Personality by Daniel Nettle

Alert: this will probably be a bit dry, but this is a facinating topic for me, hence pls. tolerate and travel with me!

Book Reference: Personality by Daniel Nettle

Each one of us is very different in our own way…is this true? Why are we different? We react to same situations/stimulations differently, why is it?
What drives these differences in our individual personality.

According to Gordon Allport, Personality is, “The dynamic organization within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment”. Yes, it is complex; but quite simply put- it is the way we react and interact with the environment around us in a consistent manner.

The various dimensions of this personality is known as the traits. Traits is the pattern in our behavior- it is the way we are wired! Although there are many (some count to 80) identified traits the five major traits that are used popularly to measure personality are:

1. Openness (to experiment new things, curious, imaginative)
2. Conscientiousness (being dutiful, dependable, etc)
3. Extraversion (highly social, etc)
4. Agreeableness (good natured, trusting, etc)
5. Neuroticism (nerves, emotional stability)
Collectively these traits are known as the The Big 5.

According to WIKI; The first public mention of the model was in 1933, by L. L. Thurstone in his presidential address to the American Psychological Association. Eversince there has been a large body of research on this framework and we will be focuing on these traits.