Abstract
It is argued that the fifth factor of the Big Five Model of personality traits cannot yet claim universal status. In order to identify a fifth factor within the lexical approach it is necessary to make full use of the potentialities of the psycholexical principles. Several flaws in the lexical enterprise are discussed, both regarding the theoretical delineation of traits and the operational—dictionary‐related—identification of trait descriptors. Hitherto largely implicit definitions of traits should be made explicit, and agreement should be reached about the theoretical width of the trait domain. Also, in order to obtain cross‐culturally comparable results, the procedural steps in the lexical search for trait terms should follow an agreed‐upon standard. None of the nominated fifth factors, for instance, Culture, Intellect, or Openness to Experience, has both proceeded from the lexical method and received unquestionable cross‐cultural affirmation.
Keywords
TraitOpenness to experiencePsychologyBig Five personality traitsIdentification (biology)IntellectBig Five personality traits and cultureCognitive psychologyPersonalityFactor (programming language)Domain specificityKey (lock)Domain (mathematical analysis)Lexical itemSocial psychologyLinguisticsNatural language processingEpistemologyComputer scienceCognitionMathematics
Affiliated Institutions
Related Publications
Updating Norman's "adequacy taxonomy": Intelligence and personality dimensions in natural language and in questionnaires.
Research on the dimensions of personality represented in the English language has repeatedly led to the identification of five factors (Norman, 1963). An alternative classificat...
An Introduction to the Five‐Factor Model and Its Applications
ABSTRACT The five‐factor model of personality is a hierarchical organization of personality traits in terms of five basic dimensions: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousn...
Personality in Adulthood
Now in a revised and expanded second edition, this influential work argues for the enduring stability of personality across adult development. It also offers a highly accessible...
THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS AND JOB PERFORMANCE: A META‐ANALYSIS
This study investigated the relation of the “Big Five” personality dimensions (Extraversion, Emotional Stability, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience) t...
Global Traits: A Neo-Allportian Approach to Personality
This paper outlines a theory of global traits based on the seminal writings of Gordon Allport and 50 years of subsequent empirical research. Personality research needs to refocu...
Publication Info
- Year
- 1994
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 229-250
- Citations
- 66
- Access
- Closed
External Links
Social Impact
Altmetric
PlumX Metrics
Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions
Citation Metrics
66
OpenAlex
Cite This
Boele De Raad
(1994).
An expedition in search of a fifth universal factor: Key issues in the lexical approach.
European Journal of Personality
, 8
(4)
, 229-250.
https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2410080403
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1002/per.2410080403