Annika Frach

In this presentation, I share takeaways from personality research that behavioral addiction research can learn from. Traits are defined as relatively stable behavior across similar situations. Many behavioral addictions are estimated to be relatively stable across situations, and some research even suggests stability as a defining characteristic of behavioral addiction. Furthermore, one of the most popular frameworks in behavioral addiction research, the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model for addictive behaviors, describes different core characteristics as important to acquiring and maintaining behavioral addictions. Notably, those core characteristics reflect traits or trait-like characteristics. Despite traits appearing central to behavioral addictions, theories about traits, most importantly trait-activation theory, are underutilized in the field of behavioral addictions. After explaining the usefulness of personality in behavioral addiction research, I will present the dangers of using highly evaluative personality scales. The relation between more evaluative personality inventories and behavioral addictions is more inflated by social desirability than the relation between less evaluative personality inventories and behavioral addictions.