ZU Magazine is a publication of ZU Media. Below is an article from Issue 4, “Character.”
Staff Writer | Chloe’ Bagley
They’re in Instagram bios and they’re in conversation. It’s four letters, a couple words, or a single number that supposedly conveys a wealth of knowledge about a perfect stranger. Here’s what you need to know about the top personality tests of our generation.
The Myers-Briggs test is just one of many that people use to understand themselves and those around them. The test uses Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types to reference key points of people’s personalities and preferences and how best to utilize them.
Similar is the Enneagram, which categorizes its users as a number one through nine. The numbers have also come to be known by different handles. For example: type one is often called “the reformer,” type two “the helper,” type three “the achiever” and so on.
The Strengthsfinder, a test well-known to the Azusa Pacific community, purports to help users discover their natural talents and how to best utilize them.
With prices ranging from $12 to take the Enneagram and up to $40 for the Myers-Briggs, a more cost-effective option are the free online versions of each test. For every website that charges for a personality test, there are a handful of websites that offer free versions.
According to Business Insider, 80 percent of the Fortune 500 companies and 89 of the Fortune 100 companies utilize personality tests to assess incoming employees. The Myers-Briggs is used by several government organizations such as the CIA and the Department of State. The Enneagram has also been used by well-known companies such as Best Buy and Avon.
These types of tests are incredibly popular on college campuses, in psychology classrooms and even within businesses.
Christopher Heuertz, an international enneagram association accredited professional and author of “The Sacred Enneagram,” has committed his work to studying and understanding the way the Enneagram works and what it can offer those who discover their Enneagram type.
Getty Images
“It explains the ‘why’ of how we think, act and feel. It helps us come to terms with our gifts as well as the addictive patterns that tether us to our greatest interpersonal, spiritual and emotional challenges,” Heuertz said.
Heuertz has been working closely with Sleeping At Last artist Ryan O’Neal to create an album dedicated to the Enneagram types.
In his Sleeping At Last Podcast, O’Neal described his experience learning about the Enneagram saying, “over the years The Enneagram has meant a whole lot to me and my marriage and has enhanced every relationship that I have.”
Personality tests contribute significant revenue for their companies. The Myers-Briggs makes over 20 million dollars a year for its company, CPP Inc. The test is also used in training programs and curriculum by more than 10,000 companies, 2,500 colleges and universities and 200 government agencies in the United States.
According to The Washington Post, it has also been estimated that approximately 50 million people have taken the Myers-Briggs since it became publicly available in 1962.
Although personality type tests can be used to help build teamwork and an understanding of one another, psychologists say that the truth behind their popularity is much more self-serving.
“Ultimately, they give you some feedback on whether your behavior is similar to others, what your niche is, and how similar you are to a sub-group of people,” Mitch Prinstein, a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina, said to NBC.
“That is inherently very rewarding to people,” Prinstein said.
Tests like the Myers-Briggs and the Enneagram provide a common language with which people can better convey who they are to others. They provide a form of self-discovery. Individuals and big businesses alike find the value in this level of mutual understanding, whether it be between an employee and their boss or simply between friends.