Truity’s Big Five Personality test is a 5 minute test that is based on the well-known and widely used Five Factor model (AKA the Big Five). Comprised of 60 questions the test is designed to see how you score across five dimensions of personality.
In this article, we will explore the Big Five personality test. I have taken the test myself, and paid to upgrade to the the full version. So, I will give you a comprehensive review of how I found the test too!
What is the Five Factor model?
The Five Factor model, or sometimes called ‘The Big Five‘, measures five core personality traits. With each of these trait, we can sit anywhere on a scale ranging from having incredibly high levels of that trait, to having virtually no display of that trait. When considering our personality, we would consider how we score across all of the Big Five Traits. You can remember the traits using the acronym ‘OCEAN’:
- Openness. Individuals who score high on openness are inventive and curious. They have an appreciation for art and new experiences.
- Conscientiousness. Those who score as being highly conscientious tend to be efficient, organized and disciplined. Typically, they like to follow rules and regulations.
- Extraversion. Individuals who are highly extraverted thrive of social interaction. They tend to be energetic, outgoing and sociable.
- Agreeableness. If you are highly agreeable then you tend to be friendly and compassionate. You focus on social harmony and are content following the crowd.
- Neuroticism. If you are highly neurotic then you are nervous and sensitive. These types of people tend to feel stress more easily and may experience negative emotions.
What did I think of the Big Five Personality Test?
I had high hopes for this test. The big five is extremely popular and is arguably the most scientifically supported personality model. So, I didn’t think there was much room for Truity to get it wrong!
The test was nice and simple to complete. It is comprised of 60 questions where you are asked to rate how accurately a statement describes you. For the first two pages, questions are statements such as “I have a kind word for everyone” and “I take care of other people before taking care of myself”. On the last page, the questions change to singe words. such as “original”, “shy” and “pessimistic”.
After completing this, you get access to the free version of the report. The free version shows you your score on each of the five personality traits and explains, in a few paragraphs, what each of these scores mean.
You then get a ‘teaser’, designed to encourage you to upgrade. This teasers gives you a taste of what you would get in the paid report by giving you an in-depth analysis of your score on the openness trait. However, to get this analysis on the other four traits, you need to pay to upgrade.
The free report finishes off by looking at the very basics of our ‘personality patterns’. The patterns use a ‘circumplex’, which is a circular graph that illustrates how your scores on different traits intersect to create more complex patterns of behavior.
You will look at your core patterns – with a hint that far more patterns are explored when you pay to upgrade. The core pattern describes the role we take in approaching the world – it is a reflection of our core values, our core motivations and the way we think about things. I must admit, I have a degree in a field that focused highly on personality testing, and I’d never come across this before! This alone was enough to entice me to upgrade so that I could learn more about my unique personality patterns.
The paid version
The paid version begins by giving you detailed information on how you score on each of the five personality traits. You look at how your score compares to the average population, displayed in a nice graph. Underneath is a detailed paragraph about your score on that type and then a few bullet point summaries. Take a look at my example for openness:
After this section, the report goes into detail about the science behind each trait. There is a fair bit of research on the Five Factor model and its nice that Truity summarizes. After discussing the science, the report then talks about where you fit in based on your score on the traits. It does this for each of the five traits.
Exploring your personality patterns
Now, like I have mentioned previously, I was really interested to learn more about this. It’s really cool how Truity has made a visual that illustrates how each trait interacts to create more complex patterns of behavior. In the free test, you got to look at your core patterns of behavior. The upgraded version takes this one step further by looking at:
- Interpersonal patterns, which describe the style we use when relating to others. This behavior pattern governs the way we socialize and develop relationships.
- Social patterns, which describe how we position ourselves in relationship, social groups and the wider society.
- Communication patterns, which describes how we communicate thoughts, experiences and ideas with others.
- Emotional patterns, which describes how we feel emotions.
- Motivation patterns, which describes what drives us to take action and work towards goals.
- Productivity patterns, which describes our style in approaching tasks and activities. This pattern shows which tasks are more likely to attract our attention and effort.
- Reward patterns, which describes our attitude towards potential rewards that life has to offer (e.g., money, attention, status)
- Esteem patterns, which describes our attitude towards ourself and others.
Exploring your trait in action
You then explore ‘your trait in action’. This explores how our unique combination of personality traits impacts our life in the major areas:
- Inner life. This looks at how our mind works. It considers what we think about, what we value and what motivates us.
- Social life. This looks at what we need from our relationships. What kind of people do you connect with? What kind of friend are you?
- Work life. This looks at you might want out of career. It considers your natural workplace talents and what kind of roles and workplaces suit you.
Overall, I liked this final section. It was good to see how all the traits come together and can be applied to each major factor of my life. Often, the Five Factor is explored by looking at each trait separately, opposed to as a combination. This was a nice touch on Truity’s behalf.
Conclusion
To conclude, I really enjoyed taking this test and reviewing my report. I am familiar with the Five Factor model, but the Truity Big Five personality test went above and beyond. In my opinion, its worth upgrading to understand your behavioral patterns.
