Relation of the Big Five and Factor V subcomponents to social intelligence

Factor analysis of trait terms defining Factor V yielded five oblique subcomponents (Creativity, Intellect, Reflectiveness, Conservatism, and Closed Minded), the last of which seems to be an artifact due to social desirability. Factor analysis of Sternberg's laymen's and experts' implicit conceptions of intelligence yielded seven oblique factors. These seven factors (Social Competence, Reading, Planning, Objectivity, Inquiring Intellect, Nonjudgmental, and Problem Solving) describe dimensions of what could be termed Social Intelligence. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the Social Intelligence factors were quite predictable from Factor V subcomponents and other Big Five traits. Several Social Intelligence factors were predicted in a large part primarily by other Big Five Traits. Higher order factor analysis followed by regression revealed that a general Social Intelligence factor was predicted primarily by a higher order Factor V. Addition of the other Big Five traits to prediction increased Rmodestly but did not diminish the influence of Factor V. These results suggest that at a low level of the factor hierarchy specific aspects of Social Intelligence are broader than the subcomponents of Factor V and involve other personality traits. However, at the highest level of the factor hierarchy Factor V is the primary predictor of Social Intelligence; while other traits aid in prediction, they do not diminish the relation between the two. The results provide some support for the lexical hypothesis prediction that Factor V trait terms summarize behaviors that shape implicit conceptions of intelligence, which is more social and practical than IQ assessed as g Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.