What is YOUR “Personality Type”?
The other day, a family member was telling me about a “personality test” that enables us to work out to which “type” of personality (out of four possible categories) we belong. The test is here 
However, when I completed the test earlier today I came out as “nervous melancholic” and when I looked at the results, absolutely everything on the list (unless there’s something flattering there, that I’ve missed!) is the very OPPOSITE of what I’m like! Click here to read the results of my test and I defy those of you who know me personally to say it’s accurate… 😯
There’s not a lot of news to discuss right now, and we are due a breather anyway – a bit of fun, perhaps – so do the test and tell us if yours is accurate.
Feel free to say whether, in your view, these tests and quizzes help to identify some possible reasons for our human strengths, weaknesses and failings – is there, in other words, any point in completing one of these personality tests? And should Catholics use them – or is the Fall of Adam & Eve enough to explain our “personalities”?
Comments (60)
I am a “bilious” Choleric!! Famous Cholerics, it seems, include St. John the Baptist, St. Paul, and St. Ignatius of Loyola. I am very happy to be in such company.
Apparently, if I were living in the Age of Faith, perfect career choices would be Crusader (leader of the Crusades, of course), the knighthood, King, mayor, head of a guild, founder of a new religious order, or housewife or father with a well-organized, well-behaved brood, each of whom you expect to excel.
It would be good if it were true, but it’s probably nonsense. I suspect it is like Chinese horoscopes, where there are so many and such varied characteristics attributed to each person some of them are bound to fit.
Priceless!
It might be good for YOU if it were true, Eileenanne, but I’m no “nervous melancholic” – imagine if even the first item on the list were true “self-conscious, easily embarrassed, timid, bashful.” ME? MOI?
I’d never live it down – so it’s gotta be nonsense, as you say. Gotta be 😀
EA
PROBABLY nonsense?
Should that not be definitely nonsense?
Only joking!
Frankier,
Are you another dodger? C’mon – do the test. You know it makes sense – well, as much sense as any other nonsense can make! 😀
Ed
I don’t need to do the test since the results would be identical to Westminster’s.
I came out a “bilious” Choleric as well ! But a lot of the things don’t really describe me – like “the choleric is full of himself !” LOL !
I was pleased with the saints – St. John the Baptist, St. Paul, and St. Ignatius of Loyola (no women saints on the list which is a pity).
I’m not sure if the test really is accurate but it was good fun!
MM
It’s not accurate – at least not for me. I’m no “nervous melancholic” and I don’t mind telling you.
Mind you, there was a woman saint on my test – Catherine of Siena, one of my favourites, so I suppose, as Pollyanna says, there’s always something to be glad about !
That personality test is too simplistic. The choice of either A or B answers means choosing one of two extremes in approach to different situations. We’re all a little more complicated than that, usually consisting of two temperaments, one dominating the other more submissive but nevertheless active, it’s difficult to answer most of those questions with a simple A/B choice.
At any rate, the result I got from the test was: “you’re a looney! In medieval times your vocation would have been specimen to a derranged alchemist with a hump and a fettish for magic mushrooms, whose concoctions were derived from reading the entrails of an owl.” Charming!!
Seriously, it said I was sanguine, which is so not me!
Athanasius,
What’s happened to your avatar?
Sanguine?
“They are bubbly, fun-loving, extroverted people-people who are always in the mood for a good time. They love wild nights out.”
To quote your good self on many occasions… “say nothing, act casual”!
Never heard of the ‘medieval’ personality type test before. Of course, there’s the Enneagram and the Myers-Briggs test, so beloved of post-conciliar clergy and laity – and both rubbish!
WF,
You’re not getting off that easily – what type are you… only takes a minute to complete…So, come on, spill!
Westminster Fly,
I did the Enneagram once but can’t remember anything about it. I suppose they’re all rubbish, really but good fun sort of rubbish! LOL!
My personality type? Wonderful, debonair, handsome, suave, urbane, sophisticated, cultured, confident, charming, gracious, well mannered, courteous, gallant, chivalrous, refined, polished, genteel, dignified, witty . . . I could go on . . .
WF,
“I could go on…”
And you do, beloved WF, you sure do !
I’m jes DYIN’ to discover your personality type. If you don’t do the test, like yesterday, I’m going to publish EVERYTHING I know about you. That means (just to be clear about it) EVERYTHING. To clarify further, NOTHING will be omitted from my revelations. Get it?
Just don’t be a bilious, will you?
WF
You missed the bit about you being a liar.
I am an “indecisive procrastinator with delusions that he can be amusing”. I might complete the survey tomorrow….
Spudeater,
That was funny. But I do wish people would leave the comedy to me. Moi.
I’ll be waiting with bated breath to see which temperament you turn out to be. I hope it’s one we’ve not had before as I’m getting browned off with melancholics and bilious folk !
Nervous melancholic! I would describe myself as either melancholic or Phlegmatic. “The Latin Mass” magazine did a series on the 4 temperaments some time back. It is quite useful as a tool for advancing in the spiritual life.
Spiritus,
I presume you are meaning that you, like me, rated as a “nervous melancholic” – WOW!
I’m not remotely nervous, unless walking the streets of Glasgow (or anywhere else, for that matter) at 2.a.m. – something I’ve not done for many years. So, I’m not nervous at all, these days. So, I don’t know which answers caused that test to think I’m a nervous melancholic. I’m more likely to be a mad alcoholic and I don’t even drink!
I can’t believe the Latin Mass magazine did a series on the four temperaments. That’s really surprising. Here’s me thinking Catholic Truth was leading the way, and instead we’re trailing behind again! What’s Latin for “gimme strength”? 😯
‘Da mihi fortitudinem’ hasn’t quite got the ring of ‘Gimme strength’. Stick to that funny Glaswegian tongue. And, since a suitable job for me would be nightwatchman (see below), what were you doing walking the streets of Glasgow at 2.00am?
Christina,
‘Da mihi fortitudinem’… Gimme strength… ‘Da mihi fortitudinem’…
Yes, I see what you mean. Not quite the same ring about it…
As for what was I doing walking the streets of Glasgow at 2.a.m…. Well, a gal’s got to get outa the house at SOME point in the day. I’d have thought you’d have realised that, Christina, and not go about the place asking daft questions.
‘Da mihi fortitudinem’… 😀
Bilious Choleric. It’s got my positive traits spot on, (just back from a Crusade, since you ask) but none of the negatives apply to me. Anyone who says different is wrong.
Therese,
“Anyone who says different is wrong”
LOL !
MM,
LOL ? To Therese, I’d say LOVL (laugh out VERY loud!) 😀
So far we bilious cholerics seem to be on the majority. Now, do we participate here because of our personality type or has spending time here moulded our personalities?
Eileenanne,
“… or has spending time here moulded our personalities?”
Love it !
Therese,
I can’t believe all these “bilious Choleric” types. I’d have placed you alongside Athanasius as a “sanguine”. Goes to show, you could be blogging with anybody these days. O for the good old days… 😀
I am another Saint Jerome. Irascible, prone to contempt for fools and knaves, but a gentle soul at the same time (so they say). Hope I get the “Saint” bit as he did.
Benedict,
As one of the fools, I’m cowering in a corner. YOU might hope to get the “Saint” bit – MY only hope is I don’t turn out to be a knave as well. I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is such a thing as a “uni-knave”. Dearie me…
On goody goody – I’m a Lymphatic or ‘pituitous’ Phlegmatic, with an abundance of phlegm. I’m too ashamed to confess what that makes me like, but no Lymphatics or Phlegmatic are saints! Must be all that grumpiness and idleness (and phlegm). Suitable occupations would have been copying manuscripts or night watchman. Odd about the mention of manuscript copying, as I do a bit of calligraphy when my natural sloth allows.😬
Christina,
Maybe this test would be better suited to your personality type… You just pick one and then tell the rest of us 😀
The “People Are Like Potatoes Personality Test…”
1. Some people never seem to be motivated to participate. They are content to watch while others do. They are “Speck Tators.”
2. Some people never do anything to help, but they are gifted at finding fault with the way others do things. They might be called “Comment Taters.”
3. Some people are always looking for ways to cause problems. They look or others to agree with them. You call them “Aggie Taters.”
4. Then there are those who always say they will, but somehow never get around to doing anything. They are “Hezzie Taters.”
5. Some people put on a front and act like they are someone they are not. They are “Emma Taters.”
6. Still, there are those who live what they talk. They are always prepared to stop what they are doing to lend a hand. They bring real sunshine into others’ lives. You might call them “Sweet Taters.”
Then there are those who suffer from terrible IBS. You might think of them as “Po Taters”.
Or what about those Inter-Religious Interlocutors otherwise known as “IRI Taters”?
We could even stretch things to include Ireland’s supporters of the Alternative Proposition On Sexuality known roughly as “APOS Taters”!
Athanasius,
Brilliant!
So far, nobody’s ventured into the “Original Sin Vs Personality Types” argument – maybe just as well, given that us nervous melancholics “tend to detachment from environment; reserved and distant except to intimate friends.” All very well if you’ve GOT some intimate friends.
So, not much scope for discussion there, on the topic of Original Sin, is there… and as for the topic of the environment, to come on Thursday – well, if I’m “detached from the environment” that’s no use is it?
What’s the Latin for “gimme a break”? [addressed primarily to my personal translator, Christina… We have a special bond since the “magna cappa” incident – don’t ask 😯 ]
Missed this one boss😮! I’d still stick to the native lingo ‘Da mihi intermissionem’ also lacks a certain je ne sais quoi 😕 – no wonder the Romans didn’t invent blogs – they’d never fit one of Athanasius’s best on a Verbum page😁.
Editor,
Truth be told, that test got my temperament completely wrong. I am primarily melancholic, which I hope never develops into full blown depressive moronism.
Apparently, I am in the same class as St. John the Divine and St. Catherine of Sienna (if only)! In medieval times, it seems, I would have been a religious, an artisan, a theologian or a writer. It’s much more likely, however, that I would have been a serf on a medieval Work Programme, just like I am today!!
A wee bit of humour there, I think!
I am a sanguine temperament apparently!
I found some of thew questions difficult to answer, but some of the results are very interesting.
I will gloss over the negative aspects of the sanguine (!) and so instead here are the stated positives:
IV BRIGHT SIDES OF THE SANGUINE TEMPERAMENT
1. The sanguine person has many qualities on account of which he fares well with his fellow men and endears himself to them.
a) The sanguine is an extrovert; he readily makes acquaintance with other people, is very communicative, loquacious, and associates easily with strangers.
b) He is friendly in speech and behavior and can pleasantly entertain his fellow men by his interesting narratives and witticisms.
c) He is very pleasant and willing to oblige. He dispenses his acts of kindness not so coldly as a choleric, not so warmly and touchingly as the melancholic, but at least in such a jovial and pleasant way that they are graciously received.
d) He is compassionate whenever a mishap befalls his neighbor and is always ready to cheer him by a friendly remark.
e) He has a remarkable faculty of drawing the attention of his fellow men to their faults without causing immediate and great displeasure. He does not find it hard to correct others. If it is necessary to inform someone of bad news, it is well to assign a person of sanguine temperament for this task.
f) A sanguine is quickly excited by an offence and may show his anger violently and at times imprudently, but as soon as he has given vent to his wrath, he is again pleasant and bears no grudge.
2. The sanguine person has many qualities by which he wins the affection of his superiors.
a) He is pliable and docile. The virtue of obedience, which is generally considered as difficult, is easy for him.
b) He is candid and can easily make known to his superiors his difficulties, the state of his spiritual life, and even disgraceful sins.
c) When punished he hardly ever shows resentment; he is not defiant and obstinate. It is easy for a superior to deal with sanguine subjects, but let him be on his guard! Sanguine subjects are prone to flatter the superior and show a servile attitude; thus quite unintentionally endangering the peace of a community. Choleric and especially melancholic persons do not reveal themselves so easily, because of their greater reserve, and should not be scolded or slighted or neglected by the superiors.
3. The sanguine is not obdurate in evil. He is not stable in doing good things, neither is he consistent in doing evil. Nobody is so easily seduced, but on the other hand, nobody is so easily converted as the sanguine.
4. The sanguine does not long over unpleasant happenings. Many things which cause a melancholic person a great, deal of anxiety and trouble do not affect the sanguine in the least, because he is an optimist and as such overlooks difficulties and prefers to look at affairs from the sunny side. Even if the sanguine is occasionally exasperated and sad, he soon finds his balance again. His sadness does not last long, but gives way quickly to happiness. This sunny quality of the well trained sanguine person helps him to find community life, for instance, in institutions, seminaries, convents much easier, and to overcome the difficulties of such life more readily than do choleric or melancholic persons. Sanguine persons can get along well even with persons generally difficult to work with.
Ach. Stop showing off!
Gabriel Syme,
When I’d stopped laughing at Christina’s cheeky response, I settled won to reading your qualities as a sanguine temperament.
No wonder you listed them – when’s the canonisation?
However, I can’t go along with “The sanguine is an extrovert…”
I wouldn’t have described you as an extrovert, having had a number of conversations with you – humble, quiet, unobtrusive… more like it.
Here. maybe I’ll set up my own Personality Tests! Not to mention my own canonisations ceremonies! 😀
Well I tried this twice with different responses! Still came out as a Bilious Choleric! Honestly don’t think that is me at all, even the positive bits. Have no idea what my ‘magic number is so just ticked less than 50 at random. Still it is a bit of fun….until we all start behaving like bilious cholerics on the papal climate change encyclical!
And while we are being light hearted, how about people with no class at all: Common taters?!
No, along without horoscopes and fortune tellers. ADMG
Editor: Michael, I removed your surname, in case that was included by mistake. You need to go into your dashboard, and scroll to where it says “Display name publicly as” and type in “Michael” – then scroll to “save changes” – in order to make sure it doesn’t keep appearing when you comment. Unless, of course, you don’t mind. Your decision.
N O T I C E . . .
Please note that I have a blog post ready to publish on Thursday, as soon as I receive the authorised link to the new “Green” encyclical, so please, one and all, resist the temptation to be the first to post it here. Feel free to email it to me at editor@catholictruthscotland.com if you think I’ve missed it, but not here, as we don’t want to have two or three discussions running at the same time on the same topic!
Please and thank you!
What’s this ‘magic number’ bit about? More or less than 50% of what?
Well, everybody knows you don’t give away “magic” secrets, Pew Catholic! Gerragrip!
Seriously, nobody knows. If anybody finds out, please let us know. I’m still reeling from the shock of being a “nervous melancholic” so if I thought it would make a difference, I’d do it again and click “below 50%”… I’m too uppity to do so otherwise 😀
I’m pleased to report that I too am a “bilious Choleric” (I must start going easy on the spring onions).
Apparently, among other things, I am “full of pride, easily hurt, unable to forget grievous offences and with an anger that easily degenerates into hatred.” Must admit that I didn’t continue reading the feedback after that as I just wanted to find out my good qualities.
Spudeater,
I laughed out loud at your opening sentence. Wondered when somebody would seize the opportunity!
And now I’m laughing at your closing sentence!
You are a case for the High Court! Bilious or not!
Ed.,
As long as that’s as a potential High Court Jester rather than a High Court Accused, I’ll humbly accept the description.
Spudeater,
Honestly, you men. Have to have the last word.
Still, let’s be fair. Not all men are annoying. Some are dead 😀
Pew Catholic, when you’ve finished a section of the test you scroll to the top of the page where you are told your ‘magic number’ for that section. You then go to the bottom again and click on the appropriate box for your ‘magic number’ (below 50 or above 50). If I remember rightly the questions for the next section are different for the two groups. There’s a magic number for each section. I can’t believe I’ve just written all that. I must really be a Lymphatic Phlegmatic as the test describes me.
Thank you, Christina. Clever of you to spot that. I had a problem when I ran the test, though, as my magic number came out at exactly 50%, and there was no provision for that!
Thanks Christina – fancy you noticing that when none of the rest of THEM did… (!) I re-did the test and STILL came out as a “nervous Melancholic”!
Well you’ll have noticed, if you haven’t heard me shouting about it, that my personality type is different from everyone else’s! Maybe there’s a clue there. After all, we manuscript copiers (my mediaeval job), could read while the rest of the peasants couldn’t. Pew Catholic, try both ways and pick the nicest. Or does 50 count as over 50?
https://www.yumpu.com/…/the-four-temperaments-and-the-catholic-soul- deviantart
Link for article on the 4 temperaments alluded to at June 15th 2015 at 3pm. Hopefully it can be opened and read.
Doesn’t work!!
I was abit surprised to see about personality tests on this website, which I read from time to time. I know peronality tests may be seen as a bit of fun and harmless amusement. Normally I wouldn never partake in a comment but as no one has replied to warn about personality tests, I would like to inform ye all that some personality tests may be influenced by the New Age Movement. I am not an expert, however, my common sense would tell me that just like horoscopes sometimes we indirectly believe these messages and likewise the outcomes from personality tests, and we stereotype people into categories as if people are ‘pre-destined’ to certain personalities. Check out the link below from the Women of Grace website which has more information on personality tests and warns about them. I just want to share this information with ye in case ye may not be aware of the hidden dangers of personality tests.
http://www.womenofgrace.com/blog/?p=459
Elliott,
Thank you for that reminder that such personality tests can be dangerous. I know that is true… we were using the topic to have a bit of light-hearted fun, not taking it seriously at all – and I did put in a reminder that we have our fallen human natures to explain our “personality types”.
Still, your comment and link (containing a very interesting section on the Enneagram) is very welcome, just to make sure no reader is led astray by this thread. As the author of your link article wrote, although I paraphrase, living our Faith, spiritual reading, prayer etc. will teach us all the self-knowledge we need to live in a way that is pleasing to God.
So, thank you again.
God bless.
Eliott,
I understand where you’re coming from re personality tests. Although “personality test” has been used on this occasion, the test in fact is a discernment of temperament. Some of the Catholic spiritual writers speak of the importance of spiritual directors understanding the temperaments of individuals and go on to list various pros and cons, much as this test does, to discover the temperaments of their charges. It helps greatly in the direction of souls if the director understands first the temperament he’s dealing with.
There are other tests on the internet that are more psycho analytic. Many of these are influenced by New Age spirituality, but not temperament tests.
There is a book called ‘Learn to Discern Compendium. Is it Christian or New Age?’ by Susan Brinkmann which seems like an interesting resource. It may provide readers with an insight on discernment of the origins of some of these Personality and Temperament Tests.
Elliott,
I was just about to bow to Athanasius’s superior knowledge because I’m not knowledgeable in this sphere at all. Now you’re implying that even the “temperament/personality” tests are dangerous.
I think the key is not to take them at all seriously – the one on this thread is not remotely to be taken seriously. I am the exact opposite of everything on the list which allegedly describes my personality. And it didn’t even MENTION “slim, glamorous, witty, intelligent” etc which anyone here will tell you is ME (with or without a personality!)
I gave my opinion and used the knowledge I had about Personality/Temperament Tests. Your article did ask for opinions about Personality/Temperament Tests which states ‘And should Catholics use them – or is the Fall of Adam & Eve enough to explain our “personalities”?’
Comments are closed.