16PF

16PF stands for the 16 Personality Factors or 'source traits' that were identified by Raymond Cattell in the 1930s as being the main set of factors whereby a person can be classified. These were derived from an analysis of personality-describing words (initially 18,000, then whittled down to 4500, then about 171 and eventually 16).

There are 16 Primary Factors, which have also been grouped into five global factors.

Unlike some other systems, the focus of the 16PF is to identify innate characteristics without immediate concern for how they are applied.

The 16 Primary Factors

Primary Factor	Ref	Low	High
Warmth	A	Reserved, impersonal, distant, cool, reserved, impersonal, detached, formal, aloof	Warm, outgoing, attentive to others, kindly, easygoing, participating, likes people
Reasoning	B	Concrete-thinking, lower general mental capacity, less intelligent, unable to handle abstract problems	Abstract-thinking, more intelligent, bright, higher general mental capacity, fast learner
Emotional Stability	C	Reactive, emotionally changeable, affected by feelings, emotionally less stable, easily upset	Emotionally stable, adaptive, mature, faces reality, calm
Dominance	E	Deferential, cooperative, avoids conflict, submissive, humble, obedient, easily led, docile, accommodating	Dominant, forceful, assertive, aggressive, competitive, stubborn, bossy
Liveliness	F	Serious, restrained, prudent, taciturn, introspective, silent	Lively, animated, spontaneous, enthusiastic, happy-go-lucky, cheerful, expressive, impulsive
Rule-Consciousness	G	Expedient, nonconforming, disregards rules, self-indulgent	Rule-conscious, dutiful, conscientious, conforming, moralistic, staid, rule-bound
Social Boldness	H	Shy, threat-sensitive, timid, hesitant, intimidated	Socially bold, venturesome, thick-skinned, uninhibited, can take stress
Sensitivity	I	Utilitarian, objective, unsentimental, tough-minded, self-reliant, no-nonsense, rough	Sensitive, aesthetic, sentimental, tender-minded, intuitive, refined
Vigilance	L	Trusting, unsuspecting, accepting, unconditional, easy	Vigilant, suspicious, skeptical, wary, distrustful, oppositional
Abstractedness	M	Grounded, practical, prosaic, solution-oriented, steady, conventional	Abstracted, imaginative, absent-minded, impractical, absorbed in ideas
Privateness	N	Forthright, genuine, artless, open, guileless, naive, unpretentious, involved	Private, discreet, non-disclosing, shrewd, polished, worldly, astute, astute, diplomatic
Apprehension	O	Self-assured, unworried, complacent, secure, free of guilt, confident, self-satisfied	Apprehensive, self-doubting, worried, guilt-prone, insecure, worrying, self-blaming
Openness to Change	Q1	Traditional, attached to familiar, conservative, respecting traditional ideas	Open to change, experimenting, liberal, analytical, critical, free-thinking, flexibility
Self-Reliance	Q2	Group-oriented, affiliative, a joiner and follower, dependent	Self-reliant, solitary, resourceful, individualistic, self-sufficient
Perfectionism	Q3	Tolerates disorder, unexacting, flexible, undisciplined, lax, self-conflict, impulsive, careless of social rules, uncontrolled	Perfectionist, organized, compulsive, self-disciplined, socially precise, exacting will power, control, self-sentimental
Tension	Q4	Relaxed, placid, tranquil, torpid, patient, composed, low drive	Tense, high energy, impatient, driven, frustrated, over-wrought, has high drive, time-driven

The single reference letters indicate the order in which the factors emerged from the statistical factor analysis used to derive them. This means that the earlier factors are more significant (so 'warmth' had a very significant effect and will moderate other factors). The 'Q' factors emerged later when the initial factors were being tested. Missing letters indicate factors that appeared on early analysis but were later dropped.

The Five Global Factors (16PF5)

This is a grouping and simplification from the above 16 factors, which are sometimes also called the 16PF5. These are not a simple grouping of the 16PF - some of the sixteen appear in more than one of the five.

Global Factors	Low	High	16PF
Extraversion	Introverted, socially inhibited	Extraverted, social participant	A+, F+, H+, N-, Q2-
Anxiety	Low anxiety, relaxed, imperturbable, well-adjusted	High anxiety, tense, perturbable, histrionic	C-, L+, O+, Q4+
Tough-Mindedness / Willpower	Receptive, open-minded, intuitive, emotionality, feeling	Tough-minded, resolute, non-empathetic, determined	A-, I-, M-, Q1-
Independence	Accommodating, agreeable, selfless, subdued	Independence, persuasive, wilful	E+, H+, L +, Q1+
Self-Control	Unrestrained, impulsive, uncontrolled	Self-controlled, inhibiting impulses	F-, G+, M-, Q3+

Note that these are similar to the Big Five factors, which were developed later, but are not the same.

So what?

Assess people either roughly using the above table as a guide or more fully using the standard questionnaire. The general principle is that these factors are pretty fixed, so you can then project them onto other situations.

16PF factors

The 16 Primary Factors

Warmth

Reasoning

Emotional Stability

Dominance

Liveliness

Rule-Consciousness

Social Boldness

Sensitivity

Vigilance

Abstractedness

Privateness

Apprehension

Openness to Change

Self-Reliance

Perfectionism

Tension

The Five Global Factors (16PF5)

Extraversion

Anxiety

Tough-Mindedness / Willpower

Independence

Self-Control

So what?

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