The Big Five model
Over decades, researchers who studied the words people use to describe each other found that most of them cluster into five broad groups. Those five groups became the Big Five traits, and they are the most widely used way of describing personality in psychology research today.
Each trait is a range, not a box. Nobody is simply "an extravert" or "not conscientious"; everyone sits somewhere between the two ends of each trait, and most people sit somewhere near the middle on at least a few of them. Neither end of any trait is better: each comes with its own strengths.
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Extraversion
How much you seek out company, conversation and attention.
- Toward the high end
- People here get energy from being around others. They tend to start conversations easily and don't mind being noticed.
- Around the middle
- People here enjoy company and also value time on their own. They can be outgoing or quiet depending on the setting.
- Toward the low end
- People here tend to be quiet and reserved and to recharge on their own. Being in the background often suits them.
Agreeableness
How much you care about other people and make room for them.
- Toward the high end
- People here are usually warm and considerate. They tend to notice how others feel and take time to help.
- Around the middle
- People here care about others and can also put their own view first when it matters.
- Toward the low end
- People here tend to be direct and to trust their own judgement. Keeping everyone happy matters less to them.
Conscientiousness
How organized, careful and dependable you are with tasks.
- Toward the high end
- People here like order and plans. They tend to prepare ahead, pay attention to detail and finish what they start.
- Around the middle
- People here can be organized when it counts and relaxed about it the rest of the time.
- Toward the low end
- People here tend to be flexible and spontaneous. Freedom to improvise often matters more to them than schedules and tidiness.
Emotional stability
How calm and steady you stay when things are stressful.
- Toward the high end
- People here tend to stay calm and even-tempered. Stress and setbacks don't knock them off balance for long.
- Around the middle
- People here keep their balance most of the time, with some situations that get to them more than others.
- Toward the low end
- People here feel stress, worry and changes of mood strongly. That often goes with taking things to heart and noticing problems early.
Openness
How much you enjoy ideas, imagination and new ways of thinking.
- Toward the high end
- People here enjoy ideas and imagination. They tend to reflect, play with concepts and look for new ways of seeing things.
- Around the middle
- People here like new ideas some of the time and also value what is familiar and practical.
- Toward the low end
- People here prefer the practical and concrete to the abstract. Ideas interest them most when they have a clear use.
How scoring works
Each statement has five response choices. A response contributes from 1 to 5 points to the scale it belongs to, and the points become a position from 0 to 100. Around 0–33 is the low third, 34–66 is around the middle and 67–100 is the high third.
Looking at the separate positions is more useful than treating them as one overall score: the profile shows where the answers sit on each scale.
The benefits of knowing your Big Five profile
Seeing your five positions side by side can put words to things you already half knew: why a packed weekend drains you or energizes you, why some tasks feel easy to keep on top of and others don't, or why you and a friend react so differently to the same news.
It can also make differences between people easier to talk about. A partner or colleague who sits at the other end of a trait isn't wrong, just different, and knowing that can turn friction into something you plan around.
The Big Five in everyday life
Traits show up in small choices: how you spend a quiet evening, how you plan a trip, how you handle a tense meeting. Noticing your own patterns can help you set things up to suit you, like building in quiet time after busy days, or using lists if keeping track of tasks doesn't come naturally.
Positions can also shift a little over the years and with circumstances. Treat a result as a description of how you see yourself now, not a fixed label.
How to take the test
MindScale's personality test has 50 statements and no time limit. Choose the response that best matches how you usually are, not how you would like to be.
You can go back and change an answer. When you finish, you can unlock your score and full report: $2.95 for 7 days of full access, then $29.95 every 4 weeks until you cancel.
Your score and full report: $2.95 for 7 days of full access, then $29.95 every 4 weeks until you cancel.
Conclusion
The Big Five gives five ranges, from extraversion to openness, that together sketch how someone tends to think, feel and act. There are no good or bad positions, only different mixes.
If you'd like to see your own mix, the MindScale personality test has 50 public-domain statements and a plain explanation of each score. The price is shown before you start.
See your own result
Your score and full report: $2.95 for 7 days of full access, then $29.95 every 4 weeks until you cancel.