Personality testing is aimed at describing certain aspects of a person’s character that remains stable throughout a persons life. Everyone has a thought about another person’s “personality” type and many times these personality traits or characteristics don’t change throughout life no matter how hard a person might try. These are the underlying constructs that make us who we are. They are unique traits and what make us different from others in the world. And personality tests attempt to differentiate those characteristics and identify them so that we can use the information to make us better at our jobs, take jobs that best suit our abilities and match us with life partners who are best suited for our personalities.
Only a trained professional can give an accurate personality profile but there are some very good online tests that can act as an introduction to the concepts. The most important thing to remember about personality testing is that nothing is wrong – there are no wrong answers and the information you learn only helps you to further define your strengths and weaknesses – which in turn only helps to focus your personal development efforts.
There are also several different underlying psychological theories that go into personality testing. In fact, there are hundreds of different types of tests that can be performed that may or may not be accurate in their assessment of your personality strengths and characteristics. The real reason to take personality tests is not to identify global personality traits that are evident to yourself and others with whom you interact, but instead to identify different types of jobs, relationships or types of compromises which you are more likely to identify with. This gives you and your boss a real advantage when considering your job placement or career choices.
References:
(1) American Psychiatric Association: Personality Disorders
http://www.dsm5.org/proposedrevision/pages/personalitydisorders.aspx
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