Can Personality Tests Inform Personal Growth?

Conversation with a Skeptic

One of my closest friends, Katelyn, hates personality tests. Astrology predictions and Buzzfeed quizzes too.

“Why do you hate them so much?” I asked. “They’re just fun ways to learn about yourself, right?”

“Yes, that’s what they’re supposed to be for, but they’re flawed enough so that people get the results they want no matter what choices they pick. These tests only include positive traits, and the prompts are obvious enough so that people choose the “right” answers for themselves even if they’re incorrect. Two completely different people, let’s say one is good and the other not so much, could take the same test and both say at the end result ‘Oh my gosh, I am a caring friend!’ when for one of them that isn’t true.

“What people need to remember is that most of these tests are meant to reinforce what people already know about themselves, and that there are very few personality tests that reveal faults or ways to improve.”

I know, she’s really smart.

How Accurate Are Personality Tests?

My conversation with Katelyn led me to conduct research to learn what other people thought about the accuracy and usage of personality tests. Raymond Brogan from Excelsior University said it best in a blog post: “The good news is that the evidence-based personality tests are highly accurate when used in an appropriate manner. The bad news is that many personality tests the average person encounters could similarly be misused…[especially] if the results are used to identify applicants for a position based on a personality trait rather than on actual competencies.” In other words, the tests taken should be backed by at least some science, formulated with little bias, and answered honestly by the taker. Rather than vetting potential applicants in a professional setting, personality tests should be used to help people recognize their own traits and cultivate personal understanding. Additionally, people should take multiple personality tests to compare and contrast their findings, and get a more accurate assessment of themselves.

With this last piece of advice in mind, I decided to complete three different free personality tests: The Big Five, also known as Fivethirtyeight, 16 Personalities, and the Five Factor Test.

Test 1: 16 Personalities16 Personalities

             

Image Sources: Personal Images, Computer Screenshots derived from 16 Personalities Test Site

The 16 personalities test I've taken before, and some college counseling and advising offices have offered it as an option for students to take when considering future careers. I feel that it's assessment of my personality is accurate, that I am a lifelong learner, an optimist at heart, and highly cooperative. But that I am also overly idealistic toward myself, potentially condescending toward others, and too emotionally invested in my work that I take on others issues as my own. This particular test felt accurate and helpful, without being too far off base in some respects.

Test 2: Five Factor Test

Image Sources: Personal Images, Computer Screenshots derived from Five Factor Test Site

Most of mt scores from this test, I felt, assessed my personality well, with Extraversion at 74%, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness all in the low 90%, and Neuroticism at 40%. Similar to my test above, I scored highly on how I interact with people and on my dedicated work ethic, and lower on the side of negative emotional experiences. However, I did not really trust the results of this test, regardless of their correspondence with the other two, because of it's biased structured statements. Some of the statements made to determine the level of your agreement or disagreement on a scale of Very Accurate or Very Inaccurate were extremely leading. Some examples include "Avoid others" "Insult others" and "Waste my time" versus statements like "Cheer others up" or "Connect easily with others." Obviously no one is going to admit that they insult others, and everyone wants to believe that they cheer other people up, so I'm taking my results from this test with a heavy grain of salt.

Test 3: Fivethirtyeight or "Big Five" Test

Image Source: Personal Images, Computer Screenshots derived from Fivethirtyeight

The five traits measured in this test are Openness to Experience, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Negative Emotionality, and Agreeableness. According to the site, my high score in Openness to Experience means that I do well in careers that involve intellectual curiosity, and that my exceedingly high Agreeableness makes it easy for be to collaborate and lead others (although susceptible to be too trusting and unfailingly polite as well).

My low scoring on Negative Emotionality means that I am sometimes too positive, but that my hopeful outlook can be encouraging to others, while my Extraversion score reinforced the notion that it is easy for me to connect with others. My high Conscientiousness, according to the site, means that I am hard working and well organized, but also said, and this I found hysterical: "You’re likely politically conservative." That last one for me was definitely inaccurate, but overall I found this test to be a fair overall assessment of my work personality.

An Area of Growth

From the first and last test, which I believe to be the most accurate, I believe stabilizing my emotions at work to avoid becoming too trusting, and paying attention to my tone can allow me to set healthy boundaries with library patrons, and convey information with patience and respect.

There are many patrons who often refer to only me for help, no matter what I may be doing, and others who try to take advantage of my kindness to get what they want. But by referring them to other library workers, emphasizing the library's policy, and clarifying my own professional role, I can be a more successful and emotionally healthy person at work.

I hope to work toward achieving these goals throughout the next year at both my positions, and any other libraries I may move to, to balance my emotional well-being with my professional growth.

Inspired to learn about your own ways to grow? Click on any of the personality tests linked above to learn and decide for yourself!