sources:
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/big-5-personality-traits
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/myers-briggs
What?
People’s personalities can be broken down in terms of 5 major traits
→ the Big Five = OCEAN
Each one reflects a key part of how a person
- thinks,
- feels,
- behaves.
Openness (to experience)
- intellectual curiosity
- creative imagination
Conscientiousness
- organisation
- productiveness
- responsibility
Extroversion (vs. Introversion)
- sociability
- assertiveness
Agreeableness
- compassion
- respectfulness
- trust in others
Neuroticism (emotional stability)
- tendencies toward anxiety
- and depression
These traits remain fairly stable during adulthood
A more recently introduced six-factor model known as HEXACO — basically the 5 ones + Honest-Humility
The Big Five traits are typically assessed using one of multiple questionnaires. (agrees vs. disagrees)
→ results gives a high-to-low scores on each aspect
The Big Five were not determined by any one person—they have roots in the work of various researchers going back to the 1930s. In 1961, Ernest Tupes and Raymond Christal identified five personality factors that others would reanalyze and rename. Lewis Goldberg used the term Big Five in 1981 to describe these broad factors.
There is reliable evidence, for example,
- that extroversion is associated with subjective well-being,
- neuroticism with lower work commitment,
- and agreeableness with religiousness.
Why?
The five-factor model not only helps people better understand how they compare to others and to put names to their characteristics. It’s also used to explore relationships between personality and many other life indicators. These include consequential outcomes such as physical health and well-being as well as success in social, academic, and professional contexts.
→ so basically, in order to
- identify, “label” those characteristics
- understand oneself, understand others
- understand trends and behaviour and links on a societal level