Analysis of Personality Tests

Personality

Personality is the organized pattern of behavior and attitudes that makes a human being distinctive. Personality is formed by the ongoing interaction of temperament, character, and environment (Gale 1147). It affects your everyday life and plays a major key on your perspective on topics. One’s personality is not inherited, you acquire it through childhood growth and environment. It’s affected by one’s value, personal memories, social relationship, habits, and skills.

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There are many tests that allow you to discover what your personality is, though they are not 100% accurate because of the fact that personality is not a tangible thing. The most widely used test that psychologist shave used today and in the past are the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2), the Rorsach Inkblot test, the Neurotic Personality Questionnaire-KON-2006, and the Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R).

The test a scientist is more likely to use is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2), there are various MMPI that are used to determine what treatments to use on patients. The MMPI also aid in criminal cases in forensic psychology. The MMPI & MMPI-2 are versions of the test used to discover the personalities of adults as well as their psychopathology. It takes approximately 1-2 hours to complete the MMPI-2 on a 6^th grade reading level. The MMPI-A is the version of the test used for young adults from the age of 14 to 18 years of age, but if you are 18 and out of high school you are eligible to take the MMPI-2.

The Rorschach test, named after Hermann Rorschach, is the cliché Hollywood test that are seen in movies. This test method was most popularly used in the 1960’s. It is a test in which the participant is presented with inkblots, where they then are asked to describe their perspective on what the inkblot is. The test is used for personality testing along with emotional testing. It tested children from the age of 5 to adulthood. The method goes like this: The subject is sat down in a relaxed atmosphere, where they are presented white cards with symmetrical shapes (two are black while the other three are a variety of colors). The presenter shows the subject the cards one by one while asking what he/she sees and how it makes them feel. The subject is then handed the cards and can look at it in any angle they want, after doing so the presenter again asks what they see and how it makes them feel. The end goal of the test is to discover data about personality and how the subject thinks.

The Neurotic Personality Questionnaire KON-2006 is a test used to diagnose personality dysfunctions that could lead to neurotic disorders, mental disorders involving confusion and hallucinations (Revolvy). Neurotic Disorders are not to be psychosis because the person is still able to function and is still connected to actual reality, nor is it neuroticism. The Neurotic Personality Questionnaire consists of questions that require positive or negative feedback from the subject. After doing so, the subject is scaled and declared what their disorder is, if present. For example, the subject could be declared: Feeling dependent in his or her environment, having difficulties in interpersonal relations, sense of being in danger, sense of guilt, or difficulty in making decisions, etc. This test was created by Jerzy W. Aleksandrowicz, Katarzyna Klasa, Jerzy A. SobaÅ„ski, and Dorota Stolarska at the Department of Psychotherapy of the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Kraków, Poland, which is the oldest and also one of the largest medical school in Poland (Revolvy).

The Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R) by Hans Jürgen Eysenck, a German Psychologist who is acknowledged for his work on personality and intelligence. He published his first books on genetic personality in 1951. His theory of personality is based off of physiology and genetics. Eysenck’s believed that personality is given to us by genetic inheritance. For this reason, Eysenck focused primarily on temperament, an aspect of our personalities that is based off of genetics. The EPQ-R is a test used to discover personality traits a human being has. Eysenck believed that there were only two main personalities (with an exception of a third), or dimensions, that a person could be. The 3 personalities are Extraversion (E), Neuroticism (N), or Psychoticism (P).

Psychoticism is a personality pattern typified by aggressiveness and interpersonal hostility. They are not connected to actual reality. It is believed that psychoticism is carried through genetics and blood relatives with high levels of it. Psychoticism can be narrowed down to impulsivity, having careless actions and thoughts, and sensation seeking which is causing or doing an action just for the sensation of it.

The Big Five (FFM), five factor model, is the 5 broad factors of personality that psychologists use to categorize people and their personalities. The Big Five are important because it defines one’s psychological make-up (Rathus 324). The five factors are openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

Openness to Experience is a personality trait that makes someone creative and always curious. You can look at an openness as a sensation seeker, doing things for the sensation of the experience (Rathus 307). This type of person has and is always craving a variety of different experiences such as skydiving, gambling, adventuring, or even snowboarding. As you can see openness type people are high risk takers and can be very unpredictable. If someone scores low on the Openness to Experience subject of the test, it indicates that it is difficult for them to be creative while also having no interest in experiences (Rathus 307).

Extraversion is a personality trait in which one is an entertainer and can be found to be energetic and optimistic. This person tends to always be full of joy and is often found spreading that positive emotion to others around them. They are very social and enthusiastic, with that being said, they work well in groups. A high level of extraversion may be useful for jobs that require a great deal of interaction with other people, like public relations, teaching, and sales (123test). Extraversions like the attention of others; they are happiest when they are the center of attention. They tend to attend social gatherings like parties, being around others make them feel even more enthusiastic. Someone who scores low on the Extraversion subject on a personality test are most likely a pessimist and have a “dull” energy (123test).

Conscientiousness people are planners and careful. They tend to be organized, thoughtful of events, and plan for high achievements. Someone that is conscientiousness is dependable and has a lot of self-control. Conscientious are what nowadays society calls “workaholics”, because they are always at work and can never seem to stop. If you were to take a personality test and score low on the conscientiousness part, then you would most likely be laid back and have no motivation.

Agreeableness is a personality trait in which someone works well with others and likes to be around their peers. They show care towards others and often puts themselves last. They also admire social harmony and doesn’t like having negative emotions towards others or being around someone who generates negative emotions. Someone who is a low scorer on the agreeableness subject is one who will find competition in others rather than trying to be cooperative.

Neuroticisms is a personality trait that causes anxiety, fear, emotions, jealousy, depression, etc. A neurosis is any symptomatic disturbance which results from a mental struggle (Nordqvist). People who score high on this subject of a personality test are likely to acquire those traits more often than others. High Neuroticisms have a high risk of developing a mental disorder, such as phobias, depression, and anxiety (Nordqvist).

There are various personalities and personality traits that the human mind undergoes. Everyone shows signs of the Big Five in one way or another, some just simply show one factor more than others. Personality relates to psychology in this way because it shows how the mind is affected through growth and development, its environment, and what is learned over the course of life.

Work Cited

“Extraversion” 123test.com 123 Test. 2016. Web. 2 December 2016.

Gale. The Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health, 3rd Edition. Gale Cengage Learning. Print

“Neurotic Personality Questionnaire KON-2006” revolvy. Web. 3 December 2016

Rathus Spencer. Holt Psychology. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 2000. Print

Nordqvist, Christian. “Neuroticism and Neurosis Explained” Medical News Today. MNT, 1 December 2016. Web. 2 December 2016.