Personality Assessment Tests

Running head: PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT TESTS
Personality Assessment Tests
Student’s Name
Institution Name
PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT TESTS
Personality Assessment Tests
Personality assessment tests are a proficiency in the field of psychology that deal with
the administration, scoring and interpretation of empirically-backed means of evaluating a
person’s personality traits with a view to improving clinical diagnosis procedures, designing
better psychological interventions and boosting the accurateness of behavioral prediction in
different settings and contexts. This project tasked me with taking two psychological
assessment tests (The Big Five Project Personality Test and The Jung Typology Test) and
then writing a follow-up report.
Tests
i. The Big Five Project Personality Test (Five-Factor Test)
According to the web page, the Five-Factor test was designed by Robert McCrae,
Paul Costa, Warren Newman, and Lewis Goldberg in the 1970s. They all came to the
conclusion that the majority of man’s personality traits can be narrowed down to 5 wide
aspects of personality, irrespective of the cultural or ethnic background. These 5 aspects were
arrived at after posing hundreds of questions to thousands of people and then evaluating their
responses using statistical methods. The 5 aspects were developed following the statistical
evaluation of the data they had obtained, and they are: being open to new experience, being
conscientious, being extraverted, being agreeable, and being neurotic (The Big Five Project ,
2017).
The textbook states that the Five-Factor Model was the brainchild of Paul Costa and
Robert McCrae, who designed it from factor analyses that were arrived at by theorists who
believed that basic traits are the basis of a person’s personality. In factor analysis, the
relationships between several variables help in the identification of closely-related groups of
variables. When measurements of several variables are highly correlated with one another,
then one can assume that one factor is affecting all of them. The book indicates that factor
analysis is used to find these hidden factors. According to the book, the 5 factors are
extraversion, neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness
(Weiten, 2016).
Both the web page and the book are in agreement in stating the 5 factors. They are
also similar in the idea that the majority of a person’s traits have common, unifying factors.
The key difference between the two arises from the fact that the web page states that the test
was developed by Robert McCrae, Paul Costa, Warren Newman, and Lewis Goldberg,
whereas the book states that it was the brainchild of only Robert McCrae and Paul Costa.
ii. The Jung Typology Test
This test is based on the personality type theory that was developed by Isabel Briggs
Myers and Carl Jung. After one has answered some questions, he or she is given a 4-letter
formula that describes the strong points of their personality type. The theory on which this
test is based on indicates that individuals can be described using their choice of general
attitude. Someone can either be extraverted (E) or introverted (I); sensing (S) or intuitive (N);
thinking (T) or (feeling (F); judging (J) or perceiving (P) (Humanmetrics, Inc., 2017).
The book states that the Jung Analytical Psychology theory recognized 4 distinct
functions used by an individual to engage with the world around him. The theory states that
the 4 functions are thinking, sensation, intuition, and feeling. For every function, Jung
designed it to have opposing attitudes (Weiten, 2016).
The two sources are similar in their statement that an individual’s personality can be
described using an attitude chosen that best reflects one of the 4 given personality types.
Results
The Big-Five results indicated that my personality is one that paints me as one who is
keen on trying out new things, organized, dependable, good-natured, helpful and anxious. It
also stated that I am not mostly social with other people.

The Jung Typology Test results showed my personality as being introverted, that my
thoughts drive my perception of the world, that my actions are dictated by my emotions, and
that I am organized, and that I plan everything I do ahead of time.
The two tests agree on the fact that I am introverted, organized, and that my emotions
motivate my actions. These results were however inaccurate. That the tests incorrectly
predicted my personality indicate that I do not fit in with the generalizations used to by the
tests to describe personalities.
Critique
Self-reporting inventories used by most psychologists to get information from
individuals. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is one of the most
widely used of these tests to test for underlying disorders. High scores on one of the test’s 10
subscales the test would suggest the presence of a disorder, such as depression. Using this
approach is flawed since the baseline used to create the subscales was done by professionals
who have significantly more education compared to the rest of the general public (Weiten,
2016). This will introduce a bias into the results that might lead to the suggestion that one has
a disorder when it is not true. The link between having a disorder can sometimes be linked to
one’s personality. This link is complicated that it cannot be easily predicted by a test like the
MMPI.
Best Theory
Maslow's Theory of self-actualization is the best theory discussed in the book. The
theory dictates that there is a universal system that manifests itself in various ways, and at
various times in each person. The theory’s Hierarchy of Human Needs explains human
motivation. It posits that when one of a person’s needs is satisfied, the other needs in the
hierarchy become stronger.

References
Humanmetrics, Inc. (2017, 4 27). Personality Type Explained. Retrieved from
Humanmetrics.com: http://www.humanmetrics.com/personality/type
The Big Five Project. (2017, 4 27). PERSONALITY TEST. Retrieved from THE BIG FIVE
PROJECT: http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/info/
Weiten, W. (2016). Psychology: Themes and Variations. Boston: Cengage Learning.

Personality Assessment Tests

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Personality Assessment Tests

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Personality Assessment Tests

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What are the two personality assessment tests discussed?

What are the two personality assessment tests discussed?

What are the five factors of personality according to the Big Five model?

What are the five factors of personality according to the Big Five model?

Running head: PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT TESTS

Personality Assessment Tests

Personality Assessment Tests

the administration, scoring and interpretation of empirically-backed means of evaluating a

better psychological interventions and boosting the accurateness of behavioral prediction in

then writing a follow-up report.

i. The Big Five Project Personality Test (Five-Factor Test)

relationships between several variables help in the identification of closely-related groups of

extraversion, neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness

ii. The Jung Typology Test

designed it to have opposing attitudes (Weiten, 2016).

also stated that I am not mostly social with other people.

that I am organized, and that I plan everything I do ahead of time.

tests to describe personalities.

Self-reporting inventories used by most psychologists to get information from

hierarchy become stronger.

Humanmetrics, Inc. (2017, 4 27). Personality Type Explained. Retrieved from

Weiten, W. (2016). Psychology: Themes and Variations. Boston: Cengage Learning.

You might also like