A one-minute measure of the Big Five? Evaluating and abridging Shaferʹs (1999a) Big Five markers

Across four studies, involving 960 participants including university students and working adults, the predictive validity of Shaferʹs (Shafer, 1994) 30-bipolar-item measure of the Big Five was compared to the predictive validity of three abridged versions of Shaferʹs measure: (1) a 15-bipolar-item measure; (2) a measure that clustered all of Shaferʹs 60 adjectives onto five items; and (3) a five-bipolar-item measure. Criteria included respondents’ grade point average, self-reports of job satisfaction, job security, job stress, relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, trust, and provision of social support, as well other-reports of transactional and transformational leadership behaviours, organisational citizenship behaviours, and assertiveness. Results showed good predictive validity for all four Big Five measures, with only a slight decline in predictive validity as the number of items and adjectives in the Big Five measures decreased. The results support the use of the abridged measures under conditions when administration time is short, rater fatigue is likely or when multiple measures are being administered.