What Are the Big 5 Personality Traits?
Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism 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, conscientiousnes