Conscientiousness is the personality trait of a person who shows an awareness of the impact that their own behavior has on those around them. Conscientious people are generally more goal-oriented in their motives, ambitious in their academic efforts and at work, and feel more comfortable when they are well-prepared and organized.

The trait is one of the 'Big Five' factors psychologists use to evaluate an individual's personality.

Research in recent decades has a number of significant differences between the personalities and life outcomes of people who are conscientiousness, and those who are considered to be unconscientious.

individuals with higher levels of this trait tend to be more empathetic towards other people

A previous study, led by psychologist Howard Friedman, even found a correlation between conscientiousness and life expectancy. Participants who demonstrated higher levels of conscientious as children were observed to enjoy longer lifespans than other subjects

What is Conscientiousness?

Conscientiousness involves being mindful of those around you, from friends and family, to colleagues and even strangers. A conscientious person will be conscious of the first impression that they make on others when they are introduced to new people, for instance.

They also feel a sense of duty towards others. They are aware of the effect that their words and actions can have on people in everyday situations.

Conscientious people will therefore take care not to inadvertently offend or upset others by either their words or actions.

As a result of their careful behavior, conscientious people have been found to be less likely to be involved in driving accidents than those with less conscientious personality traits (Arthur and Graziano, 1996).

A person who is conscientious is most at ease when they feel that they are organized. They prefer their surroundings - their bedroom, desk or office - to be tidy and presentable.

Their organized tendencies also extend to other areas of life: a conscientious person will often be careful to be reliable, and to be on time for important meetings and appointments. They are keen to keep to their schedule, often maintaining a diary and making plans for the future, as well as budgeting for events well ahead of time.



Goal-Oriented Behavior

The behavior of conscientious people is often driven by their personal goals. They use their own initiative to set goals, and then concentrate their energy towards achieving them.

This can translate into higher ambitions - in academia at school, striving to achieve target grades - and in finding their desired career later in life.

In order to achieve their goals, a conscientious person will be willing to be hard-working, devoting much of their attention and energy towards a specific aspiration. They are more willing to persevere through difficult circumstances, and may assume the reputation amongst colleagues of being a 'workaholic'.

Whilst tiring, this goal-oriented behavior can pay high rewards. For example, in a University of Iowa study of the performance of salespeople, a study found that conscientious employees achieved a higher volume of sales than their unconscientious co-workers (Barrick et al, 1993).

Conscientiousness also leads people to care about the potential consequences of their actions. They prefer to deliberate over the options available to them rather than making impulsive decisions. A conscientious person may be slower at making choices, but he or she will be more confident that the decision that they have made was correct.

Low Conscientiousness:

As with other personality factors, conscientiousness is measured on a continuum, ranging from low, moderate to high levels of the trait. People who are unconscientious tend to be more disorganized. People with low levels of conscientiousness trait also tend to engage in impulsive behavior.

Instead of thinking through an action to its conclusion, an unconscientious person may act spontaneously. For instance, where conscientious people would weigh up the benefits and costs of buying a new car, an unconscientious person who likes a car may go ahead and purchase it, but regret their action as they find themselves in debt later on.

Unconscientious people are often more relaxed about time-keeping - their unpunctuality can leave them late for work or missing important appointments. They also display less goal-oriented behavior and are less driven to succeed than their conscientious counterparts.

Origins:

Conscientiousness is a 'Big Five' factor of personality, along with other broad factors - openness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. These factors follow the lexical approach to personality, which proposes that people naturally create terms for common traits so that they can describe and discuss them.

Since the mid-20th Century, psychologists have attempted to understand personality differences using with reference to these personality traits.

In 1936, Gordon Allport and Henry Odbert proposed an inventory of around 4,500 terms, derived from Webster's New International Dictionary, describing various personality traits.

Subsequent attempts have been made to produce more concise, workable trait inventories. Psychologist Raymond Cattell produced the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) in the 1940s, whilst Hans and Sybil Eysenck developed the PEN model of personality, which measured 3 key traits.

In recent years, these five factors, which include conscientiousness, have become a benchmark for assessing personality differences.

The factors have been used in a number of models of personality, including Lewis Goldberg's Big Five, and Robert McCrae and Paul Costa's Five Factor Model. Each of the five factors covers a broad array of facets - traits describing more specific aspects of personality.

Conscientiousness is commonly assessed using self-report questionnaires. A person taking the questionnaire is asked to rate the extent to which a number of statement or terms describe his or her personality.

Inventories of such questions, which are used to measure conscientiousness and other factors, include Costa and McCrae's Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) and the International Personality Item Pool (McCrae and Costa, 1987).

What Factors Influence Conscientiousness?

Both biological and environmental differences have been found between conscientious people and those exhibiting lower levels of the trait.

Personality psychologists Robert McCrae and Paul Costa, who have lead research into the Five Factor model of personality, found that the interactions children have with their parents or caregivers can affect personality traits later in life.

They surveyed a sample of adults, measuring key personality traits along with their memories of their parents' behavior when they were younger.

The researchers found that children whose parents were affectionate towards them tended to score higher on conscientiousness than participants whose parents were more distant (McCrae and Costa, 1988).

However, further research has suggested a biological basis for some personality traits, including conscientiousness.

A study of the Big Five personality traits amongst monozygotic and dizygotic twins in Vancouver, Canada found that conscientiousness may be, to some degree, inherited through the genes of our parents (Jang et al, 1996).

MRI scans have also identified a link between brain structure and conscientiousness. A study published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience in 2017 found that the brains of participants who were more conscientious had a "thicker cortex and smaller area and folding in prefrontal regions" (Riccelli et al, 2017; license).

Yet, conscientiousness does not necessarily remain constant. The extent to which we experience it can vary through our lives.

According to what psychologists term the 'maturity principle', traits such as conscientiousness tend to increase as we grow older. Aside from a slight decrease between early and mid-adolescence, we grow more conscientious with age (Van den Akker, 2014).

Conscientiousness:

Conscientiousness is a fundamental personality trait-one of the Big Five-that reflects the tendency to be responsible, organized, hard-working, goal-directed, and to adhere to norms and rules. Like the other core personality factors, it has multiple facets; conscientiousness comprises self-control, industriousness, responsibility, and reliability.

A conscientious person is good at self-regulation and impulse control. This trait influences whether you will set and keep long-range goals, deliberate over choices, behave cautiously or impulsively, and take obligations to others seriously. (The other Big Five personality traits are extraversion, agreeableness, openness, and neuroticism.) Conscientiousness is generally a key ingredient for success-in love as well as work. It's also a major predictor of health, well-being, and longevity.

Understanding Conscientiousness:

Conscientious people are proactive in making decisions big and small. For example, the conscientious don't just set goals, they set a timeline for meeting each goal. People with a conscientious personality do well in jobs that require attention to detail, such as surgeons and pilots; and it's no surprise that the conscientious are less likely to wind up behind bars.

How does a conscientious person act?

These people are not impulsive. They are planners and they abide by schedules. They also do not miss bill payments, they take notes, keep their promises, and show up on time. They engage in self-care through exercise, proper sleep, and a healthy diet. They are less likely to engage in risky behaviors like smoking and heavy drinking.

How can you become more conscientious?

One technique is mental contrasting, by which individuals imagine a goal, the path to the goal, and obstacles likely to be encountered along the way. Such a process can help people choose feasible goals and boost their commitment to achieving them. Both nature and nurture affect this personality trait, and people do become more conscientious as they age.

Can you be conscientious about some things but not about others?

Yes. By and large, people behave consistently when the environment is consistent, but the behavior might not translate across domains. The degree of conscientiousness we bring to a task at our job does not predict how conscientious we'll be about bill paying or other personal matters. It is predictive of how conscientious we'll continue to be in work-related endeavors.

Are the conscientious more empathic?

The conscientiousness among us may well be more empathic toward others. A Chinese study of 471 nurses found that empathy was positively associated with conscientiousness and agreeableness, while it was negatively associated with neuroticism.

Is conscientiousness genetic?

Studies in behavioral genetics have shown that this trait is about half attributable to genetics, and half to the environment in which someone is raised, or to developmental factors that are not presently understood. Anatomically, the prefrontal cortex, site of all executive function, is critical in managing behavior that reflects conscientiousness.

Can you be too conscientious?

A person can be too diligent and dedicated, which can result in burnout. In physicians, a profession where conscientiousness can be highly useful, the rate of burnout is estimated at about 50 percent.

The Link Between Conscientiousness and Success:

Conscientious individuals tend to be high achievers in academics and in professional life. On the job, along with high productivity, they garner higher earnings, good relationships, work satisfaction, and achievement. In addition, the conscientious tend to land more leadership positions.

Do conscientious people persevere more than others?

Diligent and thorough people will stick to a problem until it is solved. If they fail, they will keep trying. They are not necessarily smarter than anyone else in the room, nor will they execute a task better than others. They will, however, plug away toward a successful resolution.

Are conscientious people more rule-abiding?

People high in conscientiousness do abide by certain rules of living. They are, for example, more likely to drive at the speed limit and take responsibility for problems that come up. This also applies to relationships and the obligations that come with them.

Are conscientious people more punctual and prepared?

The less conscientious may oversleep, and be late for class or work and avoid tasks that demand action. But being on time is an important trait of the conscientious person. They keep To-Do lists, are usually prepared, attend to tasks without delay, and prefer orderly routine. They are avid note takers and they write first drafts.

Are conscientious people healthier?

Research has found that conscientiousness may mean lower blood pressure, lower rates of diabetes and stroke, fewer joint problems, among other health outcomes. In general, the conscientious person maintains self-care to a higher degree and enjoys a longer life, as well.

What is the link with perfectionism?

People at the higher end of the conscientious scale may be at risk of perfectionism and workaholism and may fare poorly under conditions of high stress. As mentioned, overly conscientious people are prone to burnout. Those low in conscientiousness may conversely exhibit flexibility and spontaneity.

Are conscientious people happier?

If you feel a greater sense of agency in your life, or that you have control over things that happen, you have an internal locus of control. And the things and situations that happen are directly influenced by your skills, abilities, and actions you have taken. People high in conscientiousness have such an internal locus of control.

Conscientiousness is one of the five personality traits of the Big Five personality theory. A person scoring high in conscientiousness usually has a high level of self-discipline. These individuals prefer to follow a plan, rather than act spontaneously. Their methodic planning and perseverance usually makes them highly successful in their chosen occupation.

High conscientiousness means a person is responsible and reliable

Conscientiousness is about how a person controls, regulates, and directs their impulses. Individuals with a high level of conscientiousness on a career test are good at formulating long-range goals, organizing and planning routes to these goals, and working consistently to achieve them. Despite short-term obstacles they may encounter. Other people usually perceive a conscientious personality type as a responsible and reliable person.

However, individuals who score high in conscientiousness on a personality test can be compulsive perfectionists and workaholics. They might also be seen as being boring or inflexible. Take a free personality test to learn more about your occupational strengths and to test personality.

Sub traits of the conscientiousness domain:

Conscientiousness personality traitEach of the Big Five personality traits is made up of six facets or sub traits. To test personality, these can be assessed independently of the trait that they belong to. The sub traits of conscientiousness are:

Self-efficacy

Orderliness

Dutifulness

Achievement-striving

Self-discipline

Cautiousness

Careers and conscientiousness trait:

A high score of conscientiousness in a career test is an important indicator of success. One reason is that this domain includes the trait known as need for achievement. These individuals are dependable, organized, and persevere, which means they will accomplish their professional goals. Research shows that the conscientiousness personality trait relates to job performance across different types of occupations. That means that a person who scores high in conscientiousness on a personality test will be better suited to perform a job.