Good and Bad, an illusory dimension as the cornerstone of human personality

This chapter deals with a typical human personality dimension. It is a common layman's misconception to think that personality differences only occur among human beings. In animals differences in behaviour between individuals occur in a similar way. And in the case of socially living animals, our closest kin in evolution, the differences in behaviour between individuals are very similar to what is found in humans.

The personality-dimension which is the focus of this article, the Good-Bad, Positive versus Negative or Appreciatedness dimension, is the only major personality dimension that is exclusively human. Peculiarly, this dimension is virtual and in a sense not real. It does not refer to or relate to any actual behaviour of the rated person, but instead just refers to the relationship between the rater and the ratee. In short: the only exclusively human personality dimension does not describe any actual behaviour of the ratee. Still, as we will see, this dimension plays a central and crucial role in our understanding of human personality and the dynamics between the various personality dimensions.

As described in more detail in the chapters