The Big Five personality traits

The Big Five is a way of describing personality with five broad traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. Some people remember them with the letters OCEAN. Each trait is a scale, like a dial, not a box you are in or out of.

This page explains each trait in plain words. You will see what high and low scores tend to look like and the strengths and challenges at each end. You will also learn about the smaller parts of each trait, called facets. At the end, we describe a newer six-trait model called HEXACO.

How the Big Five works

Picture a long line with "very low" at one end and "very high" at the other. For each trait, most people fall somewhere near the middle. Only a few are at the far ends. A score tells you where you tend to sit compared with other people, not whether you are good or bad.

Each broad trait is built from narrower facets. A widely used system, the NEO, splits each trait into six facets. The free International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) offers public-domain versions of these scales.^1,2 Two people can have the same overall score but different facets. For example, one person may score high on extraversion because they love crowds. Another may score high because they are bold and take charge.

You may see different names for the same trait. Neuroticism is also called negative emotionality. Its opposite end is called emotional stability. Our personality test uses the friendlier label "emotional sensitivity."

Openness to experience

Openness is about curiosity and imagination. It reflects how much you seek out new ideas, art, feelings and experiences.

Higher openness often looks like enjoying books, music or travel, liking big questions and being willing to try new ways of doing things. Lower openness often looks like preferring the familiar, focusing on practical matters and valuing tradition.

Facets in the NEO system: imagination (fantasy), appreciation of art and beauty, awareness of feelings, trying new activities, intellectual curiosity, and openness to rethinking values.¹

Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness is about organization, self-control and follow-through. It reflects how much you plan ahead, keep promises and stick with tasks.

Higher conscientiousness often looks like being tidy, on time, careful and hard-working. Lower conscientiousness often looks like being relaxed about schedules, spontaneous and comfortable with some mess.

This trait has strong links to health. A review of 194 studies found that people higher in conscientiousness were less likely to smoke, drink heavily, drive dangerously or use drugs. They were more likely to eat well and stay active.⁵ Another review of 20 groups of people found they also tend to live longer. The facets most tied to a long life were being persistent and being organized.⁶

Facets: feeling capable, order, sense of duty, striving to achieve, self-discipline, and thinking before acting.¹

Extraversion

Extraversion is about social energy and positive emotion. It reflects how much you seek out people, activity and excitement.

Higher extraversion often looks like being talkative, enjoying groups, speaking up and feeling cheerful and energetic. Lower extraversion, often called introversion, often looks like being quiet, liking small groups or time alone, and thinking before speaking.

People higher in extraversion tend to report more happiness and life satisfaction. A review of more than 330,000 people found that extraversion, along with neuroticism and conscientiousness, had the strongest links to well-being.⁹ Introversion is not a problem to fix. Many quiet people have rich inner lives and close friendships. But low extraversion is linked to social anxiety and to long-lasting low mood.⁴

Facets: warmth, enjoying company, assertiveness, pace of activity, seeking excitement, and positive emotions such as cheerfulness.¹ Curious where you fall? Try our introvert, extrovert or ambivert quiz.

Agreeableness

Agreeableness is about how you treat other people. It reflects kindness, trust and willingness to cooperate.

Higher agreeableness often looks like being warm, forgiving, helpful and eager to avoid conflict. Lower agreeableness often looks like being frank, skeptical, competitive and willing to push back.

Personality is linked to the quality of relationships with friends, family and partners.⁸ Lower agreeableness, together with low self-control, is more common in people with substance use problems.⁴

Facets: trust, frankness, helping others, cooperation, modesty, and sympathy.¹ If you tend to put everyone else first, our people-pleasing checklist and healthy boundaries quiz may help.

Neuroticism (emotional stability)

Neuroticism is the tendency to react to threat, frustration or loss with negative feelings such as fear, sadness or anger. People vary a lot. Some react strongly to small problems. Others stay calm even when things go badly wrong.⁷

Higher neuroticism often looks like worrying, feeling tense, getting upset easily and taking criticism hard. Lower neuroticism often looks like staying calm, bouncing back quickly and rarely feeling blue.

This trait has the strongest links to mental health. A review of 175 studies found that people with depression, anxiety disorders or substance use problems all scored higher on neuroticism than other people. Substance use problems were less tied to neuroticism than depression and most anxiety disorders were.⁴ Neuroticism also predicts many physical health problems and more use of health care.⁷ A higher score is not a diagnosis, and it is a trait you can learn to work with. See Personality and mental health.

Facets: anxiety, anger, a tendency toward sadness, self-consciousness, trouble resisting urges, and feeling overwhelmed under stress.¹ Skills from CBT and DBT, and the thought check tool, can help you handle strong feelings.

Why both ends have value

One scientist has argued that each of the Big Five is a trade-off. Every level of a trait brings benefits in some settings and costs in others, so no single level wins everywhere.¹⁰ That helps explain why people differ so much.

It is easy to see how this works in daily life. Worry is painful, but it can also make you plan for trouble. Easygoing people may handle surprises better than very orderly people. A quiet person may do well in a job that needs deep focus. What matters most is how well your traits fit your life, and whether they cause you or others serious distress.

Traits across cultures and ages

In a study of 50 cultures, people rated someone they knew well. The same five-trait pattern appeared in most cultures and could be seen in all of them.³ Average differences between men and women were found in many places, but they were larger in Western cultures. For three of the traits, age differences followed a similar pattern across cultures, with faster change in the college years and slower change after 40.³

Traits also shift with age, mostly in small, slow ways. See Can personality change? and Personality in later life.

The HEXACO model

HEXACO is a newer model with six traits instead of five. Its name comes from the first letters of each one:¹¹

• Honesty-Humility: sincerity, fairness, not being greedy, and modesty¹²
• Emotionality: fearfulness, anxiety, needing support from others, and sentimentality¹²
• eXtraversion
• Agreeableness: forgiveness, gentleness, flexibility and patience¹²
• Conscientiousness
• Openness to experience

The biggest change is the added H trait. It describes whether a person tends to be sincere and fair, or tends to bend rules for personal gain. The researchers who built HEXACO argue that it explains some things the Big Five does not, such as certain kinds of cooperation.¹¹ HEXACO also places patience, the opposite of a quick temper, under agreeableness. Its emotionality trait is more about fear and needing others.¹²

Both models are well studied. A large review of well-being looked at both. In the Big Five, neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness mattered most. In HEXACO, extraversion had the strongest link to well-being.⁹

Facets: why the details matter

Broad traits are a good summary. Facets can add useful detail. In the review of well-being above, facets predicted well-being about 20% better than the five broad traits alone.⁹ Short tests like our 20-statement test give only the broad traits. Longer tests can show facets, which can help in therapy or career planning. See Personality tests.

Common questions

Is it better to be an extravert?

Not overall. Extraverts report more positive feelings on average.⁹ But introversion has its own strengths, such as comfort with time alone. Both ends have costs and benefits.¹⁰

Is high neuroticism a mental illness?

No. It is a normal trait that everyone has to some degree. It does raise the risk of depression and anxiety, so it is worth learning skills to manage stress and worry.^4,7

Can I be in the middle?

Yes. Most people are in the middle on most traits. "Ambiverts," who are in the middle on extraversion, can feel at home both in groups and alone.

Do these traits mean the same thing in later life?

Yes. The same five traits are used to describe adults of all ages.³ But a sudden, large change in an older adult is not normal aging and should be checked. See Personality in later life.

Education only. This page is general information written from the sources listed. It is not medical, legal or financial advice and does not replace a doctor, therapist or lawyer who knows your situation. How we write and check pages.