What are Personality Traits?
The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) measures the Big Five personality traits. Openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. The NEO PI-R additionally gives six facets of each Big Five personality trait.
Costa and McCrae released a personality inventory in 1978, starting the Revised NEO PI-R. In 1985, 1992, and 2005, the researchers issued three updated personality inventories. These were the NEO PI, NEO PI-R (or Revised NEO PI), and NEO PI-3. The new inventories use words that children and adults may understand.
The entire NEO PI-R has 240 items and comprehensive facet scores. The shorter NEO-FFI had 60 items (12 per attribute). The test was designed for adult men and women without psychopathology. It works for kids too.
What are the Primary Personality Dimensions?
| Neuroticism | Extraversion | Openness to experience | Agreeableness | Conscientiousness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anxiety | Warmth/Kindness[1] | Fantasy/Imagination[1]/ | Trust (in Others[1])/ | Competence/Self-efficacy[1]/ |
| Hostility/Anger[1]/ | Gregariousness | Aesthetics/Artistic Interest[1]/ | Straightforwardness/Morality[1]/ | Order(liness)[1]/Organizing[1] |
| Depression | Assertiveness | Feelings/Emotionality[1] | Altruism | Dutifulness/Sense of Duty/Obligation[1] |
| Self-consciousness | Activity (Level[1])/Lively Temperament[2] | Actions/Adventurousness[1]/Exploration[2] | Compliance/Cooperation[1] | Achievement Striving |
| Impulsiveness/Immoderation[1] | Excitement Seeking | Ideas/Intellectual Interest[1]/Curiosity[2] | Modesty | Self-Discipline/Willpower[1] |
| Vulnerability to Stress/Fear[1]/Learned helplessness[1] | Positive Emotion/Cheerfulness[1]/Vivacity[2] | Values/Psychological liberalism[1]/Tolerance to ambiguity[1] | Tendermindedness/Sympathy[1] | Deliberation/Cautiousness[1] |
How Reliable are Trait Dimensions?
On 1,539 people, the NEO scales’ internal coherence was checked.[4] The NEO PI-R had a high level of internal stability, with N =.92, E =.89, O =.87, A =.86, and C =.90. The facet scales’ internal consistency ranges from.56 to.81. The internal consistency of the NEO PI-3 was the same as that of the NEO PI-R. For the five areas, ranged from.89 to.93. Since each facet scale had fewer items than each of the Big Five scales, the internal consistency coefficients for the facets had to be smaller. They ranged from.54 to.83.[4]
For the NEO FFI (version with only 60 items in one domain), the manual said that the internal consistency was N =.79, E =.79, O =.80, A =.75, and C =.83. In the research literature, the NEO FFI is used more often, and researchers who use the NEO PI-R usually only use the items from the areas they are interested in. Sherry et al. (2007) found that the FFI had the following internal consistencies: N =.85, E =.80, O =.68, A =.75, and C =.83.[5]
Many languages have versions of the NEO. A translation of the NEO that has been used in the Philippines has good internal consistency coefficients for the domain scores. The alphas for the domain scores are between.78 and.90,[6] and the median alpha for the facets is.61.[7] Observer-ratings A recent study used NEO PI-R data from 49 different cultures as criteria to see if people’s ideas about the “national character” of a culture correctly reflected the personalities of people from that culture (they didn’t).[8]
The NEO PI-R has also been found to be reliable when tested again and again. An early form of the NEO had a test-retest reliability of N =.87, E =.91, and O =.86 after 3 months.[9] According to the NEO PI-R manual, the test-retest repeatability for more than 6 years was as follows: N =.83, E =.82, O =.83, A =.63, and C =.79. Costa and McCrae pointed out that these results show that the topic scores are both reliable and stable (among people over the age of 30). Scores that were taken six years apart were not much different from scores that were taken a few months apart.[10]
It has been found that the psychometric properties of NEO PI-R scales are the same across different groups, cultures, and ways of measuring.[11]
List of Primary Personality Traits
Positive Traits (234 = 37%)
- Accessible
- Active
- Adaptable
- Admirable
- Adventurous
- Agreeable
- Alert
- Allocentric
- Amiable
- Anticipative
- Appreciative
- Articulate
- Aspiring
- Athletic
- Attractive
- Balanced
- Benevolent
- Brilliant
- Calm
- Capable
- Captivating
- Caring
- Challenging
- Charismatic
- Charming
- Cheerful
- Clean
- Clear-headed
- Clever
- Colorful
- Companionly
- Compassionate
- Conciliatory
- Confident
- Conscientious
- Considerate
- Constant
- Contemplative
- Cooperative
- Courageous
- Courteous
- Creative
- Cultured
- Curious
- Daring
- Debonair
- Decent
- Decisive
- Dedicated
- Deep
- Dignified
- Directed
- Disciplined
- Discreet
- Dramatic
- Dutiful
- Dynamic
- Earnest
- Ebullient
- Educated
- Efficient
- Elegant
- Eloquent
- Empathetic
- Energetic
- Enthusiastic
- Esthetic
- Exciting
- Extraordinary
- Fair
- Faithful
- Farsighted
- Felicific
- Firm
- Flexible
- Focused
- Forecful
- Forgiving
- Forthright
- Freethinking
- Friendly
- Fun-loving
- Gallant
- Generous
- Gentle
- Genuine
- Good-natured
- Gracious
- Hardworking
- Healthy
- Hearty
- Helpful
- Herioc
- High-minded
- Honest
- Honorable
- Humble
- Humorous
- Idealistic
- Imaginative
- Impressive
- Incisive
- Incorruptible
- Independent
- Individualistic
- Innovative
- Inoffensive
- Insightful
- Insouciant
- Intelligent
- Intuitive
- Invulnerable
- Kind
- Knowledge
- Leaderly
- Leisurely
- Liberal
- Logical
- Lovable
- Loyal
- Lyrical
- Magnanimous
- Many-sided
- Masculine (Manly)
- Mature
- Methodical
- Maticulous
- Moderate
- Modest
- Multi-leveled
- Neat
- Nonauthoritarian
- Objective
- Observant
- Open
- Optimistic
- Orderly
- Organized
- Original
- Painstaking
- Passionate
- Patient
- Patriotic
- Peaceful
- Perceptive
- Perfectionist
- Personable
- Persuasive
- Planful
- Playful
- Polished
- Popular
- Practical
- Precise
- Principled
- Profound
- Protean
- Protective
- Providential
- Prudent
- Punctual
- Pruposeful
- Rational
- Realistic
- Reflective
- Relaxed
- Reliable
- Resourceful
- Respectful
- Responsible
- Responsive
- Reverential
- Romantic
- Rustic
- Sage
- Sane
- Scholarly
- Scrupulous
- Secure
- Selfless
- Self-critical
- Self-defacing
- Self-denying
- Self-reliant
- Self-sufficent
- Sensitive
- Sentimental
- Seraphic
- Serious
- Sexy
- Sharing
- Shrewd
- Simple
- Skillful
- Sober
- Sociable
- Solid
- Sophisticated
- Spontaneous
- Sporting
- Stable
- Steadfast
- Steady
- Stoic
- Strong
- Studious
- Suave
- Subtle
- Sweet
- Sympathetic
- Systematic
- Tasteful
- Teacherly
- Thorough
- Tidy
- Tolerant
- Tractable
- Trusting
- Uncomplaining
- Understanding
- Undogmatic
- Unfoolable
- Upright
- Urbane
- Venturesome
- Vivacious
- Warm
- Well-bred
- Well-read
- Well-rounded
- Winning
- Wise
- Witty
- Youthful
Neutral Traits (292 = 18%)
- Absentminded
- Aggressive
- Ambitious
- Amusing
- Artful
- Ascetic
- Authoritarian
- Big-thinking
- Boyish
- Breezy
- Businesslike
- Busy
- Casual
- Crebral
- Chummy
- Circumspect
- Competitive
- Complex
- Confidential
- Conservative
- Contradictory
- Crisp
- Cute
- Deceptive
- Determined
- Dominating
- Dreamy
- Driving
- Droll
- Dry
- Earthy
- Effeminate
- Emotional
- Enigmatic
- Experimental
- Familial
- Folksy
- Formal
- Freewheeling
- Frugal
- Glamorous
- Guileless
- High-spirited
- Huried
- Hypnotic
- Iconoclastic
- Idiosyncratic
- Impassive
- Impersonal
- Impressionable
- Intense
- Invisible
- Irreligious
- Irreverent
- Maternal
- Mellow
- Modern
- Moralistic
- Mystical
- Neutral
- Noncommittal
- Noncompetitive
- Obedient
- Old-fashined
- Ordinary
- Outspoken
- Paternalistic
- Physical
- Placid
- Political
- Predictable
- Preoccupied
- Private
- Progressive
- Proud
- Pure
- Questioning
- Quiet
- Religious
- Reserved
- Restrained
- Retiring
- Sarcastic
- Self-conscious
- Sensual
- Skeptical
- Smooth
- Soft
- Solemn
- Solitary
- Stern
- Stoiid
- Strict
- Stubborn
- Stylish
- Subjective
- Surprising
- Soft
- Tough
- Unaggressive
- Unambitious
- Unceremonious
- Unchanging
- Undemanding
- Unfathomable
- Unhurried
- Uninhibited
- Unpatriotic
- Unpredicatable
- Unreligious
- Unsentimental
- Whimsical
Negative Traits (292 = 46%)
- Abrasive
- Abrupt
- Agonizing
- Aimless
- Airy
- Aloof
- Amoral
- Angry
- Anxious
- Apathetic
- Arbitrary
- Argumentative
- Arrogantt
- Artificial
- Asocial
- Assertive
- Astigmatic
- Barbaric
- Bewildered
- Bizarre
- Bland
- Blunt
- Biosterous
- Brittle
- Brutal
- Calculating
- Callous
- Cantakerous
- Careless
- Cautious
- Charmless
- Childish
- Clumsy
- Coarse
- Cold
- Colorless
- Complacent
- Complaintive
- Compulsive
- Conceited
- Condemnatory
- Conformist
- Confused
- Contemptible
- Conventional
- Cowardly
- Crafty
- Crass
- Crazy
- Criminal
- Critical
- Crude
- Cruel
- Cynical
- Decadent
- Deceitful
- Delicate
- Demanding
- Dependent
- Desperate
- Destructive
- Devious
- Difficult
- Dirty
- Disconcerting
- Discontented
- Discouraging
- Discourteous
- Dishonest
- Disloyal
- Disobedient
- Disorderly
- Disorganized
- Disputatious
- Disrespectful
- Disruptive
- Dissolute
- Dissonant
- Distractible
- Disturbing
- Dogmatic
- Domineering
- Dull
- Easily Discouraged
- Egocentric
- Enervated
- Envious
- Erratic
- Escapist
- Excitable
- Expedient
- Extravagant
- Extreme
- Faithless
- False
- Fanatical
- Fanciful
- Fatalistic
- Fawning
- Fearful
- Fickle
- Fiery
- Fixed
- Flamboyant
- Foolish
- Forgetful
- Fraudulent
- Frightening
- Frivolous
- Gloomy
- Graceless
- Grand
- Greedy
- Grim
- Gullible
- Hateful
- Haughty
- Hedonistic
- Hesitant
- Hidebound
- High-handed
- Hostile
- Ignorant
- Imitative
- Impatient
- Impractical
- Imprudent
- Impulsive
- Inconsiderate
- Incurious
- Indecisive
- Indulgent
- Inert
- Inhibited
- Insecure
- Insensitive
- Insincere
- Insulting
- Intolerant
- Irascible
- Irrational
- Irresponsible
- Irritable
- Lazy
- Libidinous
- Loquacious
- Malicious
- Mannered
- Mannerless
- Mawkish
- Mealymouthed
- Mechanical
- Meddlesome
- Melancholic
- Meretricious
- Messy
- Miserable
- Miserly
- Misguided
- Mistaken
- Money-minded
- Monstrous
- Moody
- Morbid
- Muddle-headed
- Naive
- Narcissistic
- Narrow
- Narrow-minded
- Natty
- Negativistic
- Neglectful
- Neurotic
- Nihilistic
- Obnoxious
- Obsessive
- Obvious
- Odd
- Offhand
- One-dimensional
- One-sided
- Opinionated
- Opportunistic
- Oppressed
- Outrageous
- Overimaginative
- Paranoid
- Passive
- Pedantic
- Perverse
- Petty
- Pharissical
- Phlegmatic
- Plodding
- Pompous
- Possessive
- Power-hungry
- Predatory
- Prejudiced
- Presumptuous
- Pretentious
- Prim
- Procrastinating
- Profligate
- Provocative
- Pugnacious
- Puritanical
- Quirky
- Reactionary
- Reactive
- Regimental
- Regretful
- Repentant
- Repressed
- Resentful
- Ridiculous
- Rigid
- Ritualistic
- Rowdy
- Ruined
- Sadistic
- Sanctimonious
- Scheming
- Scornful
- Secretive
- Sedentary
- Selfish
- Self-indulgent
- Shallow
- Shortsighted
- Shy
- Silly
- Single-minded
- Sloppy
- Slow
- Sly
- Small-thinking
- Softheaded
- Sordid
- Steely
- Stiff
- Strong-willed
- Stupid
- Submissive
- Superficial
- Superstitious
- Suspicious
- Tactless
- Tasteless
- Tense
- Thievish
- Thoughtless
- Timid
- Transparent
- Treacherous
- Trendy
- Troublesome
- Unappreciative
- Uncaring
- Uncharitable
- Unconvincing
- Uncooperative
- Uncreative
- Uncritical
- Unctuous
- Undisciplined
- Unfriendly
- Ungrateful
- Unhealthy
- Unimaginative
- Unimpressive
- Unlovable
- Unpolished
- Unprincipled
- Unrealistic
- Unreflective
- Unreliable
- Unrestrained
- Unself-critical
- Unstable
- Vacuous
- Vague
- Venal
- Venomous
- Vindictive
- Vulnerable
- Weak
- Weak-willed
- Well-meaning
- Willful
- Wishful
- Zany