Psychological constructs are variables used to define human behaviour (Fried, 2017). They include emotions, intelligence, anxiety, emotional states attitudes, abilities, personality traits and many others. Personality traits a psychological construct is very broad since it deals with all the characteristics that define human behaviour. Personality traits refer to characteristics and patterns that drive people to think and behave in specific ways they also influence how people interact and how they react when faced with different situations (Fried, 2017). Each individual has a distinct personality which makes them unique. Personality traits dynamic can be influenced by an individual’s experiences, environment and upbringing. There are five major personality traits which include openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.
Extraverts are talkative, energetic and assertive. They are very social and like interacting with others (Robberts, 2018). They enjoy participating in activities that involve many people like in social gatherings. They do better in groups rather than individually. They also like to be the centre of attraction when in groups. These people require stimulation from other people to thrive. Extroverts are enthusiastic and action-oriented. Extraversion has other sub traits which include friendliness, gregariousness, assertiveness, excitement-seeking, cheerfulness and activity level. The opposite of extroverts is introverts. These people do well individually. They are less sociable and avoid being in groups and gatherings. They do not open up or share their thoughts. These people thrive well in activities that require independence.
My personality trait is extraversion. I am a social person and live in a small city in Kansas called Winfield. I always invite my friends at home to eat because I like to cook and share my food. I live alone in a house and away from my family and country, but I am not worried because I make many friends of different ages. I like to smile and my favourite book called wow to win. Friends and influence people by Dale Carnagle.
Openness to experience describes people’s degree of curiosity, preference, creativity and intelligence (Robberts, 2018). An open-minded person enjoys trying out new things. These people are curious, imaginative, creative and innovative. They are open to new ideas and they accommodate different kinds of people. Openness has six different sub traits. They include imagination, artistic interests, adventurousness, intellect and liberalism. Due to their curiosity, open-minded people enjoy venturing beyond their comfort zone. These people like trying out new things. They enjoy travelling to new places and learning about different cultures. Open people are knowledgeable this is because of their exposure to different environments. They get to learn new things and are ready to accommodate this knowledge.
Some people are close-minded they display characteristics that are different from open-minded people. They are resistant to change and like holding on to things. They fear changing their environment and like adhering to the set routines and existing schedule. They fear to change their routine and this may affect their chances to make their lives better.
Contentiousness reflects the ability of an individual to be responsible, organized, and hardworking and focused (Lee, 2016). This trait has other sub traits which include self-control, industriousness, responsibility and reliability. Contentious people are capable of making big and small decisions to the best of their ability. They are good at making plans are capable of abiding by schedules. Contentious people are very prompt are reliable. They are organized and thorough in their actions. They avoid involving themselves in risky behaviours which can affect their health or spoil tarnish their reputation (Mottus et al. 2017). People with this personality are successful in life. They are more likely to do well academically and socially. Their hard work and great concentration skills help them succeed in their endeavours. They are good at concentrating and give attention to detail. They persevere until they achieve their set goals. They are great at problem-solving and never leave a problem until they solve it. These people are highly responsible. They abide by the set rules to avoid getting in trouble. They accept their responsibilities and obligations.
Agreeable people are friendly, cooperative and accommodative (Elkins, 2017). They are optimistic and tend to get along well with other people. They care about other people’s needs and accommodate other people’s views. These people are selfless and they put other people’s needs above theirs. Agreeable people rarely disagree with people or engage in arguments. These people focus more on solving a problem or argument rather than continue an argument or disagreement. These people do not easily question or doubt people. They do not think that they are better than others. They respect and empathize with others. They trust people easily and believe that others are honest and decent. The sub traits of agreeableness include sympathy, trust, morality, altruism, cooperation and modesty (Mottus, et al. 2017). Agreeable people rarely cause conflicts and live in harmony with others. Having an agreeable personality is both advantageous and disadvantageous. These people can easily be manipulated since they trust easily and rarely doubt other people’s intentions (Elkins, 2017).
Less agreeable people are distant, unfriendly and uncooperative. They care more about themselves than others. These people are manipulative and aggressive. They think that they are better than others and don’t care about other people. They are impatient and often discourage and offend others. These people are more selfish and are more argumentative.
Neuroticism is a personality trait that has been described in different ways. This personality trait is described as the state of being overly reactive when faced with difficult situations (Lee, 2016). People with this personality are vulnerable to unpleasant emotions. They express anxiety, depression, self-doubt, anger, fear and other negative emotions. Sub traits of neuroticism include anxiety, anger, depression, self-consciousness, immoderation and vulnerability. These people worry so much about things and don’t think of finding the solutions. They are easily disturbed by things that might not be that serious. They have frequent mood swings and get easily angered. People with this type of personality can easily get mental illness if they don’t learn how to solve their emotions. People with this personality also have some positive traits. They have more experience in handling negative emotions and are more prepared for negative outcomes. Since they have an understanding of negative outcomes, they are empathetic and understand other people’s struggles. People with a low level of neuroticism have a high level of emotional stability and ability to control impulses. They are calm and are less likely to get irritated and overly emotional.
Apart from the five major personality traits, there are other minor ones. Some of them include self-efficacy, innovativeness, locus of control, risk attitudes, narcissism and need for cognition (Kerr et al, 2017). Locus of control is described as how people think that they have control over situations and experiences that they encounter in life. People with this personality believe that they are solely responsible for the outcomes of their lives. They believe that all their actions have consequences and they have explanations to why they act in a particular manner. People with low locus control tend to blame the outcomes of their lives to external factors. They believe their experiences in life are out of their control. They tend to blame others for happens in their lives even if they are at fault.
Self-efficacy refers to the belief that people can accomplish what they have set to achieve. Individuals with this trait believe that they can behave in a way that will guarantee their success. These people are confident and self-motivated. People with a high level of self-efficacy are more likely to succeed in their endeavours. They also believe in themselves and can get back to their feet after failure. Innovativeness refers to the ability to create new ideas, practices and things. Innovation relies on seemingly obvious solutions which are put together through hard work, commitment and discipline (Ali, 2019). This means to achieve innovativeness an individual has to be hardworking, disciplined and focused. Risk attitudes refer to a state of mind towards uncertainties that can have a positive or negative effect on objectives and targets (Kerr et al. 2017). This state of mind is influenced by how people perceive different issues. These minor personalities also have a huge influence on human behaviour. Narcissism is a personality trait where the individuals have high levels of self-love which results in selfishness. These people are ungrateful and do not care about other people’s feelings.
Personality traits as a psychological construct are very broad, the above are some of the personality traits that define human behaviour. People are different due to different personalities. These traits cause individual differences among people and influence how people behave. Knowledge in personality traits helps people to understand themselves and others, respect each other and relate well. Knowledge of different personalities also helps people in choosing careers and opportunities that they are comfortable with.
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