Researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois identify four personality types: reserved, role models, average and self-centered. But a new study, based on huge sets of personality data representing 1.5 million people, has persuaded one of the staunchest critics of personality tests to conclude that maybe distinct personality types exist, after all. And several studies show that the personality types are inconsistent and cannot predict career success or other characteristics. “My first reaction was this is nonsense.”Social psychologists dispute whether personality types exist. The new study “presents a very strong case for personality types defined by configurations of the Big-Five personality traits,” said John A. Johnson, a Pennsylvania State University psychologist.

Source: Washington Post September 17, 2018 15:03 UTC