Personality Tests and What They Mean
While people have almost always had a concept of personality, it has been recent that scientists have started to gain an understanding of it. Many scientists have come up with theories on why humans behave the way they do, such as Freud, Erikson, etc. However, many flaws have been found in past theories. Now, researchers have a better understanding of personality, but there is still more to learn and discover. One of the many ideas psychologists have improved upon is the way we test for certain personality traits. Many tests and theories were made in the last century, and since then, scientists have been working to improve those methods. Presently, researchers have come up with the NEO PI-R. This test scores your personality based off of traits within the Big 5 personality traits: neuroticism, extroversion, agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness. Within these larger overall traits, there are smaller traits that account for the characteristics. I personally took the test to see how I scored in each category, and I also had my best friend fill one out for me for comparison.