Personality assessment

A personality test aims to assess aspects of a person's character that remain stable across situations, referred to as their personality. Personality is generally understood as a collection of emotional, thought, and behavioral patterns unique to a person, that is consistent over time. Generally, personality tests assess common characteristics for large segments of the population, describing people according to a number of dimensions or traits, rather than attempting to describe every detail of any particular individual's personality. A variety of methods have been developed to assess personality differences and characteristics, based on various approaches to the nature of personality. While none is a complete description of human personality, many tests have proven useful in specific applications, such as interviewing prospective employees, through focussing on the attributes immportant for the particular situation. Through this use, a good fit can be found between an individual and what they will be called on to accomplish, thus benefiting both the individual and the whole purpose that they are serving.

Early history

The four temperaments as illustrated by Johann Kaspar Lavater.

Greek philosopher Hippocrates recorded the first known personality model basing his four "types" on the amount of body fluids, or "humors," an individual possessed. Greek physician Galen expounded upon Hippocrates' theory based on the four basic body fluids (humors): blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. According to their relative predominance in an individual, they would produce, respectively, temperaments designated sanguine (warm, pleasant), phlegmatic (slow-moving, apathetic), melancholic (depressed, sad), and choleric (quick to react, hot tempered). German philosopher Immanuel Kant popularized these ideas by organizing the constructs along the two axes of feelings and activity.

The advent of the field of psychology led to more formalized categories and tests. Wilhelm Wundt proposed that the four temperaments fall along the axes of changeability and emotionality. The first personality test was the Woodworth Personal Data Sheet first used in 1919. It was designed to help the United States Army screen out recruits who might be susceptible to shell shock.

Varieties of personality assessment

As the field of psychology developed so did both theories of personality and the methods to assess personality differences. A wide range of personality tests are available for use, for a variety of purposes, in different situations. Some of the most commonlyy used are:

• Projective tests
• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
• MBTI
• Keirsey Temperament Sorter
• Enneagram
• DISC Profile
• Big Five Personality Traits

Projective tests

A projective test is one in which the person is asked to respond to ambiguous stimuli in order to reveal hidden emotions and internal conflicts. This differs from an "objective test," in which responses are analyzed according to a universal standard, such as in a multiple choice questionnaire.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

The Rorschach inkblot test, named after its inventor Hermann Rorschach, was introduced in 1921, as a way to determine a person's personality by their interpretation of abstract inkblots.

Thematic Apperception Test

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) was commissioned by the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) in the 1930s, to identify personalities that might be susceptible to being turned by enemy intelligence. It uses a standard series of 31 provocative yet ambiguous pictures about which the subject must tell a story. A subject is asked questions such as:

• What dialogue might be carried on between characters?
• How might the "story" continue after the picture shown?

For this reason, the TAT is also known as the "picture interpretation technique."

Each story created by a subject is carefully analyzed to uncover underlying needs, attitudes, and patterns of reaction. Subjects can respond orally or in writing and there are specific subsets of pictures for boys, girls, men, and women. The TAT is a projective test in that, like the Rorschach inkblot test, its assessment of the subject is based on what he or she projects onto the ambiguous images.

The TAT was developed by the American psychologists Henry Murray and Christiana D. Morgan at Harvard during the 1930s to explore the underlying dynamics of personality, such as internal conflicts, dominant drives and interests, and motives. Specifically, TAT assesses motives including needs for achievement, power, intimacy, and problem-solving abilities.

After World War II, the TAT was adopted more broadly by psychoanalysts and clinicians to evaluate emotionally disturbed patients. Later, in the 1970s, the Human Potential Movement encouraged psychologists to use the TAT to help their clients understand themselves better and stimulate personal growth.

Today, the TAT is widely used as a tool for research in areas of pschology such as dreams, fantasies, mate selection, and what motivates people to choose their occupation. Sometimes it is used in a psychiatric context to assess disordered thinking, in forensic examinations to evaluate crime suspects or to screen candidates for high-stress occupations.

The TAT has been criticized for a number of reasons. It is not administered in a standardized way, and because it is challenging to standardise interpretation of the stories it produces. A scoring system for analysis was created by David McClelland in an attempt to introduce more rigor.

The 31 standard pictures have been criticized as negative in tone and therefore tending to limit the range of personality characteristics that the TAT can explore. Research has shown that factors including race, gender, and social class of both examiners and subjects influence the stories told and how they are interpreted.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was published in 1942 as a way to aid in assessing psychopathology in a clinical setting. It is the most frequently used personality test in the mental health field. This assessment was designed to help identify personal, social, and behavioral problems in psychiatric patients. The results from this test provide relevant information to aid in problem identification, diagnosis, and treatment planning for patients.

The test has also been used for job screening and other non-clinical assessments, which is considered controversial and is in some cases illegal.

History and use

The original MMPI was developed at the University of Minnesota Hospitals and first published in 1942. The original authors of the MMPI were Starke R. Hathaway, PhD, and J. C. McKinley, MD. The MMPI is copyrighted and is a trademark of the University of Minnesota. Clinicians must pay a fee each time it is administered.

The standardized version for adults 18 and over, the MMPI-2, was released in 1989, with a subsequent revision of certain test elements in early 2001. The MMPI-2 has 567 items, or questions, and takes approximately 60 to 90 minutes to complete. There is a short form of the test that is comprised of the first 370 items on the long-form MMPI-2. There is also a version of the inventory for adolescents aged 14 to 18, the MMPI-A.

The MMPI has been used for a range of assessments:

• Criminal Justice and Corrections
• Evaluation of disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, clinical depression and schizophrenia
• Identification of suitable candidates for high-risk public safety positions such as nuclear power plant workers, police officers, airline pilots, medical and psychology students, firefighters, and seminary students
• Assessment of medical patients and design of effective treatment strategies, including chronic pain management
• Evaluation of participants in substance abuse programs
• Support for college and career counseling
• Marriage and family counseling

Criticism and controversy

Personality tests like the Rorschach inkblot test, and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator have come under fire more often than MMPI. Still, critics have raised issues about the ethics and validity of administering MMPI, especially for non-clinical uses.

By the 1960s, the MMPI was being given by companies to employees and applicants as often as to psychiatric patients. Sociologist William H. Whyte was among many who saw the tests as helping to create and perpetuate the oppressive "groupthink" of mid-twentieth century corporate capitalism. In 1966, Senator Sam Ervin introduced a bill to sharply curtail the government's use of the MMPI and similar tests, comparing them to McCarthyism. Ervin's bill failed. A 1990 Office of Technology Assessment report noted:

In 1965 the Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the Committee on the Judiciary, chaired by Senator Sam Ervin, and the House Special Subcommittee on Invasion of Privacy of the Committee on Government Operations, chaired by Representative Cornelius E. Gallagher, held hearings to determine whether the questions asked on psychological tests used by the Federal Government were an unjustified invasion of the respondent’s psyche and private life. The Subcommittees also investigated the validity of these tests and the due process issues involved in test administration. The reactions of the press and public were very critical of the types of questions asked on these psychological tests.

Numerous successful lawsuits have argued that giving the test to job applicants is an invasion of privacy, and that there is no evidence linking test results to job performance. Others have accused that MMPI can "overpathologize" certain demographic groups, notably teenagers and non-white test takers.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was designed to assist a person in identifying their personality preferences. It was developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers during World War II, and follows from the theories of Carl Jung as laid out in his work Psychological Types. The registered trademark rights in the phrase and its acronym have been assigned from the publisher of the test, Consulting Psychologists Press Inc., to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Trust. The test is frequently used in the areas of pedagogy, group dynamics, employee training, leadership training, marriage counseling, and personal development, although scientific skeptics and academic psychologists have subjected it to considerable criticism in research literature.

Keirsey Temperament Sorter

File:MBTITemperament.png

The location of Keirsey's four temperaments within the MBTI.

The Keirsey Temperament Sorter is a personality instrument which attempts to identify which of four temperaments, and which of sixteen types, a person prefers. Hippocrates proposed the four "humors," which are related to the four temperaments. These were sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, and melancholic. In 1978, David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates, in the book Please Understand Me, reintroduced temperament theory in modern form. Keirsey renamed the four temperaments in the book Portraits of Temperament (1987) as "Guardian," "Artisan," "Idealist," and "Rational." As he was developing modern temperament theory, Keirsey discovered the MBTI in 1956, and found that by combining "intuition" with the "judging" functions, NT and NF, and "sensing" with the "perceiving" functions, SJ and SP, he found that grouping those Myers types correlated to his four temperaments:

Artisans (SPs) seek freedom to act and are concerned with their ability to make an impact on people or situations. Their greatest strength is tactical intelligence, which means that they excel at acting, composing, producing, and motivating.

Guardians (SJs) seek membership or belonging and are concerned with responsibility and duty. Their greatest strength is logistical intelligence, which means that they excel at organizing, facilitating, checking, and supporting.

Idealists (NFs) seek meaning and significance and are concerned with finding their own unique identity. Their greatest strength is diplomatic intelligence, which means that they excel at clarifying, unifying, individualizing, and inspiring.

Rationals (NTs) seek mastery and self-control and are concerned with their own knowledge and competence. Their greatest strength is strategic intelligence, which means that they excel at engineering, conceptualizing, theorizing, and coordinating.

The chart below compares modern and ancient aspects of the model:

c. 400 B.C.E.	Hippocrates's four humors		blood	black bile	yellow bile	phlegm
—>		Season:	spring	autumn	summer	winter
—>		Element:	air	earth	fire	water
—>		Organ:	liver	gall bladder	spleen	brain/lungs
—>		Characteristics:	courageous, amorous	despondent, sleepless	easily angered	calm, unemotional
c. 325 B.C.E.	Aristotle's four sources of happiness		hedone (sensuous pleasure)	propraitari (acquiring assets)	ethikos (moral virtue)	dialogike (logical investigation)
c. 190 C.E.'	Galen's four temperaments		sanguine	melancholic	choleric	phlegmatic
c. 1550	Paracelsus's four totem spirits		changeable salamanders	industrious gnomes	inspired nymphs	curious sylphs
c. 1905	Adicke's four world views		innovative	traditional	doctrinaire	skeptical
c. 1914	Spränger's four value attitudes		artistic	economic	religious	theoretic
c. 1920	Kretchmer's four character styles		hypomanic	depressive	hyperesthetic	anesthetic
c. 1947	Erich Fromm's four orientations		exploitative	hoarding	receptive	marketing
c. 1958	Isabel Myers' cognitive function types		SP - sensory perception	SJ - sensory judgement	NF - intuitive feeling	NT - intuitive thinking
c. 1978	Keirsey's four temperaments		artisan	guardian	idealist	rational
Keirsey, David. 1998. Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence. Prometheus Nemesis Book Co. ISBN 1885705026.

Enneagram

Another personality assessment similar to the MBTI is called the Enneagram.

File:Enneagram.gif

The Enneagram Figure

The term "enneagram" derives from the Greek words ennea (nine) and gramma (something written or drawn). The figure can also be called an "enneagon." The usual form of the Enneagram figure consists of a circle with nine points on its circumference equally spaced with one at the top and numbered clockwise from 1 to 9 starting with 1 at the point one position clockwise from the top-most point and ending with 9 at the top-most point. The Enneagram figure's most well-known use is in indicating a dynamic model of nine distinct yet interconnected psychological types (usually called "personality types" or "character types"). These types can be understood as unconsciously developing from nine distinct archetypal patterns.

It is sometimes speculated that forms of the Enneagram typology can be found in ancient sources, especially within the Sufi spiritual tradition, or that the Enneagram figure is possibly a variant of the Chaldean Seal from the times of Pythagoras. The Enneagram figure's first definitely established use (at least in its most common form of the triangle and hexagon) is found in the writings of the Greek-Armenian spiritual teacher G.I. Gurdjieff and his Russian-born student, P. D. Ouspensky. The teaching tradition established by Gurdjieff and Ouspensky is called "the Fourth Way."

The figure's use for a typological model is first clearly found in the teachings of Bolivian-born Oscar Ichazo and his system called "Protoanalysis." Much of popular Enneagram teaching has, however, been principally developed from the teachings of the Chilean-born psychiatrist Claudio Naranjo who first learned the basics of the Enneagram from Ichazo. It was principally from Naranjo that the Enneagram became established in the United States. His Enneagram teaching was further developed by many others teachers including a number of Jesuit priests and seminarians at Loyola University in Chicago.

Contemporary ways of understanding and describing the "Enneagram of Personality," as it is sometimes called, have developed from various traditions of spiritual wisdom and modern psychological insight. While many people understand the Enneagram principally in spiritual or mystical ways others understand it primarily in psychological terms.

The nine Enneagram types are often given names that indicate some distinctive behavioral aspect, though these labels are insufficient to capture the nuances of the type concerned. Some examples are as follows. The corresponding unhealthy aspect is indicated in square brackets.

• One: Reformer, Critic, Perfectionist [Anger]. This type focuses on integrity. Ones can be wise, discerning, and inspiring in their quest for the truth. They also tend to dissociate themselves from their flaws and can become hypocritical and hyper-critical, seeking the illusion of virtue to hide their own vices. The One's greatest fear is to be flawed and their ultimate goal is perfection.
• Two: Helper, Giver, Caretaker [Pride]. Twos, at their best, are compassionate, thoughtful and astonishingly generous; they can also be prone to passive-aggressive behavior, clinginess, and manipulation. Twos want, above all, to be loved and needed and fear being unworthy of love.
• Three: Achiever, Performer, Succeeder [Deceit]. Highly adaptable and changeable. Some walk the world with confidence and unstinting authenticity; others wear a series of public masks, acting the way they think will bring them approval and losing track of their true self. Threes fear being worthless and strive to be worthwhile.
• Four: Romantic, Individualist, Artist [Envy]. Driven by a fear that they have no identity or personal significance, Fours embrace individualism and are often profoundly creative. However, they have a habit of withdrawing to internalize, searching desperately inside themselves for something they never find and creating a spiral of depression. The stereotypical angst-ridden musician or tortured artist is often a stereotypical Four.
• Five: Observer, Thinker, Investigator [Avarice]. Believing they are only worth what they contribute, Fives have learned to withdraw, to watch with keen eyes and speak only when they can shake the world with their observations. Sometimes they do just that. Sometimes, instead, they withdraw from the world, becoming reclusive hermits and fending off social contact with abrasive cynicism. Fives fear incompetence or uselessness and want to be capable above all else.
• Six: Loyalist, Devil's Advocate, Defender [Fear]. Sixes long for stability above all else. They exhibit unwavering loyalty and responsibility, but are prone to extreme anxiety and passive-aggressive behavior. Their greatest fear is to lack support and guidance.
• Seven: Enthusiast, Adventurer, Materialist [Gluttony]. Eternal "Peter Pans," Sevens flit from one activity to another. Above all they fear being unable to provide for themselves. At their best they embrace life for its varied joys and wonders and truly live in the moment; but at their worst they dash frantically from one new experience to another, being too scared of disappointment to enjoy what they have.
• Eight: Leader, Protector, Challenger [Lust]. Eights worry about self-protection and control. Natural leaders, capable and passionate, but also manipulative, ruthless, and willing to destroy anything and everything in their way. Eights seek control over their own life and their own destiny and fear being harmed or controlled by others.
• Nine: Mediator, Peacemaker, Preservationist [Sloth]. Nines are ruled by their empathy. At their best they are perceptive, receptive, gentle, calming, and at peace with the world. On the other hand, they prefer to dissociate from conflicts and indifferently go along with others' wishes or simply withdraw, acting via inaction. They fear the conflict caused by their ability to simultaneously understand opposing points of view and seek peace of mind above all else.

DISC Profile

The DISC Profile is a psychometric test, using a four-dimensional model of normal behavior. The DISC Profile is based on the work of psychologist, William Moulton Marston, who published his work on measurements of mental energy in Emotions of Normal People in 1928, and Integrative Psychology in 1931. Its name comes from the initials each describing a behavioral pattern:

• Dominance produces activity in an antagonistic environment
• Inducement produces activity in a favourable environment
• Steadiness produces passivity in a favourable environment
• Compliance produces passivity in an antagonistic environment.

These four dimensions can be grouped in a grid with D and I sharing the top row and representing extroverted aspects of the personality, and C and S below representing introverted aspects. D and C then share the left column and represent task-focused aspects, and I and S share the right column and represent social aspects. The William Moulton Marston DISC theory and research model and definitions of the four style temperament factors are described at What is DISC?.

Th DISC is a self-scored assessment, available in two formats: The traditional paper workbook format which is a 20 page booklet. The paper DISC profile is designed to be self-administered, self-interpreted and has been used by 50 million people in the 35 years since its creation by Dr John Geier and Performax Systems International. That booklet is available at DISC Assessment in Paper Format. Special use and target market paper DISC assessments include: Biblical DISC Personal Profile Systems for the clergy, I-Sight DISC assessments for teenagers, Relationship DISC profiles for couples and relationship compatibility. Biblical DISC, DISC for Teens, DISC in Relationships. The paper versions of DISC are rapidly being replaced by the online instant interpretative reports availability. These DISC Assessment in Online Formats with in-depth interpretations advanced the application of DISC in practical application in today's world. This is in keeping with Marston's original intent. After all he was the Harvard student of Hugo Munsterberg, the father of applied psychology.

Big Five Personality Traits

In 1981, at a symposium in Honolulu, four prominent researchers (Lewis Goldberg, Naomi Takamoto-Chock, Andrew Comrey, and John M. Digman) reviewed the available personality tests of the day, and decided that most of the tests which held any promise seemed to measure a subset of five common factors. These five factors correspond to those generated in 1963 by W.T. Norman, based on lexical analysis of the English language by Gordon Allport and H. S. Odbert in 1936.

A model was developed which states that personality can be described in terms of five aggregate-level trait descriptors—The Big Five Personality Traits. These are measured by self-report questionnaires, known as IPIP (International Personality Item Pool) tests. The five factors and some typical questions that define them are as follows:

Neuroticism: A tendency to easily experience unpleasant emotions such as anxiety, anger, or depression.

• I am easily disturbed.
• I change my mood a lot.
• I get irritated easily.
• I get stressed out easily.
• I get upset easily.
• I have frequent mood swings.
• I often feel blue.
• I worry about things.

• I am relaxed most of the time. (reversed)
• I seldom feel blue. (reversed)

Extroversion: Energy and the tendency to seek stimulation and the company of others.

• I am the life of the party.
• I don't mind being the center of attention.
• I feel comfortable around people.
• I start conversations.
• I talk to a lot of different people at parties.

• I am quiet around strangers. (reversed)
• I don't like to draw attention to myself. (reversed)
• I don't talk a lot. (reversed)
• I have little to say. (reversed)
• I keep in the background. (reversed)

Agreeableness: A tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others.

• I am interested in people.
• I feel others' emotions.
• I have a soft heart.
• I make people feel at ease.
• I sympathize with others' feelings.
• I take time out for others.

• I am not interested in other people's problems. (reversed)
• I am not really interested in others. (reversed)
• I feel little concern for others. (reversed)
• I insult people. (reversed)

Conscientiousness: A tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement.

• I am always prepared.
• I am exacting in my work.
• I follow a schedule.
• I get chores done right away.
• I like order.
• I pay attention to details.

• I leave my belongings around. (reversed)
• I make a mess of things. (reversed)
• I often forget to put things back in their proper place. (reversed)
• I shirk my duties. (reversed)

Openness to experience: Appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, and unusual ideas; imaginative and curious.

• I am full of ideas.
• I am quick to understand things.
• I have a rich vocabulary.
• I have a vivid imagination.
• I have excellent ideas.
• I spend time reflecting on things.
• I use difficult words.

• I am not interested in abstract ideas. (reversed)
• I do not have a good imagination. (reversed)
• I have difficulty understanding abstract ideas. (reversed)

Other tests

The Holland hexagon

John L. Holland's RIASEC vocational model, commonly referred to as the Holland Codes, stipulates that there are six personality traits that lead people to choose their career paths:

• Realistic - practical, physical, hands-on, tool-oriented
• Investigative - analytical, intellectual, scientific
• Artistic - creative, original, independent, chaotic
• Social - cooperative, supporting, helping, healing/nurturing
• Enterprising - competitive environments, leadership, persuading
• Conventional - detail-oriented, organizing, clerical

This model is widely used in vocational counseling and is a circumplex model where the six types are represented as a hexagon where adjacent types are more closely related than those more distant [1].

Some cognitive psychologists have dismissed the idea of personality, believing most behavior is context specific. These theorists developed the concept of cognitive styles or "Meta-programs" to deal with this, which in turn lead to meta-program tests such as iWAM.

Other tests include Oxford Capacity Analysis, Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, Eysenck's three-factor Personality Questionnaire, and the Abika Test.

Benefits of Personality Testing

A significan number of businesses use personality testing as part of their hiring process. More and more people are also using personality testing to evaluate their business partners and potential spouses. Salespeople use personality testing to better understand the needs of their customers and gain a competitive edge in closing sales. Guidance counselors use personality tests to help students make appropriate career choices. Lawyers use personality testing for criminal behavior analysis, litigation profiling, witness examination and jury selection.

While none of the tests available may give complete assessments, it has been possible to tailor particular tests to the specific needs of employers, the military, lawyers, and so forth. This can be beneficial by providing a better fit between the person and what they will be called on to accomplish.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Bennett, D. Against types. Boston Globe, 12 September 2004.
• Berens, Linda V. Jung's Cognitive Processes. Retrieved December 21, 2004.
• Carroll, Robert Todd (January 9, 2004). Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®. The Skeptic's Dictionary. Retrieved January 8, 2004.
• The Center for Applications of Psychological Type. MBTI® Code of Ethics. Retrieved December 20, 2004.
• Congress of the United States Office of Technology Assessment. The Use of Integrity Tests for Pre-Employment Screening. (PDF) September 1990. OTA-SET-442 NTIS order #PB91-107011.
• Conn, Steven R (1994) Sixteen Pf Fifth Edition Technical Manual. Institute for Personality & Ability Testing. ISBN 0918296226
• Consulting Psychologists Press (2004). Trademark Guidelines. Retrieved December 20, 2004.
• Geyer, Peter (1998) Some Significant Dates. Retrieved December 5, 2005.
• Jung, Carl Gustav (August 1, 1971). Psychological Types (Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 6). Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691097704.
• Keirsey, David (1998). Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence. Prometheus Nemesis Book Co Inc; 1st ed edition. ISBN 1885705026.
• Keirsey, David (2001). Keirsey Temperament versus Myers-Briggs Types. Retrieved December 20, 2004.
• Martin, Charles Dr. (2004) The Sixteen Types at a Glance. The Center for Applications of Psychological Type. Retrieved December 20, 2004.
• Myers, Isabel Briggs; McCaulley Mary H.; Quenk, Naomi L.; Hammer, Allen L. (1998). MBTI Manual (A guide to the development and use of the Myers Briggs type indicator). Consulting Psychologists Press; 3rd ed edition. ISBN 0891061304.
• The Myers & Briggs Foundation. Ethical Use of the MBTI® Instrument. Retrieved December 20, 2004.
• Paul, A.M. (20040. The Cult of Personality: How Personality Tests Are Leading Us to Miseducate Our Children, Mismanage Our Companies, and Misunderstand Ourselves. Free Press . ISBN: 0743243560.
• University of Florida (2003) Guide to the Isabel Briggs Myers Papers 1885-1992, George A. Smathers Libraries, Department of Special and Area Studies Collections, Gainesville, FL. Retrieved December 5, 2005.

Further reading

• Berens, Linda V. and Nardi, Dario. What Is Personality "Type?". "The 16 Personality Types: Descriptions for Self-Discovery" (Fountain Valley CA: Telos Publications, 1999), 2.
• Berens, Linda V. and Nardi, Dario. What Is Best-Fit Type?. "The 16 Personality Types: Descriptions for Self-Discovery" (Fountain Valley CA: Telos Publications, 1999), 6.
• Berens, Linda V. and Nardi, Dario. Ways to Describe Personality. "The 16 Personality Types: Descriptions for Self-Discovery" (Fountain Valley CA: Telos Publications, 1999), 2
• Berens,Linda V., Cooper,Sue A., Ernst,Linda K., Martin,Charles R., Myers,Steve, Nardi, Dario, Pearman,Roger R., Segal, Marci, Smith ,Melissa A. Applications of Type in Organizations. "Quick Guide to the 16 Personality Types in Organizations: Understanding Personality Differences in the Workplace" (Fountain Valley CA: Telos Publications, 2001)
• Bourne, Dana. Personality Types and the Transgender Community. Retrieved November 14, 2005.
• Falt, Jack. Bibliography of MBTI/Temperament Books by Author. Retrieved December 20, 2004.
• Geyer, Peter (1988). An MBTI® History. Retrieved December 20, 2004.
• Georgia State University. GSU Master Teacher Program: On Learning Styles. Retrieved December 20, 2004.
• Jung, Carl Gustav. Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Vintage Books: New York, 1965. p. 207.
• Martin., Charles R. Role of Type in Career Mastery. "Quick Guide to the 16 Personality Types and Career Mastery: Living with Purpose and Working Effectively" (Fountain Valley CA: Telos Publications, 2001), 3
• Matthews, Paul (2004). The MBTI is a flawed measure of personality. bmj.com Rapid Responses. Retrieved February 9, 2005.
• Myers, Isabel Briggs (1970). Personal letter to Mary McCaulley. The MBTI Qualifying Program: The Center for Applications of Psychological Type, 2004. p. 20.
• Myers, Isabel Briggs (1980). Gifts Differing: Understanding Personality Type. Davies-Black Publishing; Reprint edition (May 1, 1995). ISBN 089106074X.
• Paul, Annie Murpy (2004). The Cult of Personality Testing. Free Press. ch. 5.
• Personality Plus. Employers love personality tests. But what do they really reveal?
• Skeptics Dictionary "Myers-Briggs Type Indicator" [2]
• The Myers & Briggs Foundation. Ethical Use of the MBTI® Instrument. Retrieved December 20, 2004.
• Virginia Tech. The Relationship Between Psychological Type and Professional Orientation Among Technology Education Teachers. Retrieved December 20, 2004.

Enneagram

• Almaas, A. H. (2000). Facets Of Unity: The Enneagram Of Holy Ideas. Shambhala Books. ISBN 0936713143.
• Baron, Renee & Wagele, Elizabeth. 1994, The Enneagram Made Easy. ISBN 0062510266.
• Hurley, Kathleen V. (1993). My best self: Using the Enneagram to free the soul. ISBN 8572720669.
• Jaxon-Bear, Eli. (2005). Self-Realization and The Enneagram. (DVD produced by the Leela Foundation). ASIN: B000B5KX10.
• Palmer, Helen. (1991). The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and the Others In Your Life . ISBN 0062506838.
• Palmer, Helen. (1996). The Enneagram in Love and Work: Understanding Your Intimate and Business Relationships. ISBN 0062507214.
• Riso, Don Richard & Hudson, Russ. (1999). The Wisdom of the Enneagram. ISBN 0555378201.

External links

• Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (in German, with a focus on the German version)
• Personality Test based on research since 1989.
• 'What Am I Like?' personality test from the BBC
• Personality Types
• Personality testing through data mining
• Similar minds personality test
• Similar minds Global Advanced Personality Test
• Personality Tests in the Mind Media Guide
• Book review of Storytelling, Narrative, and the Thematic Apperception Test
• Research into the origins of imagery used in the TAT
• Pearson Assessments: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2
• MMPI-A (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent)
• Test interpretation and description of scales (pdf)
• MMPI Research Project
• MMPI: All You Wanted to Know About It
• INTRODUCTION: The MMPI is the most frequently used clinical test
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Home Page
• MMPI article via Health A to Z
• Trait Theory
• The Straight Dope: What does Alice in Wonderland have to do with psychological testing?

Authorized Myers-Briggs/Keirsey

• MBTI Qualification Program
• Authorized Myers-Briggs tests
• Keirsey Temperament and Character The Web Site for the Keirsey Temperament Sorter and Keirsey Temperament Theory.
• 4Temperaments.com The Web Site for Understanding the Four Temperaments.

Unauthorized personality tests inspired by Myers-Briggs/Keirsey

• MajorsPTI - Advanced Personality Type Inventory
• humanmetrics.com
• personalitytest.net
• similarminds.com

Additional information and essays on all 16 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Profiles

• 16types.com - Complete resource for understanding the 16 personality types.
• BestFitType.com - Explore all 16 personality types.
• CognitiveProcesses.com - Explore the 16 personality types from the Jungian perspective.
• Typelogic.com
• Links to different descriptions of the 16 Types
• Life Explore - Information regarding typology (i.e. MBTI)

Enneagram

• Enneagram Insitute
• The Enneagram Webring
• Enneagram; Arguments For and Against...
• International Enneagram Association
• A Brief History of the Enneagram
• 'Enneagram' in The Skeptic's Dictionary
• A summary of several sources.
• Enneagram Worldwide classes, workshops and events
• Superimposing the Enneagram and Zodiac (Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet)
• [3]

Big Five

• http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~sanjay/pubs/bigfive.pdf
• Criticism on Big Five Personality Tests
• Five-Factor Model from Great Ideas in Personality
• History of the Big 5 from Kuro5hin
• The Personality Project Good source of references for further reading.

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