TIPI: Ten Item Personality Inventory (Big Five)

Reviewed by: Constantin Rezlescu | Associate Professor | UCL Psychology

Introduction

The Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) is an extremely brief measure of the Big Five personality dimensions, designed to provide a quick assessment when time is severely constrained. Developed by Gosling, Rentfrow, and Swann (2003), this innovative 10-item scale captures the essential elements of the five-factor model using just two items per dimension, making it ideal for large-scale surveys and research contexts where comprehensive personality assessment is impractical.

The TIPI represents a deliberate and strategic trade-off between measurement precision and practical utility. While longer Big Five inventories provide detailed, reliable assessment across multiple facets of personality, many research situations simply cannot accommodate comprehensive measurement tools.

The Time Constraint Problem in Personality Research

Personality psychology has long recognized the importance of the Big Five model for understanding individual differences. However, traditional Big Five measures present significant practical challenges:

Time demands: Standard measures require 15-45 minutes, consuming valuable research time

Participant burden: Long questionnaires increase fatigue and dropout rates, particularly in online research

Cost considerations: Lengthy assessments multiply translation and administration costs in international studies

Survey limitations: Multi-variable studies cannot allocate extensive time to any single construct

Repeated measurement: Longitudinal designs requiring multiple personality assessments face compounding time demands

These constraints led researchers to repeatedly face a difficult choice: omit personality assessment entirely or use measures with inadequate validation. The TIPI was developed to provide a third option—an ultra-brief measure that maintains adequate psychometric properties while dramatically reducing participant burden.

Theoretical Foundation

The TIPI is based on the Big Five model of personality, which organizes personality traits into five broad dimensions: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. This model represents decades of lexical research demonstrating that these five factors consistently emerge across cultures, languages, and assessment methods.

The two-item strategy:

Each TIPI item uses a “dual-descriptor” format—pairing two related trait adjectives to capture the breadth of each Big Five dimension. For example, “extraverted, enthusiastic” combines the core social and energetic aspects of Extraversion. This strategy maximizes the information extracted from each item while maintaining extreme brevity.

Balancing comprehensiveness and efficiency:

The TIPI prioritizes measuring the broad Big Five domains rather than specific facets within each domain. This represents a conscious design choice—given only 10 items, the measure focuses on capturing the variance at the highest level of the personality hierarchy rather than attempting to assess lower-level facets inadequately.

Expected psychometric trade-offs:

With only two items per dimension, the TIPI necessarily has lower internal consistency (alpha coefficients) than longer measures. However, internal consistency depends partly on the number of items, making low alphas expected and acceptable for ultra-brief scales. The more critical question is whether the TIPI maintains adequate convergent validity with longer Big Five measures and demonstrates expected relationships with external criteria—which research demonstrates it does.

The TIPI should be viewed as a “good enough” measurement tool for specific contexts where comprehensive assessment is impossible, not as a replacement for detailed personality inventories when thorough assessment is feasible.

⚡ Ultra-Efficient: The TIPI can be completed in under 2 minutes while still providing meaningful assessment of all five major personality dimensions.

Key Features

Assessment Characteristics

• 10 items total (2 items per Big Five dimension)
• 1-2 minutes administration time
• Ages 18+ through adult populations
• 7-point Likert scale for adequate response range despite brevity
• Dual-descriptor format maximizing information per item
• Free to use for research and educational purposes

Big Five Dimensions Assessed

• Extraversion – Sociability, assertiveness, energy level
• Agreeableness – Cooperation, compassion, trust
• Conscientiousness – Organization, responsibility, achievement orientation
• Neuroticism – Emotional stability vs. anxiety and negative affect
• Openness to Experience – Intellectual curiosity, creativity, aesthetic appreciation

Extreme Efficiency Benefits

• Minimal participant burden reduces survey fatigue and dropout rates
• Cost-effective for large-scale data collection across multiple sites
• Easy translation for cross-cultural research with limited budgets
• Flexible administration suitable for online, paper, phone, or in-person formats
• Quick scoring with simple averaging calculations
• High completion rates due to brevity

Research and Applied Applications

• Large-scale surveys where personality is one of many measured variables
• Longitudinal studies requiring repeated personality assessments over time
• Online behavioral research with brief participant attention spans
• Cross-cultural studies with translation and administration cost constraints
• Exploratory research requiring rapid personality screening
• Multi-wave panel studies tracking personality alongside other constructs

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Scoring and Interpretation

Response Format

Participants rate how well each pair of traits describes them using a 7-point scale:

• 1 = Disagree strongly
• 2 = Disagree moderately
• 3 = Disagree a little
• 4 = Neither agree nor disagree
• 5 = Agree a little
• 6 = Agree moderately
• 7 = Agree strongly

Complete TIPI Items

Instructions: “Here are a number of personality traits that may or may not apply to you. Please rate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each statement. You should rate the extent to which the pair of traits applies to you, even if one characteristic applies more strongly than the other.”

“I see myself as:”

1. Extraverted, enthusiastic (Extraversion)
2. Critical, quarrelsome (Agreeableness – Reversed)
3. Dependable, self-disciplined (Conscientiousness)
4. Anxious, easily upset (Neuroticism)
5. Open to new experiences, complex (Openness)
6. Reserved, quiet (Extraversion – Reversed)
7. Sympathetic, warm (Agreeableness)
8. Disorganized, careless (Conscientiousness – Reversed)
9. Calm, emotionally stable (Neuroticism – Reversed)
10. Conventional, uncreative (Openness – Reversed)

Scoring Procedure

Step 1: Reverse score items 2, 6, 8, 9, 10

• Reverse score = 8 – original score

Step 2: Calculate domain scores by averaging the two items for each dimension:

• Extraversion: (Item 1 + Item 6 reversed) ÷ 2
• Agreeableness: (Item 7 + Item 2 reversed) ÷ 2
• Conscientiousness: (Item 3 + Item 8 reversed) ÷ 2
• Neuroticism: (Item 4 + Item 9 reversed) ÷ 2
• Openness: (Item 5 + Item 10 reversed) ÷ 2

Score Interpretation

Scale Range: 1.0 – 7.0 for each dimension

Score Range	Interpretation
5.5 – 7.0	High – Strong presence of trait
3.5 – 5.4	Moderate – Average levels of trait
1.0 – 3.4	Low – Weak presence of trait

Population Norms

College student sample (Gosling et al., 2003):

Dimension	Mean	Standard Deviation
Extraversion	4.44	1.45
Agreeableness	5.23	1.11
Conscientiousness	5.40	1.32
Neuroticism	4.83	1.56
Openness	5.38	1.07

Interpretation Guidelines

Appropriate uses:

• Basic personality description at the broad domain level
• Research contexts where precision is less critical
• Preliminary screening before more comprehensive assessment
• Control variables in multivariate research

Interpretation limitations:

• Substantial measurement error due to only 2 items per dimension
• Cannot provide facet-level personality information
• Less suitable for individual assessment than group-level research
• Should be supplemented with longer measures when detailed profiling needed

Research Evidence and Psychometric Properties

Reliability Evidence

Internal consistency:

• Extraversion: α = 0.68 (Gosling et al., 2003)
• Agreeableness: α = 0.40 (Gosling et al., 2003)
• Conscientiousness: α = 0.50 (Gosling et al., 2003)
• Neuroticism: α = 0.73 (Gosling et al., 2003)
• Openness: α = 0.45 (Gosling et al., 2003)

Note: Low alphas are expected and acceptable for 2-item scales; internal consistency depends partly on test length

Test-retest reliability:

• 6-week interval: r = 0.62-0.77 across dimensions, demonstrating adequate temporal stability (Gosling et al., 2003)
• Comparable to test-retest correlations of longer Big Five measures over similar intervals

Validity Evidence

Convergent validity with Big Five Inventory (44 items):

• Extraversion: r = 0.87, demonstrating excellent convergence (Gosling et al., 2003)
• Agreeableness: r = 0.70 (Gosling et al., 2003)
• Conscientiousness: r = 0.75 (Gosling et al., 2003)
• Neuroticism: r = 0.81 (Gosling et al., 2003)
• Openness: r = 0.65 (Gosling et al., 2003)

Convergent validity with NEO-PI-R:

• Correlations range from r = 0.56-0.77 with corresponding NEO domains (Ehrhart et al., 2009)
• Demonstrates adequate convergence with gold standard Big Five measure

Factor structure confirmation:

• Five-factor solution: Consistently replicated across multiple samples (Gosling et al., 2003)
• Confirmatory factor analysis: Acceptable model fit for five-factor structure (Ehrhart et al., 2009)
• Factor loadings: Items load on expected factors, though cross-loadings present due to brevity

Cross-Cultural Validation

• German validation: Comparable psychometric properties and factor structure confirmed (Muck et al., 2007)
• International studies: Successfully used in cross-cultural personality research across multiple countries (Schmitt et al., 2007)
• Translation efficiency: Brief length facilitates rapid translation and validation in new languages

Criterion Validity

Life outcomes prediction:

• Academic performance: Conscientiousness shows expected positive correlation with GPA (Credé et al., 2017)
• Relationship satisfaction: Agreeableness and Neuroticism predict relationship outcomes as expected (Malouff et al., 2010)
• Job performance: Conscientiousness correlates with work performance similar to longer measures (Barrick & Mount, 1991)
• Social network size: Extraversion predicts larger social networks (Woods & Hampson, 2005)

Discriminant validity:

• Low to moderate inter-correlations among TIPI dimensions (r typically <0.30) (Gosling et al., 2003)
• Appropriately independent trait dimensions

Comparison to Longer Measures

Advantages maintained:

• Captures approximately 65-85% of variance in longer Big Five measures (Gosling et al., 2003)
• Predicts external criteria nearly as well as longer measures in many contexts
• Maintains five-factor structure despite extreme brevity

Trade-offs accepted:

• Lower internal consistency (expected with 2 items)
• Cannot assess facet-level personality traits
• Less precision for individual assessment
• Higher measurement error requiring larger sample sizes

Usage Guidelines and Applications

Optimal Research Applications

When TIPI is most appropriate:

• Large-scale surveys where personality is a secondary or control variable
• Longitudinal studies requiring repeated brief personality measurement
• Online behavioral research with time-sensitive participants
• Cross-cultural studies with translation and cost constraints
• Exploratory research in personality psychology
• Panel studies tracking multiple constructs over time

Research Design Considerations

Sample size recommendations:

• Minimum N = 300 for adequate power given measurement error
• Larger samples (N >500) preferred for structural equation modeling
• Consider attrition when planning longitudinal studies

Statistical considerations:

• Account for measurement error in analyses (use correction formulas when possible)
• Focus on effect sizes and patterns rather than precise point estimates
• Consider latent variable modeling to estimate true score variance
• Use conservative significance levels to account for reduced reliability

Combining with other measures:

• Supplement with longer Big Five measure in subsample for validation
• Combine with other brief measures for more comprehensive assessment
• Consider follow-up detailed assessment for participants with extreme scores

When NOT to Use TIPI

Inappropriate applications:

• Clinical assessment or diagnostic purposes
• Individual counseling or therapeutic planning
• High-stakes decision-making (hiring, selection, placement)
• Situations requiring precise individual measurement
• When detailed personality profiling is needed
• Assessment of personality change in intervention studies (insufficient sensitivity)

Usage Recommendations

Best practices:

• Always report TIPI psychometric limitations in publications
• Use for group-level analyses rather than individual interpretation
• Consider measurement error when interpreting null findings
• Supplement with longer measures when feasible for key analyses
• Validate TIPI relationships with external criteria in your specific sample

Reporting guidelines:

• Report internal consistency for your sample (even if low, for transparency)
• Acknowledge brevity trade-offs in discussion sections
• Consider sensitivity analyses with longer personality measures when available
• Report both correlations and effect sizes

Limitations and Cautions

• Reduced reliability compared to comprehensive personality inventories
• No facet-level information – only broad domain assessment possible
• Increased measurement error requires larger samples and caution in interpretation
• Less suitable for change detection given lower precision
• Not validated for clinical populations or diagnostic purposes
• Limited utility for individual assessment – best for research contexts

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Legal and Copyright Information

Copyright and Usage Responsibility: Check that you have the proper rights and permissions to use this assessment tool in your research. This may include purchasing appropriate licenses, obtaining permissions from authors/copyright holders, or ensuring your usage falls within fair use guidelines.

The TIPI is freely available for research and educational purposes. The measure was designed to be accessible to researchers facing time and resource constraints, and the authors have made it available without licensing fees.

Proper Attribution: When using or referencing this scale, cite the original development study:

Gosling, S. D., Rentfrow, P. J., & Swann, W. B., Jr. (2003). A very brief measure of the Big-Five personality domains. Journal of Research in Personality, 37(6), 504-528.

External Links and Resources

Big Five Personality Traits – Wikipedia

Berkeley Personality Lab

Gosling’s Lab – Brief Measures

Open Psychometrics – TIPI

References

Primary Development Citation:

• Gosling, S. D., Rentfrow, P. J., & Swann, W. B., Jr. (2003). A very brief measure of the Big-Five personality domains. Journal of Research in Personality, 37(6), 504-528.

Validation Studies:

• Ehrhart, M. G., Ehrhart, K. H., Roesch, S. C., Chung-Herrera, B. G., Nadler, K., & Bradshaw, K. (2009). Testing the latent factor structure and construct validity of the Ten-Item Personality Inventory. Personality and Individual Differences, 47(8), 900-905.
• Muck, P. M., Hell, B., & Gosling, S. D. (2007). Construct validation of a short five-factor model instrument: A self-peer study on the German adaptation of the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI-G). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 23(3), 166-175.

Applications Research:

• Woods, S. A., & Hampson, S. E. (2005). Measuring the Big Five with single items using a bipolar response scale. European Journal of Personality, 19(5), 373-390.
• Credé, M., Tynan, M. C., & Harms, P. D. (2017). Much ado about grit: A meta-analytic synthesis of the grit literature. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113(3), 492-511.

Cross-Cultural Research:

• Schmitt, D. P., Allik, J., McCrae, R. R., & Benet-Martínez, V. (2007). The geographic distribution of Big Five personality traits: Patterns and profiles of human self-description across 56 nations. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 38(2), 173-212.