Two further problems with Trait Theory
Keywords:
personality, faking, Trait TheoryAbstract
We present two illustrations highlighting erroneous conclusions that follow from an uncritical acceptance of Trait Theory. First, a size analogy demonstrates how, by focusing on shared variance among variables, researchers may ignore important unique variance and interactions among personality facets. Second, Trait Theory, when combined with the self-report theory of item responding, leads to faulty conclusions about faking when using personality assessment for personnel selection. We conclude by discussing implications of these illustrations for reactions to our article (Hogan & Foster, 2016) and for the field of Personality Psychology.Published
2017-03-14
Issue
Section
commentaries
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