The Big 5 Aspects Scale - Personality Typology

The Big 5 Aspects Scale – Personality Typology

When used properly, personality tests can help us to understand ourselves and other people better – particularly our strengths, motivations, relationships, and conflicts with others. Of course, when used in work- places, personality tests can be faked, and can therefore be inaccurate, misleading and unhelpful.

There are many theories of personality which possibly started in Ancient Greece with the work of Hippocrates (c. 460- c. 370 BC) and his Four  Temperaments Theory. The four temperament theory suggests that there are four fundamental personality types: sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic. Many theories have been built on that four type starting point such as the 8 Type Theory of Carl Jung and the 16 Types of the Myers-Briggs Typology. Another interesting Typology that became very popular in the 1970’s in churches was the 9 Type “Enneagram”. More recently, theories based around five personality traits have become popular. Five trait theories existed in the late 1940's, but it was Lewis Goldberg who coined the phrase "Big 5", and with others developed a systematic theory in the 1980s.

The Main Traits of the Big 5 Model can be remembered with acronym “OCEAN”: [O]penness, [C]onscientiousness, [E]xtraversion, [A]greeableness and [N]euroticism. Each person can be rated from high to low in each of these traits.

In 2016, Colin G. DeYoung et al. argued that each of the Big Five traits could be separated into 2 factors to produce the Big Five - 10-Factor model, or what is now known as the "Big Five Aspects Scale". (See the 10 factors below).  In each of the ten aspects, there is a normal "bell curve" distribution of people from high to low, so most people are going to be somewhere in the middle. Unlike other personality typologies, this test was based on statistical data gathered from tens of thousands of test results, and it seems to be more credible than other tests. Studies have shown, for example that the Big 5 test is twice as accurate in predicting human behaviour than the popular Myers-Briggs test.

We’ll go through each of the aspects now, and as we do, try to rate yourself as being more towards high or low on each of the ten aspects by writing a comment for each one e.g.,

O – The trait Openness to Experience contains the aspects of Openness (creativity) and Intellect:

Rate yourself on Openness…

High in Openness = you are creative, imaginative, interested in the arts and novelty, reflective, and very open to change, but don’t do well in situations that are highly routinized and predictable.

Low in Openness = you are “down to earth", practical, and don't enjoy change – you like “predictable”, but can be considered inflexible or close-minded

Rate yourself on Intellect…

NOTE: Intellect is Not the same as IQ – it is more an interest in abstract ideas (IQ is more about processing speed and problem-solving capacity)

High in Intellect = you are curious and have an interest in abstract ideas, you like learning, you are quick to learn, you can handle a lot of information, you have a wide vocabulary, like reading non-fiction.

Low in Intellect = you dislike philosophical discussions or heavy reading, you learn slowly.

C – The trait Conscientiousness contains the aspects of Industriousness and Orderliness:

Rate yourself on Industriousness…

High in Industriousness = you carry out your plans, you finish what you start, you are disciplined, and you know what you are doing, you stay on schedule, you feel guilty if you don’t do your duty, can be a bit of a perfectionist or considered to be a workaholic

Low in Industriousness = you tend to get less done, waste your time a fair bit, you postpone decisions, and you are easily distracted, but more spontaneous

E - Extraversion contains the aspects of Enthusiasm and Assertiveness:

Rate yourself on Enthusiasm…

High in Enthusiasm = you make friends easily, you show your feelings when happy, and you like to have lots of fun, you like excitement.

Low in Enthusiasm = you reveal little of yourself, and you rarely get caught up in the excitement of events, you can seem a bit reserved.

Rate yourself on Assertiveness…

High in Assertiveness = you like to take charge of things, you are usually the first to act, and you tend to have a strong personality, you don’t mind getting attention,  and might be considered “loud”.

Low in Assertiveness = you usually wait for others to lead, and you tend to hold back your opinions, you don’t like to be the centre of attention, and tend to be fairly quiet

A - Agreeableness contains the aspects of Compassion and Politeness.

Rate yourself on Compassion…

High in Compassion = you feel others' emotions, you are empathetic, you are sympathetic, and you like to do things for others.

Low in Compassion = you are not swayed by cuteness, not primarily oriented to other’s problems, and you are neutral or indifferent to others' feelings, may be considered “unempathetic”

Rate yourself on Politeness…

High in Politeness = you respect authority, you like to be obedient, and you hate to seem “pushy” or impose yourself on others, you try to avoid conflict.

Low in Politeness = you believe you are probably better than others, and if necessary, you can take advantage of others, e.g., jump ahead in the queue, you do not seek to avoid conflict, you call a spade a spade and others will just have to deal with it.

N - Neuroticism contains the aspects of Withdrawal and Volatility.

Rate yourself on Withdrawal…

High in Withdrawal = you are filled with doubts, you easily feel threatened, you worry a lot, you are easily stressed, and you are easily discouraged, often feel a bit ashamed of your inadequacies.

Low in Withdrawal = you rarely feel “blue” or unhappy, you are not easily embarrassed, and you feel comfortable with yourself, you usually don’t feel much fear, and rarely feel shame.

Rate yourself on Volatility…

High in Volatility = you tend to get angry or upset easily, and your moods can change frequently.

Low in Volatility = you’re generally unflappable, you keep emotions under control, and you rarely lose your composure.

How did you go?

It’s ok if you found it difficult to rate yourself – most people do, which is why the best way to determine your score is to complete a set of questions with yes/ no answers – many such tests are available on the internet – some are free e.g., https://bigfive-test.com/

Regardless of your ratings, these five traits and ten aspects can reveal much about how and why human beings and groups behave as they do, for example, why do people usually vote as they do…

Voting Patterns

People who usually vote for the political left are typically high in openness and lower in conscientiousness, whereas those who usually vote for the political right are typically lower in openness and higher in conscientiousness – particularly the  aspect orderliness.

Left voters are higher in aspect intellect than conservative voters.

Left voters are higher in aspect compassion and Conservatives are higher in aspect politeness.

Agreeableness seems to have little to do with voting trends.

Highly conscientious people are likely to be political conservatives – particularly if high in aspect orderliness and/ or low in Openness to Experience.

Conservatives tend to be slightly higher in aspect assertiveness than Left leaning voters.

Left voters are slightly higher in aspect withdrawal than conservatives.

Psychologist Jordan Peterson claims that the closer a researcher gets to a person’s true political preference, the more it is influenced by personality.

Political Correctness or Wokism

Politically “correct” people are typically high in agreeableness – particularly the compassion aspect – so they strongly identify with oppressed groups and tend to see them as being exploited, whilst tending to see the “oppressors” as heartless predators.

Males Vs Females

There is little difference between sexes in Openness to Experience.

Women are generally lower in intellect than men but not in IQ or intelligence.

Women are higher in agreeableness (particularly aspect compassion) than men (61 vs 39). The difference is largest in Scandinavian countries where more has been done to ensure equality of outcome between sexes.

Women are slightly more conscientious than men (51.5 vs 49.5)

Men are slightly more industrious than women (51.5 vs 49.5)

Women are more orderly than men (54.5 vs 45.5) – maybe the reason for some “housework conflicts”

Women are higher in aspect enthusiasm than men (55 vs 45)

Women are slightly less assertive than men (52 vs 48)

Women are higher in neuroticism than males (60 vs 40) – they tend to worry more.

Women are higher in aspect withdrawal than men (60 vs 40)

Women are higher in volatility than men (57.5 vs 42.5)

Entrepreneurial Success

High in Openness and the aspect Industriousness are usually necessary for entrepreneurial success.

Typical Vocations

Agreeable people are more likely to end up in caring professions e.g. , nursing and teaching – typically dominated by women

Disagreeable people are typically more interested in things – machines and technology. Professions such as engineering and trades are dominated by relatively disagreeable men.

People lower in aspect compassion make good negotiators

People high in aspect industriousness are likely to be successful in school, administrative and managerial positions – particularly if intelligent. They like to finish what they start and are always figuring out how to accomplish more in less time.

“Nice” people

Nice people are usually High in Agreeableness

Criminals or Not “Nice” people

Criminals are typically very low in trait agreeableness – they are more disagreeable than 98% of the population.

At a less extreme level, self-centred people tend to be low in agreeableness, high in extraversion and low in conscientiousness

Things to Remember with Personality Tests:

We need to avoid “seeing” ourselves and others only in terms of personality test results – personality is one factor amongst many that shape who we are as people.

We can, if we choose, act differently from how our personality type predicts.