Question

There are a number of different trait theories of personality (Eysenck's PEN model, Cattell's 16 Personality Factor, Circumplex Taxonomies of Personality, Five Factor Model, HEXACO). Which one (or ones) do you think is (or are) the most valid? Why? Cite sources where necessary.

Answer 1

The five-factor model proposed by Costa and McCrae is comprised of five personality dimensions (OCEAN): Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. The five dimensions are considered to present a composite profile of personality along these key traits.

The Five factor model or the Big Five is a relatively contemporary theory of personality and it has become very popular largely because of its efficacy in yielding a personality profile of an individual based on factor analysis of the different traits personality. The five factors were derived from factor analyses of a large number of self reports and peer observation reports on personality-relevant adjectives and questionnaire items. As such, these  factors are dimensions, not types, so they tend to present a more realistic picture of personality as people vary continuously on them, with most people falling in between the extremes.

Moreover, the factors in the Big Five model point towards both a strong genetic basis as well as environmental basis of personality as most factors are shown to get stable over a 45-year period beginning in young adulthood ( Jang, McCrae, Angleitner, Riemann, & Livesley, 1998) .

Finally, it is seen that in the debate about the cultural specificity of behaviour, the Big Five has been established based on studies across different countries and as such the factors in this theory offer a more universal approach to understanding perosnality since the tests based on the Big Five have been recovered in other languages including Spanish, German, Chinese and Scandinavian(McCrae & Costa, 1997). Thus because of its universal appeal and reliability, the Big Five has been found to provide a useful tool for developing insight and improvement in psychotherapy. It therefore proves to be a highly useful and scientifically valid trait theory of personality.

References:

Jang, K. L., McCrae, R. R., Angleitner, A., Riemann, R., & Livesley, W. J. (1998). Heritability of facet-level traits in a cross-cultural twin sample: Support for a hierarchical model of personality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1556-1565.

McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T., Jr. (1997). Personality trait structure as a human universal. American Psychologist, 52, 509-516.