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The Accuracy And Usefulness Of Personality Tests

personality

Personality tests have been around for decades; however, access to personality tests through online sources has caused them to gain a lot of popularity in the past few years. These tests are designed to determine various traits of your personality using answers you submit to a wide range of questions. But how accurate are these tests and do they have any real-life value?

Accuracy varies based on many factors

Taking a personality test can be fun, but it may not reveal much about the real you. If you take a test when you’re in a good mood, you’re much more likely to answer positively and provide more hopeful answers than if you take the test after you’ve had a bad day. The reasons for taking the test can also change your answers. If you’re taking a test for work or in another situation where others will see the results, you may be tempted to answer based on what you think others want to hear rather than how you truly feel.

Personality tests can be useful

The honest results of a personality test can be useful in helping you understand how you function in certain environments. Some personality tests may help you learn to work better with others by providing insight into strengths and weaknesses in the group. A company may use personality tests for team-building purposes and to help employees understand how different personality types function in varying work environments.

Test results should be taken lightly

There are many variables that go into administering, answering and understanding the results of personality tests. People may change how they would answer a question based on current feelings, meaning that test results could be different for the same person when tested on different days. Plus, these tests have no true scientific backing, which makes them more of a fun exercise than a true measure of someone’s personality.

Taking personality tests can provide some insight on yourself and help you consider ways to improve the way you work, interact with others and look at life. But with all the variables that go into these tests, there really is no tried and true method of administering them or applying them to real-life situations without the concern for errors. As long as you understand the limitations of personality tests, you may find them useful for personal or professional use.