Chapter 13 McCrae and Costa: Five-Factor Trait Theory
The Big Five – five factor personality inventory NEO-PI; since late 1980s/early
1990s, most personality psychologists have opted to use the Five-Factor Model
1. Neuroticism – people who score high are anxious, temperamental, selfpitying, self-conscious, emotional, vulnerable to stress-related disorders;
people who score low are calm, even-tempered, self-satisfied, and
unemotional
2. Extraversion – people who score high are affectionate, jovial, talkative,
joiners, fun-loving; people who score low are reserved, quiet, loners, passive,
lack ability to express strong emotion
3. Openness to Experience – distinguishes people who prefer variety from
those who need closure and gain comfort from familiar people and things;
people who score high consistently seek out different and varied experiences,
questions traditional values, are creative, imaginative, curious, liberal, and
have a preference for variety; people who score low are not open to new
experiences, stick with familiar things they enjoy, support traditional values,
conventional, down-to-earth, conservative, and lack curiosity
4. Agreeableness Scale – distinguishes soft-hearted people from ruthless ones;
agreeable – trusting, generous, yielding, acceptant, good-natured; other
direction – suspicious, stingy, unfriendly, irritable, critical of other people
5. Conscientiousness – people who score high are ordered, controlled,
organized, ambitious, achievement-focused, self-disciplined, hard-working,
conscientious, punctual, persevering; those who score low are disorganized,
negligent, lazy, aimless, and give up easily
