Personality Tests

Today I took both the Myers-Briggs and the Enneagram test, and the results are that I am an ENTP ("The Inventor") and "Type 7: The Generalist. The enthusiastic, productive type". I was surprised to find that the descriptions of this type were quite accurate to my personality. I was skeptical of this approach partially because it seems to me there are too many variables involved. On the question level, it bothered me a bit: how should I interpret this question? Does either of these choices really appeal to me? Also, once the type was figured out, did that mean that I am supposed to be 100% "x" and 0% "y". I was glad to see that for both tests they had some way of showing you the different degrees to which you fit one category or another. I thought it added a lot of perspective, especially since some of my percentages for a specific category were much more strongly correlated than others.

I also found it interesting that the job types it suggested included engineer (something I have never really considered) and "Information Systems specialist" which seems particularly apt since I am now in an information science program. Especially since this is a career-change for me that only happened a year ago!

Another thing that struck me is that I am pretty sure that if I took this test 10 years ago I might have given different answers. This also seems to correlate with the idea that you can actually *physically* change your mind by engaging in different behaviors and/or thinking different thoughts. Even so, I imagine that most of these qualities would not have changed very much since my youth.

Given that I was pleasantly surprised with the accuracy and even advice surrounding my own assessments, I think these personality tests could actually be helpful information to use when dealing with others, for instance in a management situation. It strikes me that many arguments people have with each other involve a differing set of ideal norms that they carry with them in their heads, and often people get upset when someone violates those unspoken inner principles. If both parties were more aware of how someone else might be of a different type (not with rigidly defined borders, of course) then they might be able to see that there is no one single norm that is right for both of them, and come to a better understanding of the situation and how to solve it. I would suggest these tests to others. Even if you don't agree with the findings, it will no doubt give you some food for thought. It is a very rich area indeed.