TenItem Personality Inventory (TIPI)

The TenItem Personality Inventory (TIPI) is a brief selfreport questionnaire designed to assess the five major dimensions of personality defined by the FiveFactor Model (FFM): Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (often called Emotional Stability). Each dimension is represented by two opposite adjectives, producing a total of ten items. The instrument was developed by Samuel D. Gosling, Peter J. Rentfrow, and William B. Swann Jr. in 2003 as a fast, reliable alternative to longer personality scales.

Why Use the TIPI?

• Speed: Completion typically takes less than a minute.
• Low respondent burden: Ideal for large surveys, online panels, or studies where time is limited.
• Broad coverage: Although brief, it captures the core of each FFM factor.
• Free to use: The scale is in the public domain and can be reproduced without permission.

Structure of the Inventory

The TIPI consists of ten statements, each consisting of an adjective pair. Respondents rate how well each adjective describes them on a 7point Likert scale (1 = Disagree strongly, 7 = Agree strongly). The items are:

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

Scoring Procedure

Each factor score is obtained by averaging the two items that belong to it, after reversescoring the items marked as reversed. For example:

• Extraversion = (Item1 + reversescored Item6) / 2
• Agreeableness = (Item7 + reversescored Item2) / 2
• Conscientiousness = (Item3 + reversescored Item8) / 2
• Neuroticism = (Item9 + reversescored Item4) / 2
• Openness = (Item5 + reversescored Item10) / 2

Resulting scores range from 1 to 7, with higher values indicating stronger expression of that trait.

Psychometric Properties

Because of its brevity, the TIPI shows lower internal consistency (Cronbachs .40.68) compared with longer inventories. Nevertheless, testretest reliability is acceptable (r .70.90 over 24 weeks). Validity evidence includes moderate correlations (r .30.50) with established FFM scales such as the NEOPIR and the BFI, confirming that the TIPI captures the same underlying constructs, albeit with less precision.

Strengths

• Efficient for largescale data collection.
• Minimal fatigue effects.
• Convenient for experimental manipulations where personality is a control variable.

Limitations

• Lower reliability limits detection of subtle individual differences.
• Not suitable when finegrained facet analysis is required.
• Potentially more susceptible to social desirability bias because each item is broad.

When to Choose the TIPI

The TIPI shines in contexts where time is at a premium:

• Online surveys with many sections.
• Pilot studies that need a personality covariate before committing to longer scales.
• Crosscultural research where translation resources are limited.
• Educational settings that introduce students to personality assessment without lengthy paperwork.

Alternatives to the TIPI

If you need more reliability or facetlevel detail, consider:

• Big Five Inventory (BFI44) 44 items, balanced reliability.
• NEOPIR 240 items, comprehensive facet coverage.
• MiniIPIP 20 items, a compromise between brevity and reliability.

Practical Tips for Administration

1. Present the items in the original order; mixing can affect the reversescoring logic.
2. Provide clear instructions and an example of the rating scale.
3. Remind participants that there are no right or wrong answers.
4. When analyzing data, check for careless responding (e.g., straightlining).

References & Further Reading

• Gosling, S. D., Rentfrow, P. J., & Swann, W. B. (2003). A very brief measure of the Big Five personality domains. Journal of Research in Personality, 37(2), 504508.
• John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 102138). Guilford Press.
• Rammstedt, B., & John, O. P. (2007). Measuring personality in one minute or less: A 10item short version of the Big Five Inventory. Journal of Research in Personality, 41(1), 203212.
• International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) free item banks and scoring scripts: ipip.ori.org