Neediness and neuroticism

[machiavelli]

Hypothesis: Neediness is just the same thing as "neuroticism" that the psychologists talk about in the five-factor model of personality. The opposite, roughly, of stability.

Ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroticism

real ref. if you're at a university or something with a subscription: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.11...x/abstract

From the latter:

"There is probably the least controversy about the definition of N[euroticism]. N
represents individual differences in the tendency to experience distress, and in the cognitive and behavioral styles that follow from this tendency. High N scorers experience chronic negative affects (Watson & Clark, 1984) and are prone to the development of a variety of psychiatric disorders (Zonderman, Stone, & Costa, 1989). The recurrent nervous tension, depression, frustration, guilt, and self-consciousness that such individuals feel is often associated with irrational thinking, low self-esteem, poor control of impulses and cravings, somatic complaints, and ineffective coping (McCrae & Costa, 1987). Individuals low in N are not necessarily high in positive mental health, however that may be defined—they are simply calm, relaxed, even-tempered, unflappable."


Discuss.

[Mark]

They're related. Highly neurotic people are more likely to be needy. But they're not the same thing.

Just like self-esteem and non-neediness are highly correlated, but not the same thing.