Personality quizzes seem to captivate people because they tell you things about yourself that you might not know. Most of these quizzes such the Myers-Briggs 16 personalities test, enneagram test and even Pottermore sorting hat are fun to take because you can compare the results with your friends and learn what makes them behave the way they do. Aside from it simply being an entertaining party activity, do these quizzes hold any actual value?
Reputable personality quizzes hold value because they can help you better understand people around you in the workplace and your own strengths and weaknesses.
Knowing your own personality type makes you take a closer look at how others behave around you. The reason you seem to clash heads with someone at work and tend to get along with others just fine is because your personality dictates your perception of that person. This information is crucial to know in the workplace especially when the staff has to do something as a cohesive group to complete a task. If everyone’s personalities were identified in the group, the leader would be able to assign parts of the project that align with your natural tendencies.
Probably the most important part of knowing your personality type lies within your capacity to grow skills effectively. It is a lot easier to improve on weakness if you are able to clearly identify what they are, and a personality test makes that easily accessible. Conversely, knowing your personal strengths allows you to build on those skills particularly to maximize their usefulness. One important thing to note is that you should never use your personality type as an excuse to make up for an area you fall weak. Knowing weaknesses is only effective if you are consciously trying to strengthen them, but they should not be used as an excuse for permissive bad behavior.
The opposing side to this argument may say that assigning personality traits to others is bad because it allows you to automatically make assumptions about a person before you get to know them. Although everyone is unique and no personality is exactly the same as another person’s, there are distinct traits that can be taken to account across all types. For example, the Myers Briggs personality test identifies four main traits in a person’s behavior and thinking which include: introvert/extrovert, sensing/intuition, feeling/thinking and judging/perceiving. These are all traits that can be noticeably apparent simply by being around your peers, but knowing the background and meaning of these traits such as their strengths and weakness allows you to better understand yourself and others as a whole.
Personality quizzes are not a waste of time. If the knowledge you gain with them is applied to build productive skills, you will find that it is much easier to get along with others around you.
