The 5 Best Science-Based Personality Tests

I will admit right now that I am addicted to personality tests.  There’s something irresistible about the idea that if I just answer a few multiple-choice questions, I can find a fundamental truth about myself that I will be able to hold in my hand like a compass to help me navigate the chaotic wilderness of my life.  Do I actually believe this is possible?  Well…let’s just say that I’m eternally hopeful.

Now, let me be clear: I’m not talking about those facebook “personality tests” in which you figure out which item from the Taco Bell menu most closely resembles your soul.  I mean a test that somewhere, somehow is based on some notion of science, a notion convincing enough to alleviate my skepticism at least for long enough that I can take the test.  My definition of science is extremely loose: 

1.The test must at least have involved some sort of evidence-based reasoning to explain its criteria for judging my personality

2. The test must be associated with at least one individual who has either published an academic book or has the words “PhD” after his or her name, suggesting that this test is attached to a larger theory about the human character. 

Based on these criteria, here are my favorite science-based personality tests:

1.The Sanity Test. “>https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/testcenter

Developed by psychologist Martin Seligman, the grandfather of the field now known as happiness studies, this test is based on the idea that we will best navigate our lives if we view ourselves through a lens that sees our personal strengths, the ones we rely on so regularly that they come to characterize us.  In other words, viewing ourselves as fundamentally strong can help create a narrative that will encourage us to be resilient, persistent and wise no matter how profoundly we are challenged.  You’ll come away with a list of 5 strengths that characterize you at your best.

3. The Briggs-Myers Type Indicator – “>http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/

Armed with the awareness of your personality type, you may want to improve your romantic relationship.  On this test, which is like a happy version of the wretched “would you rather?” game, you get to decide matters like whether you’d rather hold your partner’s hand or receive a gift from your partner (I was, frankly, taken aback by how many times I chose the latter.  My poor, exhausted husband!) At the end, you’ll learn the style of romance that makes you feel best so that, presumably, you can communicate this to your partner, although I must admit that when I invited my husband to buy me more gifts, he did not take the bait. 

5. Is It Love Or Is It Infatuation?