Needs and Cognition/Behavior Patterns at Work and the Big Five: An assessment of the Personality and Preference Inventory-Normative (PAPI-N) from the perspective of the five-factor model

ABSTRACT

This study examined the relationship between psychological needs and cognition/behavior patterns at work as measured by the Personality and Preference Inventory – Normative (PAPI-N) and the five-factor model of personality as measured by the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) in a sample of 91 working adults and 71 psychology undergraduates who worked or had some work experience. Our results showed significant and theoretically congruent correlations between the PAPI-N scales and the measures of the five-factor model. These correlations were similar to those found using alternative instruments to measure Murray's needs. Despite the differences in the conceptual origins of the PAPI-N and the NEO-FFI and divergences in the aspects of personality measured by the two inventories, joint and interbattery factor analyses showed that most of the needs and cognition/behavior patterns measured by the PAPI-N can be meaningfully organized within the framework of the five-factor model. These results provide further empirical evidence for the validity of the five-factor model and the PAPI-N, although they also point out personality aspects that are not encompassed by the five-factor model.