The five-factor narcissism inventory: a five-factor measure of narcissistic personality traits

This study provides convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity data for a new measure of narcissistic personality traits created from the perspective of the Five-factor model (FFM) of general personality structure. Fifteen scales were constructed as maladaptive variants of respective facets of the FFM (e.g., Reactive Anger as a narcissistic variant of angry hostility), with item selection made on the basis of a criterion-keying approach using results from 167 undergraduates. On the basis of data from 166 additional undergraduates, the convergent validity of these 15 scales was tested with respect to 8 established measures of narcissism (including measures of both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism) and the respective facets of the FFM. Discriminant validity was tested with respect to facets from other FFM domains. Incremental validity was tested with respect to the ability of the FFM narcissism trait scales to account for variance in 2 alternative measures of narcissism, after variance accounted for by respective NEO PI-R facet scales and other established measures of narcissism were first removed. The findings support the validity of these new scales as measures of narcissistic personality traits and as maladaptive variants of the FFM.     

An investigation of the relationship between psychopathic traits and malingering on the psychopathic personality inventory

This study employed a repeated-measures simulation design to examine (a) the specific effects of malingering on a recently developed measure of psychopathy, the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI), and (b) the broader association between psychopathic traits and dissimulation. One hundred and forty-three participants completed the PPI twice (both under standard instructions and with instructions to feign psychosis), and also completed post-test questionnaires assessing their attitudes toward engaging in malingering across several hypothetical settings. When attempting to feign psychosis, participants produced elevated scores on a validity scale designed to identify deviant responding, and use of a cross-validated cutoff score with this scale produced high sensitivity and specificity rates across the honest and malingering conditions. Furthermore, PPI scores (in the honest condition) were significantly correlated with a willingness to engage in dissimulation across various hypothetical forensic/correctional scenarios. Results are discussed in terms of the "fakability" of the PPI, as well as the relationship between psychopathic personality features and malingering more generally.     

Continuity and change in psychopathic traits as measured via normal-range personality: a longitudinal-biometric study

The discriminant validity of the interpersonal-affective and social deviance traits of psychopathy has been well documented. However, few studies have explored whether these traits follow distinct or comparable developmental paths. The present study used the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (A. Tellegen, in press) to examine the development of the psychopathic traits of Fearless Dominance (i.e., interpersonal-affective) and Impulsive Antisociality (i.e., social deviance) from late adolescence to early adulthood in a longitudinal-epidemiological sample of male and female twins. Results from mean- and individual-level analyses revealed stability in Fearless Dominance from late adolescence to early adulthood, whereas Impulsive Antisociality declined over this developmental period. In addition, biometric findings indicated greater genetic contributions to stability in these traits and greater nonshared environmental contributions to their change over time. Collectively, these findings suggest distinct developmental trends for psychopathic traits from late adolescence to early adulthood.     

Similarity between partners in real and perceived personality traits as measured by the Myers-Briggs type indicator

From 90 couples, 90 male and 90 female subjects, two sets of scores on the four personality dimensions measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) were obtained by letting each person answer each item twice, first in the ordinary way and then as he or she believed the partner would answer the item. Correlations between partners' self-reported scores were all close to zero, whereas the correlations between the partner-reported scores and the self-reported scores were high for both males and females and for all the four dimensions measured by the MBTI, thus indicating that partners were not similar in personality traits, but they had a realistic perception of each other. The results support the hypothesis that mating is random in terms of personality traits.     

Individual differences in cognitive strategy and personality traits as measured by the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire

The relationship between personality and preference for use of the right or left hemisphere of the brain in cognitive processing was investigated. Lateral eye movements were recorded as 50 female and 20 male right-handed subjects considered questions requiring reflection. The questions were not obviously "verbal" or "spatial" in nature but did require differing levels of reflection. Questions requiring higher levels of reflection produced a higher rate of lateral eye movement responses. Percent right eye movement for individual subjects was then correlated with scores on the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, using both first-order factors and the second-order factor Cortertia, which has some face validity as describing the personality generally ascribed to those who produce mostly right lateral eye movements. No correlation was found between the preferred directions of eye movements and 16 PF factors, which suggests that the lateral eye movements reflect thinking and problem-solving strategies but are not associated with personality styles.     

Sex differences in communication skills as measured by a modified relationship inventory

Previous studies have provided some indication that females are more empathic than males and that individuals show greater empathy when relating to persons of the same sex. Because the research has been equivocal, the present study attempted to replicate these findings for not only empathy but also three other communication skills measured by the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory: congruence, regard, and unconditionality of regard. The subjects for this study were 20 male and 41 female students in an undergraduate experiential course in interpersonal relations. All students were placed in training groups, and the co-trainers for these groups completed ratings on a modified Relationship Inventory for each of their students. Reliability data on this inventory were satisfactory. Female students were given slightly higher ratings on all skills at both the beginning and end of the group experience, but none of the differences were significant. Male co-trainers rated the skills of male students higher than did female co-trainers, but a comparable same-sex effect for female students was not demonstrated. Thus, the experimental hypotheses were partially supported.     

Validation of the psychopathic personality inventory on a female inmate sample

This investigation evaluated the construct validity of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996), a self-report measure designed to assess psychopathy. One hundred and two incarcerated females were administered the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT), an oral alcohol and drug screening measure, a demographic interview, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), and the PPI. There were significant correlations among the PPI, MMPI-2 scales, and the PCL-R. In addition, the correlations between the PPI and the separate PCL-R factors were not significantly different from each other, indicating that the PPI is assessing both facets of the psychopathy construct to some extent. A high correlation between the PPI and the DSM-IV criteria, which assesses adult antisocial behaviors, revealed adequate concurrent validity. Nonsignificant or negligible correlations between the PPI and the MMPI-2 scales provided some support for discriminant validity. The results are discussed with respect to the clinical and forensic utility of the PPI, the limitations of the study, and the need for further research.     

Towards a refined structure of personality traits

In this article we pursue two goals. The first is a further articulation of the dimensionality of the Dutch trait domain. The second is a detailed mapping of the factorial trait structure, one which includes intelligible and proper niches for various nuances of the trait language and for different interpretations of the main factors of personality language. In realizing these goals, we discuss the reliance on theory in structuring and modelling the domain in question, the type of model to be used, and the comprehensiveness versus the economy of domain representation. The advantages and disadvantages of the simple structure model and the circumplex model are commented upon, and a new framework that integrates these two models is presented. The present results provide confirmation of the existence of five major dimensions that cover the trait domain: (I) Extraversion or Surgency, (II) Agreeableness, (III) Conscientiousness, (IV) Emotional Stability, and (V) Intellect or Openness to Experience. The newly developed representational model, revealing a refined structure of personality characteristics, not only clarifies some of the problems faced in interpreting the Big Five factors, but also forms a starting point for applications.     

Assessing young adolescents' personality with the five-factor personality inventory

The Five-Factor Personality Inventory (FFPI) assesses a person's position on the (Dutch) psycholexically based Big Five factors: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Autonomy. FFPI factor scores are reliable and valid if ratings are made by adults. The present study yields preliminary evidence of whether young adolescents provide reliable and valid self-ratings on this instrument or whether this depends on their cognitive ability level. The sample consisted of a large and representative cohort of youngsters with a mean age of 13 years. The adult structure of the FFPI was generally well replicated, across all ability levels represented in the study. The findings further suggest that young adolescents' factor scores are construct-valid and sufficiently reliable to be used in (group) research settings. However, for reports on individual profiles and decision making, an adolescent's cognitive ability level would need to be rather high. Even then, measuring Autonomy seems challenging.     

Measurement invariance of personality traits from a five-factor model perspective: multi-group confirmatory factor analyses of the HP5 inventory

Associations between personality and health may be influenced by contextual factors varying across studied cohorts. Moreover, measurement bias related to contextual factors could also influence these associations. Gender and age have been discussed as important contextual factors when studying personality and health outcomes. An examination of measurement invariance across gender and age may therefore be warranted. In the present study, measurement invariance across age and gender was examined for a five-factor model of personality traits in which scales have been included to operationalise lower-order traits related to health-behaviour or health outcomes. Using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis on a population based cohort (n= 5700), all important parameters of the measurement model were found to be invariant. On the basis of this invariant model, hypotheses of mean differences across age and gender in personality traits were tested. These results were discussed in relation to meta-analyses on personality change and gender differences in personality.     

The content of personality inventory items

Four aspects of the item content of personality inventories were studied: the area of psychological functioning addressed (cognitive, preferences, feelings, behavioral), degree of reference to situational factors, degree of reference to response frequency, and the nature of reference to time. Three judges rated items of the California Psychological Inventory, Eysenck Personality Inventory, Maudsley Personality Inventory, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Jackson Personality Research Form, and Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire. Behavioral acts were found infrequently addressed in inventory items, and the other areas of functioning were approximately equally represented. More than half of the items referred to situation characteristics, 39% included the notion of frequency of behavior or experience, and most referred to the present. Rating reliabilities were also presented, and results for individual inventories were compared. Implications for controversies in the field of personality were discussed.     

Qualitative variations in personality inventories: subjective understandings of items in a personality inventory

Most studies using personality inventories do not take individual, subjective understandings of the items into account. The present study is one of the few to have investigated the quality of individuals’ psychological processes when making the Likert-like responses often used in psychological inventories. Respondents were asked to elaborate verbally on their Likert item responses to the 10-item short version of the Big Five Inventory. A common assumption about personality inventories is that there is a relatively homogenous understanding of the items and, in particular, the rating scales across respondents. However, our results suggest that the same item responses to a given item can reflect a variety of qualities across individuals’ understandings. At the same time, similar understandings and ways of relating to an item can lead to different item responses. Such findings have substantial implications for quantitative personality studies as well as quantitative survey or questionnaire studies, in general.     

DSM-5 personality traits and DSM-IV personality disorders

Two issues pertinent to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) proposal for personality pathology, the recovery of DSM-IV personality disorders (PDs) by proposed DSM-5 traits and the validity of the proposed DSM-5 hybrid model, which incorporates both personality pathology symptoms and maladaptive traits, were evaluated in a large undergraduate sample (N = 808). Proposed DSM-5 traits as assessed with the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 explained a substantial proportion of variance in DSM-IV PDs as assessed with the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4+, and trait indicators of the 6 proposed DSM-5 PDs were mostly specific to those disorders with some exceptions. Regression analyses support the DSM-5 hybrid model in that pathological traits, and an indicator of general personality pathology severity provided incremental information about PDs. Findings are discussed in the context of broader issues around the proposed DSM-5 model of personality disorders.