Where Does an Agreeable Personality Come From?

This article explains where agreeableness comes from and what it looks like.

Agreeableness is a personality trait, something that each person has to some degree. Agreeableness reflects our ability to and interest in getting along with other people – it is how much we want to work well with others, want to meet common goals, and want to have positive relationships (Costa et al., 1991).

There are several key domains, or facets, to the trait of agreeableness (Costa et al., 1991):

● Trust. People high in agreeableness are very trusting of others – they expect that other people are telling the truth and have good intentions. People low in agreeableness are more cynical; they naturally expect other people to be threatening and to be lying.

● Straightforwardness. On the other side of the trust equation, people high in agreeableness are also generally straightforward with other people. They are honest and direct in relating to other people. Being low in agreeableness is associated with concealing one’s motives and generally being dishonest.

● Altruism. Altruism means showing concern for others and putting their needs first. In agreeableness, this means having a strong orientation toward the social good and being selfless. People high in agreeableness are considerate of others and will often inconvenience themselves a bit to make sure other people are taken care of. Altruism often looks like generosity – think of Scrooge from A Christmas Carol after his overnight transformation into a man of charity.

● Compliance. Compliant means going along with requests and deferring to other people. People high in agreeableness are very likely to defer to the needs or expectations of other people, while people low in agreeableness will probably strongly resist any demands that are made of them.

● Modesty. People high in agreeableness tend to have more humility. They are not likely to make a conversation about themselves or to have an unrealistically high opinion of themselves. By contrast, people with low agreeableness are more likely to have big egos.

● Tender–Mindedness. People high in agreeableness tend to listen to their feelings and let their feelings influence their behaviors. This may be why they are more likely to have empathy for other people.

Agreeableness is a huge factor in determining how successful we are at forming and maintaining social relationships throughout our lives (Jensen-Campbell et al., 2003). Studies from childhood through adulthood show that people high in agreeableness have an easier time resolving conflicts, coping with relationship challenges, and adjusting to other’s needs (Jensen-Campbell et al., 2003; Wilmot & Ones, 2022). Indeed, levels of agreeableness may be the most important of the primary personality traits in determining the social outcomes in our lives (Jensen-Campbell et al., 2003).

Agreeableness is also negatively associated with strong, angry reactions, meaning people high in agreeableness are less likely to lash out at other people or get into conflicts (Martin et al., 2000). People high in agreeableness rarely are alone, because they are generally pleasant to be around and show interest in others (Wilmot & Ones, 2022). In fact, they often experience more positive emotions and have overall better psychological health than people lower in agreeableness (DeNeve & Cooper, 1998).