Psychologie a její kontexty, Vol.10, No.2

DOI: 10.15452/PsyX.2019.10.0011

Autonomic Nervous System Activity in the Context of the ‘Big Five’ Personality Model

Aktivita autonómneho nervového systému v kontexte osobnostného modelu Big Five

Silvia Blahunkova, Petra Solarikova, Igor Brezina, Daniela Turonova, Jakub Rajcani

Variabilita srdcovej frekvencie (HRV) je v súčasnosti považovaná za významný indikátor funkcie autonómneho nervového systému (ANS). Kým vysoké hodnoty HRV sú spojené s dobrou adaptabilitou ANS, znížené HRV môže byť negatívnym prognostickým faktorom niektorých kardiovaskulárnych ochorení. Cieľom príspevku bolo preskúmať vzťah HRV a osobnostného modelu Big Five. Úroveň osobnostných premenných sme zisťovali pomocou dotazníka NEO-FFI a HRV bolo získané z 5-minútových okien pokojových EKG záznamov. Výsledky odhalili pozitívny vzťah medzi extroverziou a HRV a svedomitosťou a HRV a negatívny vzťah medzi neuroticizmom a HRV. Tieto zistenia poukazujú na to, že vysoké skóre svedomitosti a extroverzie je spojené s vyšším HRV a potenciálne nižším rizikom vzniku kardiovaskulárnych chorôb a naopak vysoké skóre neuroticizmu súvisí s nižším HRV a môže byť považované za potenciálnu kardiovaskulárnu záťaž.

Klíčová slova:
osobnosť, big five, variabilita srdcovej frekvencie.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is currently considered to be a relevant indicator of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) function. While high HRV is associated with good ANS adaptability, reduced HRV has been established as a significant cardiovascular risk factor. HRV is affected by several factors, such as age, gender, body mass index (BMI), circadian changes, body position, respiratory and also psychosocial factors, e.g. mental stress or personality. The purpose of the present paper is to identify and explore the relationship between HRV and the Big Five personality model. Previous studies have suggested associations between HRV and some of the Big Five traits, but the results are less comprehensive; they exclude some of the personality dimensions or HRV measures. The main aim of this study is to bring some clarity into the area using the full version of the Big Five personality model and employing time (HR, SDNN, RMSSD), frequency (HF, LF), and also nonlinear measures (SD1, SD2) of HRV. A total of seventy-eight healthy subjects (63 women, 15 men) reported to be free of cardiovascular or neurological load and were not using any medication that would interfere with cardiovascular or autonomic activity. All subjects signed an informed consent form prior to participating in the study. They all completed the NEO-FFI questionnaire and were connected to portable two-electrode ECG devices. The subjects were monitored in the sitting position under resting conditions, in a group. HRV was obtained from a short-term, 5-minute time window of rest ECG records. The HRV analysis was performed using publicly available software – Kubios HRV. The results showed that extraversion was correlated positively with many of the HRV variables (SDNN, RMSSD, LF, HF, SD1 and SD2) which refer to high HRV. By contrast, high neuroticism exhibited reduced HRV, increased mean HR and decreased RMSSD and HF, which indicates a lower cardiac vagal component of HRV. Significant correlations were also found between conscientiousness and HRV (negatively with mean HR and positively with RMSSD, HF and SD1), which indicates increased parasympathetic activity and higher HRV. The relation between autonomic markers and conscientiousness is still largely unexplored and there are no studies linking autonomic regulation to conscientiousness. Therefore, the present findings reveal valuable and novel insights into the relationship between conscientiousness and HRV. There were no significant correlations between openness to experience and HRV, and between agreeableness and HRV. In conclusion, this study clearly indicates that specific personality traits, such as neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness are associated with autonomic regulation expressed though HRV. Moreover, the findings suggest that high conscientiousness and extraversion are associated with high HRV and potentially lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and by contrast, high neuroticism correlated with reduced HRV and could be potentially considered as a cardiovascular risk. The results are also useful in psychological practice because relations between HRV and personality might provide physiological indices that are potentially suited to personality assessment.

Keywords:
personality; big five; heart rate variability.