Lessons in the Big Five Personality Traits at Oscars 2022

On the 27th of March 2022, the stars of Hollywood gathered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to attend one of the most awaited events of the year – The Oscars. The event has faced an existential crisis in recent years, thanks to the covid-19 pandemic, the rise of OTT content, and relevance among the Gen-Zs.

The Oscars of 2022, which captured 16.6 million viewers and a rating of 3.8 among adults aged 18-49, was the second least-watched and lowest-rated Academy awards ever. Last year was the worst when the event went on without a host.

Nielsen says there wasn’t a significant surge in viewers even after the Will Smith- Chris Rock incident. The viewership moved marginally by 614,000 viewers when the ‘King Richard’ lead was declared the best actor and delivered a tearful apologetic acceptance speech. The viewership swung the needle to 17.4 million viewers with a rating of 3.9. The Academy, sponsors, and affiliates need to pull a rabbit out of the hat to grab sizeable mindshare of its target audience.

However, the winner of the most popular award and the star comic host did deliver something out of the blue this year, albeit unintentionally. The whole incident can be observed and dissected from multiple lenses of morality as it turns out into great meme content for social media and even conventional media channels. 

I, however, see this as a classic case study to understand some of our deep-seated personality traits. Psychologists developed the ‘Big Five Personality Model’ to understand human behavior. They categorized all personalities into five main characteristics of extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness. All features were displayed during the incident and the events that followed. I take account of the evening to explain these personality traits here.

Each personality trait branches out into two features. Therefore, you define extraversion (Extroverts) in a person by measuring her enthusiasm and assertiveness. Neuroticism through withdrawal and volatility. Agreeableness through attributes of compassion and politeness. Conscientiousness through industriousness and orderliness and openness to experience with openness and intellect.

Chris Rock was the absolute extrovert and was rightfully high on enthusiasm and assertiveness. Any event would call for someone high on extraversion to keep the audience and viewers enthralled. That he did until he hit a wrong note with Jada Pinkett Smith, the wife of Will Smith. The joke by Chris Rock isn’t out of the blue for an Oscars evening.

You only need to scroll through numerous clips of past Oscar hosts to understand what I mean. Every host has cracked jokes on fellow actors, the institution of Hollywood, its culture, the movies, and the prevalent trends. I mean, did you not notice this at the same event!

Will Smith himself admitted in his apology that he would have taken the joke if it was on him but wouldn’t stand it when made on his wife, who is sick. This brings us to neurotic behavior, which triggers volatility in one’s nature. Aggression in neurotic behaviors need not always be an offensive strategy from the word go. It can be a hyper-defensive muscle action, where fending the non-existent threat can seem aggressive to others.

Hence, we term the trait Neurotic. The parallel attribute could be withdrawal or freezing as compared to volatility. The star did not vote for this option. Will Smith might not be and is not a violent person. He leads a celebrated public life. However, a trigger led to an eruption of emotions that he might have bottled for years.

On the other hand, Chris Rock was the epitome of calm. Displaying the trait of agreeableness when Will Smith asked him to stop using his wife’s name. Chris Rock’s immediate reaction was it was just a joke, and the next word was “OK.” This was from a celebrity who got slapped a few seconds ago in front of the A-listers and 16 million-odd viewers on television.

There was an immediate transition from extraversion to compassion and politeness that is drawing praises for Chris Rock. A change that is extremely difficult to manage with extraversion. Extroverts can be highly impulsive and reactive. Chris Rock, for that moment, was not. However, agreeableness and adopting at every point can be dangerous and make you a pushover. You will always place the needs of others before yours, which can turn harmful.

Will Smith, however (intentionally or unintentionally), fell back to a careful acceptance speech. One that was a subtle justification of his behavior to the character the jury gave a thumbs-up as the year’s best. It displayed his openness to learning and intellect immediately.

I still wonder why he chose not to mention Chris Rock’s name in the apology during the speech. Was he curious only about the organizers and the institution of the Oscars? Fearful they might strip him of the award and hand it over to another nominee?

The PR engine for Will Smith got into the act in an attempt to douse the fire. These are the ones sitting right behind the stars at the Oscars to ensure their clients are covered in every aspect.

The apology the next day to Chris Rock and the Academy and calling out the volatile behavior is an act of conscientiousness and orderliness. An attribute that is highly sensitive to disgust. You would immediately want to put those things in order that you feel disgusted about. Will Smith did that the following day and released a formal apology.

We must not dwell on a single trait forever, even though it seems the most viable option at the time. We must aim to regulate the other features around our inherent behavior to bring a balance playing field to all. This should be our goal for improving as humans. Chris Rock was wrong somewhere with his insinuation. Will Smith was wrong with his violence.

The two global stars retorted to traits that the world is so fed up with. Especially in times of ongoing Russia – Ukraine war and one-upmanship displayed. Hollywood could have behaved better to instill calm in viewers during distress. The purpose of entertainment is to bring joy to its audience, and this is the moral responsibility of every entertainer. Maybe this strategy would also help the Oscars reclaim its lost identity and viewership by condemning disrespect of all forms.

The writer Roshan Shetty is an author, corporate coach, and speaker.

His book Shift Left on Emotional Intelligence and skills required for the future is available on Amazon worldwide.

Learn more about his work at www.roshanshetty.com. Subscribe to his YouTube Channel, Cult Curator, for life hacks on well-being.