Personal Characteristics in Relation to the Five-Factor Model - Essay Example

One of the more popular and heavily researched trait theories of personalities is the Five – factor Model of personality which attempts to explain a majority of an individual’s behavior on the basis of the extent to which the individual displays each of five traits (Ewen, 1998; McCrae, & Costa, 2008). For this paper, I shall attempt to explain aspects of my personality through a discussion about the development of three of these traits. The five Factor model, or the Big-five Model as it is often called, considers five traits significant to understanding personality and explaining behavior.

these traits are – Openness to experience, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Neuroticism (Ewen, 1998; Matthews, Deary, & Whiteman, 2003). Openness to experience is a trait that explores the extent to which an individual is open to novel ideas and the extent to which they display curiosity and attempt to explore new activities. Extraversion is the extent to which an individual is stimulated by the company of others (McCrae, & Costa, 2008), and the extent to which they seek out others. . for this paper, I shall be concentrating on the traits of Openness to experience, Extraversion and Agreeableness.

I believe that I would get a high score for openness to experience and agreeableness, and a moderate one on Extraversion. Early Development I do believe that my early childhood has influenced the development of my personality traits to a great extent. As a young child I was a highly curious child, and would ask a number of questions. I was also seen as a pleasant child who readily interacted with others, and got along with other children including siblings and friends. I am told that I was a healthy child, and thus, my parents would feel secure in allowing and encouraging me to eat different things at a young age (McCrae, & Costa, 2003).

They also belonged to a close-knit community, and thus, I was exposed to non-family members as a very early age, and was regularly taken out to community events. These circumstances could have played a role in the way my personality has developed. The early experiences with a variety of foods, people and events could have helped develop my curiosity, which was satisfied as often and as best as possible (Matthews, Deary, & Whiteman, 2003). These positive experiences may have been important in the development of Openness to experience.

I also became comfortable with groups of people, and this may have sown the seeds for Agreeableness and Extraversion. Family and Social Relationships My family encouraged me to interact with people and participate in community events. They also encouraged me to cultivate hobbies, answered questions that I would have, and liberally reward what they considered desirable