Big Five personality traits and performance anxiety in relation to marching arts satisfaction

Abstract

Objective: To examine the Big Five personality traits and performance anxiety in relation to marching arts satisfaction.

Participants: Data were collected from 278 instrumentalists (i.e., brass players and percussionists) and color guard performers (e.g., dancers) representing six world class drum and bugle corps.

Method: Participants completed three measures: the Adolescent Personal Style Inventory was used to measure the Big Five personality factors: Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and Openness; the Performance Anxiety Questionnaire – used to assess somatic and cognitive symptoms of performance anxiety; and the Marching Arts Satisfaction – used to assess for the physical, social, and contextual environments of drum and bugle corps.

Results: Correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed concurrent relationships between the Big Five and performance anxiety with satisfaction. A linear combination of the Big Five traits and Performance Anxiety accounted for 36% of the total variance in satisfaction, with Extraversion, Emotional Stability, and Performance Anxiety contributing significant unique variance.

Conclusions: The findings of the present study suggest that performers who are extraverted, conscientious, and effective at managing general stress – and performance stress in particular – find a greater sense of satisfaction with their participation in world class drum and bugle corps.