The Big Five
As people we all exhibit different behaviors. These behaviors more or less make up who we are, they are the building blocks of our personality. Psychology is captivating because it boldly attempts to measure personality. One of the ways it does this is through The Big Five, it is all the ways in which people talk about personality put together in 5 categories:
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeable
Neurotic
Each one of us is made up of a combination of these traits. I like this method because there is no normal, just different. "All living humans have many mental disorders, mostly minor but some major, and we are all more or less crazy in many ways." I couldn't agree more.
Today we are going to diagnose my dear friend, just for fun and hopefully to help us all understand this method a bit better. Lets call her Susan. Before we diagnose Susan, we need some more information about what these traits mean and about Susan's life.
- Openness - Being receptive to new ideas, experiences, approaches, etc. More creative and artsy.
- Conscientiousness - Very aware and on the ball, on top of the details in life. Usually able to control behavior. Very organized, responsible and disciplined.
- Extraversion - Getting recharged through being with people. Typically feeling more refreshed and accomplished after being social. Enjoys the lime-light and has little to no problem meeting and getting to know new people
- Agreeable - "Easy-going" people, usually fine with being accommodating and doing what others would like. Selfless, helpful, easy-going, and friendly.
- Neurotic - Emotionally unstable people. Typically more prone to having their emotions not under control. They are negative, anxious, and reactive.
Now let me introduce Susan.
Her Story
Susan grew up in a beautiful part of the world but grew up very poor. She had little structure in her home, her parents fought frequently, and her mother frequently put her down. Her father was an alcoholic growing up and checked out, her mother was too emotionally checked-out. Susan learned she needed to raise herself. This lead her to be controlling and bossy, she learned she could call the shots and as she got older began walking all over her parents. Susan wanted to be seen! She started modeling and doing pageants. This finally made her feel of worth and noticed and demanded the attention and help from her parents, which she craved. With her lime-light profile, there was a lot of pressure on Susan, she would more and more frequently fold under the weight of this pressure. In her late teens she ran away to another country, in search of finding herself. Later, she searched for God and devoted her life to him for a period of time. In her early 20s she moved to a college town and attended a prestigious university, here things got harder. Susan suffered from depression due to the mistreatment of the people close to her, she found it hard to keep friends and relationships, she found herself close to addiction but met a boy, who began helping her. He is a very meek, peaceful man. He was continually there for her, she was the boss of the relationship. Susan became more stable doing many social things, planning many events, taking charge in many school projects, being her big bubbly self. But when her boat would rock, her world would sink. She struggled with wanting to control everything around her and when that didn't happen she would become very negative and react either emotionally or aggressively. In her relationship with her partner she found it hard to understand him and work together with him. Susan has many friends, she is very friendly and outgoing; when you meet her you immediately love her, yet she struggles to develop those friendships and ensure they last. She has many brilliant ideas and strives for fame, she requires a lot from herself and her close ones. She loves to be seen and heard and she strives to see and hear others. Susan's life at times is unbearably hard, but she keeps pushing on. Her life is a roller-coaster.
Her Scores
That is all you need for now. I want us to look back at the personality traits and decide if Susan ranks high or low.
Although Susan is creative, it is hard for her to be receptive to new ways of life and thinking, especially when they aren't her own. Openness-- low.
When Susan is feeling stable, she is responsible and organized, and strives to always be aware of others. People are important to her, especially those within her circle! But when life is hard for Susan, she is not able to be organized, aware or responsible. This one is hard for me to say, I am curious if we can say MEDIUM? let's do it, Conscientiousness- MEDIUM.
Extraversion- HIGH.
Susan is very friendly and helpful but not at all easy-going. Agreeable- LOW.
Neurotic- HIGH
What This Means
So what does this mean for Susan. Nothing. It doesn't have to mean anything! The makeup of these traits in their extremes is what produces mental illness, but "psychology, psychiatry, and behavior genetics are converging to show that there's no clear line between "normal variation" in human personality traits and "abnormal" mental illnesses." We are all a little insane.
My amazing friend Susan does have these traits to an extreme, and in my humble opinion and through my experience with mental illness and learning about disorders, I believe she exhibits behaviors of Borderline Personality Disorder. When someone is high N and low A & C this could be a diagnosis (2009). People are extremely special and to know them and know who they are, you cannot just rate them high or low. This is a door into understanding someone but this is in no way a reason to label someone.
Susan is an incredible, loving person who does not let her mental illness define her. Everyday she fights to be more understanding and kind. She is an amazing friend and through her own journey of mental illness, she has been able to help many people. Her extremes make her interesting and fun! She embraces her struggles and will not be defined, let down, held back, or ashamed of who she is and how she acts. None of us are defined by our disorders or our extremes, they are what makes us beautiful and unique, interesting people. I hope Susan's story hasn't only been educational but inspiring as well!
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