If you surf the web a lot, you’ve probably come across personality tests.
You might dismiss personality tests as clichés. However, they’re likely to be more accurate than you think. So, to give you some insight into them, here are ten of the most popular tests today.
Why Use Personality Tests?
Personality tests may seem like a gamble, but they do have their advantages. Employers rely on them to discover their employees’ personal strengths. Hence, they make the hiring process easier. These tests are also useful because they help people find life partners. Understanding your personality type can help you find your life partner.
10 Most Popular Personality Tests
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
First and foremost is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Katherine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Myers created the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which is one of the most popular personality tests to date.
They based it on the ideas of psychoanalyst Carl Jung, who believed that people understand the world through sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking. Jung suggested that only one of these psychological functions is strong most of the time. It also shows whether people are introverts or extroverts. While intuition and sensation help with perception, feeling and thinking support judgment.
The MBTI test, which is designed for working populations, takes into account personality differences. It has its flaws but is one of the most reliable assessments.
- DISC Assessment
The next test on the list is the DISC. Based on the ideas of psychologists William Marston and Walter Clark, it assesses behavior. It focuses on the traits of dominance, seduction, submission, and compliance (DISC). Some companies rely on it to recruit employees, while others use it to measure an employee’s suitability for a job. It may put you on the right career path for you.
- Winslow Personality Profile
This personality assessment test measures career success and happiness. It assesses 24 personality traits and helps a person discover their strengths. This test is well-received because it is easy to use. It has helped celebrities like football star John Elway make crucial career decisions. You may want to take the Winslow Profile to boost your career or relationships.
- Practical Communication Model
The Practical Communication Model (PCM) tool created by NASA helps them screen astronauts for their missions. This assessment categorizes people into six personality types. People are either coordinators, thinkers, rebels, imaginative, persistent, or promoters. Since this test assesses personality strengths, it may reveal your strengths and lead you to the ideal career.
- Holtzmann Inkblot Technique
The Holtzmann Inkblot Technique, created by Walter H. Holtzmann, assesses personality using inkblots. It addresses issues in the Rorschach test, a similar type of assessment. The Rorschach test was criticized for not including specific criteria. Therefore, skeptics felt it was pseudoscience.
Unlike its predecessor, the Holtzmann test took into account criteria such as reaction time, rejection, location, space, and the shape of the inkblots. Improvements have made it a popular personality assessment.
- Hexagon Personality Test
As the name suggests, the Hexagon Personality Test tests six traits: humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. It rates a person based on the qualities that fall under these categories. They are as follows:
Humility (H): Fairness, loyalty, and avoidance of greed
Emotionality (E): Courage, anxiety, emotionality, and dependability
Agreeableness (X): Social self-esteem, boldness, and vitality
Agreeableness (A): Willingness to tolerate, flexibility, kindness, and patience
Agreeableness (C): Organization, perfectionism, diligence, and prudence
Openness to Experience (O): Appreciation, curiosity, and creativity
Critics say that this test is inaccurate because it does not take into account cultural differences. However, it is still a reliable tool for businesses and individuals.
- Neo Pi-R Personality Test
Also on the list is the Neo Pi-R Personality Test, which is a revised version of the Neo Pi-R personality theory developed by Paul Costa and Robert McRae. It assesses people on the traits of extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. Much like the Hexaco theory, it assesses descriptive traits that fall into the following categories:
Neuroticism: Anxiety, hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsivity, and vulnerability to stress
Extraversion: Introversion. Assertiveness, activity, excitement-seeking, and positivity
Openness to experience: Imagination, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas, and values
Agreeableness: Trustworthiness, frankness, altruism, compliance, modesty, and tenderness
Conscientiousness: Competence, orderliness, duty, achievement-seeking, self-discipline, and deliberation
Although this test takes into account many factors, it does not address social bias. It assumes that people are honest at all times, but this is not true. In high-stakes situations such as job interviews, most people present themselves in a better light than usual. However, you may want to try it for yourself because it is comprehensive.
- Personality Assessment System
The Personality Assessment System (PAS) was developed by former CIA psychologist John W. Gettinger, and assesses personality profiles.
Unlike other personality assessment tests, this test uses subtests from the Wechsler scales to measure a person’s intelligence and skills. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale collects information about personality. It also takes into account personality formation and development. Companies find it useful because it provides psychological information.
- Birkman Method
Another test is the Birkman Method. Developed by Roger Birkman, it measures a person’s response to stress. It also takes into account strengths and social behavior. Studies such as classical test theory and item response theory support its reliability. Since it is so detailed, you may want to try it out for yourself.
- Enneagram Test
The final test is the Enneagram, a model of 9 personality types. Based on the work of Oscar Ichazo and Claudio Naranjo, it represents these personality types in a geometric form. These categories include:
- Reformers
- Helpers
- Achievers
- Individualists
- Achievers
- Loyalists
- Empathizers
- Confederates
- Peacemakers.
The personality test has a circle, an inner triangle, and a hexagon. The episode explains how different personalities combine while the triangle shows how three close personalities can influence each personality. The hexagon, in arithmetic, is the decimal number derived from dividing one by seven. It is a good assessment because it is comprehensive. Therefore, knowing your type in a personality test may enhance your career.
In conclusion, try these personality tests, because they may improve your life in ways you do not realize.
