The Big Five Personality Model by Adewale Sobowale

The Big Five Personality Traits, also known as OCEAN or CANOE, are a psychological model that describes five broad dimensions of personality: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, And Neuroticism.

These traits are believed to be relatively stable throughout an individual’s lifetime.

Conscientiousness: impulsive, disorganized, vs disciplined, careful

Agreeableness: suspicious, uncooperative vs. Trusting, helpful

Neuroticism: calm, confident vs. anxious, pessimistic

Openness to Experience prefers routine, practical vs. Imaginative, spontaneous

Extraversion: reserved, thoughtful vs. Sociable, fun-loving

The Big Five remain relatively stable throughout most of one’s lifetime. They are influenced significantly by genes and the environment, with an estimated heritability of 50%. They also predict certain important life outcomes like education and health.

The Big Five Model asserts that everyone is a spectrum. As a result, individuals are ranked on a scale between two extreme ends of five dimensions, Openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

When measuring Extraversion, for example, one would not be classified as purely extroverted or introverted but placed on a scale determining their level of extraversion.

Conscientiousness describes a person’s ability to regulate impulse control to engage in goal-directed behaviors. It measures elements such as control, inhibition, and persistence of behavior.

Facets of conscientiousness include:
High –

1. Competence
2. Organized
3. Dutifulness
4. Achievement striving
5. Self-disciplined
6. Deliberation

Low

1. Incompetent
2. Disorganized
3. Careless
4. Procrastinates
5. Indiscipline
6. Impulsive

Agreeableness refers to how people tend to treat relationships with others. Unlike
extraversion, agreeableness focuses on people’s orientation and interaction with others.

Facets of agreeableness include:

High –

1. Trust (forgiving)
2. Straightforwardness
3. Altruism (enjoys helping)
4. Compliance
5. Modesty
6. Sympathetic
7. Empathy

Low –

1. Skeptical
2. Demanding
3. Insults and belittles others
4. Stubborn
5. Show-off
6. Unsympathetic
7. Doesn’t care about how other people feel

Extraversion reflects the tendency and intensity to which someone seeks intervention with their environment, particularly socially. It encompasses the comfort and assertiveness levels of people in social situations. It also reflects the sources from which someone draws energy.

Facets of extraversion include: High –

1. Sociable
2. Energized by social interaction
3. Excitement-seeking
4. Enjoys being the center of attraction
5. Outgoing

Low –

1. Prefers solitude
2. Fatigued by too much social interaction
3. Reflective
4. Dislikes being the center of attraction
5. Reserved

Openness to experience refers to one’s willingness to try new things as well as engage in
imaginative and intellectual activities. It includes the ability to “think outside of the box.”
Facets of openness include:

High

1. Curious
2. Imaginative
3. Creative
4. Open to trying new things
5. Unconventional

Low

1. Predictable
2. Mot very imaginative
3. Dislikes change
4. Prefer routine
5. Traditional

Neuroticism describes the overall emotional stability of an individual through how they perceive the world. It considers how likely a person is to interpret events as threatening or difficult. It also addresses one’s propensity to experience negative emotions.

Facets of neuroticism include:

High

1. Anxious
2. Angry hostility (irritable)
3. Experiences of stress
   4.Self-consciousness (shy)
4. Vulnerability
5. Experiences dramatic shifts in mood

Low –

1. Doesn’t worry much
2. Calm
3. Emotionally stable
4. Confident
5. Resilient
6. Rarely feels sad or depressed