Abstract
Numerous studies and meta-analyses have now confirmed that personality traits tend to correlate such that a general factor of personality (GFP) emerges. Nevertheless, there is an ongoing debate about what these correlations, and therefore the GFP, represents. One interpretation is that the GFP reflects a substantive factor that indicates general social effectiveness or emotional intelligence. Another interpretation is that the GFP merely is an artifact based on measurement or response bias. In the present paper, we elaborate on a selection of topics that are central to the debate about this construct. Specifically, we discuss (a) the GFP in relation to more specific personality dimensions (e.g., Big Five, facets), (b) the validity of the GFP and under what circumstances it seems to 'disappear', and (c) the theoretical and practical relevance of the general factor. Overall, the review should provide insight into the nature of the GFP and whether or not it represents a meaningful factor that can contribute to a better understanding of personality.
Highlights
The study of personality has long been hampered by the lack of clear definitions and theory
Since its renewed inception in the literature, the notion of a general factor has stirred much debate. It seems well-established that specific personality dimensions tend to correlate and share a relevant proportion of their variance and, the debate has mainly focused on the interpretation and nature of those correlations
We focus on a limited range of topics and misconceptions about the general factor of personality (GFP) that may require further discussion
Summary
The first topic relates to the relationship between the GFP and its lower-order factors, such as, for instance, described in the Big Five or HEXACO. There was critique on the GFP by emphasizing that personality is complex and cannot be captured in a single factor (e.g., Ferguson et al, 2011) This line of critique is based on a misconception. One way of looking at this is that the GFP, as emotional intelligence, may be some sort of general mechanism regulating biological or temperamental tendencies. Being high on emotional intelligence may allow one to partly deal with such tendencies and either suppress them or otherwise manifest them in socially effective/desirable ways (Kunnanatt, 2004). In theory, two people with the same biological tendency towards anxiety or emotional instability could differ on their neuroticism score because, in one of them, its manifestations and negative effects are mitigated by a higher emotional intelligence. Is there a General Factor of Personality? 3 manifestations, will lead to correlations between traits, the GFP
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