A general factor of personality: Evidence for the Big One in the five-factor model

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using different personality measures in three samples confirmed the existence of general factor of personality (The Big One) within the five-factor model. The Big One is characterized by high versus low Emotional Stability, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Openness, and by high versus low higher-order factors of personality, Stability, and Plasticity. A comprehensive theoretical model of personality structure was therefore proposed with the Big One at the highest level of the hierarchy. The Big One was interpreted as a basic personality disposition that integrates the most general non-cognitive dimensions of personality. It is associated with social desirability, emotionality, motivation, well-being, satisfaction with life, and self-esteem. It also may have deep biological roots, evolutionary, genetic, and neurophysiological.     

The Big Five personality traits as antecedents of eco-friendly tourist behavior

This article reports the findings of a study, conducted among 227 foreign tourists who visited Cyprus, that aimed to identify the relationships between the Big Five personality dimensions and tourists’ environmentalism. Structural equation modeling revealed that Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Neuroticism are positively associated with pro-environmental tourist behavior. In contrast, no significant relationship was observed between Openness and ecological action.     

The Big Five personality traits,Big Two metatraits and social media: A meta-analysis

This article reported a meta-analysis of the relationships between social network site use and the Big Five (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) as well as the Big Two (plasticity and stability) personality meta-traits. A random effect meta-analysis model was used to calculate the meta-results of Big Five. Extraversion and openness were the strongest predictor of SNS activities (e.g. gaming, SNS interaction, etc.), while conscientiousness, neuroticism, and agreeableness only correlated with a few of the SNS activities. A meta-analytical structural equation model further demonstrated that plasticity was positively correlated with SNS activities, whereas stability was a negative predictor. Practical implications for social media industry and users were discussed.     

The relationship between the entrepreneurial personality and the Big Five personality traits

Although meta-analyses show that the Big Five personality traits predict business intention, creation, and success (Brandstätter, 2011), they also indicate that narrow personality traits, such as innovativeness, predict these outcomes better than broad traits, such as Conscientiousness and Extraversion (Rauch & Frese, 2007). The current study extends previous research to examine the relationship between the Big Five and a wider range of entrepreneurial outcomes (e.g. founding charitable organisations, organising events, and changing organisational practices). Additionally, it establishes the incremental validity of a narrow measure of entrepreneurial personality over the Big Five (META, Ahmetoglu, Leutner, & Chamorro-Premuic, 2011). Both the Big Five and META significantly predict various forms of entrepreneurial success, though META does so more consistently. This suggests that narrow personality traits have incremental validity in predicting entrepreneurial success vis-à-vis the Big Five. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed.     

A General Factor of Personality (GFP) from two meta-analyses of the Big Five: and

In two studies, we used structural equation models to test the hypothesis that a General Factor of Personality (GFP) occupies the apex of the hierarchy of personality. In Study 1, we found a GFP that explained 45% of the reliable variance in a model that went from the Big Five to the Big Two to the Big One in the 14 studies of inter-scale correlations (N = 4496) assembled by Digman (1997). A higher order factor of Alpha/Stability was defined by Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Agreeableness, with loadings of from 0.61 to 0.70, while Beta/Plasticity was defined by Openness and Extraversion with loadings of 0.55 and 0.77. In turn, the GFP was defined by Alpha and Beta with loadings of 0.67. In Study 2, a GFP explained 44% of the reliable variance in a similar model using data from a published meta-analysis of the Big Five (N = 4000) by Mount, Barrick, Scullen, and Rounds (2005). Strong general factors such as these, based on large data sets with good model fits that cross validate perfectly, are unlikely to be due to artifacts and response sets.     

Revaluating the evidence for the General Factor of Personality in the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire: Concerns about Rushton and Irwing (2009)

We evaluated whether the Big Five-based hierarchical model for the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) reported by Rushton and Irwing (2009) would replicate in a second sample of 733 participants. We were unable to confirm their hierarchical model and detected problems with the reporting of the original results. Exploratory factor analytic investigations generally supported the canonical three factor solution for the MPQ described in the existing literature. This was the case for both the present dataset and for the correlation matrix analyzed by Rushton and Irwing.     

Measurement equivalence of the Big Five: Shedding further light on potential causes of the educational bias

Rammstedt, Goldberg, and Borg (2010) demonstrated that the Big Five factor structure is sensitive to educational bias and that this bias seems to be due to a more pronounced tendency for acquiescent responding among less well-educated respondents. The present follow-up study investigated whether using an interview assessment mode in which the item presentation is standardized and thus differences in reading ability are controlled for, reduces the bias in the factorial structures. Results based on a large and heterogeneous sample clearly contradict this assumption: The findings unambiguously replicate those reported by Rammstedt et al. in that lower educated respondents have a higher and more variable tendency for acquiescent responding which directly affects the factor structure of the Big Five measure.     

Big Five traits and relationship satisfaction: The mediating role of self-esteem

This study examined the mediating role of self-esteem in the association between Big Five traits and relationship satisfaction. Using data of 237 heterosexual couples and the Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model (APIMeM), self-esteem mediated the association between Big Five traits and relationship satisfaction. We also tested the directionality of the association using longitudinal data of 141 couples. Results indicate that only agreeableness (and neuroticism marginally) predicts relationship satisfaction two years later, but relationship satisfaction predicted partner’s extraversion. Further, significant indirect effects emerged between relationship satisfaction, self-esteem, and later neuroticism. These results underline the importance of studying Big Five traits and self-esteem conjointly when studying relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, testing for alternative longitudinal associations elucidates the role of romantic relationships in personality development.     

Optimism and the Big Five factors of personality: Beyond Neuroticism and Extraversion

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the Big Five factors of personality and dispositional optimism. Data from five samples were collected (Total N = 4332) using three different measures of optimism and five different measures of the Big Five. Results indicated strong positive relationships between optimism and four of the Big Five factors: Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Agreeableness and Conscientiousness explained additional variance in dispositional optimism over and above Neuroticism and Extraversion, providing evidence for the complexity of optimism. The position of optimism in the larger web of human personality constructs is discussed.     

Examining mindfulness and psychological inflexibility within the framework of Big Five personality

Psychological inflexibility and mindfulness represent two constructs that have garnered a great deal of interest in recent years as central components in the conceptualization of many new cognitive and behavioral therapies. Nonetheless, though theoretically related, relatively little is known regarding associations between these two constructs and consensus models of trait personality such as the Big Five. The current study therefore aimed to more fully elucidate associations among these three domains within a relatively large, diverse undergraduate sample (N = 429). Mindfulness was negatively associated with Neuroticism and positively associated with Conscientiousness while psychological inflexibility was positively associated with Neuroticism and negatively associated with Conscientiousness. Further, while Conscientiousness evidenced the strongest contribution to mindfulness, Neuroticism evidenced the strongest contribution to psychological inflexibility. Better elucidating how psychological inflexibility and mindfulness differentially relate to Big Five personality traits expands the nomological network surrounding these constructs and begins to reveal common processes underlying psychopathology and health behaviors.     

Psychometric properties of the Big Five Questionnaire for Children (BFQ-C) in a Dutch sample of young adolescents

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Big Five Questionnaire for Children (BFQ-C), a recently developed self-report measure for assessing the basic personality dimensions of energy/extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional instability, and intellect/openness in youths (Barbaranelli, Caprara, Rabasca, & Pastorelli, 2003). A sample of adolescents (N = 222) completed the BFQ-C, the Junior version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (JEPQ), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results showed that the BFQ-C had a clear-cut factor structure, good internal consistency, and sufficient validity as evidenced through its associations with the JEPQ and the measure of strengths and difficulties. An additional finding was that there was little overlap between children’s and parents’ Big Five personality.     

Correlated change of Big Five personality traits across the lifespan: A search for determinants

Correlated change between different personality traits has recently caught the attention of researchers studying personality development. We conducted two studies to examine age effects (Study 1) and effects of cognitive ability (Study 2) on this phenomenon. Results indicated that correlated change was relatively stable from adolescence through adulthood, and then increased after age 70. Second, correlated change was greater among traits that have been linked to the same developmental processes (e.g., social investment or maturation of specific neurological systems). Third, cognitive ability was negatively associated with correlated change. Collectively, our findings suggest that personality change is partly driven by broad mechanisms affecting multiple traits. Associations with age and cognitive ability provide important leads regarding the possible nature of these mechanisms.     

More than the Big Five: Egoism and the HEXACO model of personality

Egoism is a personality trait that is associated with self‐enriching and self‐centred behaviours. Research has suggested that egoism lies beyond the Big Five personality factors. Recently, the HEXACO model of personality has been proposed as an alternative to the Big Five model. In three studies, the relation between the HEXACO Personality Inventory and egoism, conceptualized using three different questionnaires (DPQ Egoism, SPI Egotism and the Egoism Scale), is investigated. In all three studies, the HEXACO Honesty–Humility factor scale was the most important predictor of egoism. Additionally, in two studies in which FFM measures were used, the HEXACO Personality Inventory explained more variance in egoism than did the FFPI (Study 2) and the NEO‐PI‐R (Study 3). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differential relationships in the association of the Big Five personality traits with positive mental health and psychopathology

According to the two continua model of mental health, psychopathology and positive mental health (emotional, psychological, and social well-being) are related but distinct continua. This study investigates the two continua model by examining whether psychopathology and positive mental health show differential associations with the Big Five personality traits. The paper draws on data of the representative LISS panel (CentERdata). Participants (N = 1161; age 18-88) filled out questionnaires on personality, psychopathology, and positive mental health. Personality traits were differentially related to psychopathology and positive mental health, supporting the two continua model. Emotional stability (reversed neuroticism) is the main correlate of psychopathology, whereas the personality traits extraversion and agreeableness are uniquely associated with positive mental health.     

Factor structure and measurement invariance of a short measure of the Big Five personality traits

The main purpose of this study is to assess the factor structure and the measurement invariance of the Mini-International Personality Item Pool (Mini-IPIP; Donnellan, Oswald, Baird, & Lucas, 2006). The Mini-IPIP is a brief instrument evaluating personality traits according to the Big Five models. Two samples were collected comprising nearly 800 participants. Confirmatory factor analyzes revealed a five-factor solution consistent with the Big Five model. Measurement invariance analyses showed that the Mini-IPIP was reasonably invariant across samples, genders and age groups. Overall, results pointed to a satisfactory factorial structure and an adequate invariance of the measure.     

The Elusive General Factor of Personality: The Acquaintance Effect

A general factor (g_p) at the apex of personality has been suggested to account for the correlations between the Big Five. Although the g_p has received ample support from monomethod studies, results from studies incorporating different methods have remained rather ambiguous; some have identified a g_p across different informants, whereas others have not. It was hypothesized that these divergent findings are a result of varying lengths of acquaintance between raters. To this end, the current study presents a multitrait multi‐informant meta‐analysis (total N = 11 941) that found weak support for a g_p as a substantive trait of personality. Evidence for a g_p was susceptible to the length of acquaintance between informants. Although a g_p could be identified for short‐term acquaintances, it remained elusive at long‐term acquaintance. Thus, the g_p in other ratings more likely reflects normative ratings of an average individual rather than ratings of the specific target person. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology     

The Five Factor Model of personality and social support: A meta-analysis

ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to evaluate the relation between the Big Five personality traits and social support.MethodData for the meta-analysis were collected from 72 studies, which included 84 independent samples, 624 effect sizes, and 37 678 participants.ResultsLower neuroticism and higher extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were associated with greater perceived availability of social support. Higher extraversion was related to greater perceived received social support. The personality traits-social support relationship was stronger for samples reporting perceived availability of social support from many people than it was for samples reporting perceived availability of social support from concrete people.ConclusionThe study extends current knowledge on the associations between personality traits and social support.     

Correcting Big Five Personality Measurements for Acquiescence: An 18‐Country Cross‐Cultural Study

For groups of persons with low or medium levels of education, Big Five personality scales typically yield scores that poorly replicate the idealized Big Five factor pattern. On the basis of representative samples of German adults, Rammstedt et al. have demonstrated that correcting each person's score for acquiescence eliminates this problem. In the present 18‐country study using large samples representative of each country's adult population, we found that, in all cases, correcting for acquiescence did indeed improve the congruence of factor loadings with an idealized Big Five pattern. However, although this correction led to acceptably high correspondence levels in all countries classified as individualistic, this was not always true for non‐individualistic countries. Possible reasons for this finding are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.