Personality is (so much) more than just self-reported Big Five traits

Abstract

Common reductionist contractions in thinking or writing about personality and individual differences are to conflate personality, dispositional traits, the Big Five, and self-reports. To avoid conceptual confusions and communicate more effectively, we should bear in mind: (a) Personality is much more than dispositional traits or basic tendencies, (b) basic tendencies are more than just Big Five traits, and (c) self-reports of traits—which capture explicit self-concepts—are just one out of many approaches to trait measurement. These distinctions should be reflected in our thinking, writing, and communication. Attending to them can help clarify what has been studied and (re-)contextualize our knowledge bases. Personality psychology is a science, and scientific language must be accurate, precise, and nuanced.