1 of 4 A person’s personality can be determined by evaluating five key characteristics Photo: Getty Images A person’s personality can be determined by evaluating five key characteristics Photo: Getty Images
On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 means “strongly disagree” and 5 means “strongly agree”), how would you rate each of the following statements?
- I really like big parties and social gatherings.
- I am often sad;
- I love helping others;
- I prefer variety over routine;
- I’m not interested in abstract ideas.
These statements are often included in the Big Five Personality Traits Test a commonly used tool to determine what kind of person you are.
Philosophers have spent centuries wondering what makes each human unique. If objects have three basic dimensions length, width, and height what dimensions would measure personality?
Over the last few decades, psychologists have developed five personality traits that can be used to characterize all people:
- Opening;
- scrupulousness;
- extraversion;
- Friendliness;
- neuroticism.
Some psychologists use slightly different names for these personality traits. And it’s important to remember that no personality can be described solely by one of these traits. Most people have a combination of both traits to varying degrees.
2 of 4 It took detailed study to summarize the complexity of human personality in five traits Photo: Getty Images More detailed study was needed to summarize the complexity of human personality in five traits Photo: Getty Images
How did you come to this conclusion?
The personality trait model deserves respect, but it is necessary to question how we have defined what we are in these five traits. And the way was exhausting and curious.
In 1884, British polymath Francis Galton conceived an innovative approach to researching and developing a comprehensive taxonomy of personality traits by analyzing the English language using what he called the lexical hypothesis.
He argued that the basic traits of human personality became encoded in language over time. That is, they were identified and even discriminated against. All you had to do was find her.
In 1936, the American psychologists Gordon Allport and Henry Odbert devoted themselves to this task. They collected over 4,500 adjectives from Webster’s New International English Dictionary (1925 edition) and believed that these words described relatively stable features that could be observed.
A decade later, at Harvard University in the United States, BritishAmerican psychologist Raymond Cattell eliminated synonyms and reduced the original list to 171 terms.
But the number of words was still too large. So Cattell asked 100 “informed acquaintances” to rate how many of those traits were their personal personality traits. 16 words remained.
Several other researchers worked together until the American psychologist Lewis Goldberg reduced Cattell’s 16 terms to the five primal factors in 1990.
Paul Costa and Robert McCrae, renowned personality researchers, confirmed the validity of the model that has been dubbed “The Big Five”. They have conducted thousands of surveys based on the model across continents and cultures with a wide variety of populations.
3 in 4 Experts say the five traits combined to varying degrees make up our personality Photo: Getty Images Experts say the five traits combined to varying degrees make up our personality Photo: Getty Images
just words?
Of course, just picking adjectives in English was not enough. Factor analyzes of numerous datasets composed of descriptive terms from several other languages confirmed the model’s validity among educated urban populations.
But it’s not just the words. Several studies show that most of the individual personality differences described in the literature can be represented in terms of values for each of the basic dimensions.
In addition, studies involving twins or adopters (Jang et al., 1996 and 1998) have found that the genetic proportion of the “Big Five” personality traits is 4060%. And longterm research (Soto & John, 2012) has shown that the patterns of thinking, feeling, and behavior identified in the tests are relatively persistent throughout a person’s life.
There are scholars who oppose this method, and the number of factors that need to be considered is a matter of debate. But the “Big Five” are considered to be the personality concept that has been best researched, accepted and used worldwide.
What do the characteristics say?
By evaluating a series of statements—like the ones we mentioned at the beginning of this article—researchers can check a person’s score for each of the five personality traits.
Experts say real studies show that scores actually predict certain behaviors.
The five factors are not necessarily isolated characteristics, but factors that encompass several related characteristics. For example, the friendliness factor ranges from generosity and warmth to aggressiveness and a strong temper.
4 of 4 High levels of extroversion make a person “life of the party” Photo: Getty Images High levels of extroversion make a person “life of the party” Photo: Getty Images
already the opening It relates to people’s willingness to try new things, their vulnerability, and the scope of their imagination. So if you score high on this factor, chances are you’re someone who enjoys learning, appreciates art, pursues a creative career or hobby, and enjoys meeting new people.
However, if the value is low, openness to new experiences is low. For this reason he prefers routine to variety, clings to the known and prefers less abstract art.
A unscrupulousness It is a personality trait that can be described as a tendency to control impulses and act socially. People with high levels of conscientiousness tend to be good students and achieve professional success. They excel in leadership positions and persistently pursue their goals.
A extraversion comprises two familiar ends of its spectrum: the extraversion, the “party life”, and the introversion, the thoughtful person with few words.
already the neuroticism refers to selfconfidence and feeling satisfied with oneself. It includes emotional stability and general temperament.
In theory, the set of these factors forms a spectrum with thousands of values combined that define unique personalities.
What does the method say about you?
The “Big Five” method is used in a large number of social psychological studies.
Even if you haven’t had a chance to take these tests, chances are you’ll find them in the work environment as they’re a very popular tool.
They are used to predict work effectiveness, build teams, and even screen applicants.
His defenders claim one of the benefits is the test reduces the possibility of bias. And that helps both the organization and the candidate decide if a particular role is right for them.
For example, people with low Neuroticism scores are ideal for highstress environments. In contrast, in a company with a friendly culture, employees who value agreeableness may adapt well. But those same people can struggle in more competitive environments.
The “Big Five” seem neither as dramatic as Hippocrates’ four temperament types sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric and melancholic nor as poetic as those of Plato artistic, sensitive, intuitive and rational. But they are the cardinal points right now that guide professionals who want to draw their personality map.