NEO inventory

Psychological Diagnostics

Neo Personality Inventory

Konrad Schnabel

Agenda

1. Introduction

2. Psychometrics

3. Utility

4. Personality Styles

Construction of Personality Tests

1. Deductive (Rational, Intuitive) Scale Construction

• Items are created following a theory.

• Theory also determines response format.

• High face validity.

• Example: Wechsler Intelligence Scales

2. External (Empirical, Criterion Group) Scale Construction

• Measures that differentiate between different established groups.

• Items are selected based on validity coefficients.

• A-theoretical item creation.

• Example: MMPI

3. Inductive (Item-Metric, Factorial) Scale Construction

• Grouping and selection of items based on exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency.

• Target: Homogeneous scales showing minimal inter-scale correlations.

• Identification of subtle items and of previously unknown relationships between constructs.

• Example: NEO-PI

NEO-PI-R & NEO-PI-3

Purpose

• Target: Differentiated, broad, and economic description of inter-individual differences according to the Big Five Model.

• Focus: Descriptions of normal human traits relevant, understandable, and accurate for behavioral predictions.

• Big Five: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness (OCEAN).

Structure

• Inductive scale construction based on Sedimentation Hypothesis (lexical approach).

• Structure: 5 Domains, each built out of 6 Facets (with 8 items) => 240 items.

Administration

• Items: 240

• Response Format: Five-point Likert-type scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

• Response Time: Approximately 30-40 minutes.

• Forms:

  • Self-report (Form S)

  • Peer, spouse, expert report (Form R), with statements shifted from the first person to the third person.

• Age Range:

  • NEO-PI-R: Ages 17 to 89

  • NEO-PI-3: Ages 12 to 99 (uses 37 new items that are more easily understood and provide better psychometric properties).

• Information Requested: Typical behavior patterns, feelings and opinions, attitudes about the self, others, and situations.

• Administration Mode: Can be administered in groups or individually, pencil-and-paper or computer-based (e.g., email).

• Settings: Applicable in research, clinical nonclinical (e.g., vocational assistance or placement) settings.

• Standard T Scores: Mean = 50, SD = 10.

Personality Dimensions

Neuroticism

• Measures emotional instability, turmoil, and general distress.

Facets

1. Anxiety: Proneness to tension, jitters, nervousness, and fearfulness.

2. Angry Hostility: Tendency toward anger, bitterness, and resentment (does not measure aggressive behavior).

3. Depression: Depressive feelings including sadness, loneliness, hopelessness, worthlessness, guilt, and shame.

4. Self-Consciousness: Discomfort with social awkwardness, fear of making social mistakes, feelings of shame, and embarrassment.

5. Impulsiveness: Difficulty resisting urges and controlling emotions.

6. Vulnerability: Challenges in coping with stress and decisiveness, feelings of helplessness and emotional insecurity.

Extraversion

• Measures sociability, assertiveness, warmth, and friendliness.

Facets

1. Warmth: Comfort with interpersonal intimacy, compassionate, affectionate.

2. Gregariousness: Preference for social interactions and being around others.

3. Assertiveness: Ability to be heard in social situations, take leadership roles, dominant.

4. Activity: Energy, fast-paced engagement, always busy.

5. Excitement-Seeking: Craving for thrilling experiences, need for enjoyment in high-stimulation activities.

6. Positive Emotions: General feelings of happiness, love, joy, and optimism.

Openness

• Encompasses imagination, curiosity, emotional sensitivity, and preference for abstract thinking.

Facets

1. Fantasy: Active imagination utilized for creative problem-solving.

2. Aesthetics: Interest in art, beauty, and nature.

3. Feelings: Openness to internal emotional experiences, valuing deep emotions.

4. Actions: Willingness to try new activities, foods, and experiences.

5. Ideas: Intellectual curiosity for concepts and new ideas.

6. Values: Willingness to reassess values when confronted with differing worldviews.

Agreeableness

• Measures attitudes on the trustworthiness of others and empathy.

Facets

1. Trust: Faith in human goodness, believing others are well-meaning.

2. Straightforwardness: Honesty, avoidance of hypocrisy.

3. Altruism: Concerns for well-being, generosity, and being helpful.

4. Compliance: Tendency to suppress personal anger for good relationships.

5. Modesty: Humility, preferring to praise rather than be praised.

6. Tender-Mindedness: Empathy, belief in deserving respect for all individuals.

Conscientiousness

• Traits related to task accomplishment and behavioral correlates.

Facets

1. Competence: Confidence in effectiveness and capability in life tasks.

2. Order: Preference for neatness and tidiness.

3. Dutifulness: Commitment to doing what is expected or morally required.

4. Achievement Striving: Aspiration to succeed; being industrious.

5. Self-Discipline: Ability to execute plans thoroughly.

6. Deliberation: Thoughtfulness and care before acting.

History

• Original NEO-PI developed by Costa & McCrae in 1985; NEO-PI-R released in 1992.

• NEO-FFI: A 60-item abbreviated version providing domain scores only.

• Supported by a large body of theoretical literature and empirical studies for score interpretations.

• Minor changes from NEO-PI-R to NEO-PI-3.

• Normative samples show higher education levels than the general population, predominantly White, mostly from Pennsylvania.

Reliability

• Excellent internal consistency for Big 5 domains (approximately 0.90).

• Short-term test-retest reliability (1 week) is satisfactory (above 0.90).

• Long-term stability is also satisfactory (at least 0.78).

• Some facet scale reliabilities fall below 0.60.

Validity

• The Big Five encompass normal and abnormal personality functioning measures and theories.

• Factorial Validity: Domain scores correlate highly (>0.84) with expected factors and low with non-expected factors.

• Cross-Observer Agreements: Self-other agreement ranges from 0.35 to 0.65, indicating moderate self-report biases.

• External Validity: Related to dysfunction in relationships, work, leisure participation, well-being, vocational interests, attachment styles, defense mechanisms.

Assets

• Focus on non-pathological traits across a broad spectrum of attitudes, values, styles, beliefs, and behaviors.

• Extreme scores can reveal significant information about an individual's maladjustment expression.

• Applications: clinical, educational, occupational, and medical fields for treatment planning and behavioral medicine.

• Effective study of interactions between normal traits (e.g. Neuroticism) and pathological traits (e.g. depression).

• Terminology is client-friendly and non-threatening, focusing on normative traits rather than just pathological ones.

• Recognized for international comparability.

Limitations

• No direct assessment of problems or problem behaviors; should not be a standalone clinical measure.

• Lacks solid validity scales for fake good, fake bad, or random responses.

• High face validity but susceptible to faking.

• Increased motivation to skew results in personnel selection or forensic contexts.

• The Big 5 model is not a scientific personality theory, but rather based on layperson concepts of individual differences.

Big Five and Personality Disorders

• Systematic relationships exist between DSM-IV Personality Disorders and the Big Five (Saulsman & Page, 2004).

• Except for Openness, all Big 5 domains exhibit patterns of relationships with various personality disorders.

• Only 30-50% of the pathological variance in personality disorders can be predicted by the Big 5 facets.

• Profile relationships: Histrionic and Narcissistic personality disorders show positive correlations with Extraversion and negative correlations to other factors.

• N = Neuroticism, E = Extraversion, O = Openness to experience, A = Agreeableness, C = Conscientiousness.

• Effect sizes z > 0.20 are in bold. Standard deviations are in parentheses.

• N: number of independent effect sizes on which means are based is 15.

• * p < 0.05 (one-tailed)

• ** p < 0.01 (one-tailed)

• *** p < 0.001 (one-tailed)

• **** p < 0.0001 (one-tailed)

Use With Diverse Groups

• Translated into over 50 languages and dialects.

• Factorial structure replicated mainly in Germanic samples (Anglo-American, Germans, Dutch).

• Universal Age Differences: intrinsic maturation effects observed.

• Gender Findings: Women tend to score higher on Agreeableness.

• Individuals of European descent tend to score higher on Extraversion compared to individuals from Africa or Asia.

• Cultural comparability issues arise from different reference groups and translation problems.

• Lack of studies focusing on differential item/trait functioning across social groups and cultures (e.g., gender identity, socioeconomic status).

Interpretation

• Based on individual scales, facet-domain comparisons, and paired domain styles.

• Ten Personality Styles: Comprised of different combinations of the domains focused on the following aspects:

  • Interest

  • Interactions

  • Well-being

  • Defense

  • Anger control

  • Impulse control

  • Activity

  • Attitudes

  • Learning

  • Character

Styles of Interest

Style of Interest Examples:

• Creative Interactors (Extraversion + Openness):

  • Interests in popular activities such as parties and blockbuster events.

  • Attracted to occupations like salesperson.

• Mainstream Consumers (Extraversion - Openness):

  • Enjoys social activities but leans towards mainstream experiences.

  • Possible vocation in repetitive, low-stimulation jobs.

• Homebodies (Extraversion - Openness):

  • Enjoys solitary activities like gardening or collecting.

  • Vocational interests in mechanical or domestic work.

• Der Introspectors (Extraversion - Openness):

  • Prefer solitary intellectual activities like writing and reading.

• Social Interactions Styles:

  • E- & A- “Competitor”: Competitive view toward social interactions, motives are private.

  • E+ & A- “Leader”: Dominant traits without concern for revealing personal opinions; may exhibit narcissism.

  • E+ & A+ “Welcomer”: Warm and friendly; sympathetic and likeable.

  • E- & A+ “Unassuming”: Modest and trusting, lack of assertiveness but great team players.

Style of Well-Being

• N- & E- “Low-Keyed”: Emotionally unaffected and somewhat stoic.

• N+ & E- “Gloomy Pessimist”: Experiences sadness and likely becomes depressed and pessimistic.

• N+ & E+ “Overly Emotional”: Extreme emotional experiences and tendencies toward drama; less extreme indicates rich emotional life.

• N- & E+ “Upbeat Optimist”: Cheerful and resilient, but may deny negative aspects of life.

Styles of Defense

• N- & O- “Hypo-sensitive Defender”: Problem-solving focused without worry for uncontrollable issues.

• N+ & O- “Maladaptive Defender”: Uninsightful defense mechanisms like denial; immature in approach.

• N+ & O+ “Hypersensitive Defender”: Heightened awareness of potential problems, experienced ruminations.

• N- & O+ “Adaptive Defender”: Creative and adept at facing various challenges.

Styles of Anger Control

• N- & A- “Cold-Blooded”: Strategic and calculated anger responses; potentially manipulative.

• N+ & A- “Temperamental”: Prone to verbal and physical aggression.

• N+ & A+ “Timid”: Easily hurt; may internalize anger.

• N- & A+ “Easy Going”: Rely on forgiveness and finding compromises.

Styles of Impulse Control

• N- & C- “Relaxed”: Lack of motivation and behavior control; avoidance of complex tasks.

• N+ & C- “Under-controlled”: Impulsivity and striving for immediate gratification; vulnerability to risks.

• N+ & C+ “Over-controlled”: Perfectionism with low tolerance for error and vulnerability to OCD.

• N- & C+ “Directed”: High self-efficacy and goal orientation, resilience against setbacks.

Styles of Activity

• E- & C- “Lethargic”: Low enthusiasm and passivity towards life.

• E+ & C- “Funlover”: Enthusiastic and impulsive; values adventure over accomplishments.

• E+ & C+ “Go-Getter”: Quick and effective; eager to achieve goals; potentially impositional on others.

• E- & C+ “Plodder”: Steady approach to tasks and responsibilities.

Styles of Attitudes

• O- & A- “Resolute Believer”: Rigid, morally-minded, judgmental; prefers strict discipline as solutions.

• O+ & A- “Free Thinker”: Independent and critical of traditional beliefs; values rationality.

• O+ & A+ “Progressive”: Trusts education and humanist ideals.

• O- & A+ “Traditionalists”: Socially influenced; inclined to maintain peace and follow norms.

Styles of Learning

• O- & C- “Reluctant Scholar”: Lack of intrinsic motivation for learning; attentional deficits.

• O+ & C- “Dreamer”: Enthusiastic about learning but poor follow-through.

• O+ & C+ “Good Student”: Achievers with success in academia and careers.

• O- & C+ “By-the-Booker”: Lacks creativity; prefers clear, structured learning paths.

Styles of Character

• A- & C- “Undistinguished”: Self-interested, low self-control; prone to unhealthy habits for instant satisfaction.

• A+ & C- “Well-Intentioned”: Caring towards others but struggle with personal goal achievement.

• A+ & C+ “Effective Altruist”: Successfully help others while completing difficult tasks.

• A- & C+ “Self-Promoter”: Focused on personal achievement, often at the expense of others.

Questions for Reflection

1. Describe three different approaches to constructing personality tests.

   • Deductive (Rational, Intuitive) Scale Construction: Items are created following a theory, ensuring high face validity. Example: Wechsler Intelligence Scales.

   • External (Empirical, Criterion Group) Scale Construction: Measures that differentiate between different established groups, selected based on validity coefficients. Example: MMPI.

   • Inductive (Item-Metric, Factorial) Scale Construction: Items are grouped based on exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency, aiming for homogeneous scales with minimal inter-scale correlations. Example: NEO-PI.

2. Which approach would you choose for constructing a personality test? Justify your choice.

   • I would choose the Inductive (Item-Metric, Factorial) Scale Construction approach, as it allows for the identification of subtle items and previously unknown relationships between constructs. This method maximizes internal consistency and ensures that the item selection is grounded in empirical data, leading to more accurate and reliable assessments.

3. Describe three Big Five dimensions and two facets for each of the three dimensions.

   • Neuroticism:

     • Anxiety: Proneness to tension and nervousness.

     • Depression: Feelings of sadness, loneliness, and hopelessness.

   • Extraversion:

     • Warmth: Comfort with interpersonal intimacy, compassionate and affectionate.

     • Assertiveness: Ability to take leadership roles in social situations.

   • Openness:

     • Fantasy: Active imagination utilized for creative problem-solving.

     • Aesthetics: Interest in art, beauty, and nature.

4. Provide one example for any one style of interest, interactions, well-being, defense, anger control, impulse control, activity, attitudes, learning, or character.

   • Creative Interactors (Extraversion + Openness): They have interests in popular activities such as parties and blockbuster events, and are often attracted to occupations like salesperson where they can engage with others creatively and socially.