Examining the relationship between continuous self-improvement and personality: Extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness and conscientiousness

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Dale M Hilty

Mount Carmel College of Nursing, USA

: J Nurs Patient Care

Abstract

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Aim: Using an educational intervention, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between Competitive Greatness (CG)/Continuous Self-Improvement (CSI) and personality. Background & Method: In order to measure the CG/CSI construct, Wooden created a pyramid consisting of 25 constructs. Wooden's ten books were used to create 229 Likert-type questions. The name of this quantitative instrument is the Wooden Pyramid of Success Questionnaire (WPSQ). The process of developing the WPSQ content validity was assisted by Wooden’s English major at both the undergraduate and graduate degree levels. Measurement of the Big 5 Personality Factors was achieved by selecting Goldberg’s (1992) model (i.e., extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness and intellect/imagination). 60 students in an undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) undergraduate program were the participants in this study. Hypothesis-1: The CG/CSI scale was used to create two groups (high and moderate-low). Using SPSS 25 independent t-test, it was hypothesized the mean difference between the high versus moderate-low CG/CSI groups would statistically significant. Hypothesis-2: The regression analysis would result in a significant finding using Goldberg’s personality factors as the predictor variable and CG/CSI as the outcome variable. Results: Hypothesis-1: The findings from the independent t-test were statistically significant for four of the five Goldberg factors. While the mean difference for the conscientiousness factor was not significant (p=0.25), a significant difference was found for the extroversion (p=0.004), emotional stability (p=0.029), agreeableness (p=0.01), intellect/imagination (p=0.001). Hypothesis-2: The regression analysis confirmed the hypothesis-2 prediction and produced a correlation between CG/CSI and Goldberg's Big Five Personality Factors (extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness, intellect/ imagination) of 0.528 (r2= 0.279) which is significant (F (5, 56)=4.331, p=0.002). Higher levels of CG/CSI are associated with higher levels on four of the five Goldberg's Big 5 personality factors. Conclusion: The initial psychometric findings for the WPSQ instrumentation offer support for the measurement of CG/CSI construct. The CG/CSI construct differentiates BSN high and moderate-low groups on four of the five personality factors. The regression analysis supported these findings. Future educational interventions may explore the use of CG/CSI to enhance deeper learning experiences in the classroom.

Biography

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Dale M Hilty is an Associate Professor at the Mount Carmel College of Nursing, USA. He has completed his PhD in Counseling Psychology from the Department of Psychology at The Ohio State University. He has published studies in the areas of psychology, sociology and religion.

E-mail: dhilty@mccn.edu