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The Five Factor Theory of Personality
The Five Factor Theory of Personality is a framework that most psychologists use to identify and analyze personality attributes. Psychology experts and professionals began to recognize and accept the importance of this theory starting in 1980’s (McCrae and John, 1990). Based on this theory, personality traits have five basic dimensions: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. These five dimensions are popularly known as the Big Five Personality Traits.
For each dimension of the Big Five Personality traits, also known as the Five Factor Model, corresponding characteristics are associated.
Extraversion
The first dimension is Extraversion, and this is associated with warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement seeking, and positive emotions (McCrae and John, 1990). Using a series of questions, individuals are assessed based on these scales. If a person is found to have high levels of extroversion, he/she is said to be outgoing and more inclined to participate in social situations. If a person, on the other hand, is found to have low levels of extroversion, he/she is said to be an introvert. Introverts tend to be less comfortable in social situations, less talkative, and less assertive in nature.
Agreeableness
The second dimension is Agreeableness, and this is associated with trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, and tender-mindedness (McCrae and John, 1990). If a person is found to have high levels of agreeableness, he/she is said to be cooperative, kind, and sympathetic. If a person, on the other hand, is found to have low levels of agreeableness, he/she is said to be manipulative, critical, and tends to be competitive.
Conscientiousness
The third dimension is Conscientiousness, and this is associated with trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, and tender-mindedness (McCrae and John, 1990). If a person is found to have high levels of conscientiousness, he/she is said to be thoughtful, organized, reliable, and has good control of one’s’ self. If a person, on the other hand, is found to have low levels of conscientiousness, he/she is said to be self-indulgent, less productive, and less efficient.
Neuroticism
The fourth dimension is Neuroticism, and this is associated with anxiety, hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsiveness, and vulnerability (McCrae and John, 1990). If a person is found to have high levels of neuroticism, he/she is said to be unstable. These people are known as neurotic. They are often sad, irritable, moody, worried, and tense. If a person, on the other hand, is found to have low levels of neuroticism, he/she is said to be more stable and more in control on his/her emotions.
Openness
The last dimension is Openness, and this is associated with fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas, and values (McCrae and John, 1990). If a person is found to have high levels of openness, he/she is said to be creative. They often have wide range of interest and imagination. They are also insightful and artistic. If a person, on the other hand, is found to have low levels of openness, he/she is said to have difficulties with creative and artistic thinking.
NEO-IP-R Personality Profile
Extroversion Result
Based on the results, my level of extroversion is average (“The IPIP-NEO,” n.d.). This means that I am neither a loner nor a sociable type of person. I do agree with this result. In general, I enjoy spending time with family, friends, and colleagues. I always make sure that I have constant communication with them, and I feel comfortable being around people. Specifically, the results showed that I am friendly, assertive, and I seek excitement (“The IPIP-NEO,” n.d.). These are all true. Unlike some people who find it hard to make friends with new people, this is something that I can do without so much effort. However, I also understand the value of solitude or some quite time alone. This is because I find rest every time I am alone, and I am able to reflect on myself and my life. Although I agree with most of the results, I believe that I am more cheerful than what was projected. I only scored 17 on this aspect, but every time I am around people, I tend to take delight on every moment, so I probably should have scored higher on this.
Agreeableness Result
Just like the result in Extroversion, I also scored average on Agreeableness (“The IPIP-NEO,” n.d.). This means that although I am concerned about the needs of others around me, I am also unwilling to help or sacrifice to assist them with their needs. The results showed that I scored low in morality, modesty, and sympathy (“The IPIP-NEO,” n.d.). This result is quite intriguing because I believe that I am more agreeable than what was reported. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I had an argument with anyone. I often cooperate and make compromise to promote harmony and avoid unnecessary conflict. At the same time, I also tend to be optimistic and hopeful about other people. If I can, I extend help because it gives me personal peace and satisfaction. The result seemed to imply otherwise. Because my score is average, it suggests that I have some level of unfriendliness and skepticism. I personally do not agree with it, but I cannot say that it is invalid because there may be some truth to the results that I am not aware of.
Conscientiousness Result
For my level of conscientiousness, I got a high score (“The IPIP-NEO,” n.d.). This suggests that my goals in life are clearly set, and I am determined to reach these goals. In addition, I specifically scored high in terms of self-efficacy, orderliness, dutifulness, achievement-striving, self-discipline, and cautiousness (“The IPIP-NEO,” n.d.). I do agree with all of these. Most of the time, I am confident that I can accomplish the goals and objectives that I set for myself. I also tend to be organized because this allows me to get things done effectively and more efficiently. I also put high importance on my duties and obligations because it reflects how I work, and I highly value this aspect. Although having self-discipline is not always an easy task, I force myself to be as discipline as I can to avoid chaos and issues. Moreover, I take time to think about a given situation before making major decisions. I used to decide by impulse before but doing so did not always yield good results. This is why I learned to be more cautious. Overall, the level of conscientiousness that I got highly reflects my personal traits.
Neuroticism Result
In terms of neuroticism, I scored low as I expected (“The IPIP-NEO,” n.d.). This means that I am stable and calm. Specifically, my levels of anger and vulnerability are average while my levels of anxiety, depression, and self-consciousness are low. I do agree with these results, but I do not think that this means that I do not get anxious at all. In fact, I tend to get anxious easily. However, every time I feel irrational fear, I talk myself out of it. I think of ways to resolve my anxiety because it makes me feel very uncomfortable. In other words, despite scoring low in anxiety, I am not at all fearless. I only know how to manage and vanish my fear when it comes.
Openness Result
My score on this dimension is low, and I agree and disagree with this to a certain extent. My levels of imagination, artistic interest, and intellect are low (“The IPIP-NEO,” n.d.). Truly, I am more interested with facts than with fantasy, and I do not often play with my ideas. This means that I do not enjoy doing puzzles and riddles. However, it turns out that my level of emotionality is also low, but I believe that I am often aware of my emotions. I am not afraid to express my feelings. Aside from the aspect of emotionality, the results pertaining to other aspects of openness pretty much reflect my personality.
Conclusion
Overall, personality assessment is important especially in the workplace settings. This is because it can give employers an idea of the personality traits of their employees or job applicants. This may help them in making decision whether to hire someone or grant them a specific position promotion. However, this assessment also has some limitations in the sense that it will not allow individuals to justify their answers of provide explanations. For example, one can indicate “very inaccurate” to the statement “I enjoy being in a concert,” but in reality, the person can in fact enjoy being in a concert as long as his/her friends are around. In this case, the situation is a major factor in the accuracy of the answer. However, because the assessment can provide a general perspective on people’s personality, it is definitely useful to workplace and other professional settings.
References
McCrae, R. & John, O. (1990). An introduction to the five-factor model and its applications. Retrieved from http://www.workplacebullying.org/multi/pdf/5factor-theory.pdf
The IPIP-NEO International personality item pool representation of the NEO PI-R (n.d.). PennState. Retrieved from http://www.personal.psu.edu/~j5j/IPIP/ipipneo300.htm
