The five factor model

Ali Kazmi, 28/03/22

Robert McCrae and Paul Costa

• McCrae and Costa first identified the Big Five factors

• Neuroticism
• Extraversion
• Openness
• Agreeableness
• Conscientiousness
• These factors have been confirmed
through various techniques such as self-
ratings, objective tests, and
observations

• McCrae and Costa developed the NEO

Personality Inventory

• These five factors have characteristic

traits
• Checklists have been used by other
researchers and participants select the
words that best describe them

• Some checklists have 100 adjectives

and others 40

• Interviews consisting of 120 items have

also been used

• The NEO is the most widely-used

technique
• Participants may show social desirability bias
• There is overlap between the factors in the McCrae-Costa model and the dimensions in
other theories. A conscientious person in McCrae-Costa model could be said to be low
in psychoticism

• Agreebleness might be the most environmentally-influenced of the Big Five

(Bergemen et al., 1993)
Cross-cultural consistency

• McCrae and Costa argue that the Big Five are a “common human structure of
personality” and research has borne this out

• The Big Five have been found in very diverse cultures such as European cultures,
Hebrew, Chinese, and American cultures

• Different cultures value the factors differently though. Japanese people value
conscientiousness, Australians agreeableness, and some cultures don’t value one factor
over another such as in China, Germany, and the US
Stability

• Longitudinal research shows that the factors remain quite stable

• 15,000 twins aged 18 to 59 studied over 40 years rated similarly on extraversion and
neuroticism (Viken, Rose, Kapiro, & Koskenuvo, 1994)

• Extraverts are more social and more likely to seek support when experiencing stress
• Are these factors actually stable from childhood to adulthood or are certain behaviors
just being reinforced?
Emotional and behavioral correlates

• People high in extraversion and low in neuroticism are predisposed to emotional

stability

• Extraverts generally enjoy higher status and prominence

• They also report more positive life events, better health, fewer traffic tickets, and
higher rates of grad school success

• Neurotics tend to have worse health and psychological distress

• People high in openness have many varied interests, change jobs more frequently, and
try challenging jobs
• Those high in conscientiousness do
well in their careers, particularly police,
managerial, sales, and skilled labour
jobs
• They live longer and healthier lives on
average
• What does all of this indicate about the
five-factor model?
• Not all researchers agree that there are
just five factors and some argue that
there are just five, but don’t agree on
what they are

• Agreeable people are often more

altruistic and honest. They report less
depression, alcoholism, and career
stability
Arnold Buss and Robert Plomin
The Temperament Theory
• A temperament is an inherited
disposition toward certain behaviors

• Buss and Plomin identified three and

argue that they’re the building blocks
of personality

• Emotionality
• Activity
• Sociability
• The temperaments combine to form • Temperaments are primarily inherited
super traits, such as introversion
• Learning and the environment have a
• Buss and Plomin developed the limited influence
Emotionality, Activity, Sociability
Survey for Adults (EAS) and a version
for children called the Emotionality,
Activity, Sociability Infant
Temperament Survey (EASI)

• Cargivers fill out the EASI

Emotionality, Activity

• Emotionality refers to our level of arousal. It has three components - distress,

fearfulness, and anger
• Activity refers to how energetic a person is. Someone with an active temperament is
likely to talk fast, be fidgety, etc.
• Sociability refers to whether you are shy or enjoy activities with groups
• Twin studies show that these temperaments are largely genetic. Identical twins behave
more like each other than fraternal twins
• The evidence for the stability of temperaments is stronger than the evidence for the
stability of general personality attributes
Bonus material - study this!

• The greater male variability hypothesis

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgIErTULONc
• Men are more likely to be systemisers
and women empathizers (Baron-Cohen,
2018)

• These findings are inherent and even

found in animals
Changing personality

• The self authoring program can be used to enhance your strengths and overcome your
personality weaknesses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa9u5t3C0AI

• Brain networks https://youtu.be/7Cto2yr5NQY?t=401

• Ego and the DMN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mCryG81zzw