The BBC Big Personality Test

[itschris]

Anyone done this yet? I think the programme is broadcast Sunday/Monday... http://www.bbc.co.uk/labuk/experiments/personality
(I think you might need a BBC Id to take part though)
My results ...

[incommunicado]

[Lsb]

I did this way back in November. Interested to finally see the results.

My graph was:

Conscientiousness : medium
Neuroticism : high
Everthing else : low

[itschris]

I suppose it's not surprising we're all scoring high on neuroticism. Here's what the site says about that...

You scored high on Neuroticism.

In the context of the Big Five personality traits, the term 'Neuroticism' relates to a person’s response to threatening or stressful situations. People with scores like yours may find that they often feel tense or anxious, and may well experience changeable moods.

Some scientists have suggested that Neuroticism was beneficial in evolutionary terms. Early man may have found it advantageous to live in a population where certain individuals had a high sensitivity to threats to the group's survival.

There is evidence to suggest that Neuroticism, when combined with high scores in personality traits such as Conscientiousness, can result in a powerful work ethic and a will to succeed.

[Medea]

No surprises there.

[-Simon-]

Yep, another neurotic introvert here. Quelle surprise!

[Golz]

Openness - medium
Conscientiousness - medium
Extroversion - low
Agreeableness - high
Neuroticism - low

suprised on the last 2, was expecting medium on both and seems i dont fit half the trend, though I'm still an introvert.

[Matt77]

Openness - LOW
Conscientiousness - MEDIUM
Extroversion - LOW
Agreeableness - HIGH
Neuroticism - HIGH

No surprises there really

[E Dub]

I failed

[John]

I can't load the test, I just get an Internal Server Error page and have been since last night. I can probably guess that mine is going to score low on extraversion and high on neuroticism though

[Lsb]

Well...they tried to make neuroticism out as a positive trait in some senses but...it isn't really, is it? All it does is make the bearer less healthy, more miserable and more likely to be unhappy in their job.

I know I shouldn't take these things too seriously, but I was sad to score low on openess (apparently what makes you artistic and flamboyant).

I admire great artists so much and this feels like a genetic middle-finger to my goals and aspirations.

Anyone else find that the programme assigned them a trait they think sucks (aside from high neuroticism)?

[Matt77]

Yes the 'Openness' one is interesting. I try harder to let people in these days but I need to work harder to let those defenses down I think

[Narwhal]

^ I think 'openess' is more about creativity, how 'open' your mind is to new ideas , etc

The site is too busy for me to use, but last time I did one of these tests I also came out as a neurotic introvert

[Munkeh]

According to this show you get happier the older you get. So I'm guessing the old people sitting in nursing homes with their piles flaring up couldn't be happier....

[firemonkey]

Which seems to fit cyclothymic personality best.

http://www.ptypes.com/cyclothymicpd.html#dimensional

[AxelFendersson]

Originally Posted by Lsb

Well...they tried to make neuroticism out as a positive trait in some senses but...it isn't really, is it? All it does is make the bearer less healthy, more miserable and more likely to be unhappy in their job.

Well...no, that's not all it does. Like they said, neurotic people may also be more driven to succeed and may achieve more as a result (especially if they are also highly conscientious). Whether it's a positive trait overall, I'm not convinced. I'm inclined to suspect that a balanced, moderate level of neuroticism is healthiest.

The issue I have with the big-five model of personality types is the conscientiousness trait. I've always scored low for conscientiousness whenever I've taken a test, but I don't think this really tells the full picture. On the one hand, I have very poor self-discipline, and am terribly disorganised. So far, so low-conscientiousness. But set against that, I tend to be methodical in my thinking and I am inclined to be meticulous and precise about details. If you give me a set of instructions on how to do something, I will typically follow them carefully, and not improvise unless I am sure that there is a good reason to. If there is a correct procedure, I usually follow it. All of which points to a high level of conscientiousness. And I have an odd relationship with routine. I am inclined to slip into routine and repetitive behaviours. But once I do, rather than finding them comforting or reassuring, I tend to find them boring. Nonetheless, I have to make a deliberate decision to break out of that routine to regain some variety. So does that mean I have a high or low level of conscientiousness? And if I can score highly for conscientiousness in some respects, and low in others, could that mean that conscientiousness is not, in fact, one trait, but an amalgamation of more than one (albeit ones that tend to correlate with each other)?

[britman]

openness medium
consienciousness medium
agreeableness low
extroversion low
neurotism high

I'm comftable with that I think aprt from neurotism high