Big 5 Personality Test (2024)

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The Big 5 personality test is one of the most commonly used personality tests out there. One of the reasons why is because it has been highly respected in the field of psychology for decades. In this article, we’ll explain what the Big 5 personality test is, who created it, and if it’s a reliable test. Let’s dive in.

Big 5 Personality Test (1)

What Is The Big 5 Personality Test?

First off, what is the Big 5 personality test? Also known as the Big 5 personality traits test, it is not one specific test, but has many variations that test for the Big 5 personality traits. The 5 personality traits are commonly used in academic psychology as a popular model for understanding personalities.

Is the Big 5 test reliable? Theorists say yes. The Big 5 personality traits are respected in the field of psychology. As long as the test you take hews closely to the understanding of these traits, you can be confident that it has the backing of decades of study behind it.

Big 5 Personality Traits

According to researchers, human personality can be divided into 5 categories. Each category represents the whole range of experience in relation to that category, and every person is somewhere on the spectrum for each. For example, for the category “openness,” you can have high or low openness, or somewhere in between.
The big 5 personality traits are:

  • Openness: A person with high openness is creative and open to new experiences. A person with low openness is, well, the opposite.
  • Conscientiousness: A person with high conscientiousness is organized, likes to be prepared, and pays attention to detail. A person with low conscientiousness is messy, dislikes structure, and tends to procrastinate.
  • Extraversion: A person with high extraversion likes to be around people (and meet new ones) and tends to speak before thinking. A person with low extraversion enjoys solitude and has to work harder to make conversation.
  • Agreeableness: A person with high agreeableness is empathetic and cares about being helpful to others. A person with low agreeableness has a lower interest in others’ feelings.
  • Neuroticism: A person with high neuroticism tends toward anxiety and gets upset easily. A person with low neuroticism has a stable emotional state and rarely gets anxious.

How is the Big 5 Personality Test Connected to Jordan Peterson?

If you’ve recently heard of the Big 5 personality test, Jordan Peterson’s name might have been attached to it. Peterson, a Canadian professor of psychology, has attracted both attention and criticism in recent years for his popularization of psychological theories including the Big 5 personality traits.

Whether you agree or disagree with Peterson’s theories, you can rest easy here. Peterson has written about the Big 5 personality test and further developed it with his Big 5 aspects scale, but Peterson did not create the model. It was in widespread use before Peterson started using it.

If not Jordan Peterson, who created the Big 5 personality test model? It originated in 1949 with the research of D.W. Fiske, and has been continuously developed by others in subsequent decades.

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What Work Culture is the Big 5 Personality Test Suited for?

The Big 5 personality test model is viewed as a reliable tool for workplaces. Not only is it reliable, but there has been extensive study into how employers can use it. According to one study, employers found that conscientiousness and agreeableness were the most important qualities in the workplace. Employers can learn about each category, decide which is most important for them, and use the test as a screening tool for new employees.

If you’re wondering what the best Big 5 personality test is for a workplace setting, you have many choices. We recommend this one from Truity.

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  • Mental Models: What Are They?
  • Leadership: Where Everything Rises and Falls
  • Pyramid Principle Applied

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Big 5 Personality Test (2024)

FAQs

How accurate is the Big 5 personality test? ›

Is the Big 5 test reliable? Theorists say yes. The Big 5 personality traits are respected in the field of psychology. As long as the test you take hews closely to the understanding of these traits, you can be confident that it has the backing of decades of study behind it.

What is the score range for the Big Five personality test? ›

Each personality trait will have a score between zero and forty.

How to interpret Big Five results? ›

Your results are presented on a scale from 1 to 10. This is a standard scale that reflects the normal distribution of the psychological trait in the population. In easier words, your score can tell how you compare to others. If you have a score of 5, it means that 50% of people scored lower, and 50% higher than you.

What is the weakness of Big 5 personality test? ›

Cons of the Big Five

Limited practical applications: While the Big Five model can be helpful in understanding individual differences and team dynamics, it may have limited practical applications in specific contexts, such as clinical psychology or counseling, where more specialized models may be more appropriate.

Is the Myers-Briggs bogus? ›

The short answer: They are not very real. The longer answer: I got into this a bit in my personality-change Atlantic article, and will do so more in my book, but the Myers-Briggs isn't considered a reliable personality metric by most psychologists today.

What is the most accurate Big Five test? ›

If you're looking for the gold standard in Big Five questionnaires, the NEO PI-R is your destination. This inventory is the original, comprehensive personality assessment developed by Paul T. Costa and Robert R. McCrae, the pioneering researchers behind the Big Five framework.

What is the rarest personality in the Big Five? ›

INFJ. INFJ, also known as the advocate, counselor, or idealist, is the rarest type of personality in the general population. It represents about 1.5% of the general population in the United States.

Do psychologists use the Big 5 personality test? ›

In the field of psychology, the five dimensions (the 'Big Five') are commonly used in the research and study of personality. For several decades, these factors have been used to measure, and develop a better understanding of individual differences in personality.

How is BFI score calculated? ›

It consists of 44 short phrases relating to person's own personality and responses have a five point scale, where 1 means disagree strongly and 5 agrees strongly. There is a total of 5 domains when scoring: Extraversion (8 questions) Agreeableness (9 questions)

What is an average neuroticism score? ›

Neuroticism is defined by how sensitive, emotional and prone to worry an individual may be. Neuroticism scores range from 10-50. Scores indicating low neuroticism are between 10 and 24, scores indicating moderate neuroticism are between 25 and 35, and scores indicating high neuroticism are between 36 and 50.

Why is the Big 5 test good? ›

The Big Five Personality Test in application

Many prefer this over other tests because it provides an accurate evaluation of the individual's character. Additionally, the test can help individuals gain a level of self-awareness, which is important for developing their leadership skills.

What is the average openness on the Big Five? ›

The average percentage of openness to experience on the Big Five personality test can vary among individuals and populations, but it typically falls around 50%, representing a moderate level of openness. This trait measures one's receptiveness to new ideas, experiences, and creativity.

What is the most accurate personality test? ›

Any personality test can be fun and intriguing. But from a scientific perspective, tools such as the Big Five Inventory (and others based on the five-factor model) and those used by psychological scientists, such as the MMPI, are likely to provide the most reliable and valid results.

What are highly neurotic people good at? ›

What are neurotic people good at? While neuroticism can cause problems, neurotic people also tend to be more creative. 21 Because they also tend to spend more time thinking about many things, including what others are thinking and feeling, they also tend to have a great deal of emotional depth and empathy.

What is the most accepted personality theory? ›

The Five Factor Model is the most widely accepted trait theory today. The five factors are openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. These traits occur along a continuum.

What is the range of the BFI score? ›

The BFI consists of 44 items which are rated on a five-point likert scale from 1 (disagree a lot) to 5 (agree a lot).

What is a normal neuroticism score? ›

Neuroticism scores range from 10-50. Scores indicating low neuroticism are between 10 and 24, scores indicating moderate neuroticism are between 25 and 35, and scores indicating high neuroticism are between 36 and 50. Individuals who are high on neuroticism tend to be sensitive, apprehensive and prone to worrying.

How is a personality test scored? ›

Since a personality quiz has no definite right or wrong answers, the result type is a bit different. The points are assigned based on the answer option selected by the quiz taker. Each answer option is associated with a personality (the result type) that gets points for its selection.

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