Just Learned MBTI isn't the Only Personality Test

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I often see that WrongPlaneters classify their personalities based on the Meyers-Brigg Type Indicator (MBTI), a matrix of 16 personality types based on four discrete factors. I have seen some literature on MBTI, and thought it was a pretty comprehensive test.

I learned MBTI has at least one competitor, though: the five factor personality test. After reading a book on the geography of happiness, I learned of this test based on its own variables: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience.

Has anyone ran across this test before? Is there any literature one can reccomend so I can learn more? Better yet, is there a reputable online test for the Five Factors?

Here's a link for the test.

Big 5 personality Test

I personaly like the MB personality test better.

The thing about the MBTI is that it has been around for a long time (over 50 years), and is the most widely used: when training, we were told that over 3 million MBTI's are taken world-wide annually (suspect that figure is lower now though). It has spawned a huge range of applications and the writing of a huge number of books.

Having said all that, MBTI isn't the only effective indicator around, and it doesn't answer or explain every aspect of human personality - it is very good at answering the questions for which it was designed, but there are plenty of questions it simply doesn't address.

I'm starting to see that. Take one of the five, neuroticism. MBTI just doesn't address this, as it was designed to measure only long-term personality states. MBTI cannot effectively measure neuroticism because neurosis, by definition, is a series of transitory mental states. Nevertheless, humans make important decisions based on those states, so a measurement of how likely you are to have such a state is needed.

In the context of the "big five", neuroticism is not a transitory mental state - in the "big five", "neuroticism" means being nervous, easily excitable, prone to negative emotions, etc. I think this can be considered a stable trait of personality.

The reason because MBTI does not have "neuroticism" is because MBTI intends to be neutral-value, and it is difficult to present "neuroticism" in a neutral light istead of negative (but, in some way, the T-F scale can be considered a mixture of "agreeableness" and "neuroticism".

Btw, there is much more personality classifications. Examples:

Caractereology - a tree-dimension model: "emotive vs. non-emotive", "active vs. non-active", "primary vs. secondary" (primary means living in the present, secondary living in the past and in the future) - http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caract%C3%A9rologie

Eysenck Personality Questionnaire - a two- or tree-dimension model: "extroversion vs. introversion", "neuroticism vs. stability", and eventually "psychoticism vs. socialisation"; in the two dimension version, can be considered equivalent to the very old typology of the "four humors": introvert/neurotic - "melancholic"; introvert/stable - "phlegmatic"; extrovert/neurotic - "choleric"; extrovert/stable - "sanguine" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eysenck_Pe ... stionnaire

There is a series of tests linked here: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt113459.html

The big five test is used for scientific research mostly. There is not really a lot it can tell you about yourself that you do not already know.

That's pretty much true by definition with any self-report scale.

the ennegream test is supposedly more accurate

This the 460, I think it was question one, not sure on the 2 end digits. With Ideal job category, Job ideas extended & profile trait. MB is for the personality letters.

Your Results

Closed-Minded Open to New Experiences
Disorganized Conscientious
Introverted Extraverted
Disagreeable Agreeable
Calm / Relaxed Nervous / High-Strung
Link to your results!
Email your results to a friend!

What aspects of personality does this tell me about?
There has been much research on how people describe others, and five major dimensions of human personality have been found. They are often referred to as the OCEAN model of personality, because of the acronym from the names of the five dimensions.
Openness to Experience/Intellect
High scorers tend to be original, creative, curious, complex; Low scorers tend to be conventional, down to earth, narrow interests, uncreative.
You are somewhat conventional. (Your percentile: 30)

Conscientiousness
High scorers tend to be reliable, well-organized, self-disciplined, careful; Low scorers tend to be disorganized, undependable, negligent.
You are well-organized, and are reliable. (Your percentile: 74)

Extraversion
High scorers tend to be sociable, friendly, fun loving, talkative; Low scorers tend to be introverted, reserved, inhibited, quiet.
You are neither particularly social or reserved. (Your percentile: 48)

Agreeableness
High scorers tend to be good natured, sympathetic, forgiving, courteous; Low scorers tend to be critical, rude, harsh, callous.
You are good-natured, courteous, and supportive. (Your percentile: 83)

Neuroticism
High scorers tend to be nervous, high-strung, insecure, worrying; Low scorers tend to be calm, relaxed, secure, hardy.
You are a generally anxious person and tend to worry about things. (Your percentile: 93)

What do the scores tell me?

In order to provide you with a meaningful comparison, the scores you received have been converted to "percentile scores." This means that your personality score can be directly compared to another group of people who have also taken this personality test.
The percentile scores show you where you score on the five personality dimensions relative to the comparison sample of other people who have taken this test on-line. In other words, your percentile scores indicate the percentage of people who score less than you on each dimension. For example, your Extraversion percentile score is 48, which means that about 48 percent of the people in our comparison sample are less extraverted than you -- in other words, you are neither introverted or extroverted. Keep in mind that these percentile scores are relative to our particular sample of people. Thus, your percentile scores may differ if you were compared to another sample (e.g., elderly British people).

http://www.funeducation.com/tests/caree ... eTest.aspx

Seems to be 485.

Phew - very long.

EXTROVERSION TRAITS
1. Gregariousness: [T-Score: 86]
2. Friendliness: [T-Score: 64]
3. Assertiveness: [T-Score: 12]
4. Poise: [T-Score: 25]
5. Leadership: [T-Score: 78]
6. Provocativeness: [T-Score: 95]
7. Self-Disclosure: [T-Score: 55]
8. Talkativeness: [T-Score: 92]
9. Sociability: [T-Score: -8]
10. EXTROVERSION TOTAL: [T-Score: 60]
AGREEABLENESS TRAITS
11. Understanding: [T-Score: 37]
12. Warmth: [T-Score: 19]
13. Morality: [T-Score: -16]
14. Pleasantness: [T-Score: -36]
15. Empathy: [T-Score: 40]
16. Cooperation: [T-Score: 76]
17. Sympathy: [T-Score: 71]
18. Tenderness: [T-Score: 13]
19. Nurturance: [T-Score: 20]
20. AGREEABLENESS TOTAL: [T-Score: 15]
CONSCIENTIOUSNESS TRAITS
21. Conscientiousness: [T-Score: -75]
22. Efficiency: [T-Score: -21]
23. Dutifulness: [T-Score: -42]
24. Purposefulness: [T-Score: -19]
25. Organization: [T-Score: -19]
26. Cautiousness: [T-Score: 28]
27. Rationality: [T-Score: -17]
28. Perfectionism: [T-Score: 2]
29. Orderliness: [T-Score: -37]
30. CONSCIENTIOUSNESS TOTAL: [T-Score: -48]
STABILITY TRAITS
31. Stability: [T-Score: -22]
32. Happiness: [T-Score: 2]
33. Calmness: [T-Score: 37]
34. Moderation: [T-Score: -15]
35. Toughness: [T-Score: -62]
36. Impulse Control: [T-Score: -22]
37. Imperturbability: [T-Score: -5]
38. Cool-Headedness: [T-Score: 89]
39. Tranquility: [T-Score: -31]
40. STABILITY TOTAL: [T-Score: -27]
INTELLECT TRAITS (These are personality measures, not measures of intellect per se)
41. Intellect: [T-Score: 106]
42. Ingenuity: [T-Score: 74]
43. Reflection: [T-Score: -12]
44. Competence: [T-Score: 79]
45. Quickness: [T-Score: 101]
46. Introspection: [T-Score: 89]
47. Creativity: [T-Score: 112]
48. Imagination: [T-Score: 56]
49. Depth: [T-Score: 105]
50. INTELLECT TOTAL: [T-Score: 92]

Some of the subscales seem misnamed, but when I look at the descriptions for them, it seems to fit. Overall apparently I'm extroverted (not exactly - I act extroverted but need alone time), about medium on agreeableness, low on conscientiousness (Executive Dysfunction), somewhat emotionally unstabke and very intellectual.

That's what I've found to be true for myself. I've taken the MBTI multiple times and have come up with different answers each time, so I have found it to be unreliable. But with the Enneagram test, I get the same answer each time: 4w5, aka The Bohemian. I was floored when I read the description of this type, because it described my strengths and shortcomings with frightening accuracy. Additionally, I discovered that my favorite actor, Johnny Depp, allegedly shares my type, so that might explain why I feel so drawn to him and his work.

1. EXTROVERSION TRAITS

1. Gregariousness: [T-Score: -20]
2. Friendliness: [T-Score: -12]
3. Assertiveness: [T-Score: 33]
4. Poise: [T-Score: -27]
5. Leadership: [T-Score: -34]
6. Provocativeness: [T-Score: 20]
7. Self-Disclosure: [T-Score: -22]
8. Talkativeness: [T-Score: 20]
9. Sociability: [T-Score: -8]

10. EXTROVERSION TOTAL: [T-Score: -29]

AGREEABLENESS TRAITS

11. Understanding: [T-Score: 48]
12. Warmth: [T-Score: -14]
13. Morality: [T-Score: 67]
14. Pleasantness: [T-Score: 30]
15. Empathy: [T-Score: 40]
16. Cooperation: [T-Score: 95]
17. Sympathy: [T-Score: 31]
18. Tenderness: [T-Score: 25]
19. Nurturance: [T-Score: 75]

20. AGREEABLENESS TOTAL: [T-Score: 41]

CONSCIENTIOUSNESS TRAITS

21. Conscientiousness: [T-Score: 94]
22. Efficiency: [T-Score: 57]
23. Dutifulness: [T-Score: 57]
24. Purposefulness: [T-Score: 58]
25. Organization: [T-Score: 96]
26. Cautiousness: [T-Score: 89]
27. Rationality: [T-Score: 79]
28. Perfectionism: [T-Score: 72]
29. Orderliness: [T-Score: 48]

30. CONSCIENTIOUSNESS TOTAL: [T-Score: 80]

STABILITY TRAITS

31. Stability: [T-Score: 63]
32. Happiness: [T-Score: -15]
33. Calmness: [T-Score: 58]
34. Moderation: [T-Score: 85]
35. Toughness: [T-Score: 53]
36. Impulse Control: [T-Score: 115] spoke :/ jk
37. Imperturbability: [T-Score: 76]
38. Cool-Headedness: [T-Score: 89]
39. Tranquility: [T-Score: 72]

40. STABILITY TOTAL: [T-Score: 71]

INTELLECT TRAITS (These are personality measures, not measures of intellect per se)

41. Intellect: [T-Score: 67]
42. Ingenuity: [T-Score: 74]
43. Reflection: [T-Score: 25]
44. Competence: [T-Score: 86]
45. Quickness: [T-Score: 101]
46. Introspection: [T-Score: 117]
47. Creativity: [T-Score: 112]
48. Imagination: [T-Score: 44]
49. Depth: [T-Score: 90]

50. INTELLECT TOTAL: [T-Score: 91]

The only forsure thing on the myers briggs for me is the I and the T

Luckily myers briggs made it so all personality types fit everyone