16 IDENTITIES

SIXTEEN IDENTITIES

TRUTH BEHIND PERSONALITY TYPES

Every person is di erent and unique in their own way, but people can be divided into di erent personality types. Each personality type is measured using the Myers-Briggs type indicator. Hamilton Southeastern students’ sophomore Kaelee Ricketts, junior Cayla Compton, and senior Olivia Zoi recount what they think about their personality types. The main question being, does the indicator work and does it accurately depict personality? “I am an INFJ, which I was told makes me introverted, and more emotionally inept, which is true,” Compton said. “I’ve taken the test three times, so I’m thinking that’s what I am.” According to 16personalities.com, every letter has a di erent defi nition and so does every combination. All eight letters mean something in relation to a personality. For example,the fi rst letter is either E, meaning extraversion or I meaning introversion. The indicator was started just after World War one. Specifi cally, the indicator was started after research showing people that know their personalities can lead to happier and healthier lives. For example, personalityperfect.com cites this test can help better understand the personality, therefore understand the person. As aforementioned, many traits come with di erent personality types.

With every personality there is a distinct set of strengths and weaknesses. For example, someone with an ENTP-A personality type can be knowledgeable as well as insensitive. “I think personality types are pretty close to who everyone is,” Zoi said. “People are odd, and these tests show how odd they are.” Skepticism is also a valid concern to have when testing a personality. Like astrology and zodiac signs, nothing is exact, there is not an exact scientifi c formula to test a personality. Some people’s personality types changes from day to day, so nothing is truly concrete. Keeping everything reliant on a personality type is misleading and “I believe some parts of my personality test and not others,” Ricketts said. There will always be skepticisms with [phenomenons] like this.” Overall, nothing is certain when it comes to personality, but these tests can be a helpful tool for career compatibly as well as relationships. It gives a sense of self-awareness to know what strengths and weaknesses someone possesses. They are immensely helpful but should not be used in every circumstance. Story by Trinity Mackenzie. HOW ACCURATE DO YOU BELIEVE PERSONALITY TESTS ARE AT DEFINING SOMEONE?

“I think it depends on how many you do, if you get a bunch of the same answers at once, I’d consider the test pretty accurate.”

Vincent Young, 9

“I don’t think they go deep enough. They usually stick to a surface level analysis. They don’t get enough information to draw any conclusions that would merit any signifi cance evidence of psychological information.”

Sean Fischer, 12

“They are ‘ok’ accurate, especially depending on how a person takes the test. If someone is trying to really be accurate, maybe the results will be something closer to their personality. But it is not the most credible thing to pinpoint someone’s personality.”

Simran Kaur, 11

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