People are naturally curious to learn more about themselves. That’s why personality tests have always been so popular. In fact, the first-ever recorded modern personality test was the Woodworth Personal Data Sheet used in 1919 to help the United States army screen recruits for potential shell shock. Fast forward to the present day, it seems like you encounter personality tests everywhere from social media to your workplace orientation.
The Professional Leadership Institute provides training on Personality Testing for Workplaces and offers a free preview.
From taking a Buzzfeed quiz to find out what type of book best suits you, to career tests in high school to find out what field you should go into, personality tests can be a fun way to reveal nuggets of truth about who you are as a person. When applied to the workplace, having a deeper understanding of who you are is essential to becoming more effective. It’ll help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to better interact with your colleagues and reach your goals.
In this article, you’ll read about 9 different personality tests you can take to have fun while learning more about yourself!
DiSC Personality Test
First proposed in 1928 based on William Moulton Marston’s model of behaviour, the DiSC Personality Test is a popular personality assessment tool. DiSC is based on research and real-world applications, which is why it is commonly used in workplace settings.
DiSC is an acronym that stands for the four main personality profiles analyzed in the model: (D)ominance, (i)nfluence, (S)teadiness, and (C)onscientiousness. After you take the test, you’ll have an outline of which DiSC style(s) you fall under. Although everyone who takes the test tends to have some mix of the four different personalities, there are usually one or two types that are more prominent than the others.
Here’s a brief overview of what each letter type indicates:
- Dominance: ‘D’ types tend to place an emphasis on accomplishing results and “seeing the big picture.” The traits of someone who falls in this quadrant are confident, blunt, outspoken, and demanding.
- Influence: Influencing or persuading others is what guides this DiSC type. Traits of ‘i’ types are enthusiastic, optimistic, trusting, open, and energetic.
- Steadiness: ‘S’ types place an emphasis on cooperation, sincerity, loyalty, and dependability. They tend to be calm and deliberate.
- Conscientiousness: ‘C’ types are guided by quality, accuracy, expertise, and competency. They are independent, detail-oriented, and like to be right.
Based on these results, you’ll then be able to explore your DiSC style in-depth, with details such as what your leadership style looks like and challenges you may face in the workplace.
Take our free DISC personality assessment here!
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Personality Test
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Personality Test actually dates way back to 1917, when Katherine Cook Briggs began researching personality with her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers. Drawing from the work of popular psychiatrist Carl Jung, the duo concluded that people’s preferences combine to form one of 16 personality types that describe them. Launched in the late 60s, the test is now one of the most popular personality assessments today, helping people understand their personality types based on their psychological preferences.
Individuals are evaluated along the dimensions of:
- Introversion vs. Extraversion
- Sensing vs. Intuition
- Thinking vs. Feeling
- Judging vs. Perceiving
Based on their answers, they will fall under one of the 16 identified personality combinations, characterized into four general groups: Analysts, Diplomat, Sentinels, and Explorers. To read more about the MBTI Test, check out our 16 Personalities article here.
After you finish the test, you’ll be able to read an in-depth profile that outlines your strengths, weaknesses, what you are like in relationships, career paths that fit best with your type, and workplace habits. If you’d like an even deeper analysis of your personality type, they offer a ‘Premium Profile’ with additional resources like guidebooks and specialized tests for an extra fee.
The test is free for anyone to take here on the 16 Personalities website.
Big 5 Personality Test
The Big Five is one of the most (if not the most) widely accepted models of personality in psychology.
It was initially developed in the 1960s by Ernest Tupes and Raymond Christal, and since then, was continually refined and built upon. After reaching academic audiences in the 1980s, and the decades of research that followed, it is now recognized as the only test of its kind that has reached a scientific consensus.
The test measures five personality traits identified by psychologists as being fundamental to our personality. The Big 5 can be remembered as the acronym ‘OCEAN’ and are as follows:
- Openness
- Conscientiousness
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism
The test consists of 60 statements about your personality that you must rank on account of how accurate they are to you. Some examples of these statements are “I make friends easily” and “It is important to me that people are on time”. Based on these statements, you’ll see a report on the findings of your results. More specifically, you’ll be able to see how you “scored” on each of the Big Five traits, and what this means for you.
To take the test, visit the website here.
Berkeley Emotional Intelligence Quiz
The Berkeley Emotional Intelligence Quiz is a test created under the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. The Center studies psychology, sociology, and neuroscience in the context of improving social and emotional well-being.
The quiz itself will give you an indication of how well you are able to read other peoples’ emotions based on facial expressions and body language.
The test is simply comprised of photos of different people. You’ll be assessed on how well you can read the emotion portrayed by these strangers and be told whether you are correct or incorrect with an explanation. There are twenty questions in total following the same format as well as some demographic questions.
As a result, you’ll see how well you are able to read people based on emotional intelligence. If your score is on the lower end – don’t worry, Berkeley has a ton of resources on how you can improve.
Take the test here and see how your own emotional intelligence measures up!
Enneagram Personality Test
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The history of the Enneagram test dates back to the late 1960s with the teachings of Bolivian philosopher Óscar Ichazo and is now a very popular test both in and outside of the workplace. The name Enneagram comes from the Greek words Ennea (meaning nine) and Gramma (meaning something that is drawn or written). The focus of the test is understanding people’s emotional motivations, fears, and overall personalities.
Based on the Enneagram, there are nine different personality types that are each defined by a fundamental belief of how the world works. Thus, a person’s perspective on the world and others, and subsequently their actions, are shaped by this belief.
The nine different Enneagram types are:
- Type One: The Reformer
- Type Two: The Helper
- Type Three: The Achiever
- Type Four: The Individualist
- Type Five: The Investigator
- Type Six: The Loyalist
- Type Seven: The Enthusiast
- Type Eight: The Challenger
- Type Nine: The Peacemaker
The test focuses on measuring your habits and patterns when it comes to thoughts, feelings, and emotions. When taking it, you’ll navigate through statements such as, “I am prepared for any disaster” and “I see the positive in any situation that arises”. For each, you’ll rank how accurate or inaccurate the statement is to your way of thinking.
As a result, you’ll be able to see the level at which you align with each of the nine personality types. Most people have one type that is most dominant, and that is what you should focus on learning more about.
The free version of the test is available here on Truity’s website for anyone to take. If you’re curious to learn more about the Enneagram test, check out our article here!
HEXACO Personality Inventory
The HEXACO Personality Inventory was first started in 2000 by Kibeom Lee, PhD and Michael C. Ashton, PhD. The aim of the test was to assess six major personality dimensions and reflect the researcher’s theoretical interpretations of them. Since then, the personality test has gone through several revisions and iterations, with the most recent version being the HEXACO-PI-R (HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised).
Specifically, the test provides a personal measure of these six broad facet scales of personality:
- Honesty-Humility
- Emotionality
- eXtraversion
- Agreeableness versus Anger
- Conscientiousness
- Openness to Experience
The test is formatted with around 100 short statements such as, “Having a lot of money is not especially important to me” or “On most days, I feel cheerful and optimistic”, where you will indicate how much you agree with each statement along a scale.
For each of the six scales, you will see what your score is compared to the median score of these broad scales as well as 25 narrow facet scales that fall under each one:
- Honesty-Humility: Sincerity, Fairness, Greed-Avoidance, Modesty
- Emotionality: Fearfulness, Anxiety, Dependence, Sentimentality
- eXtraversion: Social Self-Esteem, Social Boldness, Sociability, Liveliness
- Agreeableness: Forgiveness, Gentleness, Flexibility, Patience
- Conscientiousness: Organization, Diligence, Perfectionism, Prudence
- Openness to Experience: Aesthetic Appreciation, Inquisitiveness, Creativity, Unconventionality
An additional factor, Altruism versus Antagonism, is measured too. It’ll also give you a description of what each facet means to further your understanding. From these results, you’ll gain insight into your basic personality, which you can use to grow your strengths or work on your weaknesses.
To take the 15-minute personality test, you can visit the HEXACO website here.
“Who Am I” Visual DNA Test
The “Who Am I” test is a fun, photo-based personality test that will show you what your character is like. The quiz is different from the others on the list in having you select photos that best represent you. The test will show you how you fare on levels of the Big Five personality traits (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism). It will also show you how those traits align with each other to make up who you are. As a result, you’ll gain insights into ten aspects of your personality:
- Outlook: How do you view the world?
- Character: How do your internal traits reflect how you feel about others?
- Self-control: How do you approach situations of conflict?
- Composure: How do you deal with impulses or urges?
- Taste: Where do your real interests lie?
- Sociability: How do you approach relationships with others?
- Action: What are you like in terms of plans and goals?
- Attitude: How do you approach issues such as social problems?
- Process: Are you more of a dreamer or do you thrive on being organized?
- Resilience: How do you feel about potential dangers or problems around you?
If you’re curious to find out more about yourself with these aspects, spend a few minutes taking the test here.
Personality Color Test
This next one is the quickest personality test on the list – made up of just two questions! It’s simple, all you have to do is rank your favourite and least favourite colours. You’ll then receive a detailed personality profile from the quiz. Results are based on original research conducted and validated by clinical psychologists, psychoanalysts, and mathematicians. There are over 50 million different answers that are personalized from test results. It’ll tell you what qualities characterize your personality most, such as emotional intelligence or imagination. Take the test here and view your colour profile today!
HIGH5 Test
The HIGH5 Test differs from the others in the list as it outlines your unique strengths rather than assigning you to a certain personality type. This test is super popular in the corporate world, in fact, 90% of professionals from Fortune 500 companies have taken the test to discover their own skills.
During the test, you’ll read through a list of statements on specific behaviours. You’ll then assess how accurately it represents you. From your answers, the platform will provide you with your five greatest strengths, and a description of each. You may also download a comprehensive report if you want to learn even more about your results.
By knowing your strengths, you’ll be able to better apply them in these areas and overall really hone your assets. You’ll be able to easily transfer what you learn from this test to the workplace and in your personal life.
Curious about your HIGH5? Take the test here.
