How do we categorize personality?

OCEAN! Wait what? The ocean? Like the actual ocean?

While the ocean is a beautiful view while sitting on the sands of Hawaii, that's not exactly what we mean.

How would you describe yourself? Shy? Outgoing? Calm? There can be many ways to describe yourself. Turns out, there is a model that categorizes our personality: the “BIG FIVE.” The acronym associated is ‘OCEAN,’ which stands for openness, conscientious, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. These are factors, and not traits.

This is our best model we have so far. Please keep in mind that these five characteristics or anything that falls within each are not negative. These factors are a continuum.

#1) OPENNESS – Someone who is open could be described as willing, creative or knowledgeable. They could also be described as unreflective or simple. Are you okay with learning about how different people are? Are you okay with learning about their culture or how they live? Are you super eager to travel and see for yourself, or do you prefer staying in one area? This factor is also related to intelligence. Someone who is creative and thinks outside the box is seen as clever and original. Openness to experience is neither good nor bad but again, it is a continuum. Someone who is high on openness probably likes to travel or meet new people at parties. Someone who is low on this spectrum probably likes structure and doing the same things every day.

#2) CONSCIENTIOUS – We all like to think we are conscientious about what we do. We like to be cautious and we like to be organized. People who are high on the conscientiousness spectrum, tend to be consistent and hard working. These traits include engaging in heavier that gets them toward their goal. This sounds great! I agree! Other traits that are also used to describe someone who is conscientious is being frivolous and serious. I definitely feel like I am high on the conscientious scale. With that in mind, I am also a serious, reserved person who thinks before speaking. My nick-name was "try-hard," which is a trait that people with high conscientious contain.

#3) EXTROVERSION – Extroversion refers to energy and interactions. People who extroverted can obtain energy be socializing. People who are extroverts don’t necessarily have to like parties. They can like other social gatherings and enjoy being around others. They are definitely gregarious. Extroverts are great at social adaptability and are pretty bold and outspoken. Introverts are quite the opposite. Introverted is not the same as being shy. Someone who is shy can want to say something but feel like they can’t. Introverts may not say anything but if they do, it takes a lot of work for them to do so. Introverts prefer to be by themselves and are introspective.

#4) AGREEABLENESS – Agreeableness is not only about how many times you say yes to an idea. Agreeableness is about how you interact with others, not if you will interact with others. Someone who agrees with the majority of the things you say come off as friendly, polite and considerate. People who don’t usually agree can be seem as rude, annoying, and blunt about what they don’t like.

#5) NEUROTICISM – Neuroticism doesn’t necessarily mean you are full of yourself. It’s not necessarily being conceited. It’s more like being confident with who you are. On the other hand, neuroticism relates to emotional stability or emotional control. Are you easily excitable or do you show no emotion? A person with low neuroticism can be indifferent about situations. They may be calm and collected instead of getting nervous or excited. This doesn’t mean they have no feelings at all, but they certainly do not express it.

It’s great to know about the different types of personality but what is the use of knowing how to categorize personality? People who need to know more about you could use these tests. On a more serious note, these people could see if you have a psychological abnormality. These tests could help patients see what psychological orders they are prone to developing.

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/big-five-personality-theory/

http://www.personalityresearch.org/bigfive.html

http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/popkins.html