Measuring the Big Five with single items using a bipolar response scale

Abstract

The convergence on the Big Five in personality theory has produced a demand for efficient yet psychometrically sound measures. Therefore, five single‐item measures, using bipolar response scales, were constructed to measure the Big Five and evaluated in terms of their convergent and off‐diagonal divergent properties, their pattern of criterion correlations and their reliability when compared with four longer Big Five measures. In a combined sample (N = 791) the Single‐Item Measures of Personality (SIMP) demonstrated a mean convergence of r = 0.61 with the longer scales. The SIMP also demonstrated acceptable reliability, self–other accuracy, and divergent correlations, and a closely similar pattern of criterion correlations when compared with the longer scales. It is concluded that the SIMP offer a reasonable alternative to longer scales, balancing the demands of brevity versus reliability and validity. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.