The Big Five Personality Tests

What is the Big Five?

Sounding like an automotive group, The Big Five actually refers to one of the most widely accepted personality models.

The Big Five sorts out personality traits into five broad dimensions

• “Agreeableness”
• “Extraversion”
• “Conscientiousness”
• “Emotional Stability”
• “Openness [to new experiences]”

The Big Five Model gained it’s most popular approach for studying personality traits.

In it’s theory, originated in the 1970’s, with tests studying thousands of participants, it breaks down the human traits into five dimensions.

• The Agreeableness Personality is sympathetic, kind, affectionate, trusting, tolerant and cooperative. A high scorer accepts people, as they are, where a low scorer seeks revenge.
• The Extraversion Personality is talkative and energetic, this person is assertive and ambition. A high scorer knows how to captivate people, whereas a low scorer tends to maintain a low profile.
• The Conscientiousness Personality is organized and through dutiful, methodical methods is careful and dependable. A high score is an indication that this person is one to ‘get it done’; where a lower score indicates that this person likely does ‘just enough to get by’.
• The Emotional Stability personality is calm, relaxed, confident, easy going and steady. The high scorer is not easily bothered, where the low scorer is often ‘down in the dumps’.
• Finally, the Openness personality is known for their wide interests, they are imaginative, insightful, cultured and creative. The high scorer believes in the importance of art, where the low scorer tends to be political.

Use by Employers

Employers commonly use variations of personality tests based upon these personality theories, offering basic true and false questions, along with asking the applicants to rank statements on a scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

These questions gauge the test taker’s openness to new ideas, whether they avoid philosophical discussions or tend to vote a particular way. It also probes into the individual’s emotional stability, by asking questions such as whether or not they like to draw attention to themselves or is skilled at handling certain social situations. We all have these traits in us, to one degree or another.