Here are the five major personality categories, described by Goldman. Each personality category has its own specifics, and each personality is motivated in different ways. It's important to remember that these categories are descriptions of the way that people behave in certain situations, so you might fit into a different category depending on what environment you are in (school, work, or home) and what time of life you are in.

? Openness to Experience
? Conscientiousness
? Extraversion (also called extroversion)
? Agreeableness
? Neuroticism

1. Openness to Experience

People who fall under this category often exhibit some of the following personality characteristics:
More aware of feelings
Intellectually curious
Artistic, or at least appreciate art
Aesthetically minded
Unconventional
Can be conforming, but are often individualistic
The opposite of this is closed to experience. People who fall under this category generally are closed to new experiences, don't like change, and don't like ambiguous or complicated things.

People who are open to experience tend to do well in environments that allow for a lot of creativity and force adaptability and exploration of different ideas. The opposite, people who are closed, are not necessarily negative. They actually tend to be the best in sales, police or other security work, and certain service jobs.

2. Conscientiousness

This particular personality group describes the way that impulses are governed. People who are conscientious are the kind of people who plan really well. They tend to stick to goals, because they follow strict schedules, like things to be orderly, are detailed oriented, and are consistently prepared.
The opposite is more spontaneous. People who demonstrate spontaneity usually are not particularly prepared and are the people who leave their belongings all over the place. However, these people are great in jobs that require quick decisions and the energy to take risks.

3. Extraversion

People who are extraverted, or extroverted, really like to participate in the world around them. They really like other people. They like to be the center of attention and the life of the party. They don't like to be locked up by themselves all day in an office. To be motivated, they need a lot of stimulation and constant reassurance. Extraverted people tend to do better achieving their exercise goals if they come up with an exercise plan that entails running or working out with other people, for example.

The opposite of this is introversion. People who are introverted are quiet, and don't feel it necessary to talk a lot or be the center of attention. Introverts might have a harder time being motivated, though not necessarily. Motivation comes internally.

4. Agreeableness

People who fall under this category place a lot of value on getting along with the people around them. They are optimistic and will generally find the best in other people. While it is much easier to get along with these people, they aren't necessarily the best at making objective decisions because they don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or want to see the bad in any people.

Disagreeable people-or people who tend to place their own interest above others and are skeptical about others and human nature-actually do really well in certain jobs, like science or criticism.

5. Neuroticism

People who are neurotic can experience a lot of anger, anxiety, or depression. They react strongly to situations, and respond emotionally. If you are neurotic, then you actually have a very difficult time being motivated, because you get easily discouraged by events that you see as being intensely negative, even if they are not.