Personality refers to relatively stable patterns of thinking, feeling, and behavior that distinguish individuals from one another. In psychological research, personality is usually studied through trait-based approaches, which describe individuals along continuous dimensions rather than assigning them to discrete types.
Over time, several major models of personality structure have been developed. These models differ in theoretical assumptions, level of explanation, and scope. Some provide broad descriptive taxonomies, others emphasize biological systems, temperament, interpersonal patterns, or clinically relevant maladaptive traits.
Several core models are covered in dedicated sections because of their central role in personality assessment.
⇒ The Eysenck Model describes personality through three broad dimensions: Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Psychoticism. It is one of the earliest biologically oriented trait models.
⇒ The Five-Factor Model (Big Five) describes personality through five broad dimensions: Extraversion, Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience. It is the dominant descriptive framework in contemporary personality research.
⇒ The Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory focuses on biologically grounded motivational systems, especially sensitivity to punishment, reward, threat, and conflict. It is commonly assessed through BIS/BAS and related measures.
Some models extend or revise the Big Five framework by introducing additional dimensions or alternative conceptualizations.
The HEXACO Personality Inventory (HEXACO-PI-R) – expands the traditional five-factor structure by adding Honesty–Humility, a dimension related to sincerity, fairness, modesty, and avoidance of exploitation. This model gives more explicit attention to moral and interpersonal aspects of personality.
The Questionnaire Big Six (48QB6, 24QB6) also expands the traditional five-factor and assesses six broad personality dimensions: Conscientiousness, Honesty/Propriety, Agreeableness, Resiliency, Extraversion, and Originality/Intellect.
The SAPA Personality Inventory (SPI) assesses the Big Five personality traits and a large number of additional trait dimensions derived from item-pool research, providing both a traditional five-factor profile and a more detailed description of personality characteristics.
The Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ, ZKA-PQ, ZKA-PQ/SF) focuses on biologically based traits such as impulsive sensation seeking, activity, sociability, neuroticism-anxiety, and aggression-hostility. It reflects an alternative personality tradition grounded in temperament, arousal, and evolutionary perspectives.
Temperament-based approaches focus on biologically rooted individual differences in reactivity, energy, and regulation.
Cloninger's model distinguishes temperament from character, combining biologically based emotional dispositions with higher-level self-regulatory and meaning-related dimensions.
The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI + IPIP, TPQ) distinguishes between biologically based temperament traits, such as novelty seeking and harm avoidance, and higher-level character dimensions shaped by learning and experience. n/a
Rothbart's model conceptualizes temperament in terms of emotional reactivity and effortful control.
The Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ) assesses temperament in terms of emotional responsiveness, attentional control, effortful control, and self-regulation in adults. n/a
The Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire (EATQ-R) extends Rothbart's temperament framework to adolescence, assessing emotional reactivity, effortful control, affiliativeness, and related temperament traits. n/a
Strelau's Regulative Theory of Temperament describes formal characteristics of behavior, including energetic and temporal features.
The Pavlovian Temperament Survey (PTS) assesses temperament characteristics derived from Pavlovian nervous-system theory, including strength of excitation, strength of inhibition, and mobility of nervous processes. n/a
The Formal Characteristics of Behaviour-Temperament Inventory (FCB-TI) assesses temperament dimensions in the Regulative Theory of Temperament, including energetic and temporal characteristics of behavior. n/a
The Structure of Temperament Questionnaire (STQ-77), developed in Russia, describes temperament through functional aspects of behavior, including tempo, endurance, orientation, and emotionality across different domains of activity.
These measures describe characteristic personality styles that resemble personality disorder prototypes but are intended primarily for understanding normal personality variation rather than diagnosing psychopathology. Instruments that focus on maladaptive personality traits, personality disorders, and personality pathology are discussed in the Psychopathology domain.
The Personality Self-Portrait Questionnaire assesses Oldham-Morris personality styles as normal variations in personality, emphasizing continuity between everyday personality patterns and personality pathology. ©
A related European tradition is Leonhard's theory of personality accentuations.
The Schmieschek Questionnaire assesses ten accentuation types based on this framework. Although this model is not used in contemporary English-speaking psychology, it remains well known in Russia and some Eastern European countries.
These measures describe personality through stable emotional, temperamental, and biopsychological systems. They sit at the intersection of personality psychology, affective science, and clinically relevant models.
The Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego (TEMPS-A) assesses affective temperament types such as depressive, cyclothymic, hyperthymic, irritable, and anxious. This model is closely linked to research on mood disorders and affective vulnerability.
The Type D Scale (DS14) assesses Type D personality, a distress-prone personality pattern defined by negative affectivity and social inhibition.
The Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS-B) assess individual differences in primary emotional systems such as Seeking, Fear, Anger, Care, Sadness, and Play. This approach links personality assessment with affective neuroscience and biologically grounded models of temperament.
The Arizona Life History Battery (Mini-K, K-SF-42) assesses individual differences in life history strategy, including long-term planning, family and social relationships, altruism, religiosity, attachment, and risk-related developmental patterns.
These approaches conceptualize personality as stable patterns of interpersonal behavior shaped by underlying psychological dynamics, motives, and habitual strategies for managing relational tension.
The Horney-Coolidge Tridimensional Inventory (HCTI) assesses three interpersonal orientations derived from Karen Horney's theory: moving toward people, moving against people, and moving away from people.
The interpersonal circumplex model, originating in Timothy Leary's work on interpersonal diagnosis, organizes interpersonal behavior along two broad dimensions: dominance, or agency, and warmth, or communion.
The Interpersonal Adjective Scales (IAS) assess interpersonal traits within the circumplex model, organized around the dimensions of dominance, or agency, and warmth, or communion.
The Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP) assesses recurring interpersonal difficulties, such as problems with dominance, submissiveness, warmth, distance, assertiveness, and dependency.
The Circumplex Scales of Interpersonal Values (CSIV) assess interpersonal values and preferred ways of relating to others within the interpersonal circumplex framework.
Together, these models connect personality with social functioning, showing how broad traits are expressed in interpersonal styles, needs, values, and difficulties.
A number of influential personality inventories were developed alongside or before the widespread adoption of the Big Five framework.
The 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF + IPIP), developed by Raymond Cattell, represents one of the earliest comprehensive trait taxonomies. It measures 16 primary factors and several higher-order dimensions. ©
The Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), developed by Auke Tellegen, organizes personality around broad dimensions such as Positive Emotionality, Negative Emotionality, and Constraint, with some narrower scales. ©
The California Psychological Inventory (CPI + IPIP) assesses personality characteristics relevant to social functioning and interpersonal effectiveness. It focuses on everyday “folk concepts” used to describe personality. ©
The Jackson Personality Inventory (JPI-R) provides a broad assessment of personality traits related to interpersonal functioning, work style, and emotional tendencies, including responsibility, empathy, risk taking, and organization. ©
The OMNI Personality Inventory (OPI) is a broad personality assessment instrument designed to measure a wide range of normal personality traits, interpersonal tendencies, values, and behavioral styles. ©
These inventories are proprietary and are most relevant as historically important or professionally used broadband personality measures.
The Analog to Multiple Broadband Inventories (AMBI) was designed to approximate several major broadband personality inventories within a more accessible framework.
These measures assess psychological maturity and immaturity as broad personality patterns.