The General Factor of Personality and peer-rated social status: A rejoinder to de Vries (2011)

In a previous study we showed that self-reported Big Five scores and the General Factor of Personality (GFP) were related to peer-ratings of likeability and popularity (van der Linden, Scholte, et al., 2010). de Vries (2011a) re-analyzed our data and concluded that (i) there was no evidence of a GFP, and (ii) the GFP we used was latent factor of Extraversion. In this rejoinder I present arguments that compromise the re-analysis and conclusions as described by de Vries (2011a) and emphasize the relevance of the GFP.

► A General Factor of Personality (GFP) is generally found in personality measures.
► In a previous study we reported the GFP to be related to social status in adolescents.
► de Vries (2011) re-analyzed our GFP data and came to different conclusions.
► In the present article, I provide arguments that compromise this re-analysis.
► I emphasize the relevance of the GFP and discuss some related research topics.