What is it?
Conscientiousness is a part of the Big5 personality traits. It reflects the tendency of a person to be organized, responsible, goal-directed, cautious, dutiful and to adhere to the norms and rules. This trait involves being mindful of those around you be it friends, family, or even strangers. Conscientiousness enables a person to be good at self-regulation and impulse control. It influences various choices of a person like whether one will set and keep a long-term goal, or act impulsively or not.
Traits of conscientious people:
Is conscientiousness genetic?
Studies in behavioral genetics have showcased that conscientiousness is attributed to both genetics and the environment in which one is raised. The prefrontal cortex is considered to be critical in reflecting the behavior of a person with conscientiousness.
Can conscientiousness have adverse effects?
Being too conscientious can have negative impacts as well like being too dedicated and diligent can result in burnout. Being highly conscientious may lead one to take up more tasks than required and the dedication to finish all may take a toll on one’s health. Highly conscientious people tend to be too hard on themselves and set excessively high standards for themselves. Such people are perfectionists and therefore can take life very hard.
What can be done?
One can work to build conscientious personalities in the following ways:
Scoring high in conscientiousness trait does not define your overall personality. It is one trait of yours. It might tell what you and why but is not the only one responsible for defining who you are. A personality consists of all the Big 5 personality traits. Accept who you are and know that there’s always scope for improvement.
By Divyangana
