A general factor of personality,social desirability,cognitive ability,and the survey of work styles in an employment selection setting

How a general factor of personality (GFP) correlated with employment screening measures in an applied setting was examined. Participants were 540 adult insurance sales job applicants who completed scales from two personality measures, the five scales from the Survey of Work Styles (SWS), an intelligence measure, and a social desirability scale. A joint factor analysis of the personality questionnaires produced four first order factors. A single GFP was also extracted. Strong correlations were found between some of the personality factors and the SWS scales. Strong significant correlations were found between the GFP and three of the four personality factors with social desirability. Neither the GFP nor the personality factors correlated significantly with cognitive abilities.     

The dimensions of nonauthoritarianism

The converse of authoritarianism has not been conceptualized very clearly though scales purporting to measure nonauthoritarianism are among the most commonly used in. personality inventories. Using the Autonomy scale of the Omnibus Personality Inventory (a derivative of the original California F scale), as administered to a sample population of beck and white college freshmen, the dimensions of nonauthoritarianism were explored. A factor analysis of the scale creates three components (anti-authoritarianism, anti-conventionalism and open-mindedness) that are conceived of as successive phases in the weakening of authoritarianism. This phase hypothesis is supported with evidence from Guttman scales and a correlational analysis of how black and lower-class as compared to white and middle-class students shift from one phase to another over the course of the freshman year.     

The Dimensions of Nonauthoritarianism

The converse of authoritarianism has not been conceptualized very clearly though scales purporting to measure nonauthoritarianism are among the most commonly used in. personality inventories. Using the Autonomy scale of the Omnibus Personality Inventory (a derivative of the original California F scale), as administered to a sample population of beck and white college freshmen, the dimensions of nonauthoritarianism were explored. A factor analysis of the scale creates three components (anti-authoritarianism, anti-conventionalism and open-mindedness) that are conceived of as successive phases in the weakening of authoritarianism. This phase hypothesis is supported with evidence from Guttman scales and a correlational analysis of how black and lower-class as compared to white and middle-class students shift from one phase to another over the course of the freshman year.     

The five factor model of personality: Openness a distinct but related construct

It has been argued that the Openness (O) dimension from the five factor model (FFM) of personality may in fact be an associate of the ability domain more than the personality domain. This paper explores this hypothesis using a sample of 101 managers. Participants completed the NEO-FFI and a measure of ability assessing the construct as typical performance. This measure was an occupational specific measure of typical intellectual engagement (TIE), termed the “problem solving through challenge” PSC scale. A combination of LISREL CFA and hierarchical multiple linear regression (HMLR) indicated that in fact O was a distinct but related construct to the other four dimensions of the FFM (N, E, A and C), but that O was more strongly correlated with PSC than the other dimensions. These results are taken to indicate that O, while associated with personality, assesses something to do with problem solving as a personality trait. Further the results suggest that E linked O to the other personality scales.     

Neuroticism: how does one slice the PI(e)?

Costa and McCrae's operationalization of the Five-Factor Model, the Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness Personality Inventory—Revised (NEO-PI-R; Costa and McCrae, 1992a), measures five broad dimensions of personality: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. According to Costa and McCrae, the Neuroticism (N) domain scale subsumes six facets. Although derived rationally and tested factor analytically, the factorial structure of the facet scales has yet to be unequivocally confirmed with analytic methods imposed at the item level. Using confirmatory and exploratory factor-analytic techniques, this study examines and tests the structure of the N domain scale of the NEO-PI-R. Confirmatory factor analysis indicates poor replication of the structure of the N scale. Results of the exploratory factor analysis indicate that while three of the facets replicated quite well, the other three factors did not correspond to Costa and McCrae's formulation. Future research should elaborate on the factorial structure and construct validity of the N facet scales, especially if they are to be used and interpreted in personality and clinical assessment. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personality facets and RIASEC interests: An integrated model

Research examining links between personality and interest have typically focused on links between measures of the five factor model and Holland’s RIASEC types. However, the five factor model of personality can be divided in to a larger set of narrow domain personality scales measuring facets of the ‘big five’ traits. Research in a number of fields indicates that facet scales are effective for clarifying the relationship between personality and other broad constructs, including academic achievement, job performance, stress and coping, and achievement motivation. In the present study links between personality facets and the RIASEC model were examined using property vector fitting. Obtained results are consistent with previous research suggesting that the use of facet-level personality measures can clarify relations between personality and other constructs, and provides new information linking personality facets and interests. The use of facet-level measures of personality expands the range of personality concepts that can be presented to individuals who are exploring career options.     

Personality facets and RIASEC interests: An integrated model

Research examining links between personality and interest have typically focused on links between measures of the five factor model and Holland’s RIASEC types. However, the five factor model of personality can be divided in to a larger set of narrow domain personality scales measuring facets of the ‘big five’ traits. Research in a number of fields indicates that facet scales are effective for clarifying the relationship between personality and other broad constructs, including academic achievement, job performance, stress and coping, and achievement motivation. In the present study links between personality facets and the RIASEC model were examined using property vector fitting. Obtained results are consistent with previous research suggesting that the use of facet-level personality measures can clarify relations between personality and other constructs, and provides new information linking personality facets and interests. The use of facet-level measures of personality expands the range of personality concepts that can be presented to individuals who are exploring career options.     

A re-evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Basic Character Inventory

The aim of this study was to re-evaluate the psychometric properties of the Basic Character Inventory (BCI). In a rather large sample of 503 subjects (323 women and 180 men, 88 non-psychotic psychiatric inpatients and 415 non-patients) factor analysis resulted in three factors with personality traits almost identical with the BCI Oral, Obsessive and Hysterical scales. BCI seems to be a fruitful and reliable assessment instrument for personality traits and character types as outlined in psychoanalytic theory. However, some of the trait subscales ought to be scrutinized in future psychometric re-evaluative studies of BCI on new, large samples. Another factor analysis showed that the BCI Oral scale, together with all the ten subscales of the psychiatric Symptom Check-list 90 (SCL-90), loaded on the first factor, and the BCI Obsessive and Hysterical scales loaded on the second factor, but with different signs. Orality seems to be related to psychopathology.     

Clarifying the construct of perfectionism

The construct of perfectionism is related to many important outcome variables. However, the term perfectionism has been defined in many different ways, and items comprising the different existing scales appear to be very different in content. The overarching aim of the present set of studies was to help clarify the specific unidimensional personality constructs that contribute to perfectionistic behavior. First, trained raters reliably sorted items from existing measures of perfectionism into nine dimensions. An exploratory factor analysis, followed by a confirmatory factor analysis on an independent sample, resulted in a 9-scale, 61-item measure, called the Measure of Constructs Underlying Perfectionism. The nine scales were internally consistent and stable across time, and they were differentially associated with relevant measures of personality in theoretically meaningful ways.     

Forced-choice and conventional personality assessment: Each may have unique value in pre-employment testing

Forced-choice (FC) personality scales are purported to predict criteria such as counterproductive work behavior (CWB) incrementally beyond conventional personality measures in pre-employment testing situations. Unfortunately, the research upon which FC tests’ claims of superiority are founded, relies upon undergraduate participants in highly artificial scenarios. Moreover, the possible predictive advantages of FC personality scales with regards to important contextual performance (CP; Borman & Motowidlo, 1993) criteria have not been investigated. We used a sample of call center employees to investigate the incremental validity of a FC personality scale over a conventional personality scale (and vice versa) with CP measures, and CWB, as criteria. Our FC and conventional personality measures were highly correlated, but each still offered unique predictive value with regards to CP or CWB. Thus, contrary to past research with student samples, in field settings FC personality scales may not be clearly superior to conventional personality scales. Moreover, contrary to widespread concern that FC measures’ predictiveness is attributable to their overlap with general mental ability, the unique predictive value of our FC measure remained even when variance due to general mental ability was statistically controlled.     

Exploring Nonlinear Models in Personality Assessment: Development and Preliminary Validation of a Negative Emotionality Scale

ABSTRACT In this article we discuss the applicability of several new measurement models to the construction of personality scales, and we contrast these models with more traditional approaches in common usage, such as the principal factor analysis model. Our goal is to illustrate how nonlinear item-response models can be profitably used in personality research. We describe the development of a 30-item Negative Emotionality scale that was constructed using nonlinear factor analysis and item-response theory. We also show how traditional (linear) factor analysis can produce misleading results when it is applied to personality items with dichotomous response formats (e.g., true/false, agree/disagree). No formal training in modern measurement theory is assumed of the reader as we describe the nonlinear models that are used in this study in nontechnical language with a minimum of mathematics.     

Time to update our suggestibility scales

Oakley and colleagues (2021) suggest that a classic scale – HGSHS:A, aiming to measure hypnotic suggestibility – can be used to measure direct verbal suggestibility (DVS). According to the authors, DVS is a trait that can be measured both with and without hypnosis. I find this initiative highly welcome. However, I wish to give several examples why it is time to develop entirely new scales instead. Rather than trying to explain more phenomena with a single scale or concept, researchers should take a cue from research that points to a far more nuanced picture of suggestibility than a construct like DVS allows. There may be no single, unified phenomenon that can be measured with a single scale. The old, time-tested scales should be treated neither as sacred nor final. They require up-to-date, critical analysis of what exactly they measure, with an eye to how they can be further improved.     

Dissociations of the night: individual differences in sleep-related experiences and their relation to dissociation and schizotypy.

The author examined the associations among sleep-related experiences (e.g., hypnagogic hallucinations, nightmares, waking dreams, and lucid dreams), dissociation, schizotypy, and the Big Five personality traits in 2 large student samples. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that (a) dissociation and schizotypy are strongly correlated-yet distinguishable-constructs, and (b) the differentiation between them can be enhanced by eliminating detachment/depersonalization items from the dissociation scales. A general measure of sleep experiences was substantially correlated with both schizotypy and dissociation (especially the latter) and more weakly related to the Big Five. In contrast, an index of lucid dreaming was weakly related to all of these other scales. These results suggest that measures of dissociation, schizotypy, and sleep-related experiences all define a common domain characterized by unusual cognitions and perceptions.     

Correction for faking in self‐report personality tests

Faking is a common problem in testing with self‐report personality tests, especially in high‐stakes situations. A possible way to correct for it is statistical control on the basis of social desirability scales. Two such scales were developed and applied in the present paper. It was stressed that the statistical models of faking need to be adapted to different properties of the personality scales, since such scales correlate with faking to different extents. In four empirical studies of self‐report personality tests, correction for faking was investigated. One of the studies was experimental, and asked participants to fake or to be honest. In the other studies, job or school applicants were investigated. It was found that the approach to correct for effects of faking in self‐report personality tests advocated in the paper removed a large share of the effects, about 90%. It was found in one study that faking varied as a function of degree of how important the consequences of test results could be expected to be, more high‐stakes situations being associated with more faking. The latter finding is incompatible with the claim that social desirability scales measure a general personality trait. It is concluded that faking can be measured and that correction for faking, based on such measures, can be expected to remove about 90% of its effects.     

Creativity in the Age of Technology: Measuring the Digital Creativity of Millennials

Digital technology and its many uses form an emerging domain of creative expression for adolescents and young adults. To date, measures of self-reported creative behavior cover more traditional forms of creativity, including visual art, music, or writing, but do not include creativity in the digital domain. This article introduces a new measure, the Creative Behavior Questionnaire: Digital (CBQD), which assesses self-reported creative behavior in the digital domain. High school students (N = 230) completed the CBQD, as well as several other measures of creativity and personality. Factor analysis revealed 3 factors: digital creativity achievement, school-based everyday creativity, and self-expressive digital creativity. Factor-based scales showed expected correlations with other creativity measures, as well as Big-Five personality traits and Unconventionality, supporting construct validity. Results indicate that the CBQD can be used as an independent or a supplemental measure of creative behavior.     

The BPQ: a scale for the assessment of borderline personality based on DSM-IV criteria

The aim of the study was to develop a self-report measure that assesses borderline personality traits as defined by DSM-IV criteria, including separate subscales for each criterion. A sample of normal subjects from community colleges in the midwestern region of the United States was used to develop the scale. The psychometric properties of the scale were examined using an additional United States sample and student samples from England and Australia. The scale was compared with existing measures of borderline and schizotypal personality. Evidence for the internal consistency and convergent and divergent validity of the new scale is presented. The results of several analyses of variance comparing males and females in the three national groups are reported. A Principal Components Analysis of the subscales suggested either a single factor or two correlated factors. Oblique rotation yielded a structure that distinguished identity/interpersonal and impulsivity borderline personality traits. It is concluded that the new scale provides a useful tool for clinicians and researchers interested in screening for borderline personality traits in both general and clinical populations. Suggestions for further research are indicated.     

Improving Prediction of Work Performance Through Frame‐of‐Reference Consistency: Empirical evidence using openness to experience

A work‐specific measure of openness to experience was compared with the general NEO PI‐R Openness scale for predicting supervisory ratings of creative performance at work. Results at the scale and facet levels indicated that the use of a consistent and criterion‐matched frame of reference improved validity of this personality construct for the prediction of work‐related creative problem solving. Scores from the Work‐specific Openness scale significantly predicted creative work performance, whereas scores from the general measure did not. Results also showed incremental validity of the Work‐specific scale over the NEO PI‐R scale. Evidence is mounting that specifying a work context for personality measures can increase validity for predicting job performance beyond that typically observed when using general scales.     

A Psychometric Examination of the Pathological Obsessive Compulsive Personality Scale (POPS): Initial Study in an Undergraduate Sample

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) has been subject to numerous definition and classification changes, which has contributed to difficulties in reliable measurement of the disorder. Consequently, OCPD measures have yielded poor validity and inconsistent prevalence estimates. Reliable and valid measures of OCPD are needed. The aim of the current study was to examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Pathological Obsessive Compulsive Personality Scale (POPS). Participants (N = 571 undergraduates) completed a series of self-report measures online, including the POPS. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to compare the fit of unidimensional, five factor, and bifactor models of the POPS. Convergent and divergent validity were assessed in relation to other personality dimensions. A bifactor model provided the best fit to the data, indicating that the total POPS scale and four subscales can be scored to obtain reliable indicators of OCPD. The POPS was most strongly associated with a disorder-specific measure of OCPD, however there were also positive associations with theoretically disparate constructs, thus further research is needed to clarify validity of the scale.     

An information theoretic measure for the evaluation of ordinal scale data

This article describes a new measure of dispersion as an indication of consensus and dissention. Building on the generally accepted Shannon entropy, this measure utilizes a probability distribution and the ordered ranking of categories in an ordinal scale distribution to yield a value confined to the unit interval. Unlike other measures that need to be normalized, this measure is always in the interval 0 to 1. The measure is typically applied to the Likert scale to determine degrees of agreement among ordinal-ranked categories when one is dealing with data collection and analysis, although other scales are possible. Using this measure, investigators can easily determine the proximity of ordinal data to consensus (agreement) or dissention. Consensus and dissention are defined relative to the degree of proximity of values constituting a frequency distribution on the ordinal scale measure. The authors identify a set of criteria that a measure must satisfy in order to be an acceptable indicator of consensus and show how the consensus measure satisfies all the criteria.