This post was developed via a partnership with BetterHelp.
Perhaps you are finding that there is an aspect of your personality that stands in the way of the kind of life you want. Maybe it impacts you in the workplace, creates conflict in your relationships, or has negative implications on your mental health. Sometimes, it may feel like our personality is a fixed part of us. But is that true? Is there anything we can do to improve upon an aspect of our personality that may not be serving us? In this article, we will discuss the Big Five Personality traits and explore what the research indicates about our ability to alter our personality characteristics.
The Big Five Personality Traits
According to psychologists, one of the most reliable ways to measure personality is the Big Five. While many other personality assessments (such as Myers Briggs) place an individual into one category or another, the Big Five acknowledges that traits typically exist on a spectrum- and people often find themselves somewhere in the middle. The Big Five personality traits are as follows:
- Openness to experience: willingness to try new things and explore new ideas. Someone who has a high level of openness is likely creative and values new experiences, while someone with a low level may prefer consistency and sticking with what they know.
- Neuroticism: characterized by a tendency to experience negative emotions. A person who has a high level of neuroticism is more prone to anxiety, sadness, anger, stress, and self-consciousness. On the other hand, someone with a low level of neuroticism is more likely to maintain emotional stability and remain centered, even in the midst of challenging circumstances.
- Conscientiousness: generally refers to displaying impulse control in order to meet goals. An individual with a high level of conscientiousness tends to be self-disciplined, organized and thoughtful in their actions. Someone with a lower level of conscientiousness might be more impulsive or resistant to rigid structure.
- Extraversion: the tendency to seek out social interaction in the environment. Someone who is more extraverted generates energy from being around others, and is generally more comfortable being in crowds, speaking up, and meeting new people. One with a lower level of extraversion may find social situations somewhat draining, and find that they require solitude in order to restore their energy.
- Agreeableness: describes how people relate to others. People with a high level of agreeableness tend to be caring, sensitive to the needs of others, cooperative and trustworthy. Those with a lower level of agreeableness may be antagonistic in their interactions with others or come off as uncaring at times.
For more articles and information about personality, visit BetterHelp.
Can You Change Your Personality?
Over the years, experts have believed personality to be “fixed” for the most part once an individual reaches adulthood. They thought that a person may exhibit small changes in personality as they grow and age, but generally not drastic shifts. However, new studies have emerged that challenge these notions.
A team of researchers led by Nathan Hudson set out to assess which of the Big Five Personality traits would be easiest and most challenging to change over time. They started by issuing a Big Five personality assessment to 377 undergraduate students at the University of Michigan. The students were then asked which of their personality traits they would most like to change. Each week, they were sent a ‘challenge’ aimed to help facilitate that characteristic (for example, those who wanted to increase their level of extroversion were asked to initiate conversation with two new people).
The researchers found that over the course of the study, agreeableness showed the most improvement. There was also a notable difference in the students’ level of neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness. This study suggests that there are actions we can take to develop the traits that are in alignment with who we want to become. Even small steps can move us closer to becoming the best version of ourselves.
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