and low Agreeableness]. Gedrag & Organisatie, 29(4), 316-346. https://doi.org/10.5117/2016.029.004.002
     [Google Scholar]
  22. De Vries, R. E. (2018). Three Nightmare Traits in leaders. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 871. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00871
     [Google Scholar]
  23. De Vries, R.E., De Vries, A., & Feij, J.A. (2009). Sensation seeking, risk-taking, and the HEXACO model of personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 536-540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.05.029
     [Google Scholar]
  24. De Vries, R. E., Pronk, J., Olthof, T., & GoossensF. A. (2020). Getting along and/or getting ahead: Differential HEXACO personality correlates of likeability and popularity among adolescents. European Journal of Personality, 34, 245-261. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2243
     [Google Scholar]
  25. De Vries, R. E., Tybur, J. M., Pollet, T. V., & Van Vugt, M. (2016). Evolution, situational affordances, and the HEXACO model of personality. Evolution & Human Behavior, 37, 407-421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.04.001
     [Google Scholar]
  26. De Vries, R.E. & Van Gelder, J.L. (2013). Tales of two self-control scales: Relations with Five-Factor and HEXACO traits. Personality and Individual Differences, 54, 756-760. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.12.023
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Elleman, L. G., Condon, D. M., Holtzman, N. S., Allen, V. R. & Revelle, W. (2020). Smaller is better: Associations between personality and demographics are improved by examining narrower traits and regions. Collabra: Psychology, 6(1), 17210. https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.17210.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Friedman, S. & Laurison, D. (2019). The Class Ceiling: Why it Pays to Be Privileged. Bristol: Policy Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Funder, D. C., & Ozer, D. J. (2019). Evaluating effect size in psychological research: Sense and nonsense. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515245919847202
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Goldberg, L. R. (1990). An alternative “description of personality”: The Big-Five factor structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(6), 1216-1229.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Heath, O. (2018). Policy alienation, social alienation and working-class abstention in Britain, 1964–2010. British Journal of Political Science, 48(4), 1053-1073. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26781625
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Heckman, J., Jagelka, T. & Kautz, T.D (2019). Some Contributions of Economics to the Study of Personality. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w26459
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Hudson, N. W., Fraley, R. C., Chopik, W. J., & Briley, D. A. (2020). Change goals robustly predict trait growth: A mega-analysis of a dozen intensive longitudinal studies examining volitional change. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 11(6), 723-732. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506198784
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Jokela, M. (2020). Selective residential mobility and social influence in the emergence of neighborhood personality differences: Longitudinal data from Australia. Journal of Research in Personality, 86, 103953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2020.103953
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Jokela, M. (2021). Personality traits and reasons for residential mobility: Longitudinal data from United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia. Personality and Individual Differences, 180, 110978. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110978
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Jokela, M., Airaksinen, J., Virtanen, M., Batty, G. D., Kivimäki, M., & Hakulinen, C. (2020). Personality, disability-free life years, and life expectancy: Individual participant meta-analysis of 131,195 individuals from 10 cohort studies. Journal of Personality, 88(3), 596-605. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12513
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Julian, A. M., Novitsky, C., Lee, K., & Ashton, M. C. (2022). Convergent validity of three brief six-factor measures of personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 188, 111436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111436
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Kaiser, T., & Schneickert, C. (2016). Cultural Participation, Personality and Educational Inequalities. Sociological Research Online, 21(3), 41-56. https://doi.org/10.5153/sro.4063
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Kandler, C., Richter, J., & Zapko-Willmes, A. (2019). The nature and nurture of HEXACO personality trait differences: An extended twin family study. Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 227(3), 195-206. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000378
     [Google Scholar]
  40. König, C. J., & Marcus, B. (2013). Persolog Persönlichkeits-Profil. Psychologische Rundschau, 64, 189-191.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Lanning, K., E. A.Warfel, G.Wetherell, M.Perez, R.Boyd, and D. M.Condon. 2022. The Personality of American nations: An exploratory study. Personality Science, 3(1), 1-36. https://doi.org/10.5964/ps.7811
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Merton, R.K. (1968). Bureaucratic Structure and Personality. In: R.K.Merton, Social Theory and Social Structure (p. 249-260). New York: The Free Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Wrong, D.H. (1961). The Oversocialized Conception of Man in Modern Society. American Sociological Review, 26(2): 183-193.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. McCrae, R.R., Kurtz, J. E., Yamagata, S., & Terracciano, A. (2010). Internal consistency, retest reliability, and their implications for personality scale validity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 15(1), 28-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/10888683103662
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Molho, C., Roberts, S. G. B., De Vries, R. E., & Pollet, T. V. (2016). The six dimensions of personality (HEXACO) and their associations with network layer size and emotional closeness to network members. Personality and Individual Differences, 99, 144-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.04.096
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Murray, G., Judd, F., Jackson, H., Fraser, C., Komiti, A., Hodgins, G., … & Robins, G. (2005). The five factor model and accessibility/remoteness: Novel evidence for person-environment interaction. Personality and Individual Differences, 39(4), 715-725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.02.007
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Ozer, D. J., & Benet-Martínez, V. (2006). Personality and the prediction of consequential outcomes. Annual Review of Psychology, 57(1), 401-421. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190127
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Pletzer, J. L., Oostrom, J. K., Bentvelzen, M., & De Vries, R. E. (2020). Comparing domain-and facet-level relations of the HEXACO personality model with workplace deviance: A meta-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 152, 109539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.109539
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Pletzer, J. L., Oostrom, J. K., & De Vries, R. E. (2021). HEXACO personality and organizational citizenship behavior: A domain- and facet-level meta-analysis. Human Performance, 34(2), 126-147. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2021.1891072
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Pletzer, J. L., Thielmann, I., & Zettler, I. (2024). Who is healthier? A metaanalysis of the relations between the HEXACO personality domains and health outcomes. European Journal of Personality, 38(2), 342-364. https://doi.org/10.1177/08902070231174574
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Rentfrow, P. J., Jokela, M. & Lamb, M.E. (2015). Regional personality differences in Great Britain. PLoS One, 10(3), e0122245. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0122245
     [Google Scholar]
  52. Rui, J.R., & Stefanone, M.A. (2013). Strategic image management online: Self-presentation, self-esteem and social network perspectives. Information, Communication & Society, 16(8), 1286-1305. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2013.763834
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Roberts, B. W., Kuncel, N. R., Shiner, R., Caspi, A., & Goldberg, L. R. (2007). The power of personality: The comparative validity of personality traits, socioeconomic status, and cognitive ability for predicting important life outcomes. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2(4), 313-345. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6916.2007.00047.x
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Savage, M., Devine, F., Cunningham, N., Taylor, M., Li, Y., Hjellbrekke, J., Le Roux, B., Friedman, S. & Miles, A. (2013). A New Model of Social Class? Findings from the BBC’s Great British Class Survey Experiment. Sociology, 47(2), 219-250.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Savage, M., Cunningham, N., Devine, F., Friedman, S., Laurison, D., McKenzie, L., et al. (2015). Social Class in the 21th Century. London: Penguin Random House.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. Shanahan, M. J., Bauldry, S., Roberts, B. W., Macmillan, R., & Russo, R. (2014). Personality and the reproduction of social class. Social Forces, 93(1), 209-240. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sou050
     [Google Scholar]
  57. Strickhouser, J. E., Zell, E., & Krizan, Z. (2017). Does personality predict health and well-being? A metasynthesis. Health Psychology, 36(8), 797-810. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000475
     [Google Scholar]
  58. Tulin, M., Lancee, B., & Volker, B. (2018). Personality and social capital. Social Psychology Quarterly, 81(4), 295-318. https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272518804533
     [Google Scholar]
  59. Van Gelder, J. L., & De Vries, R. E. (2016). Traits and states at work: Lure, risk and personality as predictors of occupational crime. Psychology, Crime & Law, 22(7), 701-720. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2016.1174863
     [Google Scholar]
  60. Ventimiglia, J.C. & DiRenzo, G.J. (1982). Sociological Conceptions of Personality. Social Behavior and Personality, 10(1): 25-37.
     [Google Scholar]
  61. Vermeren, P. (2013). De ongewenste populariteit van typologieën. Gedrag & Organisatie, 26(4), 405-430. https://doi.org/10.5117/2013.026.004.405
     [Google Scholar]
  62. Vermeij, L., J.Iedema, J.Boelhouwer, I.Ooms en J.Kullberg (2021). Vier typen gemeenten; Een laagdrempelig instrument om de belangrijkste verschillen tussen gemeenten een plek te geven in SCP-onderzoek. Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.
     [Google Scholar]
  63. Vrooman, J.C. (2009). Rules of Relief; Institutions of Social Security, and their Impact. The Hague: The Netherlands Institute for Social Research|SCP.
     [Google Scholar]
  64. Vrooman, C., M.Gijsberts en J.Boelhouwer (Eds.) (2014). Verschil in Nederland; Sociaal en Cultureel Rapport2014. Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.
     [Google Scholar]
  65. Vrooman, C., Boelhouwer, J., Iedema, J. & Van der Torre, A. (2023). Eigentijdse ongelijkheid: De postindustriële klassenstructuur op basis van vier typen kapitaal – Verschil in Nederland 2023. Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.
     [Google Scholar]
  66. Vrooman, J.C., J. Boelhouwer, J. & Gijsberts, M. (2024). A contemporary class structure: Capital disparities in The Netherlands. PLoS ONE, 19(1): e0296443. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296443
     [Google Scholar]
  67. Vrooman, J.C., Boelhouwer, J., & Iedema, J. (2025). Capitals, social classes and intersectionality: Quantitative analyses of multidimensional disparities in the Netherlands. Mens & Maatschappij, 100(2): 143-178. https://doi.org/10.5117/MEM2025.2.003.VROO
     [Google Scholar]
  68. Whyte, S., Brooks, R. C., Chain, H. F., & Torgler, B. (2019). Do certain personality traits provide a mating market competitive advantage? Sex, offspring & the Big 5. Personality and Individual Differences, 139, 158-169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.11.019
     [Google Scholar]
  69. Wilson, J., Ward, C., & Fischer, R. (2013). Beyond culture learning theory: What can personality tell us about cultural competence?Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(6), 900-927. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022113492889
     [Google Scholar]
  70. Woodley of Menie, M. A., Sarraf, M. A., Peñaherrera-Aguirre, M., & Rindermann, H. (2024). Parent-offspring resemblance for educational attainment reduces with increased social class in a global sample: Evidence for the compensatory advantage hypothesis. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1289109. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1289109
     [Google Scholar]
  71. Wrong, D.H. (1961). The oversocialized conception of man in modern sociology. American Sociological Review, 26(2), 183-193.
     [Google Scholar]
  72. Xu, L., Götz, F.M., Ebert, T., Silm, S., Vainik, U., Johnson, W. & Mõttus, R. (2025). Does a small country have meaningful regional personality differences? The case of Estonia. Journal of Personality. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.13013
     [Google Scholar]
  73. Zettler, I., Thielmann, I., Hilbig, B.E., & Moshagen, M. (2020). The nomological net of the HEXACO model of personality: A large-scale meta-analytic investigation. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(3), 723-760. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619895036
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.5117/MEM2025.2.005.BARE
Loading
Personality and multidimensional inequality: How the HEXACO model relates to different forms of capital, social class, and residence
M&M 100, 201 (2025); https://doi.org/10.5117/MEM2025.2.005.BARE
/content/journals/10.5117/MEM2025.2.005.BARE
/content/journals/10.5117/MEM2025.2.005.BARE
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Keyword(s): Capital; HEXACO; Inequality; Personality; Regions; Social Class

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error