APA Dictionary of Psychology

an inventory of individual differences in eight personality traits constructed primarily through factor analysis and yielding scores on eight scales: trust versus defensiveness, orderliness versus lack of compulsion, social conformity versus rebelliousness, activity versus lack of energy, emotional stability versus neuroticism, extraversion versus introversion, masculinity versus femininity, and empathy versus egocentrism. Designed for individuals ages 16 years and over, it consists of 180 statements to which participants respond using a 7-point Likert scale format, ranging from never to always or from definitely not to definitely. [developed in 1970 by Andrew Laurence Comrey (1923–  ), U.S. psychologist]