Answer to Question 1
Answer: Factor analysis is a way of analyzing words that are correlated with each other to see which items form clusters of adjectives. This statistical technique was used by researchers to determine the Big Five traits. The development of the Big Five was guided by the lexical hypothesis, which is the idea that traits important for survival and reproduction became embedded in our language as single words. The more of these trait words, the more important the trait should be. Researchers recorded all of the adjectives in the English-language dictionary that could be used to describe people. They screened out words referring to temporary stages or social evaluations. They then had people rate themselves on these adjectives. Using factor analysis, they analyzed which words correlated with each other and formed clusters of adjectiveshence the Big Five.
Answer to Question 2
Answer: No; each trait has its pluses and minuses. Being low on agreeableness is not necessarily a bad thing; in fact, men and women who are disagreeable earn more money on average. Even some U.S. presidents (such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt) were rated low on the agreeableness trait. Disagreeableness can motive people, especially when it is combined with humor.
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