What is Conscientiousness?
Conscientiousness is one of The Big Five Personality Traits that reflects the tendency to be responsible, organized, goal-directed, and to adhere to rules and norms.
Comprising self-control, responsibility, and reliability, Conscientiousness is considered an outgrowth of emotional intelligence and self-regulation processes.
In a sense, Conscientiousness is a motive to be dependable and a desire to follow the rules.
It influences how people set and keep long-range goals, deliberate over choices, behave cautiously or impulsively, and take obligations to others seriously.
People at the higher end of the spectrum may be at risk of perfectionism and workaholism and fare poorly under high-stress conditions.
People with low Conscientiousness may exhibit flexibility and spontaneity but tend to be unreliable and careless.
Conscientiousness has 49% genetic influence.
Conscientiousness Traits
Traits within the conscientiousness factor include:
- Persistence
- Ambition
- Thoroughness
- Self-discipline
- Consistency
- Predictability
- Control
- Reliability
- Resourcefulness
- Hard work
- Energy
- Perseverance
- Planning
People with high levels of these traits tend to follow the rules and prefer clean homes.
Conversely, those low in this trait may be messy and cheat others.
Facets of Conscientiousness
1. Self-Efficacy
- High Score – Has confidence in their ability to reach goals and succeed.
- Low Score – Feels ineffective and not in control of their lives.
2. Orderliness
- High Score – Loves lists, routines, and schedules. Very Organized.
- Low Score – Disorganized. Scatter-brained. Always late.
3. Dutifulness
- High Score – Feels a strong sense of duty and moral obligation. Reliable.
- Low Score – Feels confined by rules, laws, contracts, and regulations and seen as irresponsible and unreliable.
4. Achievement-Striving
- High Score – High achievers. Strives for excellence.
- Low Score – Not as ambitious. They are often seen as lazy.
5. Self-Discipline
- High Score – Strong ability to persist when doing unpleasant or complex tasks. Stays on track despite distractions.
- Low Score – Procrastinates. Often, they fail to complete tasks, even those desirable to them.
6. Cautiousness
- High Score – Deliberates before making decisions. Takes consequences and alternatives into consideration.
- Low Score – Impulsive. Does not think things through.
High Conscientiousness
You are very organized, reliable, efficient, and hardworking.
You can set a good balance between work and fun.
You save your fun for after your career is completed.
In your home, you keep things clean and organized as well.
People who are sloppy and leave messes to bother you.
Your natural inclination is to clean up a lot when you see one.
Research has found that highly conscientious people are very successful in their careers.
You can set long-term goals and then plan and complete the steps necessary to achieve these goals.
However, sometimes you are a perfectionist, or others may call you a workaholic.
Because of this, those who are highly conscientious do well in a variety of careers.
Common Traits:
- Spends time preparing.
- Finishes essential tasks right away.
- Pays attention to detail.
- They enjoy having a set schedule.
Medium Conscientiousness
You are sometimes very driven and hardworking, but that doesn’t mean you don’t like to have fun!
You are always able to set a comfortable balance between work and fun.
Your home isn’t spotless. Still, it is clean and organized.
You don’t mind leaving a mess behind quickly, but you clean it up later.
Your conscientious traits make you successful in your career – you are reliable and hardworking.
This and your friendly and relaxed personality make you a great employee.
You finish what is expected but aren’t too busy working to build relationships with coworkers and supervisors.
Low Conscientiousness
You are typically laid-back and relaxed and do not get too worked up about things.
You genuinely like to enjoy life.
You can procrastinate and sometimes put off your responsibilities until the last minute.
If something fun arises, does it bother you to put your responsibilities off until the next day?
You typically are not very organized, and it does not bother you if things around your house aren’t very clean or organized.
You know where everything is, even if it looks a little cluttered.
People who score low in Conscientiousness prefer careers with very set expectations and deadlines.
You like your supervisor to be very clear about what they expect from you, which helps you be successful.
Common Traits:
- Dislikes structure and schedules
- They make messes and don’t take care of things
- Fails to return things or put them back where they belong
- Procrastinates important tasks
- Fails to complete necessary or assigned tasks
The Down Side of Conscientiousness
Like everything else, when taken to the extreme, Conscientiousness can be debilitating.
Since people who score very high on Conscientiousness have higher goals, ambitions, motivation, and a sense of well-being.
They may encounter a problem when faced with failure.
Since their motivations and goals are a central part of their lives.
Failures such as unemployment will lead to decreased self-worth and even depression.
The following are negative behaviors found in people with extremely high levels of this super trait:
Prone to obsession and fixations.
- Can be excessively hardworking.
- Inability to relax.
- They take themself too seriously.
- Inability to accept failure.
- Difficulty in adjusting. Not flexible.
- Close-minded and prejudiced.
- Critical self-judgment.
- Perfectionism. Too high expectations.
We may want the personality traits that can give us an edge in life.
Still, we should remember that a well-balanced personality is more desirable than having a personality disorder.
Knowing how you rate on the scale of Conscientiousness will help you avoid the dark side of being too… perfect.
- Are you too hard on your loved ones and friends?
- Are you a hard-to-please boss?
- Do you spend very little time with your family?
- Are you obsessed with work?
- Do you even take time to enjoy life?
There’s still time to change and lead a more well-balanced life.
The key is to be aware of who you are and what drives your actions and thoughts.
