AN EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF A 5TH UNIVERSAL FACTOR - KEY ISSUES IN THELEXICAL APPROACH

It is argued that the fifth factor of the Big Five Model of personalit y traits cannot yet claim universal status. In order to identify a fif th factor within the lexical approach it is necessary to make full use of the potentialities of the psycholexical principles. Several flaws in the lexical enterprise are discussed, both regarding the theoretica l delineation of traits and the operational - dictionary-related - ide ntification of trait descriptors. Hitherto largely implicit definition s of traits should be made explicit, and agreement should be reached a bout the theoretical width of the trait domain. Also, in order to obta in cross-culturally comparable results, the procedural steps in the le xical search for trait terms should follow an agreed-upon standard. No ne of the nominated fifth factors, for instance, Culture, Intellect, o r Openness to Experience, has both proceeded from the lexical method a nd received unquestionable cross-cultural affirmation.