Discover the Secrets Behind Personality Tests

As the years go by, there’s one question you’ll constantly ask, which is: Who am I exactly?

Are you the type of person who’s always late with zero discipline? Would teamwork be your middle name, or is solitude more your friend? Do you make decisions based on emotions or logic?

Hence, you end up in a pile of questions with almost zero answers.

Luckily for us, that’s where personality tests come in! Personality tests help you, or others, gain insights into your personality, values, and interests.

In fact, some companies also use personality tests to help filter applicants!

That’s why today, we’ll guide you through the different types of personality tests and how they can help you.

What Are Personality Tests?

Generally, personality tests are psychological assessments that help individuals understand their strengths, weaknesses, and emotional and intellectual characteristics.

They’re primarily self-report questionnaires that you can answer in 10–30 minutes from the comfort of your home.

Personality tests aren’t going to detail what your personality is like precisely. Yet, they’ll offer you a broad, theoretical personality outline that can help you thrive.

Why Take a Personality Test?

Taking a personality test can be something you do just for fun or because you have to. Regardless, there are many reasons why you should take one, including the following:

• Understanding Yourself: Knowing how your mind and emotions flow from one to the other can help you understand how you function.
• Career Guidance: By identifying your strengths and weaknesses, you can choose a career that aligns with your values and help you bloom.
• Personal Growth: Because personality tests outline your inner workings, you can use them to evolve and become the best version of yourself.
• Solving Conflict: Not only do personality tests summarize your character, but they help explain different people too. Utilizing this knowledge can help you reduce or solve conflicts.

Are Personality Tests Accurate?

To say that personality tests are 100% accurate would be an overstatement. In general, personalities constantly change because of choices, environment, or other factors.

Hence, it’s hard to say that the test you take today will give you the same answer in a year or so. Yet we must point out that personality tests are a comprehensive, theoretical framework.

So while they’re not 100% true, they do give solid insights that can help individuals understand themselves. They can reveal signs of a condescending person or an insecure individual, which can serve as a guide to improve yourself.

What Are the Main Types of Personality Tests?

At least once a month, a trend dominates the planet for a little while. Among those various trends, personality tests took their spot in the limelight.

They come and go occasionally, and everyone seems to be talking about them during those times. This resulted in many people looking to determine their personality type and even more people creating tests claiming to help.

Of those many tests, the following ones are considered among the most popular and accurate:

1. Myers-Briggs

Talking about personality tests without mentioning the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is like trying to swim without getting wet! We’ll have to travel back a few years to tell you more about it, specifically to the early 20th century.

Back then, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung started developing a new theory about psychological types. One of its key elements is highlighting the difference between extraversion and introversion.

Those two concepts later became the foundations for our description of introverts and extroverts. Plus, Carl separated people according to their cognitive preference—whether it was based on judging or perceiving.

Years later, Katherine Cook Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, created the MBTI.

This test gives you a four-letter acronym describing how you spend energy and take in information. These acronyms are taken from the results of the following tests:

• Introversion vs. Extraversion
• Thinking vs. Feeling.
• Sensing vs. Intuition
• Judging vs. Perceiving

2. Caliper Profile

When Doctor Herb Greenberg lost sight when he was just ten, he shifted his goals to teaching psychology. As the years passed, Doctor Herb began teaching at Rutgers University in the U.S.

While working there, he received a proposition from an insurance company requesting his help formulating a test. This test was supposed to help them predict how successful their sales agents would be.

Oddly enough, Dr. Greenberg discovered that these types of tests already existed! The down part, though, was that none of them could provide the correct answer. In his eyes, these tests suffered from several weaknesses, including “acute fakability.”

This means the tests were too easy for the takers to determine right from wrong answers. Thus, Dr.Greenberg created and launched his assessment in 1961, the original Caliper Profile.

Now, over 60 years later and with many updates, the Caliper test is one of the trickiest assessments to fake. It involves around 180 questions that assess every part of your personality.

3. 16 Personalities

Many people tend to mistake the 16 personalities test for the MBTI one, and we can’t blame them!

The two tests are almost identical, except that the 16 personalities one borrows from the Myers-Briggs test. It helps you determine your personality type from the four categories above, and it answers important culture fit interview questions.

The trick with the 16 personalities test, though, is that it adds more depth to the MBTI by including another layer.

For instance, you can be an extrovert who judges and relies on their feelings and intuition. But when it comes to your identity, do you think it’s assertive or turbulent?

The answer to that question is what makes the 16 personalities test more complex and unique.

4. SHL Occupational Personality

Data-driven insights, advanced technologies, and experiences built on science. These are some of the main promises you’ll find once you open the SHL website.

But how do they deliver on those promises? Well, this is another history lesson!

If you think personality interview questions and tests are new, think again. Back then, some companies relied on questionnaires, interviews, and even graphology to understand a candidate’s character!

These methods didn’t feel fair or right to the founders of SHL, as they eventually led to poor outcomes. With that in mind, they decided a necessary update to the psychometric testing was in order!

Hence, in 1977, the SHL company came to light, and with it, the Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ) in 1984.

Over the years, SHL developed and updated its questionnaire and expanded to 30 countries worldwide. And that’s why, today, they’re one of the most popular brands that offer behavioral and personality questions.

5. Big 5

The Big Five Personality Trait Test, or the Five Factor Model (FFM), is a model that narrows personalities into five broad categories.

D.W. Fiske developed that model in 1958, but it only gained recognition in the late 1980s after some modifications. It’s one of the most dependable and uncomplicated personality tests, relying on self-report questionnaires with few MCQs.

The final score gives you a percentage that details your levels in:

• Extraversion: This element explains whether you tend to be outgoing and energetic in your life or work or more introverted.
• Openness: The openness factor describes if you’re more practical and focused or if you’re into big, complex ideas and generally curious.
• Conscientiousness: A high conscientiousness score means you’re exceptionally self-disciplined and can easily pursue your goals. The opposite is true, of course.
• Agreeableness: This factor can help you determine if you think more with your mind and general intellect or if you’re more of a friendly, compassionate person.
• Neuroticism: The last element this test measures is your identity’s stability. Are you a confident person or a skittish individual that easily scares?

As you can tell, this test factors similar elements to the previous ones, but it’s more compact and comprehensive.

6. DISC

Last but not least, we have the DISC behavioral assessment test, created in the early 20th century. This is one of the most commonly used tests in interviews, as it focuses on more than just aptitude.

It helps show employers how individuals respond to obstacles and how well they deal with others. Basically, it answers various questions for behavioral interviews and reveals how much of a team player you are.

The test divides personalities into four types, each representing one letter to form the acronym DISC. They are as follows:

• (D)ominance: If you score high on the “D” category, you’re a confident, result-focused individual with a healthy desire to take charge and lead.
• (I)nducement/ Influence: A high ” I ” score indicates you’re an influential individual with incredible energy and eagerness.
• (S)ubmission/ Steadiness: Despite what the first word may imply, the “S” category shows that you’re a calm, steady person that loves helping others.
• (C)ompliance/Conscientious: If your character is in the “C” quarter, it means you focus on accuracy, gaining knowledge, and quality work.

What Are the Six Basic Personality Types?

Also known as The Holland Codes, the Six Personality Types is a framework that researcher John Holland developed. The researcher created this frame, hoping that it’ll help individuals find the best career options where they can thrive.

Hence, the theory categorizes people into the six following personalities:

1. Artistic

The artistic personality type appreciates craft, drama, music, and all kinds of art above all else. They generally dislike monotonous office jobs and like to express themselves in their work.

2. Realistic

In contrast with the artistic type, the realistic personality is more grounded in machinery and tools. They value taking things apart and putting them back together. Therefore, their skills are considered more on the practical side.

3. Investigative

The best word to describe this type is curious! Investigative personalities are the ones that enjoy studying and solving puzzles when everyone else shies away. They don’t care much about social situations and lean toward science and solving math problems.

4. Enterprising

If you’re into influencing people, creating and pitching ideas, and leadership, then you’re an enterprising character. This type is perfect for leading teams as they’re ambitious, politically astute, and great motivators.

5. Conventional

Not one that you would see every day, the conventional personality is the type that loves repetitive jobs. Number, machines, and organization are their forte!

Simply put, this personality type loves routine and values following a schedule or a plan.

6. Social

Finally, we have the helpers! The social personalities are the nurses, teachers, and caregivers of the world. They care about helping other people and love bringing their team forward!

This means they steer clear of numbers, machines, tools, or office work in general.

The Best Personality Tests

Now that you know what personality tests are and how you can use them to evolve, here are some of the best ones!

Personality Tests for Employment

If you’re looking to get a job, you must familiarize yourself with some of the tests employees use. Luckily, we’ve compiled the list below to help you:

• Truity
• Myers Briggs Type Indicator
• DISC
• Caliper Profile
• 123 Test
• Sokanu

Free Personality Tests

Now, if you’re aiming more toward personal growth and self-discovery, try one of these tests:

• 16 Personalities
• Human Metrics
• Test Color
• Berkeley Emotional Intelligence
• VeryWell Mind
• Empathy Quotient

Frequently Asked Questions

Before you go ahead and test your personality, here are some of the most common questions regarding personality tests:

What is the Most Common Personality Type?

The most famous personality out there is the ISFJ one. These protectors are labeled as empathetic, committed, and incredibly loyal. They represent around %13 of the population, with ESFJ following behind at 12%.

Is MBTI Better Than the Big 5?

Both tests overlap significantly, but some differences make the Big Five test more trustworthy. You see, the MBTI test measures only four main traits.

The Big 5 test, on the other hand, goes a step further by digging deeper into your personality. For example, it includes questions examining your stability and whether you’re timid or confident.

Wrapping Up

Now that you’ve reached the end of our guide, what do you think of personality tests? Let us know in the comments if you believe they’re reliable or not!

To give you the TL;DR, personality tests are useful tools that help employers find the perfect fit for their company. They can also help you as a candidate and a person to understand yourself better and develop your strength.

Also, there isn’t just one personality test that’s better than the rest or gives the perfect answers. In fact, there are almost tens and hundreds of them; the most popular include the MBTI, 16 personalities, and Big 5.

To guarantee you’re getting the most accurate results, try multiple tests and let us know which one describes you best.