Association Between Personality Traits with Brain Waves of The Malaysian Military Special Forces Qualification Course Trainees: A Preliminary Study

Syakirien Yusoff, Yin Hanmo, Muhd Aizad Norsani, Narimah Abdul Hamid Hasani, Rozainee Khairudin, Nasrudin Subhi

Abstract


Decades of personality study has focused on the relationship between personality traits and individual differences. Recent interest has advanced in finding the connection between personality and brain waves, but the relationship between NEO-PI-R and its neuro mechanism has not been verified. Here we present a preliminary study to determine the reliability of the Malay version of NEO-PI-R (n=171) and to optimize the EEG data collection procedure (n=3) of the Malaysian Special Forces Qualification Course trainees, batch series AK1/2023. The reliability of NEO-PI-R inventory determined by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and optimization of EEG testing will ensure whether these methods are suitable to be used for the mainstream batch series AK2/2023. The pre-training Cronbach’s alpha coefficient values for neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were 0.823, 0.796, 0.504, 0.628, and 0.847 respectively. The reliability of the Malay version of NEO-PI-R is indicated as good and acceptable for all traits except for openness. The optimized EEG readings performed on 3 participants successfully produced reasonable data. These preliminary findings are crucial to produce reliable and verified data for the mainstream batch AK2/2023, in creating a psychological profile for each soldier from entry to the end of service in the military. 


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