purpose of personality test essay

How to Masterfully Describe Your Personality in an Essay: A Step-by-Step Guide 2023

Introduction

Step 1: self-reflection and introspection, step 2: identifying core values and beliefs, step 3: gathering evidence and examples.

• Step 4: Show, don't tell

Step 5: Structuring your essay effectively

Step 6: balancing self-awareness and humility, step 7: seeking feedback and editing.

Describing your personality in an essay is not simply an exercise in self-expression; it is a transformative process that allows you to artfully communicate and convey the intricate nuances of your character to the reader. By delving into the depths of your self-awareness, personal growth, and the values that serve as the compass guiding your actions and decisions, you embark on a journey of self-discovery and introspection. In this comprehensive step-by-step guide , we will navigate the intricacies of crafting a compelling personality description in your essay, providing you with the necessary tools to masterfully articulate your unique qualities, experiences, and perspectives.

At its core, the act of describing your personality in an essay is an opportunity to authentically showcase who you are. It is a platform to illuminate the multifaceted nature of your being, unveiling the layers that make you distinct and individual. Through self-reflection and introspection , you delve into the recesses of your soul, gaining a deeper understanding of your own personality traits and characteristics. This process of self-exploration allows you to unearth the strengths that define you and the weaknesses that provide opportunities for growth.

Identifying your core values and beliefs is another essential step in effectively describing your personality. By exploring your fundamental principles and ideals, you gain insight into the motivations behind your actions and the driving force behind your decisions . These values serve as the undercurrent that weaves together the fabric of your personality, giving coherence and purpose to your thoughts and behaviors. Understanding how your personality traits align with your core values enables you to articulate a more comprehensive and authentic depiction of yourself.

To breathe life into your personality description, it is crucial to gather evidence and examples that showcase your traits in action. Recall specific instances where your personality has manifested itself, and examine the behaviors, thoughts, and emotions that were present. By drawing on these concrete examples, you provide tangible proof of your personality claims, allowing the reader to envision your character in vivid detail.

However, it is not enough to simply tell the reader about your personality traits; you must show them through vivid and descriptive language. By employing sensory details and evocative storytelling, you paint a vibrant picture that engages the reader’s imagination. It is through this artful depiction that your personality comes to life on the page, leaving a lasting impression.

Crafting an effective structure for your essay is also paramount to conveying your personality in a coherent and engaging manner. A well-structured essay captivates the reader from the outset with an engaging introduction that sets the tone and grabs their attention. Organizing your essay around key personality traits or themes creates a logical progression of ideas, enabling a seamless flow from one aspect of your personality to the next. This careful structuring enhances the readability and impact of your essay, allowing the reader to follow your journey of self-expression with ease.

In describing your personality, it is essential to strike a delicate balance between self-awareness and humility. While it is important to acknowledge your strengths and accomplishments, it is equally crucial to avoid sounding arrogant. Honesty about your weaknesse s and areas for growth demonstrates humility and a willingness to learn from experiences, fostering personal growth and development.

Also, seeking feedback and diligently editing your essay play a vital role in refining your personality description. Sharing your work with trusted individuals allows for constructive criticism, providing valuable insights into how effectively your personality is being portrayed. By carefully incorporating this feedback and paying attention to grammar, punctuation, and clarity, you can ensure that your essay is polished and ready to make a lasting impression . Below are the step by step guide on how to masterfully describe your personality in an essay

Before diving into writing, take the time to deeply understand your own personality traits and characteristics. Reflect on your strengths and weaknesses , considering how they have influenced your actions and interactions with others. Additionally, contemplate significant life experiences that have shaped your personality, providing valuable insights into who you are today.

Your core values and beliefs are the guiding principles that define your character. Explore what truly matters to you and the ideals that drive your decisions . By connecting your personality traits to these fundamental values, you create a more comprehensive understanding of yourself, providing a solid foundation for your essay.

To effectively describe your personality, draw upon specific instances where your traits were on display. Recall experiences that highlight your behavior, thoughts, and emotions. By utilizing concrete examples, you lend credibility to your claims about your personality, allowing the reader to envision your character in action.

Step 4: Show, don’t tell

Avoid falling into the trap of generic and vague descriptions. Instead, use vivid language and sensory details to bring your personality to life. Engage the reader’s imagination by painting a clear picture through storytelling. Let them experience your traits firsthand, making your essay more engaging and memorable.

Crafting a well-structured essay is crucial for conveying your personality in a coherent and engaging manner. Begin with an attention-grabbing introduction that captivates the reader’s interest. Organize your essay around key personality traits or themes, ensuring a logical progression of ideas. Maintain a smooth flow between paragraphs, enhancing the overall readability of your essay.

While it’s essential to highlight your strengths, be careful not to come across as arrogant. Emphasize your accomplishments and positive attributes without boasting. Simultaneously, be honest about your weaknesses and areas for growth , demonstrating humility and a willingness to learn from experiences. This balance showcases maturity and self-awareness.

Sharing your essay with trusted individuals can provide valuable perspectives and constructive criticism. Seek feedback from mentors, teachers, or friends who can offer insights into your essay’s strengths and areas that need improvement. Revise and refine your essay based on this feedback, paying close attention to grammar, punctuation, and clarity.

Incorporating these steps and techniques will allow you to masterfully describe your personality in an essay, capturing the essence of who you are in a compelling and authentic manner. Whether you are writing personality essays, an essay about personalities, or an essay on personality, the introduction of your personality essay should create a strong impression. It serves as a gateway for the reader to delve into your unique characteristics and perspectives. By effectively integrating these steps and maintaining a balanced approach, you can create a personality essay introduction that sets the stage for a captivating exploration of your individuality. So, how would you describe yourself? Use these guidelines and examples to express your personality with confidence and authenticity in your essay.

Mastering the art of describing your personality in an essay allows you to authentically express yourself and connect with readers on a deeper level. By embracing self-reflection and emphasizing personal growth, you create a c ompelling narrative that showcases your unique qualities. So, embark on this journey of self-expression and let your personality shine through your writing. Embrace authenticity, as it is through effective self-expression that personal growth and understanding can flourish.

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• Describe Your Personality Essay

How to Masterfully Describe Your Personality in an Essay

By: Tasha Kolesnikova

What's your personality type? Knowing your personality traits and the ability to describe them in written form will help you in all aspects of your life - from your first day in school until your last job. For instance, one practical application of such essays is to impress hiring managers with your cover letter and job interviews. Being able to answer the "tell me about yourself" query properly not only enables you to answer interview questions and explain why you fit the job description perfectly but also helps you navigate through your work-life and relationships with your co-workers.

Theory of Temperaments

• How to Describe Your Personality in a Paragraph Wi

Short Essay on My Personality

Sample essay on your personality, why is it not an a+ essay, what to consider when writing your analysis essay:.

• What Questions to Answer When Writing About Your P

What should be included in my personality essay?

• How can I intertwine society, understanding, and p
• How do I ensure the situations mentioned are refle

Your Portrait - Select the Key Characteristics

You don't necessarily need a personality test to know your personality. But how would you describe yourself? Talking about yourself may be hard. However, knowing yourself well is essential for profound communication skills and adaptability.

Every person has weaknesses in their personality as well. When writing your personality essay for your job application, for example, you can choose weaknesses that are unimportant to the position you're applying for, such as being shy or having limited experience. You can also include traits that you consider a weakness but can actually also be your strengths, like being self-critical or being competitive.

Theories on Personality

How does your personality develop over time? There are many explanations scattered around with different theories in various studies. One of them is the Theory of Temperaments.

This is the earliest known theory from Hippocrates. He divided personality based on four temperaments connected to bodily fluids he referred to as "humor."

Using Adjectives in Your Essay

Which descriptions fit you the best? Before you write your essay, remember that you should establish a bond between you and your reader. Using adjectives will help you in creating that connection. Adjectives are critical in expressing ourselves and how we relate with others. They help us explain and give specific information in our answers that will make others get to know us better.

Think of the words you associate with yourself the most or find synonyms you can use in your essay. You can take advantage of thesaurus sites online like WordHippo and Synonymy to properly convey your personality type. For example, you can talk about your conscientiousness or substitute it with simpler words like "dedicated" or "ethical" so your readers will easily understand what you mean.

How to Describe Your Personality in a Paragraph With Examples

When constructing a personality paragraph, it's imperative to identify and integrate aspects like values, knowledge, and behavior, to offer a rounded depiction of oneself.

Personality paragraph examples:

A well-rounded personality paragraph, brimming with real-life examples, not only describes traits but also the influences and motivations behind them, providing a more insightful glimpse into one’s character.

Crafting an authentic and introspective essay on my personality profile involves a meticulous exploration of self, allowing for a candid reflection on how I perceive and project myself.

To start, my personality essay introduction would offer a synopsis of my character, allowing a sneak peek into my temperament, beliefs, and capabilities.

Knowing how to describe your personality in an essay involves weaving a narrative that captures not only individual traits but also emotions, thoughts, abilities, and the influence of family and surroundings on one's personality.

A short personality essay should also depict my interactions with individuals, illustrating how relationships have shaped and continue to mold my character. Describing my personality essay entails delving into factual and nuanced reflections of my personal experiences and interactions, providing a multidimensional view of my individuality.

When considering how to write an essay about your personality, combining self-awareness with an honest and engaging narrative is crucial for creating a resonant and comprehensive portrayal.

Your peers may ask you to make an essay to prepare you for a situation when you will have to reply to the hiring managers' requests. An example of this essay is as follows:

Each individual has a personality that is unique to them, making them irreplaceable. This makes humans interesting because everyone has different experiences and reasons why they behave and feel the way they do. The three traits that describe me the most are as follows: honest, reliable, and ambitious.

I live by a strict code of honesty. Not only was I raised by my parents to always tell the truth but also because it became an integral part of my life that I can't imagine myself trying to lie. Being honest helped me keep my relationships with my family and friends strong. This is because, at any time that we have misunderstandings, we talk about it openly.

Me being honest contributes to my reliability. When I give someone my word, I always intend to keep it. I apply this philosophy at all times: from small routine tasks to critical projects on which many things depend.

I am an ambitious person, as I want to achieve all the goals that I set in life. New accomplishments make me extremely happy and help me to dream big!

The sample essay you have just read could be assessed with a B- grade. But how to make it an A+?

To be fair, the essay's introduction is rather good. It talks on the topic from a general perspective, narrowing it down to the essay's focus – the author's personality. However, to make this introductory paragraph a brilliant one, think of a more gradual transition, for instance:

"There are no two personalities that are the same, and that's the beauty of it! I always like seeing myself as a part of a shining galaxy, spreading my unique light among other fellow stars. If I think about what character traits make up my bright shine, the three major pillars that come to mind are honesty, reliability, and a great deal of ambition."

This introduction uses metaphors and will definitely be remembered by the reader!

The sample essay's main body also has parts that require improvement. While the paragraph about reliability has a connection with the previous one, the part where the author talks about ambition seems disconnected. Adding just one sentence could fix this issue:

"Speaking of grand projects, I have plenty – after all, I'm an ambitious person."

Also, it is highly advisable to elaborate on the topic. In this essay, for example, the author could share some plans or dreams with the reader, making the story more personal and relatable.

Finally, the sample essay is lacking a conclusion. Summarize what you've already said and make a memorable statement to end your essay, for example:

"As you can see, I am quite a mix. As challenging as being honest, reliable, and ambitious at the same time may be, I try to make the best of it!"

Tips on Creating a Brilliant Essay About Yourself

Writing an essay about your personality can be tough, especially if you're an introvert, as it's the same as showing your inner self to other people. In fact, you will need to brainstorm and explain why you have that personality trait - how you acquired it and why you're keeping it with you until now.

• Organization. Make a draft about what you want to talk about in your essay.
• Structure. Don't forget to write a great introduction, with the body supporting your points, and end it with a proper conclusion.
• Honesty. Talk about your real personality traits while highlighting the positive ones. Don't write traits you don't have.

What Questions to Answer When Writing About Your Personality:

1. What are the personality traits I have that I am most proud of?

Focus on traits that help make you an asset to anyone you work with. Play up your extraversion and downplay any neuroticism.

2. Why do I have these traits, and do I plan to keep them?

Expound on how you acquired these traits - were they because you were raised with these manners, or is it because of an experience you had where you realized these behaviors help? Make your readers relate to your encounters.

3. How will these traits help me in my daily life and at my workplace?

Elaborate on why you're proud of these traits and how they make your relationships flourish. Give emphasis to behaviors that assist you in having a better relationship with people. After all, teamwork is all about people's personalities working well together.

Find it difficult to describe your personality in an essay? You can rely on Studybay!

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Your personality essay should include a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Begin with a general introduction of yourself, delve deeper into specific traits, values, and experiences in the body, and summarize the main points in the conclusion. Integrate real-life examples and facts to add depth and authenticity to your essay.

How can I intertwine society, understanding, and problems in an essay about my personality?

When writing an essay on my personality, briefly discuss how societal issues and what you learn from them shape your character and actions. For instance, mention a specific societal problem that has influenced your views, values, or behavior, illustrating the interconnectedness of your personality and your environment in a concise manner.

How do I ensure the situations mentioned are reflective of my personality in an essay about my personality type?

In your paper, outline your personality type clearly and illustrate with a situation showing its impact and interaction with society. Use real-life examples to demonstrate how your personality perceives and responds to societal contexts, ensuring a cohesive and authentic representation in your essay.

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This article is very helpful, in my opinion. I was having trouble with "how do you know your personality?" essay and this helped me a lot. 🙌

What a great article! This gave me a lot of ideas for how to begin an essay about myself and my personality.

💭 To be honest, I always find it hard to write a personality paragraph. At school, it's tough for me to figure out which of my qualities to stress, and it's difficult to stay honest and fair.

Discussing how can I describe my personality in a paragraph examples made me reflect on my own experiences. School has always pushed me to explore this but it’s never been easy.

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• Introduction

Measuring constructs

• The interview
• Rating scales
• Personality inventories
• Attributes of the MMPI
• Comparison of the MMPI and CPI
• Other self-report techniques
• The Rorschach Inkblot Test
• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
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• Personal facts
• Evaluation techniques
• Clinical versus statistical prediction

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• Frontiers - Enhancing Personality Assessment in the Selection Context: A Study Protocol on Alternative Measures and an Extended Bandwidth of Criteria
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• Table Of Contents

personality assessment , the measurement of personal characteristics. Assessment is an end result of gathering information intended to advance psychological theory and research and to increase the probability that wise decisions will be made in applied settings (e.g., in selecting the most promising people from a group of job applicants). The approach taken by the specialist in personality assessment is based on the assumption that much of the observable variability in behaviour from one person to another results from differences in the extent to which individuals possess particular underlying personal characteristics ( traits ). The assessment specialist seeks to define these traits, to measure them objectively, and to relate them to socially significant aspects of behaviour.

A distinctive feature of the scientific approach to personality measurement is the effort, wherever possible, to describe human characteristics in quantitative terms. How much of a trait manifests itself in an individual? How many traits are present? Quantitative personality measurement is especially useful in comparing groups of people as well as individuals. Do groups of people from different cultural and economic backgrounds differ when considered in the light of their particular personality attributes or traits? How large are the group differences?

Overt behaviour is a reflection of interactions among a wide range of underlying factors, including the bodily state of the individual and the effects of that person’s past personal experiences. Hence, a narrowly focused approach is inadequate to do justice to the complex human behaviour that occurs under the constantly changing set of challenges, pleasures, demands, and stresses of everyday life. The sophisticated measurement of human personality inescapably depends on the use of a variety of concepts to provide trait definitions and entails the application of various methods of observation and evaluation. Personality theorists and researchers seek to define and to understand the diversity of human traits, the many ways people have of thinking and perceiving and learning and emoting. Such nonmaterial human dimensions, types, and attributes are constructs —in this case, inferences drawn from observed behaviour. Widely studied personality constructs include anxiety, hostility, emotionality, motivation, and introversion-extroversion. Anxiety, for example, is a concept, or construct , inferred in people from what they say, their facial expressions, and their body movements.

Personality is interactional in two senses. As indicated above, personal characteristics can be thought of as products of interactions among underlying psychological factors; for example, an individual may experience tension because he or she is both shy and desirous of social success. These products, in turn, interact with the types of situations people confront in their daily lives. A person who is anxious about being evaluated might show debilitated performance in evaluative situations (for example, taking tests), but function well in other situations in which an evaluative emphasis is not present. Personality makeup can be either an asset or a liability depending on the situation. For example, some people approach evaluative situations with fear and foreboding, while others seem to be motivated in a desirable direction by competitive pressures associated with performance.

Efforts to measure personality constructs stem from a variety of sources. Frequently they grow out of theories of personality; anxiety and repression (the forgetting of unpleasant experiences), for example, are among the central concepts of the theory of psychoanalysis. It is understandable that efforts would be made to quantify one’s degree of anxiety, for example, and to use the score thus obtained in the assessment of and in the prediction of future behaviour. Among the major issues in the study of personality measurement is the question of which of the many personality constructs that have been quantified are basic or fundamental and which can be expected to involve wasted effort in their measurement because they represent poorly defined combinations of more elemental constructs; which measurement techniques are most effective and convenient for the purpose of assessment; and whether it is better to interview people in measuring personality, or to ask them to say, for example, what an inkblot or a cloud in the sky reminds them of.

Efforts to measure any given personality construct can fail as a result of inadequacies in formulating or defining the trait to be measured and weaknesses in the assessment methods employed. An investigator might desire to specify quantitatively the degree to which individuals are submissive in social and competitive situations. His effectiveness will depend on the particular theory of submissiveness he brings to bear on the problem; on the actual procedures he selects or devises to measure submissiveness; and on the adequacy of the research he performs to demonstrate the usefulness of the measure. Each of these tasks must be considered carefully in evaluating efforts to measure personality attributes.

The methods used in personality description and measurement fall into several categories that differ with regard to the type of information gathered and the methods by which it is obtained. While all should rely on data that come from direct observations of human behaviour if they are to have at least the semblance of scientific value, all may vary with regard to underlying assumptions, validity, and reliability (consistency, in this case).

Are Personality Tests Actually Useful?

A sk Erin Mantz why she loves personality tests, and she’ll tell you she’s a Pisces, an only child, and an introvert prone to self-reflection. “I’m constantly craving and searching for insights into why I do what I do, and what makes me tick,” she says. Since discovering them at her college career center, she’s taken many different kinds, but the most transformative was the one she took with her coworkers at AOL in her 30s. A new manager instructed Mantz and her colleagues to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, which revealed she’s an INFJ : intuitive, enthusiastic, impulsive, and prone to improvisation.

The test changed the whole vibe of the office. “We all shared our results and kept a Post-it on our desk with what everybody's type was,” Mantz recalls. “Then when Frank called or you needed to present information to Aaron, you’d understand where they were coming from or how to best get through to them.” Some people preferred to hear about potential impact, for example, while others responded best to hard facts. The knowledge has proven useful in her personal life and throughout her career, she says, helping her figure out how to better communicate with others and make the best impression.

Personality tests aren’t new—an early version of the Myers-Briggs test was copyrighted in 1943 —but interest in them has endured. People slap their four-letter Myers-Briggs type on their dating profiles and broadcast their Hogwarts House at parties. Many use the results to figure out what career paths might appeal, and some companies use them to decide who to hire.

But why do people like personality tests so much, and which are the most accurate? How should—and shouldn’t—we interpret their results?

Personality tests make you feel seen

Personality tests are a useful way for people to better understand themselves, especially when they’re young, says Brent Roberts, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who studies personality development and assessment. “We’re trying to figure out ourselves and why the world reacts to us the way it does,” he says. “I think everybody wants to better know who they are, and where they stand—and that’s what a personality test can give you.” Ashley Errico, a therapist in Austin, remembers buying All About You! magazine as a pre-teen, drawn to the cover-to-cover personality tests. She and her best friend would listen to the Spice Girls while taking tests to find out what kind of kisser they’d be. Now, in her professional career, she sometimes directs clients to more sophisticated tests, like the Myers-Briggs (which costs about $60 to take online ) and Enneagram. (The latter, which costs $20 online , sorts people into one of nine personality types, such as “achiever,” “helper,” or "challenger.”)

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Errico has found that the Myers-Briggs test, for example, can supply people who want to change careers or return to the workforce with some ideas that hadn’t been on their radar. There’s a paid service that matches personality type to jobs that might be a fit, and some career counselors are trained to provide feedback. (You can also just Google “jobs for INFJ,” for instance.) “I’ll say, ‘Use those as a starting point, because it might suggest things you’d enjoy but never think about,’” Errico says. Plus, personality tests foster a sense of recognition and belongingness. “Everybody wants to feel understood and seen,” she says. “We all know what it’s like to feel invisible.”

But they really oversimplify things

Personality exists on a spectrum, and no single test can capture all the nuances that define a person. Tests like the Myers-Briggs and Enneagram “aren’t able to describe the richness of human diversity,” says Jaime Lane Derringer, a scientist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who works at the intersection of personality psychology and molecular genetics.

Take the Myers-Briggs: It distills a person’s traits into 16 different personality types, such as ESFJ (extrovert, loyal) or ENTP (extrovert, imaginative). There are more personality types than that, Derringer says. Plus, the tool frames personalities around positivity—omitting more negative traits, like neuroticism or not being conscientious. “It’s a great marketing machine,” she acknowledges—people love hearing the good parts about themselves—but certainly not comprehensive.

Many personality tests use generic language in their results that could easily apply to whoever is reading it. Scientists call it the Barnum Effect. “It comes from P. T. Barnum saying there’s a sucker born every minute,” says Stephen Benning, a psychology professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas who studies basic emotional processes. “They’ll basically be able to take this very generic statement about universal human tendencies and somehow think it’s uniquely applicable to them.” That, he jokes, is why there are three things his students can do that make him bang his head on his desk: ask him his Enneagram, his Myers-Briggs type, or his horoscope.

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One of the risks associated with personality tests, Roberts believes, “is taking the information too seriously.” These tests are based on self-reported data—it’s up to you to gauge how often you feel angry or excited, and whether you tend to find fault with others. That’s not always accurate. “There are places in our psyche that we're blind to and might not quite understand,” Roberts says. “Just relying on what you think about yourself is an error, in my estimate.” It’s better to seek out more information from a variety of sources, he says—which could include working with a mental-health professional.

Errico cautions her therapy clients not to over-identify with their results. She’s seen people get too invested in their personality type, which prevents them from allowing themselves to grow and change . Or, they might push themselves into a job that’s not the right fit, because their personality test indicates they should enjoy it. “It’s important to remember that the test doesn’t determine who we are,” she says. “We get to determine who we are.”

Which personality tests are best?

Free online tests that tell you what wild animal or cake you are might be fun, but that’s all they are: entertainment. Some personality tests, however, have been studied for decades, and researchers have a solid sense of their pros and cons. The academic community generally considers tests based on the Big Five to be the most scientifically rigorous . It’s a nearly 75-year-old model developed to measure five broad personality traits—conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion—and lots of free online tests are based on it. “It’s well-replicated across samples, across nations, across time,” Benning says. Taking one of these tests can help people broadly understand their individual differences in personality, and how their tendencies might influence the ways that other people perceive them.

Roberts often directs his students to O*NET , a free U.S. Department of Labor online test that matches users’ interests and level of work experience to potential careers. “It tells you, ‘Here are all the jobs where you’d be more likely to be happy and satisfied,’” he says. “It’s a beautiful tool.” Another free test, the RIASEC model , can similarly help people assess occupation interests. It helps respondents understand if they have, for example, investigative, artistic, social, or enterprising personalities.

Read More : How to Respond to an Insult, According to Therapists

Mental-health clinicians sometimes administer the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MNPI), says Dr. Rehan Aziz, an associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. It consists of nearly 600 true-false questions that can help reveal mental-health conditions such as hypochondria, depression, and paranoia. “It’s a very lengthy test, but I found that it gives really accurate results,” he says. “It has internal validity measures, which a lot of these personality tests don't have—which means it can tell if you’re giving inconsistent or inaccurate answers, or if you're trying to ‘beat the test.’” If you’re interested in learning more about the MNPI, which isn’t available online, bring it up with your psychologist, Aziz advises.

Whichever test you take, consider repeating it every once in a while. Much of Roberts’ research focuses on the ways personality changes over time : Most people shed some of their neuroticism as they age, he notes, and people also tend to get more conscientious as they grow older. “It’s totally useful to come back in a few years and take the test again to see where you’re at,” he says. And, most importantly, don’t attach too much significance to any personality test-generated label. “None of them are perfect—they’ve all got flaws, and they've all got strengths,” Derringer says. “They can’t tell you who you are, but they can provide a framework for you to begin to introspect, and a way to anchor yourself in comparison to other people.”

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Types of Personality Tests

There's more to personality tests than quirky online quizzes

Judi Ashlock / Getty Images

• Basic Types
• Limitations

There are many different types of personality tests that can help clarify a clinical diagnosis, guide therapeutic interventions, and help predict how people may respond in different situations. Some commonly used types of personality tests include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and the HEXACO Personality Inventory.

We informally assess and describe personality every day. When we talk about ourselves and others, we frequently refer to different characteristics of an individual's personality. For example, we might refer to someone as adventurous, kind, or moody.

Psychologists do much the same thing when they assess personality but on a more systematic and scientific level. They use different types of personality tests to make these assessments. Personality testing and assessment refer to techniques designed to measure the characteristic patterns of traits that people exhibit across various situations.

At a Glance

Personality tests are about much more than silly online quizzes that tell you which "Friends" character you are. They can also be serious tools in diagnostics, therapy, job recruiting and training, and self-reflection. Keep reading to learn more about the different types of personality tests available and how they are used in fields like mental health, psychology research, law, education, and human resources.

Two Basic Types of Personality Tests

How do personality tests work? Personality testing is designed to elicit responses from participants about their behaviors, preferences, emotional responses, interactions, and motivations in order to evaluate personality characteristics and patterns.

There are two basic types of personality tests: self-report inventories and projective tests:

• Self-report inventories involve having test-takers read questions and then rate how well the question or statement applies to them. One of the most common self-report inventories is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) .
• Projective tests involve presenting the test-taker with a vague scene, object, or scenario and then asking them to give their interpretation of the test item. One well-known example of a projective test is the Rorschach Inkblot Test .

The greatest benefit of self-report inventories is that they can be standardized and use established norms. Self-inventories are relatively easy to administer and have much higher reliability and validity than projective tests. Projective tests, on the other hand, are most often used in psychotherapy settings and allow therapists to gather a great deal of information about a client quickly.

For example, a therapist can look not only at a person's response to a particular test item, but they can also take into account other qualitative information such as tone of voice and body language . All of this can be explored in greater depth as people progress through therapy sessions.

How Different Types of Personality Tests Are Used

There are a number of reasons why a person might take a personality test. Personality tests are administered for a number of different purposes, including:

• Assessing theories
• Evaluating the effectiveness of therapy
• Diagnosing psychological problems
• Looking at changes in personality
• Screening job candidates

Personality tests are also sometimes used in forensic settings to conduct risk assessments, establish competence, and in child custody disputes. Other settings where personality testing may be used are school psychology, career and occupational counseling, relationship counseling, clinical psychology, and employment testing.

Examples of Different Types of Personality Tests

Today, a wide variety of personality tests have become popular and are often based upon specific theories of systems of personality. Commonly used personality tests include:

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a self-report inventory that categorizes a person's personality into one of 16 different types. It is based on Carl Jung's approach to personality and has become one of the most popular types of personality tests in the world.

The test contains four different scales: extraversion (E)-introversion (I), sensing (S)-intuition (N), thinking (T)-feeling (f), and judging (J)-perceiving (P). Based on a person's responses, they are identified by a four-letter acronym (such as INFP or ESFJ) that describes their specific type.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is one of the most widely used and well-researched types of personality tests. It is used in professional settings to diagnose mental health conditions and evaluate treatment programs' effectiveness. It is also frequently used in business and forensic settings.

The HEXACO Personality Inventory

The HEXACO Personality Inventory measures six key areas of personality: honesty-humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. The test originates from research on the Big Five personality types.

Other Five-Factor Personality Tests

Various personality tests assess these traits, including The NEO Personality Inventory, the Big Five Inventory, the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), and the Five Item Personality Inventory (FIPI). Research suggests the test can help predict behavior.

The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire

The 16PF Personality Questionnaire identifies personality traits based on Raymond Cattell's trait theory of personality. The test is still widely used today in a variety of settings, including in employee selection, couples therapy, and career counseling.

DISC Assessment

The DISC assessment identifies four main personality categories: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. It is frequently utilized in workplace settings because it focuses more on actions. The test contains 28 statements, each containing four options for the test-taker to choose. Respondents are then identified as one of 12 different personality types based on their results.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

The Rorschach inkblot test is a type of projective personality test that involves giving a subjective interpretation of an ambiguous inkblot. A therapist then interprets the results based on a scoring system, of which several exist. While the test is well-known, it lacks validity, reliability, and diagnostic value.

Keirsey Temperament Sorter

The Keirsey Temperament Sorter was developed in the late 1970s by psychologist David Keirsey. It is a self-report inventory that categorizes personality into four main temperaments. Each temperament is then further subdivided into four different character types.

History of Personality Tests

One of the earliest forms of personality testing, known as phrenology , emerged during the late 18th century and was popularized during the 19th century. This approach involved the measurement of bumps on the human skull, which were then attributed to specific personality characteristics.

Later, psychologists began attempting to determine how many different personality traits there were. Gordon Allport, for example, proposed that there were more than 4,000. Psychologist Raymond Cattell used a statistical technique known as factor analysis to whittle this list down to 16 different personality factors, while Hans Eysenck narrowed the list down to just three.

One of the most popular approaches to personality today is known as the " Big Five" theory of personality . This theory suggests that personality is composed of five broad dimensions: extraversion , agreeableness , conscientiousness , neuroticism , and openness .

Impact of Different Types of Personality Tests

Personality tests can be useful for a number of reasons. These tests can help you learn more about yourself and better understand both your strengths and weaknesses. And while all personality tests are different, learning that you might be high on a specific trait can help you gain greater insight into your own behavioral patterns.

For example, your results on a personality test might indicate that you rate high on introversion . This result suggests that you have to expend energy in social situations, so you need to find time alone to recharge your energy. Knowing that you have this tendency can help you recognize when you are getting drained from socializing and set aside quiet moments to regain your equilibrium.

Tips for Taking Different Types of Personality Tests

There is no way to prepare for a personality test, but there are some things that you can do to make sure that your results are the best reflection of your personality:

• Be honest. Don't try to present an "ideal" version of yourself. Instead, try to just answer in a way that reflects who you are and how you feel.
• Read the instructions. Your results might not be an accurate reflection of you if you don't understand the guidelines or questions.
• Don't try to "beat the test." Avoid trying to guess what you think might be seen as the "ideal" answer. Just respond honestly.

As you start looking at all of the different personality assessments that are available, you will probably notice one thing quite quickly: There are a lot of "informal" tests out there! Just a simple online search will turn up an enormous range of quizzes and tests designed to tell you something about your personality.

The vast majority of quizzes that you'll encounter online are just for fun. They can be entertaining and they might even give you a little insight into your personality, but they are in no way formal, scientific assessments of personality.

Our fast and free personality test can help give you an idea of your dominant personality traits and how they may influence your behaviors:

Potential Pitfalls of Various Types of Personality Tests

While personality tests may be useful at times, this does not mean that they are not without drawbacks and possible pitfalls. The specific pitfalls and limitations for each of the many types of personality tests depend on the specific tests, how it is used, and how the results are applied. The following are just a few things you should consider:

Deception Is Possible

One of the biggest disadvantages of self-report inventories is that it is possible for people to engage in deception when answering questions. Even though techniques can be used to detect deception, people can still successfully provide false answers often in an effort to "fake good" or appear more socially acceptable and desirable.

Introspection Is Needed

Another potential problem is that people are not always good at accurately describing their own behavior. People tend to overestimate certain tendencies (especially ones that are viewed as socially desirable) while underestimating other characteristics. This can have a serious impact on the accuracy of a personality test.

Tests Can Be Long

Self-report personality tests can also be quite long, in some cases taking several hours to complete. Not surprisingly, respondents can quickly become bored and frustrated. When this happens, test-takers will often answer questions as quickly as possible, often without even reading the test items.

Scoring Can Be Subjective

Projective tests also have a number of disadvantages and limitations. The first problem lies in the interpretation of the responses. Scoring test items are highly subjective and different raters might provide entirely different viewpoints of the responses.

Results May Be Inconsistent

Not all personality tests are reliable or valid. Reliability refers to the consistency of a test while validity involves whether the test is really measuring what it claims to measure.

There are many types of personality tests with many different uses. Some are informal, "just for fun" type tests that might give you a laugh or even a little insight into different aspects of your personality. There are also types of personality tests that have been specifically developed for specific purposes and to evaluate key aspects of personality. In such cases, these tests have been standardized and empirically evaluate to help assess the validity and reliability of their results.

Knowing which type of personality test you are taking and recognizing how the results can be interpreted can give you a better idea of what your own results might mean. If you are interested in taking a personality test to learn more about yourself, talk to a licensed mental health professional to learn more.

Schröder VS, Heimann AL, Ingold PV, Kleinmann M. Enhancing personality assessment in the selection context: A study protocol on alternative measures and an extended bandwidth of criteria .  Front Psychol . 2021;12:643690. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643690

Moyle P, Hackston J. Personality assessment for employee development: Ivory tower or real world? .  J Pers Assess . 2018;100(5):507–517. doi:10.1080/00223891.2018.1481078

Iudici A, Salvini A, Faccio E, Castelnuovo G. The clinical assessment in the legal field: An empirical study of bias and limitations in forensic expertise .  Front Psychol . 2015;6:1831. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01831

Cattell HEP, Mead AD.  The sixteen personality factor questionnaire (16PF) . In: Boyle GJ, Matthews G, Saklofske DH, eds.  The Sage Handbook of Personality Theory and Assessment: Volume 2 - Personality Measurement and Testing . Sage, 2016. doi:10.4135/9781849200479.n7

Monaro M, Mazza C, Colasanti M, et al. Detecting faking-good response style in personality questionnaires with four choice alternatives .  Psychol Res . 2021;85(8):3094-3107. doi:10.1007/s00426-020-01473-3

Hofer G, Langmann L, Burkart R, Neubauer AC. Who knows what we are good at? Unique insights of the self, knowledgeable informants, and strangers into a person’s abilities . Journal of Research in Personality . 2022;98:104226. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2022.104226

Ferrando PJ, Navarro-González D. Reliability and external validity of personality test scores: The role of person and item error .  Psicothema . 2021;33(2):259-267. doi:10.7334/psicothema2020.346

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

67 Personality Assessment

[latexpage]

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Discuss the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
• Recognize and describe common projective tests used in personality assessment

Roberto, Mikhail, and Nat are college friends and all want to be police officers. Roberto is quiet and shy, lacks self-confidence, and usually follows others. He is a kind person, but lacks motivation. Mikhail is loud and boisterous, a leader. He works hard, but is impulsive and drinks too much on the weekends. Nat is thoughtful and well liked. He is trustworthy, but sometimes he has difficulty making quick decisions. Of these three men, who would make the best police officer? What qualities and personality factors make someone a good police officer? What makes someone a bad or dangerous police officer?

A police officer’s job is very high in stress, and law enforcement agencies want to make sure they hire the right people. Personality testing is often used for this purpose—to screen applicants for employment and job training. Personality tests are also used in criminal cases and custody battles, and to assess psychological disorders. This section explores the best known among the many different types of personality tests.

SELF-REPORT INVENTORIES

Self-report inventories are a kind of objective test used to assess personality. They typically use multiple-choice items or numbered scales, which represent a range from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). They often are called Likert scales after their developer, Rensis Likert (1932) ( [link] ).

One of the most widely used personality inventories is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) , first published in 1943, with 504 true/false questions, and updated to the MMPI-2 in 1989, with 567 questions. The original MMPI was based on a small, limited sample, composed mostly of Minnesota farmers and psychiatric patients; the revised inventory was based on a more representative, national sample to allow for better standardization. The MMPI-2 takes 1–2 hours to complete. Responses are scored to produce a clinical profile composed of 10 scales: hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, psychopathic deviance (social deviance), masculinity versus femininity, paranoia, psychasthenia (obsessive/compulsive qualities), schizophrenia, hypomania, and social introversion. There is also a scale to ascertain risk factors for alcohol abuse. In 2008, the test was again revised, using more advanced methods, to the MMPI-2-RF. This version takes about one-half the time to complete and has only 338 questions ( [link] ). Despite the new test’s advantages, the MMPI-2 is more established and is still more widely used. Typically, the tests are administered by computer. Although the MMPI was originally developed to assist in the clinical diagnosis of psychological disorders, it is now also used for occupational screening, such as in law enforcement, and in college, career, and marital counseling (Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008).

In addition to clinical scales, the tests also have validity and reliability scales. (Recall the concepts of reliability and validity from your study of psychological research.) One of the validity scales, the Lie Scale (or “L” Scale), consists of 15 items and is used to ascertain whether the respondent is “faking good” (underreporting psychological problems to appear healthier). For example, if someone responds “yes” to a number of unrealistically positive items such as “I have never told a lie,” they may be trying to “fake good” or appear better than they actually are.

Reliability scales test an instrument’s consistency over time, assuring that if you take the MMPI-2-RF today and then again 5 years later, your two scores will be similar. Beutler, Nussbaum, and Meredith (1988) gave the MMPI to newly recruited police officers and then to the same police officers 2 years later. After 2 years on the job, police officers’ responses indicated an increased vulnerability to alcoholism, somatic symptoms (vague, unexplained physical complaints), and anxiety. When the test was given an additional 2 years later (4 years after starting on the job), the results suggested high risk for alcohol-related difficulties.

PROJECTIVE TESTS

Another method for assessment of personality is projective testing . This kind of test relies on one of the defense mechanisms proposed by Freud—projection—as a way to assess unconscious processes. During this type of testing, a series of ambiguous cards is shown to the person being tested, who then is encouraged to project his feelings, impulses, and desires onto the cards—by telling a story, interpreting an image, or completing a sentence. Many projective tests have undergone standardization procedures (for example, Exner, 2002) and can be used to access whether someone has unusual thoughts or a high level of anxiety, or is likely to become volatile. Some examples of projective tests are the Rorschach Inkblot Test, the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), the Contemporized-Themes Concerning Blacks test, the TEMAS (Tell-Me-A-Story), and the Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank (RISB). 

The Rorschach Inkblot Test was developed in 1921 by a Swiss psychologist named Hermann Rorschach (pronounced “ROAR-shock”). It is a series of symmetrical inkblot cards that are presented to a client by a psychologist. Upon presentation of each card, the psychologist asks the client, “What might this be?” What the test-taker sees reveals unconscious feelings and struggles (Piotrowski, 1987; Weiner, 2003). The Rorschach has been standardized using the Exner system and is effective in measuring depression, psychosis, and anxiety.

A second projective test is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) , created in the 1930s by Henry Murray, an American psychologist, and a psychoanalyst named Christiana Morgan. A person taking the TAT is shown 8–12 ambiguous pictures and is asked to tell a story about each picture. The stories give insight into their social world, revealing hopes, fears, interests, and goals. The storytelling format helps to lower a person’s resistance divulging unconscious personal details (Cramer, 2004). The TAT has been used in clinical settings to evaluate psychological disorders; more recently, it has been used in counseling settings to help clients gain a better understanding of themselves and achieve personal growth. Standardization of test administration is virtually nonexistent among clinicians, and the test tends to be modest to low on validity and reliability (Aronow, Weiss, & Rezinkoff, 2001; Lilienfeld, Wood, & Garb, 2000). Despite these shortcomings, the TAT has been one of the most widely used projective tests.

A third projective test is the Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank (RISB) developed by Julian Rotter in 1950 (recall his theory of locus of control, covered earlier in this chapter). There are three forms of this test for use with different age groups: the school form, the college form, and the adult form. The tests include 40 incomplete sentences that people are asked to complete as quickly as possible ( [link] ). The average time for completing the test is approximately 20 minutes, as responses are only 1–2 words in length. This test is similar to a word association test, and like other types of projective tests, it is presumed that responses will reveal desires, fears, and struggles. The RISB is used in screening college students for adjustment problems and in career counseling (Holaday, Smith, & Sherry, 2010; Rotter & Rafferty 1950).

For many decades, these traditional projective tests have been used in cross-cultural personality assessments. However, it was found that test bias limited their usefulness (Hoy-Watkins & Jenkins-Moore, 2008). It is difficult to assess the personalities and lifestyles of members of widely divergent ethnic/cultural groups using personality instruments based on data from a single culture or race (Hoy-Watkins & Jenkins-Moore, 2008). For example, when the TAT was used with African-American test takers, the result was often shorter story length and low levels of cultural identification (Duzant, 2005). Therefore, it was vital to develop other personality assessments that explored factors such as race, language, and level of acculturation (Hoy-Watkins & Jenkins-Moore, 2008). To address this need, Robert Williams developed the first culturally specific projective test designed to reflect the everyday life experiences of African Americans (Hoy-Watkins & Jenkins-Moore, 2008). The updated version of the instrument is the Contemporized-Themes Concerning Blacks Test (C-TCB) (Williams, 1972). The C-TCB contains 20 color images that show scenes of African-American lifestyles. When the C-TCB was compared with the TAT for African Americans, it was found that use of the C-TCB led to increased story length, higher degrees of positive feelings, and stronger identification with the C-TCB (Hoy, 1997; Hoy-Watkins & Jenkins-Moore, 2008).

The TEMAS Multicultural Thematic Apperception Test is another tool designed to be culturally relevant to minority groups, especially Hispanic youths. TEMAS—standing for “Tell Me a Story” but also a play on the Spanish word temas (themes)—uses images and storytelling cues that relate to minority culture (Constantino, 1982).

Personality tests are techniques designed to measure one’s personality. They are used to diagnose psychological problems as well as to screen candidates for college and employment. There are two types of personality tests: self-report inventories and projective tests. The MMPI is one of the most common self-report inventories. It asks a series of true/false questions that are designed to provide a clinical profile of an individual. Projective tests use ambiguous images or other ambiguous stimuli to assess an individual’s unconscious fears, desires, and challenges. The Rorschach Inkblot Test, the TAT, the RISB, and the C-TCB are all forms of projective tests.

Review Questions

Which of the following is NOT a projective test?

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
• Rorschach Inkblot Test
• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
• Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank (RISB)

A personality assessment in which a person responds to ambiguous stimuli, revealing unconscious feelings, impulses, and desires ________.

• self-report inventory
• projective test
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

Which personality assessment employs a series of true/false questions?

Critical Thinking Questions

Why might a prospective employer screen applicants using personality assessments?

They can help an employer predict a candidate’s reactions and attitudes to various situations they might encounter on the job, thus helping choose the right person for the job. This is particularly important in hiring for a high-risk job such as law enforcement. Personality tests can also reveal a potential employee’s desirable qualities such as honesty, motivation, and conscientiousness.

Why would a clinician give someone a projective test?

A projective test could give the clinician clues about dreams, fears, and personal struggles of which the client may be unaware, since these tests are designed to reveal unconscious motivations and attitudes. They can also help clinicians diagnose psychological disorders.

Personal Application Questions

How objective do you think you can be about yourself in answering questions on self-report personality assessment measures? What implications might this have for the validity of the personality test?

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Personality Tests

Reviewed by Psychology Today Staff

The psychology of personality promises to help people better understand themselves and those they know in relation to others. Personality tests, which typically take the form of questionnaires, are the tools for doing that. These measures of personality are also used in scientific research to explore how individual differences in various traits correspond with other aspects of people’s lives.

Personality tests are only “tests” in a loose sense: There is no right or wrong answer to their questions. And the best personality measures are not “pass/fail”—they don’t sort individuals into one category or another, but instead place them on a series of trait continuums depending on how they compare to other people.

On This Page

• How Valid Personality Tests Work
• Widely Used Personality Tests

There are countless personality tests. Even a well-established set of traits like the Big Five can be assessed using a number of different questionnaires. Still, scientifically validated personality tests tend to have some features in common.

Test-takers typically read a series of items that describe a person and indicate the degree to which the description applies to them—or another person, if they are rating someone else’s personality. These lists can be as short as 10 items and as long as a couple of hundred (longer tests tend to provide more reliable results), and the items can be single adjectives or full statements about one’s nature.

For example, the second version of the Big Five Inventory includes the following statements, along with several dozen others, each of which is used to assess one of the Big Five traits:

• Is complex, a deep thinker. ( openness )
• Is reliable, can always be counted on. ( conscientiousness )
• Is talkative. ( extroversion )
• Is compassionate, has a soft heart. ( agreeableness )
• Keeps their emotions under control. ( emotional stability/neuroticism )

When the ratings for the various items are totaled, the scores allow for comparisons between the individual and average scores based on samples of other test-takers. In this way, one can find out that they rate above average on openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness, low on extroversion, and high on neuroticism—or any other mixture of trait evaluations.

While Big Five tests like the BFI-2 are relatively comprehensive, providing a broad picture of a person’s personality, there are many other questionnaires, some of which (such as the Narcissistic Personality Inventory) focus on a specific trait. Other personality measures, like the Hare Psychopathy Checklist , are administered through an interview with a trained professional, rather than with a self-test.

Take an online Big Five personality test.

Below are some of the most well-known and commonly used tools for assessing personality. Many are referred to as “inventories,” reflecting a collection of items to which a person responds, each one tied to different dimensions of personality. These measurement instruments are used in a range of contexts, from psychology studies to employee evaluation, and—importantly—some are better supported than others by scientific research.

• Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2) is the latest version of a tool for assessing the Big Five personality traits, which it labels as Extroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Negative Emotionality, and Open-Mindedness, as well as facets of each. It is employed in psychological research and can be used for personal assessment.
• The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) is a revised version of a tool originally named after the Big Five trait factors of Neuroticism, Extroversion, and Openness to Experience, though the current tool assesses Agreeableness and Conscientiousness as well, plus 30 more specific traits within each factor. It is used in psychological research.
• The HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised (HEXACO-PI-R) is used to measure six dimensions of personality, based on the HEXACO model. They include factors that correspond to the Big Five, as well as the factor of Honesty–Humility. It is employed in psychological research and can be used for personal assessment.
• The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is used primarily to assess symptoms of mental illness and maladaptive personality traits. The latest version (MMPI-2-RF) includes scales related to aggression, social avoidance, self-doubt, and other specific problems, as well as scales for broader, overarching factors. The MMPI is used for research and in applications such as mental health care, forensic evaluation, and candidate assessment for public safety jobs.
• The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is an instrument designed to measure psychopathic traits, such as impulsivity and lack of remorse or guilt, in criminal offenders or others in forensic settings. Unlike personality tests that involve self-report questionnaires, it is meant to be administered through an interview and evaluation of the individual by a clinical professional.
• Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) , like the Hare checklist, is designed to assess a person’s levels of psychopathic traits, but it was developed for use with non-criminals and its results are based on responses to questionnaire items.
• The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) is used to specifically assess an individual’s level of narcissism, often in a research context, though it can also be used for self-evaluation. It is not used for diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which is based on criteria in the DSM-V.
• The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) is based on the five-factor model and intended for predicting work performance, including in job candidates. Its scales are organized based on work-relevant characteristics such as ambition, sociability, and interpersonal sensitivity.
• The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assigns individuals a psychological “type” summarized in four of eight possible letters: Extroversion (E) or Introversion (I); Sensing (S) or Intuiting (N); Thinking (T) or Feeling (F); and Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). The results combine into one of 16 types, such as ENTJ or ISFP. The MBTI is widely used in business—such as for employee evaluation or during seminars—and unofficial versions are available for personal use, though scientists often cite its limitations, including that its separate “types” oversimplify personality differences.
• DISC or DiSC is the name given to a collection of personality assessments that assign individuals one of four types, or a blend of the types: Dominance (D), Influence (I), Steadiness (S), and Conscientiousness (C). Like the Myers-Briggs, it is promoted for use in learning about individual differences within organizations, but is generally not favored by contemporary personality scientists.
• Enneagram-related tests are based on the concept of the Enneagram of Personality and assign personality descriptions based on nine primary types and often secondary types called “wings.” While the Enneagram has been promoted in business and spiritual contexts, it lacks empirical support and is infrequently used by personality scientists.

Any personality test can be fun and intriguing. But from a scientific perspective, tools such as the Big Five Inventory (and others based on the five-factor model) and those used by psychological scientists, such as the MMPI, are likely to provide the most reliable and valid results. One thing that sets many of these tests apart is more nuanced scoring. The Myers-Briggs and other tests are used to assign people personality “types,” but traits are not black-or-white: the research suggests that they are more like a spectrum, with high and low ends.

While measures of the five (or six) proposed personality factors offer a relatively comprehensive and nuanced view of personality, they have limitations, too. Research suggests they may provide less reliable results outside of Western, industrialized countries—and that the major factors may not manifest in the same way everywhere in the world.

That depends on the test. Some, like the Big Five Inventory, can be taken online. Others, like the NEO Personality Inventory or the Myers-Briggs, must be acquired from a publisher for a fee—though brief or adapted versions of such tests may be available online.

In addition to the above descriptions of each kind of test, consider the source of any online test. A test provided directly by a scientist at a well-known university may be more empirically supported and informative than one offered by someone with no scientific credentials. Tests that provided nuanced scores (in terms of percentiles, for example) are likely to be more valid than those that give you a specific “type.”

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Assessment of Personality

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• Cecil R. Reynolds 4 ,
• Robert A. Altmann 5 &
• Daniel N. Allen 6  

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Personality assessments are designed to identify relatively stable patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving, which differentiate one individual from another. Results from personality assessments are used by psychologists and other professionals to help facilitate diagnosis and treatment of mental-health problems, help enhance an individual’s self-understanding and awareness, identify emotional and behavioral disorders that interfere with an individual’s ability to learn, identify job candidates who are best matched for a particular job, answer questions relevant to legal proceedings, and measure constructs that are important in a wide range of psychological research. This chapter describes two broad categories of personality measures: objective self-report measures and projective techniques. A review of major personality tests is provided, highlighting different approaches used in their development.

Once studied solely by introspection, assessment of personality is now an objective science.

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Recommended Reading

Dawes, R. M., Faust, D., & Meehl, P. E. (1989). Clinical versus actuarial judgments. Science, 243 , 1168–1674. An interesting article that compares clinical versus actuarial approaches to decision-making (e.g., diagnosis, treatment planning), with the actuarial approach coming out on top!

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Reynolds, C.R., Altmann, R.A., Allen, D.N. (2021). Assessment of Personality. In: Mastering Modern Psychological Testing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59455-8_10

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Personality Analysis Essay

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Personality touches on a person’s behavioral characteristics and his/her reactions to the environment. Behavior forms the benchmark factor to personality, while skills, values and attitude influence overall behavioral patterns of a person. A person’s behavior determines his/her personality since biological, social, and inner factors play significant roles in personality development and account for the differences that arise.

In analyzing personality, the treatise purposefully compares and contrasts humanistic/ existential theory with learning theory after describing the role of personality in affecting behavior. Besides, the essay discusses the personality characteristics attributed to the aforementioned theories. Finally, the discourse explores the interpersonal relational aspects that associate with the two named theories.

Personality develops in a person, and in the process advances to a distinct state within different people. From the above definition of personality, it is evident that the term depends on an individual’s perception on reality given that it is the way an individual perceive circumstances, which determines how he/she responds to the instance beforehand.

In line with the two theories, there is no distinct in the way they one responds to different situations. Both humanistic and learning theories prefer proactive behavior to reactive behavior, and emphasize on how one perceives the situation; however, the theories exclude neuroticism in influencing behavior.

Feist and Feist (2009) define learning theory as a process where human beings study new conceptions and accommodate them, thus having a relatively permanent change in behavior. Maslow believed that a motivating force pushes human beings towards meeting their goals and targets. For humanistic theory, it analyzes how the self-drive compels behaviors towards meeting specific goals.

This process of fulfilling needs continues through a cycle of waning and rising depending on the state of needs’ satisfaction. For instance, when one meets his/her needs fully, the motivation fades and the center of attention decreases until another need that requires fulfillment takes its place.

In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, internal forces push for the fulfillment of higher needs, such as self-evolution and actualization and esteem needs while external forces, which are beyond the control of humans, drive the fulfillment of physiological needs (Feist & Feist, 2009). This dimension attests that human needs are in two different forms: physical and psychological.

When one combines the knowledge of both humanistic/existential and learning theories in understanding humans, a revelation of abroad picture of human personality and interaction with the environment is evident. Learning theories believe in the influence of environment and cognitive conditions. In addition, a person’s belief can influence behavior towards a situation. According to Bandura, this is a concept of self-efficacy, which influences how one behaves in a given scenario.

However, it is does not provide exclusive effects on behavior since other factors like personal expectations play key roles in determining behavior (Bandura, 1997). For behaviorism, the learning process occurs in a trial and error style, and people hold onto various behaviors until they find one that is reinforcing. Here, individuals apply the previously learnt knowledge in developing explicit expectancy and recognizable reward values in comparable scenarios.

The entire process involves a pre-analysis of past actions and results, which act as guiding factors towards behavior production in a new set-up. Response to environment stimuli moves a learner from a passive state to an active state. According to Kelly, behaviors have different options in a build-up classification; therefore, one has to predict how events are likely to occur in order to choose behavior. All the learning theories hold different claims on behavior variation and the given situation.

On the other hand, humanism/existentialism takes an approach that holds that an individual does implementation of learning at personal levels to fulfill personal interests or needs. A person’s potential determines various actions of individuals in any situation, as it outlays the level at which one can respond in a humanistic theory others (Hoffman, 2004). Affective and cognitive needs are key determinants to responses that people show in existential theories.

Supportive environments provide a good learning and interaction environment for individuals in any situation. A person’s reactions are conditional to the present and future needs given that the reactions target to execute such needs at any point in time. Choices that people make help them to know who they are; therefore, personality development depends on one’s potential and the ability to stir up conscious thinking.

In relation to personality characteristics, humanistic psychology holds that the need for free will forms the foundation for personality development, and the external drive towards self-evolution motivates the creation of one’s personality. Choices that people make help them in creating their personality. For instance, Roll May attest on three relationships that forms the basis of personality reveals their contribution and production on personality evolution.

In the relationships, the first affiliation is with oneself, the second affiliation is with others, and the last relationship is with the environment. For Rogers, humans being’s self-awareness assists them in decision-making processes and taking part in formation of their personal characteristics. Maslow believed that biological dynamics as well as cultural and environmental issues affect the determination of personality in individuals.

Learning theories, on their part, believe that personality develops from accumulation of learned knowledge, and it continues throughout a person’s lifetime. Bandura posits that learning occurs through modeling, observation, and imitation; the learned aspects go on to affect characters of an individual overtime.

This is why people from same culture may have comparable personalities, while those from different ways of life have diverse personalities. According to Skinner’s radicalism theory, environmental interactions shape personality and acquisition of characters through interaction and learning. Therefore, personality is measurable and observable, and comes from activities that one does. Current self-awareness and anticipation of certain occurrences guide personality development from the aspects of social learning theories.

Consequently, anticipation and self-awareness influence all human activities (Feist & Feist, 2009). For Skinner, genetics plays essential roles in personality development, and the variation in genetics is responsible for the difference in personality. Nonetheless, environment also plays significant role in development of personality.

In his proclamation, an organized set of contingencies such as social environment, geographical environment, climate, and personal physical strength define behavior. Rotter believed that an individual’s experiences and history influence his/her goals and personality. On the other hand, Mischel recognized the essence of individual differences in behavior acquisition and personality development.

For Bandura, one can learn without performing behavior through observational learning, which views human nature as proactive, self-regulating, and self-reflective (Bandura, 1997). Development of interpersonal relationships is dependent on experience throughout life, which are due to learning from life practices. These theories face criticism for failing to inculcate individual differences and genetic factors in the entire study of personality development.

Humanistic theory asserts that association of persons is a physical connection with others through healthy and productive dealings, but in reality, they are on their own. Maslow believed in fulfillment of love and belongingness through families and friends’ associations. Since these needs were of primary level, their fulfillments were also essential in determining the success of other needs at higher levels. For May, people choose want they want to be through healthy interaction or association with others (Hoffman, 2004).

From the analysis, humanism observes that interpersonal relations form substantive part of human life. Lack of interpersonal relationships results in unhealthy growth and development from a psychological perspective. Maslow held that those with complete interpersonal relations have self-confidence in all their life activities, and even experience reciprocation from those important to them.

According to learning theories, personal interactions have rewards or reinforcements. Initial family groupings help in protection from external aggressors while at the workplaces, such groupings help in building reinforcement to address common issues. Evidently, there is promise for reinforcement through social engagements.

Social environment influences the personality of humans given the constant interaction in interpreting such events. Human beings influence each other, as they interact with their meaningful environments, hence revealing the freedom of choice that one has on personality development. How one perceives the environment helps in developing self-identity and interpersonal relationships through interpretation of values, existence, and purpose.

Humanistic/existential theories believe in human internal drives in arriving at the ultimate state of self, while learning theories believe in response to the environment as a key determinant in comprehending development of personality. The environment highly affects the learning process and, finally, behavior development.

The diversified discussion on roles of personality on affecting situational behavior, explanation of personality characteristics in relation to the two theories, and explanation of interpersonal relations provide wealth of information in understanding human personality from a psychological perspective.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control . New York: Freeman.

Feist, J. & Feist, G. J. (2009). Theories of personality (7th ed.) . New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Hoffman, L. (2004). Existential therapy. Existential Therapy Homepage . Web.

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Why Personality Assessments are Valuable and How to Use Them in the Workplace

As an employer, you can better understand your employees’ traits and roles within your organization by using personality tests. Personality tests can be extremely valuable to all employers across many different industries and organizations.

Personality tests use assessments and questions to identify potential strengths and weaknesses in each of your employees. You can then help shape your employee’s role within projects and teams to fit these strengths and weaknesses. For instance, someone who loves details and accuracy might be the best researcher for a project, while someone who loves to collaborate with others could make a great project lead.

The tests also reveal who on your team might work well together and who would do best working alone. Letting each employee work in the way that suits them can improve the quality and quantity of their work.

While personality tests do cost money to take, these costs are easily repaid when your team is able to do their best work. After optimizing your team’s work using personality test results, you’ll enjoy increased productivity that make the tests a cost-effective professional development solution to workplace problems. You might notice that work is completed more quickly, that your employees are more satisfied and you are more easily able to meet your business goals.

What personality tests can I use in the workplace?

The DiSC personality test is specially designed to help employers better understand their employees. By giving each employee a common understanding of different personality traits, the test helps employees work more productively, communicate with others and cooperate as a team.

During a DiSC personality test, employees are asked a series of questions. Their answers create a detailed report about their personality and behaviors. This personality test focuses on traits such as Dominance (how direct and confident someone is), Influence (a person’s openness and desire to collaborate with others), Steadiness (how calm and sincere a person is) and Conscientiousness (a person’s focus on quality, accuracy and details).

After receiving your DiSC profiles, your team should meet together to discuss their different traits, strengths, weaknesses, and working styles. The DiSC assessment tool is nonjudgmental, meaning it doesn’t place value on certain personality traits over others. It helps open up a conversation about different personalities, showing how each trait is important to team success.

Sharing DiSC profiles with one another helps each team member understand:

• How they respond to conflict and solve problems
• What motivates them or stresses them out
• How to work better as a team by avoiding conflict and improving communication
• How to shape sales pitches and customer service to different customer personality types

This personality test also helps you as a leader better understand your work and leadership style. It can help you become more effective at managing your team by knowing what each of your employees needs to thrive in the workplace.

Using personality tests in the workplace helps you understand your employees as individuals and as a team. When used effectively, these tests increase productivity, teamwork and communication, leading to a happier and more profitable business.

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Home — Essay Samples — Psychology — Big Five Personality Traits — The Importance of Personality Traits

The Importance of Personality Traits

• Categories: Big Five Personality Traits

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Words: 701 |

Published: Jan 29, 2024

Words: 701 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Definition and importance of personality traits, types of personality traits, factors influencing personality traits, the impact of personality traits on various aspects of life.

• McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1997). Personality Trait Structure As a Human Universal. American Psychologist, 52(5), 509-516. doi: 10.1037/0003-066x.52.5.509
• Busraini, N. A., Tahir, N. A., & Bakar, R. A. (2018). A Review on the Relationship between Personality and Career Success. Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies, 4(2), 143-155. doi: 10.26710/jbsee.v4i2.465
• Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., Knopik, S., & Neiderhiser, J. M. (2016). Top 10 Replicated Findings From Behavioral Genetics. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(1), 3-23. doi: 10.1177/1745691615617439

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Home / Essay Samples / Education / Class Reflection / A Reflection About Myself and My Personality

A Reflection About Myself and My Personality

• Category: Education , Life
• Topic: Class Reflection , Personal Experience , Personality

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