"A quick, spookily accurate, impossible-to-resist personality test"

[sydnie7]

Link

Very interesting. . . they definitely captured some of my (self-proclaimed) characteristics!

From the "Very Short List" e-mail that sent me there:

"At first glance, the Pierley/Redford personality test seems too vague to tell you anything accurate or interesting about your actual personality: “Which of these circles is angry?” it asks (and provides two abstract and gauzy illustrations). Or “Which position is diseased?”

But the pictures are pretty, and weirdly disturbing, and so you find yourself clicking through all 20 questions. When you’re done, you get a short, specific thumbnail sketch of your personality type. That’s where the real fun begins: What did those questions mean, and add up to? And how did they get so far under your skin? You can take the test multiple times, clicking quickly and intuitively, or slowing way down to puzzle out the “correct” answers. Either way, you’ll end up wondering: Is it a pretty parlor trick? Or a real window into your deeper, darker self?"

[Pleater]

OMG!!

That is just too weird.

And how have they been spying on me and my kitchen?

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Whidbey78]

My wife read the result of and said "They pretty much have you figured out!"

[Nighthawk]

My wife read the result of and said "They pretty much have you figured out!"

My wife said the same thing...

Quiet and very self-assured, you tend to keep your own council. Pragmatic and practical to a fault, you are not one to worry about the finer points of philosophical discourse. In fact, because you are very much an individualist, you often finds yourself at odds with the established truth or the wishes of the majority. You will often earn the wrath of an employer by taking upon yourself decisions which are rightly those of your manager. You are not one to take credit unless it is deserved. Similarly however, you will also not happily give credit where it is not due. In a romantic relationship you can be very frustrating. While you do care deeply and sincerely, and are willing to work at a relationship, your confidence in your own abilities can on occasion make it difficult to see the world from a partner’s point of view. Quiet and stoic at times, you can drive a more emotional individual completely up the wall. You can become overstressed and fatigued without knowing it. Taking time to rest between bouts of hard work can help to prevent a breakdown later on.

Dear gods...

[KiltedDixon]

Results were interesting but a bit mixed.

[CameronCat]

Ho-lee Cats!

Got me EXACTLY on the first try. Scary, that!

[Duke of Delrio]

This test was eerie, unsettling, and accurate. Happily though, I got the same answer from the tea leaves just this morning.

[RockyR]

For me it was about 40% dead on, 20% somewhat vague but potentially kind of right and 40% dead wrong.

[CDNSushi]

My inner skeptic is unleashed! Mwahahahahahaha!!!!

But no, seriously. My undergrad degree was in Ψ...

The Forer Effect. (Sometimes known as the P.T. Barnum Effect: We've got something for everyone!).

So is it a parlor trick? Yeah, pretty much. By the time I got to the question showing me two IDENTICAL shapes and asking me which one was me, I pretty much knew it was bogus so I started clicking randomly.

Oh, and if you like, let me save you the trouble of clicking the above link to Wiki... Here is the most valuable excerpt.

Forer's demonstration

In 1948, psychologist Bertram R. Forer gave a personality test to his students. Afterward, he told his students they were each receiving a unique personality analysis that was based on the test's results and to rate their analysis on a scale of 0 (very poor) to 5 (excellent) on how well it applied to themselves. In reality, each received the same analysis:

“ You have a great need for other people to like and admire you. You have a tendency to be critical of yourself. You have a great deal of unused capacity which you have not turned to your advantage. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them. Disciplined and self-controlled outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You pride yourself as an independent thinker and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. You have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be pretty unrealistic. Security is one of your major goals in life. ”

On average, the rating was 4.26, but only after the ratings were turned in was it revealed that each student had received identical copies assembled by Forer from various horoscopes. As can be seen from the profile, there are a number of statements that could apply equally to anyone. These statements later became known as Barnum statements, after P.T. Barnum.

[Brian K]

Hmm...my result was only about 10% accurate and I nearly choked when it said I seldom verbalize. Most of my friends would actually testify to the difficulty of shutting me up! It also went into flights of fancy concerning physical dexterity and athleticism....yeah, riiiight