A MODEL AND A METHOD FOR UNCOVERING THE NOMOTHETIC FROM THE IDIOGRAPHIC - AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE 5-FACTOR MODEL

The dominant approach in contemporary personality psychology is the Fi ve-Factor Model (FFM). This model, however, suffers from several limit ations, including the assumption that lay observation should underlie expert models of personality confusion about whether the FFM is a mode l of personality or a model of lay beliefs about personality, confusio n of the conscious self-concept with personality (of which the conscio us self-concept is only a small subset), and an inattention to persona lity processes. The article contrasts the FFM with an alternative mode l of personality derived in part from clinical observation and interpr etation of narratives, which can be quantified using Q-sort methodolog y. A quantitative case analysis of a patient with a personality disord er allows a comparison of the relative merits of this alternative mode l and method with the FFM. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.