Relation of the Big Five to Biodata and aspects of the self

Two studies examined McCrae and Costa’s system model of personality. Their model suggests the Big Five should have relatively strong associations with life history (measured in Study 1 by Biodata) and with Self-Concept (measured in Study 2 by various Self questionnaires). Study 1—210 participants (143 females) completed Bipolar Big Five Markers and a Biodata inventory. Factor Analyses confirmed the Big Five and revealed seven viable Biodata factors. Multiple regression revealed that most Biodata factors were predicted well by 2 or more Big Five traits. Study 2—199 participants (125 females) completed Bipolar Big Five Markers and an omnibus Self inventory consisting of six previously developed scales. Factor Analyses confirmed the Big Five and revealed eight viable Self factors. Multiple regression revealed that the Self factors were also predicted fairly well by two or more Big Five traits.Both studies found relatively strong associations between the Big Five and the Biodata and Self factors, which lends support to McCrae and Costa’s system model of personality. A consistent pattern of both a primary and secondary trait as joint predictors of Biodata and Self factors suggests that these areas are systematically influenced by multiple traits rather than only single traits.     

The mini-IPIP scales: tiny-yet-effective measures of the Big Five factors of personality

The Mini-IPIP, a 20-item short form of the 50-item International Personality Item Pool-Five-Factor Model measure (Goldberg, 1999), was developed and validated across five studies. The Mini-IPIP scales, with four items per Big Five trait, had consistent and acceptable internal consistencies across five studies (= at or well above .60), similar coverage of facets as other broad Big Five measures (Study 2), and test-retest correlations that were quite similar to the parent measure across intervals of a few weeks (Study 4) and several months (Study 5). Moreover, the Mini-IPIP scales showed a comparable pattern of convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity (Studies 2-5) with other Big Five measures. Collectively, these results indicate that the Mini-IPIP is a psychometrically acceptable and practically useful short measure of the Big Five factors of personality.     

The Big Five and adolescent adjustment: An empirical test across six cultures

The current cross-cultural study tested the measurement of the Big Five personality dimensions and the relationships between them and four measures of adjustment and well-being, namely measures of depression, anxiety, well-being, and self-esteem. Anonymous data were collected on 5835 middle and late adolescents from six different cultural contexts, namely China, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Taiwan, and Turkey. Based on an ESEM approach, which fit the data better than a CFA, configural invariance was found for a 28-item short form of the BFI, suggesting that the Big Five model fit adequately across cultures. Findings from path analyses provided evidence that the Big Five factors explained from an average of 21% of the variance in anxiety to 26% in low well-being, net any effects by background variables. Consistent with some previous work, the study provides new evidence on the links between the Big Five and four measures of adolescent adjustment and well-being across six distinct cultural contexts. It also illustrates some of the inherent challenges of modeling the structure and psychometric properties of the Big Five in a cross-national comparative framework.     

The ubiquity of common method variance: The case of the Big Five

The factor structures of the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) and NEO-FFI Big Five questionnaires were examined via confirmatory factor analyses. Analyses of IPIP data for five samples and NEO data for one sample showed that a CFA model with three method bias factors, one influencing all items, one influencing negatively worded items, and one influencing positively worded items fit the data significantly better than models without method factors or models with only one method factor . With the method factors estimated, our results indicated that the Big Five dimensions may be more nearly orthogonal than previously demonstrated. Implications of the presence of method variance in Big Five scales are discussed.     

Between facets and domains: 10 aspects of the Big Five

Factor analyses of 75 facet scales from 2 major Big Five inventories, in the Eugene-Springfield community sample (N=481), produced a 2-factor solution for the 15 facets in each domain. These findings indicate the existence of 2 distinct (but correlated) aspects within each of the Big Five, representing an intermediate level of personality structure between facets and domains. The authors characterized these factors in detail at the item level by correlating factor scores with the International Personality Item Pool (L. R. Goldberg, 1999). These correlations allowed the construction of a 100-item measure of the 10 factors (the Big Five Aspect Scales [BFAS]), which was validated in a 2nd sample (N=480). Finally, the authors examined the correlations of the 10 factors with scores derived from 10 genetic factors that a previous study identified underlying the shared variance among the Revised NEO Personality Inventory facets (K. L. Jang et al., 2002). The correspondence was strong enough to suggest that the 10 aspects of the Big Five may have distinct biological substrates.     

Recurrent Personality Dimensions in Inclusive Lexical Studies: Indications for a Big Six Structure

ABSTRACT Previous evidence for both the Big Five and the alternative six-factor model has been drawn from lexical studies with relatively narrow selections of attributes. This study examined factors from previous lexical studies using a wider selection of attributes in 7 languages (Chinese, English, Filipino, Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, and Turkish) and found 6 recurrent factors, each with common conceptual content across most of the studies. The previous narrow-selection-based six-factor model outperformed the Big Five in capturing the content of the 6 recurrent wideband factors. Adjective markers of the 6 recurrent wideband factors showed substantial incremental prediction of important criterion variables over and above the Big Five. Correspondence between wideband 6 and narrowband 6 factors indicate they are variants of a "Big Six" model that is more general across variable-selection procedures and may be more general across languages and populations.     

Higher-order factors of the Big Five in a multi-informant sample

In a large community sample (N=490), the Big Five were not orthogonal when modeled as latent variables representing the shared variance of reports from 4 different informants. Additionally, the standard higher-order factor structure was present in latent space: Neuroticism (reversed), Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness formed one factor, labeled Stability, and Extraversion and Openness/Intellect formed a second factor, labeled Plasticity. Comparison of two instruments, the Big Five Inventory and the Mini-Markers, supported the hypotheses that single-adjective rating instruments are likely to yield lower interrater agreement than phrase rating instruments and that lower interrater agreement is associated with weaker correlations among the Big Five and a less coherent higher-order factor structure. In conclusion, an interpretation of the higher-order factors is discussed, including possible neurobiological substrates.     

A Meta-Analysis of the Reliability of Free and For-Pay Big Five Scales

The present study meta-analytically compared coefficient alpha reliabilities reported for free and for-pay Big Five scales. We collected 288 studies from five previous meta-analyses of Big Five traits and harvested 1,317 alphas from these studies. We found that free and for-pay scales measuring Big Five traits possessed comparable reliabilities. However, after we controlled for the numbers of items in the scales with the Spearman-Brown formula, we found that free scales possessed significantly higher alpha coefficients than for-pay scales for each of the Big Five traits. Thus, the study offers initial evidence that Big Five scales that are free more efficiently measure these traits for research purposes than do for-pay scales.     

An analysis of a cross-cultural personality inventory: the IPIP Big-Five factor markers in Croatia

In this article, we describe the factor structure in both self-reports and peer ratings of the items in a cross-cultural Big-Five inventory in Croatia. Using 2 versions of an inventory developed from the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP; Goldberg, 1999), this is one of the first cross-national analyses of these IPIP measures. A large sample of university students (N = 519) used the translated Croatian version of the 100-item IPIP Big Five inventory to describe themselves, and they were also described by 515 of their acquaintances on the same instrument. In separate analyses of both self-reports and peer ratings, the 100-item and 50-item versions of these IPIP measures showed clear Five-factor orthogonal structures that were nearly identical to the American structure. These factors were strongly related on a one-to-one basis with those derived from a Croatian translation of Goldberg's (1992) bipolar rating scales.     

Measuring personality in one minute or less: A 10-item short version of the Big Five Inventory in English and German

To provide a measure of the Big Five for contexts in which participant time is severely limited, we abbreviated the Big Five Inventory (BFI-44) to a 10-item version, the BFI-10. To permit its use in cross-cultural research, the BFI-10 was developed simultaneously in several samples in both English and German. Results focus on the psychometric characteristics of the 2-item scales on the BFI-10, including their part-whole correlations with the BFI-44 scales, retest reliability, structural validity, convergent validity with the NEO-PI-R and its facets, and external validity using peer ratings. Overall, results indicate that the BFI-10 scales retain significant levels of reliability and validity. Thus, reducing the items of the BFI-44 to less than a fourth yielded effect sizes that were lower than those for the full BFI-44 but still sufficient for research settings with truly limited time constraints.     

Development and Initial Validation of the Multicultural Personality Inventory (MPI)

Two studies summarize the development and initial validation of the Multicultural Personality Inventory (MPI). In Study 1, the 115-item prototype MPI was administered to 415 university students where exploratory factor analysis resulted in a 70-item, 7-factor model. In Study 2, the 70-item MPI and theoretically related companion instruments were administered to a multisite sample of 576 university students. Confirmatory factory analysis found the 7-factor structure to be a relatively good fit to the data (Comparative Fit Index =.954; root mean square error of approximation =.057), and MPI factors predicted variance in criterion variables above and beyond the variance accounted for by broad personality traits (i.e., Big Five). Study limitations and directions for further validation research are specified.     

Convergence of Vocational Interests and Personality: Examples in an Adolescent Gifted Sample

This investigation explored the convergence between vocational interests as measured by the Strong Interest Inventory (Hansen & Campbell, 1985) and two competing personality models: the Big Five as measured by the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R) (Costa & McCrae, 1992) and the Big Three as measured by the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) (Tellegen, 1982; Tellegen & Waller, in press). The participants were 323 gifted adolescents. The authors predicted that specific NEO-PI-R facet scales and specific MPQ primary scales would add meaningful variance to the prediction of hypothesized Basic Interest Scales (BISs) on the Strong after the variation due to the respective Big Five or Big Three factors was removed. The predictions were largely supported. Moreover, this study provided additional evidence regarding convergence of Holland's Big Six and the Big Five model of personality. This study could serve to prompt a new generation of studies relating vocational interests and personality.     

Orthogonal inter-battery factor analysis

It is the purpose of this paper to present a method of analysis for obtaining (i) inter-battery factors and (ii) battery specific factors for two sets of tests when the complete correlation matrix including communalities is given. In particular, the procedure amounts to constructing an orthogonal transformation such that its application to an orthogonal factor solution of the combined sets of tests results in a factor matrix of a certain desired form. The factors isolated are orthogonal but may be subjected to any suitable final rotation, provided the above classification of factors into (i) and (ii) is preserved. The general coordinate-free solution of the problem is obtained with the help of methods pertaining to the theory of linear spaces. The actual numerical analysis determined by the coordinate-free solution turns out to be a generalization of the formalism of canonical correlation analysis for two sets of variables. A numerical example is provided.This investigation has been supported by the U.S. Office of Naval Research under Contract Nonr-2752(00).     

Bridging the idiographic-nomothetic divide: a follow-up study

In a replication and extension of Grice (2004), participants in the current study rated themselves and other known individuals on scales constructed from their own personal constructs and on marker items for the Big Five model personality traits. Confirmatory components analyses revealed excellent fit for the Big Five Model when applied to aggregate trait ratings but highly variable fit when applied to participants' individual ratings. Comparisons of the personal construct and trait ratings indicated an approximate average overlap of only 51%, and additional analyses revealed several factors that contributed to the uniqueness of the personal constructs. These findings were discussed in the context of the idiographic-nomothetic distinction drawn in personality psychology.     

A sixth personality domain that is independent of the Big Five domains: The psychometric properties of the HEXACO Personality Inventory in a Japanese sample

We investigated the reliability of the HEXACO‐Personality Inventory (HEXACO‐PI) using the NEO Five‐Factor Inventory (NEO‐FFI) and the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) Big Five scales in a Japanese sample of 492 respondents (mean age = 20.4 years). The psychometric properties of the HEXACO‐PI were examined and found to be satisfactory. The results of the factor analysis showed that the six hypothesized personality domains were found independently. A total of 307 participants responded to the NEO‐FFI and the IPIP Big Five scales. The results showed that the five domains of the HEXACO model corresponded to the Five‐Factor domains and were relative to the Big Five personality domains as a whole, but the sixth domain, Honesty‐Humility, showed weak to moderate correlations with some factors of the NEO‐FFI and the IPIP Big Five scales. These results suggest that the Honesty‐Humility domain is independent of the five fundamental personality factors and that the HEXACO‐PI is a useful and reliable questionnaire for investigating personality structure in cross‐cultural and other context.     

Personality at Work: Raising Awareness and Correcting Misconceptions

Personality variables have always predicted important behaviors and outcomes in industrial, work, and organizational psychology. In this commentary, we first review empirically supported structural models of personality that show the following: (a) Personality traits are hierarchically organized, (b) the Big Five are not orthogonal, (c) abnormal personality measures assess the same continuum of traits as normal adult personality measures, and (d) there are compound personality traits that are especially useful in the prediction of organizational behaviors. Second, we provide a brief overview of meta-analyses of compound personality variables. The highest operational validities of single scales (.40s) are associated with personality measures assessing broad, compound personality characteristics, such as integrity, violence potential, customer service orientation, and managerial potential, that incorporate aspects from multiple dimensions of the Big Five. Third, we also review meta-analytic evidence that has linked personality attributes to other important organizational attitudes and behaviors, such as job satisfaction, motivation, and leadership, with multiple correlations for the Big Five in the .40 to .50 range. Fourth, we discuss the important role that meta-analysis has had in establishing the predictive and explanatory value of personality variables. We conclude with some caveats and directions for future research.