Tests with Personality

Tests+with+Personality

Virtue Nyarko, Editor-in-Chief

At some point in time, everyone has thought about who they are as a person and why they act or think the way they do. Whether it’s taking buzzfeed quizzes to see what celebrity you’re most like or finding out how your reaction to certain scenarios is a reflection of your true self, personality tests have become an interesting way of measuring someone’s identity.

The Myers-Briggs test and the Enneagram are among the popular types of tests out of many others that scientists and psychologists created. The Myers-Briggs is a test comprised of questions on scenarios that ultimately break down into 16 personality types, all of which are derived from Introvert and Extrovert traits. The Enneagram is a test with 9 questions from all 9 personality types such as the following: the helper, the achiever, the reformer, and the individualist. While both tests are made up of many questions, the Enneagram is focused on “nurture” but the Myers-Briggs is based on “nature.”

The true question is whether personality tests are an accurate representation of one’s actual identity. Sarvia Perez, 11, took both the Enneagram and Myers-Briggs and thought that they both accurately represented her to a certain extent. On the Myers-Briggs, she received INTP, which is “the logician.” And, on the Enneagram, her results showed that she was a “Peacemaker.” The logician trait is one that makes up 3 percent of the population and is recognized for having inventiveness, creativity, and a unique perspective. Similarly, the Peacemaker trait is recognized for creativity, optimistic and also being devoted to finding internal and external peace for others and themselves. “For me, the Myers-Briggs was more accurate because it told you how your personality type affects your friendships and relationships and also careers.” She found that to be very insightful, along with the Enneagram in which she said that “I felt personally attacked. It was all true but it’s something you aren’t expecting to be accurate, and it gave information that nobody would be willing to tell you.” The Enneagram was more accurate for her because it strongly related to her friendships and she realized how it pertained to her actions every day.

As Perez said, the details and information given from these tests can truly be interesting to see, especially when thinking about how it all relates to one’s personal life. However, Perez also said, “Even though personality tests are fun to take, useful in finding out things that you were unaware of, and also relatable, at the end of the day, you’re the only person who knows who you really are.”