Personality Test: Many pop-psychology personality tests are found in popular mag

Question

Personality Test:

Many pop-psychology personality tests are found in popular magazines and also on the Internet. Search for and take two or three online personality tests, and critique each answering the following questions:

1) What were the tests designed to measure?

2) What criticisms do you have of the test items?

3) What kind of personality description(s) were offered after completion of the test? Were the descriptions precise and specific or were they general?

4) What are the dangers and benefits of such online tests?

Explanation / Answer

Personality tests can be projective or objective

Examples of Projective tests : Rorschach,TAT,CAT

Examples of Objective tests : 16PF, NEOFFI,IPDE,MBTI

Ans 1 Online pop psychology personality tests generally use objective tests like Myer Briggs Type Indicator(MBTI) that ask for responses to a particular set of questions from everyone and give you type of personality traits like introversion,extroversion etc.

Ans 2 Criticisms of tests like MBTI include that it is self rated , and people may give more socially acceptable responses i.e biased responses. Validity of such tests is therefore reduced.

Ans 3 some of the responses are as follows, ISTJ,INTJ etc are personality types which refer to respective personality traits

ISTJ

Quiet, serious, earn success by thoroughness and dependability. Practical, matter-of-fact, realistic, and responsible. Decide logically what should be done and work toward it steadily, regardless of distractions. Take pleasure in making everything orderly and organized - their work, their home, their life. Value traditions and loyalty.

ISFJ

Quiet, friendly, responsible, and conscientious. Committed and steady in meeting their obligations. Thorough, painstaking, and accurate. Loyal, considerate, notice and remember specifics about people who are important to them, concerned with how others feel. Strive to create an orderly and harmonious environment at work and at home.

INFJ

Seek meaning and connection in ideas, relationships, and material possessions. Want to understand what motivates people and are insightful about others. Conscientious and committed to their firm values. Develop a clear vision about how best to serve the common good. Organized and decisive in implementing their vision.

INTJ

Have original minds and great drive for implementing their ideas and achieving their goals. Quickly see patterns in external events and develop long-range explanatory perspectives. When committed, organize a job and carry it through. Skeptical and independent, have high standards of competence and performance - for themselves and others

Ans 4 Benefits may include that they provide an easy assesment of ones own personality. Dangers may include privacy concerns, information given by you may be used to target advertising for you. The test results may also be flawed and may not give you a correct assesment of your personality. If these tests are used by an employer, it may screen out good candidates and candidates may not answer correctly since they will say what employer wants and not what they feel.

It may be safe to say that dangers outweigh the benefits in such tests.

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