Know Thyself Part 2: The Big Five Personality Traits
- thepushingpawn
- Aug 22, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Hi again!
In Part 1 of the Know Thyself series, we explored the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, which looks at our individual unique mix of intelligences. Now, here’s another tool that can help you understand yourself better: the Big Five Personality Traits. It is all about your personality – how you think, feel, and act in life.
What Are the Big Five?
The Big Five is also called the OCEAN model. It is a personality theory that breaks down who you are into five major traits, and each individual is somewhere on a spectrum for each trait.
1. Openness to Experience
Are you curious, imaginative, and open to new ideas and experiences?
High: You love trying new things and thinking outside the box.
Low: You prefer routines and familiar experiences.
2. Conscientiousness
Are you organized, reliable, and goal-oriented?
High: You’re a planner, a list-maker, and you get stuff done.
Low: You might be more spontaneous or laid-back (which could be a good thing!).
3. Extraversion
Do you get energy from being around people?
High: You’re outgoing, talkative, and feel energizes by social settings.
Low (Introversion): You enjoy quiet time, deep convos, and solo activities. Note: Introverts can still enjoy getting together with people, but they usually need to recharge batteries afterwards by spending time alone.
4. Agreeableness
Are you kind, empathetic, and cooperative?
High: You’re a team player and care deeply about others’ feelings.
Low: You might be more direct, competitive, or skeptical.
5. Neuroticism
How emotionally stable are you?
High: You may feel anxious, moody, or sensitive to stress.
Low: You’re calm, chill, and bounce back easily from setbacks.
It’s a Spectrum
An important thing to remember: you’re not just “high” or “low” in a trait – you fall somewhere along a spectrum.
For example:
You might be somewhat extroverted – energized by people, but still need alone time.
You could be moderately conscientious – overall organized in school, but messy at home (Put those dirty socks away! Now!).
You might score low in neuroticism, but still get nervous before big events.
This means:
No one is 100% or 0% of any trait.
Your personality is a blend of where along the spectrum you fall for each of the five traits.
Where you stand on a trait spectrum can change over time as you grow, learn, and experience life
What Does This Mean?
Understanding your Big Five profile can help you:
Understand your strengths and work on personal growth in areas that you need to improve.
Example: Are you very responsible and organized but have challenge adapting to new environments? Then consider working on the challenge by reminding yourself to be more open and deliberately stepping out of your comfort zone from time to time. Then, see what happens.
Improve your relationships with friends, family, and teachers.
Example: If your English teacher is the type who’s on top of things and meticulous with details, then most likely they’re high on conscientiousness. You happen to be the laid-back type? Well, you’d better keep that side of you in check. Be punctual and organized and double check your spelling, grammar, formatting, citations, and every detail about the assignment requirements before turning in your work. Otherwise? Well, you'll find out through your report card.
Choose a career path that fits your natural personality.
Example: If you happen to be high on neurosis, it may not be a great idea to pursue a career as a police officer or a neural surgeon.
How to Find Your Big Five Traits
You can take a free Big Five test online (https://bigfive-test.com/). It usually takes 5–10 minutes and gives you a score for each trait.
Once you have your results, ask yourself:
Does this feel accurate?
How do these traits show up in my daily life – How do some of these traits help me? How do some of these traits bring challenges?
What kind of environments help me thrive?
What areas do I need to work on to grow into a stronger, well-adjusted person?
This reflection will give you clarity in assessing situations and making decisions.
References:
Criteria Corp. (n.d.). What are the Big Five personality traits (Five Factor Model)? https://www.criteriacorp.com/resources/glossary/big-five-personality-traits
Lim, A. G. Y. (2025, March 20). Big Five personality traits: The 5-factor model of personality. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/big-five-personality.html
McCrae, R. R., & John, O. P. (1992). An introduction to the five-factor model and its applications. Journal of personality, 60(2), 175–215. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1992.tb00970.x
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