Despite these limitations and concerns, the
MMPI and MMPI-2 remain the“benchmarks”for
self-report inventories measuring psychopathology
or personality. However, as is true for any instru-
ment, it is important that clinical psychologists
appreciate the potential limitations as well as the
strengths of this popular measure.
The Revised NEO-Personality Inventory
Description. TheRevised NEO-Personality Inven-
tory (NEO-PI-R)(Costa & McCrae, 1992) is a self-
report measure of personality features that comprise
an influential model of personality known as theFive-
Factor Model (FFM)(Goldberg, 1993). The FFM has
evolved over the past four decades (Digman, 1990)
and has roots in both the lexical tradition (the analysis
of trait adjectives found in English and other lan-
guages) and the factor analytic tradition in personality
research. As operationalized by the NEO-PI-R, the
five factors or domains are Neuroticism, Extraversion,
Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Consci-
entiousness. Each domain has six facets or subscales—
personality traits that represent various aspects of each
domain. Table 8-4 presents the facets that represent
each domain.
The NEO-PI-R consists of 240 items (8 items
for each of the 30 facets, or 48 items for each of
the five domains). Individuals rate each of the 240
statements on a 5-point scale (strongly disagree, dis-
agree, neutral, agree, strongly agree). Research that
led to development of the NEO-PI-R began in the
1970s. At that time, there was no clear consensus
regarding which personality model or system pro-
vided the most useful and comprehensive description
of personality features. Costa and McCrae became
convinced that there was more agreement among
the various competing personality models regarding
higher-order dimensions (e.g., Neuroticism or
Extraversion) than there was for the lower-level traits
that comprise these (the facets of each dimension).
For this reason, Costa and McCrae adopted a“top-
down” approach in constructing their inventory.
They began by selecting those higher-order factors
or dimensions of personality believed to be of great-
est import and utility (based on reviews of the litera-
ture as well as their own empirical research). They
then identified those traits, or facets, that comprised
each major dimension. The original version of their
instrument assessed only three of the five factors
(Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness); the
NEO-PI-R assesses all five domains of the FFM
and includes facet scales for each.
The NEO-PI-R was developed using a
rational-empirical test construction strategy that
emphasized construct validity. Each personality trait
to be included was identified, defined, and then ana-
lyzed so that items measuring various aspects of the
trait could be generated. Final item selection was
based on empirical performance; that is, the most
reliable and valid items were retained. In addition,
factor analyses were performed to ensure that items
loaded on their respective factors.
Approximately half of the NEO-PI-R items
are reverse scored; that is, lower scores are more
indicative of the trait in question. This was done
to address a potential acquiescence (or nay-saying)
bias that may present problems for inventories in
which all or most items are keyed in the same
direction. In such inventories, high scores may be
due either to acquiescence or to the actual level ofT A B L E 8-4 Domains and Facets of Personality Measured by the NEO-PI-R
Domain Facets
Neuroticism Anxiety, Hostility, Depression, Self-Consciousness, Impulsiveness, Vulnerability
Extraversion Warmth, Gregariousness, Assertiveness, Activity, Excitement Seeking, Positive Emotions
Openness to Experience Fantasy, Aesthetics, Feelings, Actions, Ideas, Values
Agreeableness Trust, Straightforwardness, Altruism, Compliance, Modesty, Tender-Mindedness
Conscientiousness Competence, Order, Dutifulness, Achievement Striving, Self-Discipline, Deliberation
232 CHAPTER 8