Personality Tests: Finding Out If You Are An Introvert Or An Extrovert

("Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory")

How do you know if you are an introvert or an extrovert?  Sometimes, the role/group that you identify with is quite obvious, if you clearly exhibit the characteristics of an introvert over those of an extrovert, or vice versa.  Other times, however, the distinction is less clear-cut, and the individual may rely on other sources to help in identification.  When it is more difficult to define the individual as an introvert or as an extrovert, scientists and researchers often use personality tests to determine how they should identify the individual.  In doing so, there may be certain behaviors that researchers should be on the watch for, but in addition, there will also be behavioral differences to study as a result of the classification.  Most major accredited personality tests in some manner or another define/classify an individual's level of introversion and extroversion.  Thus, these tests also often exhibit some influence from Carl Jung, the psychologist who designed the principles of introversion and extroversion.  For research purposes, it is crucial to be able to identify the major personality tests and, better yet, to understand what principles they are based on.

A personality test is defined as "a questionnaire or other standardized instruments designed to reveal aspects of an individual's character or psychological makeup."  Three of the most well-known and accredited personality tests, all of which exhibit some sort of Jungian influence and incorporate introversion and extroversion, are the (1) Sixteen Personality Factor (16PF) Questionnaire, the (2) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, and the (3) Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). 


1. The Sixteen Personality Factor (16PF) Questionnaire

("16PF Questionnaire")
The First Edition of the Sixteen Personality Factor (16PF) Questionnaire was developed by Dr. Raymond Catrell in 1949.  In his era, such test was revolutionary in that he employed a relatively new technique, factor analysis, to measure the whole of the human personality.  Over time, the 16PF Questionnaire has been updated and enhanced so that it accurately reflects society at the given moment and its respective changes.  The 16PF Questionnaire is now in its Fifth Edition, and it is widely employed by businesses (when considering prospective employees), clinical psychologists, counselors, and researchers (when studying and predicting human behavior).  The sixteen personality traits, or "factors," as the test refers to them, that are analyzed are (1) warmth, (2) reasoning, (3) emotional stability, (4) dominance, (5) liveliness, (6) rule-consciousness, (7) social boldness, (8) sensitivity, (9) vigilance, (10) abstractedness, (11) privateness, (12) apprehensiveness, (13) openness to change, (14) self-reliance, (15) perfectionism, and (16) tension.  In addition, when these sixteen primary traits are factor-analyzed by the test, they reveal five "Global Factors," sometimes referred to as the "Big Five" personality traits, which most personality tests attempt to identify.  The five Global Factors that the 16PF Questionnaire uses are (1) extraversion/extroversion, (2) anxiety, (3) tough-mindedness, (4) independence, and (5) self-control, while the related Big Five personality traits that most personality tests focus on are (1) openness, (2) conscientiousness, (3) extraversion/extroversion, (4) agreeableness, and (5) neuroticism.  In identifying the aforementioned five Global Factors/Big Five traits, the test further establishes and demonstrates the degree of relationships among the sixteen primary factors.  This test is used to reveal the implied strengths and weaknesses of the individual (as according to their personalities), as well as their admirable and defective qualities.  It claims to predict work behavior, communication, and performance (all of which relate to introversion and extroversion), and can measure the ability to relate to others, influence and collaboration, thinking style, structure and flexibility, and management of pressure.  Researchers can use these tests to analyze the general population's openness (or lack thereof) to society and company.  Thus, they can measure the levels of introversion and extroversion among individuals and populations, using the Big Five personality traits derived from Jungian psychology.

The organization of the 16PF Questionnaire is structured as a series of statements regarding the individual's activities and behaviors, opinions, and desires, such as "I enjoy my privacy," "I let others make the decisions," or "I seldom feel blue."  With each statement, participants have the option of strongly disagreeing, disagreeing, neither disagreeing nor agreeing, agreeing, and strongly agreeing.  Moreover, most statements are slight variations on others (for example, one statement may be "I seldom feel blue" while another is "I always feel blue").  From my understanding, these responses are quantified (strongly disagreeing earns a 1 whereas strongly agreeing earns a 5; given that some statements are slight variations, inversion of scores may occur, but I am not certain), and these scores are then used to measure/compute one's personality and its emphasis on certain traits.

Like most tests of this caliber, in order to participate in an actual 16PF Questionnaire, an individual must purchase it.  However, if you are interested, I have posted a few links below that lead to imitation 16PF Questionnaires that capture the same essence and that are relatively accurate:

http://personality-testing.info/tests/16PF.php

http://www.psychometrictest.org.uk/16pf-test/

http://similarminds.com/cattell-16-factor.html

("16PF tailored reporting")

2. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

(Cherry, Kendra)

Developed in the late 1930's by psychologist Starke R. Hathaway and psychiatrist J.C. McKinley at the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, also known as the MMPI, is primarily used in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.  However, the MMPI can also be used as an indicator of personality, if the participant chooses to use it in such manner.  In 1989, the MMPI was revised and released as the MMPI-2, and in 2003, it was revised again and released as the MMPI-A.  The most current form of the MMPI, released in 2008, is the MMPI-2-RF.  In most instances, the MMPI is used to determine mental illness in criminal cases, but it can also be used to identify personality and general psychological conditions.  The MMPI assesses participants on ten clinical scales, so termed as "psychological conditions," which often retain overlapping symptoms.  The various psychological conditions/clinical scales include hypochondriasis (scale 1), depression (scale 2), hysteria (scale 3), psychopathic deviation (scale 4), masculinity/femininity (scale 5), paranoia (scale 6), psychasthenia (scale 7), schizophrenia (scale 8), hypomania (scale 9), and introversion (scale 0).  Once again, like the 16PF Questionnaire, some of the fields of focus in this test are related to Jung's theories of introversion and extroversion (especially since introversion is actually one of the fields of focus in this inventory).

Unfortunately, I cannot find any forms or imitations of the MMPI test online.  According to several websites, this test is for distribution to and use by certified psychologists only.  This is likely due to the sensitive nature of the inventory, given that it is used to determine insanity among individuals (the material is kept confidential so that participants will not answer falsely so as to manipulate their results).  Therefore, I cannot find the actual scoring guidelines associated with test, as only psychologists and psychiatrists are really trusted with this information.  I have found a few sample questions online that individuals have posted straight from MMPI-2, but most of them are of a sexual nature and do not seem to apply to my topic, nor do they seem to be appropriate.  However, in addition to the clinical scales for the test, there is also a system of validity scales, which is based on the theory that some participants will manipulate their answers so as to alter the results of their test.  In essence, these validity scales are used to assess the legitimacy of the participant's answers.  The various validity scales include the L scale (also known as the "lie scale"; detects attempts by participants to present themselves in a favorable light), the F scale (detects attempts at "faking good" or "faking bad"), the K scale (also referred to as the "defensiveness scale"; detects attempts to present oneself in the best possible way), the ? scale (also known as the "cannot say" scale; dependent upon the number of questions not answered), the true response inconsistency scale (TRIN scale; detects participants who respond inconsistently), the variable response inconsistency scale (VRIN scale; also detects inconsistent responses), and the Fb scale (indicates that the respondent stopped paying attention and began answering questions randomly).

 ("MMPI-2")

3. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

("MBTI Basics")
The test that is used most often and that is the most widely accepted in determining personality is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test.  First published in 1962, the test was designed by Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers directly from the theories of Carl Jung in his 1921 book Psychological Types.  Not only is this one of the most accessible personality tests to the public, but the MBTI test is also one of the most accurate personality tests.  The MBTI tests consists, like the 16PF test, of a series of statements that participants either agree or disagree with.  However, with the MBTI test, the only options offered per statement are "agree/yes" and "disagree/no."  After completing a MBTI test, an individual is assigned four letters to represent their personality.  These four letters are based off of four dichotomies, or four criteria each consisting of two differing traits.  The four dichotomies are Introversion/Extroversion, iNtuition/Sensing, Feeling/Thinking, and Perception/Judging.  Based on a participants answers to the MBTI test, they are assigned one of the options out of each of the dichotomies, which represent what side they favor in each conflict/dichotomy.  To summarize or quickly refer to an individual's personality, the letter representing their option from each dichotomy (represented in bold and underline) are simply used and combined, as in an acronym.  Therefore, an individual may have an ISFJ personality, an ENTP personality, or so on and so forth.  Given that there are four dichotomies, there are sixteen possible personality combinations that an individual can receive from a MBTI test (2 ^ 4 = 16).  This is not to say that if an individual has a combination exactly similar to someone else (say, INFP) that their personalities are exactly similar, but it does mean that they have similar personality attributes.  An MBTI test simply gives a quick overview and summary of various qualities to an individual's personality.

(Segar)

(Boge)

I was able to find a couple of valid and reliable MBTI tests online, which you can reach through the links below:

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html


In time, I may decide to design a personality test of my own based off of one of these models with my mentor(s), or I may decide to just use one of the pre-existing personality tests that I have found online and just use that.  Regardless, I plan to probably conduct a study in which I will distribute said personality test to others so that I can study the leanings of the majority of individuals and identify similarities in behaviors.


Speaking of studies, my survey studying the behavioral differences between introverts and extroverts can still be found online.  I could still use many more participants (or any more at all; I have two participants' answers currently, and one of them are mine).  Please consider participating in my poll/survey, which you can find at the below link, and please also encourage others to participate as well.  Thank you.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/62238YL

Works Cited: 

Boge, David M.  "Myers-Briggs, XYZ Leadership, and Team Roles."  David Boge.  n.p., 21 Jan. 2001.  Web.  30 Jan. 2015.
Cherry, Kendra.  "What Is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory?"  About Education.  About.com, n.d.  Web.  30 Jan. 2015.
"MBTI Basics."  The Myers & Briggs Foundation.  The Myers & Briggs Foundation, n.d.  Web.  30 Jan. 2015.

"Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory."  Alta Mira Recovery Programs.  Alta Mira, n.d.  Web.  30 Jan. 2015.

"MMPI-2."  bhobho8615@gmail.com.  WordPress, n.d.  Web.  30 Jan. 2015.

Segar, Adrian.  "How the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory changed my life."  Adrian Segar.  musearts, n.d.  Web.  30 Jan. 2015. 
"16PF Questionnaire."  IPAT.  IPAT, Inc., n.d.  Web.  30 Jan. 2015.

"16PF tailored reporting."  OPP.  OPP Limited, n.d.  Web.  30 Jan. 2015.