Conscientiousness Study

underlying conscientiousness. In order to determine specifically, which aspect is interrelated with self-conscious emotions (Fayard et al., 2012). This is a purposeful manipulation due to the extensive underlying facets that contribute to emotions and the effect on personality traits. The findings yield a significant correlation amongst all three guilt experience measurements as well as scales for guilt proneness. Results indicated successful replication and extension of Study 1, however did not reveal any particular facets of conscientiousness that were more related to the experience of guilt. In fact, “The vast majority of the conscientiousness factors showed significant negative correlations with all three guilt experience measures,” (Fayard
Specifically, two potential mechanisms were tested: guilt as a mediator for the influence of conscientiousness on exam performance, and whether conscientiousness moderated the relation between guilt and grade achievement (Fayard et al., 2012). The procedure of this experiment entailed participants to take an exam, then be assessed using a guilt subscale (PANAS-X), a conscientiousness measurement (CCS), and an exam-specific measure for an initial assessment of guilt and conscientiousness. About four weeks after taking the initial exam, students were to complete a second exam (Fayard et al., 2012). This was used measure any differences by association of guilt, between the first and second exam scores. The findings of this study were, yet again, consistent with Studies 1 and 2, therefore indicating that guilt was negatively associated with conscientiousness. In addition, guilt was positively related to exam-specific guilt, however exam-specific guilt did not mediate the effect of conscientiousness on exam two scores. Examining conscientiousness, guilt, exam-specific guilt, and exam performance, confirmed how conscientiousness and guilt experiences produce achievement behaviors, but not directly (Fayard, et al.,
This was verified by Study 1, which found that conscientiousness was related to basic and self-conscious emotions. In addition, this meta-analysis unveiled guilt experience as a mediator for conscientiousness and negative affect, when basic emotions (i.e. anger) were not identified as such. Sequentially, Study 2 was built off of the findings of Study 1 and concluded: (1) conscientiousness was associated with less frequent experiences of guilt; (2) conscientious individuals had a higher tendency to experience guilt in emotional situations; (3) guilt experience mediated conscientiousness and negative affect; and, (4) extraversion and guilt were not highly associated with conscientiousness. Lastly, Study 3 utilized a real-life situation to build off of the results from Study 1 and Study 2. The conclusion of Study 3 indicated that guilt and conscientiousness work together to influence achievement outcomes (specifically academic) (Fayard et al., 2012). Therefore, moral emotions (i.e. guilt) is associated with conscientious personality traits, but may not be directly related to outcome