The Role of Personality Traits, Alexithymia, and Cognitive Avoidance in Predicting Positive and Negative Emotions

This study aims to study the role of personality traits, Alexithymia, and cognitive avoidance on positive and negative emotions.

The method of this research was descriptive and correlational. The statistical population includes all Bachelor students of Zanjan University aged 18-25 in the academic year 2018-2019. 220 people were selected as a statistical sample by the available sampling method. Using the Big Five Factors Questionnaire (McCreery and Costa, 1985), Toronto Emotional Dysfunction Scale (Bagby, Parker Taylor, 1994), Cognitive Avoidance Scale (Sexton and Dagas Ria, 2004), and positive and negative emotion scales (Watson, Clark and Telgen, 1989) were collected. Findings were analyzed using Pearson correlation and stepwise regression.

The results showed that neuroticism, difficulty in identifying feelings, difficulty in describing feelings, suppression of thought, substitution of thought, distraction, avoidance, and transformation of thought into thought have a positive and meaningful relationship. Extroversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness have a negative and significant relationship with negative emotion. In addition, extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and avoidance have a positive and meaningful relationship. Also, there is neuroticism, difficulty in identifying the feeling, and difficulty in describing the feeling of negative and meaningful relationship with positive emotion.

The results showed that personality traits, alexithymia, and cognitive avoidance are effective in positive and negative emotions. Based on the findings, it can be said that different personalities and people with alexithymia and cognitive avoidance experience different emotions to an unequal degree.