Intrasexual competitiveness and personality traits: A study in Uruguay

Intrasexual competitiveness refers to a competitive attitude towards same-sex others. The present study examined the relation between intrasexual competitiveness as measured with the scale developed by Buunk and Fisher (2009) and the Big Five personality traits. A sample of 140 adults (age M = 36.62, SD = 11.04) from the community of Montevideo, Uruguay completed the scale for intrasexual competitiveness and the NEO-FFI. The intrasexual competitiveness scale was found to be reliable and sex neutral, and had a coefficient of congruence of 0.97, suggesting that the Dutch and Spanish versions can be considered as equal. In line with the findings of Buunk and Fisher, regression analyses showed that among women, intrasexual competitiveness was predicted by a lack of agreeableness and a high level of neuroticism, and among men by high levels of neuroticism and extraversion. The possible evolutionary background of these sex differences is discussed.