
Robert McCrae and Paul Costa developed the Five-factor Model (FFM) which outlines personality as having five broad factors and it was psychologist Lewis Goldberg, who later referred to the FFM model as the ‘Big Five’ factors of personality. Similar to the Big Five Theory, the Primary Traits Model aimed to ascertain whether people scored ‘high’ or ‘low’ when asked questions about their values and lifestyles. Catell also developed ‘’The 16 Primary Traits of Personality Theory model’’ which was based on questionnaires ranging from three data types life data, experimental data and questionnaire data. Factor Analysis is a method used to find correlations in large quantities of data.

Raymond Catell, a British and American psychologist, developed the ‘factor analysis’ approach to psychometric testing. This offers a comparable insight (along with other testers) into how extraverted, open, agreeable, neurotic and conscientious you might be. The scores revealed on Big Five questionnaires are rated on a spectrum of high to low. What do the Big Five scores reveal about you? The scores are based on an overall average and are then calculated for each of the 5 personality traits.
Big 5 theory psychology series#
In more recent tests, individuals are assessed by answering a series of statements about themselves such as: Extraversion (the opposite to introversion), agreeableness and conscientiousness, openness to experiencing new things (or just openness) and neuroticism (emotional stability).

Multiple questionnaires are used to assess each individual’s personality ‘type’ and are scored from high to low for example, someone might be ‘high’ in extraversion but ‘low’ in openness. How are the Big Five Personality Traits assessed? The traits included in the Big Five Theory are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness. Many psychologists believe that there are 5 basic dimensions to personality, commonly referred to as the ‘Big Five’. In the scientific world of psychology, ‘Big Five’ personality trait models such as OCEAN and FFM (five-factor model) is a cluster of personality characteristics that have been assembled and were formulated in the 1980s.
