Duel or Diversion? Conscientiousness and Executive Function in the Prediction of Health and Longevity

Excerpt

In their letter to the editor, Hall and Fong [1] present post hoc analyses to support their contention that executive function is a more potent predictor of two health-related behaviors than the personality trait domain of conscientiousness. These analyses, along with an outdated critique of personality traits, lead them to conclude that conscientiousness requires a “careful re-construction…from a social neuroscience perspective”. We see no reason to do so, for three reasons: (1) executive functioning currently lacks appropriate levels of construct validity, (2) findings from our own research fail to support the authors’ contention, and (3) the social cognitive models of traits implied by the authors are common and have been examined for more than a decade. …