It is obvious and widely held that everyone is different, and every individual’s character traits have a profound influence on every aspect of their life. Not many people consider that personality traits can be measured by specialized tools, and inferences can be made about a person based on the measurements. The Big 5 personality traits model, also known as OCEAN, has been widely used in academic research. One of its many good aspects is that regular people can also use this tool to develop a more particular understanding of who they are and, more importantly, describe themselves to others more accurately.
When I took the Big Five personality test and received my results, I cannot say I was surprised. First of all, the results were somewhat balanced, and second of all, I had a general idea of what sort of a person I was. My openness was at 0.59, my conscientiousness was at 0.80, my extraversion was at 0.56, my agreeableness was at 0.79, and my neuroticism was at 0.46. However, when I asked my husband to take the test for me, the results were surprising. He evaluated my openness at 0.67, my conscientiousness at 0.79, my extraversion at 0.83, my agreeableness at 0.81, and my neuroticism at 0.36. My husband evaluated me as a much nicer, much more outgoing, and much better-adjusted person. The reason for that could be that I act kinder to him than I know I can act to others. It is also very likely that the neurotic thoughts that sometimes make me feel insecure and worried are unknown to him because we humans generally keep them to ourselves.
There is another very popular personality trait measuring tool called the Myers-Briggs Test. It is a decidedly less academically sound measurement system, but nonetheless, I have completed it. According to the Myers-Briggs Test, I am an Extraverted Sensing Feeling Judging. I have a 12% preference for extraversion over introversion, a 1% preference for sensing over intuition, a 12% preference for feeling over thinking, and a 12% preference for judging over perceiving. The interpretation of these results by the test itself did not seem like it followed the numbers. There are articles from as early as 1993 that question the test’s scientific validity, and I am inclined to believe them (Pittenger, 1993). My husband did not take that test on my behalf, and I do not think much value has been lost.
As we can see from the discrepancy in the Big 5 test results, people may perceive me as more extroverted, agreeable, and relaxed than I am. In fact, it has happened many times in the workplace, and I had to set my boundaries. I am generally conscientious, and I feel I must do my job well, but I also want to advance my career, so I am not opposed to taking on additional tasks. However, my coworkers and superiors often mistake my polite demeanor and friendliness for being a people person and a pushover. If people perceive me to be more extroverted than I am, they may assume that I am satisfied with the job (Harari, Thompson, & Viswesvaran, 2018). I do not actually enjoy working with customers, and I want to be appropriately compensated for taking on additional responsibilities for a job that I do not like that much. Dealing with people who take advantage of what they mistake for my agreeableness and then blame me for not living up to their imaginary standard is the worst part of being employed.
Personality can be a powerful influence on any person’s life, both personal and professional. It is equally important to consider how others perceive someone’s character because these perceptions can lead to incorrect assumptions. Knowing oneself makes one better equipped to explain oneself to others and potentially mitigate the negative effects of these assumptions. The personality tests developed for the academic application can be instrumental in doing so.
References
Harari, M. B., Thompson, A. H., & Viswesvaran, C. (2018). Extraversion and job satisfaction: The role of trait bandwidth and the moderating effect of status goal attainment. Personality and Individual Differences, 123, 14–16.
Pittenger, D. J. (1993). The utility of the Myers-Briggs type indicator. Review of Educational Research, 63(4), 467–488.