Chapter 3

The Big Five Personality

Traits
A Brief History of Personality
Psychology
• Hippocrates
37
• Personality associated with four fluids (blood, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm)
0
BC
A Brief History of Personality
Psychology
• Hippocrates
37 • Personality associated with four fluids (blood, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm)
0
BC
• Freud
• Human psych consists of three components: id, ego, and superego
19 • The three components control all conscious and unconscious thoughts/behaviors
23
A Brief History of Personality
Psychology
37 • Hippocrates
• Personality associated with four fluids (blood, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm)
0
BC
• Freud
• Human psych consists of three components: id, ego, and superego
19 • The three components control all conscious and unconscious thoughts/behaviors

23
• Allport
• Analyzed the dictionary
19 • Identified 18,000 words that distinguish the behavior of one human from another

36
A Brief History of Personality
Psychology
• Cattell
19 • 16 Personality Factor (16PF) measure
40
A Brief History of Personality
Psychology
• Cattell
19 • 16 Personality Factor (16PF) measure
40

• Christal
19 • Identified Five Factors in the 16PF measure
61
A Brief History of Personality
Psychology
• Cattell
19 • 16 Personality Factor (16PF) measure
40
• Christal
19 • Identified Five Factors in the 16PF measure
61
19 • Field in Dormancy
60 • Walter Mischel’s Book --- Personality does not exist (review person-situation debate)

s
A Brief History of Personality
Psychology
• Goldberg
• Lexical Hypothesis
19 • Coined the term “Big Five”
81
A Brief History of Personality
Psychology
• Goldberg
• Lexical Hypothesis*
19 • Coined the term “Big Five”
81
19 • Big Five accepted as definitive personality model
90
s
Lexical Hypothesis
• The assumptions that words that were important for survival and
reproduction became embedded in the language
• The more important the word is, the more variations it has.
Personality Traits
• Definition: Chapter 1
• Do not capture everything about personality
Big Five / Five Factor Model
Big Five / Five Factor Model
• OCEAN
• CANOE
• Order used in scientific papers: Extraversion, Agreeableness,
Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Openness to experience
 High Extraversion vs Low
Extraversion
People who score high on extraversion People who score low on extraversion (Introversion)
Enjoy and prefer the company of others Not hermits – prefer the company of close friends and
family over the (over)stimulation of large gatherings
Comfortable under the lights (e.g., post more Uncomfortable under the lights
information about themselves on social media)
Want to be leaders
Experience emotions of happiness and joy
Are more physically active
Sensitive to rewards
Perform better with high level background music Perform worse with high level of background music

More likely to be bothered by the COVID quarantine More likely not to be bothered by quarantine
Agreeableness Facets/Subcategories
• Trust
• Morality
• Altruism
• Cooperation
• Modesty
• sympathy
 High Agreeableness vs Low
Agreeableness
People who score high on agreeableness People who score low on agreeableness
(antagonism)
Prefer cooperation over competition Egocentric
Trusting (see the positive in people) Tendency for hostile attribution bias (see the
faults/negative in people)
Honest, humble, modest, and compliant Dishonest, grandiose, manipulative
Show high sympathy toward others Show high skepticism and cynicism
Conscientiousness Facets
• Self-efficacy
• Orderliness
• Dutifulness
• Achievement-striving
• Self-discipline
• Cautiousness
High Conscientiousness vs Low
Conscientiousness
People who score high on conscientiousness People who score low on conscientiousness
Organized unorganized
Punctual Not punctual
Goal-oriented- work hard toward their goals - Easily distracted, do not finish tasks, more likely to
tendency to finish their tasks despite boredom, or give up easily
distraction
Self-disciplined- consider potential consequences Little self control, do no plan ahead
before acting
Cautious – tendency to delay gratification impulsive
Diligent – industrious, hardworking
Neuroticism Facets
• Anxiety
• Anger
• Depression
• Self-consciousness
• Immoderation
• Vulnerability
High Neuroticism vs Low Neuroticism
People who score high on neuroticism People who score low on neuroticism (emotional stability)

Tendency to experience negative emotions such

irritability, self-conscious, anger, anxiety, depression,
sadness

Tendency to experience negative emotions more Tendency to experience negative emotions less
frequently and with high intensity frequently and with low intensity
Openness to
Experience/Intellect/Culture Facets
• Imagination
• Artistic Interests
• Emotionality (the degree to which an individual experiences and expresses emotions,
irrespective of the quality of the emotional experience)
• Adventurousness
• Intellect
• Liberalism
High Openness vs Low Openness
People who score high on openness to experience People who score low on openness to experience
Enjoy trying new things (e.g., eat unusual foods, travel Prefer routine, conventions
to exotic places, own new devices) Do not accept new ideas quickly
High Curiosity
Vivid imagination, enjoy playing with
complex/philosophical ideas /creative
Sensitivity to aesthetic/ appreciate art/ have artistic
interests
Consider alternative perspectives and value systems
More liberal More conservative
More interested in social activism Prefer the status quo
Only personality trait that is linked to intelligence
Extraversion
Advantages of High Extraversion Disadvantages of High Extraversion
Make connections, make friends more chance to find Financial difficulties due to spending money in social
romantic partners or better opportunities gatherings
better mental health due to social relations Might engage in risky behaviors (gambling, drinking,
sex behaviors)

Jobs for high E: journalist, social media influencers, teachers(?), public relations, sales person
Jobs for low E : office work, librarian, authors, freelance workers
Agreeableness
Advantages of High Agreeableness Disadvantages of High Agreeableness
Better friends , better romantic partners Taken advantage of
More likeable Make less money/ do not ask for raise

Advantages of low Agreeableness: motivates people

Disadvantage : have antisocial personality disorder

Jobs for high A: social workers, nurses

Jobs for low A: military, policeman
Conscientiousness
Advantages of High Conscientiousness Disadvantages of High Conscientiousness
Better job performance More time to finish tasks due to perfectionism
Better grades/ better academic performance workaholism
Better romantic partners Rigidity
Have physical health (eat healthy, exercise)
Have mental health (less likely to engage in risky
behaviors)
Live longer

Jobs for high C people: Researchers, doctors, athletes

Jobs for low C people:
Neuroticism
Advantages of High Neuroticism Disadvantages of High Neuroticism
Better ability in detecting danger Prone to mental health issues (e.g., anxiety,
depression)
Prone to physical health issues (e.g., heart problems,
less longevity)
Lower quality relationships (maybe due to anger and
jealousy issues)

Jobs for high N: detectives, quality control,

Jobs for low N: Teachers of KG levels, fire fighters, first aid, pilots, astronauts, surgeons
Openness to Experience
Advantages of High Openness Disadvantages of High Openness
Come up with unique solutions to problems Small correlation between openness and psychoticism
Change the status quo push for change Vivid imagination  hallucinations

Jobs for high O: Artists, philosophers, authors,

Jobs for low O: secretary, IT, conventional routine jobs
Results are based on averages, and will not necessarily apply to
everyone.
Personality Models other than the
BIG FIVE
• Eysenck Personality Model (3 Factors)
• Big Two
• Big One
• HEXACO Model (6 Factors)
HEXACO Model
HEXACO model dimensions​
• (H) Honesty-Humility​
• (E) Emotionality​
• (X) Extraversion​
• (A) Agreeableness​
• (C) Conscientiousness
• (O) Openness to experience
Commonly Used Personality
Questionnaires
• Big Five Inventory (BFI); long version (44 items), short version (10
items)
• Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R)
• Ten Items Personality Inventory (TIPI)
• International Personality Item Pool (IPIP)
• HEXACO Personality Inventory
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
• 4 Indicators: extroversion vs. introversion, thinking vs. feeling, sensing
vs. intuitive, and perceiving vs. judging.
• 16 Personality Types

• Personality Types vs Personality Traits

Does the Big Five Translate Across
Other Cultures?
• Robustness of the Big Five Model
• Other Models
• Two factors (Saucier, Thalmayer, Bel-Bahar2014) – Central Africa​
• Three factors (De Raad & Peabody, 2005) – European and Asian Countries​
• Six factors (Ashton et al, 2004) – European and Asian countries ​
• Nine factors (Nel et al, 2011) – South Africa ​
• Five alternative factors (Cheung et al) – China​
Personality in the Arab World
Levant Region Dr. Zeinoun (AUB)
identified a six-factor solution comprising Morality (I),
Conscientiousness (II), Positive Emotionality(III), Dominance (IV),
Agreeableness/Righteousness (V), and Emotional Stability(VI) without
replicating an Openness factor
(Study will be posted on Moodle)
Do Animals Have Big Five
Personality Traits?
HEXACO Extra
• Honesty-Humility (H):
• Facets: Sincerity, Fairness, Greed Avoidance, Modesty
• Adjectives: Sincere, honest, faithful, loyal, modest/unassuming versus sly, deceitful, greedy, pretentious, hypocritical, boastful, pompous
• Emotionality (E):
• Facets: Fearfulness, Anxiety, Dependence, Sentimentality
• Adjectives: Emotional, oversensitive, sentimental, fearful, anxious, vulnerable versus brave, tough, independent, self-assured, stable
• Extraversion (X):
• Facets: Social Self-Esteem, Social Boldness, Sociability, Liveliness
• Adjectives: Outgoing, lively, extraverted, sociable, talkative, cheerful, active versus shy, passive, withdrawn, introverted, quiet, reserved
• Agreeableness (A):
• Facets: Forgivingness, Gentleness, Flexibility, Patience
• Adjectives: patient, tolerant, peaceful, mild, agreeable, lenient, gentle versus ill-tempered, quarrelsome, stubborn, choleric
• Conscientiousness (C):
• Facets: Organization, Diligence, Perfectionism, Prudence
• Adjectives: organized, disciplined, diligent, careful, thorough, precise versus sloppy, negligent, reckless, lazy, irresponsible, absent-minded
• Openness to Experience (O):
• Facets: Aesthetic Appreciation, Inquisitiveness, Creativity, Unconventionality
• Adjectives: intellectual, creative, unconventional, innovative, ironic versus shallow, unimaginative, conventional