THE BIG-7 MODEL - A CROSS-CULTURAL REPLICATION AND FURTHER EXPLORATION OF THE BASIC DIMENSIONS OF NATURAL-LANGUAGE TRAIT DESCRIPTORS

The objective of this study was to identify the major lexical dimensions in the Hebrew language and to compare these dimensions with the Big Seven factor structure. A list of 252 trait descriptors was assembled from a Hebrew dictionary, using nonrestrictive criteria similar to those introduced by A. Tellegen and N. G. Waller (1987). The factor structure recovered from these data largely replicates the Big Seven model. In particular, 2 major evaluative factors emerged, Positive and Negative Valence, which are prominent in the Big Seven but are not represented in the Big Five. Four of the remaining 5 factors also clearly correspond to 4 of the Big Seven dimensions and their counterparts in the Big Five.