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Big Five personality traits
Also known as Big Five, Big 5, Five-factor model, OCEAN
The most widely used scientific model of personality. It describes people on five broad scales: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.
In Psychology
The Big Five is the model of personality most used in research. It describes everyone on five continuous scales, often remembered as OCEAN:
- Openness to experience — curiosity, imagination, liking new ideas.
- Conscientiousness — organisation, reliability, self-discipline.
- Extraversion — sociability, energy, assertiveness.
- Agreeableness — warmth, cooperation, trust.
- Neuroticism — a tendency towards worry, low mood and irritability (its opposite is called emotional stability).
Each is a spectrum, not a type, and most people sit near the middle. Twin studies suggest roughly 40–60% of the differences between people are genetic, yet personality keeps changing in adulthood: a large 2006 analysis found people generally become more conscientious and emotionally stable between about 20 and 40.
Unlike popular type tests that sort people into boxes, the Big Five rests on decades of research. No trait score is a diagnosis. Read more on personality tests.
Where this comes up
Psychology
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Related terms
- NarcissismNarcissist, NarcissisticA personality trait involving self-importance, a need for admiration and low empathy. Everyone has some; narcissistic personality disorder is an uncommon, formal diagnosis at the far end.
- Personality disorderPersonality disorders, PDA long-standing pattern of thinking, feeling and relating to others that differs markedly from most people's and causes real distress or problems for the person or those around them.
- Emotional intelligenceEI, EQThe ability to recognise, understand and manage your own emotions and to read other people's. It is a real, measurable skill that can improve with practice, though popular claims about it are often inflated.
- Anxiety disorderAnxiety disorders, AnxietyWorry or fear that is stronger than the situation calls for, lasts for weeks or months, and gets in the way of daily life. Anxiety disorders are common and treatable.