Kindness is a personality trait that, in popular culture, is always seen as something positive and desirable While this is partly the case, it must be said that being very friendly can sometimes cause some inconveniences.
Be that as it may, below we will take a closer look at this personality trait, what people are like who have it very high, what those who have it very low are like, and how it is related to professional success and forgiveness.
Inside the Big Five model, by psychologists Paul Costa and Robert McCrae kindness, also called cordiality, is one of the traits that make up personality.
Kindness is described as the tendency of people to be compassionate and cooperative with others. People with high scores on this dimension are typically seen as warm, friendly, and diplomatic.
Being cordial is related to having an optimistic view of others, in addition to putting other people’s interests before one’s own and maintaining good relationships with equals. The aim is to please everyone, to have social harmony. That is, having a high degree of agreeableness is related to exhibiting prosocial behaviors
As a result, kind people tend to perform especially well in social situations and in team activities, in addition to fostering a good interpersonal environment, avoiding confrontation and trying to resolve relational problems.
Instead, People who have a lower score in this dimension tend to be not very altruistic They are not so keen on putting their interests before those of others, and it is quite common for them to opt for selfish behavior, although this in itself does not have to be something negative. They tend to be more competitive and even manipulative.
Those with low levels of agreeableness have been linked to exhibiting higher levels of what is known as the “dark triad.” or dark triad, a series of characteristics that are related to negative personality aspects. Among them would be Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. It should be said that they are also more likely to suffer from heart disease and experience more accelerated aging.
Each of the traits that make up the Big Five model has been shown to be behind certain positive aspects in life. Kindness, as we were saying before, is a predictor of having good and solid interpersonal relationships.
The kind individuals They tend to be better accepted in peer groups and suffer fewer bullying situations. In addition, they enjoy better contacts with the desired sex, whether during dates or in more intimate contexts. They enjoy a higher degree of satisfaction in their relationship, in addition to being less likely to suffer marital breakups.
People high in agreeableness tend to enjoy success in professions that require social skills or accomplish a task in collaborative work environments. They also tend to get involved in situations helping the most disadvantaged, such as volunteering, in addition to being less involved in criminal situations.
Facets of this trait
Within the dimension of agreeableness, like the rest of the personality dimensions of the Big Five model, we can find several more specific facets In the case of kindness they are the following.
1. Trust
This facet would refer to the tendency of assume that most people you meet are fair, honest, and have good intentions
2. Openness / Sincerity
A kind person tends not to manipulate others appearing frank and candid.
3. Altruism
It consists of helping others and obtaining pleasure by performing altruistic tasks Doing things for others fulfills them, rather than seeing it as a form of self-sacrifice.
4. Conciliatory attitude
Confrontations are avoided and you try to get along with others.
5. Modesty
Modesty is understood as the way of showing oneself to the world as one is, without exaggerating positive attributes This is done without necessarily having a lack of self-esteem and having diminished confidence in one’s abilities.
People who score high in empathy They emotionally care for others, and know how to put themselves in their place They show compassion for the disadvantageous situation that another person may be experiencing.
Kindness and professional success
Possessing high scores in this trait has been related to professional success. Although this is partly true, it should be taken with a grain of salt, given that personality traits must be seen as contextually advantageous There are situations in which being kind is beneficial, while in others it can pose a problem for the person’s physical and mental integrity.
In most cases, possessing social skills and having a generally friendly personality is related to a good job adjustment and an adequate relationship with coworkers, in addition to being a factor that can contribute to increased salary and promotions.
As we already saw, cordial people are seen as warmer and more pleasant. In a work context such as an office, having employees who contribute to the development of correct interpersonal dynamics in that place can increase company productivity, in addition to reducing the risk of sick leave. This can be explained by the fact that workers will be more eager to go to work because they meet people with whom they have a good time.
However, if there is an unsociable person in that same workplace, it is quite likely that the company has a serious problem. On the one hand, toxic situations can develop both inside and outside the office, and on the other, the unkind person will have very little desire to go to work, which in itself puts them at risk of being fired. and others from having to put up with someone who doesn’t give their all.
Nevertheless, The profile of a kind person may not be the most appropriate for certain professions For example, in a high school, where the students are teenagers who can be potentially disruptive, it is not advisable for the teacher to always be friendly, especially if there is a case of bullying in class or one of the young people is interrupting the session. The teacher must be firm and expel the student, or stop the aggression if it is occurring.
Another field where having a low cordiality profile can be an advantage rather than a disadvantage is in the army. A soldier should not be a nice person who sees the best in others, since if he does so in a war situation it is quite likely that he will not see the enemy and will end up paying for it with his life. That is to say, kindness is not very helpful in professions in which a certain competitive spirit is required.
What relationship does it have with forgiveness?
Scientific evidence has suggested that kindness could be the most robust predictor of prosocial behaviors such as forgiveness and its antagonist, revenge
Forgiveness can be understood as a process in which a person manages, through words, to restore a relationship that had been damaged by performing an act, both physical and verbal, that had harmed another person. Asking for forgiveness predisposes you not to attack later, in addition to de-escalating the situation generated and reducing negative emotions.
Given that people who have less agreeableness are antagonistic, hostile, irritable and tend to show little respect towards others, they also seem to be people who choose to carry out revenge behaviors more frequently instead of forgiving whoever may have done them. damage.
On the other hand, Agreeable people tend to seek more meaningful relationships with others therefore, in the event that they are harmed by some type of harmful act, such as aggression or insult, they will opt for strategies to reduce tension, forgiveness being the most important and recurrent of them.
