Explain what is meant by a personality trait, and describe the five-factor model of personality

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Personality refers to an individual's unique constellation of consistent behavioral traits. The concept of personality is used to explain the stability in a person's behavior over time and across situations (consistency) and the behavioral differences among people reacting to the same situation (distinctiveness). A personality trait is a durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations; adjectives like honest, moody, impulsive, and excitable describe dispositions that represent personality traits.

McCrae and Costa have arrived at an even simpler, five-factor model of personality:
High extraversion scores signify that a person is outgoing, sociable, upbeat, friendly, assertive, and gregarious. Some trait models refer to this as positive emotionality.

High neuroticism scores signify that a person is anxious, hostile, self-conscious, insecure, and vulnerable. Some models call this negative emotionality.

Openness to experience is associated with curiosity, flexibility, vivid fantasy, imaginativeness, artistic sensitivity, and unconventional attitudes.

Agreeableness is associated with people who are sympathetic, trusting, cooperative, modest, and straightforward; may have its roots in temperament.

Conscientious people are diligent, disciplined, well organized, punctual, and dependable. Some models refer to this trait as constraint; related to high productivity in a variety of occupational areas.