Insight: Why We Are Less Self-Aware Than We Think—and What to Do About It

by Tasha Eurich

APPENDIX E What Are Your Personality Traits? Pinning down our personality can be a lifelong process. With all the personality assessments out there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. So, to simplify matters, let’s focus on the five global personality traits that psychologists have isolated. Let’s start with a high-level, albeit unscientific, snapshot. Mark an “X” where you believe you fall on each of these scales below:* These items measured Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Openness (in that order). The closer to the left each response is, the more you possess that trait. If you want a more scientific assessment of your Big Five personality traits, the most common measures are the NEO-PI-R (a commercial assessment) and the IPIP (a free assessment at http://www.personal.psu.edu/​~j5j/​IPIP/). * Adapted from Gosling, S. D., Rentfrow, P. J., & Swann Jr., W. B. (2003). A very brief measure of the Big-Five personality domains. Journal of Research in Personality 37, 504–528.