When we look at the people around us, the first thing that comes to our mind is how different people are from each other. Some people are very talkative while some are very quiet. Some are active while others are lazy people.
Some people worry a lot, while others almost never seem to worry. Every time we use one of these words, such as “talkative,” “quiet,” “active” or “anxious,” to describe the people around us, we are making a judgment about that person’s personality. But what makes someone’s personality so attractive? Are they generally quiet people, or are their set of personality traits just unique?
What Are Personality Traits?
Personality traits are all about how people think, feel and act. They’re like a person’s signature style that remains fairly constant over time. For example, if someone is very extraverted, you can count on them to be sociable in all sorts of situations. That’s what trait psychology is all about—understanding how people differ in those basic traits that endure in every case.
Sometimes, we have a bad day, and we end up saying something hurtful. It happens to the best of us! But the point is this: If a person is always snapping at others instead of talking politely, it’s probably just their way of prodding. It seems that being “irritable” may be one of his main personality traits.
The Big Five Personality Traits
While there are examples of personality traits that describe an individual, psychologists often list five core personality traits, known as the Big Five. they include:
1. Conscientiousness
Conscientiousness is a trait that refers to how thoughtful and goal-oriented you are. It’s how in control you are over your impulses and your level of organization and work ethic.
High Conscientiousness:
- Spends time preparing.
- Finishes important tasks right away.
- Pay attention to the details.
- Enjoys having a set schedule.
Low Conscientiousness:
- Dislike’s structure and schedules
- Makes messes and doesn’t take care of things.
- Fails to return things or put them back where they belong.
- Procrastinates important tasks.
- Fails to complete necessary or assigned tasks.
2. Extraversion
Extraversion, sometimes called extroversion, reflects how you interact socially. It describes your emotional expression and how comfortable you are in your environment.
High
- Enjoys being the center of attention.
- Likes to start conversations.
- Enjoy meeting new people.
- Has a wide social circle of friends and acquaintances?
- Finds it easy to make new friends.
- Feels energized when around other people.
- Say things before thinking about them.
Low
- Prefers solitude.
- Feels exhausted when having to socialize a lot.
- Finds it difficult to start conversations.
- Dislikes making small talk.
- Carefully think things through before speaking.
- Dislikes are the center of attention.
3. Agreeableness
Agreeableness is a personality trait that describes how you treat your relationships with others. It’s how kind and helpful you are toward people. Overall, high agreeableness means you desire to keep things running smoothly and value social harmony.
High
- Has a great deal of interest in other people.
- Cares about others.
- Feels empathy and concern for other people.
- Enjoys helping and contributing to the happiness of other people.
- Assists others who need help.
Low
- Takes little interest in others.
- Doesn’t care about how other people feel.
- Has little interest in other people’s problems.
- Insults and belittles others.
- Manipulates others to get what they want.
4. Neuroticism
Neuroticism is a personality trait that refers to your emotional stability. As a personality dimension, neuroticism is characterized by unsettling thoughts and feelings of sadness or moodiness.
High
- Experiences a lot of stress.
- Worries about many different things.
- Gets upset easily.
- Experiences dramatic shifts in mood
- Feels anxious.
- Struggles to bounce back after stressful events.
Low
- Emotionally stable
- Deals well with stress.
- Rarely feels sad or depressed.
- Don’t worry much.
- Is very relaxed.
5. Openness
Openness is a trait that includes imagination and insight. An eagerness to learn and experience the world, other people, and new things are particularly high for this personality trait. This leads to a wider range of interests and being more adventurous when it comes to decision-making.
High
- Very creative
- Open to trying new things.
- Focused on tackling new challenges.
- Happy to think about abstract concepts.
Low
- Dislikes change
- Does not enjoy new things.
- Resists new ideas.
- Not very imaginative
- Dislikes abstract or theoretical concepts.
Personality Traits List
It would be good if we could sum up the entire human experience in five simple words. While the big five personality traits help us to broadly define and gauge one’s personality, there are many more examples of personality traits – both positive and negative.
Examples of Positive Personality Traits
Positive qualities are personal attributes, character traits, skills, or strengths that are considered good or help us in some way. It’s important to know your positive attributes and keep them in mind to develop a healthy level of confidence and self-worth.
Qualities may also be referred to as personality traits, personal characteristics, or temperament. These all mean slightly different things, but these words can generally be used interchangeably.
Here are the examples of positive personality traits:
- 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
- Heroic
- 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
- Purposeful
- 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
Examples of Neutral personality traits
Neutral personality traits can make others think you have an enigmatic personality. Maybe you’re trying to hide something, or you like appearing mysterious. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes neutral just fits the moment.
Here are the examples of neutral personality traits:
- 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
- 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
Examples of Negative Personality Traits
People are generally not all good or all bad, or all positive or all negative. Chances are that people have at least a few negative personality traits. (If any of these sound familiar, consider them an opportunity for personal growth.)
Here are the examples of negative personality traits:
- Abrasive
- Abrupt
- Agonizing
- Aimless
- Airy
- Aloof
- Amoral
- Angry
- Anxious
- Apathetic
- Arbitrary
- Argumentative
- Arrogant
- Artificial
- Asocial
- Assertive
- Astigmatic
- Barbaric
- Bewildered
- Bizarre
- Bland
- Blunt
- Boisterous
- 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