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Seven-Factor Model of Personality

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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

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Synonyms

Big Seven Model; The Big Seven

Definition

The seven factor model of personality was developed by Tellegen and Waller (1987) using the lexical approach and represents personality traits in terms of seven broad dimensions including positive emotionality, negative emotionality, dependability, agreeability, conventionality, positive valence, and negative valence.

Introduction

Within the past few decades, personality psychologists have generally reached consensus regarding the structure of personality traits. Despite a multitude of trait models ranging from as few as one (Musek 2007) or two (Block and Block 1980; Digman 1997) traits to as many as 20 (Gough 1987), evidence for a five factor model is robust. Indeed, there is evidence that the “Big Five” traits subsumed in this model – extraversion/surgency, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability (vs. neuroticism), and culture or openness to experience – are generalizable across numerous populations and settings (Marsh...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, St. John’s University, Jamaica, NY, USA

    Gerald A. Pantoja & Kate E. Walton

Authors
  1. Gerald A. Pantoja
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  2. Kate E. Walton
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Correspondence to Gerald A. Pantoja .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Ashton Southard

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Pantoja, G.A., Walton, K.E. (2017). Seven-Factor Model of Personality. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1264-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1264-1

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