What a personality test is, and what it isn't
Most personality tests are self-report questionnaires. You rate statements such as the one above, and your answers are combined into scores. Two approaches dominate. Trait tests place you on continuous scales, for example how extraverted you are compared with other people. Type tests sort you into categories, such as one of 16 four-letter codes or one of nine Enneagram types. Trait scores keep more information; types are easier to remember and talk about.
A personality test is not a diagnosis. It cannot identify mental health conditions, and it does not measure ability or intelligence. It describes tendencies, and only as well as your answers reflect how you actually behave.
The main models compared
| Model | What it describes | Origin | Evidence base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Five | Scores on Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism | Statistical studies of trait language; Goldberg, Costa and McCrae, 1980s to 1990s | Strong: the research standard |
| 16-type | One of 16 types from four preference pairs (E/I, S/N, T/F, J/P) | Briggs and Myers, from Jung's theory, 1940s | Mixed: useful vocabulary, weak retest stability of the types |
| Enneagram | One of nine types defined by core motivation | Ichazo and Naranjo, 1960s to 1970s | Limited: few rigorous studies |
| DISC | Workplace style: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness | William Marston's theory, 1928 | Mostly publisher research; used for team and communication training |
For a closer look at each, see personality traits for the Big Five, the 16 personality types, and the 9 Enneagram types. Our DISC test covers the workplace model.
Which test to take for what
- The most accurate overall picture of your personality: the Big Five test. It includes emotional stability, which the type models leave out.
- A shared vocabulary with friends or colleagues: the 16-type test. Most people already know the four-letter codes.
- Reflection on what drives you: the Enneagram test, read as a hypothesis rather than a verdict.
- How you work and communicate in a team: the DISC test.
- How you handle emotions: the EQ test; see what is emotional intelligence.
- What you are good at: the strengths test.
- Which careers might suit you: the career test, based on interests; see the Holland code explained.
All of our personality tests are free to take with a free result; the full report is a single payment. They are modelled on the frameworks named above and are not the official instruments sold by their publishers.
How to read your results
Look at the scores, not just the label. If you scored 52% Introvert and 48% Extravert, you are close to the middle, and a retest could flip the letter. Most people are near the middle on most traits.
Read percentiles as comparisons. A Conscientiousness score at the 70th percentile means you described yourself as more organised than about 70% of the comparison group. It is not a grade.
Expect some movement. Mood, the context you were thinking of and small wording differences shift answers. Trait scores are fairly stable over months; four-letter types change more often.
Watch for the Barnum effect. In a classic demonstration, Bertram Forer (1949) gave students the same vague personality sketch and they rated it as highly accurate for themselves. Descriptions that feel uncannily right are not proof that a test works; consistent scores and predictions are.
Do not use results for high-stakes decisions such as diagnosis or, for type models, hiring. They are best used for self-understanding and conversation.
What makes a good personality test
A good test shows evidence of reliability (you get similar results when you retake it), validity (scores relate to real behaviour and to other established measures) and sensible norms (your scores are compared with a defined group). It reports scores rather than only labels and is open about what it can and cannot tell you. Goldberg's International Personality Item Pool (1999) made high-quality Big Five items freely available to researchers, which is one reason good free trait measures exist. Type tests and the Enneagram can still be useful, as long as you treat the result as a starting point. To see all our tests in one place, visit all tests.
Sources
- Goldberg, L. R. (1990). An alternative "description of personality": the Big-Five factor structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
- Goldberg, L. R. (1999). A broad-bandwidth, public domain, personality inventory measuring the lower-level facets of several five-factor models. In Personality Psychology in Europe, Vol. 7. Tilburg University Press.
- Costa, P. T. and McCrae, R. R. (1992). NEO PI-R Professional Manual. Psychological Assessment Resources.
- Pittenger, D. J. (1993). The utility of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Review of Educational Research.
- Hook, J. N. et al. (2021). The Enneagram: a systematic review of the literature and directions for future research. Journal of Clinical Psychology.
- Marston, W. M. (1928). Emotions of Normal People. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner.
- Forer, B. R. (1949). The fallacy of personal validation: a classroom demonstration of gullibility. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology.
- Myers, I. B. et al. (1998). MBTI Manual (3rd edition). Consulting Psychologists Press.
Frequently asked questions
what is personality test
It is a questionnaire that describes your typical ways of thinking, feeling and behaving, usually from how much you agree with statements about yourself. Results are given as trait scores, a type, or both, and there are no right or wrong answers.
what is my personality type test
Any type-based test, such as a 16-type or Enneagram test, will assign you a type from your answers. If you want the most informative result, pair it with a Big Five test, which shows how strongly you lean on each trait rather than putting you in a box.
what is the briggs myers test
It is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a questionnaire developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Cook Briggs from Jung's theory. It sorts people into one of 16 types using four preference pairs: E/I, S/N, T/F and J/P.
Are Myers Briggs tests free?
The official Myers-Briggs instrument is paid and usually taken through a certified practitioner or the publisher. Free tests online, including ours, are modelled on the same 16-type framework but are separate questionnaires.
What is the 5 rarest personality types?
In the 16-type model, the US national sample in the official manual put the five rarest types as INFJ (about 1.5%), ENTJ (1.8%), INTJ (2.1%), ENFJ (2.5%) and ENTP (3.2%). Shares vary between countries and samples.
What is type A, B, C, D personality?
These are behaviour-pattern labels rather than test types: A is hurried and competitive, B relaxed, C emotionally suppressed and D prone to negative emotion with social inhibition. Only A and D have much research behind them; see type A personality.
Is Type B personality just ADHD?
No. Type B describes a relaxed, unhurried style of behaviour that many people have. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that only a qualified clinician can diagnose, and a personality test cannot screen for it.