Have you ever wondered what your personality is? If yes, you should consider taking a personality test. Understanding your personality helps you know your strengths and weaknesses, which is vital in behavior optimization. Your personality encompasses all your traits, behavior, and preferences and sets you apart. The Big 5 Personality Traits, or OCEAN, is an incredible tool for knowing yourself. Knowing your personality trait can help you better understand your needs and connect and understand others. Read on to learn more about the Big 5 and determine your personality trait.

What Are the Big 5 Personality Traits?

The Big Five Trait Theory represents a psychological model used to identify a wide range of human behavior. It represents a coherent and researched model of personality used in research and character. They also account for human nature and decision-making. The Big Five or the Five Factor trait model of personality is also referred to as the O.C.E.A.N or C.A.N.O.E (both acronyms of the five personality traits). The acronym O.C.E.A.N represents openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. They are known as the Big Five due to the large percentage of personality-related traits that they encompass. 

In the Big Five model, individuals are believed to have different levels of personality factors that contribute to behavior and thoughts. The Big Five also predict some essential life outcomes, such as the education and health of an individual. Even though personality traits cannot precisely predict behavior, the Big Five factors give an in-depth understanding of what makes people behave differently and view things from a different perspective from others. The Big Five is an evidence-based tool for understanding people’s personalities. Here are some main characteristics of the O.C.E.A.N personality model:

  • Some identifiable traits may be used to predict future actions, like the likelihood of experiencing delinquency.
  • The Big Five model is not based on gender. However, there may be some observable differences between genders.
  • Employers can use personality traits to predict the quality of work performance and help identify the areas in which employees can thrive better at their job. It can also help motivate and train employees.
  • Even though a wide range of characteristics are identifiable in the Big Five Model, the more accurate and general personalities may be assessed in a working environment.

Like other personality theories, the Big Five O.C.E.A.N model can be influenced by nature and nurture.

The History of the Big Five 

The Big Five model was developed centuries ago, dating back to the 1800s, in an attempt to build up a taxonomy of human behavior. Early researchers such as Henry Odbert and Gordon Allport took an inventory of over 4,000 words describing different personality traits in 1936. In the 1940s, Raymond Cattell and his colleagues conducted more research and narrowed down the list to under 20 features. The researchers consistently noted trait-related adjectives clustered into five groups, which led to the five traits in the Big Five model.

Over the years, the taxonomy has refined from the 4,000 traits down to five and is the basis of modern personality research. A person’s personality and behavior are assessed with the Big Five traits by ranking them through an interconnected scale. Like other personality tests, the Big Five factors are influenced by nature and nurture. The Big Five model conceptualizes traits as a spectrum over black-and-white categories. It comprehends that most individuals aren’t at polar ends of the spectrum; instead, they lie between them.

The Big 5 Personality Traits 

Openness

Also referred to as openness to experience, it is a personality trait that emphasizes imagination, people’s willingness to try new things, and the ability to think out of the box. Their attributes include originality, insightfulness, curiosity, and originality. Openness individuals like exploring a wide range of interests, eager to learn new things and enjoy traveling and learning new things. Individuals who score low in openness tend to be conventional and practical. They prefer to avoid the unknown. 

Conscientiousness 

Conscientiousness refers to a person’s desire to be diligent and careful and to regulate immediate gratification with self-discipline. High levels of goal-directed behaviors, organization, attention to detail, and thoughtfulness define this scale. Conscientious individuals tend to plan ahead, adhere to deadlines and are mindful of how their behaviors affect others. They are also ambitious, reliable, and consistent.

Individuals who score low on this scale are less organized and structured. They tend to procrastinate, miss deadlines, impulsive, and are easily sidetracked.

Extroversion 

Individuals with this personality trait tend to be highly energetic, excited, outgoing, social, confident, articulate, and friendly. They tend to feel energized after social events, while those who prefer to spend time alone may score lower results on the extraversion scale. Extroverts tend to actively engage with other people to earn their admiration, friendship, and power; they also say things without thinking about them first. They enjoy meeting new people and have a vast social network.

Introverts speak less, conserve their energy, analyze situations and refrain from giving suggestions before processing and analyzing a situation. they are reserved and feel drained after spending time in social gatherings.  They prefer to be solitary and dislike being the center of attention.

Agreeableness

Agreeableness refers to how people tend to treat the needs of others over their own. They are empathetic and feel concerned for others, show kindness, patience, affection, and altruism, and are helpful. They tend to be cooperative and enjoy helping and contributing to other people’s happiness. 

Those who score low in this personality trait tend to be manipulative, competitive, less empathetic, and prioritize their needs over those of others. They care less about others and can insult, belittle others, show off, and be stubborn, uncooperative, and untrustworthy.

Neuroticism

Neuroticism describes an individual’s tendency to respond to stressors with moodiness, sadness, anxiety, guilt, and shame. They tend to be irritable, have mood swings, irritability, tense, and react to a situation with strong emotions. Neurotic individuals also struggle to bounce back after stressful events and get upset quickly.

Those who score low on this scale are emotionally stable, resilient, calm, and relaxed, rarely feel depressed, and are sure of themselves. They also deal easily with stress and worry less.

How Does the Big Five Describe Personality?

With the Big Five personality traits, individuals usually describe themselves as either having high, average, or levels in the five personality traits. Every factor differs or is independent of the rest. For example, you may be high in conscientiousness and low in extraversion. Knowing how they measure up in each of the five dimensions can give you a bigger picture of the Big Five model. You can take a Big Five personality test to measure yourself.