What Is The Neuroticism Personality Trait?

By Olivia Reed •

Neuroticism is one of the five core dimensions of the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality, also known as the Big Five. The Big Five traits - Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism - describe broad domains of personality that shape our characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving.  

Let's take an in-depth look at the key elements of Neuroticism.

Definition and Key Characteristics

Neuroticism describes individual differences in people's tendency to experience negative emotions and their emotional stability and resilience. Highly neurotic people tend to frequently feel anxious, stressed, sad, and moody. They worry a lot and struggle to bounce back from adversity. Less neurotic (emotionally stable) people have a higher threshold for stress and unpleasant arousal. They cope more evenly with life's challenges.

Key facets of Neuroticism include:

  • Anxiety: The tendency to feel fearful, apprehensive and prone to worry. High scorers often anticipate the worst while low scorers feel more relaxed and self-assured.
  • Angry hostility: The tendency to feel angry, frustrated and bitter. Neurotic people are more prone to irritation and less able to inhibit their anger.
  • Depression: Susceptibility to feelings of sadness, hopelessness and loneliness. High scorers are prone to guilt and discouragement while low scorers rarely experience such emotions.
  • Self-consciousness: Sensitivity to social rejection and ridicule. Neurotic people are easily embarrassed and feel inferior around others. Emotionally stable people are less sensitive to criticism.
  • Impulsiveness: The inability to control cravings and urges. High impulsiveness is associated with overindulging and struggling with temptations.
  • Vulnerability: The tendency to feel helpless, panicked or overwhelmed under pressure. Highly vulnerable people struggle to cope with stress while resilient people remain poised.

So in essence, Neuroticism captures susceptibility to negative emotions and stress. It describes differences in how anxious, moody, self-conscious and emotionally fragile people tend to be. High scorers frequently experience psychological distress while low scorers are more emotionally stable and resilient.

Origins and Stability 

Both nature and nurture shape Neuroticism. Twin studies estimate its heritability around 40-50%, suggesting genes play an important role while still leaving substantial room for environmental influence.

Neuroticism grows increasingly stable over the lifespan. It is moderately consistent in childhood and becomes more so through adulthood. By middle age, individual differences are largely stable. However, some change is still possible.

Neuroticism tends to gradually decrease with age. It declines most steeply in young adulthood and continues a modest decline into old age. However, individual trajectories vary considerably.

Outcomes and Implications

Neuroticism has been tied to a range of consequential life outcomes:

  • Mental health: Unsurprisingly, Neuroticism is a strong predictor of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Neurotic people are at much higher risk of experiencing clinical levels of psychological disorders.
  • Physical health: Neuroticism also predicts poorer physical health and higher mortality risk. This is likely due to chronic stress, poor coping behaviors (e.g. smoking), and neglect of health needs.
  • Relationship instability: Neurotic people tend to have rockier relationships characterized by more negative interactions, conflict and lower satisfaction. Their relationships are more prone to dissolution.
  • Subjective well-being: Due to their tendency toward negative emotion, neurotic people report lower levels of happiness and life satisfaction. They experience more emotional suffering and distress.

In summary, Neuroticism is a fundamental personality dimension that captures susceptibility to negative emotions, stress and instability. It has pervasive effects on mental health, physical health, relationship functioning and overall well-being. While neurotic people are prone to more psychological problems, they may also be more introspective and realistic in their view of the world and themselves. Conversely, while emotionally stable people are often well-adjusted and resilient, they can sometimes be complacent or overconfident.

Explore other Big Five personality trait models: 

 

References:

Lahey B. B. (2009). Public health significance of neuroticism. The American psychologist, 64(4), 241–256. 

Ormel, J., Jeronimus, B. F., Kotov, R., Riese, H., Bos, E. H., Hankin, B., ... & Oldehinkel, A. J. (2013). Neuroticism and common mental disorders: meaning and utility of a complex relationship. Clinical psychology review, 33(5), 686-697.

Widiger T.A. (2009) Neuroticism. In: Leary M.R., Hoyle R.H. (eds) Handbook of Individual Differences in Social Behavior. The Guilford Press. pp. 129-146.