What Is a Personality Test?
A personality test is a series of questions created to analyze one’s pattern of behavior, cognition, and other characteristics that can define your nature. Taking this exam can be very insightful, as it helps you recognize personal traits that most people ignore.
The assessment will usually determine which group you belong to, like the 16 personality types or groups used by the Myer-Briggs personality test. This is particularly useful because it can also specify what are the best career paths to follow and general life approaches, which vary a lot.
Types of Personality Test
All of these exams are created based on psychological studies in the field of human behavior and personality, and as such, they have the intention of helping someone find their way in life and the path that is most suitable for their nature.
However, it is possible to have many different tests in this field, each with a unique approach to the same problem.
The Big Five Personality Test – OCEAN
This personality test was developed by a number of psychologists and was later improved by Lewis Goldberg. The exam studies the big five factors that are most essential when defining someone’s behavior and approach to life. The five factors are:
- Openness – This factor will evaluate the individual’s ability to think about abstract concepts, creativity, innovation, and adventure.
- Conscientiousness – This factor will evaluate the individual’s ability to self-control, self-discipline, and responsibility to achieve big goals and objectives in life.
- Extraversion – This factor will not only evaluate the individuals social skills, but also the enjoyment of social interactions, basically a person’s tendency to seek company and communal environments.
- Agreeableness – This factor will evaluate the individual’s ability to be selfless, prioritize other people instead of themselves, and avoid conflict by comprising their own interests.
- Neuroticism – This factor will evaluate the individual’s tendency to experience negative emotions usually related to fear, like anxiety or a sense of despair.
In this exam, you will answer a number of questions about how you normally react in certain situations. After the analysis, the exam will give you a percentage for each factor according to your answers. For example, you can score 20% in openness which will mean that you are not a spontaneous person and you rather have safety over adventure.
DISC Personality Test
The DISC assessment was created based on the theories of William Moulton Marston, in this exam, 4 main characteristics are considered in order to build a personality profile.
- Dominance – The dominance level is used to determine how a person deals with problems, usually examining their ability to assert themselves in certain situations.
- Influence – The influence level determines how a person is willing to interact with others, a high level of influence will usually be used to describe someone who is extroverted and sociable.
- Steadiness – The steadiness level determines the ability to consider other people’s situations and to think before acting, usually someone who is reasonable and persistent.
- Compliance/Conscientiousness – The compliance or conscientiousness level is used to describe the ability to think critically, logically, and with responsibility, in order to achieve your goals. Very similar to the conscientiousness factor from the OCEAN exam.
This test can offer a list of adjectives or phrases and the applicant should determine if such adjectives or phrases are an accurate depiction of themselves, neutral or a completely inaccurate depiction. Different tests can use different names to describe the characteristic but they are studying the same key factors.
Jung Personality Test / Myers-Briggs Personality Test
The Myers-Briggs personality test is perhaps the most popular personality test available today. It uses the psychology works from Carl G. Jung to create a discerning assessment of one’s nature and pattern of behavior.
In this exam, the individual will be designated to a specific group. The 16 personality types are:
- INTJ (The Architect) – This personality type is reserved, critical, and strategic in most scenarios, they always see practicality instead of idealism.
- INTP (The Logician) – This personality type has a thirst for knowledge and innovation, while also being introverted.
- ENTJ (The Commander) – This personality type has strong will power and bold attitude, usually the best characteristics for a leader.
- ENTP (The Debater) – This personality type has a passion for debates, they can be strong idealists, looking at the future and its possibilities.
- INFJ (The Advocate) – This personality type has a fertile imagination and strong personal values, they always value humanism principles.
- INFP (The Mediator) – This personality type is altruistic and has a passion for helping other people, they are usually artistic and creative.
- ENFJ (The Protagonist) – This personality type is extroverted and charismatic, encompassing leaders who strongly believe in people.
- ENFP (The Campaigner) – This personality type is extremely sociable, interested in making emotional connections with others.
- ISTJ (The Logistician) – This personality type is practical and oriented by facts. Not usually interested in abstract debates and ideas, they are very reliable.
- ISFJ (The Defender) – This personality type consists of very caring people, constantly protecting their loved ones.
- ESTJ (The Executive) – This personality type is extroverted, great administrators, and observant. They value order and tradition and prioritize their own judgment.
- ESFJ (The Consul) – This personality type is an extroverted version of the ISFJ type, they are caring and protective in their social groups.
- ISTP (The Virtuoso) – This personality type tends to be individualistic, great creators that have a lot of manual skill.
- ISFP (The Adventurer) – This personality type is open to all new experiences, they are normally artists who challenge the usual conventions.
- ESTP (The Entrepreneur) – This personality type is smart and energetic, loves social interactions and new achievements.
- ESFP (The Entertainer) – This personality type is spontaneous and energetic, enjoys social gatherings, and seeks attention from others.
How to Prepare for a Personality Test
All of the assessments mentioned previously are based on self-analysis, which means that the individual should answer the questions after thinking about how they behave in certain situations. In order to have an accurate result, the best tip is to give an honest answer after deliberation.
When taking this kind of exam, it is easy to give answers according to what behavior we think is the best, but oftentimes, that behaviour is not ours. Be truthful in your answers, that way the result will reflect your actual personality.