The Big Five Aspects Scale

Derives from The Big 5 Personality Traits test, is a self-measurement test that magnifies in greater detail the different dimensions of one’s personality.

The five traits that are focused on in this measurement are Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion and introversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism. Within these traits are one to two facets that correlate alongside with them.

Aspects

Extraversion

Facets include assertiveness and enthusiasm. A person who has extraversion is someone who loves being the center of attention and being surrounded by a lot of people at a party and has high energy. They tend to seek out people to have company and the stimulation of others to satisfy their own selves. People who are the opposite of those with extraversion are called introverts. Introverts are people who are less energized than those who are extraversions. People who are introverts tend to keep to themselves, have less energy, and are less active in social activities.

Openness to experience

Facets include curiosity and unconventional interests. A person who has high levels of openness is someone who enjoys trying new things. They love to imagine things, are curious about the world around them, and are open-minded to everything. Those who have low levels of openness are the ones who don’t like trying new things. People who are low in openness are close-minded, are literal, and enjoy having the same routine they created. People with high levels have a general appreciation for those who create unusual ideas and art.

Conscientiousness

Facets include reliability, responsibility and carefulness. People who have been tested for conscientiousness and scored high levels are those who have a high level of self-discipline. People like this are those who would follow a plan as it was written. They would also not act spontaneously or recklessly. Because of this, they tend to be highly successful in the occupation they choose to do through methodical planning. People with high levels of conscientiousness direct their impulses, regulate and control themselves. They tend to be good at creating long-range goals. However, those who score high tend to be workaholics and perfectionists.

Agreeableness

Facets include interaction with others and how well you get along with them. People who score high levels of agreeableness are those who are usually warm and friendly. They view human nature with optimism and generally get along with other people. People who score low levels are usually unfriendly, distant, and put their own interests above others. People with high levels know it’s important to get along with others and to have social harmony. They would rather help others with their interests than work on their own interests. Because of this, those with high levels of agreeableness are more honest, trustworthy, helpful, generous and considerate.

Neuroticism

Facets include increased negative emotionality, nervousness. Neuroticism, or emotional stability, refers to people’s abilities to stay balanced and stable. People who score high levels of neuroticism are at a greater risk of easily experiencing negative emotions. Those who score low on the test are less likely to be upset and show fewer emotions. They would be calm, stable, and would keep away from negative emotions. Because of this, it doesn’t necessarily mean they experience positive feelings as much. The people who score high react very emotionally. If exposed to what they, the people with high levels, believe is sad, they would cry at it while others don’t. They tend to feel threatened or in a bad mood when they are in a normal situation. They also have a hard time thinking clearly and only add more to their stress.

Development & History

Lewis Goldberg was a notable researcher in the field of personality psychology around this time. Goldberg was able to trim 16 factors of personality to 5. His work was similar to researchers that had come before him in the 1960s. Once the validity of this model was confirmed by Paul Costa and Robert McCrae, the model was termed the Big 5.

The scale originated from the process of sorting personality traits into hierarchies, which is arranged according to the way that the traits correlate to one another. The broad but related traits are located at the top and the behavioral patterns are closer to the bottom.

Impact

Personality psychologists have made the hierarchy their core source and most common tool.

In the questionnaire, you are given a variety of statements that you may or may not agree with. Within each statement, there are five answers that range from, “Disagree strongly” to “Agree strongly”. How you answer will be recorded and compared to many others who have taken the test before you. Once you complete it, you will receive a report that will tell you how you rank due to your responses compared to everyone else that has taken the assessment.

Limitations

Controversy arises when the facets used to determine each of the five domains aren’t justifiable.

The five factors of the Big 5 do not give a thorough explanation of one’s personality. However, they encompass a great portion of personality-related terms.

References

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