Characterizing Carver and White’s BIS/BAS subscales using the Five Factor Model of personality

•We examine unique relations of BIS/BAS subscales with NEO-PI-R domains and facets.•EFA shows a 5-factor solution with original BIS divided into BIS-Anxiety and BIS-Fear.•Both high Agreeableness and Conscientiousness distinguish BIS-Anxiety from BIS-Fear.•Agreeableness and Conscientiousness also mark distinct facets of BAS-related activity.•Low Agreeableness’ in BAS-Drive emphasizes competition in goal-directed behavior.

This study examined BIS/BAS scales (Carver & White, 1994) assessment of Gray’s revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory in the light of the Five-Factor Model of personality—assessed via NEO-PI-R domains and facets—in a mixed-gender sample of 329 undergraduates. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed a 5-factor solution structure of the BIS/BAS scales, with BIS-scale divided into BIS-Anxiety and BIS-Fear factors, besides the original three BAS factors. BIS-Anxiety was found to represent Gray’s anxiety (high Neuroticism and low Extraversion), being also distinguished from BIS-Fear by high Agreeableness, as expected. Interestingly, Conscientiousness showed divergent relationships to BIS-Anxiety (+) and BIS-Fear (−) as well. It is noteworthy that Agreeableness and Conscientiousness also marked distinct facets of BAS-related activity: distinctions in terms of low vs. high Conscientiousness pointed to differential measure of sensation-seeking and impulsiveness (BAS-Fun Seeking) vs. reward-orientation in goal-directed behavior (BAS-Reward Responsiveness, BAS-Drive), with low Agreeableness additionally emphasizing a competitive interpersonal style for approaching goals (BAS-Drive). Our findings suggest that BAS total scores could be obscuring differential associations at the subscales level, and encourage further research on personality traits underlying each component of BAS activation.