I have recently become intrigued using personality tests, and curious about how accurate they are. After so many years of Buzzfeed quizzes, I have determined that I’m a Republican, a Ravenclaw, but that somehow hasn’t fully satisfied my thirst for personality analyses. On the MBTI scale, I identify as introverted, intuition-driven, thinking, and perceiving so if everything goes to plan I should be INTP. However, not all personality test results come out the way you want them, and I will point out and test a few for you to see which kind you prefer.
1. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
This test consists of a long series of questions that result in 16 different personality types. The four-letter coded results are often used by employers, dating sites for compatibility, and other manners as well. After answering about 60 questions I finally got my results:
ARCHITECT PERSONALITY (INTJ, -A/-T) (Introverted, Intuition, Thinking, Judgement)
“It’s lonely at the top, and being one of the rarest and most strategically capable personality types, Architects know this all too well. Architects form just two percent of the population, and women of this personality type are especially rare, forming just 0.8% of the population – it is often a challenge for them to find like-minded individuals who are able to keep up with their relentless intellectualism and chess-like maneuvering. People with the Architect personality type are imaginative yet decisive, ambitious yet private, amazingly curious, but they do not squander their energy.”
I do agree with this reading so far, I am very strategically and logically motivated. I don’t like leaving things to chance, or feelings, I appreciate having cold-heart facts and reasoning to base my decisions on. I am contrastingly imaginative, and often don’t find people like myself. If I had to rate this one, I would give it an 8/10.
2. BigFive
This personality test uses a combination of agree/disagree statements, a segment about your personal information, and a series of “I believe” statements. This questionnaire was developed by psychologists to provide a comprehensive description of one’s personality without the use of typing groups of people and focusing on a more individualized approach.
My results are a bit scattered but here goes: I got extroverted because I’m highly energetic. I also got agreeableness because I’m respectful, compassionate, and trusting. I got consciousness because I am organized and responsible. I also got negative emotionality because I’m emotionally sensitive and tend to have mood swings (not sure where they got that indication from). I also got open-mindedness because of my intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensitivity, and creative imagination.
Overall, I am dissatisfied with the results of this test and I question those that created it. I am not by any means extroverted nor negatively emotional. The agreeableness and consciousness I agree with, but that’s it. I am curious how much weight the political section had on our results, that would probably explain a lot.
3. Open Ended Jungian Type Scales 1.2
This was developed as an alternative to the Myers-Briggs test I took earlier. This test consists of 2 sections with 60 questions total. According to multiple psychologists, this OEJTS test proved to be the more accurate of the two.
My Jungian/Myers-Briggs personality type was INTJ. This test, however, failed to provide a detailed description of the personality type. I did, however, find an image online that took this four-letter code and made it an acronym for “That’s Not Thoroughly Justified,” which describes this personality type to a tee.
4. Raymond Cattell’s 16 Personality Factor
This psychologist broke personalities down into 16 factors and was also equivocated to previous work done by Lewis Goldberg. This test consists of 100 or so strongly agree/disagree rating questions for different feelings and behaviors. It rates all 16 factors of your personality on a scale of four.
Results:
Warmth: 3
Reasoning: 2.8
Emotional Stability: 3
Dominance: 1.9
Liveliness: 2.2
Social Boldness: 1.3
Sensitivity: 2.7
Vigilance: 1.5
Abstractedness: 3.3
Privateness: 3
Apprehension: 1.3
Openness to change: 3.6
Self-reliance: 3.3
Perfectionism: 3.1
Tension: 0.4
I really liked the results of this test, and I think it generally represents who I am except for dominance which should quite honestly be a 0.
Overall, each personality test was designed by a different psychologist and they all have a warning that they are strictly meant to be used for entertainment purposes only and not educational. Most results are used for research to improve their techniques, but their overall accuracy is very subjective and objective to the test-taker with the accuracy and authenticity of their results. I saw myself questioning my own answers throughout, so the results could fluctuate depending on your mood, emotions, feelings, etc... and the results from tests like these should not be taken seriously. I hope you enjoyed and found a test that you find interesting!
