A naturalistic diary study was conducted to investigate the degree to which agreeableness and neuroticism moderate emotional reactions to conflict and nonconflict problems. Healthy community-residing males made diary recordings at the end of each of 8 successive days concerning problem occurrence and daily mood. Consistent with predictions based on person-environment fit, participants who scored higher in agreeableness experienced more subjective distress when they encountered more interpersonal conflicts than did their less agreeable counterparts. Neuroticism was related to a small but consistent reactivity to both conflict and nonconflict problems, contrary to person-environment fit. Reasons for the differences in the affective dynamics of agreeableness and neuroticism are discussed.
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