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. 2018 Jul:136:111-118.
doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.05.017. Epub 2018 May 25.

Extraversion, neuroticism, and the electrocortical response to monetary rewards in adolescent girls

Brittany C Speed  1 , Brady D Nelson  2 , Amanda R Levinson  2 , Greg Perlman  3 , Daniel N Klein  2 , Roman Kotov  3 , Greg Hajcak  4
Affiliations

Extraversion, neuroticism, and the electrocortical response to monetary rewards in adolescent girls

Brittany C Speed et al. Biol Psychol. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

Affective personality traits, such as extraversion and neuroticism, are associated with individual differences in reward system functioning. The reward positivity (ΔRewP) is an event-related potential (ERP) component that indexes sensitivity to reward, and can be elicited by feedback indicating monetary gains relative to losses. In a sample of 508 adolescent girls, the current study examined the relationship between extraversion, neuroticism, and their respective facets and the ΔRewP. Results indicated an Extraversion × Neuroticism interaction, such that greater extraversion was associated with an increased ΔRewP, but only in the context of low neuroticism. This association was primarily due to the extraversion facet positive emotionality-high levels of positive emotionality were associated with an increased ΔRewP, but only in the context of low neuroticism. In addition, increased neuroticism diminished the age-related increase in the ΔRewP. The current study suggests that both extraversion and neuroticism are associated with reward system function in adolescence.

Keywords: Adolescence; Extraversion; Neuroticism; Positive emotionality; Reward positivity.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
ERP waveforms and 3D rendered scalp distribution of the mean activity of the ΔRewP (i.e., gain-loss), scored as the average activity between 250–350 ms. ERP = event-related potential; ms = milliseconds; RewP = reward positivity.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Trend lines depicting the association between age the ERP response to monetary gains and losses.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Interaction between extraversion and neuroticism (top) and the facet positive emotionality and neuroticism (bottom) in relation to the ΔRewP at FCz. Significant simple slopes are marked on the graph * p < .05, ** p < .01. RewP = reward positivity; SD = standard deviation.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Interaction between age and neuroticism in relation to the ΔRewP at FCz. Significant simple slopes are marked on the graph * p < .05 and ** p < .01. RewP = reward positivity; SD = standard deviation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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