FLOW AND THE FIVE-FACTOR MODEL (FFM) OF PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS A DISSERTATION IN Counseling Psychology Presented to the Faculty of the University of Missouri – Kansas City in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by PATRICIA LEE HAGER M.A., University of Missouri – Kansas City, 2011 B.S., University of Central Missouri, 2008 Kansas City, Missouri 2015 © 2015 PATRICIA LEE HAGER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED FLOW AND THE FIVE-FACTOR MODEL (FFM) OF PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS Patricia Lee Hager, Candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy University of Missouri – Kansas City, 2015 ABSTRACT Flow is an area that has had a flourish of research emerge within the past couple of decades originating in the sport psychology literature (Jackson & Eklund, 2006; Hefferon & Ollis, 2006; Kee & Wang, 2008) and in a multitude of other areas of study since such as academics, creativity, motivation, and gaming (Cermakova, Moneta, & Spada, 2010; Fritz & Avsec, 2007; Fullagar & Mills, 2008; Jin, 2011; Lee, 2005). Presently, the study of flow has arisen in the area of personality and the individual characteristics that contribute to one’s personality (Ullén, et al., 2012). The purpose of the current study was to provide the beginning investigation into flow and personality characteristics (as represented by the Five- Factor Model of Personality) to offer insight into dispositional flow and the autotelic personality. Additionally, the purpose of this study was to improve on the limitations that were presented in Ullén and colleagues’ (2012) and Ross and Keiser’s (2014) studies. The sample consisted of 409 English-speaking adults who completed the study measures online. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated relationships between dispositional flow and four of the five personality factor. Specifically, results revealed iii positive relationships between dispositional flow and the following personality factors: extraversion, openness to experience, and conscientiousness. These relationships suggest that individuals higher in these personality traits may have a greater disposition to experience flow. Results revealed an inverse relationship between dispositional flow and neuroticism suggesting that neurotic tendencies may possibly hinder an individual’s disposition to experience flow. Furthermore, the present study improved upon the limitations of the current studies by providing a larger, more heterogeneous sample that aligned more closely with the normative sample of the measurements and utilized valid and reliable measurements for dispositional flow and personality. The present findings highlight the complex and multi-dimensional relationships that exist between dispositional flow and personality characteristics; as well as providing a foundation for future research to continue to explore these relationships. Limitations, future areas of research, and implications are discussed. iv APPROVAL PAGE The faculty listed below, appointed by the Dean of the School of Education, have examined a dissertation titled “Flow and the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of Personality Characteristic,” presented by Patricia Lee Hager, candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, and certify that in their opinion it is worthy of acceptance. Supervisory Committee Jacob Marszalek, Ph. D., Committee Chair Division of Counseling and Educational Psychology Carolyn Barber, Ph.D. Division of Counseling and Educational Psychology LaVerne Berkel, Ph.D. Division of Counseling and Educational Psychology Nancy Murdock, Ph.D. Division of Counseling and Educational Psychology Johanna Nilsson, Ph.D. Division of Counseling and Educational Psychology v CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ................................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. xi ACKNOLWEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... xii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................... 9 Flow .............................................................................................................................. 11 Nine Dimensions of Flow .................................................................................... 12 Flow in Different Contexts .................................................................................. 14 Academics................................................................................................... 14 Procrastination and Motivation................................................................... 16 Creativity .................................................................................................... 20 Sports .......................................................................................................... 24 Online and Video Gaming .......................................................................... 28 Measurements of Flow ........................................................................................ 32 Flow State Scale – 2 (FSS – 2) ................................................................... 34 Dispositional State Scale – 2 (DFS – 2) ..................................................... 36 Personality Characteristics in Psychological Research and Flow ................................ 38 The Five-Factor Model of Personality .......................................................................... 47 Neuroticism.......................................................................................................... 49 Extraversion ......................................................................................................... 51 vi Openness to Experience ....................................................................................... 53 Agreeableness ...................................................................................................... 55 Conscientiousness ................................................................................................ 56 Purpose of the Present Study ........................................................................................ 58 Research Hypotheses and Questions ............................................................................ 59 III. METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 62 Participants ................................................................................................................... 62 Procedure ...................................................................................................................... 65 Measures ....................................................................................................................... 67 Demographics ...................................................................................................... 67 Dispositional Flow Scale – 2 (DFS - 2) ............................................................... 67 NEO Personality Inventory – Revised (NEO-PI-R) ............................................ 68 IV. ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................... 71 Data Preparation ........................................................................................................... 71 Reliability ................................................................................................................... 109 Dimensionality ............................................................................................................ 110 Initial Exploratory Factor Analysis Results: Creation of Parcels .............................. 111 Dispositional Flow Scale – 2 (DFS - 2) ............................................................. 112 NEO Personality Inventory – Revised (NEO-PI-R) .......................................... 116 Confirmatory Factor Analysis Results........................................................................ 126 Overall Model .................................................................................................... 126 Individual Models: Flow & FFM Domains ...................................................... 126 Additional Exploratory Factor Analysis Results ........................................................ 129 vii Neuroticism........................................................................................................ 130 Extraversion ....................................................................................................... 135 Openness to Experience ..................................................................................... 139 Agreeableness .................................................................................................... 143 Conscientiousness .............................................................................................. 147 Relationships between DFS-2 Subscales & NEO-PI-R Facets .................................. 150 Conclusions................................................................................................................