The Maverick

The Maverick is above the median on Openness (curiosity and imagination) and Extraversion (energy and sociability), and below it on Conscientiousness (structure and follow-through) and Agreeableness (deference and tact). The name is shorthand for that pattern of four scores relative to the median, not a type found in research, and how the archetypes are built shows how the cut-off is set.

How the four traits combine

Openness includes a facet that measures readiness to question authority, convention and tradition (Johnson, 2014). Add Extraversion and you question out loud, in company, and enjoy the audience. Low Conscientiousness means you rarely draw up the rule's replacement, and low Agreeableness means you do not check whether the room is comfortable with the challenge. The result is usually the first person to say what the group has been avoiding.

The tension is between wanting people and treating their agreement as dull. Extraversion draws you to a crowd, yet low Agreeableness turns every conversation into a contest, so the audience you gather is also the audience you wear down. People who like a debate stay close. The others can drift off without a word, and you may never learn that a friend whose opinion you wanted had stopped giving it.

Calm or intense

Neuroticism sets how you take other people's reactions. With lower scores, being disliked is an acceptable price of an interesting evening. With higher scores you may be more sensitive to disapproval than your behavior suggests: the provocation is a choice, but the sting that follows is not.

Near the middle

If Agreeableness is the score near the median, you share a lot with The Spark, who has the same improvising and appetite for company, with warmth in front. If Conscientiousness is the close one, look at The Pioneer: the same nerve and taste for argument, with a schedule behind it.