An enduring tendency to experience negative emotional states. Individuals who score high on measures of neuroticism are more likely than the average person to experience such feelings as anxiety, anger, guilt, and depression. They respond more poorly to environmental stress and are more likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult.
Emotional instability and maladjustment.
A dimension of personality derived from questionnaires and psychological tests. People with high scores in neuroticism are anxious and intense and more prone to develop neurosis.
One of the Big Three and Big Five traits characterized by a disposition to experience emotional lability, a general sense of vulnerability, and negative affect.