The influence of problem-solving appraisal and extraversion on problem-solving performance: Behavior, difficulty, and success

This study addressed the differential influences of personality and self-appraised problem solving ability in the interpersonal problem-solving process. The goal was to examine the comparative strength of self-appraised problem-solving effectiveness and extraversion in predicting ratings of problem-solving approach behaviors, perceived problem-solving difficulty, and perceived problem-solving success at one stage in the problem-solving process: performance. In study 1, participants reported their problem-solving behaviors across 15 interpersonal problem scenarios and these narratives were then rated. In study 2, participants\u27 actual problem-solving behaviors were rated. Each of these ratings measured the degree of approach versus avoidance. The hypotheses for study 1 were: (1) Self-appraised problem-solving effectiveness and extraversion are significant predictors of problem-solving difficulty, problem-solving success and verbal ratings of problem-solving approach behaviors, and (2) Extraversion will account for more variance in each of the three criterion variables than problem-solving appraisal. The hypotheses for study 2 were: (1) Self-appraised problem-solving effectiveness and extraversion will significantly predict observational ratings of problem-solving approach behaviors, and (2) Extraversion will account for more variance in problem-solving approach behaviors than problem-solving appraisal. Forward-entry and simultaneous regression analyses revealed that in both study 1 and study 2 self-appraised problem-solving effectiveness was a better predictor of more perceived problem-solving success and less perceived difficulty, and extraversion was significantly predictive of more approaching problem-solving behaviors