Researchers have become increasingly interested in the existence and interpretation of higher-order dimensions of personality, including the possibility of a General Factor of Personality (GFP). Rushton and Irwing (2011, p. 132) suggest that high scores on the GFP reflect a “good” personality whereas low scores reflect a “difficult” personality. Proponents of the GFP suggest that this dimension is the outcome of evolutionary processes that selected certain attributes like emotional stability, openness, cooperativeness, agency, and conscientiousness to promote survival, growth, and reproduction (Musek, 2007; Rushton, 1985; Rushton & Irwing, 2011). Proponents also regard the GFP as considerably robust based on their identification of this higher-order dimension in personality inventories of varying content (e.g., normal vs. disordered personality) and development approach (e.g., theoretical vs. eclectic, empirical vs. rational). Indeed, they note that: “Its location at the apex of the hierarchy should be almost completely fixed in any large data set” (Rusthon & Irwing, 2011, p. 155).
