Conscientiousness: A 'Big Five' Personality Trait

Conscientiousness involves being mindful of those around you, from friends and family, to colleagues and even strangers. A conscientious person will be ... Close× LearnMorePsychology  Downloadpsychologyarticles,BodyLanguage&DreamInterpretationguidesandmore    Downloadarticles,guidesandmore!   SignUp SignIn SignUp PsychologistWorld ToggleNavigation Learnmorepsychology Accessarticles,guides&more SignUp Home Behavior Biological BodyLanguage Cognitive Developmental Dreams Emotion Forums Freud Influence Memory Personality Sleep Stress Tests SignIn  SignUp  MoreAreas MoreAreas: Biological Developmental Forums Influence Sleep Stress Personality Conscientiousness:A'BigFive'PersonalityTrait Personality Conscientiousness:A'BigFive'PersonalityTrait Whatisconscientiousnessandhowdoesthis'BigFive'personalitytraitaffectpeople'sbehavior? Permalink Print   |   Share Tweet StumbleUpon PinIt +1 33 Conscientiousnessisthepersonalitytraitofapersonwhoshowsanawarenessoftheimpactthattheirownbehaviorhasonthosearoundthem.Conscientiouspeoplearegenerallymoregoal-orientedintheirmotives,ambitiousintheiracademiceffortsandatwork,andfeelmorecomfortablewhentheyarewell-preparedandorganized.BigFivePersonalityTraitsExtraversionandIntroversionOpennesstoExperiencePersonalityTraitAgreeablenessNeuroticism:A'BigFive'PersonalityFactor Thetraitisoneofthe‘BigFive’factorspsychologistsusetoevaluateanindividual’spersonality. Researchinrecentdecadeshasanumberofsignificantdifferencesbetweenthepersonalitiesandlifeoutcomesofpeoplewhoareconscientiousness,andthosewhoareconsideredtobeunconscientious. AccordingtoastudypublishedinthejournalFrontiersinPsychology,individualswithhigherlevelsofthetraittendtobemoreempathetictowardsotherpeople(Melchersetal,2016). Apreviousstudy,ledbypsychologistHowardFriedman,evenfoundacorrelationbetweenconscientiousnessandlifeexpectancy.Participantswhodemonstratedhigherlevelsofconscientiousaschildrenwereobservedtoenjoylongerlifespansthanothersubjects(Friedmanetal,1993). WhatisConscientiousness? Conscientiousnessinvolvesbeingmindfulofthosearoundyou,fromfriendsandfamily,tocolleaguesandevenstrangers.Aconscientiouspersonwillbeconsciousofthefirstimpressionthattheymakeonotherswhentheyareintroducedtonewpeople,forinstance. Theyalsofeelasenseofdutytowardsothers.Theyareawareoftheeffectthattheirwordsandactionscanhaveonpeopleineverydaysituations. Conscientiouspeoplewillthereforetakecarenottoinadvertentlyoffendorupsetothersbyeithertheirwordsoractions. Asaresultoftheircarefulbehavior,conscientiouspeoplehavebeenfoundtobelesslikelytobeinvolvedindrivingaccidentsthanthosewithlessconscientiouspersonalitytraits(ArthurandGraziano,1996). Apersonwhoisconscientiousismostateasewhentheyfeelthattheyareorganized.Theyprefertheirsurroundings-theirbedroom,deskoroffice-tobetidyandpresentable. Theirorganizedtendenciesalsoextendtootherareasoflife:aconscientiouspersonwilloftenbecarefultobereliable,andtobeontimeforimportantmeetingsandappointments.Theyarekeentokeeptotheirschedule,oftenmaintainingadiaryandmakingplansforthefuture,aswellasbudgetingforeventswellaheadoftime. Goal-OrientedBehavior Thebehaviorofconscientiouspeopleisoftendrivenbytheirpersonalgoals.Theyusetheirowninitiativetosetgoals,andthenconcentratetheirenergytowardsachievingthem. Thiscantranslateintohigherambitions-inacademiaatschool,strivingtoachievetargetgrades-andinfindingtheirdesiredcareerlaterinlife. Inordertoachievetheirgoals,aconscientiouspersonwillbewillingtobehard-working,devotingmuchoftheirattentionandenergytowardsaspecificaspiration.Theyaremorewillingtoperseverethroughdifficultcircumstances,andmayassumethereputationamongstcolleaguesofbeinga‘workaholic’. Whilsttiring,thisgoal-orientedbehaviorcanpayhighrewards.Forexample,inaUniversityofIowastudyoftheperformanceofsalespeople,astudyfoundthatconscientiousemployeesachievedahighervolumeofsalesthantheirunconscientiousco-workers(Barricketal,1993).  Conscientiousnessalsoleadspeopletocareaboutthepotentialconsequencesoftheiractions.Theyprefertodeliberateovertheoptionsavailabletothemratherthanmakingimpulsivedecisions.Aconscientiouspersonmaybesloweratmakingchoices,butheorshewillbemoreconfidentthatthedecisionthattheyhavemadewascorrect. LowConscientiousness Aswithotherpersonalityfactors,conscientiousnessismeasuredonacontinuum,rangingfromlow,moderatetohighlevelsofthetrait.Peoplewhoareunconscientioustendtobemoredisorganized.Peoplewithlowlevelsofconscientiousnesstraitalsotendtoengageinimpulsivebehavior. Insteadofthinkingthroughanactiontoitsconclusion,anunconscientiouspersonmayactspontaneously.Forinstance,whereconscientiouspeoplewouldweighupthebenefitsandcostsofbuyinganewcar,anunconscientiouspersonwholikesacarmaygoaheadandpurchaseit,butregrettheiractionastheyfindthemselvesindebtlateron. Unconscientiouspeopleareoftenmorerelaxedabouttime-keeping-theirunpunctualitycanleavethemlateforworkormissingimportantappointments.Theyalsodisplaylessgoal-orientedbehaviorandarelessdriventosucceedthantheirconscientiouscounterparts. Origins Conscientiousnessisa‘BigFive’factorofpersonality,alongwithotherbroadfactors-openness,extraversion,agreeablenessandneuroticism.Thesefactorsfollowthelexicalapproachtopersonality,whichproposesthatpeoplenaturallycreatetermsforcommontraitssothattheycandescribeanddiscussthem. Sincethemid-20thCentury,psychologistshaveattemptedtounderstandpersonalitydifferencesusingwithreferencetothesepersonalitytraits. In1936,GordonAllportandHenryOdbertproposedaninventoryofaround4,500terms,derivedfromWebster’sNewInternationalDictionary,describingvariouspersonalitytraits. Subsequentattemptshavebeenmadetoproducemoreconcise,workabletraitinventories.PsychologistRaymondCattellproducedtheSixteenPersonalityFactorQuestionnaire(16PF)inthe1940s,whilstHansandSybilEysenckdevelopedthePENmodelofpersonality,whichmeasured3keytraits. Inrecentyears,thesefivefactors,whichincludeconscientiousness,havebecomeabenchmarkforassessingpersonalitydifferences. Thefactorshavebeenusedinanumberofmodelsofpersonality,includingLewisGoldberg’sBigFive,andRobertMcCraeandPaulCosta’sFiveFactorModel.Eachofthefivefactorscoversabroadarrayoffacets-traitsdescribingmorespecificaspectsofpersonality. Conscientiousnessiscommonlyassessedusingself-reportquestionnaires.Apersontakingthequestionnaireisaskedtoratetheextenttowhichanumberofstatementortermsdescribehisorherpersonality. Inventoriesofsuchquestions,whichareusedtomeasureconscientiousnessandotherfactors,includeCostaandMcCrae’sRevisedNEOPersonalityInventory(NEOPI-R) andtheInternationalPersonalityItemPool(McCraeandCosta,1987). WhatFactorsInfluenceConscientiousness? Bothbiologicalandenvironmentaldifferenceshavebeenfoundbetweenconscientiouspeopleandthoseexhibitinglowerlevelsofthetrait. PersonalitypsychologistsRobertMcCraeandPaulCosta,whohaveleadresearchintotheFiveFactormodelofpersonality,foundthattheinteractionschildrenhavewiththeirparentsorcaregiverscanaffectpersonalitytraitslaterinlife. Theysurveyedasampleofadults,measuringkeypersonalitytraitsalongwiththeirmemoriesoftheirparents’behaviorwhentheywereyounger. Theresearchersfoundthatchildrenwhoseparentswereaffectionatetowardsthemtendedtoscorehigheronconscientiousnessthanparticipantswhoseparentsweremoredistant(McCraeandCosta,1988). However,furtherresearchhassuggestedabiologicalbasisforsomepersonalitytraits,includingconscientiousness. AstudyoftheBigFivepersonalitytraitsamongstmonozygoticanddizygotictwinsinVancouver,Canadafoundthatconscientiousnessmaybe,tosomedegree,inheritedthroughthegenesofourparents(Jangetal,1996). MRIscanshavealsoidentifiedalinkbetweenbrainstructureandconscientiousness.AstudypublishedinSocialCognitiveandAffectiveNeurosciencein2017foundthatthebrainsofparticipantswhoweremoreconscientioushada“thickercortexandsmallerareaandfoldinginprefrontalregions”(Riccellietal,2017;license). Yet,conscientiousnessdoesnotnecessarilyremainconstant.Theextenttowhichweexperienceitcanvarythroughourlives. Accordingtowhatpsychologiststermthe‘maturityprinciple’,traitssuchasconscientiousnesstendtoincreaseaswegrowolder.Asidefromaslightdecreasebetweenearlyandmid-adolescence,wegrowmoreconscientiouswithage(VandenAkker,2014). Share: ShareTweetStumbleUponPinIt+1Citations ReferencesMelchers,M.C.,Li,M.,Haas,B.W.,Reuter,M.,Bischoff,L.andMontag,C.(2016).SimilarPersonalityPatternsAreAssociatedwithEmpathyinFourDifferentCountries.FrontiersinPsychology.Retrievedfromhttp://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00290/full.Friedman,H.S.,Tucker,J.S.,Tomlinson-Keasey,C.,Schwartz,J.E.,Wingard,D.L.andCriqui,M.H.(1993).DoesChildhoodPersonalityPredictLongevity?JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology.65(1).176-185.Arthur,W.andGraziano,W.G.(1996).Thefive-factormodel,conscientiousness,anddrivingaccidentinvolvement.JournalofPersonality.64(3).593-618.Barrick,M.R.,Mount,M.K.andStrauss,J.P.(1993).ConscientiousnessandPerformanceofSalesRepresentatives:TestoftheMediatingEffectsofGoalSetting.JournalofAppliedPsychology.78(5).715-722.McCrae,R.R.andCosta,P.T.(1987).ValidationoftheFive-FactorModelofPersonalityAcrossInstrumentsandObservers.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology.52(1).81-90.McCrae,R.R.andCosta,P.T.(1988).RecalledParent-ChildRelationsandAdultPersonality.JournalofPersonality.56(2).417-434.Jang,K.L.,Livesley,W.J.andVernon,P.A.(1996).HeritabilityoftheBigFivePersonalityDimensionsandTheirFacets:ATwinStudy.JournalofPersonality.64(3).Riccelli,R.,Toschi,N.,Nigro,S.,Terracciano,A.andPassamonti,L.(2017).SocialCognitiveandAffectiveNeuroscience.2017nsw175.Retrievedfromhttps://academic.oup.com/scan/article/doi/10.1093/scan/nsw175/2952683/Surface-based-morphometry-reveals-the.License:https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.VandenAkker,A.L.,Deković,M.,Asscher,J.andPrinzie,P.(2014).Mean-LevelPersonalityDevelopmentAcrossChildhoodandAdolescence:ATemporaryDefianceoftheMaturityPrincipleandBidirectionalAssociationsWithParenting.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology.107(4).736-750. 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