Cited by 1,682Personality Traits and PsychologyPsychological Testing and AssessmentPsychometric Methodologies and Testing

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A contrarian view of the five-factor approach to personality description.

Block, Jack·1995·Psychological Bulletin

DOI 10.1037/0033-2909.117.2.187

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Abstract

The 5-factor approach (FFA) to personality description has been represented as a comprehensive and compelling rubric for assessment. In this article, various misgivings about the FFA are delineated. The algorithmic method of factor analysis may not provide dimensions that are incisive. The "discovery" of the five factors may be influenced by unrecognized constraints on the variable sets analyzed. Lexical analyses are based on questionable conceptual and methodological assumptions, and have achieved uncertain results. The questionnaire version of the FFA has not demonstrated the special merits and sufficiencies of the five factors settled upon. Serious uncertainties have arisen in regard to the claimed 5-factor structure and the substantive meanings of the factors. Some implications of these problems are drawn.

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Background
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Method
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Result
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Background
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Background
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Background
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Background
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Background
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Method
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Background
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BackgroundInfluential
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Method
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Background
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Background
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“Using these essential traits has allowed for an efficient, parsimonious, and arguably comprehensive means of evaluating personality among adults (for a critique of the FFM, see Block, 1995, 2001).”
Background
Test Development
Paul Irwing, B., & Hughes, D. J. (2018) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118489772.ch1 · Cited by 82
Enriched behavioral prediction equation and its impact on structured learning and the dynamic calculus.
Cattell, R. B., Boyle, G. J., & Chant, D. C. (2002) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037//0033-295x.109.1.202 · Cited by 69
Self‐Pity: Exploring the Links to Personality, Control Beliefs, and Anger
Stöber, J. (2003) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/1467-6494.7102004 · Cited by 68
“…been — and still is — considerable debate as to whether these five dimensions constitute an adequate and comprehensive description of personality (e.g., Block, 1995; McAdams, 1992), the fivefactor model of personality represents an established base from which one may start to explore potential…”
Background
Habit Interventions
Gardner, B., Rebar, A. L., & Lally, P. J. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108677318.041 · Cited by 73
The hierarchical structure of common Turkish person-descriptive adjectives
Goldberg, L. R., & Somer, O. (2000) · European Journal of Personality · doi:10.1002/1099-0984(200011/12)14:6 · Cited by 69
Social desirability in personality inventories: Symptoms, diagnosis and prescribed cure
Bäckström, M., & Björklund, F. (2012) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.12015 · Cited by 68
“This does of course not exclude that there may be other reasons why measures of personality factors correlate with one another, for example, they may in fact not be completely independent (Block, 1995).”
Background
Subjective time in organizations: Conceptual clarification, integration, and implications for future research
Tang, S., Richter, A. W., & Nadkarni, S. (2019) · Journal of Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1002/job.2421 · Cited by 68
Relationships between personality structure, structure of word meaning, and cognitive ability: A study of cultural mechanisms of personality.
Toomela, A. (2003) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.85.4.723 · Cited by 68
The Perceived Personality of Moral Exemplars
Walker, L. J. (1999) · Journal of Moral Education · doi:10.1080/030572499103188 · Cited by 68
AUTHOR'S RESPONSE: The Lazarus Manifesto for Positive Psychology and Psychology in General
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“Trenchant criticisms by Block (1995, updated 2001) of the Big Five traits as descriptors of personality make this point effectively. Many years earlier, Carlson (1971) made a strong case in Psychological Bulletin that personality psychology showed little interest in what people are like as individuals but was primaril…”
Background
Shopping Motives and the Five Factor Model: An Integration and Preliminary Study
Mooradian, T. A., & Olver, J. M. (1996) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.2466/pr0.1996.78.2.579 · Cited by 68
Free‐Response Self‐Discrepancies Across, Among, and Within FFM Personality Dimensions
Hafdahl, A. R., Panter, A. T., Gramzow, R. H., Sedikides, C., & Insko, C. A. (2000) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/1467-6494.00093 · Cited by 67
“The FFM is not accepted unanimously (McAdams, 1992), particularly for the scientific study of genotypic personality structure ( Block, 1995a, 1995b ).”
Background
Incremental Validity of the Typical Intellectual Engagement Scale As Predictor of Different Academic Performance Measures
Chamorro‐Premuzic, T., Furnham, A. F., & Ackerman, P. L. (2006) · Journal of Personality Assessment · doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa8703_07 · Cited by 67
“These dimensions reflect individual differences in stable dispositions and preferences that determine each individual’s characteristic patterns of thought, emotionality, and behavior; they represent aggregated measures of individuals’ behavior and can be assessed through self- or other-reports (Chamorro-Premuzic & Fur…”
Background
Conscientiousness, procrastination, and person-task characteristics in job searching by unemployed adults
Lay, C. H., & Brokenshire, R. (1997) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-997-1017-9 · Cited by 70
“Beyond this, in a more general sense, there is a need to demonstrate the utility, or incremental validity, of higher-order factors like conscientiousness, compared to the predictive validity of lower-order traits such as procrastination ( Block, 1995; Costa & McCrae, 1992; Paunonen, 1993).”
Background
ITEM GENERATION PROCEDURES AND BACKGROUND DATA SCALES: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSTRUCT AND CRITERION‐RELATED VALIDITY
Mumford, M. D., Costanza, D. P., Connelly, M. S., & Johnson, J. F. (1996) · Personnel Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.1996.tb01804.x · Cited by 67
Health beliefs, personality, and adherence in hemodialysis patients: An interactional perspective
Wiebe, J. S., & Christensen, A. J. (1997) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/bf02883424 · Cited by 67
“Though support for the model has not been universal ( 21 ,22) and there continues to be debate concerning the actual number of basic personality domains (e.g.”
Background
The contribution of personality to the overlap between antisocial behavior and substance use/misuse
Lynam, D. R., Leukefeld, C. G., & Clayton, R. (2003) · Aggressive Behavior · doi:10.1002/ab.10073 · Cited by 66
Measures of Ability and Trait Emotional Intelligence
Siegling, A. B., Saklofske, D. H., & Petrides, K. V. (2015) · Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Constructs · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-386915-9.00014-0 · Cited by 110
Childhood temperament and mother's child-rearing attitudes: stability and interaction in a three-year follow-up study
Katainen, S., Räikkönen, K., & Keltikangas‐Järvinen, L. (1997) · European Journal of Personality · doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-0984(199711)11:4 · Cited by 44
The best years of our lives? Coping with stress predicts school grades, life satisfaction, and feelings about high school
MacCann, C., Lipnevich, A. A., Burrus, J. T., & Roberts, R. D. (2011) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2011.08.004 · Cited by 65
“Re-inventing the wheel is a major concern for research scientists in these areas, as new concepts, or concepts from different fields, are often empirically similar to existing personality traits (see e.g., Block, 1995; Kelley, 1927).”
Background
Definition of Impulsivity and Related Terms Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Review of the Different Concepts and Measures Used to Assess Impulsivity, Disinhibition and other Related Concepts
Kocka, A., & Gagnon, J. (2014) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs4040352 · Cited by 65
“Firstly, as Whiteside and Lynam put it [7], the term “impulsivity” suffers with the “jingle” and “jangle” fallacies [8] which means that the same label can refer to different concepts and that two different labels can in fact refer to the same concept.”
Background
The Millennium for Personality Psychology: New Horizons or Good Old Daze
Hough, L. M. (1998) · Applied Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1464-0597.1998.tb00023.x · Cited by 65
Big Five Factor Model, Theory and Structure
Raad, B. D., & Mlačić, B. (2015) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.25066-6 · Cited by 75
Toward a cohesive psychological science of effective feedback
Winstone, N., & Nash, R. A. (2023) · Educational Psychologist · doi:10.1080/00461520.2023.2224444 · Cited by 71
“As Block (1995) argued, this imprecision “waste[s] scientific time… Together, these errors work to prevent the recognition of correspondences that could help build cumulative knowledge” (p. 210).”
Background
Virtues and Vices in Positive Psychology: A Philosophical Critique
Kristjansson, K. R. (2013) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 64
The relationship between pre-morbid personality and challenging behaviour in people with dementia: A systematic review
Osborne, H., Simpson, J., & Stokes, G. (2010) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607861003713208 · Cited by 64
“Personality measurement is, therefore, equally difficult, often illustrating arbitrary boundaries between personality variables, failing to explain the entirety of human personality (Block, 1995) and the impact of the social environment (Ardelt, 2000).”
Background

Authors: Block, J.
Affiliations: University of California, Berkeley (US)
Corresponding author: Block, Jack
Venue: Psychological Bulletin
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 1995
Volume: 117
Issue: 2
Pages: 187-215
ISSN: 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
1939-1455
DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.117.2.187
OpenAlex: W2042236540
Cited by: 1,682
References: 182
Citations by year: 2026: 28 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 62 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 61 · 2020: 155 · 2019: 56 · 2018: 57 · 2017: 50 · 2016: 53 · 2015: 54 · 2014: 63 · 2013: 60 · 2012: 66
FWCI: 75.95
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: National Institute of Mental Health (MH-16080, R01MH016080)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Psychological Testing and Assessment
Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
Keywords: Big Five personality traits, personality structure, personality assessment, questionnaire validity
MeSH terms: Factor Analysis, Statistical, Humans, Personality Assessment, Personality Development, Personality Disorders, Psychometrics, Reproducibility of Results

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A contrarian view of the five-factor approach to personality description.

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