OCEAN Big 5 Personality Scale

Gurpinder Singh Sahni (2013285)

University Canada West

ORGB 601 : Human Interfaces

Dr. Sydney Scott

May 20, 2021

 Introduction

Personality refers to an individual's traits that differentiate him or her from others, and

classifying them based on their conduct is referred to as a personality trait, which can aid to

judge an individual's behavior propensity. In recent years, personality tests have become

more common in variety of workplaces to diverse organizational settings and many large

companies like Xerox, McDonald’s have been using these tests during their recruiting

process (Weber, 2014). Personality tests are useful in hiring decisions and can assist

managers in predicting the best candidate for a position. Self-reporting is the most common

method of assessing personality where individuals are asked to rate themselves on a variety

of factors in surveys (Robbins, 2017). Five Factor Model (FFM) & Myers-Briggs Type

Indicator (MBTI) are two most popular models to determine the personality of individuals.

Five factor model is also known by many other names like big five personality model and

OCEAN big 5 personality scale. Hundreds of personality traits were refined down to five

broad categories i.e. openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and

neuroticism acronym as ‘OCEAN’. These traits are explained in detail below.

Openness

Also known as openness to experience it is an individual's tendency to think in

complex and abstract ways. People with a high Openness score are abstract thinkers, whilst

those with a low score are concrete thinkers (Truity, n.d.). People high in openness welcome

creative and innovative ideas, talking about unproven theories, thinking about things in a new

way and enjoy thinking about the coming time. These people are also fond of and enjoy arts

and other cultural detections. People low in openness are realistic, practical, and prefer to stay

with conventional methods. This personality trait is related to networking of brains, people

having high networked brains are seen to be high in openness, when they start thinking about
any concept their brain is activated and they think of many other related concepts

simultaneously, whereas people having low openness tend to keep two concepts in isolation.

Openness can be related to brain’s default network (state of brain when not focused on any

task including day dreaming) which is more efficient in processing information and making

connection among concepts in people high in openness (Kaufman, 2015).

Conscientiousness

It is a person's inclination for being tenacious and determined in their pursuit of their

objectives. People high in conscientiousness are punctual, hardworking, responsible, have

high will power, resist distractions, able to delay pleasure, orderly and organized. People low

in this trait are fun loving, spontaneous, impulsive, unlikely to stick to any planned schedule.

In terms of psychology this trait is related to impulse control or willpower which is related to

frontal lobe of brain which controls cognitive abilities, judgment and other high level

thinking. It refers to ability to put aside what may be enjoyable or appealing in the moment in

order to pursue a more important long-term goal (Truity, n.d.). In a study by Okamoto (2004),

it has been proved that while doing a task that requires to control behavior, higher activation

in frontal lobes is observed in people who are high in this trait, which implies impulse

controlling brain areas are more active in these people.

Extraversion

It is the proclivity to be energized by being around other people rather than being

alone. People high in extraversion are friendly, gregarious, outgoing, assertive, ambitious,

like to talk, enthusiastic about life, and describe their experiences in optimistic way. People

low in this trait are often referred as introverts, love to stay alone rather than socializing, they

stay calm, reserved, timid and are not easily excited. Extraversion is related to the reward

chemical dopamine which is a neurotransmitter which is associated with behavior that leads
to seek pleasure, status and power (Truity, n.d.). Thus, people high in this trait have more

response to dopamine in brain which makes them more motivated to achieve goals in

comparison to introverts who are least interested to spend energy to chase goals.

Agreeableness

It refers to a person's proclivity to defer to others (Robbins, 2017). This trait is the

first choice of team selectors while they search for their members. People high in this trait are

cooperative, concerned with getting along with others, concerned, philanthropic, helpful.

Whereas people low in this trait are competitive, not interested in compromise, self-centered,

rational and are willing dismay other to achieve their personal goals. This trait is related to

understand and feel emotion of others i.e. empathy, which is high in people who have high

agreeableness. These people are carried away with the emotions of others, for example, they

become sad after seeing other person in a difficult situation and become happy after seeing

someone laughing. They can hypothesize emotions of others and give priorities to other

person’s feelings while making any kind of decision.

Neuroticism

It describes the response to stress of individuals. It is also measured on the terms of

emotional stability by many researchers. People high in neuroticism are prone to depression,

anger, sadness, anxiety, doubt their own abilities, and self-conscious. Whereas people low in

this trait are emotionally stable, easily overcome stresses, optimistic and self-possessed.

Neuroticism deals with frequency and depth of negative emotions unlike extraversion which

highlights positive emotions. Brains of people high in this trait become more activated on

seeing something sad or disturbing and these people are vigilant in possibility of something

bad (Truity, n.d.). People low in neuroticism tends to remain happier than the people high in

this trait (Robbins, 2017).

 In order to determine my personality traits I used ‘The Big Five Personality Test’ on

website truity.com where I got the individual score for all the traits on a scale of 100, which

determined their presence in my personality.

Figure 1

Scores on Each of the Five Dimensions

Note. Result of Gurpinder Singh Sahni in the big five personality test. From https://www.truity.com/test-

results/bigfive/17315/15943945 Copyright 2020 by Truity

In addition to this test, for more deep insight of the traits I also used the ‘big five test’

on bigfive-test.com, where I got information regarding the other factors like anger,

assertiveness, emotionality, etc., in context of five traits, where I got score on a scale of 20

which helped me to get a insight of my personality on a deeper level. All the results of the

tests related to five traits are discussed below.

Openness

In the big five personality test I got a score of 79 on a scale 100, which means I am

more stable than middling persons in connecting the unrelated topics, can think in complex

and abstract way and have high networked brain. During my job in a bank I often welcomed

the new ideas from my colleagues who were new to the industry to source more business
from the market. According to this result I am artistic which is true as from my childhood I

am fond of classical paintings, music, architecture and have been visiting famous museums in

my home country. In additional test on bigfive-test.com I learned more details of my traits.

Figure 2

Result of big five test (openness)

Note. Result of Gurpinder Singh Sahni in big five test (openness) From. https://bigfive-

test.com/result/60a5f65c1d0929000917a068 Copyright 2021 by Rubynor

On a scale of 20 I got 17 in imagination which means I can use fantasy than facts to

create a more interesting world. In artistic interests my score is 16, means I love, beauty both

in air and in nature. In emotionality I got 17, means I am quite aware of my own feelings, but

I have low score of 10 in adventurousness which means I prefer family routines than change.

For example, when I was working as an assistant manager in a bank, my boss sometimes

ordered me to go to a new place on deputation where staff was on leave due to some reason, I

was very reluctant in going there as many a times to avoid this I took leave from office. I got

15 in intellect, means I love to play with new ideas and 15 in liberalism which means that I

have readiness to challenge convention and traditional values, during my job I often
questioned the obsolete rules regarding accounting which had no value in today’s world like

maintaining long book despite all the day transaction data is already available in compters.

Conscientiousness

In the big five test I got only 17 on the scale of 100 in this trait which means get easily

distracted from my goals, more fun loving, less interested in long term achievements, and

more likely to respond to the moment. In fact I was never able to follow a schedule strictly in

past as I was distracted very easily.

Figure 3

Result of big five test (conscientiousness)

Note. Result of Gurpinder Singh Sahni in big five test (conscientiousness). From. https://bigfive-

test.com/result/60a5f65c1d0929000917a068 Copyright 2021 by Rubynor

I got 15 in self-efficacy on a scale of 20 means I have necessary self-control for

achieving goals, but have very low score of 8 in orderliness which means I am disorganized

and scattered. I remember that I have never been able to follow a planned schedule neither
during my school nor during my job, as I easily got distracted with certain events like family

function, birthday parties and I wasted my time in these activities which affected my

productivity. I have a good sense of moral obligation as my score is 17 in dutifulness. In self-

discipline my score is very low of 7 means I am unable to complete tasks on time, also in

cautiousness my score is low means I do the thing which first comes in my mind without

thinking of the alternatives and due to this habit I have suffered financial losses many a times

while investing in stock market as I have a tendency to invest in the company merely by

looking at its name without investigating the financial health of the company.

Extraversion

Like previous trait my score in extraversion is also very low i.e. 19 on the scale of

100. This implies I am an introvert person, stay reserved and calm, which is in fact true

because I do not like to got to big parties and socialize.

Figure 4

Result of big five test (extraversion)

Note. Result of Gurpinder Singh Sahni in big five test (extraversion). From. https://bigfive-

test.com/result/60a5f65c1d0929000917a068 Copyright 2021 by Rubynor

A low score of 10 on scale of 20 in friendliness means that I do not reach out to others

and in fact I am very shy in approaching others and socializing with them, a score of 7 in

gregariousness means that I feel overwhelmed by crowds and try to avoid them. In

assertiveness a low score of 8 means that I do not talk much, in fact I do not like to talk much

and because of this some people mis judge me as arrogant. 10 in activity level means that I

follow a slow and relaxed pace in life, and low score of 9 in excitement-seeking means that I

am overwhelmed by noise and commotion, and this the reason I never went to the office

parties during my job due to loud music which eventually affected my relations with my

manager in a negative way. In cheerfulness also my score I very low score of 11 which means

that do not typically experience a range of positive feelings and because of this I enjoyed my

job very less in the past as level of enthusiasm used to be very low in me

Agreeableness

In this trait I have a high score of 77 on the scale of 100, which means that I am

empathetic person, keep needs of others ahead of my own needs and can spend significant

time in helping others without any self-interest. This is true as I have a habit of helping and

spending my energy on others so that they can accomplish their work or goals.

Figure 5

Result of big five test (agreeableness)

Note. Result of Gurpinder Singh Sahni in big five test (agreeableness). From. https://bigfive-

test.com/result/60a5f65c1d0929000917a068 Copyright 2021 by Rubynor

I got high scores in almost all parameters of agreeableness. 17 on the scale of 20 in

trust, means that I assume that almost are people are fair, honest and have good intentions and

same tendency I had during I was a student and in my previous jobs. In morality I got a very

high score of 20 which means that I feel that I do not need to manipulate while dealing with

others, which implies that I am frank, candid, and sincere. I personally feel that it is not wise

to represent myself in a manipulated way, it breaks the trust in an organization. A high score

of 19 in altruism means that I am always willing to help those who are in need and find it

rewarding. I dislike confrontations and ready to compromise my needs for sake of others

which is clear from score of 14 in cooperation. For example, during my past job once I

helped my customer by paying his insurance installment because his payment was stopped by

other bank due to which I had no money for fuel my car and I travelled by bus for few days,

but after some days customer gave me my money back after his payment was cleared. In

modesty, I have a neutral score of 12 means I do not have a strong inclination towards
claiming that I am better or inferior than others. Score of 20 in sympathy shows that I am

compassionate and kind hearted, can feel and understand the emotions of others and can

consider their emotions during making my decisions.

Neuroticism

Like the previous trait I am having a high score of 77 in this trait also, but it is not a

good sign for my personality as this means I have to struggle with negative emotions and less

able to overcome problematic situations. This means that I am always on the lookout for bad

things to happen and cannot recover easily from stressors.

Figure 6

Result of big five test (neuroticism)

Note. Result of Gurpinder Singh Sahni in big five test (neuroticism). From. https://bigfive-

test.com/result/60a5f65c1d0929000917a068 Copyright 2021 by Rubynor

My score of 18 in anxiety is quite high which means that I every time feel that

something dangerous is going to happen, in fact I have these type of feelings from my

childhood days but I am low in anger as my score is 9 means I very less become angry in

different situations.. In depression scale I have a score of 12 which is average score and
means that lack slightly in initiating activities and feel sad , dejected many a times but not

always. Also, I have a very high score in self-consciousness of 18 which means that I am

very sensitive about what others think of me, my concern of rejection makes me feel shy

around others and I am very easily embarrassed which affected my relations with colleague

during my job in a negative way. High score of 14 in immoderation means that I am oriented

towards short term pleasures and rewards. In vulnerability also my score is high i.e. 13,

which means that when I am under stress I experience confusion, panic and helplessness

which was very common with me whenever I had deadlines of the targets approaching near

in my job in the past.

While choosing careers, personality traits were not considered earlier and as a result

the traits mismatched with the requirements of the job which affected the overall working of

the organizations adversely. I have also worked as a manager for 5 years in a bank in my past,

but the requirement of the job were not consistent with my personality traits that is why my

past experience has not been pleasant. In banks there are pre designed set of rules which are

to be followed in every case which demands less openness. For example, while appraising the

loans, we cannot rely on the hypothesis made by an business owner who has applied for loan,

we have to be practical and judge the feasibility of the plan on realistic parameters before

providing the credit facility. Also, person needs to have high conscientiousness so that he can

be determined to achieve goals ambitiously. One needs to be high in extraversion as regular

addition in customer base is needed that is possible if employees are sociable and god in

network building. All the above required traits were not consistent with my personality traits.

After having a deep understanding of my personality traits I have short-listed few

management roles which I think will be favorable for me, amongst them which I think most

suits me is the career in human resource management. We shall analyze all five traits in

context of this career opportunity. If we talk about openness, a person in human resource
management career needs to be high in openness as one need to be creative, follow

unconventional methods to engage employees, and have to keep belief in the potential and

new ideas of freshers while recruiting them for their organizations. In the test I have really

high score of 79 in openness which means this trait is consistent with the demand of this type

of job. Next consistent trait is agreeableness, person working in human resources should be

high in agreeableness so that he can understand the position of other employees as everyone

has his or her unique situation and everyone needs to tackle in a different way. Person should

be cooperative in nature because employees need assistance as they are working for

interdependent goals within the same organization. Sometimes in a situation the HR

managers need to keep aside their own wishes to fulfill the desired wishes of the organization

therefore high agreeability is desired in them which is consistent with my personal

personality trait. Next in conscientiousness, self-efficacy and dutifulness are the most desired

traits in HR manager as high self-efficacy boosts the confidence of managers that they have

self-control for achieving goals and can motivate others employees too for that. Dutifulness

makes HR managers reliable and responsible as they have sense of duty and obligation. Both

of these traits are high in me according to my personality tests. Though, my traits under

neuroticism are less consistent with the required traits but most important trait i.e. anger is

very low in me, which is consistent with that of required traits as HR managers should not

become angry very often because they have to deal with different types of people as well as

situations and anger can ruin the productivity of the employees.

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