The five-factor model of personality is a systematic classification of personality traits based on five core components: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience.
What is the trait of the 5-factor model?
Trait theory – the premise that a person’s attitude and behavior can be described in terms of individual qualities – guided early research into personalities (e.g., self-confidence, friendliness, or melancholy). What are the fundamental aspects of personality, the most fundamental ways people differ in their long-term emotional, relational, experiential, intellectual, and motivational patterns?
Personality theorists have proposed hundreds of possibilities, and factor analysts have spent decades attempting to bring sense to the resultant chaos by factoring temperament scales. However, rather than settling the issue, these investigations added to the confusion. (McCrae & John, 1992).
Lexical approach to personality
A lexical approach to personality is taken by trait theory, which claims that qualities may be expressed using single descriptors or phrases. Suppose enough people display a type of behavior regularly, and no name exists in a particular language to represent it. In that case, the lexical hypothesis states that a term will be established to acknowledge and discuss the attribute with others.
Gordon Allport, a famous psychologist, and his co-worker Henry Odbert investigated this concept in 1936 by reading through an extensive English dictionary and compiling a list of 18,000 terms connected to individual differences. Around 4,500 of the words indicated personality attributes. This vast collection of terms provided a starting point for psychologists engaged in the lexical hypothesis, but it was insufficient for study. Therefore, other scientists worked to limit the range of words. (Trapnell & Wiggins, 1990).
The Big Five
In the 1940s, Raymond Cattell and his colleagues used statistical techniques to narrow the list to only 16 features. Several other academics, including Donald Fiske in 1949, examined Cattell’s study and came to the same conclusion: the data included a robust, consistent collection of five features. The Big Five, however, did not get much attention from scholars until the 1980s.
Today, the Big Five is a common feature of psychology study, and psychologists generally believe that personality may be classified into the five fundamental features outlined by the Big Five.
Each of the Big Five traits indicates a point on a continuum. Introversion, for example, is the polar opponent of extraversion. Extraversion and introversion represent the opposite extremes of a continuum for that Big Five attribute.
People might be extroverted or introverted, but most lie in the middle. It is also vital to realize that each Big Five quality is quite broad, reflecting several personality traits. These features are more detailed and granular than the other five attributes combined. As a result, each feature may be described broadly and subdivided into multiple aspects (Cervone, 1993).
Openness to Experience
A readiness to explore new things characterizes a personality’s openness to experience component. People with higher degrees of openness are more receptive to new ideas and views, particularly those contradicting their preconceived notions. They appreciate creative and cultural activities such as visiting museums and galleries, museums, and theatres, enjoying music, and visiting new places. They are more receptive to other cultures and habits (Cattell, 1943).
People who are impervious to experience and have low degrees of openness are scared of unpredictability and the unfamiliar. They are more skeptical of beliefs and ideas that question their current state. They are uneasy in unexpected circumstances and prefer to be in familiar surroundings. Less open people respect consistency and stick to well-known customs and routines. When evaluating personality traits, openness to experience is frequently related to intellect.
Conscientiousness
Conscientious individuals are more conscious of their acts and the implications of their activities than unconscientious persons. They have a strong sense of responsibility for others and are typically conscientious about their tasks. Conscientious people want to keep their surroundings clean and ordered. They are determined to have an excellent time. People with high degrees of conscientiousness are more goal-oriented. They establish lofty objectives and are driven to attain them. Undaunted by hard effort, they are determined to excel in all aspects of their lives, particularly academic successes and job advancement (Digman, 1990).
Extraversion
A gregarious, self-assured demeanor categorizes Extraversion. In social circumstances, extroverts are gregarious, chatty, and frequently assertive. They appreciate being the center of attention and will frequently seek it. In addition, extroverts like to contact new people and are ready to introduce themselves to strangers and prosper in the company of others. This personality attribute is rated on a scale of introversion to extraversion. Ambiverts are people who fall somewhere in the center of the two qualities.
Introverts, or persons with low degrees of extraversion, exhibit opposite behaviors. They are more reserved and generally bashful with other individuals. They may be scared by big groups of people, such as at gatherings, and will frequently avoid demanding social engagements. Introverts like to be in fewer social groups, ideally with individuals they know. As a result of this tendency, introverts prefer smaller social networks, yet they keep a close circle of trustworthy pals (Cattell, 1943).
Agreeableness
Individuals with high levels of agreeableness are sociable and cooperative. Agreeable individuals are more accepting of others, more selfless, prepared to help others in need, and are often regarded as more liked by their colleagues and coworkers. Because of their collaboration capacity, they frequently do effectively as group members.
Arguments, disagreements with others, and other types of confrontation are unappealing to agreeable individuals. Instead, they aim to placate and calm others by functioning as the group’s mediation ‘peace-maker’ (Graziano & Tobin, 2009).
Neuroticism
This personality characteristic is measured on a scale ranging from emotional maturity to emotional instability, often known as neuroticism. Individuals with high neuroticism levels are frequently persistent and worrisome. They are more apprehensive and frequently worried, overthinking and emphasizing their concerns. They may focus on the bad aspects of a situation instead of the positive (Barlow et al., 2014).
Neuroticism can lead to a person’s inability to cope with typical pressures in their daily lives. Instead, they frequently annoy people and may become upset if events do not go as planned.
Check the following reference articles to learn more about the Five traits of the five-factor model.
McCrae, R. R., & John, O. P. (1992). An Introduction to the Five-Factor Model and Its Applications. Journal of Personality, 60(2), 175–215.
Trapnell, P. D., & Wiggins, J. S. (1990). Extension of the Interpersonal Adjective Scales to include the Big Five dimensions of personality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(4), 781-790
Cervone, D. (1993). The Big Five versus nobody? American Psychologist, 48(12), 1300-1302.
Cattell, R. B. (1943). The description of personality: Basic traits resolved into clusters. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 38(4), 476-506.
Digman, J. M. (1990). Personality structure: Emergence of the five-factor model. Annual Review of Psychology, 41(1), 417-440.
Graziano, W. G., & Tobin, R. M. (2009). Agreeableness. 45(2), 356-378.Barlow, D. H., Ellard, K. K., Sauer-Zavala, S., Bullis, J. R., & Carl, J. R. (2014). The origins of neuroticism. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9(5), 481-496.
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