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What do the Big Five say about me? A 3-minute reflection on openness and conscientiousness

About 3 minutes · 14 statements · Your answers stay on this page

Maybe you've heard of the Big Five and want to know where you sit, or you're simply curious about how you come across. The Big Five is a widely used trait model in personality research: five broad dimensions, often remembered as OCEAN, for openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism (sometimes described the other way round, as emotional stability). This reflection looks at just two of them: openness to experience, meaning how drawn you are to the new and unfamiliar, and conscientiousness, meaning how much you plan, organise and follow through. You'll rate fourteen everyday statements, which takes about three minutes. At the end you'll see which of five patterns your answers lean toward, what that can look like, where it helps, where it can cost you, and one small practice. A short reflection like this gives a rough sense, not a measurement, and neither end of either trait is better than the other. If you're curious about the other three traits, the FAQ points to fuller questionnaires. Your answers never leave this page.

A reflection, not a diagnosis. This is a light reflection on two personality traits, not a personality assessment or a psychological test. Neither end of either trait is a problem, and nothing here says anything about your mental health.

Slide each statement from “Not at all like me” to “Very much like me”. Each answer is set when you let go, and shows you something back right away.

1. On holiday, I'd rather wander somewhere unfamiliar than go back to a place I already love.
2. I usually know what I'm doing tomorrow before I go to bed.
3. A strange piece of music or art makes me curious rather than uncomfortable.
4. Forms, renewals and appointments get sorted well before they're due.
5. I like it when a dinner conversation drifts into questions about how the world works.
6. My desk, bag or inbox tends to drift into a pleasant kind of chaos.
7. When someone suggests an activity I've never tried, my first thought is whether we could do something I already know instead.
8. Before a trip, I make a packing list and check it.
9. I prefer down-to-earth books and films to ones that are strange or experimental.
10. I'd rather decide on the day than have a weekend planned out.
11. I often imagine how something could be done in a completely different way.
12. When I start a project, I tend to finish it before starting another.
13. Changing a routine that works feels like more trouble than it's worth.
14. I often leave things to the last minute and trust that they'll come together.

The patterns this reflection describes

About the idea

The Big Five grew out of what is called the lexical approach: the idea that the personality differences people care about most end up as words in everyday language. Researchers gathered large numbers of trait words and looked at which tend to go together when people describe themselves and others. Lewis Goldberg's work, published in 1990, found five broad factors recurring in those descriptions, and Robert McCrae and Paul Costa showed in 1987 that a similar five-factor structure held across different questionnaires and when people were rated by others. Oliver John and colleagues wrote a widely cited overview of how these strands fit together.

The Big Five is descriptive. It summarises how people tend to differ rather than explaining why, and each trait is a continuum that most people sit somewhere along, not a type you either are or aren't. Traits are fairly stable, but they do move: a large 2006 review by Brent Roberts and colleagues found that, on average, people become more conscientious, especially in young adulthood (roughly ages 20 to 40), and that openness tends to rise in adolescence and fall in old age.

This reflection touches only openness and conscientiousness, with statements written for IX Coach rather than taken from any published inventory, so it can't give you scores or percentiles. Its five patterns are our own plain-language way of describing where your answers sit on those two lines.

What this reflection looks at

  • Openness to experience — Higher means you're drawn to new ideas, experiences, art and ways of doing things; lower means you prefer the familiar, practical and proven.
  • Conscientiousness — Higher means you tend to plan ahead, keep things in order and follow through; lower means you tend to go with the flow and decide as you go.

Questions people ask

Is this a full Big Five personality test?

No. It looks at two of the five traits, openness and conscientiousness, using fourteen statements of our own, so it gives a rough sense rather than scores. Researchers use longer, validated questionnaires; the International Personality Item Pool (ipip.ori.org) makes research-based Big Five items freely available, and versions of Big Five questionnaires turn up on many websites, though their quality varies.

Why only two traits?

To keep it short and honest; reflecting on all five well takes many more statements. We left out extraversion, which our social energy reflection explores in its own way, and agreeableness, which our people-pleasing and conflict style reflections come at from other angles. We also left out neuroticism, which is about how strongly and how often difficult emotions arise, something we'd rather not reduce to a few quick statements.

Is it better to be high or low on a trait?

Neither. Each end makes some things easier and others harder. High conscientiousness can bring reliability and also rigidity; high openness can bring creativity and also restlessness. What tends to matter more is whether the way you live fits the way you are, or can flex when it needs to.

When should I talk to a professional?

If you're curious about your personality in depth, a psychologist can give you a full, validated assessment and talk through what it means. If something about how you are is causing you real distress, or has been getting in the way of work or relationships for a long time, a counsellor or therapist is a good person to talk to. If you are in crisis, the numbers on this page connect you to someone now.

Sources

  1. Goldberg, L. R. (1990). An alternative 'description of personality': The Big-Five factor structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(6), 1216–1229. doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.59.6.1216
    Supports: Five broad factors recurring in everyday trait descriptions (the lexical approach).
  2. McCrae, R. R. & Costa, P. T. (1987). Validation of the five-factor model of personality across instruments and observers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(1), 81–90. doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.52.1.81
    Supports: A similar five-factor structure across different questionnaires and when people are rated by others.
  3. John, O. P., Naumann, L. P. & Soto, C. J. (2008). Paradigm shift to the integrative Big Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and conceptual issues. In O. P. John, R. W. Robins & L. A. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research (3rd ed., pp. 114–158). Guilford. www.colby.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/John_et_al_2008.pdf
    Supports: History of the Big Five, its lexical roots, and its use as a descriptive taxonomy of traits.
  4. Roberts, B. W., Walton, K. E. & Viechtbauer, W. (2006). Patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1), 1–25. doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.1.1
    Supports: Average increases in conscientiousness in young adulthood (about 20–40), and openness rising in adolescence and falling in old age.

The statements in this reflection were written for IX Coach; they are not taken from any published questionnaire. Last reviewed 2026-10-07.

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