Research Feed

A curated collection of research papers, articles, and related news and media exploring the Big Five personality traits.

RESEARCH
An introduction to the five-factor model and its applications
McCrae & John · Journal of Personality · June 1992

The Five-Factor Model (FFM) organizes personality into five broad, hierarchical dimensions: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience. Extensive research using diverse instruments and cross-cultural observers validates its comprehensiveness. Beyond si...

RESEARCH
Integration of the Big Five and circumplex approaches to trait structure
Hofstee et al. · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · January 1992

The Abridged Big Five Dimensional Circumplex (AB5C) model serves as a bridge between the hierarchical 'simple-structure' Big Five and traditional circumplex models. By pairing each of the Big Five factors into ten distinct circles, it defines personality facets as 'blends' of two primary dimensio...

RESEARCH
The development of markers for the Big-Five factor structure
Goldberg · Psychological Assessment · January 1992

Researchers investigated how to create the most accurate and 'univocal' (single-factor) measures for the Big Five personality domains. They discovered that while transparent bipolar scales (which use opposing pairs of adjectives) perform well, simple unipolar scales using 100 individual terms are...

RESEARCH
Conscientiousness
The Big Five personality dimensions and job performance: A meta-analysis
Barrick & Mount · Personnel Psychology · March 1991

This meta-analysis explores how the Big Five personality traits predict success across various career fields, such as sales, management, and law enforcement. The research identifies Conscientiousness as a universal predictor of high job performance regardless of the occupation. Other traits are m...

RESEARCH
Extraversion
Beauty is more than skin deep: Components of attractiveness
Riggio et al. · Basic and Applied Social Psychology · January 1991

This study identifies that overall physical attractiveness is a composite of both static and dynamic components. Through structural equation modeling, researchers found that while facial beauty is a primary static factor, dynamic elements (such as social and communication skills) contribute signi...

RESEARCH
Facet scales for agreeableness and conscientiousness: A revision of the NEO Personality Inventory
Costa, P.T., McCrae, R.R., & Dye, D.A. · Personality and Individual Differences · January 1991

This study details the evolution of the NEO Personality Inventory into its revised version (NEO-PI-R). Researchers expanded the model by developing specific 'facet' scales for Agreeableness (such as Trust and Altruism) and Conscientiousness, including Order and Self-Discipline. By testing these m...

RESEARCH
Personality structure: Emergence of the five-factor model
Digman · Annual Review of Psychology · January 1990
RESEARCH
Reinterpreting the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator from the perspective of the five-factor model of personality
McCrae & Costa · Journal of Personality · March 1989

This study critiques the MBTI's theoretical foundations, finding no evidence for 'dichotomous types' or Jungian categories. Instead, data from 468 participants shows the MBTI measures four continuous dimensions that align closely with the Five-Factor Model. Specifically, the MBTI indices map onto...

RESEARCH
The structure of interpersonal traits: Wiggins's circumplex and the five-factor model
McCrae & Costa · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · January 1989

Research comparing the interpersonal circumplex with the Five-Factor Model reveals that the circumplex is primarily defined by two axes: Extraversion and Agreeableness. Data from self, peer, and spouse ratings confirm that this circular arrangement is a genuine structural feature of personality, ...

RESEARCH
Validation of the five-factor model of personality across instruments and observers
McCrae & Costa · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · January 1987

This study confirms the robustness of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) by demonstrating significant agreement between self-reports and peer ratings. Using both adjective factors and questionnaire scales, researchers found substantial cross-observer correlations (r=.25 to .62) across all five domains: ...

RESEARCH
Neuroticism
Personality and compatibility: A prospective analysis of marital stability and marital satisfaction
Kelly & Conley · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · January 1987

This longitudinal study, tracking 300 couples from the 1930s through 1980, identifies personality as a primary driver of long-term marital success. The most significant predictors of both dissatisfaction and divorce were the neuroticism of both spouses and the husband’s impulse control. While soc...

RESEARCH
A conception of adult development
Levinson · American Psychologist · January 1986

Daniel Levinson’s structural approach to adult development centers on the Life Structure, the underlying pattern of an individual's life at any given time. This development progresses through a sequence of nine periods from age 17 to 65, alternating between stable structure-building phases and tu...

RESEARCH
Cross-sectional studies of personality in a national sample: II
Costa et al. · Psychology and Aging · January 1986

This study analyzes age-related personality shifts using data from over 10,000 participants. The findings indicate that as people age, they tend to score slightly lower in Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness. Importantly, the research found no evidence of a 'mid-life crisis' in personality sc...

RESEARCH
Updating Norman's 'adequacy taxonomy': Intelligence and personality dimensions in natural language and in questionnaires
McCrae & Costa · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · January 1985

This study confirms high correspondence between the Five-Factor Model and the NEO inventory across time and observers. While Neuroticism and Extraversion showed strong alignment, researchers determined the fifth factor is best conceptualized as Openness to Experience rather than mere culture or i...

RESEARCH
<i>Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments</i>
Holland · Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments · January 1985

John L. Holland’s RIASEC theory provides a robust framework for understanding vocational behavior by matching six distinct personality types (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional) to compatible work environments. The theory posits that career satisfaction and...

RESEARCH
RESEARCH
Language and Individual Differences: The Search for Universals in Personality Lexicons
Goldberg · Review of Personality and Social Psychology · January 1981
RESEARCH
Identity in Adolescence
Marcia · Handbook of Adolescent Psychology · January 1980
RESEARCH
A psychological taxonomy of trait-descriptive terms: The interpersonal domain
Wiggins · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · January 1979
RESEARCH
A historical survey of personality scales and inventories
Goldberg · Advances in psychological assessment · January 1971