470 v. AFFECTI vE PROCESSES
physical health (Anderson, Monroy, & Kelt -
ner, 2018; Dickerson, Gruenewald, & Ke -
meny, 2004; Dickerson, Gable, Irwin, Azia, 
& Kemeney, 2009; Dickerson & Kemeny, 
2004; John-  Henderson et al., 2016). These 
findings point to shame, anxiety, and social- 
evaluative threat as clear mediators of the 
neuroticism–  poor health association.
Or consider another life-  defining outcome 
that the Big Five predicts: how an individu -
al fares in the role of caregiver of an ailing 
loved one. Highly agreeable individuals tend 
to report less strain and better mental health 
during this extremely taxing and increas -
ingly common experience (Löckenhoff, Du -
berstein, Friedman, & Costa, 2011). Emo -
tion likely plays a mediating role. Highly 
agreeable individuals tend to report high 
dispositional levels of compassion (Shiota 
et al., 2006). Compassion is associated with 
distinct appraisal tendencies—  finding com-
monalities with those who suffer and gratifi -
cation in attending to those in need—as well 
as action tendencies to improve the well- 
being of others (e.g., Goetz et al., 2010). 
These distinct aspects of the compassion 
response may help buffer against the stress 
of caregiving; a proximal mediator by which 
trait agreeableness confers resilience.
In these examples, we propose that traits 
shape important life outcomes through their 
emotional cores—fear and anxiety in the 
case of neuroticism, warmth and compas -
sion in the case of agreeableness. They do 
so by chronically shaping how the individual 
appraises the social context and by potenti -
ating certain action tendencies that contrib -
ute directly to outcomes of great interest to 
the field.In Figure 21.1 we offer a final illustration 
of this approach, as it applies to the well- 
documented tendency for highly extraverted 
individuals to acquire elevated status in the 
hierarchies they join, on the school play -
ground, at work, and in community groups 
(Anderson, John, Keltner, & Kring, 2001; 
Judge, Bono, Bies, & Gerhardt, 2002). 
Across the lifespan, this edge in acquiring 
status translates into important life out -
comes linked to elevated social rank, such 
as larger increases in income, better health, 
enhanced well-being, and more satisfying 
social relationships (e.g., Sutin et al., 2009).
A social functionalist account points 
to emotion-  related appraisal and action 
tendencies that might help mediate the 
extraversion–  status relationship. As noted 
earlier, extraversion is associated with 
heightened attunement to potential rewards 
in the environment, especially social rewards 
(e.g., Cohen et al., 2005; Lucas, Diener, 
Suh, & Shao, 2000; Smillie, 2013). Extra -
verts tend to be high in self-  esteem and self- 
confidence as well (Robins, Tracy, Trzesn -
iewski, Potter, & Gosling, 2001). Consistent 
with these appraisal biases, trait extraver -
sion is associated with higher dispositional 
experience of positive emotions in a social 
context (joy, love), with authentic pride, and 
with more affiliative and self-  enhancing 
humor styles (Shiota et al., 2006; Tracy & 
Robins, 2007; Vernon, Martin, Schermer, 
& Mackie, 2008). These emotions promote 
a suite of action tendencies—  smiling, laugh -
ter, social approach, mimicry, speaking 
faster and with greater energy during social 
interactions, confident and dominant non -
verbal behavior (Duffy & Chartrand, 2015; 
FIGURE 21.1.  Emotions mediate relationships between high-level traits and life outcomes.Extrav ersion Apprai sal 
Tenden cies 
attunement to 
social 
rewards; high 
self-esteem Emotional 
Experi ence 
joy, pride, 
affiliative and 
self-
enha ncing 
humo r Action 
Tenden cies 
smiling, laughter, 
social approac h, 
mimicry, 
nonverbal 
domina nce Life 
Outc omes  
elevated 
social status, 
incom e, 
health, social 
satisfaction 