Personological categories from spontaneous descriptions and their correspondences with the five-factor model

AbstractIt is usually considered that personality can be described using five independent dimensions. Here we have asked of a group of 7 evaluators, to relate, in a consensual manner, the descriptions of the others, performed spontaneously by 50 students, non- specialists in psychology, with the dimension of the five-factor model. We obtain correspondence in 89% of cases, but with wide disparities between dimensions. If we take into account each of the facets dimension, we also note that none of these dimensions are declined in all of their facets. These results may suggest new studies that can exceed the number of dimensions, studies meant to cover all the components of each selected dimensions. Another lesson is drawn from these results is that: if we consider that the descriptions matched with the traits were made by students without special competence in the field of psychology traits, our results may also lead to questioning the scientific, versus naive character of personality traits