People who are more conscientious (more planful, organized, orderly, and industrious) tend to experience less negative affect. A recent manuscript (Fayard, Roberts, Robins, & Watson) published in the Journal of Personality presents a series of studies intended to further explore this relationship. Meta-analytic results revealed that the negative association between conscientiousness and negative affect can be accounted for by conscientious individuals' lower likelihood of experiencing guilt. However, results also showed that conscientious individuals were more guilt-prone; these findings together suggest that conscientiousness individuals avoid behaviors that may result in guilt but that they are especially likely to experience guilt if they do violate their personal norms. A second study showed that the association between conscientiousness and the experience of guilt as well as guilt-proneness was not accounted for by extraversion or neuroticism. A third study revealed that one way in which conscientious individuals tend to avoid the experience of guilt is by performing up to their expectations on achievement tasks.

Fayard, Jennifer V., Roberts, Brent W., Robins, Richard W., & Watson, David. (2012). Uncovering the Affective Core of Conscientiousness: The Role of Self-Conscious Emotions. Journal of Personality, 80(1), 1-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2011.00720.x

The Personality Project

What is the relationship between conscientiousness and guilt?