What is your personality type? How does your personality affect the way you do things? Which test is best to help understand my personality traits?

Why we need to understand personality

Is personality important? Evidence suggests that the psychology of personality types is important as it aids our self-awareness. This, in turn, helps us to plan for and achieve goals in a way that makes the best of our strengths. We are also much more likely to be happy (as well as successful) if we understand our personalities, characters and preferences.

I am a great believer in self-discovery as foundational to fulfilment in life. And once again I am not alone in this. From Socrates to Stephen R. Covey, the history of personal development emphasises the importance of self-awareness.

“To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom” – Socrates

It is somewhat tautological to say that self-improvement should start with self, but it is a point that is often overlooked. All too often, when setting goals, we choose to focus on other people. This might be in making unhealthy comparisons (a particular problem in the age of social media), blaming our situation on others, or endlessly seeking to fix everything around us, without doing any critique of self.

What is the difference between character and personality?

The terms character and personality are often used synonymously, but in psychology they tend to be used in slightly different ways.

Character

Character generally refers to the beliefs and moral values that we hold. In other words, why we do things or the ethical code that informs our actions. You can therefore see that it is no accident that The Right Questions Framework starts with the ‘Why’ question and an exploration of personal values. This knowledge of character and values is foundational to self-awareness, good decision-making and overall success.

Personality

Personality is usually more associated with how we do things. Our personality reflects how we think, act and feel as we navigate life. Here you can see the overlap with character, as both impact behaviour, but personality traits are often seen as innate qualities that we were born with (although the nature vs nurture debate still rages on this and many other issues).

Personality tests – Myers Briggs (MBTI) and the OCEAN (Big 5) Model

There are various ways to explore our personalities but perhaps the simplest way is with the use of personality tests. There are many personality tests of one sort or another and you might have heard or used some, such as the DISC personality test or the Clifton Strengths Finder. The best-known of all is probably the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®). This was the first such test I took.

Since then, I have utilised many psychometric tests in my work, and I now prefer using the Big 5 (OCEAN) model. The Big 5 is the preferred standard test of most psychologists and has been adopted by many employers (such as NASA). The OCEAN model emphasises personality traits rather than types.

Is personality more about traits or types?

The difference between traits and types reflects the distinction between analogue and digital. Traits are analogue as they measure aspects of character on a spectrum. For example, we might be more or less of a team player. The Big 5 (OCEAN) model uses this approach to understanding personality.

Personality type theory is more digital, saying that some either is or isn’t of a certain sort. For example, a test using the ‘type’ approach will say you are either extroverted or introverted. It does not illustrate to what degree you are either introverted, or extroverted, and the same with other traits. In other words, it is less nuanced. The Myers-Briggs test uses this more binary approach of typology.

Are some personality types good and others bad?

One downside with type theory is that you can start to identify as a fixed kind of character and, even worse, start to think of that type as either positive or negative. This is unhelpful. Personality traits are about preferences and these preferences are not necessarily good or bad, they are not ethical judgements. Also, personality, traits and preferences are not fixed. They can change situationally and over time. For example, I have grown more confident over the years; that element of my personality is not fixed.

Therefore, in my experience, there is no one ‘right’ personality type, but different people thrive in different situations. And the science backs me up on this. That is why the psychological study of personality and the science of identifying personality types has grown in scope and importance.

What are the Big 5 personality types and what does OCEAN stand for?

The Big 5, which stands for five personality traits (also known by the acronym OCEAN) was developed by a series of researchers but is most closely associated with the work of Paul Costa and Robert McCrae. The 5 traits of the OCEAN model are:

O – Openness

C – Conscientiousness

E – Extroversion

A – Agreeableness

N – Neuroticism

The traits are generally measured with psychometric tests (questionnaires that indicate preferences) and the scores are expressed on a scale or spectrum. There are many tests available, some even for free. But, whether paid or not, make sure whatever test you use comes from a recognised provider with proven credentials if you want to trust the results.

The Big 5 (OCEAN) personality traits explained

Here is an explanation of each of the Big 5 traits:

Openness

Openness is the degree to which people are open to new experiences and ideas, being creative, having imagination and creativity. Less ‘open’ people prefer routine and deep, specialist knowledge.

Conscientiousness

The more conscientious a person is, the more organised, disciplined, and hardworking they tend to be. Less conscientious people tend to be more impulsive and disorganised.

Extroversion

Extroverts get more of their energy from external stimuli. They tend to be gregarious, outgoing, positive, enthusiastic, and assertive. Introverts get their energy more internally. They tend to think more before speaking, prefer fewer (but deeper) relationships and retreat from others to recharge.

Agreeableness

A more agreeable person is more likeable, cooperative, and trusting. They tend to be warm and good-natured. Less agreeable people are less trusting, more critical, and often prefer to work alone.

Neuroticism

The higher a person is on the neuroticism scale, the more they worry. They tend towards negativity and are more prone to depression and anxiety. Less neurotic people are calm, even-tempered, and more secure in themselves.

Free personality tests

If you want to discover your personality type, the easiest thing is to take a short test. There are many resources available online and many are free.

One free resource I often use is https://openpsychometrics.org where you can find a variety of tests including the Big 5 model.

Applying the Big 5 personality traits – an example

By way of an example (and to show any given trait is not good or bad) we can consider NASA astronaut selection for different missions. Let’s take one trait, that of agreeableness in this instance.

For a mission of a long duration, with people stuck in close confines such as a trip to Mars, you want people higher on the agreeableness spectrum. That is because they are more likely to work well as a team (and not rub each other up the wrong way!) This is similar to the type of person selected to serve for long durations in Antarctic research stations.

By contrast, someone completing a solo mission might be better off having a lower agreeableness rating as they will need to be happy working on their own, with no company, for long periods.

So here we can see it is not that agreeableness is good or bad. Where someone lands on the spectrum just indicates tasks or roles they are better suited to, but this is situational and just one factor to take into consideration.

How the Big 5 (and other personality tests) can help or hinder us

Taking a personality test, especially one using the preferred Big 5 (OCEAN) model, can be beneficial in aiding self-awareness. Traits show preferences and help us to identify our strengths and weaknesses. It can help inform us of roles that we might prefer and excel in (and others where we might struggle).

But personality is not fixed. Therefore, we must be careful not to identify too closely with personality types as this can get us into an unhealthy fixed mindset. This is why we focus on traits. Each trait sits on a spectrum that can change with circumstance and time. We also need to be careful not to think of our personality as good or bad. And, if we feel our personality has room for improvement, then the evidence shows that we can change.

The Right Questions ID CARD Tool: Understanding Self with Personality Tests

I very rarely go anywhere without some form of identification. Whether that is an ID card for work or a passport for travel, we often need a way to confirm who we are.

Within The Right Questions Framework, the ID CARD tool helps us think about who we are by assessing our personality traits. To do this we simply follow these steps:

• I – Itemise what you think your strengths, weaknesses, preferences and personality traits are. (N.B. Doing this first helps to avoid some of the unconscious bias that can creep in once you start speaking to other people or doing tests.)
• D – Discuss with other people and find out how they would describe your personality.

• C – Choose a suitable personality test. If you have not done one before then I recommend the OCEAN/Big 5 model.
• A – Answer the questions and complete the questionnaire.
• R – Review the results using your intuition (whether the results feel right) and the evidence of your behaviour (to confirm or deny a particular trait). In this way you can assess how closely you think the results reflect your actual personality.
• D – Do another test. After having done one personality test (such as the Big 5), then do another. You can also use different sorts of tests and compare the results. It is also helpful to do the same test but after a gap. That could be days, weeks, even years, but it is insightful to see what might have changed over time.