The BF10 Short Personality Inventory: Validation Study

This paper presents a detailed psychometric analysis of the Big Five Inventory 10-item version (BFI10) administered among NZ tertiary teacher education students. The study shows that previous models of the BFI10 were not valid or well-structured. Alternative models were tested and found to fit somewhat better but rejected the Openness factor and moved items from their intended factors. Nonetheless, the original big five factors, despite misfitting parameters, had a small but positive contribution to student self-reported endorsement of 6 different graduate attributes. Specifically, ◦OPENNESS to new experiences contributed sensibly to intellectual curiosity—seeking new knowledge, ideas, answers to problems, and a love of learning seem predicated on a desire to be open to new thinking.