• You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community, you will have access to additional post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), view blogs, respond to polls, upload content, and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please join our community today! Just click here to register. You should turn your Ad Blocker off for this site or certain features may not work properly. If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us by clicking here.

What's with online personality tests?

Tyrinth

...
Joined
Nov 17, 2011
Messages
1,154
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
649
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
Vague title, I know, but what I'm wondering is how useful are they really?

Most of the time I can take the same test twice within a relatively short period of time, and score quite differently.

Isn't test-retest reliability one of the very important criteria for determining whether or not a test is valid?

It seems to me like you're better off most of the time just looking at descriptions of the results and choosing from there.
 

JocktheMotie

Habitual Fi LineStepper
Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
8,491
Tests are mirrors. If you find inconsistent reflections, perhaps you don't really know who you are, and the tests won't help you at all.
 

miss fortune

not to be trusted
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Messages
20,589
Enneagram
827
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
no test where people answer questions can be taken as valid... after all, there is a definite self testing bias to contend with :)
 

Mole

Permabanned
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
20,284
Vague title, I know, but what I'm wondering is how useful are they really?

Most of the time I can take the same test twice within a relatively short period of time, and score quite differently.

Isn't test-retest reliability one of the very important criteria for determining whether or not a test is valid?

It seems to me like you're better off most of the time just looking at descriptions of the results and choosing from there.

Just as astrology is for those who can't tell the difference between astronomy and astrology, so online personality tests are for those who can't tell the difference between online personality tests and psychometrics.
 
Top