You are high in agreeableness, which is the primary dimension of Interpersonal interaction in the Big Five personality trait scientific model. Agreeableness has two aspects: compassion and politeness, which will be explained separately. Agreeableness is a very complex trait, with marked positive and negative elements all along its distribution. Because of this, higher scores and lower scores need to be explained at the same time.
People high in agreeableness are nice: compliant, nurturing, kind, naively trusting and conciliatory. However, because of their tendency to avoid conflict, they often dissemble and hide what they think. People low in agreeableness are not so nice: stubborn, dominant, harsh, skeptical, competitive and, in the extreme, even predatory. However, they tend to be straightforward, even blunt, so you know where they stand.
Your score puts you at the 88th percentile for agreeableness. If you were one of 100 people in a room, you would be more agreeable than 88 of them and less agreeable than 11 of them.
People with high levels of agreeableness are seen by others as cooperative, warm and considerate. They are quite likely to look for and even sometimes to see the best in others, and are interpersonally tolerant (an attitude that is much valued by agreeable people). They do not like to see other people’s feelings get hurt, and tend to be much concerned about the emotional state of others, preferring peace and harmony. They tend highly towards submissiveness rather than dominance (particularly if also above average in neuroticism).
People with high levels of agreeableness are forgiving, accepting, flexible, gentle and patient. They feel pity for those who are excluded, punished or defeated. They tend to insist that people work cooperatively, and often believe that competition, with its losers and winners, is morally wrong. However, highly agreeable people can be taken advantage of, particularly by disagreeable people, including those with criminal or predatory intent. They will lose arguments (or even avoid discussions) with less agreeable people. They tend not to be very good at bargaining for themselves, or at negotiating for more recognition or power. They may have lower salaries and earn less money, in consequence. All of this can lead to resentment and hidden anger. Furthermore, because of their tendency to avoid or reduce conflict, highly agreeable people may sacrifice medium- to long-term stability and function for the sake of short-term peace. This can mean that problems that should be solved in the present accumulate counter-productively across time.
Women are higher in agreeableness than men. The mean percentile for women in a general population (women and men) is 61.5. For men it is 38.5. The fact that men are lower in agreeableness than women helps explain their much higher rates of criminal incarceration (90% male). The primary difference between criminals and non-criminals is disagreeableness. If the typical criminal is more disagreeable than 98% of people in the general population, then almost all those criminals will be male. This difference in agreeableness between men and women is largest in countries such as Norway and Sweden, where the most has been done to ensure equality of outcome between the sexes. This provides strong evidence that biological factors rather than environment and learning account for the dissimilarity.
Agreeableness, per se, is not strongly associated with political liberalism or conservatism, but this is because the aspects of agreeableness predict such political belief in opposite ways, and cancel each other out. Liberals are higher in aspect compassion, and conservatives in aspect politeness. However, alliance with the category of belief that has come to be known as politically correct is strongly predicted by agreeableness (particularly compassion). What this appears to mean is that agreeable people strongly identify with those they deem oppressed, seeing them, essentially, as exploited infants, and demonize those they see as oppressors, seeing them as cruel, heartless predators.
There are large differences between men and women in terms of spontaneous interest, and these also appear associated with agreeableness. Agreeable people, caring as they do for others, are more likely to enter professions associated with people, such as teaching and nursing, which are dominated by women. This is true even in the Scandinavian countries, where attempts to produce gender-equal societies has reached a maximum. Disagreeable people, by contrast, appear to prefer systematizing over empathizing, and are more interested in things – machines and technology. In consequence, professions such as engineering and trades associated with construction and machinery tend to be dominated by relatively disagreeable men.
Agreeableness has two aspects: compassion and politeness.
You are exceptionally high in compassion, which is one aspect of Agreeableness. Your score puts you at the 96th percentile for compassion. If you were one of 100 people in a room, you would be more compassionate than 96 of them and less compassionate than 3 of them.
Exceptionally compassionate people are primarily interested in the problems and concerns of other people, and other living things, particularly if they are young or helpless. They are extremely concerned with helping other people avoid negative emotion. They minimize conflict wherever possible. They constantly make time and do kind things for others, even when doing so interferes with fulfilling their own needs and interests. They have a remarkably soft side. Other people consider them sympathetic and nice, and will turn to them remarkably often for a listening ear. They are extremely empathetic and caring. However, because they are so other-oriented, they find it remarkably difficult to negotiate on their own behalf, and may not get what they deserve (for their hard work, for example). This can lead to intense resentment.
Those who are liberal, politically, score somewhat higher in compassion than conservatives.
Women are also higher in compassion than men. The mean percentile for women in a general population (women and men) is 61. For men it is 39.
You are typical or average in politeness, which is one aspect of Agreeableness. Your score puts you at the 58th percentile for politeness. If you were one of 100 people in a room, you would be more polite than 58 of them and less polite than 41 of them.
Typically polite people can be deferential to authority, but can also be challenging, when necessary. They are not particularly obedient. They can be respectful, but will also push back if pushed. They are not made uncomfortable by the necessity of standing up to other people. Typically polite people will avoid conflict, reasonably, but are not completely averse to confrontation.
Those who are liberal, politically, score somewhat lower in politeness than conservatives (the opposite pattern is seen with compassion).
Women are higher in politeness than men. The mean percentile for women in a general population (women and men) is 59. For men it is 41.