Big 5

Personality
Model
Amitabha Gupta
Swami Vivekananda University
The Big Five (also called
Five Factor) Model

• The Big Five is so named because the model proposes

that human personality can be measured along five
major dimensions, each of which is distinct and
independent from the others.
• The Big Five model is also sometimes called OCEAN or
CANOE, both acronyms of the five traits.
How Big 5 Model
Works
• In the Big Five model, people are understood to have
varying levels of key personality factors which drive
our thoughts and behavior.
• Although personality traits cannot specifically predict
behavior, differences in the Big Five factors help us to
understand why people may react differently, behave
differently, and see things differently from others in
the same situation.
How Big 5 Model
Works
• The Big Five is a trait model of personality, rather than
a type model. Most popular ways of describing personality talk
about personality types, such as Type A or Type B personalities
etc.
• Although type models are easy to understand, they are not
scientifically sound, as people don't neatly sort into categories.
• The Big Five describes people in terms of traits on a spectrum,
and as such, is a much more valid and evidence-based means of
understanding personality.
Openness
1 2
Not to be confused with
one's tendency to be open
and disclose their thoughts
and feelings, Openness in
the context of the Big Five
refers more specifically to
Openness to Experience, or
openness to considering
new ideas.
This trait has also been
called "Intellect" by some
researchers, but this
terminology has been
largely abandoned because
it implies that people high
in Openness are more
intelligent, which is not
necessarily true.
3 4 5
Openness describes a Those who are high in Those who are low in
person's tendency to think Openness tend to be Openness tend to be
abstractly. creative, adventurous, and practical, traditional, and
intellectual. They enjoy focused on the concrete.
playing with ideas and They tend to avoid the
discovering novel unknown and follow
experiences. traditional ways.
 • Conscientiousness describes a person's level
of goal orientation and persistence. 
• Those who are high in Conscientiousness are
Conscientiousness organized and determined and are able to
forego immediate gratification for the sake of
long-term achievement.
• Those who are low in this trait are impulsive
and easily sidetracked.
 Extraversion describes a person’s inclination to
seek stimulation from the outside world,
especially in the form of attention from other
people.

Extraverts engage actively with others to earn

Extraversio friendship, admiration, power, status, excitement.
n
Introverts, on the other hand, conserve their
energy, and do not work as hard to earn these
social rewards.
Agreeableness

1 2 3
Agreeableness describes the People who are high in People who are low in
extent to which a person Agreeableness experience a Agreeableness tend to
prioritizes the needs of others great deal of empathy and tend experience less empathy and
over their own needs.  to get pleasure out of serving put their own concerns ahead of
and taking care of others. others. 
Neuroticism
Neuroticism describes
a person's tendency to
respond to stressors with
negative emotions, including
fear, sadness, anxiety, guilt,
and shame. 
Guilt a response to having
done something wrong.  situation with strong negative
This trait can be thought of as
an alarm system.
High Neuroticism scorers are
However, not everyone has
the same reaction to a given
situation.
People experience negative
emotions as a sign that
Fear is a response to danger,
something is wrong in the
world.
Low Neuroticism scorers are
more likely to react to a
more likely to brush off their
misfortune and move on.
emotions.
 Individuals are typically described in terms of
having high, average, or low levels of the five
personality factors.
How the Big
Five Traits Each factor is independent from the others, so
Describe someone might be high in Extraversion and
low in Agreeableness.
Personality
To gain a full picture of an individual using
the Big Five model, it's necessary to know
how they measure up on each of the five
dimensions. 
Big 5 Factors
in a Sigle
Frame
Questions &
Answers