Personality theories are often applied in different professional, academic, and medical settings to characterize people and place them in suitable positions. There are many assessment tests for personality used by psychologists. (Saugstad, 2018). The current paper applies the big five and Cattel’s 16 personality factor (16 PF) to understand Rachel’s temperament. The background is first provided, followed by an analysis of the two theories with their respective application to Rachael’s case. Rachael’s personality is predominantly extroversion, with some behaviors of conscientiousness and neuroticism. Moreover, the 16PF shows that she has positive attributes like interpersonal warmth, intelligence, dominance, radicalism, and self-sufficiency with a few psychopathic behaviors, including insensitivity.
Background
Personality refers to the enduring styles and traits individuals exhibit in their character and interactions with others. People form character from their natural dispositions and acquired behaviors that are different from the norms (Adler & Press, 2020; John & Robins, 2021). Each person has a unique trait that influences their lives, relationships, and careers (Burger, 2018). The big five personality trait divides people into five categories based on their moods, thoughts, feelings, energy levels, interactions, and ways of making decisions (Thiel, 2022; Piechurska-Kuciel,2020). The 16PF is used in assessing and categorizing people based on their self-response.
Theoretical Underpinning: Big Five Personality Trait
The big five personalities propose that humans can be categorized into five broad temperaments based on some observed and reported characteristics. The first proponent of the model was D. W. Fiske, although it was further developed by other psychologists, including Norman, Smith, McCrae, and Costa (Lim, 2020). The five categories of personality include conscientiousness, openness to experience, agreeableness, neuroticism, and extraversion. Individuals who score high on conscientiousness are impulsive, moody, and disorganized in dealing (Zhou, 2018). Openness refers to individuals who depict enthusiasm towards learning new things, a vast array of interests, imagination, and insightful. Individuals whose personality is agreeableness are more cooperative, friendly, compassionate, and prefer establishing peace with everyone rather than having conflicts (Lim, 2020). Neuroticism relates to the degree of emotional stability in moody and irrational individuals. Extraversion comprises highly outgoing individuals who gather energy while with people, assertive and talkative. Notably, a person always has traits from more than one category, but the models seek their enduring personalities.
Cattell’s 16 PF
The 16 PF is a strong empirical strategy used to identify the fundamental personality dimension which shapes the entire personality. The model was developed by Ramond Cattell, who believed that true personality actors are found across various kinds of data, including self-reports and laboratory tests (Woodward, 2020; DeRobertis, 2021). Cattell’s framework has sixteen factors numbered in using alphabetical order: Factor A assesses interpersonal warmth, B-intelligence, C-emotional stability, E-dominance, F-impulsivity, G-conformity, H-boldness, I-sensitivity, L-suspiciousness, M-imagination, N-shrewdness, O-insecurity, Q1-radicalism, Q2-self-sufficiency, Q3-self-discipline, and Q4-tension (Larsen, 2020). Cattell did not use any replicable formula or machine in establishing the calculations for the sixteen factors. Resultantly, his theory continues to receive criticism because there is no justification for the methods used in categorizing individual characters. Nonetheless, the theory is still relevant in measuring character, especially within the corporate world.
Application of the Theories to Rachel
Based on the Big Five theory, Rachel’s personality is predominantly extraversion. She is described as charming when she meets new people. Moreover, she loves and enjoys partying, wholeheartedly enjoying every moment of the celebrations. Noteworthy, these traits are typical for people who are extroverts. Furthermore, they can quickly start a conversation and enjoy themselves while in social gatherings (Lim, 2020). The other characteristic that fits this trait is her meticulous approach to work. Thus, she has several traits of extraversion, such as her sociable and fun-loving.
However, Rachel has some traits of neuroticism and conscientiousness, which complement her extroversion personality. Regarding the former, she is described as having a nasty streak that makes her behaviors unpredictable, causing her to have many short-term romantic relationships. People develop psychopathy during their first six years of life when their surrounding is not conducive for normal development (Fersch, 2021; Fritzon et al., 2019). Notably, Rachel was a lonely child who was unkind to others and controlling with other kids. The qualities that resemble conscientiousness include being optimistic, hardworking, mindful of planning, and organized (Grohol, 2022). She is determined to do better than her parent does and works tirelessly to achieve her dreams. Thus, neuroticism may stem from her unrestrained or troubled childhood, and she uses her authoritarian qualities to succeed.
I6 Personality Factor
An assessment of Rachel based on the 16PF reveals that she has interpersonal warmth (similar to extraversion), intelligence, dominance, radicalism, and self-sufficiency (Larsen, 2020). Remarkably, these attributes make her excel despite being a dropout because of her charisma and authoritarian personality (Adorno et al., 2019; George & George, 2019). Rachel is successful in business due to being an independently-minded visionary, making her resilient despite drawbacks (Wilson, 2019). She worked in an entry-level position that required no technical skills, after which she saved money and started her company. Given that Rachel is a visionary woman, her enterprise continues to thrive despite being a school dropout.
An assessment of Rachel’s personality using the 16PF reveals a few negative attributes. Particularly, she scores higher on shrewdness, insensitivity, and impulsiveness, as evident in her social-climbing, unexpected behavior changes, and short-term relationships. Essentially, Rachel’s character expresses that she is an insensitive leader with choleric traits but apathetic with narcissistic attitudes towards subordinates (Webster & Brough, 2021; Leonelli & Masciarelli, 2020). She may be able to continue advancing in her entrepreneurial endeavors, but if she treats her partners and employees with contempt, it will be hard for her to make her business sustainable. Thus, Rachel has major qualities that set her on the path to success, but some of her behaviors may make her lose essential people that would otherwise help meet her career and relational goals.
Conclusion
To conclude, the big-five personality trait and the 16PF are both good models for assessing individual attributes and identifying areas for improvement. The former shows that Rachel has extroversion as the dominant character, as evident in her outgoing and fun-loving nature. However, she has few characteristics of neuroticism and conscientiousness. The findings from the 16PF mostly complement those of the big-five personality theory. Like many charismatic authoritarian leaders, Rachel is domineering, hardworking, intelligent, and self-sufficient. However, she has some antisocial behavior emanating from her childhood. The two models did not sufficiently cover all her traits, especially those that make her appear narcissistic. Thus, a third tool may help give insights into some areas left by the 16PF and the big five.
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Case study 1: Rachel
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