Types of Personality Tests

There's more to personality tests than quirky online quizzes

Reviewed by Amy Morin, LCSW

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.

Related: Reasons to Take a Personality Test

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.

Takeaway

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.

Takeaway

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.

Takeaways

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.

Related: Big 5 Personality Test

Read the original article on Verywell Mind.