Conscientiousness is not just about getting to the church on time, in a freshly-ironed outfit. It is a fundamental personality trait that influences whether people set and keep long-range goals, deliberate over choices or behave impulsively, and take seriously obligations to others. Conscientiousness is a key ingredient in success, but the off-the-charts conscientious may court perfectionism by setting their sites too high.
Conscientiousness distinguishes organized and hard working people from people who are more impulsive and spontaneous. Conscientiousness is a top predictor of job performance and success, but people low in Conscientiousness are good to have around when the plan does not work out and some quick thinking is necessary. You’d want to market to people by Conscientiousness differently: those high in Conscientiousness would take longer to make a purchasing decision and would want to compare with other products, those low in Conscientiousness would be more likely to make a snap decision.
