Gd. Steel et P. Suedfeld, PEOPLE IN HIGH-LATITUDES - THE BIG 5 PERSONALITY-CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CIRCUMPOLAR SOJOURNER, Environment and behavior, 29(3), 1997, pp. 324-347
The personality of the polar sojourner has been of interest to psychol
ogists for a number of years. Using the NEO Five Factor Inventory, thi
s study examined the general personality factors of the polar worker c
ompared to a normative population, and how these factors differ accord
ing to the worker's occupational classification and the polar region i
n which he or she is working. It was found that polar workers scored h
igher than a normative group on all factors except Neuroticism. Compar
isons across occupational groups showed that scientists were lower tha
n military personnel on Extraversion and lower than technical/support
staff on Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. The analysis by polar re
gion indicated that Antarctic workers were higher than Arctic personne
l on Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. A group of It
alian Antarctic personnel, completing a translated form of the NEO-FFI
, scored lower than the rest of the polar groups on all factors. These
findings are discussed in light of various features of the polar envi
ronment and Gunderson's 3-predictor model of polar adaptability.