The Big 5 personality test is one of the most commonly used personality tests out there. One of the reasons why is because it has been highly respected in the field of psychology for decades. In this article, we’ll explain what the Big 5 personality test is, who created it, and if it’s a reliable test. Let’s dive in.
What Is The Big 5 Personality Test?
First off, what is the Big 5 personality test? Also known as the Big 5 personality traits test, it is not one specific test, but has many variations that test for the Big 5 personality traits. The 5 personality traits are commonly used in academic psychology as a popular model for understanding personalities.
Is the Big 5 test reliable? Theorists say yes. The Big 5 personality traits are respected in the field of psychology. As long as the test you take hews closely to the understanding of these traits, you can be confident that it has the backing of decades of study behind it.
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Big 5 Personality Traits
According to researchers, human personality can be divided into 5 categories. Each category represents the whole range of experience in relation to that category, and every person is somewhere on the spectrum for each. For example, for the category “openness,” you can have high or low openness, or somewhere in between.
The big 5 personality traits are:
- Openness: A person with high openness is creative and open to new experiences. A person with low openness is, well, the opposite.
- Conscientiousness: A person with high conscientiousness is organized, likes to be prepared, and pays attention to detail. A person with low conscientiousness is messy, dislikes structure, and tends to procrastinate.
- Extraversion: A person with high extraversion likes to be around people (and meet new ones) and tends to speak before thinking. A person with low extraversion enjoys solitude and has to work harder to make conversation.
- Agreeableness: A person with high agreeableness is empathetic and cares about being helpful to others. A person with low agreeableness has a lower interest in others’ feelings.
- Neuroticism: A person with high neuroticism tends toward anxiety and gets upset easily. A person with low neuroticism has a stable emotional state and rarely gets anxious.
How is the Big 5 Personality Test Connected to Jordan Peterson?
If you’ve recently heard of the Big 5 personality test, Jordan Peterson’s name might have been attached to it. Peterson, a Canadian professor of psychology, has attracted both attention and criticism in recent years for his popularization of psychological theories including the Big 5 personality traits.
Whether you agree or disagree with Peterson’s theories, you can rest easy here. Peterson has written about the Big 5 personality test and further developed it with his Big 5 aspects scale, but Peterson did not create the model. It was in widespread use before Peterson started using it.
If not Jordan Peterson, who created the Big 5 personality test model? It originated in 1949 with the research of D.W. Fiske, and has been continuously developed by others in subsequent decades.
What Work Culture is the Big 5 Personality Test Suited for?
The Big 5 personality test model is viewed as a reliable tool for workplaces. Not only is it reliable, but there has been extensive study into how employers can use it. According to one study, employers found that conscientiousness and agreeableness were the most important qualities in the workplace. Employers can learn about each category, decide which is most important for them, and use the test as a screening tool for new employees.
If you’re wondering what the best Big 5 personality test is for a workplace setting, you have many choices. We recommend this one from Truity.
Conclusion
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Additional Resources:
- Mental Models: What Are They?
- Leadership: Where Everything Rises and Falls
- Pyramid Principle Applied