the big five essay

Big Five Personality Traits: The 5-Factor Model of Personality

Annabelle G.Y. Lim

Psychology Graduate

BA (Hons), Psychology, Harvard University

Annabelle G.Y. Lim is a graduate in psychology from Harvard University. She has served as a research assistant at the Harvard Adolescent Stress & Development Lab.

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Saul McLeod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

On This Page:

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 such as education and health.

Each trait represents a continuum. Individuals can fall anywhere on the continuum for each trait.

Unlike other trait theories that sort individuals into binary categories (i.e. introvert or extrovert ), the Big Five Model asserts that each personality trait is a spectrum.

Therefore, individuals are ranked on a scale between the two extreme ends of five broad dimensions:

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

By ranking individuals on each of these traits, it is possible to effectively measure individual differences in personality.

Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness describes a person’s ability to regulate impulse control to engage in goal-directed behaviors (Grohol, 2019). It measures elements such as control, inhibition, and persistence of behavior.

Facets of conscientiousness include the following (John & Srivastava, 1999):

• Dutifulness
• Achievement striving
• Self-disciplined
• Deliberation
• Incompetent
• Disorganized
• Procrastinates
• Indiscipline

Conscientiousness vs. Lack of Direction

Those who score high on conscientiousness can be described as organized, disciplined, detail-oriented, thoughtful, and careful. They also have good impulse control, which allows them to complete tasks and achieve goals.

Those who score low on conscientiousness may struggle with impulse control, leading to difficulty in completing tasks and fulfilling goals.

They tend to be more disorganized and may dislike too much structure. They may also engage in more impulsive and careless behavior.

Agreeableness

Agreeableness refers to how people tend to treat relationships with others. Unlike extraversion which consists of the pursuit of relationships, agreeableness focuses on people’s orientation and interactions with others (Ackerman, 2017).

Facets of agreeableness include the following (John & Srivastava, 1999):

• Trust (forgiving)
• Straightforwardness
• Altruism (enjoys helping)
• Sympathetic
• Insults and belittles others
• Unsympathetic
• Doesn’t care about how other people feel

Agreeableness vs. Antagonism

Those high in agreeableness can be described as soft-hearted, trusting, and well-liked. They are sensitive to the needs of others and are helpful and cooperative. People regard them as trustworthy and altruistic.

Those low in agreeableness may be perceived as suspicious, manipulative, and uncooperative. They may be antagonistic when interacting with others, making them less likely to be well-liked and trusted.

Extraversion

Extraversion reflects the tendency and intensity to which someone seeks interaction with their environment, particularly socially. It encompasses the comfort and assertiveness levels of people in social situations.

Additionally, it also reflects the sources from which someone draws energy.

Facets of extraversion include the following (John & Srivastava, 1999):

• Energized by social interaction
• Excitement-seeking
• Enjoys being the center of attention
• Prefers solitude
• Fatigued by too much social interaction
• Dislikes being the center of attention

Extraversion vs. Introversion

Those high on extraversion are generally assertive, sociable, fun-loving, and outgoing. They thrive in social situations and feel comfortable voicing their opinions. They tend to gain energy and become excited from being around others.

Those who score low in extraversion are often referred to as introverts . These people tend to be more reserved and quieter. They prefer listening to others rather than needing to be heard.

Introverts often need periods of solitude in order to regain energy as attending social events can be very tiring for them.

Of importance to note is that introverts do not necessarily dislike social events, but instead find them tiring.

Openness to Experience

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 the following (John & Srivastava, 1999):

• Imaginative
• Open to trying new things
• Unconventional
• Predictable
• Not very imaginative
• Dislikes change
• Prefer routine
• Traditional

Openness vs. Closedness to Experience

Those who score high on openness to experience are perceived as creative and artistic. They prefer variety and value independence. They are curious about their surroundings and enjoy traveling and learning new things.

People who score low on openness to experience prefer routine. They are uncomfortable with change and trying new things, so they prefer the familiar over the unknown.

As they are practical people, they often find it difficult to think creatively or abstractly.

Neuroticism

Neuroticism describes the overall emotional stability of an individual through how they perceive the world. It takes into account how likely a person is to interpret events as threatening or difficult.

It also includes one’s propensity to experience negative emotions.

Facets of neuroticism include the following (John & Srivastava, 1999):

• Angry hostility (irritable)
• Experiences a lot of stress
• Self-consciousness (shy)
• Vulnerability
• Experiences dramatic shifts in mood
• Doesn”t worry much
• Emotionally stable
• Rarely feels sad or depressed

Neuroticism vs. Emotional Stability

Those who score high on neuroticism often feel anxious, insecure and self-pitying. They are often perceived as moody and irritable. They are prone to excessive sadness and low self-esteem.

Those who score low on neuroticism are more likely to calm, secure and self-satisfied. They are less likely to be perceived as anxious or moody. They are more likely to have high self-esteem and remain resilient.

Behavioral Outcomes

Relationships.

In marriages where one partner scores lower than the other on agreeableness, stability, and openness, there is likely to be marital dissatisfaction (Myers, 2011).

Neuroticism seems to be a risk factor for many health problems, including depression, schizophrenia, diabetes, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, and heart disease (Lahey, 2009).

People high in neuroticism are particularly vulnerable to mood disorders such as depression . Low agreeableness has also been linked to higher chances of health problems (John & Srivastava, 1999).

There is evidence to suggest that conscientiousness is a protective factor against health diseases. People who score high in conscientiousness have been observed to have better health outcomes and longevity (John & Srivastava, 1999).

Researchers believe that such is due to conscientious people having regular and well-structured lives, as well as the impulse control to follow diets, treatment plans, etc.

A high score on conscientiousness predicts better high school and university grades (Myers, 2011). Contrarily, low agreeableness and low conscientiousness predict juvenile delinquency (John & Srivastava, 1999).

Conscientiousness is the strongest predictor of all five traits for job performance (John & Srivastava, 1999). A high score of conscientiousness has been shown to relate to high work performance across all dimensions.

The other traits have been shown to predict more specific aspects of job performance. For instance, agreeableness and neuroticism predict better performance in jobs where teamwork is involved.

However, agreeableness is negatively related to individual proactivity. Openness to experience is positively related to individual proactivity but negatively related to team efficiency (Neal et al., 2012).

Extraversion is a predictor of leadership, as well as success in sales and management positions (John & Srivastava, 1999).

Media Preference

Manolika (2023) examined how the Big Five personality traits relate to preferences for different genres of movies and books. The study surveyed 386 university students on their Big Five traits and preferences for 21 movie and 27 book types.

Results showed openness to experience predicted liking complex movies like documentaries and unconventional books like philosophy. This aligns with past research showing open people like cognitively challenging art (Swami & Furnham, 2019).

Conscientiousness predicted preferring informational books, while agreeableness predicted conventional genres like family movies and romance books.

Neuroticism only predicted preferring light books, not movies. Extraversion did not predict preferences, contrary to hypotheses.

Overall, the Big Five traits differentially predicted media preferences, suggesting people select entertainment that satisfies psychological needs and reflects aspects of their personalities (Rentfrow et al., 2011).

Open people prefer complex stimulation, conscientious people prefer practical content, agreeable people prefer conventional genres, and neurotic people use light books for mood regulation. Extraversion may relate more to social motivations for media use.

Critical Evaluation

Descriptor rather than a theory.

The Big Five was developed to organize personality traits rather than as a comprehensive theory of personality. Therefore, it is more descriptive than explanatory and does not fully account for differences between individuals (John & Srivastava, 1999). It also does not sufficiently provide a causal reason for human behavior.

Cross-Cultural Validity

Although the Big Five has been tested in many countries and its existence is generally supported by findings (McCrae, 2002), there have been some studies that do not support its model. Most previous studies have tested the presence of the Big Five in urbanized, literate populations.

A study by Gurven et al. (2013) was the first to test the validity of the Big Five model in a largely illiterate, indigenous population in Bolivia. They administered a 44-item Big Five Inventory but found that the participants did not sort the items in consistency with the Big Five traits.

More research on illiterate and non-industrialized populations is needed to clarify such discrepancies.

Gender Differences

Differences in the Big Five personality traits between genders have been observed, but these differences are small compared to differences between individuals within the same gender.

Costa et al. (2001) gathered data from over 23,000 men and women in 26 countries. They found that “gender differences are modest in magnitude, consistent with gender stereotypes, and replicable across cultures” (p. 328). Women reported themselves to be higher in Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Warmth (a facet of Extraversion), and Openness to Feelings compared to men. Men reported themselves to be higher in Assertiveness (a facet of Extraversion) and Openness to Ideas.

Another interesting finding was that bigger gender differences were reported in Western, industrialized countries. Researchers proposed that the most plausible reason for this finding was attribution processes.

They surmised that the actions of women in individualistic countries would be more likely to be attributed to their personality, whereas actions of women in collectivistic countries would be more likely to be attributed to their compliance with gender role norms.

Factors that Influence the Big 5

Like with all theories of personality , the Big Five is influenced by both nature and nurture . Twin studies have found that the heritability (the amount of variance that can be attributed to genes) of the Big Five traits is 40-60%.

Jang et al. (1996) conducted a study with 123 pairs of identical twins and 127 pairs of fraternal twins. They estimated the heritability of conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experience, and extraversion to be 44%, 41%, 41%, 61%, and 53%, respectively. This finding was similar to the findings of another study, where the heritability of conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experience and extraversion were estimated to be 49%, 48%, 49%, 48%, and 50%, respectively (Jang et al., 1998).

Such twin studies demonstrate that the Big Five personality traits are significantly influenced by genes and that all five traits are equally heritable. Heritability for males and females does not seem to differ significantly (Leohlin et al., 1998).

Studies from different countries also support the idea of a strong genetic basis for the Big Five personality traits (Riemann et al., 1997; Yamagata et al., 2006).

Roehrick et al. (2023) examined how Big Five traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness) and context relate to smartphone use. The study used surveys, experience sampling, and smartphone sensing to track college students’ personality, context, and hourly smartphone behaviors over one week.

They found extraverts used their phones more frequently once checked, but conscientious people were less likely to use their phone and used them for shorter durations. Smartphones were used in public, with weaker social ties, and during class/work activities. They were used less with close ties. Perceived situations didn’t relate much to use.

Most variability in use was within-person, suggesting context matters more than personality for smartphone behaviors. Comparisons showed context-explained duration of use over traits and demographics, but not frequency.

The key implication is that both personality and context are important to understanding digital behavior. Extraversion and conscientiousness were the most relevant of the Big Five for smartphone use versus non-use and degree of use. Contextual factors like location, social ties, and activities provided additional explanatory power, especially for the duration of smartphone use.

Stability of the Traits

People’s scores of the Big Five remain relatively stable for most of their life with some slight changes from childhood to adulthood. A study by Soto & John (2012) attempted to track the developmental trends of the Big Five traits.

They found that overall agreeableness and conscientiousness increased with age. There was no significant trend for extraversion overall although gregariousness decreased and assertiveness increased.

Openness to experience and neuroticism decreased slightly from adolescence to middle adulthood. The researchers concluded that there were more significant trends in specific facets (i.e. adventurousness and depression) rather than in the Big Five traits overall.

History and Background

The Big Five model resulted from the contributions of many independent researchers. Gordon Allport and Henry Odbert first formed a list of 4,500 terms relating to personality traits in 1936 (Vinney, 2018). Their work provided the foundation for other psychologists to begin determining the basic dimensions of personality.

In the 1940s, Raymond Cattell and his colleagues used factor analysis (a statistical method) to narrow down Allport’s list to sixteen traits.

However, numerous psychologists examined Cattell’s list and found that it could be further reduced to five traits. Among these psychologists were Donald Fiske, Norman, Smith, Goldberg, and McCrae & Costa (Cherry, 2019).

In particular, Lewis Goldberg advocated heavily for five primary factors of personality (Ackerman, 2017). His work was expanded upon by McCrae & Costa, who confirmed the model’s validity and provided the model used today: conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experience, and extraversion.

The model became known as the “Big Five” and has seen received much attention. It has been researched across many populations and cultures and continues to be the most widely accepted theory of personality today.

Each of the Big Five personality traits represents extremely broad categories which cover many personality-related terms. Each trait encompasses a multitude of other facets.

For example, the trait of Extraversion is a category that contains labels such as Gregariousness (sociable), Assertiveness (forceful), Activity (energetic), Excitement-seeking (adventurous), Positive emotions (enthusiastic), and Warmth (outgoing) (John & Srivastava, 1999).

Therefore, the Big Five, while not completely exhaustive, cover virtually all personality-related terms.

Another important aspect of the Big Five Model is its approach to measuring personality. It focuses on conceptualizing traits as a spectrum rather than black-and-white categories (see Figure 1). It recognizes that most individuals are not on the polar ends of the spectrum but rather somewhere in between.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 5 really the magic number.

A common criticism of the Big Five is that each trait is too broad. Although the Big Five is useful in terms of providing a rough overview of personality, more specific traits are required to be of use for predicting outcomes (John & Srivastava, 1999).

There is also an argument from psychologists that more than five traits are required to encompass the entirety of personality.

A new model, HEXACO, was developed by Kibeom Lee and Michael Ashton, and expands upon the Big Five Model. HEXACO retains the original traits from the Big Five Model but contains one additional trait: Honesty-Humility, which they describe as the extent to which one places others’ interests above their own.

What are the differences between the Big Five and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator?

The Big Five personality traits and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) are both popular models used to understand personality. However, they differ in several ways.

The Big Five traits represent five broad dimensions of personality. Each trait is measured along a continuum, and individuals can fall anywhere along that spectrum.

In contrast, the MBTI categorizes individuals into one of 16 personality types based on their preferences for four dichotomies: extraversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving. This model assumes that people are either one type or another rather than being on a continuum.

Overall, while both models aim to describe and categorize personality, the Big Five is thought to have more empirical research and more scientific support, while the MBTI is more of a theory and often lacks strong empirical evidence.

Is it possible to improve certain Big Five traits through therapy or other interventions?

It can be possible to improve certain Big Five traits through therapy or other interventions.

For example, individuals who score low in conscientiousness may benefit from therapy that focuses on developing planning, organizational, and time-management skills. Those with high neuroticism may benefit from cognitive-behavioral therapy, which helps individuals manage negative thoughts and emotions.

Additionally, therapy such as mindfulness-based interventions may increase scores in traits such as openness and agreeableness. However, the extent to which these interventions can change personality traits long-term is still a topic of debate among psychologists.

Is it possible to have a high score in more than one Big Five trait?

Yes, it is possible to have a high score in more than one Big Five trait. Each trait is independent of the others, meaning that an individual can score high on openness, extraversion, and conscientiousness, for example, all at the same time.

Similarly, an individual can also score low on one trait and high on another. The Big Five traits are measured along a continuum, so individuals can fall anywhere along that spectrum for each trait.

Therefore, it is common for individuals to have a unique combination of high and low scores across the Big Five personality traits.

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Costa, P., Terracciano, A., & McCrae, R. (2001). Gender Differences in Personality Traits Across Cultures: Robust and Surprising Findings . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81 (2), 322-331. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.81.2.322

Fiske, D. W. (1949). Consistency of the factorial structures of personality ratings from different sources. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 44 (3), 329-344. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0057198

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Gurven, M., von Rueden, C., Massenkoff, M., Kaplan, H., & Lero Vie, M. (2013). How universal is the Big Five? Testing the five-factor model of personality variation among forager-farmers in the Bolivian Amazon . Journal of personality and social psychology, 104 (2), 354–370. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030841

Jang, K. L., Livesley, W. J., & Vemon, P. A. (1996). Heritability of the Big Five Personality Dimensions and Their Facets: A Twin Study . Journal of Personality, 64 (3), 577–592. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1996.tb00522.x

Jang, K. L., McCrae, R. R., Angleitner, A., Riemann, R., & Livesley, W. J. (1998). Heritability of facet-level traits in a cross-cultural twin sample: Support for a hierarchical model of personality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74 (6), 1556–1565.

John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big-Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (Vol. 2, pp. 102–138). New York: Guilford Press.

Lahey B. B. (2009). Public health significance of neuroticism. The American psychologist, 64 (4), 241–256. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015309

Loehlin, J. C., McCrae, R. R., Costa, P. T., & John, O. P. (1998). Heritabilities of Common and Measure-Specific Components of the Big Five Personality Factors . Journal of Research in Personality, 32 (4), 431–453. https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.1998.2225

Manolika, M. (2023). The Big Five and beyond: Which personality traits do predict movie and reading preferences?  Psychology of Popular Media, 12 (2), 197–206

McCrae, R. R. (2002). Cross-Cultural Research on the Five-Factor Model of Personality . Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 4 (4). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1038

Myers, David G. (2011). Psychology (10th ed.) . Worth Publishers.

Neal, A., Yeo, G., Koy, A., & Xiao, T. (2012). Predicting the form and direction of work role performance from the Big 5 model of personality traits . Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33 (2), 175–192. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.742

Riemann, R., Angleitner, A., & Strelau, J. (1997). Genetic and Environmental Influences on Personality: A Study of Twins Reared Together Using the Self‐ and Peer Report NEO‐FFI Scales . Journal of Personality, 65 (3), 449-475.

Roehrick, K. C., Vaid, S. S., & Harari, G. M. (2023). Situating smartphones in daily life: Big Five traits and contexts associated with young adults’ smartphone use. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 125 (5), 1096–1118.

Soto, C. J., & John, O. P. (2012). Development of Big Five Domains and Facets in Adulthood: Mean-Level Age Trends and Broadly Versus Narrowly Acting Mechanism . Journal of Personality, 80 (4), 881–914. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2011.00752.x

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Yamagata, S., Suzuki, A., Ando, J., Ono, Y., Kijima, N., Yoshimura, K., . . . Jang, K. (2006). Is the Genetic Structure of Human Personality Universal? A Cross-Cultural Twin Study From North America, Europe, and Asia. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90 (6), 987-998. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.6.987

Keep Learning

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
• McCrae, R. R., & Terracciano, A. (2005). Universal features of personality traits from the observer’s perspective: data from 50 cultures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88 (3), 547.
• Cobb-Clark, DA & Schurer, S. The stability of big-five personality traits. Economics Letters. 2012; 115 (2): 11–15.
• Marsh, H. W., Nagengast, B., & Morin, A. J. (2013). Measurement invariance of big-five factors over the life span: ESEM tests of gender, age, plasticity, maturity, and la dolce vita effects. Developmental psychology, 49 (6), 1194.
• Power RA, Pluess M. Heritability estimates of the Big Five personality traits based on common genetic variants. Transl Psychiatry. 2015;5 :e604.
• Personality Theories Book Chapter
• The Cambridge Handbook of Personality Psychology

Big Five Personality Traits: The OCEAN Model Explained

“Who are you?”

It’s a simple enough question, but it’s one of the hardest ones to answer.

There are many ways to interpret that question. An answer could include your name, your job title, your role in your family, your hobbies or passions, and your place of residence or birth. A more comprehensive answer might include a description of your beliefs and values.

Every one of us has a different answer to this question, and each answer tells a story about who we are. While we may have a lot in common with our fellow humans, like race, religion, sexual orientation, skills, and eye color, there is one thing that makes us each unique: personality.

You can meet hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people, but no two will be exactly the same. Which raises the question: how do we categorize and classify something as widely varied as personality?

In this article, we’ll define what personality is, explore the different ways personalities can be classified (and how those classifications have evolved), and explain the OCEAN model, one of the most ubiquitous personality inventories in modern psychology.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Strengths Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help your clients realize their unique potential and create a life that feels energizing and authentic.

This Article Contains

What is personality, personality research: a brief review, ocean: the five factors, the trait network, assessing the big five, a take-home message, frequently asked questions.

Personality is an easy concept for most of us to grasp. It’s what makes you, you. It encompasses all the traits, characteristics, and quirks that set you apart from everyone else.

In the world of psychology research, personality is a little more complicated. The definition of personality can be complex, and the way it is defined can influence how it is understood and measured.

According to the researchers at the Personality Project, personality is “the coherent pattern of affect, cognition, and desires (goals) as they lead to behavior” (Revelle, 2013).

Meanwhile, the American Psychological Association (APA) defines personality as “individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving” (2017).

However you define personality, it’s an important part of who you are. In fact, personality shows a positive correlation with life satisfaction (Boyce, Wood, & Powdthavee, 2013). With personality having such a large impact on our lives, it’s important to have a reliable way to conceptualize and measure it.

The most prevalent personality framework is the Big Five, also known as the five-factor model of personality. Not only does this theory of personality apply to people in many countries and cultures around the world (Schmitt et al., 2007), it provides a reliable assessment scale for measuring personality.

To understand how we got to the Big Five, we have to go back to the beginning of personality research.

Ancient Greece

It seems that for as long as there have been humans with personalities, there have been personality theories and classification systems.

The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates hypothesized that two binaries define temperament: hot versus cold and moist versus dry. This theory resulted in four possible temperaments (hot/moist, hot/dry, cold/moist, cold/dry) called humors , which were thought to be key factors in both physical health issues and personality peculiarities.

Later, the philosopher Plato suggested a classification of four personality types or factors: artistic (iconic), sensible (pistic), intuitive (noetic), and reasoning (dianoetic).

Plato’s renowned student Aristotle mused on a possible connection between the physical body and personality, but this connection was not a widespread belief until the rise of phrenology and the shocking case of Phineas Gage.

Phrenology and Phineas Gage

Phrenology, a pseudoscience that is not based on any verifiable evidence, was promoted by a neuroanatomist named Franz Gall in the late 18th century. Phrenology hypothesizes a direct relationship between the physical properties of different areas of the brain (such as size, shape, and density) and opinions, attitudes, and behaviors.

While phrenology was debunked relatively quickly, it marked one of the first attempts to tether an individual’s traits and characteristics to the physical brain. And it wasn’t long before actual evidence of this connection presented itself.

In 1848, one man’s unfortunate accident forever changed mainstream views on the interconnectivity of the brain and personality.

A railroad construction worker named Phineas Gage was on the job when a premature detonation of explosive powder launched a 3.6 foot (1.1 m), 13.25 pound (6 kg) iron rod into Gage’s left cheek, through his head, and out the other side.

Gage, astonishingly, survived the incident, and his only physical ailments (at first) were blindness in his left eye and a wound where the rod penetrated his head.

However, his friends reported that his personality had completely changed after the accident—suddenly he could not keep appointments, showed little respect or compassion for others, and uttered “the grossest profanity.” He died in 1860 after suffering from a series of seizures (Twomey, 2010).

This was the first case that was widely recognized as clear evidence of a link between the physical brain and personality, and it gained national attention. Interest in the psychological conception of personality spiked, leading to the next phase in personality research.

Sigmund Freud

The Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud is best known as the father of psychoanalysis , an intensive form of therapy that digs deep into an individual’s life—especially childhood—to understand and treat psychological ailments.

However, Freud also focused on personality, and some of his ideas are familiar to many people. One of his most fleshed-out theories held that the human mind consists of three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego.

The id is the primal part of the human mind that runs on instinct and aims for survival at all costs. The ego bridges the gap between the id and our day-to-day experiences, providing realistic ways to achieve the wants and needs of the id and coming up with justifications for these desires.

The superego is the part of the mind that represents humans’ higher qualities, providing the moral framework that humans use to regulate their baser behavior.

While scientific studies have largely not supported Freud’s idea of a three-part mind, this theory did bring awareness to the fact that at least some thoughts, behaviors, and motivations are unconscious. After Freud, people began to believe that behavior was truly the tip of the iceberg when assessing a person’s attitudes, opinions, beliefs, and unique personality.

Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung was influenced by Freud, his mentor, but ultimately came up with his own system of personality. Jung believed that there were some overarching types of personality that each person could be classified into based on dichotomous variables.

For example, Jung believed that individuals were firmly within one of two camps:

• Introverts , who gain energy from the “internal world” or from solitude with the self;
• Extroverts, who gain energy from the “external world” or from interactions with others.

This idea is still prevalent today, and research has shown that this is a useful differentiator between two relatively distinct types of people. Today, most psychologists see introversion and extroversion as existing on a spectrum rather than a binary. It can also be situational, as some situations exhaust our energy one day and on other days, fuel us to be more social.

Jung also identified what he found to be four essential psychological functions:

He believed that each of these functions could be experienced in an introverted or extroverted fashion and that one of these functions is more dominant than the others in each person.

Jung’s work on personality had a huge impact on the field of personality research that’s still felt today. In fact, the popular Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® test is based in part on Jung’s theories of personality.

Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers

American psychologist Abraham Maslow furthered an idea that Freud brought into the mainstream: At least some aspects or drivers of personality are buried deep within the unconscious mind.

Maslow hypothesized that personality is driven by a set of needs that each human has. He organized these needs into a hierarchy, with each level requiring fulfillment before a higher level can be fulfilled.

The pyramid is organized from bottom to top (pictured to the right), beginning with the most basic need (McLeod, 2007):

• Physiological needs (food, water, warmth, rest);
• Safety needs (security, safety);
• Belongingness and love needs (intimate relationships, friends);
• Esteem needs (prestige and feelings of accomplishment);
• Self-actualization needs (achieving one’s full potential, self-fulfillment).

Maslow believed that all humans aim to fulfill these needs, usually in order from the most basic to the most transcendent, and that these motivations result in the behaviors that make up a personality.

Carl Rogers , another American psychologist, built upon Maslow’s work, agreeing that all humans strive to fulfill needs, but Rogers disagreed that there is a one-way relationship between striving toward need fulfillment and personality. Rogers believed that the many different methods humans use to meet these needs spring from personality, rather than the other way around.

Rogers’ contributions to the field of personality research signaled a shift in thinking about personality. Personality was starting to be seen as a collection of traits and characteristics that were not necessarily permanent rather than a single, succinct construct that can be easily described.

Multiple Personality Traits

In the 1940s, German-born psychologist Hans Eysenck built off of Jung’s dichotomy of introversion versus extroversion, hypothesizing that there were only two defining personality traits : extroversion and neuroticism. Individuals could be high or low on each of these traits, leading to four key types of personalities.

Eysenck also connected personality to the physical body in a greater way than most earlier psychology researchers and philosophers. He posited that differences in the limbic system resulted in varying hormones and hormonal activation. Those who were already highly stimulated (introverts) would naturally seek out less stimulation while those who were naturally less stimulated (extroverts) would search for greater stimulation.

Eysenck’s thoroughness in connecting the body to the mind and personality pushed the field toward a more scientific exploration of personality based on objective evidence rather than solely philosophical musings.

American psychologist Lewis Goldberg may be the most prominent researcher in the field of personality psychology. His groundbreaking work whittled down Raymond Cattell’s 16 “fundamental factors” of personality into five primary factors, similar to the five factors found by fellow psychology researchers in the 1960s.

The five factors Goldberg identified as primary factors of personality are:

Extroversion

Agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism.

• Openness to experience

This five-factor model caught the attention of two other renowned personality researchers, Paul Costa and Robert McCrae, who confirmed the validity of this model. This model was named the “Big Five” and launched thousands of explorations of personality within its framework, across multiple continents and cultures and with a wide variety of populations.

The Big Five brings us right up to the current era in personality research. The Big Five theory still holds sway as the prevailing theory of personality, but some salient aspects of current personality research include:

• Conceptualizing traits on a spectrum instead of as dichotomous variables;
• Contextualizing personality traits (exploring how personality shifts based on environment and time);
• Emphasizing the biological bases of personality and behavior.

Since the Big Five is still the most mainstream and widely accepted framework for personality, the rest of this piece will focus exclusively on this framework.

As noted above, the five factors grew out of decades of personality research, growing from the foundations of Cattell’s 16 factors and eventually becoming the most accepted model of personality to date. This model has been translated into several languages and applied in dozens of cultures, resulting in research that not only confirms its validity as a theory of personality but also establishes its validity on an international level.

These five factors do not provide completely exhaustive explanations of personality, but they are known as the Big Five because they encompass a large portion of personality-related terms. The five factors are not necessarily traits in and of themselves, but factors in which many related traits and characteristics fit.

For example, the factor agreeableness encompasses terms like generosity, amiability, and warmth on the positive side and aggressiveness and temper on the negative side. All of these traits and characteristics (and many more) make up the broader factor of agreeableness.

Below, we’ll explain each factor in more detail and provide examples and related terms to help you get a sense of what aspects and quirks of personality these factors cover.

A popular acronym for the Big Five is OCEAN. The five factors are laid out in that order here.

1. Openness to Experience

Openness to experience has been described as the depth and complexity of an individual’s mental life and experiences (John & Srivastava, 1999). It is also sometimes called intellect or imagination.

Openness to experience concerns people’s willingness to try to new things, their ability to be vulnerable, and their capability to think outside the box.

Common traits related to openness to experience include:

• Imagination;
• Insightfulness;
• Varied interests;
• Originality;
• Daringness;
• Preference for variety;
• Cleverness;
• Creativity;
• Perceptiveness;
• Complexity/depth.

An individual who is high in openness to experience is likely someone who has a love of learning, enjoys the arts, engages in a creative career or hobby, and likes meeting new people (Lebowitz, 2016a).

An individual who is low in openness to experience probably prefers routine over variety, sticks to what he or she knows, and prefers less abstract arts and entertainment.

2. Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness is a trait that can be described as the tendency to control impulses and act in socially acceptable ways, behaviors that facilitate goal-directed behavior (John & Srivastava, 1999). Conscientious people excel in their ability to delay gratification, work within the rules, and plan and organize effectively.

Traits within the conscientiousness factor include:

• Persistence;
• Thoroughness;
• Self-discipline ;
• Consistency;
• Predictability;
• Reliability;
• Resourcefulness;
• Perseverance;

People high in conscientiousness are likely to be successful in school and in their careers, to excel in leadership positions, and to doggedly pursue their goals with determination and forethought (Lebowitz, 2016a).

People low in conscientiousness are much more likely to procrastinate and to be flighty, impetuous, and impulsive.

3. Extroversion

It concerns where an individual draws their energy from and how they interact with others. In general, extroverts draw energy from or recharge by interacting with others, while introverts get tired from interacting with others and replenish their energy with solitude.

• Sociableness;
• Assertiveness ;
• Outgoing nature;
• Talkativeness;
• Ability to be articulate;
• Fun-loving nature;
• Tendency for affection;
• Friendliness;
• Social confidence.

The traits associated with extroversion are:

People high in extroversion tend to seek out opportunities for social interaction, where they are often the “life of the party.” They are comfortable with others, are gregarious, and are prone to action rather than contemplation (Lebowitz, 2016a).

People low in extroversion are more likely to be people “of few words who are quiet, introspective, reserved, and thoughtful.

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4. Agreeableness

This factor concerns how well people get along with others. While extroversion concerns sources of energy and the pursuit of interactions with others, agreeableness concerns one’s orientation to others. It is a construct that rests on how an individual generally interacts with others.

The following traits fall under the umbrella of agreeableness:

• Humbleness;
• Moderation;
• Politeness;
• Unselfishness;
• Helpfulness;
• Sensitivity;
• Amiability;
• Cheerfulness;
• Consideration.

People high in agreeableness tend to be well-liked, respected, and sensitive to the needs of others. They likely have few enemies and are affectionate to their friends and loved ones, as well as sympathetic to the plights of strangers (Lebowitz, 2016a).

People on the low end of the agreeableness spectrum are less likely to be trusted and liked by others. They tend to be callous, blunt, rude, ill-tempered, antagonistic, and sarcastic. Although not all people who are low in agreeableness are cruel or abrasive, they are not likely to leave others with a warm fuzzy feeling.

5. Neuroticism

These traits are commonly associated with neuroticism:

• Awkwardness;
• Pessimism ;
• Nervousness;
• Self-criticism;
• Lack of confidence ;
• Insecurity;
• Instability;
• Oversensitivity.

Those high in neuroticism are generally prone to anxiety, sadness, worry, and low self-esteem. They may be temperamental or easily angered, and they tend to be self-conscious and unsure of themselves (Lebowitz, 2016a).

Individuals who score on the low end of neuroticism are more likely to feel confident, sure of themselves, and adventurous. They may also be brave and unencumbered by worry or self-doubt.

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Research has shown that these factors are interconnected, and also connect with many other aspects of one’s life.

Because the Big Five are so big, they encompass many other traits and bundle related characteristics into one cohesive factor.

Openness to Experience

Openness to experience has been found to contribute to one’s likelihood of obtaining a leadership position , likely due to the ability to entertain new ideas and think outside the box (Lebowitz, 2016a). Openness is also connected to universalism values, which include promoting peace and tolerance and seeing all people as equally deserving of justice and equality (Douglas, Bore, & Munro, 2016).

Further, research has linked openness to experience with broad intellectual skills and knowledge, and it may increase with age (Schretlen, van der Hulst, Pearlson, & Gordon, 2010). This indicates that openness to experience leads to gains in knowledge and skills, and it naturally increases as a person ages and has more experiences to learn from.

Not only has openness been linked to knowledge and skills, but it was also found to correlate positively with creativity, originality, and a tendency to explore their inner selves with a therapist or psychiatrist, and to correlate negatively with conservative political attitudes (Soldz & Vaillant, 1999).

Not only has openness been found to correlate with many traits, but it has also been found to be extremely stable over time—one study explored trait stability over 45 years and found participants’ openness to experience (along with extroversion and neuroticism) remained relatively stable over that period (Soldz & Vaillant, 1999)

Concerning the other Big Five factors, openness to experience is weakly related to neuroticism and extroversion and is mostly unrelated to agreeableness and conscientiousness (Ones, Viswesvaran, & Reiss, 1996).

Openness to experience is perhaps the trait that is least likely to change over time, and perhaps most likely to help an individual grow . Those high in openness to experience should capitalize on their advantage and explore the world, themselves, and their passions. These individuals make strong and creative leaders and are most likely to come up with the next big innovation.

In light of these correlations, it’s not surprising that conscientiousness is also strongly related to post-training learning (Woods, Patterson, Koczwara, & Sofat, 2016), effective job performance (Barrick & Mount, 1991), and intrinsic and extrinsic career success (Judge, Higgins, Thoresen, & Barrick, 1999).

The long-term study by Soldz and Vaillant (1999) found that conscientiousness was positively correlated with adjustment to life’s challenges and mature defensive responses, indicating that those high in conscientiousness are often well-prepared to tackle any obstacles that come their way.

Conscientiousness is negatively correlated with depression, smoking, substance abuse, and engagement in psychiatric treatment. The trait was also found to correlate somewhat negatively with neuroticism and somewhat positively with agreeableness, but it had no discernible relation to the other factors (Ones, Viswesvaran, & Reiss, 1996).

From these results, it’s clear that those gifted with high conscientiousness have a distinct advantage over those who are not. Those with high conscientiousness should attempt to use their strengths to the best of their abilities, including organization, planning, perseverance, and tendency towards high achievement.

As long as the highly conscientious do not fall prey to exaggerated perfectionism, they are likely to achieve many of the traditional markers of success.

Extroverts are often assertive, active, and sociable, shunning self-denial in favor of excitement and pleasure.

Considering these findings, it follows that high extroversion is a strong predictor of  leadership , and contributes to the success of managers and salespeople as well as the success of all job levels in training proficiency (Barrick & Mount, 1991).

Over a lifetime, high extroversion correlates positively with a high income, conservative political attitudes, early life adjustment to challenges, and social relationships (Soldz & Vaillant, 1999).

The same long-term study also found that extroversion was fairly stable across the years, indicating that extroverts and introverts do not often shift into the opposite state (Soldz & Vaillant, 1999).

Because of its ease of measurement and general stability over time, extroversion is an excellent predictor of effective functioning and general well-being (Ozer & Benet-Martinez, 2006), positive emotions (Verduyn & Brans, 2012), and overconfidence in task performance (Schaefer, Williams, Goodie, & Campbell, 2004).

When analyzed in relation to the other Big Five factors, extroversion correlated weakly and negatively with neuroticism and was somewhat positively related to openness to experience (Ones, Viswesvaran, & Reiss, 1996).

Those who score high in extroversion are likely to make friends easily and enjoy interacting with others, but they may want to pay extra attention to making well-thought-out decisions and considering the needs and sensitivities of others.

Agreeableness may be motivated by the desire to fulfill social obligations or follow established norms, or it may spring from a genuine concern for the welfare of others. Whatever the motivation, it is rarely accompanied by cruelty, ruthlessness, or selfishness (Roccas, Sagiv, Schwartz, & Knafo, 2002).

Those high in agreeableness are also more likely to have positive peer and family relationships, model  gratitude  and forgiveness , attain desired jobs, live long lives, experience relationship satisfaction, and volunteer in their communities (Ozer & Benet-Martinez, 2006).

Agreeableness affects many life outcomes because it influences any arena in which interactions with others are important—and that includes almost everything. In the long-term, high agreeableness is related to strong social support and healthy midlife adjustment but is slightly negatively correlated to creativity (Soldz & Vaillant, 1999).

Those who are friendly and endearing to others may find themselves without the motivation to achieve a traditional measure of success, and they might choose to focus on family and friends instead.

Agreeableness correlates weakly with extroversion and is somewhat negatively related to neuroticism and somewhat positively correlated to conscientiousness (Ones, Viswesvaran, & Reiss, 1996).

Individuals high in agreeableness are likely to have many close friends and a good relationship with family members, but there is a slight risk of consistently putting others before themselves and missing out on opportunities for success, learning, and development.

Those who are friendly and agreeable to others can leverage their strengths by turning to their social support networks for help when needed and finding fulfillment in positive engagement with their communities.

Neuroticism has been found to correlate negatively with self-esteem and general self-efficacy , as well as with an internal locus of control (feeling like one has control over his or her own life) (Judge, Erez, Bono, & Thoresen, 2002). In fact, these four traits are so closely related that they may fall under one umbrella construct.

In addition, neuroticism has been linked to poorer job performance and lower motivation, including motivation related to goal-setting and self-efficacy (Judge & Ilies, 2002). It likely comes as no surprise that instability and vulnerability to stress and anxiety do not support one’s best work.

The anxiety and self-consciousness components of neuroticism are also positively linked to more traditional values and are negatively correlated with achievement values.

The hostility and impulsiveness components of neuroticism relate positively to hedonism (or seeking pleasure without regards to the long-term and a disregard for right and wrong) and negatively relate to benevolence, tradition, and conformity (Roccas, Sagiv, Schwartz, & Knafo, 2002).

The 45-year-long study from researchers Soldz and Vaillant showed that neuroticism, over the course of the study, was negatively correlated with smoking cessation and healthy adjustment to life and correlated positively with drug usage, alcohol abuse, and mental health issues (1999).

Neuroticism was found to correlate somewhat negatively with agreeableness and conscientiousness, in addition to a weak, negative relationship with extroversion and openness to experience (Ones, Viswevaran, & Reiss, 1996).

Overall, high neuroticism is related to added difficulties in life, including addiction, poor job performance, and unhealthy adjustment to life’s changes. Scoring high on neuroticism is not an immediate sentence to a miserable life, but those in this group would benefit from investing in improvements to their self-confidence, building resources to draw on in times of difficulty, and avoiding any substances with addictive properties.

Big Five Inventory

This inventory was developed by Goldberg in 1993 to measure the five dimensions of the Big Five personality framework. It contains 44 items and measures each factor through its corresponding facets:

• Extroversion;
• Gregariousness;
• Assertiveness;
• Excitement-seeking;
• Positive emotions ;
• Agreeableness;
• Straightforwardness;
• Compliance;
• Tender-mindedness;
• Conscientiousness;
• Competence;
• Dutifulness;
• Achievement striving;
• Self-discipline;
• Deliberation;
• Neuroticism;
• Angry hostility;
• Depression;
• Self-consciousness;
• Impulsiveness;
• Vulnerability;
• Openness to experience;
• Aesthetics;

The responses to items concerning these facets are combined and summarized to produce a score on each factor. This inventory has been widely used in psychology research and is still quite popular, although the Revised NEO Personality Inventory has also gained much attention in recent years.

To learn more about the BFI or to see the items, click  here to find a PDF with more information.

Revised NEO Personality Inventory

The original NEO Personality Inventory was created by personality researchers Paul Costa Jr. and Robert McCrae in 1978. It was later revised several times to keep up with advancements (in 1990, 2005, and 2010). Initially, the NEO Personality Inventory was named for the three main domains as the researchers understood them at the time: neuroticism, extroversion, and openness.

This scale is also based on the six facets of each factor and includes 240 items rated on a 5-point scale. For a shorter scale, Costa and McCrae also offer the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, which contains only 60 items and measures just the overall domains instead of all facets.

The NEO PI-R requires only a 6th-grade reading level and can be self-administered without a scoring professional.

Access to the NEO PI-R isn’t as widely available as the BFI, so you will have to dig around to obtain it.

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Personality is a complex topic of research in psychology, and it has a long history of shifting philosophies and theories. While it’s easy to conceptualize personality on a day-to-day level, conducting valid scientific research on personality can be much more complex.

The Big Five can help you to learn more about your own personality and where to focus your energy and attention. The first step in effectively leveraging your strengths is to learn what your strengths are.

Whether you use the Big Five Inventory, the NEO PI-R, or something else entirely, we hope you’re able to learn where you fall on the OCEAN spectrums.

What do you think about the OCEAN model? Do you think the traits it describes apply to your personality? Let us know in the comments below.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Strengths Exercises for free .

The most widely used Big Five personality test is the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R), which contains a total of 240 questions (Costa & McCrae, 1992).

Yes, the Big Five personality test is generally considered to be reliable, with research indicating that the five dimensions of personality are consistent across different cultures and can reliably predict a range of behaviors and outcomes (Costa & McCrae, 2008).

A quick example of a few personality questions includes:

• Do you prefer spending time alone or with a large group of people?
• How often do you take risks or try new things?
• When faced with a problem, do you rely more on your intuition or your logical thinking?
• American Psychological Association. (2017). Personality. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/topics/personality/
• Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (1991). The big five personality dimensions and job performance: A meta‐analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44 (1), 1-26.
• Boyce, C. J., Wood, A. M., & Powdthavee, N. (2013). Is personality fixed? Personality changes as much as “variable” economic factors and more strongly predicts changes to life satisfaction. Social Indicators Research, 111, 287-305.
• Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI): Professional manual . Psychological Assessment Resources.
• Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (2008). The revised NEO personality inventory (NEO-PI-R). In G. J. Boyle, G. Matthews, & D. H. Saklofske (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of personality theory and assessment: Vol. 2 . Personality measurement and testing (pp. 179-198). Sage Publications.
• Douglas, H. E., Bore, M., & Munro, D. (2016). Openness and intellect: An analysis of the motivational constructs underlying two aspects of personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 99 , 242-253.
• John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big-Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research (Vol. 2, pp. 102-138). New York: Guilford Press.
• Judge, T. A., Higgins, C. A., Thoresen, C. J., & Barrick, M. R. (1999). The Big Five personality traits, general mental ability, and career success across the life span. Personnel Psychology, 52 , 621-652.
• Judge, T. A., Erez, A., Bono, J. E., & Thoresen, C. J. (2002). Are measures of self-esteem, neuroticism, locus of control, and generalized self-efficacy indicators of a common core construct? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 693-710.
• Judge, T. A., & Ilies, R. (2002). Relationship of personality to performance motivation: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 797-807.
• Lebowitz, S. (2016a). The ‘Big 5’ personality traits could predict who will and won’t become a leader. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/big-five-personality-traits-predict-leadership-2016-12
• Lebowitz, S. (2016b). Scientists say your personality can be deconstructed into 5 basic traits. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/big-five-personality-traits-2016-12
• McLeod, S. (2007). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
• Ones, D. S., Viswesvaran, C., & Reiss, A. D. (1996). Role of social desirability in personality testing for personnel selection: The red herring. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81 , 660-679.
• Ozer, D. J., & Benet-Martinez, V. (2006). Personality and the prediction of consequential outcomes. Annual Review of Psychology, 57 , 401-421.
• Revelle, W. (2013). Personality theory and research. Personality Project. Retrieved from https://www.personality-project.org/index.html
• Roccas, S., Sagiv, L., Schwartz, S. H., & Knafo, A. (2002). The Big Five personality factors and personal values. Personality and Social Psychology, 28, 789-801.
• Schaefer, P. S., Williams, C. C., Goodie, A. S., & Campbell, W. K. (2004). Overconfidence and the Big Five. Journal of Research in Personality, 38 , 473-480.
• Schmitt, D. P., Allik, J., McCrae, R. R., Benet-Martinez, V., Alcalay, L., Ault, L., …, &  Zupanèiè, A. (2007). The geographic distribution of Big Five personality traits: Patterns and profiles of human self-description across 56 nations.  Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 38 , 173-212.
• Schretlen, D. J., van der Hulst, E., Pearlson, G. D., & Gordon, B. (2010). A neuropsychological study of personality: Trait openness in relation to intelligence, fluency, and executive functioning. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 32, 1068-1073.
• Soldz, S., & Vaillant, G. E. (1999). The Big Five personality traits and the life course: A 45-year longitudinal study. Journal of Research in Personality, 33 , 208-232.
• Twomey, S. (2010, January). Phineas Gage: Neuroscience’s most famous patient. Smithsonian. Retrieved from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/phineas-gage-neurosciences-most-famous-patient-11390067/
• Verduyn, P., & Brans, K. (2012). The relationship between extroversion, neuroticism, and aspects of trait affect. Personality and Individual Differences, 52, 664-669.
• Woods, S. A., Patterson, F. C., Koczwara, A., & Sofat, J. A. (2016). The value of being a conscientious learner: Examining the effects of the big five personality traits on self-reported learning from training. Journal of Workplace Learning, 28 , 424-434.

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What our readers think.

I’m grateful for this,although Meyers Briggs has helped me out too. I took a short sample test & think I may have been too high in Openess, because I’m also high in C,E, A, as well as low in N. I should take the 240 questions.

To me the problem with the OCEAN model is that the Big Five have long lists of “positive” traits while the opposite has short “negative” traits. (See for example extroversion compared to introversion). I have noticed this in books on the topic as well. This seems biased to me as if some traits are preferred more than others.

This overview of the Big Five is the easiest to follow and comprehend for the not-so-psychology-educated psychology-interested person… Love it…

I agree with Mr. Bakker. This article leads me to questions I didn’t know I had! Thanks very much indeed.

There seem to be areas of the brain that become inactive, or drugged or damaged. It seems to me this topic is still trying to address mind/consciousness/soul? from a collection of factors that may intersect, have unions that are not exclusive. (not well expressed, sorry).

What part of the big five or the big five inventory can’t be attributed to genetics? How much of our personalities are inherited?

Interesting question! Research on the heritability of Big Five traits has shown genetic influence varying from 41-61% for each respective facet. This article outlines these findings nicely. If you are interested to read about the role of genetics in the manifestation of Big Five traits and the Dark Triad traits, then this article is also quite interesting.

I hope this helps!

Kind regards, -Caroline | Community Manager

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Thank you for all the love, positive thoughts, and best wishes that are being sent your way.

After nearly twenty years of reading blogs, this is the only one I continue to read (and I do it without fail each and every day). What a wonderful experience it has been to “get to know” about this platform and all of the excellent stuff that you guys are providing. Thank you. Weldon and I want to encourage you to keep up the fantastic effort.

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Big Five Personality Traits

Introduction, the big five personality traits, openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism.

The human personality has been described using what has been named the Big-Five factors. It has also been referred to as the Five Factor Model (FFM) in other occasions. These factors of personality, which are the five perspectives, include neuroticism, openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness and extraversion. Costa and McCrae established the Big Five framework of the traits that have become useful in studying the relationship between an individual’s personality and several academic behaviors (Gosling & Rentfrow, 2003).

Conscientiousness is depicted through discipline, level of organization and being an achiever. Neuroticism, on the other hand, can be rated regarding the person’s emotions and decision-making abilities. Extraversion is seen as an individual displays highly sociable behavior and being talkative. This is also expressed by a person’s assertiveness (John & Srivastava, 2001). Openness is depicted through a person’s intellectual curiosity. This is also seen, as an individual prefers variety and innovation. Lastly, agreeableness can be expressed as a person becomes helpful to others. This kind of person also cooperates and is sympathetic towards other individuals.

Some research suggests that both personality and motivation have an intricate relationship with the differences among individuals in their styles of learning. Similar research suggests that educators should not only rely on cognition to understand the academic behavior of students but also to incorporate some of these variables. However, there are some disagreements when it comes to interpreting the factor of openness. It is at times referred as intellect instead of openness towards experience.

Each of the five personality traits consist of a number of specific traits underlying them. Extraversion, for example, consists of various other related personality traits that include those of being warmly, having positive emotions, being assertive, being an excitement seeker and gregarious. The Big Five factors are simply a description of personality. Several psychologists have come up with several theories to give an account of the factors.

Openness is described as an appreciation towards certain aspects. These aspects include adventure, art, normal ideas, some experiences and curiosity. Individuals who have openness to experience are normally intellectually curious. They tend to appreciate art and have sensitivity toward beauty. They differ from the closed people in that they tend to be more creative. They are also generally more aware of their feelings (De Fruyt & De Clercq, 2006).

Such people also tend to have beliefs that might be unconventional. Research has suggested that individuals who have low scores on openness usually have interests on more traditional stuff that are unconventional. They tend to avoid the complex and ambiguous and go for the simple, obvious and straightforward. They even despise the arts and sciences due to suspicion. They may disregard it for being uninteresting.

Conscientiousness is the likelihood to explicit self-discipline. Such individuals act dutifully and tend to set goals that may be against measures or simply beyond their expectations (John & Srivastava, 2001). This trait usually displays an individual who prefers things being planned rather than being only spontaneous. This trait influences certain behavior such as the way in which an individual uses his senses to decide on what is the right thing to do. Such individuals may be overheard speaking of things such as being always prepared, paying attention to details, getting chores done right away. There is some sense of order in their activities. Such individuals also tend to like order and follow schedule.

Extraversion describes an individual who tends to have positive emotions (De Fruyt & De Clercq, 2006). Such an individual tends to look out for stimulation and hence seeks the company of other individuals. This trait is also characterized to an individual who is very engaged to the external world. They may be said to be full of energy as they seem to really enjoy the presence of other individuals in their midst. They are always enthusiastic and oriented to actions. They do not hesitate to go for opportunities as they pursue them with excitement and passion. In a group situation, extraverts enjoy getting attention and they talk a lot and assert themselves.

On the contrary, introverts are not as social as their counterparts are. They are usually less involved in social groups and tend to be quiet. They deliberate a lot. However, their quietness and lack of involvement has nothing to do with their shyness. It does not mean that they are depressed either. They are just not as active as the extraverts are. They also tend to require some time alone.

Individuals who are described as being agreeable tend not to be suspicious or antagonistic towards other people. They are usually compassionate and appreciate cooperation. The difference between someone who shows this trait from the one who does not is in his or her views on the need for social accord. Agreeable people, for example, get along with other individuals easily and appreciate it.

They are usually considerate and generous. Their friendliness causes them to be helpful and willing to regard the interests of others rather than their own. Agreeable people are usually optimistic and view people as being honest and decent. They generally trust other individuals easily.

On the other hand, disagreeable individuals are usually self-centered and do not get along well with others. They tend to be less concerned with other people’s interests and are less likely to give a hand. They also tend to be skeptical about people’s actions and hence become suspicious and uncooperative (McGhee & Buckhalt, 2007).

Neurotic individuals always tend to show negative emotions toward other individuals or situations. They show this through anger, depression and being anxious. This trait has often been tied to emotional instability. Those individuals who have high scores in neuroticism show high emotional reactivity and are more likely to get depressed. Normal situations may appear threatening to such individuals as they misinterpret situations. Simple frustrations might turn out to be hopeless difficulty to those who show high scores in neuroticism.

The negative emotional reactions shown by these individuals tend to last for long periods, which show that they are never in good moods. The lack of the ability to regulate their emotions may lead such individuals not to think clearly or not to have the ability to make decisions. They also have a problem coping with stress. On the other hand, those who have low levels of neuroticism show the exact opposite characteristics of their counterparts (Bagby & Marshall, 2005). They are usually calm and stable emotionally. Such individuals are also less likely to have negative feelings.

The identification of the traits that are characteristic to the person’s personality is an important activity in psychology. The Big Five model gives a vivid description of the personality traits found in different individuals. Different researchers have named these factors differently. Costa and McCrae named it the Five Factor Model while Russell and Karol named it the Global Factors of personality (John & Srivastava, 2001).

• Bagby, R., & Marshall, M. (2005). Dimensional personality traits and the prediction of DSM-IV personality disorder symptom counts in a nonclinical sample. Journal of Personality Disorder, 19(1), 53-67.
• De Fruyt, F., & De Clercq, B. (2006). The validity of Cloninger’s psychobiological model versus the five-factor model to predict DSM-IV personality disorders in a heterogeneous psychiatric sample: Domain facet and residualized facet descriprion. Journal of Personality, 74(2), 479-510.
• Gosling, S., & Rentfrow, P. (2003). A very brief measure of the Big-Five personality domains. Journal of Research in Personality, 37(6), 504-528.
• John, O., & Srivastava, S. (2001). The Big-Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives . New York: Guilford Press.
• McGhee, R., & Buckhalt, J. (2007). Five Factor Personality Inventory-Children (FFPI-C) . Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.

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What Are the Big 5 Personality Traits?

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism

Verywell / Catherine Song

• Universality
• Influential Factors

Frequently Asked Questions

Many contemporary personality psychologists believe that there are five basic dimensions of personality, often referred to as the "Big 5" personality traits. The Big 5 personality traits are extraversion (also often spelled extroversion), agreeableness , openness , conscientiousness , and neuroticism .

Extraversion is sociability, agreeableness is kindness, openness is creativity and intrigue, conscientiousness is thoughtfulness, and neuroticism often involves sadness or emotional instability.

Understanding what each personality trait is and what it means to score high or low in that trait can give you insight into your own personality —without taking a personality traits test . It can also help you better understand others, based on where they fall on the continuum for each of the personality traits listed.

An Easy Way to Remember the Big 5

Some use the acronym OCEAN (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) to remember the Big 5 personality traits. CANOE (for conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion) is another option.

History of the Big 5 Personality Theory

Trait theories of personality have long attempted to pin down exactly how many traits exist. Earlier theories have suggested various numbers. For instance, Gordon Allport's list contained 4,000 personality traits, Raymond Cattell had 16 personality factors, and Hans Eysenck offered a three-factor theory.

Many researchers felt that Cattell's theory was too complicated and Eysenck's was too limited in scope. As a result, the Big 5 personality traits emerged and are used to describe the broad traits that serve as building blocks of personality .

Several researchers support the belief that there are five core personality traits. Evidence of this theory has been growing for many years in psychology, beginning with the research of D. W. Fiske (1949), and later expanded upon by others, including Norman (1967), Smith (1967), Goldberg (1981), and McCrae & Costa (1987).

The Big 5 Personality Traits

It is important to note that each of the five primary personality traits represents a range between two extremes. For example, extraversion represents a continuum between extreme extraversion and extreme introversion. In the real world, most people lie somewhere in between.

While there is a significant body of literature supporting these primary personality traits, researchers don't always agree on the exact labels for each dimension. That said, these five traits are usually described as follows.

Openness (also referred to as openness to experience) emphasizes imagination and insight the most out of all five personality traits. People who are high in openness tend to have a broad range of interests. They are curious about the world and other people and are eager to learn new things and enjoy new experiences.

People who are high in this personality trait also tend to be more adventurous and  creative . Conversely, people low in this personality trait are often much more traditional and may struggle with abstract thinking.

Very creative

Open to trying new things

Focused on tackling new challenges

Happy to think about abstract concepts

Dislikes change

Does not enjoy new things

Resists new ideas

Not very imaginative

Dislikes abstract or theoretical concepts

Conscientiousness

Among each of the personality traits, conscientiousness is one defined by high levels of thoughtfulness, good impulse control, and goal-directed behaviors. Highly conscientious people tend to be organized and mindful of details. They plan ahead, think about how their behavior affects others, and are mindful of deadlines.

Someone scoring lower in this primary personality trait is less structured and less organized. They may procrastinate to get things done, sometimes missing deadlines completely.

Spends time preparing

Finishes important tasks right away

Pays attention to detail

Enjoys having a set schedule

Dislikes structure and schedules

Makes messes and doesn't take care of things

Fails to return things or put them back where they belong

Procrastinates  important tasks

Fails to complete necessary or assigned tasks

Extraversion

Extraversion (or extroversion) is a personality trait characterized by excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional expressiveness. People high in extraversion are outgoing and tend to gain energy in social situations. Being around others helps them feel energized and excited.

People who are low in this personality trait or introverted tend to be more reserved. They have less energy to expend in social settings and social events can feel draining. Introverts often require a period of solitude and quiet in order to "recharge."

Enjoys being the center of attention

Likes to start conversations

Enjoys meeting new people

Has a wide social circle of friends and acquaintances

Finds it easy to make new friends

Feels energized when around other people

Say things before thinking about them

Prefers solitude

Feels exhausted when having to socialize a lot

Finds it difficult to start conversations

Dislikes making small talk

Carefully thinks things through before speaking

Dislikes being the center of attention

Agreeableness

This personality trait includes attributes such as trust,  altruism , kindness, affection, and other  prosocial behaviors . People who are high in agreeableness tend to be more cooperative while those low in this personality trait tend to be more competitive and sometimes even manipulative.

Has a great deal of interest in other people

Cares about others

Feels empathy and concern for other people

Enjoys helping and contributing to the happiness of other people

Assists others who are in need of help

Takes little interest in others

Doesn't care about how other people feel

Has little interest in other people's problems

Insults and belittles others

Manipulates others to get what they want

Neuroticism

Neuroticism is a personality trait characterized by sadness, moodiness, and emotional instability. Individuals who are high in neuroticism tend to experience mood swings , anxiety, irritability, and sadness. Those low in this personality trait tend to be more stable and emotionally resilient .

Experiences a lot of stress

Worries about many different things

Gets upset easily

Experiences dramatic shifts in mood

Feels anxious

Struggles to bounce back after stressful events

Emotionally stable

Deals well with stress

Rarely feels sad or depressed

Doesn't worry much

Is very relaxed

How to Use the Big 5 Personality Traits

Where you fall on the continuum for each of these five primary traits can be used to help identify whether you are more or less likely to have other more secondary personality traits. These other traits are often split into two categories: positive personality traits and negative personality traits.

Try our fast and free big 5 personality test to find out your most dominant traits:

Positive Personality Traits

Positive personality traits are traits that can be beneficial to have. These traits may help you be a better person or make it easier to cope with challenges you may face in life. Personality traits that are considered positive include:

• Considerate
• Cooperative
• Well-rounded

Negative Personality Traits

Negative personality traits are those that may be more harmful than helpful. These are traits that may hold you back in your life or hurt your relationships with others. (They're also good traits to focus on for personal growth.) Personality traits that fall in the negative category include:

• Egotistical

For example, if you score high in openness, you are more likely to have the positive personality trait of creativity. If you score low in openness, you may be more likely to have the negative personality trait of being unimaginative.

Universality of Primary Personality Traits

McCrae and his colleagues found that the Big 5 personality traits are remarkably universal. One study that looked at people from more than 50 different cultures found that the five dimensions could be accurately used to describe personality.

Based on this research, many psychologists now believe that the five personality dimensions are not only universal but that they also have biological origins. Psychologist David Buss has proposed an evolutionary explanation for these five core personality traits, suggesting that they represent the most important qualities that shape our social landscape.

Factors Influencing Personality Traits

Research suggests that both biological and environmental influences play a role in shaping our personalities. Twin studies suggest that both nature and nurture play a role in the development of each of the five personality traits.

One study of the genetic and environmental underpinnings of the five traits looked at 123 pairs of identical twins and 127 pairs of fraternal twins. The findings suggested that the heritability of each personality trait was 53% for extraversion, 41% for agreeableness, 44% for conscientiousness, 41% for neuroticism, and 61% for openness. 

Longitudinal studies also suggest that these big five personality traits tend to be relatively stable over the course of adulthood. One four-year study of working-age adults found that personality changed little as a result of adverse life events .

Studies show that maturation may have an impact on the five personality traits. As people age, they tend to become less extraverted, less neurotic, and less open to an experience. Agreeableness and conscientiousness, on the other hand, tend to increase as people grow older.

A Word From Verywell

Always remember that behavior involves an interaction between a person's underlying personality and situational variables. The situation that someone finds themselves in plays a role in how they might react . However, in most cases, people offer responses that are consistent with their underlying personality traits.

These dimensions represent broad areas of personality. But personality is also complex and varied. So, a person may display behaviors across several of these personality traits.

The big 5 personality theory is widely accepted today because this model presents a blueprint for understanding the main dimensions of personality. Experts have found that these traits are universal and provide an accurate portrait of human personality.

The big 5 personality model is not a typology system, so there are no specific "types" identified. Instead, these dimensions represent qualities that all people possess in varying amounts. One study found that most people do tend to fall into one of four main types based on the Big 5 traits:  

• Average (the most common type, characterized by high levels of extroversion and neuroticism and low levels of openness)
• Self-centered (high in extroversion and low in conscientiousness, openness, and agreeableness)
• Reserved (low on extroversion, neuroticism, and openness, and high on conscientiousness and agreeableness)
• Role models (high on every big 5 trait other than neuroticism)

Power RA, Pluess M. Heritability estimates of the Big Five personality traits based on common genetic variants . Translation Psychiatry . 2015;5:e604. doi:10.1038/tp.2015.96

Jang KL, Livesley WJ, Vernon PA. Heritability of the big five personality dimensions and their facets: a twin study . J Pers . 1996;64(3):577-91. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1996.tb00522.x

Gerlach M, Farb B, Revelle W, Nunes Amaral LA. A robust data-driven approach identifies four personality types across four large data sets . Nat Hum Behav . 2018;2(10):735-742.

 doi:10.1038/s41562-018-0419-z

Cobb-Clark DA, Schurer S. The stability of big-five personality traits . Econ Letters . 2012;115(2):11–15. doi:10.1016/j.econlet.2011.11.015

Lang KL, Livesley WJ, Vemon PA. Heritability of the big five personality dimensions and their facets: A twin study . J Personal . 1996;64(3):577–591. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1996.tb00522.x

Marsh HW, Nagengast B, Morin AJS. Measurement invariance of big-five factors over the lifespan: ESEM tests of gender, age, plasticity, maturity, and la dolce vita effects . Develop Psychol . 2013;49(6):1194-1218. doi:10.1037/a0026913

McCrae RR, Terracciano A, Personality Profiles of Cultures Project. Universal features of personality traits from the observer's perspective: Data from 50 different cultures . J Personal Soc Psychol. 2005;88:547-561. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.88.3.547

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Big Five Personality Traits: Here’s What You Need to Know

Categories Personality

While there have been many different theories of personality, many psychologists today believe that personality is made of five broad dimensions, a notion often referred to as the big five theory of personality or the five-factor model. The Big 5 personality traits the theory describes are:

Conscientiousness

Extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism.

Table of Contents

The Big Five Personality Traits

We mentioned these big five traits earlier, but let’s look at them in greater depth. One important thing to remember is that each dimension represents a continuum. Some people may be at one extreme or another on a particular dimension, with most lying somewhere in the middle.

Does this suggest that personality is made up of only five traits? Not at all. Remember, each of the five factors represents a broad spectrum of traits. Extroversion, for example, encompasses such qualities as talkativeness, outgoingness, assertiveness, and friendliness.

The Big 5 traits represent broad dimensions of personality. Each dimension is a continuum that includes those who are high, low, and in between.

The body of evidence supporting the Big Five theory has grown in recent decades, although it has also been the subject of critique.

Let’s take a closer look at each of the dimensions described by the Big Five theory:

This Big Five personality trait is also referred to as openness to experience and describes a spectrum between being curious and cautious.

High Openness Traits

People who rate high in openness tend to be creative, inventive, and adventurous.

They tend to have a great deal of intellectual curiosity, prefer to avoid routine, and seek out novel experiences. This can sometimes take the form of thrill-seeking and participating in high-risk activities such as sky diving, bungee jumping, and gambling.

Other characteristics of openness include:

• Open-minded
• Abstract thinker
• Unpredictable

Low Openness Traits

Those who rate low in openness tend to be careful and consistent. They appreciate routines and are often wary or even resistant to change.

They may base decisions on carefully considered data, avoid taking excessive risks and can sometimes be close-minded when encountering information that challenges existing beliefs.

Other characteristics of low levels of openness include:

• Enjoying structure
• Being dogmatic
• Resisting new ideas
• Avoiding risk

The conscientiousness big five personality trait describes a continuum between being highly efficient and very careless.

High Conscientiousness Traits

People who are high in conscientiousness are efficient and thoughtful.

Some characteristics of those who are high in this trait include:

• High achieving
• Perfectionistic
• Self-Disciplined

Low Conscientiousness Traits

Those who are low in this trait tend to be easy-going but often thoughtless. While they are often seen as relaxed, they can sometimes be perceived as sloppy or even lazy.

Some more characteristics of people low in conscientiousness include:

• Spontaneous
• Irresponsible
• Undependable

Extroversion, sometimes spelled extraversion, describes a continuum between being outgoing and reserved . Extroverts typically gain energy from social interactions – socializing with other people helps them feel recharged and inspired.

High Extroversion Traits

Some of the common characteristics of people high in extroversion include being:

• Domineering
• Attention-seeking

Low Extroversion Traits

Those who are low in extroversion are known as introverts . They have to expend energy in social settings, so spending lots of time with others can feel draining. Because of this, they often need periods of solitude to recharge.

Other characteristics include:

The big five personality trait of agreeableness refers to the tendency to be cooperative and helpful rather than antagonistic and disagreeable. It encompasses qualities such as trust, prosocial behaviors , and kindness.

High Agreeableness Traits

Agreeable people tend to be friendly, likable, and good-natured. Being very high in agreeableness is sometimes seen as gullible, naive, or overly trusting.

Some more characteristics of those who are high in agreeableness include:

• Even-tempered
• Cooperative
• Compassionate

Low Agreeableness Traits

People who are low in agreeableness tend to be distrustful and detached. Other characteristics of low agreeableness include:

• Antagonistic
• Untrustworthy
• Uncooperative
• Ill-tempered
• Argumentative

Neuroticism centers on emotional stability.

High Neuroticism Traits

People who are high in this trait are more likely to experience unpleasant emotions such as sadness, anger, and anxiety.

More characteristics of being high in neuroticism include:

• Sensitivity
• Nervousness

Low Neuroticism Traits

Those who are low in this dimension, on the other hand, tend to be calm and even-tempered. Other characteristics associated with being low on the neuroticism dimensions include:

Other Trait Theories

There are many different theories of personality. Trait theories attempt to describe personality as composed of a number of different traits which then influence how people behave.

Just how many traits are there? Theorists have proposed a variety of numbers to capture all of the traits that make up the human experience:

• An early psychologist named Gordon Allport, the man often credited with helping to popularize psychology in America, examined dictionary terms related to personality traits and concluded that there were more than 4,000.
• Later, the psychologist Raymond Cattell utilized a statistical technique known as factor analysis to whittle that list down to just 16.
• Hans Eysenck shortened that list to a mere three broad dimensions, but later researchers revised and expanded this to include five dimensions of personality.

Rather than focusing on individual terms that describe every aspect of a trait, the Big Five theory aims to instead focus on the broader aspects of human personality.

History of the Big 5 Personality Traits

It is important to remember that each dimension represents a spectrum. Each high and low pole represents the extremes of each trait, but people typically lie somewhere between the two sides.

The big five personality traits were derived from analyzing surveys of thousands of people to determine which traits tend to occur together. Using factor analysis, researchers were able to group related traits together under broad dimensions.

The five domains identified by the big five theory are thought to encompass all know personality traits.

As you might have already realized, exceptions are possible. A person who ranks high in introversion might be quiet but not necessarily reticent. A person who is highly extroverted might be sociable but not necessarily assertive.

The Big Five personality traits describe only a portion of what personality psychologists study. Other aspects of personality such as motivations, attitudes, self-concepts , and emotions also play a role in making you who you are, but the Big Five theory does not touch upon such subjects.

What Causes of the Big Five Personality Traits?

So what factors influence the development of the Big Five personality traits? As with many questions in psychology, both nature and nurture play a role.

In one large-scale twin study , researchers found that the heritability of the openness dimensions was the highest, with 61% being attributed to genetic influences. Conscientiousness was 44% due to genetics, with extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism being at 53%, 41%, and 41%, respectively.

Age is another factor that can influence the five core dimensions. As people age and mature, some of these traits tend to change.

For example, people typically become less extroverted as they grow older. It is also common to become less open and neurotic while also becoming more agreeable and conscientious.

Are the Big 5 Personality Traits Universal?

The Big Five personality traits, also known as the Five Factor Model (FFM), have been extensively researched and have gained widespread acceptance in the field of psychology. These traits are considered relatively universal. They offer a comprehensive framework for describing and understanding human personality across different cultures and societies.

Research has consistently shown that these traits can be identified and measured in various cultures and are relatively stable over time. That doesn’t mean there aren’t cultural variations in the expression and emphasis of these traits. However, the core dimensions themselves appear to transcend cultural boundaries.

For instance, traits like conscientiousness, which relates to organization and dependability, are universally valued in work and social contexts, although the specific behaviors associated with this trait may differ from culture to culture.

Similarly, extraversion and introversion may manifest differently in social behaviors and norms, but the underlying personality dimension remains relevant and applicable worldwide.

The takeaway is that the Big Five traits provide a valuable and cross-culturally valid framework for understanding human personality, highlighting the universal aspects of our individual differences while recognizing the influence of culture on their expression.

Using the Big Five Theory to Understand Your Own Personality

The Big Five theory isn’t just a tool that researchers use to assess personality traits. It can also be a tool for learning more about yourself, gaining deeper self-awareness, and achieving personal growth.

Take a Big 5 Personality Test

Start by taking a reliable Big Five personality assessment. There are many free and paid tests available online. These tests will provide you with scores on each of the five traits.

Reflect on Your Scores

Once you have your scores, reflect on what they mean. Consider the descriptions and characteristics associated with each trait.

For example, if you scored high in conscientiousness, you might be organized, goal-oriented, and detail-oriented. If you scored low in neuroticism, you are likely to be emotionally stable and resilient.

Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

Use your scores to identify your strengths and weaknesses. For example, if you score low in extraversion but high in agreeableness, you might excel in roles that require empathy and cooperation, such as a counselor or mediator.

Set Personal Goals

Use your understanding of your personality traits to set personal and professional goals. If you know you’re low in conscientiousness, you might work on developing better organizational skills to enhance your efficiency.

Improve Communication and Relationships

Understanding your personality traits can also help you communicate more effectively with others. If you know you’re highly openness to experience, you might be more accepting of different viewpoints, which can improve your relationships.

Adapt and Grow

Recognize that your personality is not fixed. While it’s influenced by genetics and upbringing, you can work on developing traits that are important to your personal and professional success.

For instance, if you score low in extraversion but want to become more socially adept, you can gradually practice social interactions.

Related reading:

• What Are the Id, Ego, and Superego?
• What Are the 16 MBTI Personality Types?
• ABCD Personality Types

Cobb-Clark, DA & Schurer, S. The stability of big-five personality traits. Economics Letters. 2012; 115(2): 11–15.

Gerlach M, Farb B, Revelle W, Nunes Amaral LA. A robust data-driven approach identifies four personality types across four large data sets . Nat Hum Behav . 2018;2(10):735-742. doi:10.1038/s41562-018-0419-z

Jang, K.L. et al. (1996). Heritability of the big five personality dimensions and their facets: A twin study. Journal of Personality, 64(3); 577-591.

Power RA, Pluess M. Heritability estimates of the Big Five personality traits based on common genetic variants . Translation Psychiatry . 2015;5:e604. doi:10.1038/tp.2015.96

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How I Went From “Big 5 or Die!” to Ecstatic Self-Published Author

Today’s post is by author Denise Massar .

When I started writing my memoir, my publishing goal was Big Five or nothing. I pitied indie authors as also-rans. Anyone could self-publish. Where was the clout?

I had not completely unrealistic dreams of being interviewed by Matt Lauer on the Today Show. (Yep, that’s how long ago I began writing my book.) I imagined being interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air. I dreamed of a book launch party with white twinkly lights and a cake with my book’s cover on it. I wanted my editor to take me to lunch in Manhattan.

I thought I was on my way in spring of 2020 when my book went on submission. My agent, Jacquie, received exciting feedback—one editor wanted audio rights if we could sell print rights somewhere else. Another said she loved my book and pitched it at their editorial meeting but couldn’t convince the rest of her team. That one hurt. A New York publishing house sat around a table and debated making an offer on my book?! While I was what … cleaning the litter box? Astonishing. But ultimately heartbreaking.

Five months later, we ran out of editors to pitch, and my book died on submission.

Amazingly, I got a second chance. Because my book was on submission during the earliest months of the pandemic and we’d received positive feedback, Jacquie thought it was worthwhile to wait a year, let the incestuous (her word, not mine) world of publishing do its thing, see where editors landed, and give it another go.

So, I went on sub again. 

And my book died on sub. Again.

I was—offended is truly the best word here—that landing an agent and going on sub didn’t guarantee a book deal. I never considered that my manuscript would reach 50 editor inboxes and not find a publisher. I thought “on sub” was a one-way trip; I didn’t know my once-impeccably-dressed-ingenue of a manuscript could boomerang back to me, wearing a pit-stained white T-shirt with “I’m going to step aside on this one…” Sharpied across her chest.

 My agent changed jobs and let me go.

A successful mentor in the publishing industry said to me, “I think your book’s a university press book.”

And I was like, Yes! It’s memoir! It addresses the social issues baked into adoption like racism and classism! My book is totally a university press book!

While it did feel like a considerable step down from the Big Five dream, it was a respectable one. I could still go around throwing out the phrase, “My publisher said…”

Around this time, I found a lump in my neck. Three different specialists said that it wasn’t cancer and because the tumor was lodged between my carotid artery and my jugular vein, it was better to get annual scans to keep an eye on it than to remove it. But an endocrinologist—whom I didn’t trust because she was so young—ran some blood work that revealed I had a genetic mutation, and that, actually, the tumor would turn into cancer. (That newly minted doctor I didn’t trust probably saved my life.)

Things got scary fast. My previously unfazed surgeon was ordering PET scans, stat!

I spent 10+ hours in the bowels of an MRI machine wearing a Hannibal Lecter-like mask to keep my head still. And when you’re in an MRI machine wondering if all of the beeps and bangs and machine-gun-like rat-a-tat-tats of magnetic imagining are going to reveal “tumor characteristics” consistent with malignancy, the very last thing in the world you give a f—k about is Matt Lauer. 

It was agreed that the tumor had to come out before it turned into cancer if it hadn’t already. It would be major surgery with a four-week recovery.

One week post-surgery I got the lab results: the tumor was benign.

Quietly healing throughout February 2024, I mostly thought about how happy I was to be here. That I’d been given a pass to keep being here . But, slowly, throughout the spring, my mind eased out of survival mode and I thought about my book: What did I want as an author? What were my publishing goals now ?

I knew exactly.

I wanted my kids to see me finish the job. When I started writing Matched , they were five, three, and newborn. They’ll be 16, 14, and 10 when my book publishes. They’ll have dreams of their own threatened by failure, family obligations, work responsibilities, health issues, and wavering confidence, but if they want to achieve them badly enough, they’ll keep going. I wanted them to have a model for what that looks like.

I wanted to hear from people who read my book—readers touched by adoption, readers who’d also searched for secret biological relatives—anyone who connected with my story and felt inspired to reach out. I got a hit of that drug when an essay I wrote for HuffPost in 2023 went viral. In it, I wrote about caring for my mom while she had terminal cancer. I talked about how sadness wasn’t my overriding emotion; though I loved my mom deeply, my primary emotion was stressed-out. The day the essay ran, I received hundreds of Facebook, Instagram, and email messages, and they all said: Same here! Me too! I thought it was just me!

And I still wanted a launch party. I grew up reading about the literary fetes of the 1990s and couldn’t help but imagine my own. The same mentor who’d encouraged me to go the university press route (they all passed on my book, too) helpfully reminded me that even if I’d gotten a book deal, as an unknown debut memoirist, I wasn’t gettin’ a party anyway.

So, I’m throwing my own twinkly, joyous celebration. The book cover cake has been ordered.

The snobby writer I was when I first began my author journey in 2014 would’ve never believed that she’d end up truly ecstatic to be self-publishing her book in 2024. Perspective can’t be rushed. I’m proud of my path from “Big Five or Nothing” to “War-Grizzled Self-Published Author.”

This week, at my launch party, my kids will hear me talk about how hard this journey was and how happy I am that I kept going. I’ll dance in the night air with family and friends.

I’ll receive messages from fellow adoptees saying they had to fight to see their birth certificate, too. Or that they also reunited with their birth mom. Maybe a hopeful adoptive mom will message me saying that she’s still searching for her baby, wondering if it’s ever going to happen for her. And I’ll sit at my desk in my pajamas and reply to every single one of them.

If you’re somewhere in the murky middle of querying, or your book died on sub, or the whole mess is in a goddamn basket somewhere, take a rest if you need to. But then keep going.

Take out a pen and make a list: What do you really want to get out of publishing your book?

Can you make it happen? Do you need to be traditionally published to do it?

Maybe you want to do a reading, or a signing, or to see your book in your local library or a bookstore. You can do all of those things as an indie author!

It’s not about Matt Lauer (or Hoda & Jenna), or even Terry Gross.

It’s about holding your published book in your hands. It’s about your story finding your readers, whether 30 or 30,000, and the human connection that your words will spark. It’s about celebrating with the people who were there for you all along.

And you don’t need anyone but yourself to make that happen.

Denise Massar is a writer, a mom via birth and adoption, and an adoptee. She writes about parenting, relationships, racism, caregiving, and anything else she can’t stop thinking about. Her essays have appeared in HuffPost, Writer’s Digest, TODAY Parenting, Mutha Magazine, and Raise Magazine. She’s a recurring guest blogger for Jane Friedman and has been a guest on numerous literary and parenting podcasts. Born and raised in Washington State, Denise earned her Master’s Degree in Creative Writing from Central Washington University. Denise lives in Southern California with her three kids, three cats, and one nervous Beagle. You can purchase her debut memoir, Matched , anywhere you buy books.

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Welcome to the indie side, where we have cookies and so much more! Thank you for this piece, and congratulations on publishing your memoir. The stigma around self-publishing is slowly waning thanks to honest posts like these. The truth is that there are many, many of us making a very comfortable living from writing and independently publishing our own work. The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) ran a global survey in 2022 (published last year) that showed that the earnings of indie authors are growing year-on-year, while those of traditionally published authors are declining. I have independently published ten books (including one memoir) after I had an awful experience with a trad publisher (like you, I had dreamed of being traditionally published for years) and I have never looked back—nor earned so much money. I love the experience of being indie, and the warm and supportive community in indie publishing, where people are so willing to share experience and advice, and offer support. It’s a new era, one filled with freedom and empowerment for authors. Can you tell how passionate I am about this? 😄 Good luck with your book, we are rooting for you!

Thrilled to be here! And, yes, I can tell how passionate you are. I agree with you 100% re feeling like the indie route is the right route for you (us), personally. My college roommate is an artist and we spitballed cover ideas together, and then she created the cover of my dreams. That was a very indie experience, and I relished it.

This is great, Denise! I just sent my first query yesterday. Not doing it “batches“ but picking a few who I think might be interested in my memoir based on other books they’ve published. Only one is “big 5”. I have no grandiose expectations, but do often think, “I’d really like so-and-so to read this,” (mostly, my children). It would be nice to be able to hand them a bound book.

The more often I try-on self and hybrid publishing, the more comfortable they feel. You’ve boosted my spirits and my confidence, and fur today, that feels pretty good. Thanks!

BTW- Because I like the *feel* of your writing, I’ll look at your book as well. CONGRATS! – Emily

Ahh! Thank you so much, Emily! Same here. I worked 10 years in total (book, proposal, querying, being on sub, LIFE STUFF, university presses, then indie) — there was no way my kids weren’t holding my book in their hands. I’m rooting for you!

Congratulations Denise! Your advice is so on point – get out a pencil and put your goals and dreams and expectations about your writing on paper. Pursuit of traditional publishing is great – as is self-publishing. What matters is making your journey be what you want it to be. To design your life to be what you want it to be. Well done!

Thank you so much, John. Yes! I got to middle age, and I was like, “I guess I really am responsible for creating the life I want.” A gift (and a lot of work)!

“ Maybe you want to do a reading, or a signing, or to see your book in your local library or a bookstore. You can do all of those things as an indie author! ” — I totally agree, and I congratulate you on persevering — and on your book being published so it can land in readers’ hands! Well done!!

Amanda, thank you! You know what was shocking? I went around to all of my local book shops (OC, CA) asking if they would carry my book and/or hold an event, and 4 out of 5 said yes. I had almost self-eliminated myself, thinking they would say no to an indie author, but that vibe is gone. I’m rooting for you, too!

Thank you so much for this, Denise! I feel so supported in my own, still-bumpy journey. You’ve given so much to so many of us hopefuls. Onward, everyone!

Onward!! I love that so much, Marian. Man, that IS the motto for writers.

Thanks, I needed that. The publishing world is so much more daunting than I’d thought.

Right? Even in just the last few months, getting my book loaded to all of the platforms — eBook, print, audio, I have cried three times. And I am not a crier! Perseverance will be your armor and secret weapon, or it was mine. I’m rooting for you!

Thank you. Very much. You’ve been able to separate yourself into two. One, everything you are. Two, a warrior on a mission, burning the bridges behind you so there is no place to go but forward.

Richard, I love that visual of burning the bridges behind me. Thank you for your pub-day warrior post! I needed that.

I truly enjoyed your post, down to that creative AI artwork! Adoption is a topic near and dear to my heart, though my experience is different in that I was adopted by my stepfather, a gift I’d rebelled against. That philosophy that DNA and blood are not required to be family underlies my second novel (yes indie), a post-Civil War tale, That Beautiful Season . Stubborness is clearly the path for us indie authors. Congratulations on your perseverence. So glad for you! Though I’m an old bird, I might give that AI artwork a shot!

Sandra, thank you for your post. If there is one thing I’ve learned from talking about my book with others, it’s that everyone has an adoption or DNA story to share. It was taboo for so long; I think it’s a relief for people to be able to talk about it. Your book sounds intriguing!

Congratulations on publishing your first book and welcome to indie publishing! Whether traditionally published or indie, you first had to put in the hard work of writing, and that is the real accomplishment!

Your post pulled at my heartstrings. Great writing– you sucked me right in! 😉 I will be sure to put your memoir on my TBR list! I can’t connect as an adoptee, but I CAN connect on the other end of that, as the long lost sibling who had no idea she had a sister out there, searching for us. Ironically, when I was a child, I was obsessed with the idea that I was adopted. I even had a dream that I was adopted. I asked my mother over and over again as I grew up if I was adopted, even though I looked a lot like her. One day when I was a sophomore in high school, she asked me why I continued to believe I was adopted in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, and all I could say was, “I don’t know. I just feel like I was adopted.”

I love my sisters, and I like to think that even as children, we had some kind of bond that transcended time and circumstances.

I look forward to your memoir, and best of luck on your next writing adventure!

All the Best,

Becca Brayden Paranormal SciFi Author

Thank you, Becca! I hear, “We didn’t know there was a sibling out there” everywhere I go. DNA sites have changed our world and our ability to keep family/bio secrets. Thank you so much for putting Matched on your TBR list–that means a lot to me!

What a powerful dose of perspective. As a fellow adoptee, I will certainly be ordering your book! Meanwhile, thank you for sharing your journey. I think it’s especially important to remember (and so easy to lose sight of the fact) that this book writing thing is about so much more than the bells and whistles we often associate with traditional publication.

Mirella, I’m thrilled to hear from a fellow adoptee. I’d love to hear from you after you read the book. You will GET IT. My email is below or on my website. xo – Denise

I was adopted as an infant in 1955 by my loving parents, and so much has changed in the adoption world since then. My records are court-sealed, but I am content. When anyone asks me if I know what my “real” parents were like, I smile and say “they were wonderful. I know because I lived with them my whole childhood.” My real parents raised me, and my birth mother lovingly allowed me the chance for what she was convinced would be a better life. I am so grateful to her for that, as I had the dearest folks.

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Here Are the Olympic Moments We Won’t Forget

It doesn’t take a medal to make a lasting memory.

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Success and failure. Exhilaration and agony. Gold, silver and bronze.

The Olympics will always turn on who won and who lost, how high and how fast and how far. But they linger in our minds long after they end for moments that might have little to do with the actual competitions.

Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles came up with the plan. They had both wanted to be on the top step of the medal stand after the final event of the women’s gymnastics competition, the floor exercise. But Biles, the favorite, had made a few mistakes, and Chiles had made a few more, so they instead became bookends to the true headliner: Rebeca Andrade of Brazil. And so a plan was hatched.

After Chiles accepted her bronze medal ( temporarily, it turned out ) and Biles her silver, Andrade was introduced as the Olympic champion. As she approached the podium — completing the first all-Black podium in Olympic gymnastics history — Biles and Chiles turned to Andrade, dropped to one knee and bowed. Afterward, they called her a queen. — JULIET MACUR

More Cowbell

After Bobby Finke won the 1,500-meter freestyle in world-record time — preserving American men’s 120-year streak of winning at least one individual swimming gold at the Olympic Games — the NBC cameras panned to a particularly excited fan. She screamed. She pumped her fists. She clanged her cowbell.

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The Big Five Personality Test Case Study

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Introduction

The big five personality test helps one to understand and grasp the concept of leadership and the idea of being the right follower. The results of my test gave both positive and negative aspects of different personality experiences.

I discovered many things that if taken into consideration may help grow my career (Northouse 2013). I have the tendency of not being ready to seek out new experiences. The openness to experience and intellect percentile is 53%. It means that 53% of the people in the comparison sample have less experience and intelligence.

I am more conscientious than 89% of the people. The score shows that I am more organized than other groups. People can rely on me for leadership roles. Other superior leaders can depend on me as a follower to accomplish goals.

Another discovery is that I have introvert tendencies. 37% of the people are less extroverted, and that makes an introvert by nature. The quality could work well with work and activities that do not involve many interactions with people. One who deals with people needs to be a sociable person (Mlinarič and Podlesek 2013). Leadership requires the ability to coordinate and plan with other persons. Therefore, I need to make an effort to improve the character.

When it comes to agreeability, I am good-natured, courteous, and supportive. I am more agreeable as compared to others by 93%. The score directly makes me more courteous than others on-line by 93%. It is a good quality that allows me to take care of the concerns of my followers. When others know that their leader would understand them, they support my efforts and plans. On the other hand, as a courteous and supportive follower, I would go out of my way to bring out the best qualities of my leader (Mlinarič and Podlesek 2013).

The neuroticism part of the OCEAN model deals with calmness or nervousness. Only 2% of people tend to score less on neuroticism. I am calm, relaxed, and secure. It means that I can remain calm even in the most stressful situations and even handle challenges comfortably (Mlinarič and Podlesek 2013). I can, therefore, manage the followers in a composed manner even when there is a disagreement. As a calm follower, I can work even in stressful situations. I agree with the results of the big five test personality test. They give the correct summary of my character.

As an introverted leader, I lack crucial social skills. Therefore, I distance myself from my followers. I also support my juniors to complete tasks efficiently (Mlinarič and Podlesek 2013). But my supportive and good-natured skills as a follower help me to make my superiors look good.

As a follower, I can support my leader’s programs. Due to my organizational skills, I can help in planning and organizing work. In a very competitive market, I can help the organization to concentrate on its goals and stabilize it due to my calmness, even in intense situations. I need to cultivate positive followership by motivating the staff under my authority (Northouse 2013).

I would like to improve the ability to share with others. I should start developing extroverted tendencies. The business of today is about marketing and networking. Introverts don’t network quickly. The improvement would make me begin researching and developing new ideas that can help the organization to grow.

Mlinarič, V., and Podlesek, A. (2013). Item context effects on big five personality measures, Zagreb: Naklada Slap.

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practise . 6th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

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• "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can’t Stop Talking” by Susan Cain
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What is ChatGPT? Here's everything you need to know about OpenAI's chatbot

• ChatGPT is getting a futuristic human update. 
• ChatGPT has attracted users at a feverish pace and spurred Big Tech to release other AI chatbots.
• Here's how ChatGPT works — and what's coming next.

OpenAI has started rolling out an advanced voice mode for its blockbuster chatbot ChatGPT.

Sam Altman's company began rolling out the chatbot's new voice mode to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users in July. OpenAI said the new voice feature "offers more natural, real-time conversations, allows you to interrupt anytime, and senses and responds to your emotions."

The feature is part of OpenAI's wider GPT-4o launch, a new version of the bot that can hold conversations with users and has vision abilities. The chatbot's vision features are expected as a later release. 

The move is a big step for the future of AI-powered virtual assistants, which tech companies have been racing to develop.

Since its release in late 2022, hundreds of millions of people have experimented with the tool, which is already changing how the internet looks and feels to users.

Users have flocked to ChatGPT to improve their personal lives and boost productivity . Some workers have used the AI chatbot to develop code , write real estate listings , and create lesson plans, while others have made teaching the best ways to use ChatGPT a career all to itself.

ChatGPT offers dozens of plug-ins to ChatGPT Plus subscribers. An Expedia plug-in can help you book a trip, while one from OpenTable will nab you a dinner reservation. OpenAI has also launched Code Interpreter, a version of ChatGPT that can code and analyze data .

While the personal tone of conversations with an AI bot like ChatGPT can evoke the experience of chatting with a human, the technology that runs on large language model tools doesn't speak with sentience and doesn't "think" the way humans do. 

That means that even though ChatGPT can explain quantum physics or write a poem on command, a full AI takeover isn't exactly imminent , according to experts.

"There's a saying that an infinite number of monkeys will eventually give you Shakespeare," said Matthew Sag, a law professor at Emory University who studies copyright implications for training and using large language models like ChatGPT.

"There's a large number of monkeys here, giving you things that are impressive — but there is intrinsically a difference between the way that humans produce language, and the way that large language models do it," he said. 

Chatbots like ChatGPT are powered by large amounts of data and computing techniques to make predictions to string words together in a meaningful way. They not only tap into a vast amount of vocabulary and information, but also understand words in context. This helps them mimic speech patterns while dispatching an encyclopedic knowledge. 

Other tech companies like Google and Meta have developed their own large language model tools, which use programs that take in human prompts and devise sophisticated responses.

Despite the AI's impressive capabilities, some have called out OpenAI's chatbot for spewing misinformation , stealing personal data for training purposes , and even encouraging students to cheat and plagiarize on their assignments. 

Some efforts to use chatbots for real-world services have proved troubling. In 2023, the mental health company Koko came under fire after its founder wrote about how the company used GPT-3 in an experiment to reply to users. 

Koko cofounder Rob Morris hastened to clarify on Twitter that users weren't speaking directly to a chatbot, but that AI was used to "help craft" responses. 

Read Insider's coverage on ChatGPT and some of the strange new ways that both people and companies are using chat bots: 

The tech world's reception to ChatGPT:

Microsoft is chill with employees using ChatGPT — just don't share 'sensitive data' with it.

Microsoft's investment into ChatGPT's creator may be the smartest $1 billion ever spent

ChatGPT and generative AI look like tech's next boom. They could be the next bubble.

The ChatGPT and generative-AI 'gold rush' has founders flocking to San Francisco's 'Cerebral Valley'

Insider's experiments: 

I asked ChatGPT to do my work and write an Insider article for me. It quickly generated an alarmingly convincing article filled with misinformation.

I asked ChatGPT and a human matchmaker to redo my Hinge and Bumble profiles. They helped show me what works.

I asked ChatGPT to reply to my Hinge matches. No one responded.

I used ChatGPT to write a resignation letter. A lawyer said it made one crucial error that could have invalidated the whole thing .

Read ChatGPT's 'insulting' and 'garbage' 'Succession' finale script

An Iowa school district asked ChatGPT if a list of books contains sex scenes, and banned them if it said yes. We put the system to the test and found a bunch of problems.

Developments in detecting ChatGPT: 

Teachers rejoice! ChatGPT creators have released a tool to help detect AI-generated writing

A Princeton student built an app which can detect if ChatGPT wrote an essay to combat AI-based plagiarism

Professors want to 'ChatGPT-proof' assignments, and are returning to paper exams and requesting editing history to curb AI cheating

Related stories

ChatGPT in society: 

BuzzFeed writers react with a mix of disappointment and excitement at news that AI-generated content is coming to the website

ChatGPT is testing a paid version — here's what that means for free users

A top UK private school is changing its approach to homework amid the rise of ChatGPT, as educators around the world adapt to AI

Princeton computer science professor says don't panic over 'bullshit generator' ChatGPT

DoNotPay's CEO says threat of 'jail for 6 months' means plan to debut AI 'robot lawyer' in courtroom is on ice

It might be possible to fight a traffic ticket with an AI 'robot lawyer' secretly feeding you lines to your AirPods, but it could go off the rails

Online mental health company uses ChatGPT to help respond to users in experiment — raising ethical concerns around healthcare and AI technology

What public figures think about ChatGPT and other AI tools:

What Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and 12 other business leaders think about AI tools like ChatGPT

Elon Musk was reportedly 'furious' at ChatGPT's popularity after he left the company behind it, OpenAI, years ago

CEO of ChatGPT maker responds to schools' plagiarism concerns: 'We adapted to calculators and changed what we tested in math class'

A theoretical physicist says AI is just a 'glorified tape recorder' and people's fears about it are overblown

'The most stunning demo I've ever seen in my life': ChatGPT impressed Bill Gates

Ashton Kutcher says your company will probably be 'out of business' if you're 'sleeping' on AI

ChatGPT's impact on jobs: 

AI systems like ChatGPT could impact 300 million full-time jobs worldwide, with administrative and legal roles some of the most at risk, Goldman Sachs report says

Jobs are now requiring experience with ChatGPT — and they'll pay as much as $800,000 a year for the skill

ChatGPT may be coming for our jobs. Here are the 10 roles that AI is most likely to replace.

AI is going to eliminate way more jobs than anyone realizes

It's not AI that is going to take your job, but someone who knows how to use AI might, economist says

4 careers where workers will have to change jobs by 2030 due to AI and shifts in how we shop, a McKinsey study says

Companies like Amazon, Netflix, and Meta are paying salaries as high as $900,000 to attract generative AI talent

How AI tools like ChatGPT are changing the workforce:

10 ways artificial intelligence is changing the workplace, from writing performance reviews to making the 4-day workweek possible

Managers who use AI will replace managers who don't, says an IBM exec

How ChatGPT is shaping industries: 

ChatGPT is coming for classrooms, hospitals, marketing departments, and everything else as the next great startup boom emerges

Marketing teams are using AI to generate content, boost SEO, and develop branding to help save time and money, study finds

AI is coming for Hollywood. 'It's amazing to see the sophistication of the images,' one of Christopher Nolan's VFX guy says.

AI is going to offer every student a personalized tutor, founder of Khan Academy says

A law firm was fined $5,000 after one of its lawyers used ChatGPT to write a court brief riddled with fake case references

How workers are using ChatGPT to boost productivity:  

CheatGPT: The hidden wave of employees using AI on the sly

I used ChatGPT to talk to my boss for a week and she didn't notice. Here are the other ways I use it daily to get work done.

I'm a high school math and science teacher who uses ChatGPT, and it's made my job much easier

Amazon employees are already using ChatGPT for software coding. They also found the AI chatbot can answer tricky AWS customer questions and write cloud training materials.

How 6 workers are using ChatGPT to make their jobs easier

I'm a freelance editor who's embraced working with AI content. Here's how I do it and what I charge.

How people are using ChatGPT to make money:

How ChatGPT and other AI tools are helping workers make more money

Here are 5 ways ChatGPT helps me make money and complete time-consuming tasks for my business

ChatGPT course instruction is the newest side hustle on the market. Meet the teachers making thousands from the lucrative gig.

People are using ChatGPT and other AI bots to work side hustles and earn thousands of dollars — check out these 8 freelancing gigs

A guy tried using ChatGPT to turn $100 into a business making 'as much money as possible.' Here are the first 4 steps the AI chatbot gave him

We used ChatGPT to build a 7-figure newsletter. Here's how it makes our jobs easier.

I use ChatGPT and it's like having a 24/7 personal assistant for $20 a month. Here are 5 ways it's helping me make more money.

A worker who uses AI for a $670 monthly side hustle says ChatGPT has 'cut her research time in half'

How companies are navigating ChatGPT: 

From Salesforce to Air India, here are the companies that are using ChatGPT

Amazon, Apple, and 12 other major companies that have restricted employees from using ChatGPT

A consultant used ChatGPT to free up time so she could focus on pitching clients. She landed $128,000 worth of new contracts in just 3 months.

Luminary, an AI-generated pop-up restaurant, just opened in Australia. Here's what's on the menu, from bioluminescent calamari to chocolate mousse.

A CEO is spending more than $2,000 a month on ChatGPT Plus accounts for all of his employees, and he says it's saving 'hours' of time

How people are using ChatGPT in their personal lives:

ChatGPT planned a family vacation to Costa Rica. A travel adviser found 3 glaring reasons why AI won't replace experts anytime soon.

A man who hated cardio asked ChatGPT to get him into running. Now, he's hooked — and he's lost 26 pounds.

A computer engineering student is using ChatGPT to overcome learning challenges linked to her dyslexia

How a coder used ChatGPT to find an apartment in Berlin in 2 weeks after struggling for months

Food blogger Nisha Vora tried ChatGPT to create a curry recipe. She says it's clear the instructions lacked a human touch — here's how.

Men are using AI to land more dates with better profiles and personalized messages, study finds

Lawsuits against OpenAI:

OpenAI could face a plagiarism lawsuit from The New York Times as tense negotiations threaten to boil over, report says

This is why comedian Sarah Silverman is suing OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT

2 authors say OpenAI 'ingested' their books to train ChatGPT. Now they're suing, and a 'wave' of similar court cases may follow.

A lawsuit claims OpenAI stole 'massive amounts of personal data,' including medical records and information about children, to train ChatGPT

A radio host is suing OpenAI for defamation, alleging that ChatGPT created a false legal document that accused him of 'defrauding and embezzling funds'

Tips on how to write better ChatGPT prompts:

7 ways to use ChatGPT at work to boost your productivity, make your job easier, and save a ton of time

I'm an AI prompt engineer. Here are 3 ways I use ChatGPT to get the best results.

12 ways to get better at using ChatGPT: Comprehensive prompt guide

Here's 9 ways to turn ChatGPT Plus into your personal data analyst with the new Code Interpreter plug-in

OpenAI's ChatGPT can write impressive code. Here are the prompts you should use for the best results, experts say.

Watch: What is ChatGPT, and should we be afraid of AI chatbots?

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