What is personality and the "Big Five"?

Personality is a comprehensive term that describes our attitudinal, emotional, and behavioural response to experiences in our environment. Researchers generally describe personality as being composed of 5 relatively independent traits, often described as the "Big Five" (Barrick, Mount, & Li, 2013; Gottschling, & Spinath, 2012; Mottus, Johnson, & Deary, 2012; Woods, Lievens, Fruyt, & Wille, 2013).