1. Understanding yourself
The Big Five Personality traits
(Draws heavily from

2. THE FIVE TRAITS
Extraversion - energy, positive emotions, and the tendency to seek stimulation and the company of others.
Agreeableness - a tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others.
Conscientiousness - a tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement; planned rather than spontaneous behaviour.
Neuroticism - a tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety, depression, or vulnerability; sometimes called emotional instability.
Openness to Experience - appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination, and curiosity.

3. INDICATORS OF EXTRAVERSION
I am the life of the party.
I feel comfortable around people.
I start conversations.
I talk to a lot of different people at parties.

4. INDICATORS OF AGREEABLENESS
I am interested in people.
I understand others’ emotions.
I make people feel at ease.
I sympathize with others’ feelings.
I take time out for others.

5. INDICATORS OF CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
I am always prepared.
I am exacting in my work.
I follow a schedule.
I get chores done right away.
I like order.
I pay attention to details.

6. INDICATORS OF NEUROTICISM
I am easily disturbed.
I change my mood a lot.
I get irritated easily.
I get stressed out easily.
I get upset easily.
I have frequent mood swings.
I worry about things.

7. INDICATORS OF OPENNESS
I am full of ideas.
I am quick to understand things.
I have a vivid imagination.
I have excellent ideas.
I spend time reflecting on things.

8. LIMITATIONS
Some psychologists have objected to the model because it neglects other domains of personality, such as Religiosity, Manipulativeness/Machiavellianism, Honesty, Thriftiness, Conservativeness, Masculinity/Femininity, Snobbishness, Sense of humour, Identity, Self-concept, and Motivation.
Correlations have been found between some of these variables and the Big Five.
McAdams has called the Big Five a "psychology of the stranger," because they refer to traits that are relatively easy to observe in a stranger; other aspects of personality that are more privately held or more context-dependent are excluded from the Big Five.

9. In many studies, the five factors are not fully orthogonal to one another; i.e., the five factors are not independent.
Negative correlations often appear between Neuroticism and Extraversion, for instance, indicating that those who are more prone to experiencing negative emotions tend to be less talkative and outgoing.