ABSTRACT
The concept of agreeableness (and disagreeableness) has permeated much of the world’s literature. In the first pages of the Bible (Gen. 4:8), Cain, the first offspring of Adam and Eve, murdered his brother Abel in a fit of jealousy. Two chapters later, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). In Greek mythology, many characters epitomized agreeable or disagreeable behaviors (e.g., Poseidon’s mean-spirited treatment of Odysseus). Agreeable and disagreeable traits were also assigned to characters in Shakespeare’s plays (e.g., The Taming of the Shrew). Contemporary literature and films have continued the tradition, and the essence of a character is often defined in terms of agreeableness or disagreeableness. How kind, caring, and cooperative or how selfish, cruel, and manipulative a person is has been very salient throughout written history: Both writers and audience have long been intrigued by variations in the characteristics summarized by the concept of agreeableness.
