The present paper discusses the evaluative nature of the traits of the big-five model and investigates the validity of the Personal Characteristics Inventory by analysing its factor structure. The sample is provided by 716 primary- and secondary-school students from a private school in Belo Horizonte. An Exploratory Factor Analysis is undertaken with extraction by means of the maximum likelihood method and Geomin rotation. We also used Cronbach's alpha and the factor determination index and criteria were stipulated for the items' elimination. The factor selected from the various solutions obtained was the eight-factor structure (χ²=345.39, df=163, Comparative Fit Index=0.99, root mean square error of approximation=0.04, standardised root mean square residual=0.02). The eight traits identified are: openness to new experiences, extroversion, changeability, stability, focus on human relationships, introversion, focus on the object and focus on the goal. The factor alphas ranged from 0.59 to 0.80 and the factor determination index ranged from 0.80 to 0.92. The implications of these results are subsequently discussed.
Personality; Five factor personality model; Test validity
