The Results of Personality Tests
As you may or may not have known we have a site that features Personality Tests. These can be considered as 'fun' and not to be taken seriously. Recently, I have started posting some of them on various other places I visit (You can find them here too as Sticky Threads on some Boards), and the results have been amazing. Here is what I have found:
1. Anytime a User got a favorable response to their results they declared how accurate the test was and that they enjoyed it to some degree.
2. If the User got a result that displeased him or her they would rant about its' inaccuracy, lack of questions, etc.
I have found this to be an interesting observation in personality. How have you seen people react to personality quizzes? How do you react to them?
Its human nature to deny what shows us in an unfavorable light. We like to think that we are generally good and that anything that shows us in a bad light, must be flawed or bad in nature. Thus when someone finds out that their personality is flawed, instead of change the problems with their personality, they change the test to seem inaccurate or flawed itself.
That is exactly what I was thinking, and sadly it is only people with perspectives above water level that will actually see this. Even with 'real' tests they always put a disclaimer that such tests always have a level of inaccuracy and should not be used as professional or sound advice / feedback, but acts only as a guide.
I've enjoyed the recent rash of personality tests that have been floating around the forum. They are a lot of fun and provide some good topics for discussion. I don't take them very seriously and definitely won't get upset about the results. Just recently, the LDS_forever test said I was a stranger to her, but I know that this is not the case. It's just a fun way of finding out more about yourself, really.
You won't believe how people get carried away over these. In the other Communities they would get insulting, start making fun of each other, worry over the result and so on. Some Community Admins have even locked the thread to get everyone to calm down.
The way I see it, people get offended easily anyways. Most people expect things to go their ways at all times like it was said earlier. The way most people see things is extremely distorted and only right through their eyes. Those personality tests are just another excuse for them to get mad and to rant and rave.
Most quizzes say something like "there is no right or wrong answers, choose what fits you the best" but the result you get quite often can be filed under "good" or "bad" category (compare: "you are a brave person", "you can act cowardly sometimes", "you are a coward")
Hardly anyone would have issues with quizzes like "what anime character are you" or something like that.
But to get something like "you're a coward" only because you chose most fitting for you answer from three or four pre-set offers none of which would be your choice in real life, is neither accurate nor fun.