What Are the Virtues and Faults of Your Personality Style?

The five factor personality model has been researched and written about extensively. If you have never taken a Big Five Aspects Scale before, you can find out what your results are for under $10 at the Understand Myself website. A free version called the IPIP-NEO can also be found here.

Main Findings Based on the Five-Factor Personality Model

Judge, Heller & Mount (2002) found that highly conscientious people are most satisfied with their job (.26 correlation), followed by highly extraverted people (.25 correlation), then highly agreeable people (.17 correlation), then those who are high on openness to experience (.02 correlation) People high on neuroticism were negatively correlated with job satisfaction (-.29 correlation). My introversion is the only aspect that may negatively impact how much I enjoy a job.

For academic performance, Poropat (2009) found that agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience correlate significantly to academic performance. Conscientiousness was related to academic performance in a way that was largely independent of intelligence. My personality style likely helped me to do well in school and complete eight years of university studies.

For intimate relationship satisfaction, Malouff, Thorsteinsson, Schutte, Bhullar and Rooke (2009) found that low neuroticism, high agreeableness, high conscientiousness and high extraversion were all correlated with greater relationship satisfaction. These variables did not vary significantly from men to women or from unmarried to married individuals. Unfortunately, my introversion and low enthusiasm in particular make it a bit harder for me to be satisfied in intimate relationships.

For citizenship, Chiaburu, Oh, Berry, Li, and Gardner (2011) found that people that are low in neuroticism, high in extraversion and high in openness to experience are more likely to engage in more individual, organization and change-oriented citizenship. Again, not being too extraverted and enthusiastic holds me back a little here.

For occupational type, Barrick, Mount and Gupta (2006) found that extraverts are most likely to enter an enterprising career (.41 correlation). People that are high on openness to experience are most likely to enter an artistic career (.39 correlation). Some say therapy is more art than science, which may indicate why I have chosen this over a career in research.

For clinical disorders, Malouff, Thorsteinsson and Schutte (2004) found that psychological disorders are more closely linked with high neuroticism, low conscientiousness, low agreeableness and low extraversion. Healthy populations in comparison to clinical populations show higher levels of extraversion and lower levels of neuroticism. Again, my introversion puts me at a greater risk.

For alcohol abuse, Malouff, Thorsteinsson, Rooke and Schutte (2007) found that people that are low on conscientiousness, low on agreeableness and high on neuroticism are more likely to have difficulties with alcohol. These individuals are less likely to improve through treatment. Another meta-analytic finding by Malouff, Thorsteinsson and Schutte (2006) found that these three factors are also significantly related to smoking prevalence. Never smoked, but have drunk more than I should have at times. If I want to cut down, my personality style should help me.

For physical activity, Sutin and colleagues (2016) found that lower neuroticism and higher conscientiousness is associated with more physical activity and less sedentary behaviour. Higher extraversion and more openness to experience is also associated with more physical activity ,and that these variables don’t change much based on age or sex. Consequently, being a bit introverted is the only factor that lets me down.

For workplace harassment, highly neurotic people are most likely to be exposed to workplace harassment (.25 correlation), with highly extraverted and conscientious people least likely to be harassed (.10 correlation). I thought Susan Cain said it was good to be an introvert in her book ‘Quiet’, but there doesn’t seem to be much that is positively linked with Introversion?

What About Individual Faults and Virtues?

Even though across the population as a whole there seems to be benefits to being extraverted, agreeable, conscientious, open to experience and not neurotic, 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, judgmental and rigid, while their more carefree counterparts may be messy, undisciplined and careless.

People very high in emotional stability may engage in risky, dangerous behaviour, 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 disagreeable can be aggressive, callous and bullying.

To find out your individual faults and virtues on each of the five personality factors, the Self Authoring program can help you to clarify your own personal traits and help you to clarify what you would like to strengthen and improve. Below are my results:

Extraversion/Introversion Faults

• Can spend too much money
• Keep in the background
• Lose opportunities because I am too isolated
• Am too quiet around strangers
• Find it difficult to approach others
• Bottle up my feelings
• Feel drained by social interactions
• Have a social circle that is too small

Extraversion/Introversion Virtues

• Feel comfortable around people
• Don’t mind being the center of attention
• Can take charge and lead
• Am skilled in handling social situations
• Am often happy
• Can listen well
• Do not always talk about myself
• Enjoy time in natural surroundings
• Let other people have the spotlight
• Think before I act

Agreeable/Assertive Faults

• Avoid conflict even when it is necessary
• Will sacrifice my own feelings for the comfort of others
• Can bottle up my feelings until I become resentful
• Am polite to a fault
• Trust people too easily
• Can be detached and cold when others are hurt and upset

Agreeable/Assertive Virtues

• Trust people
• Am interested in people
• Feel others’ emotions
• Inquire genuinely about others’ well-being
• Know how to comfort others
• Make people feel at ease
• Am a good peacemaker
• Am aware that malevolence exists in the world

Conscientiousness/Carelessness Faults

• Get obsessed with details and lose the big picture
• Cannot stand to be late for an appointment
• Feel that I am being unproductive if I relax
• Believe that I have to be flawless
• Can be contemptuous of other people and of myself
• Find it difficult to get down to work
• Neglect my duties
• Frequently make excuses
• Am sometimes willing to bend the truth to get out of an obligation
• Feel unmotivated to complete my work

Conscientiousness/Carelessness Virtues

• Have a very long attention span and can work without being distracted
• Do things according to a plan
• Strive for efficiency and economy
• Pay attention to details
• Am extremely reliable
• Always arrive at appointments early or on time
• Am very goal-oriented
• Do what I say I am going to do
• Know how to go with the flow
• Don’t waste my time thinking about little details

Emotional Stability/Low Stress Tolerance Faults

• Am sometimes not afraid of things I should be afraid of
• Don’t appear to learn as well from my mistakes as others do
• Don’t pay enough attention to costs and potential future dangers 
• Often take counterproductive or unnecessary risks
• Blow little things out of proportion
• Let my fears stop me from doing things I want to do

Emotional Stability/Low Stress Tolerance Virtues

• Am difficult to offend
• Am in control of my emotions
• Calm down quickly when I do get upset
• Seldom get disturbed or upset
• Am rarely incautious
• Am a cautious, careful person
• Don’t rush into things before I feel comfortable
• Am good at identifying the risks in new situations

Openness/Traditionalism Faults

• 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
• 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
• Have had a hard time forming a clear identity
• Have done crazy things just because I was curious about what might happen

Openness/Traditionalism Virtues

• Am quick to understand things
• Can handle a lot of information
• Catch on to things quickly
• Am always learning new things
• Spend time reflecting on things
• Can always see new possibility in things
• See the value in tradition and custom
• Am resistant to radical, dangerous thoughts

So, as you can see above, your personality style is never all good or all bad. I’m sure that even if you are introverted, disagreeable, careless, neurotic and closed to new experiences, there will still be some virtues associated with your personality style. I also think that, even though it may be more of a challenge, it is still possible to find the right career or job and the right relationship and friendships for you.

You may not be the right fit for everyone or everything, but no one is. What is more important is to first try to understand yourself, change what you would like to and are able to, accept what you do not want to or cannot change, and then find the places and people that love and appreciate you for who you are.

Happy New Year, and all the best for 2021!