Psychology

A Study on the Relationship Between
Tattoos and Negative Personality

This experiment hypothesizes that individuals with tattoos are more likely to be prone to negative behaviors.  In addition to, it is also assumed that the number, size, and visibility of the tattoos indicate graver tendencies of negative attitudes.  84 counter-balanced participants were solicited to answer a 44-item Big Five Factor Questionnaire, a personality survey used to quantify personalities and traits of the respondent.  Questions pertaining to gender and age, as well as the size and visibility of the tattoo were also asked for comparative purposes.  The SPSS syntax is used to evaluate the value of the personalities resulted in the questionnaire.  In conclusion, it was found out that tattoos are valuable indicator of negative behavior and that those with more number and more visible tattoos are more likely to have more serious negative attitudes.

Introduction
A significant body of research in sociology as well as in psychology has been delving into the study of tattooing and its corresponding meaning in the individual level and its implications to society.  In its historical context, the art of tattooing is an act of creating and perhaps, marking an identity to a particular person or to a tribe, in a broader sense.  On the other hand, the medical translation of tattooing would be a permanent insertion of inks or other pigments below the skin using a sharp instrument (MedicineNet.com., 2000).  In history, the Egyptians are the ones who have widely used tattoos for decorative purposes.  The art of tattooing has passed from generation to generation, through different ethnic groups.  Until today, tattooing remains to be a popular representation of culture and identity.  However, perhaps its widespread use, tattooing is oftentimes associated with concepts such as circus and criminality.  Although the practice of tattooing is widely accepted nowadays, especially in the Western cultures, many scholars that tattooing has some significant effects in the behavior of the person.

This research would like to provide justification of the notion that tattoos inflict changes in the behavior of a person carrying it.  The focus of this experiment would range from individuals with and without tattoos, both male and female.  Thus, at the end of this study, the researcher will attempt to answer the research question  Are people with tattoos more prone to negative behavior than those without tattoo  Specifically, this research will also tackle significant differences found on subjects with tattoos and without tattoos concerning their behavior.  The researcher will also examine if the number, size, and visibility of tattoos suggests difference in the behavioral pattern of persons with tattoos in comparison to those who does not have.

The significance of this research would be more on providing a justification on the common notion of people that tattoos are indicators of negative attitude.  In the event that the result of this study has proven such judgment as false, then, somehow, this study can contribute to the efforts to diminish pre-judgment calls of the society to people with tattoos.  On the other hand, if the research question will be validated by means on consulting scholarly studies and from the results of the experiment conducted, the researcher will make recommendations on areas in which future researchers for similar study can explore into.  To support the research question, a number of related literatures will be summarized.

A study conducted by Cardasis, Bocks, and Silk (2008) found out that individuals with tattoos have higher incidence of anti-social behavior (ASPD).  This is after they have experimented on 36 males gathered from a population of a psychiatric institution.  Basically, the aim of their study is to justify whether the presence of tattoos can actually be associated with ASPD.  Also, the researchers aimed to determine whether tattoos can be a valuable identifier for people who are prone to ASPD.  The participants to the semi-structured interview which the researchers used as their methodology were categorized according to their education, age, job experience, marital status, ethnicity, drug abuse, and criminal charges.  In addition to their data, it was also noted if a particular participant has been admitted to the hospital prior to diagnosis of ASPD.  To add to the results of the study, it was found out that those participants diagnosed with ASPD have more tattoos and was more likely to have substance abuse problem.  There were also notes that some of the participants were victims of sexual abuse and have tendencies to suicide attempts.

In comparison to my study, this article is certainly of broader spectrum, analyzing different background details of a participant.  It also incorporated medical findings to back up their results.  Since it is assumed that this research is of in-depth construction of arguments and thesis, based on the methods and analysis made by the authors, this would be strong baseline for my research.  The article provided a generalization that primarily, there is a significant relationship between possession of tattoos and ASPD.

It is also being hypothesized that body modifications, for example tattooing and body piercing, can indicate self-esteem and change in personality traits.  Delazar (2004), in her dissertation, conducted an experiment among 96 undergraduate psychology students at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  Participants who vary from ages 18 to 22 were given questionnaires with Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBCS, McKinley  Hyde, 1996) as its design.  To interpret the results, Delazar (2004) used Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES, Rosenberg, 1965), Neo-Five Factor Inventory, for the personality traits measurement, and Body Modification Questionnaire.  The objective to find differences among individuals who have undergone body modification and those who have not (yet) undergone failed.  However, the researcher found some significant results to those who planned on getting body modification.

Delazars experiment provided my study a rich background of methodologies and design for the questionnaire.  Although the aim of her dissertation is not directly aligned with this experiment, it showed that tattooing (which may be considered as a form of body modification) inflicts changes in the personality of an individual.  For this research, a comparative analysis may be done to determine whether tattooing impose changes in the personality (negative behavior) of the person.

In relationship with my objective to identify whether the size, number, and visibility of tattoos among undergraduate students in the university, a similar study authored by Ferguson-Rayport, Griffith, and Strauss (1955) experimented on patients from Veteran Administration Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky to investigate on their mental state when they had acquired their tattoos.  Results of the questionnaire showed that patients with schizophrenia chose to acquire their tattoos because of their belief in the possession of magical power and probability of detachment to the world.  The other participants, who were diagnosed to have personality disorders, recorded that they acquired tattoos for the reason of deviation from the society.  This experiment is equally important along with the other studies cited because the researchers emphasized that the psychological condition and attitude of a person affects his decision in acquiring tattoos.  Their study also considered the angle that tattoos may have solicited a significant meaning and such interpretations vary from one individual to another.  Perhaps, this is also contributory to my research question of whether having tattoos are either results of negative impression or personality towards the society or can produce negative thoughts towards other things.

On the other hand, the research conducted by Koch et al (2005) presents a different perspective in the issue of tattooing.  Their research focused on what factors specifically influenced their decision to be tattooed.  Questionnaires were also used to administer the experiment while Likert Scale was used to quantify the data.  The researchers concluded that among the influential factors for the 520 participants solicited were friends and family members who also have tattoos in their body.  Another significant finding was that the participants, whether they opted to have tattoos or not, primarily consider health consequences for the decision.  The findings of the study are not directly in correlation to give justification on my thesis statement, it gave evidence that decisions to have tattoos are not purely based on intrapersonal preferences, rather, and it is also brought about by external influences and motivations.

An experiment carried out by MacKerracher et al (1969) investigated on the violent behaviors exhibited by male subjects of a special security hospital.  The participants were also characterized to having mental disorders.  The researchers wanted to find out whether such violent behaviors can be related to the presence of tattoos.  The experiment also had a control group of participants with no tattoos.  To expedite the analysis, the subjects emotional stability was also observed for six months prior to the objective to identify the factors influencing violent behaviors.  From the results, the researchers came to a conclusion that psychopaths are twice more likely to have a tattoo.  However, it was found out that the average men who have tattoos were recorded to have higher intelligence, younger, and were more unstable.  These findings actually gave support to my hypothesis that individuals who have personality disorders or negative attitudes are more likely to have tattoos than those who are psychologically and emotionally stable.

Another correlation study by Nathanson et al (2005) investigated on the relationship between personality and criminality.  On a personal note, this literature is the closest to my research question among the rest of the studies cited because of its emphasis on whether body modification (or tattoo) is an indication towards deviance.  Questionnaires were also used in administering the experiment.  The objective of the study is to determine whether tattoos are indicative of social misbehavior.  Upon completion of the study the results showed that of the Big Five only openness to experience predicted body modification.  Of the dark triad only subclinical psychopathic predicted body modification and low self-esteem was also an indicator.  However, when experimenters controlled for personality the predictive value of body modifications on misconduct was eliminated.  These results show that body modifications do not indication criminality.  This experiment was useful because it showed me different aspects that related to the decision to get a tattoo.  I also found interesting that getting a tattoo or other body modification is considered both a way of fitting in with a peer group and differentiating oneself from mainstream society.

Based on the literature discussed above, it appears that majority of the findings are geared towards the identification of whether tattoos are indicative of deviance, or if social misbehavior would later on result into the decision of having a tattoo.  Such may be view in broader scope.  None or perhaps few of the collected literature have tackled on more specific areas such as the meaning of the tattoos in the individual level of a person, or the complexity on the design of the tattoo which may further suggests gravity of deviance.  This particular research is unique and hopefully contributory in the field of this discussion primarily because it delves into a more micro level understanding of the association of tattoo and personality of people.  This experiment will also discuss differences in the personality of individuals with and without tattoos.  Research design would be uniquely carried out because questionnaires are structured to elicit personal responses from the participants. The items are more focused on personality criteria as compared to the strategies incorporated by reviewed literature wherein it gives emphasis on some medical findings in association with behavior deviance and tattooing.  It is presupposed that at the end of this research, results can give tangible justification on whether people with tattoos are more prone to have negative behaviors as well as providing readers and future researchers significant background on personality differences among those who have tattoos in comparison to those who do not have.

Methodology
This research is primarily an experimental study with two variables present.  84 participants are randomly selected from a population of undergraduate students in the university.  Each of them is given questionnaires specifically designed by the researcher.  The structure is based on the Big Five Factor Questionnaire.  The Big Five Factor Questionnaire is widely known in the field of psychology in measuring personalities.  Primarily, this questionnaire is series of items asking the respondent to describe himself based on five factors replicated by Norman (1963), Borgatta (1964), and Digman and Takemoto-Chock (1981).  These factors are as follows
Extraversion or surgency (talkative, assertive, energetic)
Agreeableness (good-natured, cooperative, trustful)
Conscientiousness (orderly, responsible, dependable)
Emotional stability versus neuroticism (calm, not neurotic, not easily upset)
Culture (intellectual, polished, independent-minded)

The term Big Five was given by Goldberg (1981) to emphasize not on the greatness of the term but on the broader sense that it suggests (John  Srivastava, 1999).  This basically means that although personalities are too many to mention, the Big Five summarizes it all, not in a sense of sacrificing the uniqueness of each.  Rather, the Big Five is towards the embodiment of a broad understanding of personalities for more accessible comprehension for researchers.

The questionnaire is divided into two parts.  For this particular study, the participants are given questionnaire consisting of 44-item which elicits response for the Big Five Factor.  The researcher altered the structure of the questionnaire to fit the need of the hypothesis.  According to John and Srivastava (1999), in their study titled The Big-Five Trait Taxonomy History, Measurement, and Theoretical Perspectives, the original questionnaire developed by Goldberg (1990, 1992) was composed of 50-item questions.  However, such design is not frequently used in research methods but applicable for instructional purposes (p.8).   The second part aims to elicit objective response from the participant such as his age, gender, and the number or visibility of tattoo(s).  These are the independent variables of the study.

On the other hand, to satisfy comparative analysis, the researcher also made use of two-variable system  one that is controlled and the other which is not.  Among the 84 participants, both male and female are equally distributed in number.  The lowest value of age is 18 (4 participants), and the highest is 33 with one participant (although there is a gap here 27 is the last age value before 33).  Participants who are in their early adulthood stage, 18 to 23 years old, are the ones who have participated most in the questionnaire survey, with mean value of 12.  Of the 84 participants, 29 said that they have a tattoo while 54 of them answered they do not have any.  There is a one percent discrepancy here which yields to 99 percent accuracy and reliability of the questionnaire survey.  The discrepancy is a result of error in answering the question (either the participant chose not to answer the question or illogical answer).  Those who have responded on having tattoo(s) were given follow up question on the number of their tattoos.  Also, to lead the results in identifying significant differences on the size and visibility of the tattoos, the participants were asked if their tattoo is bigger than the palm of their hand and whether their tattoos would remain visible even when they are clothed.  Of these, 10 of those who have tattoos said that theirs are still visible while 12 said that theirs is bigger than the palm of their hands.  Also, a maximum of six tattoos were found to be in one of the participants body.  Majority of the participants with tattoos have either one or two tattoos.
In terms of the Big Five Questionnaire items, participants were asked to rate themselves using the five-point scale (corresponding to disagree, disagree a little, neutral, agree a little, and agree strongly) on what they think are their personalities.  The Big Five Factors are represented using personalities embodying its essence.  For example, being extravert is rephrased by being talkative, assertive to others, full of energy, and the like.  While negative personalities which may be reflected in personalities suggested by the Emotional Stability Factor are rephrased to being blue, depressed, tends to worry a lot, and other personality of similar nature.  The participants are asked to rate themselves from 1 through 5 in correspondence whether they agree or not to the personalities presented therein.

The controlled variable, which are those with no tattoos, were chosen based on initial physical examination.  Consents are given through a signature waiver of participation and confidentiality that the data given will be used primarily for the assessment of the research.  Names are not indicated and definitely not required since such field is not of high importance in the outcome of the research.  What matters most to the researcher are data involving age, gender, and size and visibility of the tattoo as this is valuable in the comparative analysis to be made between the controlled and the uncontrolled group.  The independent variables here are the numbers and visibility of the tattoos.
The researcher particularly chose the Big Five Factor Questionnaire as this somehow suggests casual form of answering the questions.  Participants were also given complete freedom in answering the items.  This means that upon handing the questionnaire, the participant is given the leeway to answer each item without any intervention whatsoever.  Each of the questionnaires was given one by one to ensure that there is no bias and to provide focus for the participant.  There is only one testing session since the questionnaire generates objective data especially on the second part.  The first part which is the Big Five Factor items are scaled using numbers, therefore, the judgment of the respondent will be easier and more convenient.

Although there is a shortened version of the Big Five Factor Items condensed in 11-questions only, John, Donahue, and Kentle (1991) strongly suggest that researchers will follow the default 44-item questionnaire unless given special circumstances.  The 44-item questionnaire will only take about five minutes to complete.  John et al (1991) also suggest that the average age of the sample size shall be between 20 to 60 years old.  They also recognize the tendencies of errors in the outcome of data in the questionnaire as this is regarded as mechanical mistakes of the respondent.

Results and Discussion
Items suggesting personalities in the Big Five Factor questionnaire are given values ranging from 1 as the lowest and 5 as the highest.  These numbers indicate certain level of agreeability from the participant (See Appendix A).  To calculate for the BFI, each of negatively-keyed items should be reverse scored.  In that case, 1 will be valued as 5, 2 is equivalent to 4, 3 is to 3, 4 is to 2, and 5 is to 1.  Using the SPSS calculator, we now search for the value of these figures to be able to interpret the results of the experiment.

The results show the means and standard deviations of the correlations between tattoos and personality.  For the total number of negative personality, the value with reached significance, r  .23, p  .05. These null findings suggested that there is a strong correlation between development of negative behavior and the presence of tattoos.  Also, those who have marked themselves with negative attitudes in the questionnaire turned out to have more tattoos as compared to those who evaluated themselves with positive attitudes.

To examine the relationship between personality and tattoo, the researcher conducted a stepwise analysis with extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and autonomy as the predictor variables and negative attitude as the criterion variable. The results showed that tattoos are valuable predictor of negative emotions and attitudes of the participants,   .36, p  .001. This predictor resulted to 13 percent of the difference in feelings of deviance, which was highly significant, F (5, 75)  11.81, p  .001.

In a second analysis, the researcher conducted a depersonalization on the five personality factors. Three personality factors were recorded for 17 percent of the discrepancy in depersonalization, which was significant, F(5, 75)  5.21, p  .01. Neuroticism,   .32, p  .01 extraversion,   .23, p  .01 and autonomy,   .22, p  .05.  Thus, individuals with tattoos are more likely to have negative behavior as compared to those who do not have.  Although the results do not necessarily equate that tattoos are producer of deviance behavior, it does shows us that it is an indicator of negative behavior.
Another significant finding is the correlation of the number of tattoos as well as its visibility in identifying more aggravates negative attitudes.  It was found out that the results that both extraversion,   .41, p .001, and neuroticism,   .26, p  .05, are evident among individuals who have more number of tattoos as compared to those who have less.  These two personality factors are recorded for 19 percent, a highly significant effect, F (5, 75)  8.63, p  .001. Thus, the number of aspect is a valuable indicator of the gravity or the seriousness of the negative attitudes of individuals with tattoos.

Overall, this findings were able to justify the two hypotheses presented earlier in the part of this paper that (1) individuals with tattoos possess greater extent of negative attitudes in comparison to those who does not have any.  And (2), the number and visibility of the tattoo indicates the severity or the extent as to which the negative behavior or deviance is possessed by the person.
It is recommended in the future researchers that perhaps, a broader scope of the scope of this topic can be carried out to achieve greater value of reliability.  Also, it would be meaningful if the relationship between the number and visibility of tattoos will be associated with influential factors or connotative meanings based from the individual himself.

Appendix
Questionnaire
Thank you for agreeing to take this survey. Please answer all questions.
Here are a number of characteristics that may or may not apply to you.  For example, do you agree that you are someone who likes to spend time with others  Please write a number next to each statement to indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with that statement.
Disagree           Disagree a little           Neither agree nor            Agree a little           Agree strongly
                                                                   disagree
       1                             2                                 3                                     4                               5
                                                                 
I see Myself as Someone Who...

___1. Is talkative                                     ___ 23. Tends to be lazy
___2. Tends to find fault with others                           ___24. Is emotionally stable, not easily upset
___3. Does a thorough job                                         ___25. Is inventive
___4. Is depressed, blue                                               ___26. Has an assertive personality
___5. Is original, comes up with new ideas                   ___27. Can be cold and aloof
___6. Is reserved                                                         ___28. Perseveres until the task is finished
__7.Is helpful and unselfish with others                       ___29. Can be moody
___8. Can be somewhat careless                                   ___30. Values artistic, aesthetic experiences
___9. Is relaxed, handles stress well                                 ___31. Is sometimes shy, inhibited
___10. Is curious about many different things             ___32. Is considerate and kind to almost everyone
___11. Is full of energy                                                   ___33. Does things efficiently
___12. Starts quarrels with others                                     ___34. Remains calm in tense situations
___13. Is a reliable worker                                           ___35. Prefers work that is routine
___14. Can be tense                                                      ___36. Is outgoing, sociable
___15. Is ingenious, a deep thinker                               ___37. Is sometimes rude to others
___16. Generates a lot of enthusiasm                           ___38. Makes plans and follows through with them
___17. Has a forgiving nature                                     ___39. Gets nervous easily
Disagree           Disagree a little           Neither agree nor            Agree a little           Agree strongly
                                                                   disagree
       1                             2                                 3                                     4                               5

___18. Tends to be disorganized                     ___40. Likes to reflect, play with ideas
___19. Worries a lot                                                         ___41. Has few artistic interests
___20. Has an active imagination