This personality questionnaire is a version of the Trait Self-Description Inventory (TSDI; Collis & Elshaw, 1998; Roberts, Zeidner, & Matthews, 2001) that has been adapted for online administration by Dr Adam Perkins. It is a public domain questionnaire that was developed in the 1990s as a joint venture by the US and UK governments to measure the so-called ‘Big Five’ personality dimensions of Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. The ‘Big Five’ dimensions of personality were first defined more than 50 years ago (Tupes & Christal, 1961) and since then hundreds of studies have proven them to be valid predictors of occupational, clinical and educational outcomes. This does not mean that other models of personality are invalid or that there are only five dimensions of personality, it simply means that for most practical purposes the ‘Big Five’ provide a useful and valid approximation of human personality.
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