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The 10 Big Five Aspects, Explained

See the Big Five's five factors split one level further, into ten more specific aspects.

Openness (aspect of Openness/Intellect)

Reflects aesthetic sensitivity, imagination, and interest in artistic or aesthetic experience. High scorers are moved by art and beauty and enjoy imaginative, creative thinking; low scorers show less interest in artistic experience and prefer the concrete and practical.

Intellect (aspect of Openness/Intellect)

Reflects intellectual curiosity and enjoyment of exploring new ideas. High scorers are drawn to new concepts and theories and enjoy abstract discussion; low scorers find theoretical, abstract debate tiring and prefer familiar, well-tested approaches.

Industriousness (aspect of Conscientiousness)

Reflects how persistently and productively someone works toward goals. High scorers set a goal and push it through to completion, self-motivating along the way; low scorers follow the moment rather than goal-directed effort and tend to procrastinate without external motivation.

Orderliness (aspect of Conscientiousness)

Reflects how much someone follows rules and structure and keeps their surroundings organized. High scorers keep schedules and belongings systematically arranged and follow rules and procedures closely; low scorers act flexibly based on the situation rather than fixed rules and pay less attention to tidiness.

Enthusiasm (aspect of Extraversion)

Reflects positive emotion in social situations and the drive to form close relationships. High scorers feel real enjoyment and energy around people and actively build close relationships; low scorers get less emotional charge from socializing and are more comfortable with a few deep relationships.

Assertiveness (aspect of Extraversion)

Reflects how much someone takes the lead in a group and voices their opinions. High scorers speak up first in a group and are comfortable steering a situation; low scorers tend to observe rather than step forward, preferring to support from behind rather than take charge.

Compassion (aspect of Agreeableness)

Reflects how emotionally engaged someone is with others' feelings and needs. High scorers are moved by others' struggles and want to help, reacting sensitively to others' emotional states; low scorers are less affected by others' emotions and tend to approach problems logically rather than emotionally.

Politeness (aspect of Agreeableness)

Reflects restraint from aggressive or rude behavior and respect for social norms and authority. High scorers stay courteous even in conflict and respect social norms and others' rights; low scorers tend to speak their mind bluntly and are less bound by existing authority or convention.

Volatility (aspect of Neuroticism)

Reflects how suddenly emotions flare up and how hard anger or irritation are to control. High scorers get intensely emotional over small things and struggle to regulate irritation or anger; low scorers have fewer mood swings and stay composed under stress.

Withdrawal (aspect of Neuroticism)

Reflects how often someone feels anxiety, worry, or low mood, and how much they retreat under stress. High scorers feel worry and anxiety often and tend to withdraw or avoid under stress; low scorers are less troubled by anxiety or worry and stay relatively steady under stress.

What are the Big Five Aspects?

In a 2007 study, psychologist Colin DeYoung and colleagues showed statistically that each Big Five factor actually splits into two more specific sub-components, or 'aspects,' Conscientiousness into Industriousness and Orderliness, Extraversion into Enthusiasm and Assertiveness, and so on. Sitting between the narrower 'facet' level and the broader 'domain' level, the framework was introduced in a paper titled 'Between Facets and Domains.'

Why split five factors into ten, and when it's useful

Two people can score similarly high on the same broad factor while differing sharply on its two aspects, one person's high Conscientiousness might come mainly from Industriousness, steady effort toward goals, another's mainly from Orderliness, keeping things organized and following rules. That distinction matters for understanding concrete behavior: two equally extraverted people may differ in that one mainly enjoys the company of others, Enthusiasm, while the other mainly enjoys leading and directing a group, Assertiveness. The ten aspects are most useful exactly when a single factor score isn't specific enough to explain a real behavioral difference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I look at the Big Five Aspects instead of the Big Five?

The two are complementary rather than competing. The five-factor model is simpler for a big-picture view; the ten aspects are more useful when you want to understand finer differences within the same broad factor.

Is this a completely different model from HEXACO?

No. HEXACO restructures personality into six independent factors by adding a new Honesty-Humility dimension, while the Big Five Aspects framework keeps the original five-factor structure intact and simply looks at each factor in finer detail.