Responsibility as a personality trait is undoubtedly an extremely useful trait to enjoy a functional, organized life without unforeseen events. It is related to having a long life and enjoying great success at work.
Below we will delve into this personality trait, in addition to going into detail about the facets that make it up and see how it develops throughout the lives of individuals.
The responsibility is one of the Big Five personality traits of the five-factor model or Big Five, by Paul Costa and Robert McCrae This dimension refers to the ability to control aspects such as impulses, have self-discipline and great organizational skills. It also includes all behavior related to achieving a goal, in addition to thinking in the short and long term, following the rules or establishing priorities.
People who have high scores on this dimension They are usually hard-working, reliable and punctual, in addition to having a great tendency towards order They also have a great sense of duty and do not usually break the rules.
However, very high scores in this dimension can be something that borders on psychopathology. The person may have serious problems letting go of certain aspects, in addition to seeking perfectionism or reaching obsessions. They can be seen as extremely rigid and not very tolerant of unforeseen events. They do not allow themselves to deviate even one centimeter from the script pre-established by themselves.
At the other end of this same dimension, People with low scores on responsibility tend to be impulsive and spontaneous, with a lower degree of concern towards achieving or achieving objectives, in addition to being more relaxed. They have trouble motivating themselves to focus on achieving a certain goal. They are less likely to delay gratification, that is, they need to be rewarded immediately for something they have done.
As with the rest of the dimensions proposed within the model of the big five personality traits, the responsibility dimension has six facets, which are the following:
1. Competition
It is the belief to be considered self-efficacious, that is, be able to adequately meet the objectives set or the skills to be performed
2. Order
It refers to being able to organize yourself, both in terms of physical space and in your own personal agenda (e.g., organizing your studies, keeping your room clean…)
3. Sense of duty
It is the importance that the person gives to fulfill moral obligations and follow the rules
4. Need for success
It is the need to have a high result by achieving the goals and give life direction and purpose
5. Self-discipline
It refers to the ability to start a task, carry it out to the end without abandoning it halfway whether due to boredom or the distractions that one may encounter in the process.
6. Deliberation
It is the facet of the personality that would be most responsible for avoid acting on impulse It is the ability to think things through carefully before carrying them out and see what consequences may be associated with them.
Responsibility throughout development
People, whether due to genetic or environmental factors, have different degrees of personality. This, like the rest of the personality traits, is because human beings have individual differences. No two people are alike in terms of personality.
But, in addition to this, there are no people who are equally responsible throughout their lives. That is, there are significant intrapersonal differences in this dimension. It has been seen that as you grow up, how meticulous and hard-working you are changes. While personality traits are relatively stable throughout an individual’s life, conscientiousness is the least stable of all.
Responsibility is a fairly marked characteristic in adults when compared to younger people who, as a general rule, have a low degree of self-control and tend to seek immediate gratification. People become progressively more responsible as we grow, with age 60 being the end point of this increase.
It should be said that these increases vary depending on the age of the subject. Early adulthood is the most critical point in personality development and is surely the time when the most changes occur in the person’s way of being.
During late childhood and adolescence, people appear to be less responsible, and even, during these ages, they become a little less responsible than they were before. This is easily understandable if you look at the academic performance of many teenagers in high school and compare it with their grades at school. There is usually a slump, which is usually because they become more carefree. It has also been seen that after the age of 60 there is a slight decrease in this dimension.
Responsibility and professional success
It has been seen that responsibility is the dimension that could solidly explain professional success, in addition to being related to having good academic performance, regardless of whether one has good cognitive abilities or not.
The responsability It is the dimension most related to being successful in any profession This stands out compared to the rest of the dimensions. For example, having high extraversion and agreeableness can be useful in professions that require social skills, such as being a hotel receptionist, while in others, such as the military, this is not an advantage. What both professions do have in common is that having a high level of responsibility helps to preserve them.
People with high scores in the responsibility dimension tend to be more organized and hard-working, which are highly useful aspects in any work context. Also, being more reliable, their bosses tend to give them higher priority when carrying out tasks, in addition to allowing them to show their maximum effort and potentially deserve raises and promotions.
On the other hand, people Those who have low scores in this dimension run the risk of postponing work, in addition to presenting lower performance. They also tend to have less motivation to perform tasks. They are people who, being more spontaneous and carefree, can end up doing their obligations later than they should. They tend to neglect things, which puts their job in danger.
What relationship does it have with health?
Not only responsibility predicts good work performance. This dimension has been associated with greater longevity. This can be explained by the way of being of the responsible people, who usually have little tendency towards self-destructive behavior.
Having high scores in this trait is usually related to maintaining good health habits, such as playing sports, going to sleep at an appropriate time, not consuming drugs, avoiding tobacco and alcohol, in addition to having an organized lifestyle. Thus, by being organized and orderly, last-minute unforeseen events are avoided, which can be a source of a lot of stress and problems to deal with.
As they are people who, as a general rule, respect the rules and laws, they tend to be little involved in situations of violence and do not commit crimes. In this way, potentially dangerous situations are avoided, such as being attacked by other criminals or having a tense situation with the police. They also avoid unnecessary risks, such as having unprotected sex.
