Big 5 Personality Inventory

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Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 504-528. When time is limited, researchers may be faced with the choice of using an extremely brief measure of the Big-Five personality dimensions or using no measure at all. To meet the need for a very brief measure, 5 and 10-item inventories were developed and evaluated.

What is the Big Five Personality Inventory?

With a name like The Big 5, I know that it can pique people’s curiosity, so I thought it’d be interesting to discuss here in more details about the Five Factor Personality Model.

The Big Five Personality Inventory provides a thorough assessment of non-clinical personality. It is aligned with the most authoritative model of personality since the 1980s – the Five Factor Model. This free personality test gives you accurate scores for the Big Five personality traits. See exactly how you score for Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism with this scientific personality assessment. To take the Big Five personality assessment, rate each statement according to how well it describes you. Jul 20, 2017 The BFI assesses the Big Five domains with 44 short phrases that the respondent answers on a five-point rating scale, ranging from 1 (disagree strongly) to 5 (agree strongly). It is available free of charge for the scientific community (John et al. Development of the BFI The BFI was originally developed for the Anglo-American language.

Many people are familiar with Myers Briggs Type Indicator tests, but The Five Factor Model of Personality or the Big Five is another model that can help you have a better understanding of yourself by understanding your personality traits.

Big 5 Personality Theory

At the very least, it’s a fun discussion point to be had with friends, but it can also be a self-assessment tool to help you understand deeper patterns in your life.

Personality traits are natural tendencies, but they can be improved upon by understanding and possibly working on emphasizing or de-emphasizing certain traits.

I think it’s important to note that traits does not mean that our ultimate potential is set in stone, but it can give you a sense of where your baseline is at the moment.

While there are other personality trait models, the Five Factor Model emerged as one that is widely accepted as describing the more essential personality traits.

Not only can it be interesting to learn more specifically about your traits, it can also pinpoint strengths, as well as areas of improvements if you are finding gaps in certain areas of your life.

For instance, if your score is very low in conscientiousness, it could be that you have a tendency to be disorganized and not meet deadlines at work. Having it come up in a test like this can give you an insight that it could be an area of improvement to work on.

The Big Five Personality Traits can be summed up the acronym: OCEAN and each trait is measured between a scale of 1 to 100%.

Openness to experience (inventive or curious versus consistent or cautious).

Openness describes an individual’s tendency to think in complex, abstract ways.
People high in Openness are creative, unconventional and artistic.
Whereas those who are low are more practical, conservative and conventional. Average score is approximately 58%.

Conscientiousness (efficient or organized versus easy-going or careless).

Conscientiousness describes a person’s tendency to be persistent and determined in achieving their goals.
People high in Conscientiousness are orderly, ambitious and dependable.
Those who are low are spontaneous, impulsive and disorganized.
Average is around 55%

Extraversion (seeking outside stimulation versus preferring internalized introspection).

Inventory

Extraversion describes a person’s tendency to be energized by being around other people versus being by oneself.
Those who score high are energetic, enthusiastic and excitable.
Those who score low are more reserved, calm and introspective.
Average is around 51%.

Agreeableness (friendly or compassionate versus challenging or detached).

Agreeableness describes an individual’s tendency to put the needs of others ahead of their own needs.
Those who score high are accommodating, helpful and selfless.
Those who score lower are competitive, argumentative and brash.
Average score is around 63%.

Assignment

Neuroticism (sensitive or nervous versus secure or confident).

Big 5 Personality Pdf

Neuroticism describes an individual’s response to stress.
Those who score high are more anxious, moody and self-conscious. Those who score lower are more stable, resilient, optimistic and self-confident.
Average score is around 54%.

How can the results of the test be used for personal development?

There is a lot of different take-aways from these kinds of personality test results.

Neo Big 5 Personality Inventory

But using the test results to identify areas of improvement can be be helpful for overall well-being.

One example is that if someone scores lower on Neuroticism which would mean that working on emotional resilience or fitness to maintain more inner balance and sense of self, can improve quality of life by feeling more stable in general.

Free test can be taken at the Open Source Psychometrics Project website.

Or a paid one that provides a lot more personalized test results can be found at a website called Truity.com.