The Big Five Model claims that five basic dimensions underlie all others and encompass most of the significant variations in human personality. Test scores of these traits can predict how people behave in a variety of real life situations. The big five factors include; Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional stability and Openness to experience.

The extraversion factor captures our comfort level with relationships. Extraverts tend to be gregarious, assertive and sociable. Introverts tend to be reserved, timid and quiet. Extraverts tend to be happier in their jobs and in their lives as a whole. They experience more positive emotions that do introverts, and they more freely express these feelings. They also tend to perform better in jobs that require significant interpersonal interaction, they have more social skills, and they usually have more friends and spend more time in social situations than introverts. Finally, extraversion is a relatively strong predictor of leadership emergence in groups. Extroverts are more socially dominant, they are generally more assertive than introverts. One downside is that extraverts are more impulsive than introverts and are more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as drinking or sensation seeking acts. One study also found that extraverts were more likely to lie during job interviews.

The agreeableness factor refers to an individual’s propensity to defer to others. Highly agreeable people are cooperative, warm and trusting. People who score low on agreeableness are cold, disagreeable and antagonistic. Agreeable people are slightly happier than disagreeable people. When people choose romantic partners, friends or organizational team members, agreeable individuals are usually their first choice. Agreeable individuals are better in interpersonally oriented jobs such as customer service. They