Pathways From Personality to Happiness

Sense of Uniqueness as a Mediator

Bibliographic Data

ID9020249
AuthorsSelda Koydemir (0000-0002-2946-6934, Middle East Technical University, Mersin 10, Turkey, corresponding author), Ömer Faruk Şimşek (0000-0002-6113-7057, Istanbul Arel University, Istanbul, Turkey), Meliksah Demir (Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA), Melıkşah Demır (0000-0002-0034-3236, Northern Arizona University)
Year2013
Volume54
Issue3
Pages314-335
Publication date2013-08-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Humanistic Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-1678 • E-ISSN: 1552-650X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0022167813501226
OpenAlexW2111326329
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited53

Personal sense of uniqueness, a major construct in humanistic psychology, has been recently shown to be a robust correlate of happiness. Yet the antecedents of this experience are not known. To address this limitation, we focused on extraversion and openness to experience, the two traits referred to as plasticity in higher-order framework of personality, as predictors of uniqueness and happiness. In light of theory and past empirical research, we proposed that the two traits representing plasticity would promote a sense of uniqueness, which in turn influence happiness. This model was tested in a college sample ( N = 370) by relying on structural equation modeling. Results showed that uniqueness mediated the associations of extraversion and openness to experience with happiness. This model was supported when the effects of neuroticism, a marker of vulnerability to psychopathology, on uniqueness was taken into account. The implications of the findings for future research were addressed and sense of uniqueness as an element of a good life was highlighted

Big Five personality traits · Extraversion and introversion · Happiness · Neuroticism · Openness to experience · Personality · Positive psychology · Structural equation modeling · Uniqueness · Mathematics · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being · Personality Traits and Psychology · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social Psychology