Fun with Personality Tests

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? 32,575]

There was a nice long thread drift about personality tests in the Joy and Austin--26 thread, so it seemed like a good time to start a thread for discussing personality tests! I'll post a link to this thread in the Joystin thread.

If anyone can post links to free online versions of different tests that would be great. I'll try to get to that, but I just got busy for awhile in real life, so I bet someone can beat me to it! 

I've only taken a Briggs-Meyer free test online once, but my result of INFP seems like it fits pretty well. I am neither a huge devotee of personality tests, nor a scoffer. I find them useful, within limits.

[church_of_dog 14,254]

I have a problem with many of these tests -- I don't know if it's due to my own personality quirks or not, but I find that my answer to a very large proportion of the questions is "well, that depends".

Sample question:  When working with a small group, are you inclined to take the role of leader or follower?

My answer:  (specifics mostly fabricated for purposes of example)  Well, how comfortable am I with my own expertise in the topic?  Is the group under a lot of time pressure?  Do we have a specific protocol to follow?  Are there political or ideological issues in contention?  

Because those are the sorts of factors that determine whether I'm inclined toward being a leader or a follower, and there is just no way to say whether my personality leans me this way or that in general -- it truly depends on those other factors.

I've also had the experience of having gone through at least two phases of life-changing attitudinal or philosophical transformations in my life --  once when I was in my early 20s, and then again in my 40s.  So, during one of those tests I often find myself asking "should I answer based on my natural inclinations I was born with, or based on my learned habits of my 20s, or based on my current worldview?  It sounds bizarre but those things actually make a difference to me.  Am I the only person whose philosophy and worldview shape my behaviors at least as much as my personality does? 

#goodatcomplicatingthings

[HerNameIsBuffy 57,404]

I'm with you @church_of_dog - they are almost all essay questions for me because I need context.  So I just try to go for an overall typical mode for me and it's imperfect enough to leave my brain itchy.

And as I mentioned in the other thread, if I take them thinking of how I am with family and kids I'm a hard F....if everyone else a hard T.  

I think my results are accurate but where I skew on the spectrum will vary if I could add context.  The one I'm certain of are the E/I questions as I'm very introverted irl and it's not even close.  

My happy place is my fictional cabin in Finland where I'm 100s of miles from the next nearest human

So what do you guys think of the tole birth order plays in our personalities?

Edited May 12 by HerNameIsBuffy
riffiles

[Marly 2,512]

4 hours ago, church_of_dog said:

I have a problem with many of these tests -- I don't know if it's due to my own personality quirks or not, but I find that my answer to a very large proportion of the questions is "well, that depends".

 

I have the same problem. I just took the test (dutch version) and with almost every question I thought "that completely depends on the context". 
I got ENFJ-T / Protagonist. From the table featured on wikipedia: "Caring, enthusiastic, idealistic, organized, diplomatic, responsible. Skilled communicaters who value connection with people". I do identify with that to some extent.
I am an extrovert. While I like time for myself and, due to an anxiety disorder, need time for myself to clear my mind and prevent panic attacs, I don't like to be alone. If I don't see people (friends/acquaintences) for more then 3 or 4 days I start to feel really lonely. Last year, when I was working on my graduate thesis, I felt really isolated and lonely as the thesis severely limited my time for social interactions. I like to have people around me and social interactions generally make me feel better. But I prefer smaller groups of people over bigger groups,though I do well in big groups too.
I am definitely idealistic and caring and I'm good at communicating. Enthusiastic is something that can depend on the topic/task, but I would say that generally speaking I have an enthusiastic personality/enthusiasm is something that comes easily to me.  


And I'm a Ravenclaw!

For the Dutchies here, I put a link under the spoiler for the Dutch version of the meyers briggs test.
 

Spoiler

https://www.16personalities.com/nl/persoonlijkheidstest

 

 

Edited May 12 by Marly
added my HP house + link to dutch version of test

[church_of_dog 14,254]

7 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

The one I'm certain of are the E/I questions as I'm very introverted irl and it's not even close.  

My happy place is my fictional cabin in Finland where I'm 100s of miles from the next nearest human

 

I totally agree re E/I, and my answer is the same as yours.  That part is clear and compelling enough in me that there is no ambiguity or further context needed before I can answer.

No idea re birth order but I'm interested to read what others think.

[Dreadcrumbs 3,741]

I've taken a MBTI test more than once and the only thing that remains consistent for me is the I.

I generally dislike personality tests because the questions don't come with context. I need context.

 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? 32,575]

Here are some links to free online tests.

Myers-Briggs--

https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

Hogwarts sorting test--

https://my.pottermore.com/sorting

Enneagram--

https://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/test

Helen Fisher test (my husband found this one on Facebook)--

https://theanatomyoflove.com/relationship-quizzes/helen-fishers-personality-test/

DISC test (it doesn't include an explanation of the 4 different categories)--

https://openpsychometrics.org/tests/ODAT/

I would be interested to read any articles about the influence of birth order on personality. The only thing I remember is the idea that first born kids are likely to be leaders and youngest kids are likely to be followers. I see that a little bit in myself (youngest of 4) and in my sister's 5 kids, but my 8 year old tells my 10 year old what to do all the time, and has since they were little. Then again, my big kid has Asperger's Syndrome and my little kid is a powerful force of nature. So, maybe it doesn't apply in their case!

[K'Z'K 1,106]

No discussion of personality tests is complete without Scientology's personality test, which they call the Oxford Capacity Analysis to make it sound legit (it's not, not that I think ANY personality test is any more valid than BuzzFeed's recent, I swear I didn't make this up, "We Know Which Member Of The Kardashian-Jenner Clan You Are By How You Make Your Salad" quiz). No matter what you answer, your personality sucks and Scientology can help you with that.

The questions and "correct" answers: http://www.xenu.net/archive/oca/

 

As for the birth order thing, it's like diet studies: no matter what you believe, there's a study that agrees with you. A 2015 meta-analysis (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1506451112) found that only "intelligence" (as measured by things like IQ tests, which are themselves, shall we say, problematic) and self-reported intelligence (really) correlated with birth order, and then only to a small degree. Since that is close to what I believe (i.e., that birth order doesn't mean jack shit), I choose to believe that this one is mostly right.

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? 32,575]

@KZK, the idea that measurable intelligence would be highest in the first born child and decline with each kid is not borne out in my family of 4. My oldest 2 siblings are smart in lots of ways, but they both had difficulties in school, and with conventional methods of measuring intelligence, like the problematic IQ test. My sister and I (kids #3 and #4) were more "measurably" intelligent, with my sister more comfortable with math and science, and me more happy in language, writing, and history.

I guess if the idea is that older kids get more direct, uninterrupted attention from their parents, then my family may not be so far out of line from the general idea.

My family moved about once a year before I was born, so my oldest 2 siblings had some instability that way compared to we youngest 2. The family moved to the house I grew up in about a year before I was born (when my sis was 2 years old), and have never moved again. She and I didn't ever have to change schools and friends like the oldest 2 did. (Of course, I know military families who moved regularly all throughout the kids' growing up years, and they used that as a positive for their families as much as possible, so I'm not really sure how much that matters.) 

Edited May 13 by WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?
missing word

[LoonyLovegood 121]

I love personality tests because they’re just fun for me! I also struggle taking some of them for the same reasons mentioned earlier, because it often depends. When I took the actual, pencil and paper, MBTI it took me so long because I couldn’t decide on so many! I’m not the worlds most decisive person, anyhow.

I took the Helen Fischer test and got the negotiator. While I found the results accurate, I was kind of put off that at the beginning where it states “these women (and men).... Why would they gender a result like that?

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? 32,575]

@LoonyLovegood, I think that because the definition of the Negotiator type in the Fisher test is, "Negotiator: those who primarily express the traits linked with the estrogen system." So, I guess they assume that more women than men will fit that type. (I got Negotiator as my first, and Explorer as my second.)

Taking that one a second time just now, I found myself looking at the questions more skeptically. Some of the "testosterone" section and "estrogen" section questions almost seemed like checking to see if I fit male/female stereotypes. Maybe I'm just feeling cynical because I'm awake too late.

[LoonyLovegood 121]

4 hours ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

@LoonyLovegood, I think that because the definition of the Negotiator type in the Fisher test is, "Negotiator: those who primarily express the traits linked with the estrogen system." So, I guess they assume that more women than men will fit that type. (I got Negotiator as my first, and Explorer as my second.)

Taking that one a second time just now, I found myself looking at the questions more skeptically. Some of the "testosterone" section and "estrogen" section questions almost seemed like checking to see if I fit male/female stereotypes. Maybe I'm just feeling cynical because I'm awake too late.

I’m sure you’re right, but still, that’s not really how estrogen works, lol. Like can we really just leave gender out of it? It’s a shame, because I feel like the description really fit me.

[LilMissMetaphor 6,223]

I am a Builder on the HF test, I hadn't taken that before.

As I said on the other thread, I'm also INTJ, chaotic neutral for alignment, Enneagram type 5 (investigator).   I agree that personality tests have their limitations, but what I like is when you examine results of more than one test, you tend to get the whole picture of the person.  There are similar elements that come out in all of them.  

This one is just fun and short, on the lighter side, but I like it.   https://animalinyou.com/quiz/   (I'm a Bear)

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? 32,575]

31 minutes ago, LilMissMetaphor said:

I agree that personality tests have their limitations, but what I like is when you examine results of more than one test, you tend to get the whole picture of the person. 

I've sometimes thought that who a human being is (their personality) is almost too big to explain. So, each different test or theory is a way of looking at a part of something really big and complicated.

Like we're all trying to describe the Grand Canyon in 6 words. It's too big to do it justice in a few words.

31 minutes ago, LilMissMetaphor said:

This one is just fun and short, on the lighter side, but I like it.   https://animalinyou.com/quiz/   (I'm a Bear)

Ha! I took it really quickly, and apparently I'm a snake! Or maybe a vulture or a crocodile.

Spoiler

I guess I'm cold blooded!

That was fun!

Edited May 13 by WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?
hit "submit" too soon

[viii 10,256]

I took the Meyers-Brigg one for the first time and I am a Protagonist (ENFJ)

[Alice in Fundieland 13,438]

I’m always an INFJ on the Myers-Briggs tests and the description fits me very well. I recently took an enneagram test at https://enneagramtest.net/ and it was harder for me to answer those questions definitively, but my main type was a 4 which is an “individualist” and I can see myself in the description although it doesn’t ring as true as the INFJ description does.

I don’t think personality tests are always accurate or that they can be used for everyone. However, I like organization and having a place for everything; I find it soothing. I think that’s what I like about personality tests because it feels like a concise way to describe many of my personality traits. 

ETA I took the animal quiz and I’m a bat which was once again a fairly accurate description of me. 

Edited May 13 by Alice in Fundieland

[Destiny 43,016]

1 hour ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

Like we're all trying to describe the Grand Canyon in 6 words. It's too big to do it justice in a few words.

Giant, beautiful hole in the ground. 😛 

I am borderline INTJ and INFJ, depending on mood and circumstances. The T and F are the only ones that ever really change. 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? 32,575]

I'm not very good at remembering what the 16 types mean, so I keep this on my phone, to help me:

Spoiler

Which I guess means these are your 2, @Destiny:

Spoiler

The characters are siblings, for what it's worth.

I found other pop-culture charts links in these 2 articles:

https://www.adventureassoc.com/myers-briggs-personality-type-charts-of-fictional-characters/

http://mentalfloss.com/article/65218/10-myers-briggs-type-charts-pop-culture-characters

I like the Muppets one, too!

5 minutes ago, Destiny said:

Giant, beautiful hole in the ground. 😛 

I've never seen it in person, so I will bow to your superior wisdom. 😜

[Destiny 43,016]

LOL. There are worse things than being a Tam! I'm more a Simon than a River, but it's situational. 

You should go see it at some point. It really is amazing. 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? 32,575]

9 minutes ago, Destiny said:

You should go see it at some point. It really is amazing. 

Almost all of the cool sights I've seen (Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore, Yosemite Valley, Crazy Horse Monument, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, some others I'm forgetting), I saw because they were near a place we were visiting, or on the way to someplace. I think only Yellowstone National Park and Hells Canyon were destinations in and of themselves.

In other words, the Grand Canyon hasn't been on the way to anywhere yet.

[clueliss 12,386]

Type C on Disc (if you click on the link at the end it gave a description)
https://discinsights.com/personality-style-c

[wallysmommy 20,929]

I am certified to administer and interpret results of the Myers-Briggs, not that by any means am I a psychologist or behavioral scientist.  I have consistently tested as an ISFJ.  In the course I attended, I learned I am an introvert who operates as an extrovert because of the requirements of my job.  I am a heavy F.  One of the characteristics of my type is that I worry -- a lot, and I make up extreme fantasies of doom and gloom, kind of like Murphy's Law to the 1000th power.  I manage to keep it under control most of the time and medication does help :).

[clueliss 12,386]

That says I'm an ISFP-T - the I is always consistent.  I've had the S instead of the N before (it's been even before and both fit).  

[Shouldabeenacowboy 2,582]

21 minutes ago, wallysmommy said:

I am certified to administer and interpret results of the Myers-Briggs, not that by any means am I a psychologist or behavioral scientist.  I have consistently tested as an ISFJ.  In the course I attended, I learned I am an introvert who operates as an extrovert because of the requirements of my job.  I am a heavy F.  One of the characteristics of my type is that I worry -- a lot, and I make up extreme fantasies of doom and gloom, kind of like Murphy's Law to the 1000th power.  I manage to keep it under control most of the time and medication does help :).

Fellow ISFJ here, to be precise, ISFJ-T The Defender. 

It seems that every time I took these personality tests in the past, I always got different answers. However, when I read the Defender description, it really resonated. It's 100% me!

I often wondered why I got different answers, and I think it might be because I was answering the questions through the filter of the "persona" I have spent years building to deal with the world, vs who I truly am. What you write there (bolded mine) rings very true to me. 

[LoonyLovegood 121]

I took the animal test and got a penguin. One of the other options was owl. 2 of my favorite animals! Now, if the sloth had been an option, that would have taken the cake. Totally my spirit animal!

@WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? I totally agree about human personalities being far too complex to truly describe and that what these tests are getting at are really just facets. But I love self contemplation, so I just can’t keep myself from taking them, haha! True INFJ here, heh.