ABSTRACT
A rich tradition has developed in the study of personality attempting to identify a taxonomy of individual differences. As has been noted (Briggs, 1992; Cattell, 1965; Goldberg, 1981; Norman, 1967), identification of a structure of personality and the development of a taxonomy of trait descriptors and behavior patterns is important to the field for at least two reasons. First, knowledge of structure establishes the very domain of inquiry for personality psychology. Second, the development of a taxonomy provides a common language allowing acceleration of progress in the field. The current Zeitgeist of the Big Five attests that much progress has been made toward the development of a comprehensive taxonomy of personality trait descriptors and behavior patterns.
