Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness is the personality trait of being , or . Conscientiousness implies a desire to do a task well. Conscientious people are efficient and organized as opposed to easy-going and . They exhibit a tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement; they display planned rather than spontaneous behavior; and they are generally organized and dependable. They have a more functional anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) than the average person. It is manifested in characteristic behaviors such as being neat and ; also including such elements as , , and (the tendency to think carefully before acting.) Conscientiousness is one of the five traits of the Five Factor Model of personality and is an aspect of what has traditionally been referred to as having character. Conscientious individuals are generally and . They are also likely to be conformists. When taken to an extreme, they may also be "workaholics", perfectionists, and compulsive in their behavior. People who score low on conscientiousness tend to be laid back, less goal-oriented, and less driven by success; they also are more likely to engage in antisocial and criminal behavior.

Conscientiousness is one of the five major dimensions in the Big Five model (also called Five Factor Model) of personality, which also consists of extraversion, neuroticism, openness to experience, and agreeableness. Two of many personality tests that assess these traits are Costa and McCrae's NEO PI-R and Goldberg's NEO-IPIP. According to these models, conscientiousness is considered to be a continuous dimension of personality, rather than a categorical 'type' of person.

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