| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 891259 | Personality and Individual Differences | 2012 | 4 Pages |
Recent research suggests that a general factor of personality (GFP) represents the zenith of a hierarchy of personality structure. For a roommate sample of 602 students, we evaluate the presence and validity of a general factor of personality in a Big Five measure. Findings indicate that a first factor, similar to what has been putatively labeled a GFP, can be extracted from self-report and observer-report, that this self-report first factor has validity for predicting an alleged observer-report GFP, and that this validity is not attributable to socially desirable responding. However, despite the existence of a valid first factor, it is not a general factor of personality because it fails to summarize adequately the complete systematic variance in the structure of personality.
► A first factor of personality exists combining all Big Five personality domains. ► This first factor has validity for a criterion external to self-report. ► This criterion validity is not attributable to socially desirable responding. ► This first factor is an incomplete summary of personality structure. ► This first factor is not the apex of personality structure.
