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Uncovering the structure of agreeableness from self‐report measures
Author(s) -
Crowe Michael L.,
Lynam Donald R.,
Miller Joshua D.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/jopy.12358
Subject(s) - agreeableness , psychology , facet (psychology) , hierarchical structure of the big five , big five personality traits , social psychology , personality , developmental psychology , big five personality traits and culture , extraversion and introversion
Objective Although there are several models of the lower‐order structure of Agreeableness, empirically derived descriptions of this domain are largely nonexistent. We examined the factor structure of Agreeableness items from multiple scales in order to empirically determine the facet‐level structure of the domain. Method Participants ( N = 1,205; 73% female; 84% White; M age = 35.5, SD = 17.26) completed 131 items from 22 scales measuring Agreeableness. Results A series of factor analyses was conducted on 104 items to identify factor emergence of the domain from a single factor to increasingly more specific factors. A five‐factor solution consisting of facets labeled Compassion, Morality, Trust, Affability , and Modesty was identified as most appropriate. Factors from all levels of the construct were compared to current measures of the domain as well as a number of criterion variables. The patterns of association with criterion variables at the lower level of the Agreeableness domain showed significant divergence. Conclusions The current results highlight how specific Agreeableness traits unfold from broader to more specific facets and how these traits are represented in existing measures of this important domain.