Revised NEO Personality Inventory: (NEO-PIR): what it is and what it measures

The Psychology of Personality deals with finding the universal factors of personality, which can define how people are. The most widely accepted model has been the Big Five Model, de Costa and McCrae (1992).

In this article we will know the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PIR), a personality test that evaluates these 5 factors. We will know these factors, as well as the features or facets that make them up. We will also see what features the NEO-PIR has.

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Revised NEO Personality Inventory: what is it?

The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PIR or NEO-PI-R) is a personality measurement instrument; that is, a test that evaluates personality. Specifically, it evaluates 5 personality factors; In turn, each factor is made up of six traits or dimensions.

This inventory It was developed in 1999 by Paul T. Costa, and Robert R. McCrae. The original version of this personality test belongs to the year 1983, and was developed by the same authors. The theoretical model on which this test is based is the Big Five Model (or Models of the Big Five, 1992) of personality (the 5 big factors), also by the same authors.

Big Five Model

The Big Five Model is one of the most important models in personality psychology, and proposes several factors that make up the personality of all people; the highest or lowest scores on each factor would determine individual differences in personality.

These 5 factors proposed by the Big Five are: Neuroticism (represented with an N), Extraversion (E), Openness to Experience (O), Agreeableness (A) and Responsibility (C). As we will see throughout the article, these factors can also take other names, used as synonyms.

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NEO-PIR Features

At the level of format and structure, the Revised NEO Personality Inventory is a self-report inventory, made up of 240 items on 5-point Likert-type scales (from 0 to 4). Each of the 5 factors that it evaluates is made up of 48 items. In turn, each factor is made up of 6 traits, which we will detail later, and which make up 30 specific scales (each with 8 items).

As we have seen, the Revised NEO Personality Inventory assesses all of the factors typical of the “Big Five” model (5 factors), widely known in personality psychology and evaluation psychological.

The main difference with the previous version (the NEO-PI), is that the Revised NEO Personality Inventory evaluates the last two factors introduced (conformance and conscientiousness) explicitly, and not implicitly. Later we will see the characteristics of the NEO-PI version and those of its predecessor (the NEO).

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Personality Factors

Specifically, the NEO-PIR evaluates the 5 factors mentioned, which we will see below. We will also see what it means to obtain high and low scores in each of the factors:

1. neuroticism

Neuroticism is a first-order factor that is made up of the following traits: anxiety, hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsivity, and vulnerability.

Neuroticism is a personality trait or factor that indicates certain emotional lability and hypersensitivity, as well as a tendency to frequently experience negative emotions and to suffer somatic alterations. These characteristics would appear in people who have scored high in neuroticism.

On the contrary, obtaining a low score in neuroticism indicates being an emotionally stable person.

2. extraversion

The second first-order factor, like all the factors of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, also corresponds to the Big Five Model. Extraversion (also called emergentity) is made up of six traits: warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, search and emotionality.

Scoring high in extraversion indicates being an expansive, uninhibited, social person, prone to action and experiencing strong emotions. It is also a characteristic of impulsive people. On the other hand, scoring low indicates being an introverted person, rather calm, reserved, reflective, orderly and withdrawn.

3. openness to experience

The third factor of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory is openness to experience. This factor is made up of the following traits: fantasy, values, ideas, aesthetics, sensitivity and action. This factor has also been called "culture" on certain occasions.

A high score in openness to experience is typical of people who seek and appreciate the experiences, who have a taste for the unknown and who like to explore new terrain or scopes.

Scoring low on this factor is more typical of "home" people (those who like to be at home), who It is difficult for them to leave their "comfort zone", that they are not interested in trying new things and experimenting, etc

4. Accordance

The conformity factor also presents synonyms in the Revised NEO Personality Inventory; So, also known as cordiality or friendliness. Its opposite would be in antagonism/oppositionism.

Conformity is made up of the following traits: trust, altruism, compliance, tenderness, modesty, and obedience.

Obtaining high scores in this trait implies being an empathic and cooperative person. This factor actually corresponds to a quality of social interactions and to a concept of oneself. himself, to a social attitude and a philosophy of life, which are related to this empathy and this cooperativity. It is characteristic of sensitive people with others and with a collaborative attitude.

On the other hand, a low conformity score indicates rather selfish people, who do not think so much of others, and even a little arrogant (not very humble or modest).

5. Awareness

The last factor on the NEO Revised Personality Inventory is conscientiousness (also called responsibility). His traits are: order, competence, freedom, achievement, discipline and reflection.

People who present this factor are organized, persistent people who control situations and who are motivated by goal-directed behaviors. According to the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, the opposite factor would be neglect.

Previous versions

There are two versions that precede the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PIR); the NEO and the NEO-PI, as well as a reduced version of the NEO-PIR. Let's see what each of them evaluates:

1. NEO (McCrae and Costa, 1983)

Thus, as we mentioned, the original version of this inventory was the NEO by McCrae and Costa (1983), which assesses the following factors: neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience.

2. NEO-PI (McCrae and Costa, 1985)

The second version of the NEO Personality Inventory was the NEO-PI, which was developed in 1985. Evaluate the previous factors, along with two new ones: conformity and conscientiousness. These two factors are implicitly evaluated in the inventory.

3. NEO-FFI (reduced version)

There is a reduced version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, called NEO-FFI; this version it consists of only 60 items, and evaluates the same factors as the NEO-PIR.

Bibliographic references:

• Bermudez, J. (2003). Psychology of personality. theory and research (vol. I and II). Madrid: UNED.
• Buela-Casal, G.; Sierra, J.C. (1997). Psychological evaluation manual. Ed. XXI century. Madrid.
• Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992b). The five-factor model of personality and its relevance to personality disorders. Journal of Personality Disorders, 6: 343-359.
• Moreno, C. (2005). Psychological evaluation. Concept, process and application in the areas of development and intelligence. Ed. Sanz and Torres. Madrid