Understanding the personality traits of COVID-19 rule-breakers

Latham, Louise (2024). Understanding the personality traits of COVID-19 rule-breakers. University of Birmingham. Foren.Psy.D.

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Abstract

The overarching aim of the present thesis was to explore the personality traits associated with COVID-19 rule-breaking, both to summarise and extend existing research. Since the beginning of the pandemic, numerous academic studies have been published in an attempt to understand the characteristics of individuals who contravened the COVID-19 laws/rules/guidance. Consideration of this research area is crucial in understanding why a person might have broken COVID-19 rules, and in gaining insight regarding whether personality traits play a significant role in whether or not someone broke these rules.

Chapter 1 details the background of the research area, providing the context for the remaining chapters. The chapter includes discussion regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 rule-breaking, the theory and consequences of such behaviour, personality traits and their relationship to low-level crime and COVID-19 rule-breaking.

Chapter 2 presents a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) which examines the relationship between personality traits and COVID-19 rule-breaking in Western countries. The findings of this review identified that agreeableness is the most consistent trait relating to COVID-19 rule-compliance, with mixed findings for other traits. Conclusions derived from this chapter note that personality traits do appear to relate to COVID-19 rule-breaking, however the relationship is tenuous given the number of contrasting findings, and it highlights the over-reliance on using the Big Five model of personality, which provides the rationale for the use of different measures of personality in the study presented in Chapter 3.

Chapter 3 outlines an empirical project which explores the relationship between the International Classification of Diseases-Version 10 (ICD-10) and HEXACO personality traits and COVID-19 rule-breaking behaviour in the UK (Ashton & Lee, 2007; World Health Organisation (WHO), 1993). Results suggested that higher honest-humility, conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness to experience personality traits significantly predicted COVID-19 rule-compliance, while higher extraverted, paranoid and histrionic personality traits predicted COVID-19 rule-breaking. Overall personality traits were able to predict 19% of the variation associated with COVID-19 rule-breaking. The chapter conclusion highlights the need for further research to explore what works to reduce rule-breaking within a pandemic, and given the significant role personality traits played, the need to understand how knowledge of personality traits can be incorporated into policy-making and public health messages.

Chapter 4 provides a critical evaluation of the Short Dark Triad (SD3), which has been commonly used to examine the Dark Triad personality traits associated with COVID-19 rule-breaking (Jones & Paulhus, 2013). Findings regarding the reliability and validity of this measure were not promising and provided one of several rationales for the exclusion of studies, which employed the SD3 tool, in the SLR (Chapter 3). The chapter concludes that further research ought to move forward from the SD3, and research efforts converging towards a new measure would be beneficial.

The thesis concludes with Chapter 5 which discusses the main findings, comments on the strengths and limitations of the thesis, considers the results in relation to forensic practice and provides recommendations for future research.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Foren.Psy.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Foren.Psy.D.

Supervisor(s):