Alternative five

The alternative five model of personality is based on the claim that the structure of human personality traits is best explained by five broad factors called impulsive sensation seeking (ImpSS),neuroticism–anxiety (N-Anx), aggression–hostility (Agg-Host), sociability (Sy), and activity (Act). The model was developed by Marvin Zuckerman and colleagues as a rival to the well-known Five factor model of personality traits and is based on the assumption that "basic" personality traits are those with a strong biological-evolutionary basis. One of the salient differences between these two models is that the alternative five model lacks any equivalent to the dimension called openness to experience in the five factor model.

The aim of Zuckerman and colleagues in developing the alternative five model was to identify the "basic" factors of personality. Zuckerman argued that basic factors have a biological-evolutionary basis as evidenced by comparable traits in non-human species, biological markers, and moderate heritability. The model was developed by administering research participants a large number of pre-existing personality questionnaires and subjecting the results to factor analysis. The questionnaires were selected based on their use in psychobiological research. Questionnaires used included the Jackson Personality Inventory, the Personality Research Form, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the sensation seeking scale and several others including a measure of social desirability. Markers of 'culture', 'intellect', and 'openness' were deliberately excluded on the basis that these traits are not present in non-human species. The researchers compared models with three to seven different factors. They found that both three and five factor solutions were acceptable, but argued that the five-factor solution was preferable due to greater specificity.

A self-report measure called the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire, Form III, Revised (ZKPQ) has been developed to assess these five traits. It consists of 99 items in a true-false format. In addition to scales measuring the five factors, it contains an "infrequency" validity scale. Endorsement of these items indicates exaggerated social desirability, as the items are unlikely to be true. The ImpSS scale differs from the sensation seeking scale in that it deliberately omits items mentioning specific activities such as drinking, sex, drugs, or risky sports. These items were omitted to facilitate research study of these activities to avoid correlations based purely on similarity between the items and the activities. The ZKPQ has been translated into German, Catalan, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese.

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