Big five personality traits: Who are you?

Openness to experience has been described as the depth and complexity of an individual’s mental life and experiences (John & Srivastava, 1999). It is also sometimes called intellect or imagination.

Openness-to-Experience’s facets include ‘fantasy; aesthetics; feelings; actions; ideas; values.’ People high in Openness-to-Experience tend to be open-minded and intellectual. They are more flexible with respect to rules and societal norms.

Openness to experience concerns people’s willingness to try to new things, their ability to be vulnerable, and their capability to think outside the box.

Those high in Openness have greater creative achievement in the arts.

Common traits related to openness to experience include:

• Imagination
• Insightfulness
• Varied interests
• Originality
• Daringness
• Preference for variety
• Cleverness
• Creativity
• Curiosity
• Perceptiveness
• Intellect
• Complexity/depth

An individual who is high in openness to experience is likely someone who has a love of learning, enjoys the arts, engages in a creative career or hobby, and likes meeting new people (Lebowitz, 2016a).

An individual who is low in openness to experience probably prefers routine to variety, sticks to what he or she knows, and prefers less abstract arts and entertainment.

It is when personality traits enter the extreme end of the continuum that they become problematic. For example, Cuban revolutionary, Fidel Castro, was said to be high in trait Openness-to-Experience, and led a Communist revolution. Conversely, very low Openness-to-Experience is strongly associated with an authoritarian personality.

Conscientiousness is a trait that can be described as the tendency to control impulses and act in socially acceptable ways, behaviours that facilitate goal-directed behaviour (John & Srivastava, 1999).

Conscientious people excel in their ability to delay gratification, work within the rules, and plan and organize effectively.

The most predictive trait is Conscientiousness. Its facets are competence; order; dutifulness; achievement-striving; self-discipline; deliberation.

Traits within the conscientiousness factor include:

• Persistence
• Ambition
• Thoroughness
• Self-discipline
• Consistency
• Predictability
• Control
• Reliability
• Resourcefulness
• Hard work
• Energy
• Perseverance
• Planning

People high in conscientiousness are likely to be successful in school, relationships and in their careers, to excel in leadership positions, and to doggedly pursue their goals with determination and forethought (Lebowitz, 2016a).

However, people who are low in Conscientiousness tend to suffer in life. There is a significant relationship between low Conscientiousness and criminality, and are much more likely to procrastinate and to be flighty, impetuous, and impulsive.

This factor has two familiar ends of its spectrum: extroversion and introversion.

It concerns where an individual draws their energy from and how they interact with others. In general, extroverts draw energy from or recharge by interacting with others, while introverts get tired from interacting with others and replenish their energy with solitude.

It is also been proposed that Extroversion be synonymous with ‘Positive Emotion’. Indeed, the facets of Extraversion are ‘warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity excitement-seeking and positive emotion’.

• Sociableness
• Assertiveness
• Merriness
• Outgoing nature
• Energy
• Talkativeness
• Ability to be articulate
• Fun-loving nature
• Tendency for affection
• Friendliness
• Social confidence

The traits associated with extroversion are:

Extraversion was initially coined by Jung, and people high in extroversion tend to seek out opportunities for social interaction, where they are often the “life of the party.” They are comfortable with others, are gregarious, and are prone to action rather than contemplation (Lebowitz, 2016a).

People low in extroversion are more likely to be people of few words who are quiet, introspective, reserved, and thoughtful.

While Extroversion has a somewhat significant effect on happiness, it has a greater effect on social competence, which in turn has a great effect on happiness.

Dopamine, the reward chemical, is fired in response to goal achievement and pleasure. Extroverts are more sensitive to dopamine production, making them outgoing and impulsive. Introverts, however, are less sensitive, therefore they’re less outgoing and importantly, less impulsive.

This factor concerns how well people get along with others. While extroversion concerns sources of energy and the pursuit of interactions with others, agreeableness concerns one’s orientation to others. It is a construct that rests on how an individual generally interacts with others.

Agreeableness consists of the following facets: trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, tender-mindedness.

It is generally defined as nice, expressive qualities of love and empathy, friendliness, cooperation, care, altruism and affection.

The following traits fall under the umbrella of agreeableness:

• Altruism
• Trust
• Modesty
• Humbleness
• Patience
• Moderation
• Tact
• Politeness
• Kindness
• Loyalty
• Unselfishness
• Helpfulness
• Sensitivity
• Amiability
• Cheerfulness
• Consideration

People high in agreeableness tend to be well-liked, respected, and sensitive to the needs of others. They likely have few enemies and are affectionate to their friends and loved ones, as well as sympathetic to the plights of strangers (Lebowitz, 2016).

Agreeableness is one of the few traits where men and women significantly differ. Agreeableness is a strong predictor of conflict-free intimate relationships.

People on the low end of the agreeableness spectrum are less likely to be trusted and liked by others. They tend to be callous, blunt, rude, ill-tempered, antagonistic, and sarcastic. Although not all people who are low in agreeableness are cruel or abrasive, they are not likely to leave others with a warm fuzzy feeling.

Agreeable people have prosocial tendencies. They engage in voluntary behaviour intended to benefit others. The trait is a strong predictor of altruism, indicating measures of sympathy, social responsibility, mature perspective taking and high moral standards.

Additionally, agreeable people deploy behavioural strategies aimed at defusing conflict and maintaining warm and friendly relationships. These strategies include emotional regulation, and ‘turning the other cheek’.

While agreeable people tend to be kind and friendly, they can also be naively trusting and conflict-avoidant. While some of these avoidance strategies may be effective, others might encourage agreeable people to hide what they really think.

In basic terms, neurosis is a disorder involving obsessive thoughts or anxiety, while neuroticism is a personality trait that does not have the same negative impact on everyday living as an anxious condition.

Neuroticism is not a factor of meanness or incompetence, but one of confidence and being comfortable in one’s own skin. It encompasses one’s emotional stability and general temper.

American psychologist and researcher Richard Zinbarg discovered that neurotic people are also highly sensitive and empathetic. They might be vulnerable to anxiety and depression, but they also exhibit more emotional depth, easily picking up on their friend’s feelings and wanting to help. 

Neuroticism is negative emotion. Its facets include ‘anxiety; angry hostility; depression; self-consciousness; impulsiveness; vulnerability’. These facets break down into the aspects of Withdrawal and Volatility.

While Volatility encompasses emotional dysregulation and erratic changes in mood.

Neuroticism is no longer a diagnosis. It’s a descriptor used for parts of many different disorders (including depressive or anxiety disorders) and neurotic behaviour can indicate bigger issues.

A hallmark sign of a neurotic personality is chronic worrying. Worrying can be a sign of anxiety, but it also indicates neuroses. A neurotic person has anxiety about their behaviour and how others see them.

These traits are commonly associated with neuroticism:

• Awkwardness
• Pessimism
• Moodiness
• Jealousy
• Testiness
• Fear
• Nervousness
• Anxiety
• Timidness
• Wariness
• Self-criticism
• Lack of confidence
• Insecurity
• Instability
• Oversensitivity

Those high in neuroticism are generally prone to anxiety, sadness, worry, and low self-esteem. They may be temperamental or easily angered, and they tend to be self-conscious and unsure of themselves (Lebowitz, 2016).

Being high in Neuroticism is associated with numerous issues, such as poor health, psychological distress, divorce and even life-threatening heart disease. 

It appears that those high in Neuroticism just tend to have a general bad feeling that distorts their well-being. Additionally, happiness is partly a consequence of social skills, and Neuroticism impairs social skills.

Individuals who score on the low end of neuroticism are more likely to feel confident, sure of themselves, and adventurous. They may also be brave and unencumbered by worry or self-doubt.

Finally, neurotics find it difficult to cope with past problems, which results in unresolved conflicts causing more negative emotion.

Inadequate coping strategies are common in neurotic people. When coping with stressful events, neurotics tend to employ ‘avoidant’ or ‘emotion focused’ coping strategies.

Everyone has quirks, but neurotic tendencies interfere with work, relationships, and your overall state of mind. “You’re neurotic!” is often used as an insult, but it’s actually a mental health descriptor. Having a neurotic personality is not easy, but there is plenty of hope. 

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