Five Factor Model, Research Paper Example

The Five Factor Model is used to describe individuals in terms of broad personality traits. These include neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness. In this essay, I will be describing each of these factors in detail and then use them to assess my Five Factor Model personality score. This model is different from earlier theories of personality because these dealt with many more personality traits. Major criticisms of theories such as Gordon Allport’s list of 4,000 personality traits and Raymond Cattell’s 16 personality factors are primarily concerned with their complexity. The model was created by several independent researchers, although Digman (1990) was responsible for bringing it to academia in the early 1990’s.

Digman’s extension to the model allowed for the further development of it, which contributed to our current understanding of these traits as the major factors of personality (Cattell, 1996). Many different researchers have worked on this theory independently, including McCrae and Costa at the National Institute of Health. Since different methods were used by each group of researchers in order to validate the Five Factor Method, it became commonly accepted, integrating information from each contributing individual.

Neuroticism is defined as the degree of sensitivity and nervousness contained within an individual’s personality compared to the security and confidence that one could feel as an alternative (Strack, 2006). This trait primarily deals with the extent to which a person is considered emotionally stable. Those who express their emotions without control or consideration of consequences tend to be described by this trait. On the other hand, individuals that are able to control their emotional output lack this trait. Neuroticism is related to the expression of negative emotions, such as anger, vulnerability, depression, and anxiety. Neurotic individuals may also overexpress positive emotions, but this is less problematic. Just as neuroticism deals with emotional stability, extraversion deals with the ability to openly express these emotions.

I tend to lack neuroticism completely, and consider myself secure and confident. Therefore, I would score low. My only worry is about my grades, and even though I am occasionally stressed about this as a consequence, I know deep down that they will be good. I am resistant to anger and vulnerability in terms of my academic goals, which I believe will help contribute to my continued success. Another example that demonstrates this is I tend to not react excessively towards sad events.

Extraversion is defined as the tendency for an individual to be outgoing and energetic versus behaving more conserved and remaining solitary (Block, 2010). This relates to the likelihood of an individual to surround his or herself with others, in addition to the energy levels that he or she exhibits. Assertive and outgoing individuals tend to exhibit the properties of an extrovert, while quit individuals tend to be more introverted. While extraversion is primarily concerned with the open expression of emotions, agreeableness is the likelihood of exerting these behaviors in a positive manner.

Agreeableness is the tendency of an individual to behave friendly and compassionate (Block, 2010). Individuals who are not considered agreeable are analytical and detached. Agreeable people are cooperative, trusting, and well-tempered. Non-agreeable individuals tend to be less trusting and less willing to work with others. While it is beneficial to get along with others, individuals with a balance between agreeableness and the alternative are often to get ahead of others and compete effectively. Just as agreeableness is behaving positively, openness to experience explains how to integrate this attitude effectively in engaging in new experiences.

I believe that my agreeableness will help contribute to my academic goals, since collaboration is an essential part of the college experience that I regularly take part in. Therefore, I would score high in this category. Group studying is an effective way to achieve high grades and I recognize the value of team work in achieving a mutual goal. I am not very competitive and I prefer to work in collaboration with others.

Openness to experience is defined as the inventiveness and curiosity of an individual (Goldberg, 1990). The opposite of this factor is the tendency for individuals to be cautious and consistent. Those with an openness to experience tend to be well-rounded, which can potentially tie into an increased intellect. While being cautious is occasionally advantageous, it prevents people from learning new things and can therefore be considered a barrier. While it is advantageous to be open to new experiences, these occasionally must be engaged cautiously.

Conscientiousness describes individuals who are outgoing and energetic rather than easy-going and careless (Goldberg, 1990). These individuals are goal-oriented and are high achievers as a consequence. They plan carefully to ensure that they will be able to succeed. Individuals who are more easy-going tend to be less stressed, but less likely to succeed according to the standards of conscientious individuals.

I fall between openness to experience and caution, and will therefore score medium While I appreciate new experiences because I know I can learn things from them, my time is limited, so I am often worried about participating in activities that will waste valuable resources. As a result, my tendency to be conscientious conflicts with my want to be open to new experiences. However, I consider myself fully extraverted rather than introverted, so I believe that I have the ability to encounter these experiences if I decide that it is in my best interest to do so.

Conscientiousness describes individuals who are outgoing and energetic rather than easy-going and careless (Goldberg, 1990). These individuals are goal-oriented and are high achievers as a consequence. They plan carefully to ensure that they will be able to succeed. Individuals who are more easy-going tend to be less stressed, but less likely to succeed according to the standards of conscientious individuals.

In terms of conscientiousness, I am completely conscientious and do not trend towards easy-going and carelessness at all, and would therefore score high. As a student, I am highly motivated and plan my actions around what I need to do to ensure I continue to succeed in academics. Since I am not easy-going, I am often stressed out about how I will perform, but I believe that this is necessary in order to keep me on track.

In conclusion, the Five Factor Model can be applied to an analysis of my own personality. To do so, I analyzed my personal experiences and assigned myself a score of low, medium, and high for each trait. Ultimately, this demonstrates that my personality is well-balanced, and I am not all low or all high in all categories. In addition, this assignment allowed me to recognize aspects of my personality that are not necessarily positive, and will help me work towards altering how I react. For example, I would score low in neuroticism, which is good in some instances, but bad in situations that require exhibition of emotion, such as at funerals and weddings.

References

Block, Jack (2010). The five-factor framing of personality and beyond: Some ruminations. Psychological Inquiry, 21 (1): 2–25.

Cattell, H.E. (1996). The original big five: A historical perspective. European Review of Applied Psychology, 46: 5–14.

Digman, J.M. (1990). Personality structure: Emergence of the five-factor model. Annual Review of Psychology, 41: 417–440.

Goldberg, L. R. (1990). An alternative “description of personality”: The big-five factor structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(6): 1216–1229.

Strack, S. (2006). Differentiating Normal and Abnormal Personality: Second Edition. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.