The Circumplex of Personality Metatraits: A Synthesizing Model of Personality Based on the Big Five

Abstract

The Big Five model describes the structure of personality as 5 orthogonal and universal dimensions. Although the model has gained significant empirical support both in the psycholexical and questionnaire approaches, it is not free of criticism. The controversies concern the main assumptions regarding the structure of personality, among others the number of basic traits and their orthogonality. It turns out that 2 higher-order factors (also called metatraits) Alpha and Beta, or even 1 General Factor of Personality (GFP) are located above the 5 traits and account for systematical intercorrelations between these basic dimensions. The present article describes the Circumplex of Personality Metatraits (CPM), a proposal based on the knowledge gathered in the Big Five research tradition and solving some problems raised both in psycholexical and psychometric approaches. According to the model, metatraits can be described within a circumplex that is organized by 2 orthogonal dimensions: Alpha and Beta. Furthermore, we also introduce to the model 2 other metatraits: Gamma and Delta. On one hand these correspond to the personality types, and on the other they resolve the controversies related to the GFP. The main advantage of the CPM model is that it provides foundations for wide-ranging theoretical integration: (a) of the trait (disposition) approach to personality with those personality theories that make use of dynamic and explanatory theoretical constructs; (b) of various models of personality, temperament, emotion, motivation, and psychopathology; and (c) of the traditions of personality description in terms of traits and in terms of types.