The 16PF®– The 16 Personality Factors: Factor C – Emotionally Stable vs. Reactive

The next 16PF scale for discussion is the Factor "C" scale, which is Emotional Stability.  What exactly does this scale measure?

Basically, this scale measures a person’s feelings about being able to cope with daily life and its challenges.  People with high scores tend to take things in stride, and have an adaptive approach to problem solving.  People with low scores tend to feel a lack of control over their lives.  They are more likely to react to life events, as opposed to high scoring people, who tend to be proactive.

Factor C correlates strongly with the Impression Management scale.  Social desirability is at work here.  It's considered better to be able to cope with life.  Admitting you feel unable to do is less desirable.  This scale is a strong contributor to the Global Anxiety scale.

People with high scores on this scale often report they rarely run into a problem they cannot handle, that they recover quickly from negative events, and that they usually go to bed at night satisfied with how their day went.  In contrast, low scoring people often report more ups and downs in their moods than most people, that their emotional needs are not that satisfied, and they feel they're unable to cope with all the small things that keep going wrong.

As with all the 16PF scales, major insights come from the interactions among the 16 scales, and not from each scale in isolation.