Primary Scale Structure of the Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP)

Whether three or five dimensions are best able to explain and describe personality has been one of the major questions debated by personality researchers in recent times. The primary scales of the Eysenck Personality Profiler (EPP) and the short version (EPP-S) were examined using a sample of 400 students to determine their factor structure. Results by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that the EPP fits both a threeand five-factor structure reasonably well, while the EPP-S has a much better threefactor structure. The differences are explained in terms of the number of primary scales included by the authors in each of the tests. It is concluded that it is premature to believe that the five-factor structure provides the best description of personality.