There are a lot of personality psychologists who believe that there are five basic dimensions of personality, which are known as the Big Five personality traits. All of them include openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. They are described by OCEAN.
According to history, the theory of personality psychology has developed about how many personality traits there have been. In the past, there were some theories that argued about how many possible trains there are, such as Cattel’s list of 16 Personality Factors and Eysenck’s three-factor theory. Recently, a thing called the MBTI theory became popular among the community.
Despite the progress made by Cattel and Eysenck, some researchers still think that Cattel’s theory is too complex. As for Eysenck’s theory, they think it has very limited discussion. It results in the development of a five-factor theory that emerged to describe the traits that are important in building a part of the personality.
What is the Big Five Personality?
The Big Five Personality is the name of the personality theory. This one is divided into five dimensions: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. According to Power & Pluess, there are many researchers who believe that there are five core personality traits. Much of the evidence for the theory started to develop over the years, starting with the research conducted by D.W. Fiske (1949), which was later clarified by other researchers such as Norman (1967), Smith (1967), Goldberg (1981), and McCrae & Costa (1987).
The Big Five Personality is considered as a general personality trait. While it is true that the model of the personality is supported by literature reading, many researchers do not agree with the label given to every dimension.
Apparently, every single of these five personality traits represents two poles. For instance, extraversion indicates a continuum between extreme extraversion and extreme introversion. In fact, most people are judged between the two poles of that dimension.
Below are the explanations of these dimensions of the Big Five Personality:
Openness
According to Power & Pluess, openness has prominent characteristics in imagination and insight. Those who are high in openness tend to have a broad range of interests. They always want to know about the world and other people and are always hungry to learn new things and enjoy new experiences.
In general, those who are high in this personality trait also tend to love adventure more and be creative. As for those who are low in this personality trait, they tend to be more traditional and sometimes have a hard time with abstract thinking.
Conscientiousness
According to Power & Pluess, conscientiousness has features that show a high way of paying attention, good impulse control, and having goal-oriented behavior. Those who are high in this trait tend to be organized and pay attention to detail. In contrast, those who are low in this trait tend to dislike structure, like to procrastinate on important work, and tend not to pay attention to details in getting things done.
Extraversion
Extraversion, which is also known as extroversion, is described as a personality trait that is characterized by excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional expressiveness. Those who are high in this trait are known to be outgoing and tend to earn energy in social situations. By being around others, they can feel energized and excited. As for those who are low in this trait, they tend to be more reserved. They usually have less energy to expend in social settings and social events can be draining for them. To recharge their energy, they usually need a period of solitude and quiet.
Agreeableness
There are a few attributes included in agreeableness, such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors. Those who are high in this trait tend to be more cooperative. As for those who are low in this trait, they tend to be more competitive and sometimes can be manipulative.
Neuroticism
Neuroticism refers to a personality trait that is characterized by sadness, moodiness, and emotional instability. Those who are high in this trait tend to experience mood swings, anxiety, irritability, and sadness. As for those who are low in this, they tend to be more stable and emotionally resilient.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
