The network of conscientiousness

- The sources of the structure conscientiousness were studied using network analysis.
- Three main facets emerged: industriousness, impulse-control, and orderliness.
- We identified a set of features shared by conscientiousness facets.
- These shared features seem responsible for facets to clump into the same dimension.
- A set of features that characterize uniquely different facets was also identified.

According to the network perspective, the coalescence of several personality characteristics into major personality dimensions results from a pattern of complex interactions that can be modeled as a network. We focused on one personality dimension, conscientiousness, and on its main facets. We administered a large battery of questionnaires to two samples (N = 210 and N = 230) and analyzed them by means of network analysis. The results showed that some elements of the network, such as general self-control and orientation toward the future, characterized all facets. These “shared” elements could be responsible for the facets to clump into one major dimension. Other elements of the network uniquely characterized different facets. These “unique” elements could underlie the main differences among conscientiousness facets.