Alexander Davadilla

Case Study #2

Individual: Barney Stinson

Theory: The Big Five

The theory known as the Big Five, also known as OCEAN, is a structure of five

continuous factors: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism

(Erik Shiraev, 2017, p. 213). The respective opposite traits to those previously mentioned are:

dogmatism, irresponsibility, introversion, unfriendliness and emotional stability (Shiraev, 2017,

p. 213) The degree to which a person holds the five OCEAN traits can be a useful tool to

understanding a person on a broad level.

In this case study, I will apply the Big Five theory in my analysis of Barney Stinson, from

the famous TV show, How I Met Your Mother. The first trait to make note of is his openness to

experience. Barney Stinson is not very open to new experiences. Although he has gone great to

great, admittedly creative, lengths to try to get laid and to try to get his “wingman”, Ted Mosby,

laid, he prefers to plan things out and prefers to stick to what is familiar to him. Both of these

traits are indicative of dogmatism (Shiraev, 2017, p. 214). Barney sticks to a pretty

straightforward routine: he wears suits consistently and tries to get laid using the routines he

wrote in his “Playbook”.

The second trait in the Big Five theory is conscientiousness. Barney Stinson is very

conscientious. He is effective at organizing and being industrious, which are characteristics of

someone who is conscientious (Shiraev, 2017, p. 214). He does hold many traits of being

irresponsible in the sense that he will consistently accept challenges when trying to suit a

woman, even if those challenges are risky. The reason I don’t consider his irresponsibility to
make him low in conscientiousness is because virtually every move he makes is calculated (even

if they are calculated towards decisions that may be dangerous).

The third trait is extraversion. Barney is definitely extraverted. According to Shiraev’s

textbook (2017), extraversion can be seen in the most talkative, energetic people in a room.

Whenever he is in the bar with his friends, he is generally the center of attention and he if he is

not leading the conversation, he is constantly interjecting.

The fourth trait is agreeableness. Barney could not care less about being agreeable. Even

if his morals seem questionable or downright sociopathic, he sticks to what he believes in. This

applies to how relentlessly he suits women, but also in how he is one of the few people that

believe Billy Zabka’s character in Karate Kid was the protagonist. It is his competitiveness and

skepticism that make him disagreeable (Shiraev, 2017)

The last trait is neuroticism. Barney is not at all neurotic. When he follows through with

his plans he is calm and confident. He is not sensitive or concerned about the people he affects,

besides his closest friends. These are all characteristics of someone who is low in neuroticism

(Shiraev, 2017)
 Reference Page

Erikson, E. H. (1963). Childhood and society: 2d ed. rev. and enlarged. New York: Norton.