Greek Personality Adjective Checklist (GPAC)

Description

The Greek Personality Adjective Checklist (GPAC) is a valid and reliable psychometric instrument specifically developed to assess personality traits within the Greek population, based on the lexical approach to personality. According to this theoretical perspective, the most important human personality characteristics are embedded in natural language and can be effectively described through personality-related adjectives commonly used in everyday communication.

Developed by Ioannis Tsaousis and Stavros Georgiades, the GPAC consists of 94 personality adjectives that assess the core dimensions of personality in accordance with the Five-Factor Model (Big Five). The instrument is widely used in psychological research, clinical assessment, educational settings, and organizational psychology to examine individual differences, behavioral tendencies, and psychological functioning.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Greek Personality Adjective Checklist (GPAC) is to provide a reliable and valid assessment of the major personality dimensions among Greek-speaking individuals. The instrument generates a comprehensive personality profile that facilitates the understanding of how personality traits influence behavior, interpersonal relationships, occupational performance, and psychological well-being.

Additionally, the GPAC is widely used for:

  • Psychometric assessment of adults.
  • Investigation of individual differences.
  • Clinical and psychological evaluation.
  • Career counseling and vocational guidance.
  • Personnel selection and organizational assessment.
  • Educational and academic research.
  • Examining the relationships between personality traits and other psychological constructs.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

The GPAC assesses five major personality dimensions:

  • Extraversion
  • Conscientiousness
  • Agreeableness
  • Emotional Stability
  • Openness to Experience

Each personality dimension is represented by a series of descriptive adjectives that respondents rate according to the extent to which each adjective accurately describes them.

Overall and domain-specific scores can be analyzed in relation to a wide range of psychological and organizational variables, including:

  • Mental health
  • Self-esteem
  • Job performance
  • Academic achievement
  • Organizational commitment
  • Leadership abilities
  • Social adjustment
  • Interpersonal relationships
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Quality of life

The GPAC is extensively employed in personality research, organizational psychology, counseling psychology, psychometrics, and clinical psychology to investigate both normative personality characteristics and their associations with behavioral and psychosocial outcomes.

Scoring

The questionnaire is scored using a five-point Likert scale, with each adjective rated from 1 (Not at all) to 5 (Very much) according to how well it describes the respondent.

Mean scores are calculated for each personality dimension, resulting in a comprehensive personality profile. Higher scores indicate stronger expression of the corresponding personality trait, whereas lower scores reflect weaker expression of that characteristic. The interpretation of results can be based on normative data from the Greek population, allowing meaningful comparisons in both research and applied settings. The instrument has demonstrated high internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients generally exceeding 0.80, as well as strong convergent validity through comparisons with internationally recognized personality measures, including the NEO-PI-R.

References

Tsaousis, I., & Georgiades, S. (2009). Development and Psychometric Properties of the Greek Personality Adjective Checklist (GPAC). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 25(2), 104–115.

Tsaousis, I., & Georgiades, S. (2009). Development and Psychometric Properties of the Greek Personality Adjective Checklist. Greek Journal of Psychology, 12(1), 45–60.

Goldberg, L. R. (1992). The Development of Markers for the Big-Five Factor Structure. Psychological Assessment, 4(1), 26–42.

John, O. P., Naumann, L. P., & Soto, C. J. (2008). Paradigm Shift to the Integrative Big Five Trait Taxonomy. In O. P. John, R. W. Robins, & L. A. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.