QUESTION:
What is Neuroticism?
ANSWER:
Neuroticism has a lot to do with how we perceive negative and positive situations. While we generally have a fairly low level of anxiety and worry about negative outcomes, when we are faced with a life-or-death situation, we will develop a higher level of negative emotions and a heightened fear of negative outcomes. Those who exhibit higher neuroticism will react more strongly to uncertainty, as well as to stressful situations. In contrast, those who have higher levels of conscientiousness will try to understand the reasoning behind things that happen and calm themselves down before they become too stressed out. In this case, neuroticism is a defense mechanism that helps you cope with such situations.
To give this a little more scientific context and background, brain imaging studies have shown that there are two main neural systems involved in neuroticism. The limbic system is involved in our emotions, and the medial prefrontal cortex is involved in determining the importance of a particular stimulus. These two systems play an important role in the way we manage our emotions, and the two neuropsychological dimensions are associated with distinct brain areas. In our assessment of adaptability, we are looking at the characteristics of an individual when they face change at work, to what extent do they react, (linked to high emotions and a limbic response) or respond in a collected way (linked to our prefrontal cortex, and evaluating the importance of the event/change).
The notion of 'Collected' in the AQ Character, Emotional Range scale is derived from the Big 5 Personality Assessment dimension of Neuroticism.
It measures how much an individual worries, feels, and dwells on negative events. It helps us to understand how people respond to stress and anxiety, and how people respond to emotional stimuli. It's not a disorder but a continuum of experiences that all of us have at some point in our lives.
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