Aggreability is a very complex trait, with marked positive and negative elements throughout its distribution. Like Extraversion, Aggreability is primarily a dimension related to interpersonal tendencies.
People with a high score in agreeableness are kind: docile, caring, friendly, and conciliatory. They show benevolence and have a genuine interest in the well-being of others, seeking harmony in a group. The agreeable person is fundamentally altruistic. They are caring and compassionate, always ready to help others and believe that others will help them in return. However, due to their tendency to avoid conflicts, they often hide and conceal what they really think.
People with low agreeableness are described as stubborn, dominant, harsh, skeptical, competitive, and, at the extreme, even predatory. They will often defend their opinions vehemently, even at the risk of confrontation. Agreeable people are therefore generally more liked than disagreeable ones. However, agreeableness is not always useful in situations that require making difficult or objective decisions. Disagreeable people are either self-centered, doubt others' intentions, and prefer competition over cooperation. Studies have shown that a low degree of agreeableness can have many advantages for leaders and lawyers. However, they tend to be direct, even brutal, so it is quickly clear what they think.
A shortcut would be to think that being agreeable is socially preferable and healthier psychologically. It is certain that agreeable people are more liked than hostile individuals, but the tendency to defend one's own interests is often a significant asset, and agreeableness is not a virtue on a battlefield or in a courtroom. Skepticism and critical thinking can also contribute to fair and precise analyses in the scientific field. No pole of this dimension is necessarily preferable for the individual's mental health, nor is either pole inherently better from the societal point of view. Horney (1945) mentioned two neurotic tendencies 'moving toward people or moving against people' which resemble pathological forms of agreeableness and hostility.
Women are more agreeable than men. The average percentile for women in the general population (both men and women) is 61.5. For men, it is 38.5. The fact that men are less agreeable than women helps explain their much higher incarceration rate (90% of prisoners are men). The main difference between criminals and non-criminals is agreeableness. If the typical criminal is more disagreeable than 98% of the general population, then almost all of these criminals will be men. This difference in agreeableness between men and women is the most pronounced in countries like Norway and Sweden, where the most efforts are made to ensure gender equality. This clearly shows that biological factors, rather than environment and learning, explain this difference. Agreeableness, in itself, is not strongly associated with liberalism or conservatism, but that is because the aspects of agreeableness predict political belief in opposite ways and cancel each other out. Liberals are more sensitive to the compassion aspect, and conservatives to the politeness aspect. However, the alignment with the belief category now known as political correctness is strongly predicted by agreeableness (particularly compassion). This seems to suggest that agreeable people strongly identify with those they see as oppressed, essentially viewing them as exploited children, and demonize those they see as oppressors, viewing them as cruel and heartless predators. There are many differences between men and women in terms of spontaneous interest, and these also appear to be associated with agreeableness. Agreeable people, who care for others, are more likely to enter professions related to people, such as teaching and nursing, which are dominated by women. This is even true in Scandinavian countries, where attempts to create gender-equal societies have reached their peak. Disagreeable people, on the other hand, seem to prefer systematizing over empathy and are more interested in things—machines and technology. As a result, professions such as engineering and trades related to construction and machinery tend to be dominated by relatively disagreeable men.
A devoted volunteer who helps others, is empathetic, and concerned about the well-being of those in need reflects high Agreeableness.
A fierce competitor who focuses on personal goals, is prone to conflict, and shows little regard for others' feelings demonstrates lower Agreeableness.
A caring friend who provides constant emotional support to loved ones and strives to maintain harmonious relationships demonstrates high Agreeableness.
An individual who tends to be critical of others, selfish, and indifferent to others' feelings demonstrates lower Agreeableness.