Navigating the OCEAN: Leveraging the Big Five Personality Traits for Effective Mentor–Mentee Matching

By Jean Rhodes

What makes a good mentor-mentee match? Programs have long focused on the importance of matching on demographic factors, such as same race/ethnicity and gender, but recent empirical evidence also points to personality traits . I recently took a deep (ok, obsessive) dive into this research to develop a  matching algorithm, including studies that focused on matching on Big Five traits (or pairing complementary traits). The “Big Five” personality dimensions – often abbreviated as OCEAN–include Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism. Personality is just one piece of the puzzle. Effective mentor–mentee matching algorithms also include such variables as shared background, interests, goals, values, preferences, and the mentor’s skills and helping experience.  Nevertheless, recent findings are suggest that the Big Five can shape the mentoring relationship’s quality.

In a school-based mentoring trial with aggressive children, Younginer and Elledge (2021) found that mentees reported higher relationship quality when their mentors were more extraverted. Extraverted mentors (i.e., more talkative, energetic, and outgoing) tended to create a “fun and supportive environment” that aligned with children’s social needs and led to a stronger bond.  The same study reported an unexpected downside to Agreeableness: highly agreeable mentors were associated with lower child-reported relationship quality. Youth perceived very agreeable mentors – who tend to be compliant and non-assertive – as lacking clear opinions or guidance, which left mentees feeling uncertain. This nuanced finding highlights that more of a “nice” trait is not always better in mentoring; a too-agreeable mentor might hesitate to set boundaries or provide direction, which can be confusing for youth.

Cavell et al. (2020) studied college student mentors working with elementary school children with aggressive behavior, focusing on how Big Five traits predicted mentoring relationship quality over one semester. They found that when mentor–mentee pairs experienced low levels of conflict, mentor Extraversion and Agreeableness were positively associated with higher quality relationships (along with secure attachment styles. However, in matches that encountered frequent conflict, different traits emerged as important: mentor Openness and Conscientiousness  were significant predictors of better relationship quality, while Agreeableness in those high-conflict situations actually correlated negatively with relationship quality. In other words, when dealing with difficult, conflict-prone interactions, mentors who were more open-minded and organized were more successful, whereas an agreeable (accommodating) personality was less effective. These patterns suggest that an ideal personality match may depend on context. Ror challenging youth, a mentor who is adaptable (open) and reliable (conscientious) can help navigate conflict, whereas being overly agreeable might be a liability if the mentee needs more  guidance.

Cavell et al. (2020) conclude that it is vital for programs to assess traits during screening and matching, especially when working with high-risk children. Younginer and Elledge (2021) also suggest youth mentoring programs should examine mentors’ and mentees’ personality tendencies as part of the matching process.  For instance, a very shy mentee might thrive with a more extraverted mentor who can draw them out, whereas a mentee who lacks structure might benefit from a conscientious mentor. Matching on personality is not simply about making pairs identical – in some cases, a contrast in traits (like a mentor high in patience with a headstrong youth) can be beneficial. The key is to avoid mismatches that could undermine the relationship (e.g. a highly anxious mentor with a very sensitive mentee might amplify stress) and to provide mentors with training on how their personality strengths and quirks may affect the match.

Some college peer mentoring programs also consider personality in making matches. For example, a recent multi-university report on peer mentoring best practices recommends using mentor and mentee personality traits (along with interests and background factors) as explicit criteria when pairing students. Program coordinators observe that, say, an outgoing peer mentor can help an introverted freshman get involved on campus, or that a mentor who shares a mentee’s level of conscientiousness can better coach them on time management(Wulf et al., 2021).  At minimum, awareness of each person’s personality can allow pairs to navigate differences (for example, if a mentor knows their mentee is low in Openness, they might introduce new ideas more graduallyMeddeb, St-Jean, and Rauch (2024)

Overall, Big Five traits shape how mentors interact, how mentees perceive their mentors, and how conflicts are handled. Using algorithms that incorporate short personality assessments may help programs maximize their effectiveness.