The Big Five Personality Paper

Personality theories, or models, are metaphors for describing something which is intrinsically indescribable, the human personality. Currently, one of the most popular approaches among psychologists for studying personality theory is the Five-Factor Model (FFM) or Big Five dimensions of personality. This essay will explore the 'Big Five ' personality constructs and seek to explain how useful they are to understanding how people are likely to perform in a work situation. In conclusion, this essay will also discuss some of the arguments against the relevance and accuracy of personality testing within the employment context.

After investing my 15 minutes on this test I found that this test was not credible at all. It was just a method of luring people to know about their personality and getting hits on their website. The test was utterly meaningless. The questions seemed to be simple yet direct in the beginning but later on they became repetitive and boring. There was nothing that could make me ponder over some aspect of my own persona.

When discussing the accuracy of personality tests, there is no test, which will provide perfect precision. According to Dr. O'Neil, “an individual's personality is the complex of mental characteristics that makes them unique from other people” (2006, Para 1). O’Neil believes that the potential factors involved in shaping personality include values, beliefs, and expectations that are genetic and environmental (O’Neil, 2006).

The five-factor model (FFM) is a contemporary construct describing personality. It incorporates five traits – openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism also referred to as OCEAN. Within each dimension, there are specific personality attributes, for example, openness includes subcategories of feelings and actions. The FFM was influenced by Cattell’s 16-factor model (1957) and shares traits with many other personality theories such as Eysenck’s PEN model. There has been an ongoing debate discussing how many factors appropriately represent the brain structure of personality, suggestions have varied from 2-7, recently Almagor et al. (1995) advocated that a 7-factor model unfolds when evaluative traits are involved. Costa & Mcrae (1992) claim that the FFM is the best theory of personality, however, the model has received much criticism. Through examining different aspects of the model its credibility can be explored.

Bornstein, R. F. (2007). Toward a process-based framework for classifying personality tests [Peer comments on the journal article “Advancing personality assessment terminology: time to retire ”objective“ and ”projective“ as personality test descriptors” by G. J. Meyer, & J. E. Kurtz. Journal of personality assessment, 2 (89), 202-207.

I found the test results of the Big Five personality assessment to be an interesting and very accurate description of myself. After completing this assessment, I was able to analyze my personality in depth. I found this information to be helpful knowledge and provide insight about myself, as well as being crucial in examining my personality traits. The big five is also referred to the OCEAN model of personality, and stands for the main traits used to describe personalities. This acronym stands for openness to experience/intellect, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. After taking the test I was then given percentile scores that allowed me to compare myself with other people who have taken the test online as well, therefore making it a more meaningful comparison.

However with advantages come disadvantages. For example, with correlational studies there is no background information obtained. Therefore, the reliability of the correlational studies is questioned.

in order to analyze the patterns that determine personality, certain issues need to be addressed

My Big Five Personality Test results provide implications for how I might practice social work and relate with others. I scored high on the dimensions of Openness and Conscientiousness, 88% and 83% respectively, suggesting that I am open-minded, organized, and think before I speak (Cournoyer, 2011). This will help me to approach client situations strategically. My percentile score for Extraversion was 79, which suggests that I am a good communicator, a skill that will be very helpful as a social worker. I scored in the 57th percentile for Agreeableness, which pertains to the way a person relates to and interacts with others (Cournoyer, 2011). Since my score was only in the 57th percentile, I may need to be mindful to ensure that I present myself

Moreover, what is personality testing designed to measure? The Myers Briggs Type Indicator, used in the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, bases personality on four dimensions: extraversion or introversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving (Ford-Martin, 2015). Extroverts are those more focused on others and the outside world, while introverts tend to keep to themselves. The dimension of sensing or intuition measures whether the individual perceives the world more efficiently using the five senses, or if they tend to lean on their intuition (Ciccarelli, 2014). The dimension of thinking or feeling measures whether individuals prefer to

In taking the Big Five Personality Test, I find the results to be consistent with my personality. According to the results, I am a conventional and down to earth person that is very well-organized and can be relied upon. Furthermore, I am a nervous and quiet person with the tendency to be mean and rude to others. These findings are pretty accurate because I know for a fact that I am a very well-organized person with no intention of being center of attention in a room full of people. Furthermore, my friends are always telling me that I am rude and harsh on certain things. Finally, I prefer to see things realistically rather than using my imagination and being creative.

An individual’s personality is measured with a personality assessment instrument that encompasses theories and technique. Traditionally psychoanalytical theories provided an outline for accepting behavior that was abnormal and perceptions that prophesized the outcome for prospect behavior. Since projecting personality trait occurs, career counselors, and organizations utilize personality assessment instruments for screening potential employees for qualification. Additionally, personality assessment instruments are used in detecting personality disorders and abnormal behaviors. This

Though most people want to believe they are individuals that unique, it has been proven in this class as well as my previous classes that is not true. I am just surprised how these test show how our personalities can be as few as four traits or as many as 4,000. My problem with these test are that individuals can easy to control the outcome. So to me they are not as accurate some test because the person taking it can change the outcome for their advantage. I took the Big Five Personality Test twice as myself and was able to make the test results be whatever I wanted them to be. Definitely being able to use the tests as a tool can be a helpful resource, but I believe they can only be used as a starting point. These test are all easy to take the longest one took me about 45 minutes and that was the SAPA project but the Big Five Personality Test only took about 15 minutes. I feel that the two test that I took showed my characters personality almost perfect. I also took the same two tests just for fun as Dr. Watson and they also came extremely accurate. What was amazing to me was how the two characters personalities seem so different and it made me wonder how they work so well together, but when I took the test many of their personality traits were within points. I definitely see how these test could be helpful in determining someone’s personality, but relieved that they are never taken as fact on their

The Big Five personality test was created in the 1970 's by two independent research teams. One team with Paul Costa and Robert McCrae, and the other with Warren and Lewis Goldberg. The two teams had different methods that they tested but in the end they both ended up with the same results. The results were that no matter what culture, race, or language people have their personality fits into five dimensions of personality. The five dimensions were created after reviewing lots of surveys and data analysis called factor analysis. Now, just forty years later the Big Five is one of the most commonly accepted personality models.

When it comes to objective tests, it is implied that they are accurate, precise, and resistant to biased influences. Scoring errors are another potential concern. In reviewing the projective test, it is determined by Meyer and Kurtz (2006) that one‘s personality will not shine through with force and clarity regardless of the medium, the presence of the client’s responses confuses the efforts to interpret the test scores, and that is what the psychologists are most interested in interpreting (Meyer & Kurtz, 2006)