HOW MANY DIMENSIONS OF PERSONALITY - THE BIG-5, THE GIGANTIC-3 OR THECOMPREHENSIVE-6

Eighteen criticisms of the ,,Five Factor Model'' of personality (FFM) are indicated : there is too much variation for comfort in the number and the nature of the personality dimensions that are currently recogn ized by researchers, whether in ,,lexical'' studies or in questionnair e data. It is suggested that there are actually six main dimensions of normally-distributed human psychological difference; and that each of the six psychometric dimensions is connected with a particular underl ying difference in both ability and emotion. A comprehensive scheme re presenting major dimensions of personality, ability and emotion is out lined. However, psychometric fusion sometimes occurs within two pairs of the Comprehensive 6 dimensions - when testing methods are less sens itive or when testees are of lower sophistication or general intellige nce (g); such lack of differentiation results in only four or five dim ensions being seen. Additionally, three of the six dimensions (extrave rsion, neuroticism and conscientiousness) are particularly easily foun d in conventional questionnaire studies. These three resemble the thre e most familiar personality concepts of Freud (id, ego, superego) and Eysenck (Extraversion, Neuroticism, Psychoticism); anyhow, a ,,Freudia n'' combination of short yet reliable ipsative versions of them yields correlations with sexual permissiveness and militarism/punitiveness. Like g itself, other dimensions of personality crystallize into differ ences in attainment and into attitudes regarding sex and aggression.