Consider the meaning of CFA tests of the FFM from this perspective. A CFA model specifies that each of the facets within a broad domain (such as neuroticism) is not in fact a separate construct; rather, each represents an alternative expression of the same factor. Thus, anxiety and angry hostility would be specified as alternative indicators of neuroticism, not as separate entities. And each of those traits would be specified as having zero loadings on the other four broad dimensions. The concept behind this modeling strategy is that the five factors each represent unidimensional psychological entities, and that the six facets for each factor are alternative manifestations of those underlying entities.
