wiki. secretGeekThe 32 People You Meet In Heaven, Hell and Everywhere Else
Consider the The Big Five Personality Traits, i.e.
- Openness to experience (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious)
- Conscientiousness (efficient/organized vs. easy-going/careless)
- Extraversion (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved)
- Agreeableness (friendly/compassionate vs. challenging/detached)
- Neuroticism (sensitive/nervous vs. secure/confident)
If you treat these as binary traits, on or off, then you can define a maximum set of 32 types of people.
| # | Open to experience | Conscientious | Extraversion | Agreeableness | Neuroticism |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | consistent/cautious, not curious | easy-going/careless, not organised | outgoing and energetic | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 2 | consistent/cautious, not curious | easy-going/careless, not organised | outgoing and energetic | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | secure/confident |
| 3 | consistent/cautious, not curious | easy-going/careless, not organised | outgoing and energetic | challenging and detached (cold) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 4 | consistent/cautious, not curious | easy-going/careless, not organised | outgoing and energetic | challenging and detached (cold) | secure/confident |
| 5 | consistent/cautious, not curious | easy-going/careless, not organised | solitary and reserved | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 6 | consistent/cautious, not curious | easy-going/careless, not organised | solitary and reserved | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | secure/confident |
| 7 | consistent/cautious, not curious | easy-going/careless, not organised | solitary and reserved | challenging and detached (cold) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 8 | consistent/cautious, not curious | easy-going/careless, not organised | solitary and reserved | challenging and detached (cold) | secure/confident |
| 9 | consistent/cautious, not curious | efficient and organized, not careless | outgoing and energetic | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 10 | consistent/cautious, not curious | efficient and organized, not careless | outgoing and energetic | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | secure/confident |
| 11 | consistent/cautious, not curious | efficient and organized, not careless | outgoing and energetic | challenging and detached (cold) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 12 | consistent/cautious, not curious | efficient and organized, not careless | outgoing and energetic | challenging and detached (cold) | secure/confident |
| 13 | consistent/cautious, not curious | efficient and organized, not careless | solitary and reserved | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 14 | consistent/cautious, not curious | efficient and organized, not careless | solitary and reserved | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | secure/confident |
| 15 | consistent/cautious, not curious | efficient and organized, not careless | solitary and reserved | challenging and detached (cold) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 16 | consistent/cautious, not curious | efficient and organized, not careless | solitary and reserved | challenging and detached (cold) | secure/confident |
| 17 | inventive and curious, not cautious | easy-going/careless, not organised | outgoing and energetic | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 18 | inventive and curious, not cautious | easy-going/careless, not organised | outgoing and energetic | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | secure/confident |
| 19 | inventive and curious, not cautious | easy-going/careless, not organised | outgoing and energetic | challenging and detached (cold) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 20 | inventive and curious, not cautious | easy-going/careless, not organised | outgoing and energetic | challenging and detached (cold) | secure/confident |
| 21 | inventive and curious, not cautious | easy-going/careless, not organised | solitary and reserved | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 22 | inventive and curious, not cautious | easy-going/careless, not organised | solitary and reserved | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | secure/confident |
| 23 | inventive and curious, not cautious | easy-going/careless, not organised | solitary and reserved | challenging and detached (cold) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 24 | inventive and curious, not cautious | easy-going/careless, not organised | solitary and reserved | challenging and detached (cold) | secure/confident |
| 25 | inventive and curious, not cautious | efficient and organized, not careless | outgoing and energetic | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 26 | inventive and curious, not cautious | efficient and organized, not careless | outgoing and energetic | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | secure/confident |
| 27 | inventive and curious, not cautious | efficient and organized, not careless | outgoing and energetic | challenging and detached (cold) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 28 | inventive and curious, not cautious | efficient and organized, not careless | outgoing and energetic | challenging and detached (cold) | secure/confident |
| 29 | inventive and curious, not cautious | efficient and organized, not careless | solitary and reserved | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 30 | inventive and curious, not cautious | efficient and organized, not careless | solitary and reserved | agreeable, friendly and compassionate (warm) | secure/confident |
| 31 | inventive and curious, not cautious | efficient and organized, not careless | solitary and reserved | challenging and detached (cold) | neurotic, sensitive/nervous, anxious |
| 32 | inventive and curious, not cautious | efficient and organized, not careless | solitary and reserved | challenging and detached (cold) | secure/confident |
When developing a character in fiction, pick one of these 32 possibilities, and you won't be writing a 1 dimensional character, you'll be writing a 5 dimensional character. Not bad!