ABSTRACT
In any scientific enterprise, it is necessary to set priorities. In an emerging consensus, personality psychologists are assigning a top priority to the establishment of a language for describing the basic units of personality (Digman, 1990; Digman & Inouye, 1986; Goldberg, 1981; Hogan, 1983; John, 1990; McCrae & Costa, 1985). This consensus is derived from convergence in empirical work pointing toward a five-factor model (e.g., Digman, 1990; Digman & Takemoto-Chock, 1981; McCrae & Costa, 1987; McCrae & John, 1992) and from theoretical analyses offering explanations for the empirical regularities (e.g., Buss, 1991; Goldberg, 1981; Hogan, 1983; John, 1990; Wiggins & Trapnell, in press).
