This week, I took basically every personality test under the sun. Here’s what happened:
For as long as I can remember I have had a huge interest in anything involving personality and why we are the way that we are. I always found an unhealthy amount of enjoyment from taking personality quizzes and having things that described me and give me something to align myself with. I’m not sure why this is; maybe it’s just easier to be defined by colors, zodiacs, and psychological functions than the labels that society will stick us with.
While I have taken some of these quizzes in the past, I took them again for accuracy and reassurance. The personality questionnaires I focused on were Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the True Color test, the Big 5, and the Love Language quiz. Each of these defines an individual’s personality using different aspects, however some of my own results can be considered to overlap.
The first test I took was MBTI, the personality type that I received was INFP. This means that I am introverted, intuitive, feeling, and perceiving. I have taken this quiz many times over the last few years, always receiving the same result, because of this I did not expect anything different this time. Like anything, the MBTI questionnaire has a few questionable aspects however I find the INFP type to be extremely accurate to myself. INFP’s are described as being empathetic idealists and passionate. These are all things that I described myself as even before taking this questionnaire. After taking it, it didn’t come so much as surprise or “omg that’s so not me!”, but more of an explanation and clarity for the traits I already knew about myself.
The same could be said for my connection to my True Color test result. The True Color Test helps people to understand and connect with their soul to experience self-love, purpose, and belonging. After taking the test I received the color “blue” as the one that dominantly describes my personality. This means that I am loyal, spiritual, and empathetic. Not only does this closely align with my conclusion of being an INFP I also recognize these traits within myself and could have guessed which color I would be before taking the survey.
The two tests that were just as understandable but less predictable are the Love Language quiz, and the Big 5 personality types. The Love Language test uses preference based questions to figure out which form of affection is the most effective for the individual taking the quiz. After taking the test I received the answer of “Words of Affirmation” as my best received and most craved form of love. After taking this I took the Big 5 personality test that tells you how relatable you are to the five major dimensions of personality. Through this I found out that I am very open to experience, mildly conscientious, not at all extraverted, mildly agreeable, and highly nervous. These are all aspects I can completely understand after learning more about these dimensions but it was less predictable than the other tests.
While each of these tests have been backed by psychology to some extent, many people still find them hard to believe. Maybe those people are right and these tests don’t tell us anything about ourselves. But, after taking all of the personality tests I could get my hands on, I must disagree with those people. I found each of the questionnaires to be accurate and informing. After this experience, I’ve decided that maybe we don’t use personality tests to be able to label ourselves, but maybe just to understand ourselves a little better.
Personality Piety 