Psychologists say personality is all about the 'Big Five' traits — what are they?
If I asked you to describe your personality, what would you say?
"I'm outgoing", "I'm shy" or "I'm creative".
Maybe you consider yourself a thrill-seeker.
If you take the popular Myers-Briggs personality test, you'll be categorised as either introverted or extroverted, thinking or feeling, judging or perceiving.
These labels can create a sense of belonging, and perhaps help you understand yourself and others better.
consider yourself - считать себя
thrill-seeker - искатель острых ощущений
judging - осуждающий
perceiving - принимающий
The problem is, labels like these can leave you with a sense that your personality is something fixed and unchangeable: you're one way or the other; you're "just like that".
Personality researchers, however, have a different way of thinking about personality. They focus on traits rather than types.
In particular, they talk about the "Big Five": openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.
conscientiousness - добросовестность
agreeableness - доброжелательность
What are the big five personality traits?
The easiest way to remember them is to use the acronym "OCEAN", says Nick Haslam, Professor of psychology at the University of Melbourne.
- Openness is the tendency to be open to new ideas, imaginative, curious and creative, Professor Haslam says. People who score high in openness are often interested in creative pursuits.
curious - любопытный
pursuits - виды деятельности
- Conscientiousness is about having attention to detail and a good work ethic, says Eliroma Gardiner, a personality researcher at Griffith University. People who score highly in conscientiousness tend to want to get things done on time, the proper way, and tend to follow rules. If you prefer to disregard rules and do things your own way, you'd likely score lower here.
disregard - игнорировать, пренебрегать
- Extraversion is the trait most associated with those who like to be the life of the party, those people who really enjoy socialising and spending time with others, Dr Gardiner says. If you'd prefer to snuggle up with a good book by yourself rather than head to the pub, you're likely to score lower on extraversion.
snuggle up - прижиматься (в значении, лежать в обнимку с книгой)
- Agreeableness, like extraversion, is about interpersonal style. People who score highly on agreeableness tend to be warm, trusting, kind and cooperative, Professor Haslam says. They tend to adjust to others, rather than forcing their own ways on them.
adjust - приспосабливаться
- Neuroticism is simply about how likely you are to feel negative emotions, like anxiety, sadness, anger, envy and jealousness. People who score highly on neuroticism tend to experience a lot of these negative emotions, while people who score lower tend to be more emotionally stable and calm.