The Big Five Personality Model at Consonance (Gleichklang)
In psychology, personality refers to the unique structure of personality traits with their habitual patterns of experiencing and behaving that are characteristic of an individual (Allport, 1937).
Numerous studies worldwide have demonstrated that individual personality can be divided into five fundamental dimensions, or basic tendencies, at a very general and cross-domain level (see McCrae & Costa, 1999).
A very good and recommended overview article on this topic was published in the blog “My Way Out of Fear“ (in German).
These fundamental dimensions of human personality, called the BIG FIVE in English, are referred to as: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience:
Neuroticism refers to a tendency toward emotionality and sensitivity. For example, some people tend to react emotionally quickly, while others remain calm for a long time (emotional lability versus stability).
Extraversion captures people’s need for stimulation and excitement. Some people love exuberance and sociability, while others prefer to withdraw and remain alone or in small groups (extraversion versus introversion).
Agreeableness refers to prosocial attitudes and behavioral characteristics, such as altruism and friendliness. Some people have very positive attitudes toward others and are strongly helpful, while others tend to think more of themselves and are more skeptical toward their fellow human beings (agreeableness versus antagonism).
Conscientiousness encompasses virtues such as order, discipline, punctuality, and a sense of duty. There are people who are very precise and distinguish themselves through high self-discipline in their daily lives, while others view things more loosely and sometimes let themselves go (high versus low conscientiousness).
Openness to Experience captures interest and willingness to continually adapt to new things and seek out different experiences. For example, some people enjoy change, transition, and questioning traditional ways, while others prefer to hold on to what they already know and value (high versus low openness to experience).
Extensive research has demonstrated that these five factors, called the Big Five, can be identified in the most diverse cultural and linguistic regions (see overview in De Raad, 2000). Moreover, individual personality remains relatively stable throughout life, as long as no dramatic events occur, even though certain age trends exist (see e.g., Srivastava, John, Gosling & Potter, 2003).
It is particularly important that there are no good or bad personality traits. In specific situations, every trait can have both advantages and disadvantages. For example, a person with high agreeableness finds it easy to approach others with trust and openness. However, a trusting attitude can also have negative consequences, and these individuals may find it more difficult to assert themselves in a competitive environment or to distance themselves from other people’s problems.
In addition to the BIG FIVE, personality psychology research in recent decades has identified and made measurable a variety of other, sometimes highly specific, personality dimensions (Costa & McCrae, 2000). Studies have shown that these more specific personality traits are closely related to the overarching personality structure determined by the BIG FIVE. In individual cases, for example, the overarching factor of neuroticism can manifest in very different patterns of experience and behavior: while some people with high neuroticism scores tend to become anxious or depressed under stress and strain, others tend toward irritability or impulsivity. Therefore, it is important to also capture the more specific personality traits that are subordinate to the BIG FIVE, because only in this way is a deeper understanding of an individual’s personality possible. These highly specific personality traits are called facets.
In the current scientific debate, it is controversially discussed whether additional factors are necessary to describe personality or whether these five overarching dimensions are sufficient. A possible sixth factor of risk-taking is being particularly discussed and investigated recently (Andresen, 2002). Proponents of the Five-Factor Model, on the other hand, classify risk-taking as a facet of extraversion. While some researchers search for additional factors beyond the BIG FIVE, other authors (see e.g., Becker, 2004) argue that a four-factor structure with an aggregate factor of extraversion/openness to experience represents a more economical model of personality. They particularly emphasize that extraversion and openness to experience are often correlated and cannot always be statistically separated from each other. On the other hand, the majority of available studies show that with a representative compilation of questions, a distinction can generally be made between extraversion and openness to experience, and that combining both factors would result in a loss of information.
In summary, it can be stated that there are still controversial positions regarding the number of basic tendencies of personality to be assumed and also regarding their precise conceptualization. However, the Five-Factor Model of Personality currently represents the most widely used, most frequently studied, and best-confirmed model of human personality.
Allport, G.W. (1937). Personality: A psychological interpretation. New York: Holt and Company.Andresen, B. (2002). HPI – Hamburger Persönlichkeitsinventar. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Costa P.T., Jr., McCrae R.R. (2000). Innovations in assessment using the Revised NEO Personality Inventory: Introduction to the Special Issue. Assessment, 7, 323-325.
Becker, P. (2004). The four-plus-X-factor model as a framework for the description of normal and disordered personality. A pilot study. Trierer Psychologische Berichte, Volume 29, Issue 1, University of Trier, Trier.
De Raad, B. (2000) The Big Five Personality Factors. The Psycholexical Approach to Personality. Hogrefe & Huber Publishers: Göttingen. McCrae R.R., Costa P.T., Jr. (1999): A five-factor theory of personality. In: L.A. Pervin & O.P. John (Eds.), Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research (pp. 139-153). New York: Guilford.
Srivastava, S., John, O.P., Gosling, S.D. & Potter, J. (2003). Development of personality in early and middle adulthood: Set like plaster or persistent change? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 1041-1053.
