The five-factor taxonomy: Robust dimensions of personality description

Abstract

This paper summarizes the state of empirical research on the five-factor model (FFM). The basic assumptions of the lexical approach to personality psychology are presented, and the historical roots of the „Big Five" arc traced. The results of several taxonomies indicate that the FFM provides a robust description of personality that - similar to Osgood's dimensions of affective meaning - proves to be highly replicable. Relations between the five factors and the dimensions of alternative models of personality structure are considered, and the conceptual status of the Big Five is discussed.