Big 5 Personality Traits

For years, personality researchers have studied hundreds of different was to describe people’s personalities. In the past decade, however, personality research conducted in different cultures, different settings and different languages has shown that five basic dimensions of personality account for most of the difference in people’s behaviors, attitudes and emotions. “The Big Five" model is a personality theory that describes ones personality using five fundamental traits. This model includes: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability.

Extraversion is the degree to which someone is active, assertive, gregarious, sociable, talkative, and energized by others. The trait is marked by pronounced engagement with the external world. They tend to be enthusiastic, action-oriented people, who love excitement. In groups they like to talk and draw attention to themselves. Introverts lack the exuberance, energy, and activity level of extraverts. They tend to be quiet and low-key and not very involved in the social world. Introverts shouldn't be confused with depression or shyness; they simply lack the need for external stimulation that extraverts crave. In a learning environment, either extreme is generally considered negative, however usually people get more concerned when their child doesn't want to play with other kids. There is nothing wrong with not needing lots of time with other people but it is important to not let a child isolate. In school it is important that the pressures that come along with social lives don't get in the way with learning.

Emotional stability is the degree to which someone is not angry, depressed, anxious, emotional, insecure, and excitable. Those who score high in this personality trait are highly reactive in stressful situations. They are more likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening or minor situations as too difficult or as impossible. In a learning environment those...