1. Agreeableness:

Compassion and Politeness

2. Conscientiousness:

Industriousness and Orderliness

3. Extraversion:

Enthusiasm and Assertiveness

4. Neuroticism:

Withdrawal and Volatility

5. Openness to Experience:

Openness and Intellect

Plasticity and Stability – Peterson

Everybody’s personality is composed of two higher-order traits. 

The first higher-order trait is known as plasticity, and can be thought of as the tendency to be flexible, exploratory, curious, and quick to adapt. 

The second higher-order trait is known as stability, and can be thought of as the tendency to be structured, organized, emotionally stable and focused.

Plasticity, the first higher-order trait, can be further broken down into two sub-traits: 

1. Extraversion (the tendency to be enthusiastic and dominant) and 

2. Openness (the tendency to be open-minded and intelligent).

Extraversion (Outgoing vs Reserved)

Sociable

Active

Adventurousness

Positive

Excitement-Seeking

Gregarious

Openness (Original vs Traditional)

Fantasy-prone

Aesthetically-minded

Philosophical

Creative

Intuitive

Intellectual

Stability, the second higher-order trait, can be further broken down into three sub-traits:

1. Conscientiousness (the tendency to be orderly and industrious/hardworking),

2. Emotional Stability (lack of negative emotional volatility and the tendency to withdraw), and 

3. Agreeableness (politeness and compassion, as opposed to belligerence or aggression).

Conscientiousness (Conscientious vs Carefree)

• Competent
• Orderly
• Decisive
• Achievement-oriented
• Self-disciplined
• Deliberate
• Industrious

Emotional Stability (Calm vs Nervous)

• Anxious (reversed)
• Angry (reversed)
• Hostile (reversed)
• Depressed (reversed)
• Self-Conscious (reversed)
• Vulnerable (reversed)

Agreeableness (Agreeable vs Assertive/Aggressive)

• Warm
• Trusting
• Straightforward
• Altruistic
• Modest
• Compliant
• Tender-minded
• Nice

Impact of Personality Traits

There are advantages and disadvantages to each trait, particularly at the extremes. Extremely sociable, extraverted people can be dominant and impulsive, while introverted, quiet people can easily become isolated and depressed. Extremely open people can be scattered and overwhelmed by their own thoughts and ideas, while closed-minded people may become narrow and inflexible. Exceptionally conscientious people can be obsessive about order, judgemental and rigid, while their more carefree counterparts may be messy, undisciplined and careless. People very high in emotional stability may engage in risky, dangerous behavior, while those who are more neurotic can become so preoccupied by anxiety and pain that they are unable to function. Finally, extremely agreeable people may never stand up for themselves, while those who are too assertive can be aggressive, callous and bullying.

Change

Personality is reasonably stable over the lifespan, and is also powerfully influenced by hereditary or genetic factors. Despite this, personality can broaden or even transform. As people age, for example, they tend to become more agreeable, conscientious and emotionally stable.

Changing personality means changing habits of action, presumption and perception. Personality change requires the formulation of clear future goals, as well as discipline and practice. People who are too agreeable can learn to stand up for themselves. Disorderly people can become more conscientious. Introverted people can become socially skilled. People who experience paralyzing levels of negative emotion can learn to explore.

Extraversion/Introversion

Select Relevant Items

Please select habits that apply to you. You can select up to 10 habits, and are required to select at least 2. Be over-inclusive. Don’t worry if some of the bad habit descriptions do not really apply, as you will get to specify the most typical habits later, when you make your final fault selection, prior to writing.

•  Sometimes act without thinking
•  Sometimes talk too loudly
•  Can spend too much money
•  May exaggerate the truth
•  May dominate the conversation excessively
•  Find it difficult to spend time alone
•  Could be a better listener
•  May spend too much time pursuing fun and excitement
•  May attract too much attention to myself
•  Do not let the quieter people have a chance to talk
•  Try too hard to be the center of attention
•  Can be too theatrical or dramatic
•  May be too dependent on the admiration or attention of others
•  Can be a little grandiose
•  Talk about myself a lot
•  Often feel uncomfortable around others
•  Keep in the background
•  Have too little to say
•  Lose opportunities because I am too isolated
•  Am too quiet around strangers
•  Find it difficult to approach others
•  Don’t laugh much or have fun
•  Bottle up my feelings
•  Am a very private person
•  Wait for others to lead the way
•  Feel drained by social interactions
•  Am not very enthusiastic
•  Could be more socially skilled
•  Have a difficult time starting conversations
•  Have a social circle that is too small

Openness/Traditionalism

Select Relevant Items

Please select habits that apply to you. You can select up to 10 habits, and are required to select at least 2. Be over-inclusive. Don’t worry if some of the bad habit descriptions do not really apply, as you will get to specify the most typical habits later, when you make your final fault selection, prior to writing.

•  Pursue too many activities at the same time
•  Am interested in so many things that I don’t know what to focus on
•  Have a hard time planning for the future because I am interested in everything
•  Am sometimes attracted by ideas that are radical but have not been thought through
•  Sometimes see meaning in things that probably isn’t there
•  Jump around too much from topic to topic when I am talking to people
•  Have a hard time making up my mind because I can always see all the sides of an argument
•  Am so interested in creative activities that it is hard to concentrate on things that are practical
•  Can become possessed by an idea
•  Daydream too much
•  Sometimes every thought I have immediately suggests an overwhelming number of ideas
•  Have had experiences or thoughts that were strange enough to frighten me
•  Have had a hard time forming a clear identity
•  See connections between things too easily
•  Have done crazy things just because I was curious about what might happen
•  Am good at a too-narrow range of things
•  Am seldom interested in abstract, philosophical ideas
•  Avoid sophisticated fiction and stories
•  Do not attend movies or plays
•  Am unimaginative
•  Do not care for change
•  Do not involve myself in creative activities
•  Do not like to read challenging material
•  Do not really understand or value art
•  Seldom seek out new experiences
•  Try to avoid complex people
•  Will not probe deeply into a subject
•  Am unlikely to initiate a new project
•  Tend to think that creative people are strange
•  Always do things the same way once I have learned how to do them

Conscientiousness/Carelessness

Select Relevant Items

Please select habits that apply to you. You can select up to 10 habits, and are required to select at least 2. Be over-inclusive. Don’t worry if some of the bad habit descriptions do not really apply, as you will get to specify the most typical habits later, when you make your final fault selection, prior to writing.

•  Am too perfectionistic
•  Get obsessed with details and lose the big picture
•  Insist that everything be in perfect order
•  Dislike deviation from the rules, even when it is necessary
•  Have to plan everything
•  Seriously dislike having my routine or schedule upset
•  Cannot stand to be late for an appointment
•  Feel that I am being unproductive if I relax
•  Can be very judgemental
•  Get upset at myself when I misplace something
•  Will work on a project beyond what is useful and necessary
•  Believe that I have to be flawless
•  Always believe that failure is a consequence of insufficient personal effort
•  Cannot tolerate having to finish a task imperfectly or quickly
•  Can be contemptuous of other people and of myself
•  Do things in a half-way manner
•  Don’t like to tidy up
•  Find it difficult to get down to work
•  Make a mess of things
•  Leave my belongings around
•  Surf the web or watch TV or waste time in other ways even if I have a project due
•  Am without real ambition
•  Neglect my duties
•  Frequently make excuses
•  Often procrastinate
•  Waste my time
•  Am sometimes willing to bend the truth to get out of an obligation
•  Feel unmotivated to complete my work
•  Have few clearly defined goals
•  Have no stable daily routine for sleeping or eating

Emotional Stability/Low Stress Tolerance

Select Relevant Items

Please select habits that apply to you. You can select up to 10 habits, and are required to select at least 2. Be over-inclusive. Don’t worry if some of the bad habit descriptions do not really apply, as you will get to specify the most typical habits later, when you make your final fault selection, prior to writing.

•  Am sometimes not afraid of things I should be afraid of
•  Have found myself in dangerous situations because I was not paying attention
•  Might have done fewer stupid things if I felt shame more often
•  Things that should bother me don’t seem to
•  Am easy-going to a fault
•  Sometimes think if I was more worried about things I might do better in life
•  Don’t appear to learn as well from my mistakes as others do
•  Can do careless or inappropriate things without seeming to experience guilt
•  Don’t worry about things that should bother me
•  Don’t pay enough attention to costs and potential future dangers
•  Am sometimes too calm about things
•  Am often too optimistic
•  Criticism, even when warranted, does not seem to affect me
•  Often take counterproductive or unnecessary risks
•  Do not seem to benefit from negative feedback
•  Am easily disturbed and upset
•  Am frequently irritable or angry
•  Am too moody and emotionally unstable
•  Am too self-conscious for my own good
•  Blow little things out of proportion
•  Feel ashamed of my body
•  Feel hurt often, even by little things
•  Feel inadequate when introduced to new people
•  Feel too fearful, afraid and anxious
•  Compare myself unfavorably to other people
•  Get stressed out easily
•  Grumble and complain about things
•  Have a hard time calming down after becoming upset
•  Let my fears stop me from doing things I want to do
•  Often feel depressed and blue

Agreeable/Assertive

Select Relevant Items

Please select habits that apply to you. You can select up to 10 habits, and are required to select at least 2. Be over-inclusive. Don’t worry if some of the bad habit descriptions do not really apply, as you will get to specify the most typical habits later, when you make your final fault selection, prior to writing.

•  Avoid conflict even when it is necessary
•  Find myself making excuses for other’s inappropriate behavior
•  Cannot negotiate for myself very well
•  Will sacrifice my own feelings for the comfort of others
•  Can bottle up my feelings until I become resentful
•  Can be overly sentimental
•  Am polite to a fault
•  Feel sorry for people who may not deserve it
•  Find myself too upset after I have a conflict with someone
•  Would probably help me if I could be more competitive
•  Am sometimes dominated by other people
•  Don’t know how to deal with mean people
•  Trust people too easily
•  Find myself believing that people are basically good, even when there is evidence to the contrary
•  Am loyal to a fault
•  Have a hot temper
•  Can be indifferent to the feelings of others
•  Am not interested in other people’s problems
•  Am too suspicious of other people’s motives
•  Will charm people to get my way
•  Can be detached and cold when others are hurt and upset
•  Am quite critical of others
•  Don’t generally show gratitude
•  Can be vengeful
•  Am willing to manipulate others for personal gain
•  Infrequently help others
•  Insult people
•  Can be aggressive and domineering
•  Tend to always put myself first
•  Could be better at cooperating

HABIT SELECTION

Here is a complete listing of your selected faults:

Please look at this listing. Please select a set of faults that you would like to work on improving. Click the faults that you think are most typical of you, or are most important to you. We recommend selecting 6 to 9 items, but you may select a greater or lesser number. Remember, however, that you will be asked to write for about 10 minutes for each fault you select. When you have selected the most typical or important faults, click Next. After you have finished this section, you will be asked to write about how this fault affected you negatively in the past, what you could have done differently, and how you could address this in the future.

•  Sometimes act without thinking
•  Sometimes talk too loudly
•  May exaggerate the truth
•  Could be a better listener
•  May spend too much time pursuing fun and excitement
•  May attract too much attention to myself
•  Can be too theatrical or dramatic
•  May be too dependent on the admiration or attention of others
•  Can be a little grandiose
•  Pursue too many activities at the same time
•  Am interested in so many things that I don’t know what to focus on
•  Am sometimes attracted by ideas that are radical but have not been thought through
•  Sometimes see meaning in things that probably isn’t there
•  Jump around too much from topic to topic when I am talking to people
•  Am so interested in creative activities that it is hard to concentrate on things that are practical
•  See connections between things too easily
•  Will not probe deeply into a subject
•  Do things in a half-way manner
•  Find it difficult to get down to work
•  Surf the web or watch TV or waste time in other ways even if I have a project due
•  Waste my time
•  Have few clearly defined goals
•  Have no stable daily routine for sleeping or eating
•  Am sometimes not afraid of things I should be afraid of
•  Have found myself in dangerous situations because I was not paying attention
•  Things that should bother me don’t seem to
•  Sometimes think if I was more worried about things I might do better in life
•  Don’t appear to learn as well from my mistakes as others do
•  Can do careless or inappropriate things without seeming to experience guilt
•  Don’t worry about things that should bother me
•  Am often too optimistic
•  Often take counterproductive or unnecessary risks
•  Find myself making excuses for other’s inappropriate behavior
•  Cannot negotiate for myself very well
•  Will sacrifice my own feelings for the comfort of others
•  Can bottle up my feelings until I become resentful
•  Find myself too upset after I have a conflict with someone
•  Trust people too easily
•  Find myself believing that people are basically good, even when there is evidence to the contrary
•  Am loyal to a fault
•  Could be better at cooperating