Conscientiousness
Conscientiousness is the Big Five trait for organization, self-discipline and follow-through. High scorers tend to plan ahead, keep things in order and finish what they start. Low scorers tend to be more flexible and spontaneous, and they leave more loose ends.
- The two ends: Flexible and spontaneous, to organized and planful.
- Industriousness: Getting the work done and finishing what you start.
- Orderliness: Keeping things tidy, scheduled and in their place.
- In the free test: Six statements count toward the organized end and four toward the flexible end.
The trait that shows up in every job
Look at what this one trait has been linked to.
Start with work. It was the only one linked to job performance in all five job groups in a review of performance studies: professionals, police, managers, sales and skilled work.1 At university, once earlier school grades were taken into account, it added about as much to predicting grades as intelligence did.2 Less smoking, less heavy drinking, less risky driving and more healthy habits all went with traits related to it, across 194 studies.3
It even goes with a longer life. Across 20 samples, more conscientious people lived longer, and the link was strongest for being persistent and organized.4
And on average it rises as people get older, especially between 20 and 40.5
What a correlation of .11 means
That longer-life link was a correlation of .11.4 It held across 20 samples. It's also small.
A correlation that size describes a tilt across thousands of people. It tells you almost nothing about any one person, and plenty of people at the flexible end do well at work and at school and live long lives.
Read every finding above the same way, as an average across many people that says little about where your own life will go.
Hard work and a tidy desk
Researchers who split each Big Five trait into two sides named this trait's halves Industriousness and Orderliness.6,7 They travel together, and they can come apart. You can work hard and still have a messy desk.
Ten statements with a lean toward tidiness
Our free personality test uses these 10 statements from the IPIP's Big-Five Factor Markers, worded with "I".8 The four on the flexible side are scored in reverse.
| Statement | Agreeing counts toward |
|---|---|
| I am always prepared. | Organized end |
| I leave my belongings around. | Flexible end |
| I pay attention to details. | Organized end |
| I make a mess of things. | Flexible end |
| I get chores done right away. | Organized end |
| I often forget to put things back in their proper place. | Flexible end |
| I like order. | Organized end |
| I shirk my duties. | Flexible end |
| I follow a schedule. | Organized end |
| I am exacting in my work. | Organized end |
Belongings left around, things put back, liking order. That's three of the ten, or four if you count "I make a mess of things".
If you work hard and keep your promises but live with clutter, this scale may place you lower than you expect.
Conscientious or perfectionist?
One statement, "I am exacting in my work", comes close to perfectionism. The other nine are about doing: planning, preparing, putting things back, following through.
Perfectionism is about worth. As the perfectionism page describes it from the clinical research, the core problem is self-worth that depends on meeting the standard, and nothing in this scale asks about that.
Packed the night before, or sorted on Thursday
| Toward the organized end | Toward the flexible end | |
|---|---|---|
| Day to day | Lists kept, prepared on arrival, chores cleared before they pile up | Going with the moment, changing course easily, fine with a loose plan |
| Where it helps | Other people can count on you | You adjust fast when things shift |
| What it costs | Pressure on yourself when a plan collapses, and trouble stopping at good enough | The forgotten bill, or the task that keeps coming back |
Most people sit nearer the middle: careful about what matters to them, relaxed about the rest.
"I packed my bag the night before, checked the route twice and still left early." (toward the organized end)
"I'll sort the inbox when it gets bad. It got bad on Thursday." (toward the flexible end)
Which task keeps coming back on your list? Write down why it's stuck, and the smallest step that would move it.
Answer this with JoyQuestions people ask about conscientiousness
What is the opposite of conscientiousness?
The low end of the same scale: a flexible, spontaneous, less structured style. There's no single word for it, and laziness is the wrong one.
Can you become more conscientious?
On average, people do with age, especially in their 20s and 30s.5 Programs are another story. Trait scores did shift in 207 studies of therapy and other programs, over about 24 weeks, but emotional stability changed most and extraversion came next, so the evidence that a program can raise conscientiousness is thinner.9
Related
- Know yourself: the section hub.
- Free personality test: see where you fall on all five traits.
- Neuroticism and agreeableness: two of the other four traits.