A Short Scale for Assessing the Big Five Dimensions of Personality: 10 Item Big Five Inventory (BFI-10)

Abstract

In course of the further establishment of the Five-Factor Model as the predominant model for describing personality there is an increasing demand for assessing the Big Five dimensions of personality in contexts outside the core field of psychology. As in such contexts assessment time is severely limited, established Big Five instruments are generally too lengthy. Especially for such contexts we developed the ultra-short BFI-10 assessing the five dimensions with a total of ten items, respectively an average duration of approximately one minute. The present study validated the BFI-10 based on a large and population representative sample. Results indicate sufficient psychometric properties for the BFI-10 scales and items. In addition, the findings corroborate the construct and criterion validity of the instrument.