Personality Test

General Description

Personality tests are psychometric assessments designed to evaluate and define an individual’s psychological traits and the key aspects of their personality, allowing for the determination or prediction of their behavior in different situations.

There are numerous personality tests based on different methodologies and theoretical approaches. Some of the most widely used include:

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI): Assesses the presence of personality traits and psychopathological symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, hypochondria, or paranoia.
• Cattell’s 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF): Evaluates personality traits based on 16 primary factors, such as dominance, perfectionism, self-sufficiency, abstraction, or sensitivity, among others.
• Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R): Measures the intensity of the so-called five major personality traits: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
• Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI): Identifies the dominant Enneatype and the influence of the remaining types among the nine personality types: Peacemaker, Perfectionist, Helper, Achiever, Individualist, Investigator, Loyalist, Enthusiast, and Leader.
• Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ): Evaluates an individual’s personality based on three main dimensions: extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism.
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): Classifies individuals into 16 personality types by identifying their preferences across four key dichotomies: extraversion-introversion, sensing-intuition, thinking-feeling, and judging-perceiving.

When Are They Indicated?

In the clinical setting, the primary objective of a personality test is to facilitate diagnosis and guide treatment for various mental or personality disorders. Therefore, they are often a crucial component of a comprehensive psychological evaluation. They are also a valuable self-awareness tool that helps individuals understand their traits, behaviors, and preferences in a structured manner.

Additionally, personality tests are widely used as part of corporate recruitment strategies to assess a candidate’s suitability for a job position.

How Are They Conducted?

Personality tests are administered in two main formats:

• Self-report questionnaires consist of multiple-choice questions or items from which the respondent selects the most appropriate answer. Responses may include "true" or "false," a Likert scale with varying levels (such as "a little," "quite a bit," "a lot" or "never," "sometimes," "always"), a numerical scale, or different statements from which one must be chosen.
• Projective tests do not provide predefined answer choices; instead, the respondent provides their answers freely. These tests are not based on structured, closed items but are more ambiguous. They may involve completing unfinished sentences, interpreting images, narrating a story based on pictures, or creating a drawing, among other possibilities.

Risks

Personality tests should be considered complementary tools in a clinical evaluation and never as definitive or sole diagnostic methods. The results depend entirely on the patient’s responses, meaning they may not always answer truthfully, or their responses may be influenced by their emotional state at the time, leading to misinterpretation.

Moreover, especially outside the clinical setting, it is not uncommon for personality tests to be used that were neither developed nor validated by psychology professionals, nor empirically tested, making their results unreliable or inconsistent. Likewise, the person interpreting and assessing the results may not always have the necessary training and experience to do so.

What to Expect from a Personality Test

A personality test is typically administered in a mental health specialist’s office, where the professional explains the instructions for completing the test, although instructions are usually included in the test itself. Before starting, it is essential to fully understand how the test works.

It is crucial for the patient to answer sincerely and spontaneously. There is no set time limit for completing the test, so there is no need to rush. It is common to feel stuck or unsure about certain questions, but answering all of them is important for obtaining accurate results. If any doubts arise during the test, the specialist in charge can clarify them.

The duration of a personality test depends on both the number of items included and the respondent’s pace. For example, the NEO-PI-R test can be completed in approximately 15 minutes, while the MMPI test has an estimated duration of 60 to 90 minutes. Once analyzed, the results provide a psychological profile that complements the information obtained through clinical interviews to reach a diagnosis.

Specialties That Request Personality Tests

Personality tests are conducted in clinical psychology and psychiatry consultations.