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What are the big 3 personality traits?

Personality traits refer to enduring patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguish individuals from one another. Research has shown that personality traits are relatively stable over time and influence many aspects of life. The most widely accepted model of personality traits is the Big Five or five-factor model, which consists of five broad trait domains: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience.

However, some researchers argue that the Big Five may be too broad and that more specific traits beneath each domain better capture individual differences. This has led to proposals of more narrow personality traits, with the most well-researched being the Big Three model consisting of the traits positive emotionality, negative emotionality, and disinhibition versus constraint.

The Big Three represents a hierarchy of personality traits that encompasses more specific traits. Understanding the big three provides insight into what makes people similar and different from one another. This article will provide an overview of the big three model, how it compares to the Big Five, and the characteristics and implications of each trait.

The Big Three Model

The Big Three model consists of the following personality traits:

  • Positive emotionality – The tendency to experience positive emotions and feelings of engagement/energy.
  • Negative emotionality – The tendency to experience negative emotions like anxiety, sadness, and hostility.
  • Disinhibition versus constraint – The tendency toward restraint versus impulsiveness.

This model was developed by psychologists to create a simple framework for understanding the basics of personality. The traits represent continuous dimensions from high to low rather than distinct categories of people.

The Big Three traits were identified through statistical analyses seeking to uncover the most fundamental dimensions underlying more specific personality traits. Researchers found that many traits corresponded with these three broad dimensions, indicating their value in encapsulating core individual differences.

Compared to the Big Five model, the Big Three is more narrowly focused on emotional tendencies (positive and negative emotionality) and self-regulation (disinhibition versus constraint). The Big Five also includes traits measuring sociability and openness to experience that are not directly assessed in the Big Three.

However, researchers have found that the Big Three traits can be mapped onto the Big Five as follows:

Big Three Trait Corresponding Big Five Trait
Positive Emotionality Extraversion
Negative Emotionality Neuroticism
Disinhibition vs. Constraint Conscientiousness (low) vs. Agreeableness (high)

So while the Big Three may show some overlap with the Big Five, the traits were derived through different methods and provide both a broader and more specific framework for understanding personality.

Positive Emotionality

Positive emotionality refers to the tendency to experience positive feelings and emotions such as joy, happiness, love, and excitement. Individuals high in positive emotionality tend to be upbeat and energetic. They engage and immerse themselves in activities and events.

Positive emotionality includes facets such as:

  • Joviality – expressing positive emotions outwardly through laughter and smiling.
  • Self-assurance – confidence in one’s abilities and judgment.
  • Activity – energetic pursuit of goals.
  • Warmth – friendliness and intimacy in relations with others.

On personality assessments, individuals with high positive emotionality endorse feeling enthusiastic, optimistic, and self-assured. They see themselves as active people who smile frequently and radiate energy.

In contrast, those with low positive emotionality experience less intense and frequent positive emotions. They tend to be low-key and less engaged in their endeavors. Low scorers report feeling few strong emotions and having a lower activity level overall.

Implications of Positive Emotionality

Positive emotionality has many implications for how people function in life. High levels of this trait are associated with a number of benefits:

  • Greater life satisfaction and well-being.
  • Stronger social relationships and expanded social networks.
  • Resilience and ability to cope with stress.
  • Tendency to adopt an optimistic thinking style.
  • Motivation to fully engage in activities.
  • Willingness to try new experiences.

Overall, positive emotionality enhances people’s quality of life and ability to succeed in both work and social contexts. It provides mental health benefits and encourages a zest for life.

However, there are also downsides of extremely high positive emotionality. Constantly experiencing positive emotions can lead people to engage in risky behaviors and lack appropriate seriousness for certain situations. Very high optimism could potentially lead to disappointment when reality fails to match positive expectations.

Nonetheless, research clearly indicates positive emotionality’s advantages for performance, relationships, and well-being in most circumstances. It remains an adaptive and beneficial trait across a wide range of human endeavors.

Negative Emotionality

Negative emotionality refers to the tendency to frequently experience upsetting emotions including fear, anxiety, sadness, embarrassment, anger, and guilt. Individuals with high negative emotionality often view the world through a distressing lens.

Facets of negative emotionality include:

  • Anxiety – feelings of nervousness, tension, and worry.
  • Depression – feeling sad, hopeless, and discouraged.
  • Self-consciousness – embarrassment and shame regarding one’s perceived shortcomings.
  • Irritability – tendency to experience anger and frustration.

On personality tests, highly negative emotional individuals endorse frequent feelings of nervousness, stress, and irritability. They report often feeling inadequate or disappointed in themselves and their abilities. Their outlook emphasizes the negative side of people and events.

Those with very low negative emotionality experience distressing emotions quite infrequently. They tend to seem calm and relaxed even in stressful situations. Low scorers see the brighter side of life and maintain confidence in themselves.

Implications of Negative Emotionality

Negative emotionality has implications for many aspects of functioning:

  • Lower satisfaction with life and poorer well-being.
  • Increased risk for internalizing disorders like depression and anxiety disorders.
  • Greater reactivity to stressors and slower recovery from stressful events.
  • Critical, pessimistic thinking patterns.
  • Lower self-esteem and greater self-criticism.
  • Poorer social and interpersonal functioning.

Overall, negative emotionality seems to undermine people’s mental health, relationships, performance, and ability to handle challenges. By predisposing people to distress, negative thinking, and criticism of self/others, it acts as a barrier to well-being and accomplishment.

However, there are also advantages of moderate negative emotionality. A degree of anxiety can motivate people to thoroughly prepare for events and perform well under pressure. Tendencies towards guilt may help strengthen one’s conscience and avoidance of unethical behaviors. An appropriate amount of fear helps people recognize and avoid danger.

Still, research suggests very high negative emotionality often becomes overbearing and counterproductive. And extremely low negative emotionality (never reacting with distress) leads people to make poor or risky decisions by failing to consider potential downsides. A balance between positive and negative emotionality is likely healthiest for most.

Disinhibition Versus Constraint

Disinhibition versus constraint concerns people’s self-regulatory abilities and impulsiveness. Disinhibited individuals act on impulse while those high in constraint exercise restraint.

Aspects of this domain include:

  • Risk-taking – seeking thrills and danger.
  • Impulsiveness – difficulty controlling urges/cravings.
  • Irresponsibility – lack of reliability and discipline.
  • Low traditionalism – rejection of conformity to norms.

On personality tests, highly disinhibited people admit to taking risks on a whim, having difficulty saving money, and often acting without thinking through consequences. They embrace non-traditional lifestyles and shirk rules that restrict self-expression.

Highly constrained individuals avoid risks and impulsive acts. They think through options carefully before acting. Constraint encompasses abilities like self-discipline, responsibility, and caution in dangerous contexts.

Implications of Disinhibition Versus Constraint

This trait dimension affects:

  • Decision-making abilities – impulsiveness leads to poor decisions.
  • Reliability and productivity – disinhibition undermines task/goal follow-through.
  • Risk for legal problems and accidents – constraint protects against recklessness.
  • Social relationships – restraint facilitates long-term relationships.
  • Health behaviors – discipline needed to exercise, eat well, etc.

Overall, disinhibition seems to increase people’s risk for problems through shortsighted and reckless acts. Lack of discipline leads to unproductivity and interferes with self-improvement efforts. Research shows greater constraints support academic and job success.

However, some openness to risks allows for creativity, spontaneity, and nonconformity. Rigid overcontrol has downsides as well, including difficulty adjusting behaviors flexibly to suit changing situations. As with emotionality, balance between disinhibition and constraint seems optimal.

Interactions Among the Big Three Traits

The Big Three traits do not operate in isolation – they interact to influence behavior and outcomes. For example, highly disinhibited individuals likely experience more negative events due to poor decisions which may increase their negative emotionality over time. Those high in positive emotionality may be somewhat protected from the downsides of disinhibition through their resilience.

Some research has examined how combinations of the three traits relate to outcomes:

  • High negative emotionality and disinhibition increase antisocial behaviors and substance abuse.
  • High disinhibition augments the positive benefits of positive emotionality through willingness to pursue opportunities.
  • Constraint without positive emotionality leads to overly restrained and cautious behavior.

Overall, positive emotionality seems to have the most universally adaptive effects, negative emotionality the most maladaptive, and appropriate constraint assists positive emotionality. However, optimal profiles likely depend on the situation and demands an individual faces.

Criticisms of the Big Three Model

The Big Three model has been criticized on the following grounds:

  • Excluding traits related to intellect, creativity, and openness to experience present in the Big Five model.
  • Oversimplifying personality into just three super-factors. More specific traits provide added predictive power.
  • Redundancy with the Big Five so unclear if needed as a separate model.
  • Less research support and usage compared to the well-established Big Five model.

Proponents counter that the Big Three efficiently summarizes core affective and behavioral control aspects of personality. Research does support the validity of these three constructs. The model provides a useful basic framework and could complement more detailed analyses using specific traits.

Conclusion

The Big Three model identifies three broad personality traits – positive emotionality, negative emotionality, and disinhibition versus constraint – that encapsulate more specific traits related to mood, emotions, and self-regulation. This framework provides insight into core individual differences with extensive implications for social, educational, occupational, and health outcomes.

Clear patterns exist between the traits and life success variables, suggesting the model’s value in understanding human psychology. However, the Big Three should expand upon, not replace, analyses of more nuanced facets of personality. Utilized appropriately, the model offers a useful hierarchy for conceptualizing ubiquitous aspects of personality.