Personality types testing and theory can be tough to understand when you get into the details. Having too few types isn’t very useful, but having too many can be confusing. I’m a big fan of the 16 personality types test and I think it really hits the sweet spot for reliability and ease of use. Not to mention fun and share-ability!
I really do believe you have to pick the right tool for the job when it comes to better understanding your personality type and deeper self. You wouldn’t want to use a hammer on a window just like you wouldn’t want to use a butter knife on a metal pipe.
Picking the tool that will give you the most amount of useful information, and the best way to get to it, is key for such an important task as your personal development journey.
The Many Types of Personality Tests Available
I’ve seen plenty of tests out there that are very playful and have, at most, something like 7 to 10 questions about your favorite things to do in the world. I think this can be a nice break from the more serious understanding and searching for information about yourself, but I don’t think they are very useful.
I’ve also seen a test or two that had some ridiculous amount of questions in the range of several hundred. Do people really do these things? I think I would fall asleep after only a few pages… much less several hundreds of questions!
I’ve taken tons of personality tests online and I have to say I have found an optimal range of questions when it comes to getting useful results without boring myself to death. I think a good range is from the 70 to 100 questions area.
This is especially critical when it comes to the number of personality types being considered. I can see 40 questions being a good number for a test that has 4 personality types for the results. For something more complex, like a 16 personality types test, I have found the test has to have at least 70 questions to be useful.
Is Having 16 Personality Types Better?
I’m a pretty big nerd when it comes to researching personality assessments and theory and I’m intimately familiar with how they are researched, made, designed, and revised.
Most of the time, the test is made with the end results in mind and a few questions are assigned to test for each type. These questions are then arranged and modified in such a way as to help find the test takers’ preferences and ultimately their personality type.
The thing is, for a 16 personality types test, you will never get useful results for a test that has anything less than 4 questions per personality type. I’ve seen this same finding be true for strengths finding tests and other more simple personality tests.
On that same note, you get a lot of redundancy when you go to anything above 7 questions per personality type. And believe me, there are some crazy long tests out there. Those tend to be the most expensive and complex ones, too!
16 Personality Types is Key to Useful Growth
I appreciate the work Carl Jung put into his personality types research. I believe, from reviewing his work, he had a great care and understanding for the common human condition. He really wanted to understand and help the masses. This is an honorable goal I think we all strive for in our own ways.
At the end of the day, he came up with characteristics that lead us to the 16 personality types we’ve come to know and love: ESTJ, ESFJ, ISTJ, ISFJ, ESTP, ESFP, ISTP, ISFP, ENTJ, ENTP, INTJ, INTP, ENFJ, ENFP, INFJ, INFP. I know that was a pain to read like that, but understanding these types is so useful in discovering more about yourself.
The more and more I look into personality theory and research, the more I believe a 16 personality types test is about as good as you’ll get for everyday useful results. It might not be the best approach for huge teams, but I can’t think of a better or more robust personality tool for your personal development plan.
The Jungian 16 Types Personality Test
I know most people searching for the information in this article probably already know their Jungian personality type, but I bet a majority of them have not found useful information about how to put theirs personality type results to practical use and action in their daily lives.
This is the biggest and most motivating reason I researched, designed, tested, and released the Jungian 16 Types Personality Test. Finding your personality type through this test is the next step when it comes to planning your growth and future. You will finally have the results you need to make some real change in your life, today.
Click here to check out the 16 Personality Types Test.
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Being familiar with yourself can give you confidence to face the world. You can go wherever you want and still be successful.
Confidence is a key factor – I wish more folks would believe us. :)