For this discussion, you will discuss the Big Five trait theory. Your initial post will be your position on the extent to which the Big Five are predictive of behavior.

Use the following questions to help you develop your position statement:

• Does the Big Five generalize traits or behaviors of people from different backgrounds and cultures?
• Is the Big Five trait theory a way to define personality?
• What are your thoughts about taking the Big Five personality test?

In your responses to two other students, discuss how your positions are different or similar. Do you have any sources to cite that back up your position?

To complete this assignment, review the Discussion Rubric document.

AFTER COMPLETING THE INITIAL POST, PLEASE ALSO RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING TWO STUDENTS REGARDING THE SAME TOPIC!

STUDENT ONE:

The Big Five trait theory is a good predictor of behavior in the sense that the individual traits it identifies can be used to predict behaviors in most situations, however, it can not be used to predict specific behaviors in every situation (Funder, 2016). If an individual is highly conscientious, that individual will behave in a conscientious manner in most situations, but one cannot expect said individual to be conscientious in every single situation that they face. Conscientiousness is reliable, but it can only be reliable in the majority of situations, not in 100% of situations. We all have variation in our behaviors depending on many variables such as mood, sleepiness, sickness, fear, excitement, etc.

While the Big Five theory may not accurately define personality, I think it serves as a good start point to assess the basic personality type of an individual; are they open minded, are they conscientious, are they agreeable, extraverted, negative? The list is not really long enough to define all personality types (Funder) as there is more to personality than just these five traits.

The Big Five theory apparently can discriminate even within a cultural, (the US), down to geographical location (Funder), and several translations of the test have shown promising results that the five traits are fundamental traits (Funder), but again, there does seem to be some difference in attributes between cultures (Funder). More attributes would need to be accounted for if a true test of personality across cultures were something that psychologists really want. Personally, I like the idea that we all have our differences, regardless of culture.

I have taken variations of this test a few times throughout the classes I have taken in the past year, and I generally tend to agree with the results for myself. It could be interesting to see the results from someone who I know well, just to see if they look on paper the way they look to me.

References

Funder, D.C. (2016). Personality Puzzle (7^th Edition). New York, N.Y.: W.W. Norton & Co.

STUDENT TWO:

The “Big Five” as it is referred to as, is a questionnaire-based testing that psychologists use. They feel that individuals manifests into one these five dimensions of personality to one degree or another. The Big Five examines the way human behavior is different and/or similar across different cultures (Funder, 2016). This test is use to understand and predict relationships between personality traits and success in social, academic, and professional circumstances. The acronym used is “OCEAN or “CANOE” . It encompasses of these basic traits: Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion-Introversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism. The Big Five are not universal and the average scores on these traits vary by geographic region. A survey in the United States found that highly agreeable people are more likely to be found in the eastern half of the country than in the western half, that people in the southeastern and southwestern states are particularly conscientious, and that openness to experience is highest in areas near New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami (Funder, 2016).

According to Alkis & Temizel (2018) a study was conducted to investigate the impact of student’s motivation and personality traits on their academic performance in online and blended learning environments. Blended learning combines both online and face-to-face instruction. In both learning environments, many factors affect academic performance. An example would be their personality traits and academic motivation (Alkis & Temizel, 2018). Academic motivation is one of the important predictors of academic success and has a significant impact on student behavior and learning (Alkis & Temizel, 2018).

The results to this study indicated that personality is a predictor of academic performance in both online and blended course settings. A significant positive relation was found between the conscientiousness trait and course grades in both settings (Alkis & Temizel, 2018). This implies that students with the conscientiousness trait are more successful in exams. Remember those with the conscientiousness traits are considered to be more organized, disciplined and responsible (Alkis &. Temizel, 2018).

I had taken this test previously in another course but took it again. The results were similar and I felt that it described me in a nutshell :-) .. I scored high in openness to experience, conscientiousness and agreeableness. I am very organized (maybe a little too much) because I feel things organized and neat (yeah, I'm a neat freak as well, Lol). Yes, my kids call me "anal" :-) .. I like my home tidy and organized. I believe in that saying "A clean home is a clear mind". Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that everyone should have a clean home but what I am saying is that it works for me :-) ..

I scored low in extraversion. Even though I love the outdoors, love traveling to new places and I like meeting new people, I also like my privacy. I like to make friends and seek the company of others but I don’t like being the center of attention. I’m not into partying and large crowds but I can deal with it once in a while. I also scored low in neuroticism which wasn’t a bad thing because I am calm and like to be drama-free. I don’t like to be around people that display negative feelings.

References

Alkis, N. & Temizel, T. T. (2018). The impact of motivation and personality on academic performance in online and blended learning environments. Educational Technology & Society, 21(3), 35-47.

Funder, D.C. (2016). The personality puzzle (7th edition). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.