“Personality is the integration of characteristics acquired or brought by birth which separate the individual from others”. (O. Ozdemir) From the moment a child is able to perceive the actions of his environment, he begins to develop his own personality. While scientists debate how many personality traits make up a person's own personality, there are "two major models of personality – [the] Big Three and [the] Big Five." Although distinct, the two models share the same principle: explaining key elements of each person's personality using general, lower-order traits. “General traits…represent the most general dimensions of individual differences in personality; at successively lower levels are found more specific traits…which, in turn, are composed of more specific responses.” As a child matures into adulthood, he or she develops five major distinct personality traits: "extraversion/positive emotionality, neuroticism/negative emotionality, conscientiousness/constraint, agreeableness, and openness to experience/intellect." Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay One of the general traits common between the Big Three and Big Five models is extroversion (or positive emotionality). Recent studies have identified three main aspects of extroversion. Fleeson et al. (2002) identified the disposition to experience recurring happiness, Lucas et al. (2000) identified vulnerability to possible rewards, and Ashton et al. (2002) identified the propensity to elicit and adore social attention. “Extraversion/positive emotionality (PEM) encompasses at least four lower-order traits: social inhibition or shyness, sociability, dominance, and energy/activity level.” Overall, extroversion is simply the dominant trait among extroverted and sociable people. It is shared between the Big Five and Big Three models because it encompasses the sociability, as well as positive emotions, of an individual. While other general traits can be combined into one, extroversion is simply its own individual trait and everyone possesses it (whether at high or low levels). The second general trait common between the Big Five model and the Big Three model is neuroticism. , or negative emotionality. “Children and adults who have high levels of neuroticism/negative emotionality (NEM) are anxious, vulnerable to stress, prone to guilt, lacking in self-confidence, moody, angry, easily frustrated, and insecure in relationships. ; Individuals with low levels of this trait are emotionally stable and adaptable.” While scientists speculate about why a person develops high levels of neuroticism, it is thought that it could be due to a person's need to protect themselves from dangerous situations. Therefore, adults tend to have higher levels of neuroticism than children due to their higher level of exposure to external sources. In terms of lower order traits, “neuroticism/NEM includes both anxious (or fearful) distress and irritable distress.” Depending on a person's history, they may experience higher levels of anxious/irritable distress. Overall, however, the commonality of neuroticism, or negative emotionality, makes it a heavily studied trait and allows it to appear on several personality models. The third common trait between the big five and the big three models is theconsciousness/constraint. “Conscientious individuals are responsible, attentive, careful, persistent, orderly and planned; those who do not have this trait are irresponsible, unreliable, careless and absent-minded.” Like extroversion and neuroticism, conscientiousness differs between children and adults. As children grow and learn, their ability to have a good conscience should be lower than that of an adult. Nevertheless, “conscientiousness/constraint includes at least six lower-order traits: self-control versus behavioral impulsivity, attentiveness, achievement motivation, order, responsibility, and conventionality.” Because conscientiousness is a trait that is simply unlike any other, it features in several general trait models. The fourth trait in the Big Five personality model is agreeableness. “Agreeable individuals are cooperative, considerate, [empathetic], generous, polite and kind. Disagreeable people are aggressive, rude, mean, stubborn, cynical and manipulative. Lower-order traits associated with agreeableness are “antagonism and prosocial tendencies.” Like the other general traits of the Big Five model, agreeableness is an evolutionary trait. Depending on your childhood, they can be more or less pleasant. Since “agreeableness is associated with both neuroticism and conscientiousness,” it is excluded from the big three model. Nonetheless, it is a common personality trait among individuals and can determine the type of person they can evolve into. The final trait of the Big Five model is openness to experience/intellect. “Openness to experience and intellect is the most debated and least understood trait of the Big Five, but it includes a number of potentially important traits.” Since this is such a mysterious yet obvious trait, there are no lower order traits. Rather, it is composed of two parts: openness to experience and intellect. “[It] does not appear in models of temperament, despite the fact that parents often use words from this area of ​​individual differences to describe their children.” It is excluded from the three major models because it can be grouped with extraversion and agreeableness. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay As the individual progresses with As adults, they develop five major distinct personality traits. In the Big Five model, “extraversion/positive emotionality, neuroticism/negative emotionality, conscientiousness/constraint, agreeableness, and openness to experience/intellect” come together to form a personality. Although only extroversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness appear among both the Big Three and Big Five, all of the traits listed come together to form an individual's personality. From dynamic ballerinas to sadistic serial killers, each person has such a diverse and individualistic personality. Scientists have discovered that the five listed high-order traits can evolve into more specific, lower-order traits, which come together to make a person who they are. Works cited Ozdemir, O. (2012). The concept of personality in psychology: a comparative study between trait theories and cognitive-experiential theories. International Review of Human and Social Sciences, 2(6), 68-78. John, O.P. and Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big Five trait taxonomy: history, measurements, and theoretical perspectives. Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research, 2 (1999), 102-138. McCrae, RR and Costa, PT (2003). Personality in adulthood: A five-factor theoretical perspective. (1992)., 93(5), 880-896.