The Almost Unbearable Lightness of Personality

Abstract

Researchers seem to believe that accepting the reality of personality traits inevitably leads to a dogma about the incredible complexity of these traits and their judgment. This article challenges this thesis and its assertion that the accuracy of personality judgment can only be achieved when a "good target" or a "good trait" is being judged using "good information," and when a "good judge" makes the judgment. It is argued that because trait dimensions are universally applicable to all persons, there is no stable ranking of good targets. The independence of major personality dimensions is incompatible with the distinction between good and bad traits. There seems to be no privileged source of information because information is everywhere, and its retrieval requires unsophisticated skills. Because of the simplicity of the task, it is usually impossible to determine who a good judge is. A new thesis of simplicity is proposed as a guide through equally plausible personality theories.

Keywords: agreement; complexity of judgment; good judge; good target; personality traits.