The 5 best personality tests (2025)

You want to know what you are like. And you also want to know what others think about you. If you know what you are like, you will get what you want. And if you know how others function, you can interact better with them.

We all have strengths and weaknesses. Our personality and our way of thinking and acting are unique. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, every personality is made up of Lego bricks, and each Lego brick represents a characteristic, such as friendliness, motivation or creativity.

If you don't know your character, you run the risk of being an extra in your own life.

What is psychometrics?

Psychologists have developed complex questionnaires to determine the characteristics of each individual. The procedures were then statistically evaluated and improved to ensure that they accurately captured personality traits. Psychometrics is the name for this science, and it fascinated me as a student at Humboldt University in Berlin in the early 1990s. Together with my fellow students Bertram and Guido, I tried out all the test procedures and questionnaires. I even earned money by showing university graduates how to successfully pass these tests.

I have psychometrically tested several thousand people. Everyone has taken tests from me: many of my clients, but also friends, my family and even my wife when we first met; that was as part of an experiment at university.

In Germany, the stimulus lever apparatus was used between 1910 and 1930 to test the speed and certainty of reactions to signals, for example from train drivers (source: University of Würzburg).

In the mid-1990s, I worked as a test diagnostician at Friedrichshain Hospital with test guru PD Dr. Merten. He trained me in testing, was ruthless and chalked up every little mistake when carrying out the test. Because in neurology in advanced brain surgery, special tests are used to measure thinking performance. Dr. Merten was therefore keen to ensure that the test procedures were of the highest quality and accuracy and were applied flawlessly.

A tough school. A lot is at stake when you apply a test procedure. The consequences are not always immediately apparent. This is my background when I talk about test procedures below.

Which questionnaires are most commonly used to measure personality?

A personality questionnaire has no right or wrong result, unlike an intelligence test, for example. They describe characteristics or factors of a personality. With the development of factor analysis, a statistical method became available for scientific analysis. With the advent of computers, many scientifically sound questionnaires were developed using factor analysis.

The personality factors are relatively stable: almost all methods are based on the five factors, the so-called "Big Five", the building blocks of personality.

Questions are formulated and tested according to these factors. The answers of individual people then indicate the strength and characteristics of these factors. Anyone who answers the question "Do you find it easy to talk to strangers at a party?" with "Yes" probably has a high degree of extraversion. The informative value of a questionnaire increases with the number of selective questions.

To determine the usefulness of a questionnaire constructed in this way

• What is the worldviewand motivation of the developers of the questionnaire? What problem did they want to solve and how? Why and how do the personality traits and factors play a role in everyday working life?
• How well was the questionnaire quality assured? Which sample was used, and how large was it? It is essential that the sample comes from a professional environment and does not – as is the case with many methods and studies – consist of students or patients.
• What are the specific areas of application of this method? Is it about the development of the individual or the development of the entire team? Or are there selection decisions to be made? After all, the developers of these tools created them to address a specific issue. What is that problem?
• And finally: what is the provider's business model, and what are the costs?

Personality methods (like all other tools) can also be differentiated in this way:

• World view: What problem did the developers of the tool want to solve?

• Quality: the informative value and reliability of the collected data.

• Areas of application: e.g., selection decisions, career development, team development, and cultural and corporate development.

• Costs

Let us first look at the historical originals and the methods that are more applicable in psychotherapeutic practice and then move on to professional practice in business and industry. We will then summarize the methods that can be used in the automotive industry.

1. the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)

Hans and Sybil Eysenck developed the EPQ to explain personality differences with the help of physiological and genetic theories. Their model comprises the dimensions

• Extraversion-Introversion,
• neuroticism-stability and
• psychoticism (impulse control).
• The "Revised" model (EPQ-R) also includes a lying scale to measure social desirability. I will elaborate on this later.

Eysenck assumed that neuronal excitability, such as the activation of the formatio reticularis, the central brain structure for controlling activity, plays an important role and causes differences in temperament. The theory emphasizes biological foundations of personality and is more orientated towards psychopathology than many business methods. Nevertheless, the EPQ revolutionized personality research through its rigorous scientific development using factor analysis.

There are various norm samples for the test, particularly from the clinical field. The reliability of extraversion and neuroticism is good (r > 0.7 to 0.8). The lying scale is sufficiently reliable (r = 0.6 to 0.7), but the psychoticism scale (norm independence) is not to be taken seriously with r = 0.2 to 0.3.

2 MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator)

The MBTI was developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs, during the Second World War to help people "get along better" and reduce conflict. It is based on Carl Jung's theory of psychological types. Four dichotomous preference scales emerged from the theory of types.

• Extraversion-Introversion,
• Sensing-Intuition,
• Thinking-Feeling,
• Judging-Perceiving,

These elements are combined to form 16 types. Myers spent over 20 years developing and validating the instrument; the first complete version was published in 1962.

A few words on typology.

Carl Gustav Jung was a student of Sigmund Freud and is considered a pioneer of analytical psychology. He developed this typology in 1921 through observation in his psychotherapeutic practice. This typology was therefore not developed with the knowledge of how a company works in the 21st century but is rather considered a classic of personality questionnaires.

The MBTI Company, for example, reports on a global norm sample of 16,773 people. Critics criticize the dichotomous scales and the lack of measurement of stability. Nevertheless, the MBTI scales show high internal consistency (r >0.8). The Jungian types were not developed directly for an occupational context, but . The construct and the questionnaire are stable and reliable.

This test is aimed at the general public. There are special procedures for professional use in personnel, team- and cultural development. And I will now introduce them.

Personality questionnaires for industry and business

1. 16Personalities

The NERIS models combine Jung's typology with a factor-based approach. The creators see themselves as an open project that uses "Big Five"-based scales but retains the type approach because of its clarity. The goal is to develop a freely accessible test that is continuously enhanced using extensive data and user feedback.

• Extraversion (E) / Introversion (I): energized by others vs. energized by calm.
• Intuition (N) / Sensing (S): Focus on ideas/patterns vs. facts/details.
• Thinking (T) / Feeling (F): Decisions via logic vs. values/emotions.
• Judging (J) / Perceiving (P): Planned/structured vs. flexible/spontaneous.

In principle, the 16Personalities is a factor-analytically enhanced MBTI, i.e. it is also based on Jung's types. The operator reports samples of 10,000 people for internal consistency analyses and 2,900 people for test-retest studies, the composition of which is, however, unknown. The reliability achieves high values between r = 0.75 and r = 0.85.

This gives us a statistically validated method based on a classic typology. Everyone can decide for themselves to what extent the typology developed by Sigmund Freud in 1921 in the context of psychoanalysis is suitable for the current application. This method was not developed for the professional context but provides stable data on personality structures, albeit with little help for interpretation. It clearly lacks a theory of how personality affects professional success.

2. the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI)

Robert Hogan developed the HPI in the 1980s on the basis of the "Big Five" and social analytical theory, according to which professional success depends heavily on a person's social perception and reputation. Hogan distinguishes between strengths such as reliability and communication skills ("bright side") and risks, i.e. weaknesses such as arrogance, mistrust or impulsiveness ("dark side"). The HPI is based on the five-factor model and measures seven factors.

The aim was to identify potential for leadership and professional performance.

• Adjustment (emotional stability)
• Ambition (leadership aspirations)
• Sociability (social ability)
• Interpersonal Sensitivity (empathy/sensitivity)
• Prudence (conscientiousness)
• Inquisitive (intellectual curiosity)
• Learning Approach (willingness to learn)

The official Hogan portal emphasizes that the HPI is available in more than 40 languages, takes 15-20 minutes to complete and has been validated in over 1,000 studies. A 2025 study with 2,342 working people (mainly middle managers) determined the reliability of the seven scales to be between r = 0.61 (empathy) and r = 0.83 (emotional stability). This means that this very well-known method is in the middle of the field in terms of scientific quality.

Hogan is particularly suitable for managers and other knowledge workers, such as management consultants, engineers, lawyers and doctors, who want to develop personally.

It was not explicitly developed to promote teams or organizations, but is also used for this purpose. It provides sufficiently reliable data, like any other personality questionnaire, which can support team development processes.

3 CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder)

After decades of conducting leadership interviews and company studies with Gallup, psychologist Don Clifton developed the strengths concept. Clifton assumed that people are most successful when they discover their talents and develop them in a targeted manner.

CliftonStrengths identifies 34 talent themes grouped into 4 domains:

1. Executing
   • Ability to turn ideas into results.
   • Examples: Achiever, Responsibility, Discipline.
2. Influencing
   • Ability to motivate or persuade others.
   • Examples: Communication, Woo (winning people over), Command (leadership).
3. Relationship building
   • Building strong, stable relationships and teams.
   • Examples: Empathy, Harmony, Relator (building familiarity).
4. Strategic Thinking
   • Analytical thinking, developing visions, solving complex problems.
   • Examples: Analytical, Futuristic, Ideation.

Gallup examined over 57,000 people who took the test again after six months and determined a test-retest reliability of 0.73.

Unlike PrinciplesYou, 16Personalities and Hogan, the focus is not on personality traits in general, but on practical talents that directly improve performance. The method is mainly used for self-reflection and career development, but also to bring team members together according to complementary strengths.

4 Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ)

The British company SHL developed the OPQ in 1984 as an occupationally relevant personality questionnaire. It is based on the idea that personality makes behavior in the workplace predictable. The OPQ measures 32 traits in three areas (relationships, thinking and feelings) in four categories and is based on the five-factor model.

• Relationship with People: collaboration, empathy, influence on others.
• Thinking Style: analytics, creativity, planning, problem solving.
• Feelings and Emotions: Motivation, stress resistance, self-confidence, values.
• Leadership & Influence: leadership, delegation, coaching, results orientation.

According to one source, the reliability values for the QPC average 0.81; the validity was tested with over 5,000 test subjects.

The aim is therefore to use personality to predict job performance and support selection decisions. Personality is not static, but it is assumed that individual talents can be transformed into strengths if they are used consciously. So this is also about finding a suitable task for a person and vice versa. This personality questionnaire falls into another application class of personality questionnaires that specialize in recruiting processes.

Similar providers are

• Plum.io
• Cubiks/PSI
• Talent Q (Korn Ferry)
• Berke Assessment

and many others. In my experience, many international companies in the automotive industry, including in Germany, rely on such procedures. If you want to gain experience, you can try out almost any method.

But a warning: you should always answer spontaneously and not try to create a certain image. This can backfire: Many procedures have a "social desirability scale" with statements such as "I never lie". Swings on this scale significantly reduce candidates' chances.

5 PrinciplesUs/PrinciplesYou

Hedge fund founder Ray Dalio developed the instrument together with scientists such as Brian R. Little and Adam Grant to solve team fit problems and improve collaboration at his company Bridgewater. Dalio had a clear picture of how a company should function optimally - the best idea must prevail in decisions. And to do this, you have to know your own personality, but also that of others, in order to work together more successfully.

The process was developed in a pragmatic but scientifically sound manner: Some of the questions come from the public "International Personality Item Pool" (IPIP) and were selected via a psychometric analysis.

PrinciplesYou assesses people in three dimensions of professional behavior:

1. How one thinks (Thinking): analytical skills, decision-making style, creativity, problem-solving.
2. How you interact with others (Interacting): Communication style, influence, collaboration, conflict behavior.
3. How to motivate yourself (Motivating): Drive, values, goal orientation, resilience, and initiative.

Each category is subdivided into different traits, i.e. measurable personality characteristics. Examples are "Strategic Thinking" or "Team Orientation". The level of each trait is measured and expressed as a percentage. The combination of trait characteristics across the three categories results in an archetype.

Archetypes are typical behavioral and thought profiles that show

• How a person works, thinks, and is motivated.
• How this person is best deployed within teams.
• Which roles suit them best?

The questionnaire was validated with samples of more than 3,000 participants from an internal Bridgewater sample. This means that a very efficient, diverse working group was used for standardization. Ray Dalio's model is robust, and the questionnaire is of outstanding quality (r = 0.8 to 0.9).

Ray Dalio developed this tool to build a management system with the ideal of meritocratic decision-making processes ("right person, right role"). Starting with self-reflection, teams are systematically developed by making data-based decisions and integrating mistakes as learning opportunities. This requires a culture of radical openness, with open feedback, clear principles and objective evaluation of results.

PrinciplesYou/PrinciplesUs thus uses the data from the personality questionnaire to systematically build management systems. According to Ray Dalio, good management is a system that allows reality to prevail in decision-making processes. The best ideas win, mistakes are used as lessons and people act according to their strengths and principles. It is less about being popular and more about building an effective, truth-oriented organization.

PrinciplesYou thus stands in contrast to Hogan, who, as shown below, focuses on personal popularity and individual professional success. The tool can be used in all phases of employee, team and organizational development.

For me, this is the best method currently on the market.

Conclusion: Why should I answer a personality questionnaire now?

The psychometric methods are robust for various applications and very easily available online. They are increasingly being used in companies for recruitment and development purposes. Data protection and personal rights do not stand in the way of this. The best ones for a professional context in industry and business are:

• PrinciplesYou/Us
• Hogan
• Occupational Personality Questionnaire

The combinatorics of different personality profiles can be broken down very quickly and broken down according to strengths, weaknesses, risks, etc. An example: A number of candidates apply for the management position of an existing team. If the profiles of all employees are available, the AI can very quickly analyze which synergies, which conflicts, which creative tensions and which "blind spots" this combination of characters produces.

Important: There is no such thing as a good or bad profile. There is only one profile that fits a challenge. And your own profile is not destiny. You can change it by learning from feedback.

And we can look for the challenges that REALLY suit us. When work no longer feels like work. Where we are in "flow" and create real value.

Because: If you know what you are like, you will get what you want.