Does self-esteem account for the higher-order factors of the Big Five?

Does self-esteem account for the higher-order factors of the Big Five?
Stephen Erdle , Samuel D. Gosling , Jeff Potter (2009)
https://personality-project.org/revelle/syllabi/454/erdle.09.pdf


Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether higher-order factors of the Big Five personality factors are artifacts of self-esteem. Based on previous research, it was predicted that two higher-order factors, Stability and Plasticity, would emerge from correlations among the Big Five factors. It was also predicted that self-esteem would be related to the higher-order factors but would not account for them. The Big Five and self-esteem were measured in a sample of 628,640 participants using an interactive website on the Internet. Results showed that the two higher-order factors of the Big Five existed and were substantially correlated with self-esteem but remained intact when self-esteem was statistically controlled, indicating that they are not artifacts of self-esteem.

The General Factor of Personality, BIS–BAS, expectancies of reward and punishment, self-esteem, and positive and negative affect

General Factor of Personality, BIS–BAS, expectancies of reward and punishment, self-esteem, and positive and negative affect
Stephen Erdle, J P Rusthon; 2010


Abstract

In two studies, we explore the neurobiological basis of the General Factor of Personality (GFP) by correlating it with measures of the Behavioral Inhibition System–Behavioral Activation System (BIS–BAS), generalized expectancies of reward and punishment, self-esteem, and positive and negative affect. The GFP was measured by aggregating across the scales of the Big Five Inventory (reverse keying Neuroticism to reflect Emotional Stability). Self-report measures from undergraduate students (Ns = 128, 88) revealed a single GFP dimension with positive loadings on BAS, expectations of reward, self-esteem, and positive affect, and negative loadings on BIS, expectations of punishment, and negative affect. The results were robust, replicating across the studies, the sexes, and after controlling for social desirability. The measures of BIS–BAS, generalized expectancies, self-esteem, and positive and negative affect accounted for 59% and 56% of the variance in the GFP. BIS–BAS may provide a neurobiological basis of the GFP.

The General Factor of Personality and its relation to Self-Esteem in 628,640 Internet respondents

The General Factor of Personality and its relation to Self-Esteem in 628,640
Internet respondents
Stephen Erdle et al., 2009
http://psychology.uwo.ca/faculty/rushtonpdfs/2010%20Erdle%20GFP%20in%20PAID.pdf


Abstract


The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the General Factor of Personality (GFP) and Self-Esteem. We found a GFP that explained 57% of the reliable variance in a model that went from the Big Five to the Big Two to the Big One in a secondary analysis of a sample of 628,640 participants, reported by Erdle, Gosling, and Potter (2009) using an interactive website on the Internet. The GFP in turn accounted for 67% of the variance in the measure of Self-Esteem. We discuss alternative possibilities to account for the relationship.

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"Indeed it could even be concluded that in this sample, the GFP is mostly Self-Esteem, since the two constructs share 67% of common variance."