Personality trait 5: Neuroticism / Emotional Stability Quiz

Your Score Indicates You have:

Low Neuroticism / High Emotional Stability

Low neuroticism can be thought of as emotional stability. People who are low in neuroticism are often more relaxed and confident in their abilities, and they report fewer medical and psychological issues. This is because their emotional stability allows them to approach stressful situations with positive coping strategies.

In terms of relationships, it is unsurprising that low neuroticism is associated with greater relationship satisfaction – especially if both members of a partnership have low scores. These couples tend to be more existentially in tune with one another other, and able to resolve conflict without becoming overly emotional, reactive or defensive.

In relation to the workplace, low neuroticism is associated with higher confidence and less anxiety, making it easier to focus and be productive.

Low neuroticism is also associated with better professional relationships, mainly because the people who are low in neuroticism can regulate their emotions and therefore cooperate effectively with others.

Your Score Indicates You have:

Moderate Neuroticism / Emotional Stability

People who are moderate in neuroticism are likely to experience mood swings or mood instability occasionally, but not persistently or frequently.

These people are likely to be reasonably calm and stable most of the time, but they can still feel emotional or overwhelmed occasionally, especially when they are under stress.

In essence, people who are moderate in neuroticism experience situational negative emotion, as opposed to persistent negative emotion. The latter cannot be clearly linked to any situation or life event.

You are moderately resilient under stress. Situations that would cause others anxiety do not tend to have the same effect on you. Occasionally you are able to handle stressful life circumstances without becoming overly affected. Although you are not immune to mental health issues, you are much less likely than the average person to develop a condition like anxiety or depression.

Your Score Indicates You have:

High Neuroticism / Low Emotional Stability

The key features of high neuroticism are frequent negative emotion and rapid mood change. As a result of their irregular moods, neurotic people are often highly reactive and unpredictable (even unpredictable to themselves). They are more likely to perceive situations as threatening, even when other people do not (constructive criticism may be taken as a personal attack, for instance).

They are more likely to escalate difficult or combative situations, even when they don’t intend to, because their reactions are disproportionate to the reality of the situation. Highly neurotic people are also more likely to be self-conscious about how they are perceived by others, leading to low confidence and self-esteem.

All the factors described above make it difficult for neurotic people to maintain positive relationships (both personal and professional), which explains why neuroticism is associated with poor relationship satisfaction and mental health outcomes.

In one study of newlyweds, for example, high levels of neuroticism in one partner were associated with lower marital and sexual satisfaction after just one year of marriage. Divorce rates among neurotic people are higher than average.

In relation to the workplace, high neuroticism is associated with reduced success. Neurotic people may find it difficult to concentrate at work because they are preoccupied with anxiety surrounding their performance or relationships with colleagues.

If they suffer from depression, which very common among highly neurotic people, they are likely to experience decreased concentration, decreased motivation, and the frequent sensation of being overwhelmed. Unsurprisingly, then, neuroticism is associated with job dissatisfaction, burnout, frequent change of jobs, and even termination of employment.