NEO PI-R Summary

1. Purpose

Mike Driscoll, Emad Fahmy, John King, Reg Watson

2. Recommendation
s for use

The NEO PI-R provides a broad-based assessment of an individuals

personality. This includes a thorough understanding of the clients
strengths and weaknesses. The NEO PI-R provides information
relevant to interpersonal style, character, levels of emotional wellbeing, aspiration levels, and a wide range of other psychologically
relevant information (Piedmont, 1998).
It is designed to operationalize the Five Factor Model (FFM) of
personality (Costa, & McCrae, 1995).
The Revised NEO Personality Inventory, or NEO PI-R, is a
psychological personality inventory that embodies factor-analytic
research with both clinical and normal adult populations (Gregory,
2004).
Some of the recommended uses are:
o Clinical uses for the NEO PI-R
o Understanding the client
o Differential diagnosis
o Empathy and rapport
o Feedback and insight
o Anticipating the course of therapy
o Matching treatment to clients (Costa & McCrae, 1992)
There are multiple versions of the form.
Self-report (Form S) and observer rating (Form R) are versions of
two short forms of the NEO Personality Inventory-3 (NEOPI-3).
The items and instructions for the test are the same, except that the
questions are addressed in either the first person in Form S or the
third person in Form R (McRae, Martin & Costa, 2005).
The NEO Five-Factor Inventory-3 is a shorter version, 60-item
instrument that assesses the five factors (12 items per domain).
The NEO PI-3 First Half consists of the first 120 items of the NEOPI-3, selected to optimally assess its 30 facet scales. Internal
consistencies were systematically lower for the brief scales than for
the parent scales, but both brief instruments replicated the factor
structure and showed cross-observer validity (McCrae & Costa,
2007). They appeared to work well in both adolescent and adult
samples, and adequately in a middle school-age sample (Costa,
McCrae & Martin, 2008).
There is also a Form R-Men and a Form R-Women (Anastasi &

NEO PI-R Summary

Mike Driscoll, Emad Fahmy, John King, Reg Watson

3. Intended
population

Urbina, 1997).
This instrument has also been studied for use in a
computerized adaptive test (CAT) procedures in
administering the Revised NEO PI-R (Reise & Henson,
2000).
The test was developed by Paul T. Costa, Jr. and Robert R. McCrae
for use with adult (17+) men and women without overt
psychopathology.
The scales of the NEO PI-R were developed for normal personality
traits, the instrument has been used in clinical, research and other
applied settings (Anastasi & Urbina, 1997). For example
The NEO Personality Inventory was originally designed for use by
adults. Recent studies (Costa & McCrae, 1992a) have shown that
the Revised NEOPI can be used in samples as young as 10 but that
some younger respondents have difficulty understanding certain
items (McCrae & Martin, 2005).
It has also been used in adolescents and adults ages 14-20-years old
(McCrae, Costa & Martin, 2005) and for adults ages 21 to 91-yearsold (McCrae, Martin & Costa, 2005).
The NEO PI-3 was successfully used with 12-13 year-old boys and
girls (Costa, McCrae & Martin, 2008).
They appeared to work well in both adolescent and adult samples,
and adequately in a middle school-age sample (McCrae, & Costa,
2007).
The NEO PI-R has also been used to identify personality
characteristics of high-performing entry-level police officers
(Detrick & Chibnall, 2006).
The NEO-FFI was used reliably to measure premorbid personality in
patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (Archer, Brown, Boothby,
Foy, Nicholas & Lovestone, 2006).
The Revised NEO Personality Inventory was also used in an
outpatient drug rehabilitation context (Piedmont & Ciarrocchi,
1999).
NEO-PI has also been used to measure the social adjustment of
patients with borderline personality disorder (Clarkin, Hull, Cantor
and Sanderson, 1993)
Furthermore, Hyer, Braswell, Albrecht and Boyd, 1994) evaluated 80
Vietnam veterans with PTSD. They have found that the NEO-PI
domains and facets correlated in expected ways with the MCMI-II.
Neuroticism (N) and facets of N seemed to represent

NEO PI-R Summary

Mike Driscoll, Emad Fahmy, John King, Reg Watson

psychopathology as reflected in the various personality disorders.

4. Psychometric
principles

The NEO PI-R contains 240 items that clients answer on a (1)
strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree Likert-type scale and they are
balanced to control for the effects of acquiescence. The items are
simple sentences describing specific behaviors and attitudes. The
NEO PI-R measures five major domains of personality and within
each domain there are six facet scales that are designed to assess
more specific aspects of each domain (Piedmont, 1998, p. 35).
measure the Five Factor Model (FFM): Extraversion, Agreeableness,
Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience. It also
includes three additional items that check validity. The items assess
emotional, interpersonal, experiential, attitudinal, and motivational
variables. Additionally, the test measures six subordinate
dimensions, known as facets or traits of each of the FFM personality
factors (Gregory, 2004).

TABLE 1: Domain and Facet (Trait) Scales of the NEO PI-R

Domains

Facet

Neuroticism

Anxiety
Angry Hostility
Depression

Self-Consciousness
Impulsiveness
Vulnerability

Extraversion

Warmth
Gregariousness
Assertiveness

Activity
Excitement Seeking
Positive Emotions

Openness to
Experience

Fantasy
Aesthetics
Feelings

Actions
Ideas
Values

Agreeableness

Trust
Straightforwardness
Altruism

Compliance
Modesty
Tender-Mindedness

The internal
consistency of the
scale is .86 to .96
for the domain
scales, and .56 to .
90 for the facet
scales. Stability
coefficients range
from .51 to .83 in
three-to-seven-year
longitudinal studies
(Gregory, 2004).

5. Norm group
Competence
The NEO PI-3 has Achievement
been shown toStriving
confirm cross-sectional findings
Conscientiousness Order and continues to show
Self-Discipline
how important it is to study the age changes
Dutifulness
Deliberation
in personality during the twenties (McCrae, Martin, & Costa, 2005).
6. Strengths

The instrument is an excellent measure of personality.

NEO PI-R Summary

Mike Driscoll, Emad Fahmy, John King, Reg Watson

7. Weaknesses and
considerations

8. Administration
and scoring

9. Interpreting
scores

It has superb internal consistency of the scales.

Strong test and retest stability among clinical samples. All studies
found high retest correlations pre-and post-treatment (Piedmont,
1998, p. 40).
An excellent instrument to help establish therapeutic goals
(Piedmont, 1998, p. 62).
Rubenzer, Faschingbauer and Ones (2000) used the Revised NEO
Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R), to assess the personalities of all
41 US presidents to determine "Who has the personality to be
president?" (p. 403). The researchers found that the "Big Five
personality dimensions and their facets, as measured by the NEO PIR are useful in the prediction of presidential greatness" (p. 417).
Depressed patients have lowered self-esteem that is manifested in
their responses. It appears that the primary effect of this bias is seen
on measures related to Neuroticism. Liebowitz, Stallone, Dunner,
and Fieve (1979) have reported that Neuroticism scores, but not
Extraversion scores, increased as patients entered a depressive phase
One should keep in mind that since factor analysis is a technique for
narrowing down multiple factors. Therefore, the NEO PI-R is not
homogenous test, and we should note the multiple factors of
personality when using it in counseling (Anastasi & Urbina, 1997).
The instrument's format consists of a five point Likert scale rating:
strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree.
The scoring is designed to make the NEOPI more useful to
clinicians include computer administration, scoring, and
interpretation; a mail-in scoring system; separate norms for college
students; a short, 60-item version (the NEO Five Factor Inventory, or
NEOFFI) that gives scores for the five domains only and may be
useful when time for assessment is limited; and a test feedback sheet
(Appendix: Your NEO Summary) that can be used to involve the
patient therapeutically (Costa & McCrae, 1992b).
The NEO PI-R provides a wealth of information about an individual.
This information is intended for interpretation by a professional
trained in psychological testing. Nevertheless, completed scored,
rated and interpreted reports can be made available on a NEO
Summary Form, which can be utilized in the clinical setting
(Piedmont, 1998, p. 106).

NEO PI-R Summary

Mike Driscoll, Emad Fahmy, John King, Reg Watson

10. Cultural
relevance

Two possible report options result from the NEO PI-R, the NEO
professional development report for individual planning and the
NEO professional development for management planning. They
report on the individual's strength and limitations in four major
areas, namely:
o Problem-solving skills (organize thought, solve
problems, make decisions)
o Planning, organizing and implementation skills (action
oriented, conscientiousness, openness to new ideas,
leadership behavior)
o Style of relating to others (accommodation, openness,
ability to trust), and
o Personality style (primary values and approach to life,
temperament, degree of emotional self-control)
These reports give a summary of the individual's most distinctive
characteristics and consequences of the work setting and life in
general.
See Separate Handout (Sample NEO-PI-R Report.pdf)
Numerous researchers have shown that the dimensions of the NEO
PI-R generalize quite well to a number of different cultures,
including European, Italian, German, Finnish and Polish, Spanish,
Indian, Asian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Filipino. The fivefactor model is recoverable in languages that do not share a common
derivational or experiential history with English. The domains
operation maturationally in similar ways across cultures (Piedmont,
1998, p. 73).
The NEO PI-R appears to be relevant to many cultures. It has been
replicated in African American older adults living in the United
States (Savla, Davey, Costa, & Whitfield, 2007). It was also used
across various age, education level and sex of polish adults
(Mikoajczyk, Zitek, Samochowiec, & Samochowiec, 2008). In
addition, the instrument has been found to be relevent in Argentina,
Australia, Chile, China, Croatia, Chech Republic Estonia, France,
Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto
Rico, Russia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, South Korea, Thailand,
Turkey, Uganda and the United States (De Fruyt, De Bolle, McCrae,
Terracciano and Costa, 2009). We should take note, however, that
not all studies of the NEO PI-R have shown significant comparison,
particularly with Hmong Americans (Moua, 2007).

NEO PI-R Summary

11. Overall
impression of the
instrument

Mike Driscoll, Emad Fahmy, John King, Reg Watson

The Revised NEO Personality Inventory is rapidly becoming one of

the most popular measures of normal personality in the research
literature. Psychometric reviews of the instrument are favorable
citing the robust empirical nature of the instrument as well as its
impressive predictive validity in a variety of applications
From a counseling perspective, the Revised NEO Personality
Inventory can provide a personological context within which to
evaluate the presenting problem of clients. It can also be useful for
anticipating treatment outcome and for establishing appropriate
treatment goals, to name but two useful applications. Interpretively
the information obtained from the Revised NEO Personality
Inventory is quite rich, providing insights into coping strategies,
interpersonal style, needs and motives, and characterological
functioning. It can be a useful adjunct to any assessment battery. The
five-factor model can relate patient personality, presenting
complaint, treatment plan, and treatment outcome to each other in a
reasonable, systematic way, without loss of empathy or compassion
for the patient."
Overall there is much to commend this inventory for use in both
research and applied contexts.

NEO PI-R Summary

Mike Driscoll, Emad Fahmy, John King, Reg Watson

References

Anastasi, A., & Urbina, S. (1997). Psychological testing (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall.
Archer, N., Brown, R., Boothby, H., Foy, C., Nicholas, H., & Lovestone, S. (2006). The NEOFFI is a reliable measure of premorbid personality in patients with probable Alzheimer's
disease. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21(5), 477-484.
doi:10.1002/gps.1499.
Clarkin, J., Hull, J., Cantor, J., & Sanderson, C. (1993). Borderline personality disorder and
personality traits: A comparison of SCID-II BPD and NEO-PI. Psychological Assessment,
5(4), 472-476. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.5.4.472.
Costa, P., & McCrae, R. (1992a). ''Normal' personality inventories in clinical assessment:
General requirements and the potential for using the NEO Personality Inventory': Reply.
Psychological Assessment, 4(1), 20-22. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.4.1.20.
Costa, P., & McCrae, R. (1992b). Normal personality assessment in clinical practice: The NEO
Personality Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 4(1), 5-13. doi:10.1037/10403590.4.1.5.
Costa, P., & McCrae, R. (1995). Domains and facets: Hierarchical personality assessment using
the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment, 64(1), 21-50.
doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa6401_2.
Costa, P., McCrae, R., & Martin, T. (2008). Incipient adult personality: The NEO-PI-3 in middleschool-aged children. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 26(1), 71-89.
doi:10.1348/026151007X196273.
De Fruyt, F., De Bolle, M., McCrae, R., Terracciano, A., & Costa, P. (2009). Assessing the
universal structure of personality in early adolescence: The NEO-PI-R and NEO-PI-3 in
24 cultures. Assessment, 16(3), 301-311. doi:10.1177/1073191109333760.
Detrick, P., & Chibnall, J. (2006). NEO PI-R personality characteristics of high-performing
entry-level police officers. Psychological Services, 3(4), 274-285. doi:10.1037/15411559.3.4.274.
Gregory, R. J. (2004). Psychological Testing (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Group,
Inc.
Hyer, L., Braswell, L., Albrecht, B., & Boyd, S. (1994). Relationship of NEO-PI to personality
styles and severity of trauma in chronic PTSD victims. Journal of Clinical Psychology,
50(5), 699-707. doi:10.1002/1097-4679(199409)50:5<699::AIDJCLP2270500505>3.0.CO;2-C.

NEO PI-R Summary

Mike Driscoll, Emad Fahmy, John King, Reg Watson

Liebowitz, M. R., Stallone, F., Dunner, D. L., & Fieve, R. F. (1979). Personality features of
patients with primary affective disorder. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 60, 214
224.McCrae, R., & Costa, P. (2007). Brief versions of the NEO-PI-3. Journal of
Individual Differences, 28(3), 116-128. doi:10.1027/1614-0001.28.3.116.
McCrae, R., Costa, P., & Martin, T. (2005). The NEO-PI-3: A More Readable Revised NEO
Personality Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment, 84(3), 261-270.
doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa8403_05.
McCrae, R., Martin, T., & Costa, P. (2005). Age Trends and Age Norms for the NEO Personality
Inventory-3 in Adolescents and Adults. Assessment, 12(4), 363-373.
doi:10.1177/1073191105279724.
Mikoajczyk, E., Zitek, J., Samochowiec, A., & Samochowiec, J. (2008). Personality
dimensions measured using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and NEOFFI on a Polish sample. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 17(4),
210-219. doi:10.1002/mpr.264.
Moua, G. K. (2007). Trait structure and levels in Hmong Americans: A test of the five factor
model of personality. Dissertation abstracts international: Section b: The sciences and
engineering, 67(8-B), 4750.
Piedmont, R. L. (1998). The revised NEO personality inventory: Clinical and research
applications. New York, N.Y.: Plenum Press.
Piedmont, R. L., & Ciarrocchi, J.W. (1999). The utility of the Revised NEO Personality
Inventory in an outpatient, drug rehabilitation context. Psychology of Addictive
Behaviors, 13, 213-226.
Reise, S. P., & Henson, J. M. (2000). Computerization and adaptive administration of the NEO
PI-R. Assessment, 7, 347-364. doi: 10.1177/107319110000700404
Rubenzer, S., Faschingbauer, T., & Ones, D. (2000). Assessing the U.S. presidents using the
revised NEO Personality Inventory. Assessment, 7(4), 403-420.
doi:10.1177/107319110000700408.
Savla, J., Davey, A., Costa, P. T., & Whitfield, K. E. (2007). Replicating the NEO-PI-R factor
structure in African-American older adults. Personality and Individual Differences 43,
12791288.

NEO PI-R Summary

Mike Driscoll, Emad Fahmy, John King, Reg Watson

Appendix: Your NEO Summary

NEO PI-R Summary

Mike Driscoll, Emad Fahmy, John King, Reg Watson

NEO PI-R Summary

Mike Driscoll, Emad Fahmy, John King, Reg Watson

NEO PI-R Summary

Mike Driscoll, Emad Fahmy, John King, Reg Watson

NEO PI-R Summary

Mike Driscoll, Emad Fahmy, John King, Reg Watson