Description of Five Factor Mode

The five-factor model of personality focuses on those behaviors that you express while dealing with people, changing circumstances and your environment. The two remaining behavioral dimensions relate to work and depression situations. The five big personality tests measure the intensity of your behaviors in these five areas.

Descriptions of these factors shall help you to understand why different careers are related to varying degrees of your behaviors. Why selection of specific options in paper pencil test can qualify you for particular jobs and disqualify the others. This page shall also help you to understand the nexus between big five factors.

Factor 1: Agreeableness (A)

How do you react to others’ opinions? When you agree with them readily, you are considered agreeable. However, your firm reactions qualify you as a challenger in the words of Howard and Howard (2001). There are some other correlated traits for agreeableness.

A Higher Degree of ‘A’

The five-factor model of personality considers you as good nature, sympathetic and forgiving. You are deemed tolerant, agreeable and courteous. You prove an excellent team member. You strive to bring harmony among your mates. You are friendlier, approachable and appealing. You can ignore your own needs for others’.

However, you are not a good leader. You prefer to work in the background. You keep your opinions to yourself to avoid conflict. You are easily influenced. But you are a born social reformer. You can prove an excellent teacher. The psychology is one of the best fields for you.

A Lower Degree in ‘A’

Five-factor model of personality considers you as critical, analytical and harsh. You are expressive in your opinions. You don’t hide your reactions. You want your efforts and achievements to be acknowledged. You can challenge. You are a born leader.

However, you may not prove a good team leader. Extreme degrees qualify you as a rude, callous and self-centered person. You are viewed as hostile. You are not considered cooperative. Your love for power can lead you to be an autocrat.

You are considered suitable for those careers where you are given freedom to exercise your will. Military leadership, public administration, and management are the best career dimensions for you.

Factor 2: Openness to Change (O)

Five-factor model of personality considers you open for change when you accept new thoughts, ideas, and changes.

However, you are considered close to change when you avoid new experiments and follow the rules and regulations very strictly. The other correlated personality traits with different degrees are mentioned below.

A Higher Degree in ‘O’

You qualify to be counted as original, creative and curious. You believe that change is more than essential for social evolution. You love revolutions. You enjoy complexities of things and strive to find out their solutions. You can handle new systems, technologies, and tools with great ease. You always build a big picture but tend to ignore vital details.

You are considered suitable for the careers where a lot of creativity, novelty, and originality is involved.

A Lower Degree in ‘O’

The five-factor model of personality qualifies you as a resistant to change. You are traditional. You love the peaceful environment, secure jobs, and serene family life. You spend a lot of time on details. You can execute plans very well.

However, you are not a good planner. Your focus on details may cause you to ignore the big picture. You accept change only when there is no way out. The careers where rules and regulations are to be followed very strictly are considered suitable for you. You can prove a good judge, accountant, and auditor. No one can be a better financial manager than you.

Factor 3: Extroversion (E)

Do you love gatherings?

Or you prefer solitude?

Five-factor model of personality considers your preferred way to handle your environment very important. Different criteria are adopted when you apply for a job of cricket commentator and a position of a scriptwriter. You can identify what level of degree you require to go for your dream job.

A Higher Degree of ‘E’

The five-factor model considers you social, friendlier and talkative. You are often assertive and energetic. You can do many tasks successfully at a time. You prefer to lead others. You are charismatic. However, you rely on others without knowing them very well. You are considered fit for politics, sales, and public related careers.

A Lower Degree of ‘E’

You are considered private, serious and skeptic. You don’t rely on others easily. You keep your secrets to your self. You are often quiet. You prefer an environment where you can work alone. Production management, natural sciences, and art related careers are considered suitable for you.

Factor 4: Conscientiousness (C )

How do you take your work?

A Higher Degree of ‘C’

The five-factor model of personality considers you an organized, focused and timely achiever of your goals. You plan things and follow that route strictly. You are not easy to be distracted. However, you tend to be workaholic. You are self-disciplined. You are considered confident, dutiful and reliable. You often prove a high executive in any organization.

A Lower Degree in ‘C’

The five-factor model of personality considers you careless, relaxed and unorganized. You don’t plan things and pursue your goals with a flexible approach. Someday you work a lot and another day you go on vacations. You are spontaneous. However, when you are not considered suitable for projects where deadlines are to be followed.

Factor 5: Neurotic-ism (N)

How do you handle depression?

A Higher Degree of ‘N.’

The five-factor model considers you nervous, unstable and vulnerable to adverse emotionality. You are never satisfied with your life. You are inflamed easily. You are reactive and often fail to recover from depression shock easily. You always feel a need for stability. In extreme cases, clinical advice will work. Typically, you are an optimist.

A Lower Degree in ‘N’

The five-factor model of personality considers you emotionally stable, strong nerved and composed person. You are often calm and optimist. You recover from depression periods very easily. You can find out the best out of the worst. You love peace and security. You are often satisfied with your life. You are a valuable candidate for careers in air traffic, controllers and airline pilots, finance management and engineering.

Is Your Degree Permanent?

Some exponents of the five-factor model say that degree of different factors changes with the situation. However, many believe that your degree of intensity in any characteristic remains constant. The entire career screening exercise follows the hypothesis that psychometric can skim up the best candidates who shall perform the same way in future.

Unfortunately, there is no evidence yet to prove this hypothesis. It is also not justified again that the people who fail to go through the psychological tests. However, studies show when you fail to a particular psychological test, you usually have no aptitude for that job. You can still join, but in most of the cases you will end up in a frustrated and depressed life.

Free Personality Test

Introduction to Big Five Personality Tests

Criticism on Big Five Factor Model

A response on My criticism about Big Five Tests