Also called the reverse of what research often labels Neuroticism. Different names, same underlying trait.

Higher in emotional stability

People higher in emotional stability tend to stay level when things get difficult and recover fairly quickly afterwards. Pressure tends not to stay with them long.

Lower in emotional stability

People lower in emotional stability tend to feel things strongly and to stay affected longer after something difficult. That same sensitivity often comes with real attunement to what is going on around them, and with noticing problems early. It is a description of how intensely you experience stress, not a sign that anything is wrong.

Neither end is the good one

It is tempting to read one side of a personality scale as the healthy side. That is not how these traits work. Each end carries its own strengths and its own costs, and which one serves you better depends entirely on the situation you are in. A trait is a description of how you tend to operate, not a score on how well you are doing.

Traits also move over a lifetime. Where you land today is a snapshot, not a sentence.

The statements that measure it

Emotional Stability is scored from these 10 statements. 2 count toward a higher score and 8 are reverse-scored.

  • Get stressed out easily.reverse-scored
  • Am relaxed most of the time.
  • Worry about things.reverse-scored
  • Seldom feel blue.
  • Am easily disturbed.reverse-scored
  • Get upset easily.reverse-scored
  • Change my mood a lot.reverse-scored
  • Have frequent mood swings.reverse-scored
  • Get irritated easily.reverse-scored
  • Often feel blue.reverse-scored

Reverse-scored statements count the other way round: agreeing with one lowers the score rather than raising it. Mixing them in is what stops someone who agrees with everything from scoring high on everything, and it is why a questionnaire like this cannot simply be eyeballed.

The other four traits