The nature and structure of correlations among Big Five ratings : the halo-alpha-beta model

Ivana Anusic, Ulrich Schimmack, Rebecca T. Pinkus, Penelope Lookwood

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

    183 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    In light of consistently observed correlations among Big Five ratings, the authors developed and tested a model that combined E. L. Thorndikeââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s (1920) general evaluative bias (halo) model and J. M. Digmanââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s (1997) higher order personality factors (alpha and beta) model. With 4 multitraitââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“multimethod analyses, Study 1 revealed moderate convergent validity for alpha and beta across raters, whereas halo was mainly a unique factor for each rater. In Study 2, the authors showed that the halo factor was highly correlated with a validated measure of evaluative biases in self-ratings. Study 3 showed that halo is more strongly correlated with self-ratings of self-esteem than self-ratings of the Big Five, which suggests that halo is not a mere rating bias but actually reflects overly positive self-evaluations. Finally, Study 4 demonstrated that the halo bias in Big Five ratings is stable over short retest intervals. Taken together, the results suggest that the halo-alpa-beta model integrates the main findings in structural analyses of Big Five correlations. Accordingly, halo bias in self-ratings is a reliable and stable bias in individualsââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ perceptions of their own attributes. Implications of the present findings for the assessment of Big Five personality traits in monomethod studies are discussed.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1142-1156
    Number of pages15
    JournalJournal of Personality and Social Psychology
    Volume97
    Issue number6
    Publication statusPublished - 2009

    Keywords

    • Big Five model
    • personality assessment

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