Using teacher rated sociability and social effectiveness to predict the general factor of personality

Teacher ratings of personality assessed in adolescence were used to predict self-reported personality in adulthood. It was hypothesized that teacher-rated sociability and social effectiveness are precursors to adult general factor of personality (GFP). The results of two studies supported this hypothesis. Cognitive ability also predicted adult GFP in Study 1 but did not explain the association between the aspects of sociality and the GFP. Response biases also did not account for the association. The effect sizes were relatively small, suggesting that the social effectiveness definition of the GFP may be too narrow. Future research should continue to explore additional developmental dynamics of the GFP.