Are the metatraits fact or artifact? Ruling out alternative explanations for the higher-order factors of the Big Five.

The Big Five were originally conceived as orthogonal dimensions and the top of the personality trait hierarchy, but they have been found to be regularly correlated, and two higher-order factors or metatraits have been identified above them, often labeled Stability (conscientiousness, agreeableness, and low neuroticism) and Plasticity (extraversion and openness/intellect). Skeptics have argued that the metatraits are likely to be method artifacts rather than substantive trait dimensions. In meta-