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5 online personality quizzes actually worth taking.

We’ve seen the quizzes all over the internet. Which Ryan Gosling character is your soulmate? Which Friday Night Lights guy should you date? Are you more Lorelai or Rory Gilmore?

Forget those, and go for these 5 quizzes that are actually worth your time.

1. How mindful are you? “Mindfulness” is a big buzzword these days—for good reason. This simple 8-question true/false quiz will help you determine how present you are in your day-to-day routines.

2. You just get me. Determine your defining personality traits by answering 40 easy questions created by psychologists based on the Big Five model of personality. Everyone who completes the quiz gets a personality bubble chart that visually represents your strong and weak personality traits. (Update: this quiz seems to no longer be available.)

3. Are you highly sensitive? Elaine Aron, the researcher who coined the term highly sensitive person, poses 27 simple questions to determine if your nervous system is highly sensitive. If you score 14 or more, you probably are. (Read more about highly sensitive people, and why it’s important.)

4. What is your Myers-Briggs personality type? The MBTI is the mother of all personality tests, and this free 12-minute test is a great way to begin to determine your type. Your answer isn’t gospel: this self-assessment is only a starting point to determine your type—but it’s a great starting point.

5. The WhoAmI? assessment from VisualDNA. Time Magazine calls this “the most useful personality quiz you’ll ever take.” This more robust quiz is also based on the Big 5 profiling methodology, but—unlike most quizzes—this one is image-based, allowing you to choose your answers instinctively instead of debating about the wording. The surprisingly in-depth results are also presented as easy-to-read graphs.

Note: this quiz is fairly long, but you can cut your time invested by 40% if you opt to skip the time-consuming “lifestyle questions” at the prompt.

I’d love to hear about your favorite, genuinely useful personality quizzes, as well as your experience with any of the above, in comments. 

P.S. 5 reasons it’s helpful to know your personality type, concrete changes I’ve made because of Myers-Briggs and enneagram insights, and the full personality archives on MMD.

P.P.S. I wrote a book about personality! In Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything, I walk you through 7 different frameworks, explaining the basics in a way you can actually understand, sharing personal stories about how what I learned made a difference in my life, and showing you how it could make a difference in yours, as well.

32 comments

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  1. Anne says:

    I don’t think I’ve done the VisualDNA one…..I’m the Captain! I like it! Ha! I was an ENFJ for a long time and became more INFJ as I’ve gotten older. It’s about 50/50 though. I’m not heavily expressed in either direction on extroversion/introversion. Per the Big Five, I’m disciplined, abstract, neurotic, cooperative, and extraverted. It all sounded about right.

  2. Ana says:

    the Love Language quiz sort of blew my mind recently. I thought I knew what my answers would be when I briefly read about the concept so I never took the quiz. My answers were not what I expected and hopefully will open the door to real positive change in my relationship. (now to find a way to get HIM to take it, too!)

  3. Every since I took my first Myers-Briggs in grad school, I’ve been hooked. Understanding that I am an INFJ has really helped me learn how to structure my days, my work, and my life in a way that recharges and refreshes me. (I also loved your book recommendations by type!)

  4. Heather says:

    Ha ha ha ha! Of course, the first quizzes that you posted (the ones that we can forget about) I had to take 🙂 I like the other ones too!

  5. Joanna says:

    Myers Briggs has been invaluable. Learning I’m an HSP has been really helpful as well bc I can ensure that those needs are fulfilled and accept that some things that seem like they would be fun or that are fun for others just aren’t for me. Sometimes I may take one for the team so to speak so that our family can enjoy those activities, but my expectations are lower so I enjoy it more (or at least dislike it less).

    I was really surprised to not see Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies quiz, though. Her work has been immensely helpful to me. Knowing my tendency (and that of loved ones) is so helpful. And realizing I’m a maximizer has helped me actively choose not to indulge that tendency when it doesn’t really make sense.

  6. Anna says:

    I love personality tests! The Visual DNA and You Just Get Me were both accurate. Thanks for sharing! Also, the 16 Personalities test is one of my favorite Myers Briggs (and it’s free). I try to get everyone to take it. 🙂

  7. Sue says:

    The Visual DNA was very accurate…I am highly sensitive ..(not a surprise to me) and I am a INTJ-T…something I am going to have to look into. They are worth taking. Thank you…

  8. Debbie says:

    Since you like personality profiles so much, you might be interested in checking out the website: https://liveyourtruth.com/.
    I am in the process of reading her book, Discover Your Type of Beauty by Carol Tuttle. I am finding it very interesting. She has four personality types.

  9. Ariel says:

    Did you read the descriptions for each bubble on the You Just Get Me one? They can be pretty antagonistic and offensive. But I am forever amused by my Abstract bubble combined with Disciplined, reading them one after another.

  10. Dawn says:

    I’m an Advocate, apparently quite rare! My first thought was “Nah”, but actually reading through the description… omg that’s me XD

  11. Sarah says:

    Wow, I took the Meyer’s Brigg again, and as usual came up as INFJ (occasionally I pop as INTJ, but I think the description for INFJ is more accurate); however, the who am I quiz was way off. I think I may have been interpreting some of the pictures differently than they did, because almost every aspect felt like the opposite of what I would have expected. I’ve never had a personality quiz (even a silly one based around something like ‘Which Friends Character Are You’) feel so totally wrong.

  12. Jenn Chien says:

    I have seen people talking about books to read for each MBTI type. Where can I find it? Sounds intriguing!

  13. Nicky Hu says:

    Haha yes, I have done the WhoAmI test and I feel like the results are relatable. Thanks for the test recommendations! I’m going to try the other ones too, now.

    Oh yeah! There is something called Cognitive Type? They type people using facial expressions and body language. Got NeFi-Fi (ENFP) from them! I don’t know.. maybe other people in the comments or Anne will be interested in this? :p

  14. Deborah Dancz says:

    I enjoyed the Values in Action character strength survey on University of Pennsylvania website. I heard of it years ago during a couple of continuing education trainings for social work license. Free. Provides top five character strengths. Mine are: gratitude, appreciation of beauty & excellence, humor & playfulness, optimism, and prudence. Colleagues, friends and clients have appreciated taking it as well. (I am INFJ, enneagram 9 as well.)

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