Essay on Five-Factor Model in Human Personality

The five-factor model of human personality is a set of five wide feature dimensions or domains, which is frequently known as the “Big Five”. The factor model is divided into five traits. Personality traits are referred to as patterns of thought, feeling, and behaviour that are fairly stable throughout a person’s life span (Widiger & Costa, 2013). The five traits include openness to experience, neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Agreeableness is shown in empathic, compassionate, and kind behaviours (Epstein, 2010). Extraversion, also known as surgency, is specified by gregarious, assertive, and energetic behaviours. Openness to experience, which is at times known as intellect, shows the curiosity, reflection, and inclination for intelligently challenging chores of a person (Widiger & Costa, 2013). Neuroticism is basically the same as emotional instability and can be understood from the perspective of short-tempered and moody behaviours. Lastly, conscientiousness refers to a person’s intelligence of obligation, responsibility and precaution (Epstein, 2010). The Big Five model was developed to represent the variability in individuals’ personalities, using a small set of trait dimensions. Various personality psychologists approve that its five domains discuss the utmost significance, basic personal dissimilarities in behavioural traits.

I agree that the five-factor model captures the most important dimensions of human personality because according to the trait of the Openness to Experience, individuals who score very high in this element are termed to be so creative, curious and nontraditional (Widiger, & Costa, 2013). Therefore, this trait captures the individuals’ way of thinking, feelings, and behaviours, which are the elements of the human personality. Openness to experience trait has defined as the complexity and difficulty of a person’s intellectual life, plus experiences (Harris, 2004). This trait is at times known as intellect or imagination since it is based on the thoughts of the individuals. A person who is great in openness to experience can be a person who loves learning activities, likes the work of arts, involves in an imaginative and creative career, and loves making friends with new persons (Widige & Costa, 2013). This indicates that openness to experience as a trait of the five-factor model captures much on thinking, feeling and behaviour which is considered as the aspects of human personality. Therefore, openness to experience aids in gaining the understanding, skills and knowledge which naturally rises as individual ages and their life experiences hence shaping up human personality.

The five-factor model captures the most important dimensions of human personality in the perspective that it focuses on the factor of conscientiousness (Widige & Costa, 2013). Individuals characterized with conscientiousness have the possibility of valuing order, obligation, accomplishment, plus self-discipline. In addition, they intentionally exercise planning and put a lot of effort toward improved fitness (Miller, Lynam & Jones, 2008). Therefore, individuals having developed these principles develop behavioural aspects, which is considered a feature of human personality. Also, the people with conscientiousness are toughly linked with post-training knowledge, the actual performance of job performance, plus fundamental career success (Ross, Canada, & Rausch, 2002). With all these, individuals express thinking and behaviours, which are termed the aspects of the human personality. The big five models also encompass the factor of extroversion which aids individuals to value success and motivation hence building up on thoughts and feelings, which are termed as characteristic patterns of human personality (Piedmont, 1999). And also, extroverts are frequently self-confident, lively and active, very social with other individuals, isolating self-discipline in favour of enjoyment and desire. Therefore, people have developed these principles that aid in expressing their feelings and behaviours, regarded as the forms of human personality.

Lastly, the big five model captures the most important dimensions of human personality in the sense that it employs the factor of agreeableness is concerned with how well individuals get along with others and one’s coordination with others (Miller, Lynam, & Jones, 2008). It is also based on how a person mostly corporates and interacts with other individuals. Under this perspective, it tries to express people’s feelings and behaviours, which in turn would capture the aspect of the human personality. Individuals who are high in agreeableness seem to be accepted, appreciated, and very delicate to the needs and desires of others in society. They also seem to have few enemies and are loving to their beloved ones, plus they are also compassionate to the troubles of strangers (Miller, Lynam, & Jones, 2008). People having developed these characters, the aspects of feelings and behaviours are fully expressed and thus capturing the human personality dimension. The big five model is also considered an essential dimension of human personality. It employs the neuroticism factor that teaches individuals to be confident and satisfied with one’s own skin (Ross., Canada, & Rausch, 2002). It also involves the individuals’ emotional steadiness and overall anger (Wiggins, 1996). In this perspective, therefore, the feelings and behaviours of the people are well expressed, capturing the human perspective’s dimension.

To sum up, the five-factor model of personality comprises five wide dimensions, which are also referred to as the ‘big five.’ Openness to experience, neuroticism extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness are the traits of the five-factor model. The big five model captures the most important dimension of human personality due to various reasons. One of the reasons is that it employs the use of conscientiousness which aids individuals having the possibility of valuing order, obligation, accomplishment and self-discipline, thus expressing the behaviours of the individuals, capturing the dimension of the human personality. Another reason is that it encompasses the factor of extroversion which aids people in valuing success and motivation hence expressing thoughts and feelings, capturing the aspect of human personality. The big five is also considered an essential aspect of human personality because it also uses the factor of agreeableness of how people live with others in society, thus expressing the people’s behaviours, capturing the human personality dimension. Openness to experience and neuroticism are also factors employed in the big five model, which aids the individuals to develop skills, knowledge, satisfaction, and confidence, thus expressing the aspects of thought, behaviours, and feelings, which are highly considered dimensions of human personality.

References

Epstein, S. (2010). The big five model: Grandiose ideas about surface traits as the foundation of a general theory of personality. Psychological Inquiry, 21(1), 34-39.

Harris, J. A. (2004). Measured intelligence, achievement, openness to experience, and creativity. Personality and individual differences, 36(4), 913-929.

Miller, J. D., Lynam, D. R., & Jones, S. (2008). Externalizing behavior through the lens of the five-factor model: A focus on agreeableness and conscientiousness. Journal of Personality Assessment, 90(2), 158-164.

Piedmont, R. L. (1999). Strategies for using the five-factor model of personality in religious research. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 27(4), 338-350.

Ross, S. R., Canada, K. E., & Rausch, M. K. (2002). Self-handicapping and the five factor model of personality: Mediation between neuroticism and conscientiousness. Personality and individual differences, 32(7), 1173-1184.

Widiger, T. A., & Costa Jr, P. T. (2013). Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality. American Psychological Association.

Wiggins, J. S. (Ed.). (1996). The five-factor model of personality: Theoretical perspectives. Guilford Press.