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Introduction

BFAS (DeYoung, Quilty, and Peterson, 2007) are used frequently in current personality research. In contrast to other Big Five inventories BFAS postulate only two distinct aspects within each Big Five factor. Yet, to our knowledge both its contextualization in the work setting and a confirmatory factor analysis of the BFAS are still pending.

Objectives

A German translation of the BFAS was further contextualized for work settings in order to maximize its potential criterion-related validity. This version of the BFAS was empirically tested to assess its overall psychometric properties and postulated factorial structure.

Design/Methodology

The study (N=395) was conducted in the context of an online career counseling platform, which is provided to participants free of costs. Common descriptive analyses and a confirmatory factor analysis were conducted.

Results

Most facets showed acceptable levels of reliability (.70-.83), while politeness (.61) did not. The inspection of facet correlations revealed significant hetero-facet correlations (e.g. r =.5 for compassion-enthusiasm). However the data did show promising fit to the postulated model of 5 personality factors and 10 facets sensu DeYoung (e.g. RMSEA=.053).

Conclusions

The current contextualized version of BFAS in German does match several psychological test standards. Especially a shortened version (Ant Colony Optimization) shows promising results. The originally translated items are currently tested empirically in order to assess the effect of the contextualization. Item analyses indicate that some items and facets show a limited fit to the occupational setting as they include highly undesirable behaviors such as ‘Insult people’ and call for a special proceeding.

References

DeYoung, C. G., Quilty, L. C., & Peterson, J. B. (2007). Between facets and domains: 10 aspects of the Big Five. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 880-896.