Conscientiousness is one of the factors of the Big Five personality theory. It describes people who are ordered, controlled, organized, ambitious, achievement focused, and self-disciplined. In general, people who score high on C are hardworking, conscientious, punctual, and persevering. In contrast, people who score low on conscientiousness tend to be disorganized, negligent, lazy, and aimless and are likely to give up when a project becomes difficult.
Conscientious children, for instance, get their homework done on time and keep their rooms neat. They set goals and fulfill them, and they generally don’t take many risks. In the California study, persons high in this characteristic have been fully 30 percent less likely to die in any given year than persons low in this trait.
However, recent research has indicated some positive effects of low conscientiousness. Research has demonstrated that lack of conscientiousness is associated with innovation. Defined by terms such as fastidious, ordered, neat, and methodical, the evidence shows that individuals high on conscientiousness are more resistant to changes at work and are more likely to comply with current organizational norms.
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Sources:
Theories of Personality, Jess Feist and Gregory Feist
Psychology, Robert Baron (Click for eBook)
Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology (Click for eBook)