The Big Five
Read five broad dimensions used to describe personality patterns.
The picture in words
- Openness
- Interest in new experiences.
- Conscientiousness
- Organization and follow-through.
- Extraversion
- Social energy and assertiveness.
- Agreeableness
- Cooperation and consideration.
- Neuroticism
- Sensitivity to stress and negative emotion.
Reading the illustration
The continua describe degrees of a characteristic. A personality account also considers the situations in which patterns appear.
Try a question
How could someone show a broad tendency toward sociability while being quiet at one meeting?
Show the explanation
A broad pattern can vary with familiarity, goals and the setting. Several observations help describe the tendency more usefully.
Read the sources
- Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/11-7-trait-theoristsSelected introductory passages inspected