Here's a free personality test that will score you on some major traits included by other popular quizzes and tests... in less than 100 questions. Rules:
- Takes less than 10 minutes to get advanced self-awareness
- There are no right answers.
- Answer them quickly, do not over-analyze. Go with what seems best.
- Answer them "the way you are", not 'the way you'd like to be"
We often look for these answers in personality tests. All it takes is a quick Google search or opening up a magazine to find personality tests and quizzes. They can be fun and silly to take, or they can reveal a shocking amount of information about your personality. Researchers also use personality tests to study people and connect certain personality traits to behaviors.
What are Personality Tests?
Personality tests use different types of data to analyze and measure people and their personalities. While many tests are completed in the form of surveys, researchers have created a wide variety of personality tests with different tasks or scenarios.
Some of the most famous personality tests include:
- The Myers-Briggs
- The Dark Triad
- The Rorschach test
- Hexaco Personality Inventory
- Winslow Personality Profile
Personality tests have different goals: some want to determine what people are thinking unconsciously while others measure the levels of certain traits in individuals. All of these tests look at how people interact with the world around them and aim to advance personality psychology.
Myers Briggs Personality Test
Many people love to share their MBTI test scores, however you may not know what their seemingly random string of letters means. Developed by Carl Jung and some of his fans, the Myers-Briggs or MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) test is loved by the public, but hated by many scientists.
The test puts participants into one of 16 categories based on how they answer questions. The MBTI measures 4 traits:
- Extraversion vs Introversion
- Sensing vs Intuition
- Thinking vs Feeling
- Judging vs Perceiving
Depending on how you fall into each of those categories, you are given a label. For example, if you received Introversion, Intuition, Thinking, and Judging, you would be labelled as an "INTJ", like me.
Dark Triad Test
Have you ever seen one of those "How Evil are You?" personality tests on social media? Most likely the are the Dark Triad test. I have a whole article with tons of data on the dark triad if you'd like to learn more, but in short... it measures 3 main traits. We commonly associate these traits as being "bad' or "dark", which gives the quiz it's name.
- Machiavellianism
- Narcissism
- Psychopathy
Machiavelliansim describes behavior as manipulative, cunning, and sneaky.
Narcissistic behavior is commonly well known and deals with a big ego.
Psychopath refers to one's inability to feel and share emotions.
The Big 5 Traits
The "Big 5 Model of Personality" is the most well-known because it's the most scientifically-studied. Researches have tried again and again to disprove these 5 main traits, however they seem to have stuck. The Big 5 test is used in schools, universities, employment areas, and even in prisons.
Here's a quick rundown of the 5 traits - you can remember them with the acronym OCEAN:
- Openness to New Experiences
- Conscientiousness
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism
A sixth trait has been debated over the last few years: Honesty. Honesty and Humility seem to be the exact opposite of the Dark Triad scores though. For example, if someone scores high percentages on the Dark Triad test, they usually score low on the Honesty-Humility section of the Big 5 Personality Test.
Conscientiousness is about how responsible and organized you are. If you score high, you're probably good at managing your time and keeping commitments. Extraversion measures your sociability and energy levels in social situations.
High scorers are typically outgoing and enjoy being around others, while low scorers might prefer more time alone.
Agreeableness assesses how cooperative and compassionate you are towards others. High scores indicate a warm, friendly nature, whereas low scores might suggest a more competitive or critical personality.
Lastly, Neuroticism measures emotional stability. A high score could mean you experience emotions intensely and might get stressed easily, while a low score suggests a calmer, more resilient disposition.
You can take the test in under 5 minutes to see how you rank.
Projective Tests
If you have ever taken a Rorschach test, you’ve taken a projective test. Projective tests were developed out of theories that people hide unconscious thoughts or behaviors. These tests are meant to bring those unconscious thoughts out into the open. The Rorschach test is one of the first examples of projective tests. A psychologist shows an ambiguous drawing to a patient and asks them to immediately tell the doctor what comes to mind. The answer can be very revealing and surprising to some.
Another example of a projective test is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT.) In this test, the psychologist shows the patient a series of scenes and asks the patient to tell a story about what is happening in the scene. The patient’s response can give the psychologist a look into their inner feelings and how they perceive certain situations.
All of these tests have advantages and disadvantages to them. Some tests are easier to create and some data is easier to collect. Bias from the subject or the researcher can also have an impact on what the test reveals about the subjects or different groups of people. Keep these potential biases in mind as you take and study personality tests.
What Data is Used on Personality Tests?
How do we score personality tests? How do researchers score personality tests? We use a few different types of data:
Self-reported data
No one knows you better than you, right? When you are taking a personality test from your bedroom and have to answer questions, you are using self-reported data. This data may sound like “I always put others ahead of myself” or scoring a 5 for “I tend to get sentimental, even with people I have just met.”
Self-reported data is easy to obtain, but it’s not the best type of data to use in clinical studies or scientific research. Why? It’s biased. People can fake their answers on tests or not be able to see themselves objectively.
Observer-reported data
There are ways to gather a person’s data without their bias or input. Scientists can collect data through observation and use their findings to make conclusions about the people in the study or a larger group.
There are two types of observer-reported data: naturalistic observation and artificial observation. When researchers conduct naturalistic observation, they don’t tell the subjects that they are being watched. The opposite goes for artificial observation. Scientists often prefer naturalistic observation; people may act differently or artificially when they know they are being watched and recorded.
Test Data
Scientists collect test data by setting up a test. The test will often set up subjects in a scenario and then give them a choice to make. The researchers watch the subjects as they take the test and then record how they behaved. Test data may connect certain traits to certain behaviors or certain behaviors to other behaviors.
Life Data (“Longitudinal Research”)
There are many obstacles that arise when you take data on personality. Genetics and environment can influence someone’s behavior or decision-making process. People who grew up in a small town, for example, may behave differently than people from a big city, even if they tend to be “agreeable” or “neurotic.” Life data takes these factors into consideration and looks at personality data throughout time.
Why Do We Make Personality Tests?
Personality tests are definitely fun and silly, but researchers use them for pretty important purposes. Psychologists are like engineers. They want to build better people and create a world with more lawful and positive citizens.
You can build something more effectively if you have great tools. Personality traits are just a few of those tools. They give insights into someone’s personality and can potentially predict people’s behavior. The connections between certain traits and behaviors can help all of us spot people that may be beneficial to our lives or harmful. In another video, I will talk about how to spot people who may be bad influences in your life and how to stay away from them.
Flaws in Psychometric Tests
There are two main factors that psychologists look for in a decent personality test.
1) Reliability - This means participants will get the same results over time
2) Validity - This means you should actually be able to do something with the data (like predict future behavior)
According to Cleverism, the Myers-Briggs test doesn't fall into either of these categories. This jabs a knife into the scientific backing to the famous test. In personality psychology, we try to measure personality as behavioral traits that don't change much over time, however through tests like the Big 5 and Myers Briggs, people often see major changes in under 5 years.
What does this mean for you? Don't take personality test so seriously. They are the best tools we have, but they're certainly not perfect.
Go and take a personality test today, whether it’s for fun or to encourage some self-reflection. The more you know about how you score on personality tests, the more you can see how you fit in the world. Your results may also be able to help you predict your behavior and prevent yourself from behaving in unfavorable ways.
