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Four Personality Types

Researchers out of Northwestern discovered there are four different personality types, and the majority of us fall into a single one: average.  (I guess it’s called “average” because the members are the average not because they’re average.)  But here’s the interesting thing: your personality type is based somewhat on age and experiences.  So you may be in one group right now but shift to a different group years down the road.

That’s interesting, right?

The news release reads: “…As people mature, their personality types often shift. For instance, older people tend to be less neurotic yet more conscientious and agreeable than those under 20 years old.”

The personality types are based on five traits: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.  You can read how they define these traits, and that’s how I approached this: I looked at the traits, determined whether I was high or low, and then looked at the description of the four types: average, reserved, role model, self-centered.

And I didn’t find myself in any of the types.

I’m high for neuroticism, openness, and conscientiousness.  I’m middle for extraversion.  I’m low for agreeableness.

I’m not average because I’m high in openness and not high in agreeableness.  I’m not reserved because I’m high in neuroticism and low in agreeableness.  I’m not a role model because I’m not low in neuroticism and high in agreeableness.  And I’m not self-centered because I’m not high in extraversion or low in openness or extraversion.

I’m still trying to figure out where I belong.  Where do you see yourself in these descriptions?

8 comments

1 Charlotte { 09.25.18 at 9:09 am }

I am not a fan of these types of studies where they want to classify you and put you neatly in to a box. Because a lot of these traits they are describing are situational. For instance, I am likely to be more agreeable on a family vacation with my kids or at work when lives are at stake vs just some random moment. And my degree of openness would depend on where I was and who I was with. And honestly, I think we all can be a little bit of all of them without one seeming more dominant from time to time. I just don’t care for the premise of any of it, and I am not surprised you can’t find yourself in any of them…most of us are not completely one thing or another. This is an example of the studying being skewered or bent around to fit what these researchers were trying to prove. I wouldn’t spend too much time in thought about this one.

2 torthuil { 09.25.18 at 10:50 am }

I find the descriptions are too vague. I guess I’d be closest to reserved however.

It is on my to do list to take the big 5 test and see how it analyzes my traits.

3 Karen C { 09.25.18 at 11:17 am }

I’m high for neuroticism, openness, and conscientiousness. I’m middle for extraversion. I’m low for agreeableness.

Yeah, this is pretty much me as well. Although my extraversion is a little lower and my agreeableness a little higher.

When you figure it out, let me know.

4 Working mom of 2 { 09.25.18 at 12:53 pm }

Yeah I don’t fit either.

High in neuroticism and conscientiousness
Low in agreeableness
Neutral in extraversion and openness

5 a { 09.25.18 at 4:02 pm }

Closest to reserved.

Low in neuroticism, agreeableness, and extraversion. High in conscientiousness, middle in openness.

6 Kristina { 09.25.18 at 4:39 pm }

I don’t fit in any of them either! I am high in neuroticism and openness, medium in agreeableness, and lower in the others. I guess closer to average but am definitely not high in extroversion.

7 Mali { 09.25.18 at 10:41 pm }

I guess I’m closest to Role Model, but I’m not low in neuroticism (I’m medium to medium-low, but I’m not sure – though I’m not going to worry about it), and I waver around medium-high in the other categories. Like Charlotte said, I can be different depending on who I’m with and the situation. I don’t really like categorising people either.

And yes, we change as we age. I’m less agreeable now, simply because I’m more confident in my opinions.

8 Lori Lavender Luz { 09.30.18 at 2:34 pm }

neuroticism – L
extraversion – H
openness – H
agreeableness – L
conscientiousness – H

Sooo…..maybe Role Model? Except for being Low in agreeableness.

Interesting!

(c) 2006 Melissa S. Ford
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