762 vII. APPLICATIONS  AND  IMPLICATIONS
sessment from the perspective of the FFM 
have also been developed for the antisocial 
(Lynam et al., 2011), borderline (Mullins- 
Sweatt et al., 2012), schizotypal (Edmund -
son, Lynam, Miller, Gore, & Widiger, 
2011), dependent (Gore, Presnall, Lynam, 
Miller, & Widiger, 2012), and narcissistic 
(Glover, Miller, Lynam, Crego, & Widiger, 
2012) personality disorders.
Bipolarity of  Maladaptive Personality  Structure
One noteworthy aspect of the trait list in 
Table 36.1 is the presence of at least one mal -
adaptive trait at both poles for four of the 
five domains (both poles of all five domains 
would be covered if all of the personality 
disorders were included; Widiger & Crego, 
2019a). The benefits of conscientiousness, 
extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and 
low neuroticism (i.e., emotional stability) 
are self-  evident, but each can also be asso -
ciated with some risks and potential costs 
(Nettle, 2006). Coker, Samuel, and Widiger 
(2002) coded each of the 1,710 trait terms 
of the English language with respect to their 
undesirability, then considered their location 
within the FFM (Goldberg, 1993). They re -
ported many undesirable, maladaptive trait 
terms for agreeableness, extraversion, open -
ness, conscientiousness, and even for low 
neuroticism. For extraversion, terms includ -
ed long-  winded, blustery, showy, flaunty,  
and exaggerative ; for conscientiousness, 
terms included overbookish, overcautious, 
leisureless, stringent,  and tight ; and for 
agreeable, terms included deceivable, depen -
dent, soft-  shelled, and ingratiating.  These 
traits are quite suggestive of the histrionic, 
obsessive–  compulsive, and dependent per -
sonality disorders (respectively), which are 
defined in large part by the domains of ex -
traversion, conscientiousness, and agreeable -
ness, respectively (Lynam & Widiger, 2001).
Maladaptive  Agreeableness
Agreeableness includes traits such as trust -
ing, modest, altruistic, and compliant. It 
would seem evident though that some per -
sons can be overly compliant, excessively 
trusting, inordinately modest, and/or exces -
sively altruistic. Oakley, Knafo, Madhavan, 
and Wilson (2012) edited a text dedicated to variants of pathological altruism. Leary 
(1957) devoted a chapter of his seminal in -
terpersonal circumplex (IPC) text to “the 
dependent personality” (p. 292), located in 
the lower-right (“docile–  dependent”) oc -
tant of the IPC, the precise location of FFM 
agreeableness (Gore & Pincus, 2013; Pincus 
& Hopwood, 2012). Quite a few studies 
have indeed confirmed a close relationship 
of dependency with the IPC and FFM agree -
ableness octant of the IPC (Gore & Pincus, 
2013; Lowe, Edmundson, & Widiger 2009).
Maladaptive  Extraversion
Extraversion includes being assertive, ex -
citement seeking, active, and gregarious. 
Extreme assertiveness, though, can become 
domineering or pushy, and extreme excite -
ment seeking can be reckless, risky, and 
foolhardy. These are traits evident within 
the narcissistic (Glover et al., 2012) and psy -
chopathic (Crego & Widiger, 2014; Stanley, 
Wygant, & Sellbom, 2013) personality dis -
orders. Maladaptive extraversion also re -
sembles in large part DSM-IV histrionic 
personality disorder (HPD), including traits 
such as attention seeking and flirtatiousness. 
Millon (2011) had referred to HPD as the 
sociable or gregarious syndrome.
Maladaptive  Conscientiousness
The diagnostic criteria for DSM-5 Section II 
obsessive–  compulsive personality disorder 
(OCPD) include traits such as perfectionism, 
preoccupation with organization, workahol -
ism, and, quite explicitly, overconscientious -
ness. There are quite a few studies document -
ing an association of FFM conscientiousness 
with OCPD (e.g., O’Connor, 2005; Samuel 
& Widiger, 2008; Saulsman & Page, 2004). 
However, the relationship between OCPD 
and conscientiousness is not always strong, 
in part because OCPD includes more than 
just facets of conscientiousness (Lynam & 
Widiger, 2001). Joint factor analyses of the 
FFM with the more specific components of 
OCPD, such as compulsivity, workaholism, 
and propriety have provided clearer and 
more consistent evidence for a strong asso -
ciation with conscientiousness (e.g., Mar -
kon, Krueger, & Watson, 2005; Samuel & 
Widiger, 2011).