Abstract :
It is argued that contrary to the claims of Big Five investigators, the structure of trait descriptors is still very much an open issue. This is because their methodology, factor/component analysis paired with the dimensional interpretation/simple structure (DISS) procedure, does not investigate the closed topological manifold that constitutes the ‘structure’ of a set of variables. Instead, radex-related configurations are likely candidates for the structure of trait descriptors. Some preliminary support for this claim is given by an analysis of the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) (Costa & McCrae, Manual for the NEO PI-R. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, 1992), a Big Five questionnaire measure, and the Goldberg-40 (Goldberg, Review of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 2, pp. 141–165, 1981. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage), an adjective measure. In particular, the NEO-PI and Goldberg-40 are shown to have radex structures. A facet theory (Guttman, Psychometrika, 36, 329–346, 1971) rationale is provided for these findings.
