The big‐five personality factors were investigated using the trait pleasure‐arousability‐dominance (PAD) temperament model to assess overlap, and, specifically, similarities and differences, among the five dimensions. Results showed that extraverts were primarily dominant and secondarily pleasant, Agreeableness resembled dependency with pleasant, arousable, and submissive characteristics, but involved greater pleasantness. Conscientiousness included equal degrees of pleasant and dominant qualities. Emotional stability involved almost equal degrees of pleasant and unarousable characteristics, lacking the important dominant feature in this trait. Sophistication was weighted primarily by dominant, and secondarily by arousable, characteristics. The PAD scales explained approximately 75% of the reliable variance in three of the factors (extraversion emotional stability, agreeableness) that have been identified, albeit sometimes with differing labels, in alternative general approaches to personality description. PAD components of the big‐five factors helped explain the substantial overlap among the