Big Five personality traits

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Big Five personality traits

The Big Five personality traits, also known as the five-factor model (FFM) and the OCEAN model, is a taxonomy, or grouping, for personality traits. It is based on common language descriptors. When factor analysis (a statistical technique) is applied to personality survey data, some words used to describe aspects of personality are often applied to the same person. For example, someone described as conscientious is more likely to be described as "always prepared" rather than "messy". This theory is based therefore on the association between words but not on neuropsychological experiments. This theory uses descriptors of common language and therefore suggests five broad dimensions commonly used to describe the human personality and psyche.

The five factors have been defined as Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism, often represented by the acronyms OCEAN or CANOE. Beneath each proposed global factor, there are a number of correlated and more specific primary factors. For example, extraversion is said to include such related qualities as gregariousness, assertiveness, excitement seeking, warmth, activity, and positive emotions.

Pronunciation

The term "Big Five" is often pronounced as /bɪɡ faɪv/.

Etymology

The term "Big Five" was coined by Lewis Goldberg and was originally associated with studies of personality traits using factor analysis. The concept was later popularized by Costa and McCrae in the 1980s.

Related Terms

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