CAN AGREEABLENESS TURN GRAY SKIES BLUE? A ROLE FOR AGREEABLENESS IN MODERATING NEUROTICISM-LINKED DYSPHORIA

Higher levels of agreeableness have been linked to lower levels of anger and aggression. A premise of the present work is that agreeableness may play a much broader role in regulating negative emotions, particularly among distress-prone individuals. In this connection, the present investigation (total N = 245) examined the novel hypothesis that agreeableness would moderate neuroticism-linked tendencies toward depressive symptoms. Studies I and 2 found support for this hypothesis by showing that relations between neuroticism and depressive symptoms were stronger among individuals low in agreeableness. Study 3 provided support for an emotion-regulation view of such interactions in an implicit affective priming paradigm. As hypothesized, tendencies toward negative affective priming were especially pronounced among individuals high in neuroticism and low in agreeableness. The discussion focuses on the respective roles of neuroticism and agreeableness in understanding and mitigating symptoms of potential clinical significance.