John A. Johnson

Implementing a Five-Factor Personality Inventory for Use on the Internet

A short five-factor personality inventory developed from the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) was imple- mented as an online questionnaire and completed by 2,448 participants. Following factor analyses, a revised version was created with acceptable reliability and factor univocal scales. As preliminary evidence of construct validity, support was found for 25 hypothesized links with self-reports of relevant behaviors and demographic variables. In a replication using a different recruiting strategy to test for differences due to motivational factors, similar results were obtained. This set of scales appears to provide acceptable measures of the Five-Factor Model for use in internet-mediated research.

Clarification of the Five-Factor Model With the Abridged Big Five Dimensional Circumplex

This article shows how the Abridged Big Five Dimensional Circumplex (AB5C; W. K. Hofstee, B. de Raad, & L. R. Goldberg, 1992) clarifies disputes about the Big Five or five-factor model. Trait ratings from instruments representing 4 versions of the Big Five (L. R. Goldberg, 1992; R. Hogan & J. A. Johnson, 198 1; R. R. McCrae & P. T. Costa, 1985b, 1987; W T Norman, 1963) were subjected to separate AB5C analyses for 2,148 American and 1,285 German Ss. Replicated results formed standard designation codes representing trait adjectives primary and secondary factor loadings. These codes unveiled the unique coloring imparted by secondary loadings to different scales proffered by researchers to represent the 5 factors.

A virtues approach to personality

Abstract The structure of virtue was investigated through the development and construct validation of the Virtues Scale (VS), a 140-item self-report measure of virtues. A factor analysis of responses from 390 participants revealed four factors: Empathy, Order, Resourcefulness, and Serenity. Four virtue subscales constructed from the highest loading items on each factor were correlated with the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) scales in two additional samples ( n s=181 and 143). One of these samples also completed the DIT measure of Kohlbergian moral development. Meaningful, replicated correlations between the virtue subscales and personality scales and complete lack of relationships between the virtues scales and the DIT indicate that virtue is a function of personality rather than moral reasoning and cognitive development.

Personality as the basis for theoretical predilections.

Four groups of behavioral scientists with divergent theoretical persuasions--43 sociobiologists, 25 behaviorists, 35 personality psychologists, and 16 human developmentalists--showed significantly different mean scores on two measures of philosophical assumptions: the World Hypothesis Scale (WHS) and the Organicism-Mechanism Paradigm Inventory (OMPI). The OMPI, which appears to be more psychometrically sound than the WHS, showed in 12 additional groups of subjects (N = 622) consistent correlations with self-report and peer ratings of personality, intellectual and interpersonal style, and occupational interests. Taken together, the two studies suggest that behavioral scientists philosophical presuppositions (e.g., whether reality is better described by stable, isolated elements or changing holistic patterns; and whether persons are passive and reactive or purposive and active) may mirror their views of themselves.

The Five-Factor Personality Inventory: Cross-Cultural Generalizability across 13 Countries

In the present study, we investigated the structural invariance of the Five‐Factor Personality Inventory (FFPI) across a variety of cultures. Self‐report data sets from ten European and three non‐European countries were available, representing the Germanic (Belgium, England, Germany, the Netherlands, USA), Romance (Italy, Spain), and Slavic branches (Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia) of the Indo‐European languages, as well as the Semito‐Hamitic (Israel) and Altaic (Hungary, Japan) language families. Each data set was subjected to principal component analysis, followed by varimax rotation and orthogonal Procrustes rotation to optimal agreement with (i) the Dutch normative structure and (ii) an American large‐sample structure. Three criteria (scree test, internal consistency reliabilities of the varimax‐rotated components, and parallel analysis) were used to establish the number of factors to be retained for rotation. Clear five‐factor structures were found in all samples except in the smallest one (USA, Nu2009=u200997). Internal consistency reliabilities of the five components were generally good and high congruence was found between each sample structure and both reference structures. More than 80% of the items were equally stable within each country. Based on the results, an international FFPI reference structure is proposed. This reference structure can facilitate standardized communications about Big Five scores across research programmes. Copyright

Clarification of Factor Five with the help of the AB5C Model

The Abridged Big Five‐Dimensional Circumplex (AB5C) Model of Hofstee, De Raad and Goldberg (1992) represents trait terms as blends of factors. Analyses suggest that different scales for measuring Factor V (Mentality) may reflect blends of this factor with either Factor 111 (Constraint) or Factor I (Extraversion/Surgency). Measures saturated primarily by Factor V alone (V+V+ in the AB5C terms of Hofstee et al.) represent Creative Mentality. Measures that blend Factor V with the positive pole of Factor III represent Constrained Mentality (V+III+ ), with the negative pole, Unconstrained Mentality (V+III–). Measures that blend Factors V and I represent Surgent Mentality (V+I+). While all of these variants are perfectly valid forms of Factor V, Creative Mentality seems to be the central core of Factor V and is represented by the Openness to Ideas and Openness to Aesthetics Scales of Costa and McCrae (1992) and by the Generates Ideas and Culture Scales of Hogan and Hogan (1992).

A User’s Manual

We created an online questionnaire, listed about 2,000 characters from 201 canonical British novels of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and asked respondents to select individual characters and answer questions about them. Potential research participants were identified by scanning lists of faculty in hundreds of English departments worldwide and selecting specialists in nineteenth-century British literature, especially scholars specializing in the novel. Lists of English departments are available on the web, and most departments give a listing of faculty that contains information about their teaching and research interests. Invitations were also sent to multiple listservs dedicated to the discussion of Victorian literature or specific authors or groups of authors in our study. Approximately 519 respondents completed a total of 1,470 questionnaires on 435 characters from 134 novels. A copy of the questionnaire used in the study can be accessed at the following URL: http://http://www-personal.umich.edu /~kruger/carroll-survey.html. (The form is no longer active and will not be used to collect data.)

Chapter 3 – Units of Analysis for the Description and Explanation of Personality

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the need for units of analysis. Every science has a nomenclature that describes and defines its domain of study. The list of the units of analysis used by personality psychologists is wildly diverse. The apparent diversity of the units of analysis masks a unity underlying them and that this unity is captured by the term trait. Traits are consistent patterns of thoughts, feelings, or actions that distinguish people from one another. Traits seem to be required for science of personality because any science involves detecting and explaining consistent patterns. Trait follows three features: (1) traits can refer to thoughts, feelings, or behavior. Behavior depends on social contexts and that consistencies are an artifact of a person being in similar situations. This point is often overlooked by psychologists who define personality only in terms of consistent behaviors. (2) Trait ascription invariably involves comparison among people. (3) For traits to distinguish people from one another, they must display some distinctive consistency. Two forms of traits, discussed in this chapter, are outer traits and inner traits. Outer traits can be directly observed and inner traits that must be inferred.

The "Self-Disclosure" and "Self-Presentation" Views of Item Response Dynamics and Personality Scale Validity

This study investigates whether objective self-report measures of personality are better regarded as sources of factual information about the self (i.e., as selfdisclosures) or as ways to instruct others about how one is to be regarded (i.e., as self-presentations). The two perspectives were compared by testing the unique, divergent predictions each perspective made about the kinds of personality variables associated with consistency in self-description. For three groups of subjects (155 normal adults, 69 murderers, and 47 college students) almost all of the self-presentation variables were correlated significantly with consistency, whereas none of the self-disclosure variables was correlated with the criterion. Limitations of the study are discussed.

Advanced Methods for Conducting Online Behavioral Research

The Internet is revolutionizing the way psychologists conduct behavioral research. Studies conducted online are not only less error prone and labor intensive but also rapidly reach large numbers of diverse participants at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. In addition to improving the efficiency and accuracy of data collection, online studies provide automatic data storage and deliver immediate personalized feedback to research participants - a major incentive that can exponentially expand participant pools. Furthermore, behavioral researchers can also track data on online behavioral phenomena, including Instant Messaging (IM), social networking, and other social media. This book goes beyond the basics to teach readers advanced methods for conducting behavioral research on the Internet. Short chapters offer practical advice by leading experts in key domains of Internet research. Readers are shown, step by step, how to conduct online experiments, surveys, and ability testing, use advanced graphic tools such as drag-and-drop objects, apply automatic text analysis tools, check the validity of protocols, automate the storage and analysis of data, record field notes on the behavior of online subjects and chatroom or blogging communities, and much more. Chapters also address critical issues such as data security, ethics, participant recruitment, and how to ensure the completion of tests or questionnaires. This volume also features a companion Web site with additional resources, links, scripts, and instructions to further assist readers with their online research. This book is designed for researchers and advanced graduate students in the behavioral sciences seeking greater technical detail about emerging research methods. Readers will be well equipped to implement and integrate these exciting new methods into their own Internet-based behavioral research effectively, securely, and responsibly.