Big 5 Factors of Personality

What do the five traits mean Keep in mind that the traits fall on a continuum, and the following

descriptions delineate characteristics associated with each of the traits. Looking at these characteristics we can formulate what each of the traits mean. An easy way to remember them is by using “OCEAN”

• O - Openness – means a person is imaginative, independent minded and has divergent thinking

• C - Conscientiousness – means a person is responsible, orderly and dependable

• E - Extraversion – means a person is, talkative, social and assertive• A - Agreeableness – means a person is good natured, co-operative

and trusting• N - Neuroticism – means a person is anxious, prone to depression

and worries a lot

Big 5 Personality FactorsOpenness to experience (versus closed-mindedness) describes the

breadth, depth, originality, and complexity of an individual’s mental and experiential life.

Conscientiousness describes socially prescribed impulse control that facilitates task and goal directed behaviour, such as thinking before acting, delaying gratification, following norms and rules, and planning, organizing, and prioritizing tasks.

Extraversion implies an energetic approach to the social and material world and includes traits such as sociability, activity, assertiveness, and positive emotionality.

Agreeableness contrasts a prosocial and communal orientation toward others with antagonism and includes traits such as altruism, tender-mindedness, trust, and modesty.

Neuroticism contrasts emotional stability and even-temperedness with negative emotionality, such as feeling anxious, nervous, sad, and tense.

Traits• What do the five traits mean?What do the Big Five predict about our behaviour? (Handbook of

Personality Psychology by Hogan, Johnson, and Briggs, 1997)First, having a trait means reacting consistently to the same situation

overtime, for example, being agreeable or cooperative means consistently going along with reasonable requests, but does not mean always complying with others’ wishes.

Second, to respond consistently in the same situation people must have a capacity to respond to situational cues, that is to have the trait to be responsive to situations. For example, if someone purchases a house in the woods, they might want that house because of its secluded location.

Third, behaving differently in a given situation does not mean there is inner inconsistency. For example, someone who likes to attend parties might not often do so because of a stronger desire to work.

How might these factors relate to motivation?Let’s look quickly at each trait. Only one end of the continuum, for

example extraversion as opposed to introversion, is presented here. Since these traits are on a continuum someone at the opposite extreme would show very different types of motivation than those at the extreme, talked about.

Extraversion has an interpersonal component and is strongly related to positive affect such as being enthusiastic, energetic, interested and friendly. Fremont and Means (1970) found that extraverts show less anxiety over negative feedback. It has long been noted that Extraversion is associated with leadership. So extraverts are highly motivated to seek social situations and to be dominant in those situations. Extraverts are motivated by change, variety in their lives, challenge, and are easily bored. Extraverts have more recently been seen as adaptive, ambitious and hardworking.

Agreeableness also has an interpersonal component. Agreeable individuals tend toward conformity in groups, toward modesty, toward not being demanding, and toward being sympathetic. These individuals might be motivated toward helping others and toward prosocial behavior in general. There may be a link between the motivational processes operating within individuals in regards to this trait, such that agreeable individuals strive for intimacy and solidarity in groups they belong to, which provides emotional rewards.

Conscientiousness is related to such things as achievement, perseverance, organization and responsibility. Conscientious individuals are motivated toward achievement through social conformity. They are, in general, internally driven.

Neuroticism tends to be viewed negatively and is associated with negative affect, being tense and nervous. Keep in mind that neuroticism is only one trait that an individual has. A person could be neurotic and conscientious which may have negative health effects but may motivate an individual toward success in school and work situations.

Openness is associated with tolerance of ambiguity (which means when something is not clear), a capacity to absorb information, being very focused and the ability to be aware of more feelings, thoughts and impulses simultaneously. The result is deeper, more intense experiences. Open individuals are motivated to seek out the unfamiliar, and to look for complexity.