What are some surprising things about your personality?

[Anonymous]

What are some surprising things about your personality?

On the Myers–Briggs test, I usually score around the intj & infp region. That makes sense, so nothing was too surprising on that. But on the big 5 test, I've taken it multiple times, and every single time, I scored high in conscientiousness. Which was very surprising to hear for the first time. 🤔 Because hearing about the habits of people high in conscientiousness is what made me think that I was low in it.

But I'm an odd one when it comes to this & I think I know why. Two things stand out to me the most. It's my high percentage of negative emotion (specifically anxiety) and my high percentage of introversion. If I wasn't high in neuroticism and so low in extraversion, I'd likely be more confident in my abilities and I'd likely have a more go-getter/productivity-driven aim towards the world. But since I don't, it affects my motivations & willpower.

So, in other words, I'm the civilized, competitive, & somewhat creative yet practical shy guy that isn't very people-oriented. I mainly prefer to be alone which limits my options. And my house is always organized even when I'm depressed (can't say the same for my room/office). 😂 I'll probably even have a workout schedule going or be intensely working on some creative endeavor. And even though I don't willingly ask for change, I'm moderately open to new experiences, so it's easier for me to cope with the changes if need be.

Photo by "Nadine Shaabana" on Unsplash

I have something very surprising!

I don't have something very surprising but I have something kinda surprising

I don't have something very or kinda surprising... But it's... yk... surprising... enough

I refuse! Also, why are you typing out paragraphs like we're actually interested in what you have to say? Matter of fact, I hope the Rosemary plant that's peacefully resting on your front porch withers and dies!

Updates

+1 y

Also, I don't mean that you have to post your personality type. You can say something surprising you learned about your personality traits. Like for instance, I didn't know I was as competitive as I am. I used to be very agreeable when I was younger, but I guess something changed. I think it was around the time when I was questioning my religious beliefs. I had to get rid of old conceptual structures which caused me to lose trust in things and become more skeptical. So that was surprising for me

[HawkPerception]

I find it interesting that I have consistently gotten INTP. I've done the test over 50 times over the years on multiple platforms and it seems to remain so. I have on occasion had discrepancies in my results, getting INTJ or ENTP. I am usually just a little more introverted than extroverted and usually just a little more perceptive than judging, but it changes depending on how I'm feeling. You need to be truly introspective and critical of yourself to remain consistent with your results. That is why I believe a lot of people get inconsistent or inaccurate results in those tests. They'll see a question like "Are you selfish?" (I'm just making crap up) and say "No." because they don't want to associate themselves to a trait most people consider negative.

Getting back to your question as I clearly deviated from it, I don't really find much to be surprising about my personality description. Especially on humanmetrics. com (where I find they give the best and most accurate descriptions), everything about INTP is pretty much on point for how I see myself.

[Asker]

Yeah, when I was taking the tests, I was like... So many people out there probably don't know how to answer these questions in a way that's honest and true to reality. 🤔 That's the downside of self-report.

Now for me, I'm just so immensely humble that I'm always willing to admit my flaws. It just comes with the territory 💪

[TurboKid]

I just tried this big-five test for the first time and surprised I got so low for conscientiousness. Thought that was one of my bigger traits besides extroversion. Also not sure if I agree on emotional stability there. I think they just didn't ask me the right questions to determine it well enough.

I'm ENFP-A though:

[TurboKid]

Well, with conscientiousness I'm almost schizo. For example, I'm very careful and diligent at my job. I've developed a reputation for not shipping mistakes and always shipping on time. At home, not as much. I'm a bit lazy around the house.

[TurboKid]

One thing that surprised me about my MBTI is that the ENFP type is considered kind of impractical, full of ideas but lacking in practicality. That's actually the opposite. I've always been the one on my team who is most practical, most able to make practical compromises, and most able to get things shipped on time. Yet I do remember when I was much younger, as a teen, being extremely impractical and wishy-washy with my ideas. Perhaps it was because I was so impractical back then that I became so insistent on practical ideas, knowing first-hand how counter-productive impractical ones can be.

[Asker]

A big reason for the mismatch could be how you're answering the questions 🤔 I have to really keep in mind what environment I'm thinking of when I answer them because I behave differently in each one which could give conflicting results. But ngl I do with the questions were more in-depth. I definitely think I didn't quite answer some of them right or there was an error on the tests part. But it was for the stuff like my intellectual curiosity

[Asker]

wish the question were more in-depth*

[TurboKid]

A lot of those on the big five seem redundant to me. I could swear the same overall question was frequently asked like 3 times but just with slightly different or opposite wording. Also maybe the reason I got such a high score on emotional stability is that I only had a few beers so far.

[TurboKid]

The vivid imagination ones also got me confused because, for example, in some contexts, I got an epic case of it. But in other cases, I seem severely lacking. For example, I've never been one of those guys who can look at clothed women and imagine how they look naked. I just can't seem to do it. Well, I can try but I don't know if what I imagined is accurate so it's like those celebrity fake photos. I hate those and they do nothing for me since I don't know if they're accurate. So anyway, on those ones relating to a vivid imagination, I just put "neutral".

[Anonymous]

i don't know if this is surprising. . . probs a lot of us have this. . . but for me this trait is xxxxxtra strong:
i can't let go of people (i am a people-person to a pretty xtreme degree)
i had my first relationship (very brief) and its been nine months since then and im literally torn to shreds on the inside
i've loved so many people (including almost every teacher i've ever had)
i even remember so many people from grade school and of course high school
and i feel sad that i can't be close to people. . . they come and go!!! my "friends" (i think of them as my friends, i don't know if they do) just come into my life, and then leeeeeave!! i am sooo sad :(((
whyyy do i get so passionate about everyone :(
but i will nevvvver find another guy i like besides the guy who left me :'((

[Ez-Bri-Z]

Funny enough I score as infp and enfp, because my normal personality is very extrovert when I dont have to be in person and very introvert when I do because of anxieties. My scores are incredibly close that it can go either way like 45/55 in either direction.

Never tried the big 5 though. Guess I will do it now.

[MCheetah]

I'm surprised to find out I'm very empathetic. As much as I get annoyed by people and their endless stupidity, I end up being more considerate and helpful to others (especially strangers) than most people I know, which is hella ironic.

[Asker]

Who did you piss off?

[Kaneki05]

I think the surprising thing. Well basically most disorders i have at least 5 traits too. And the thing is if you go by how many traits you need of something to be on the DSM-5 i fit a lot a things. So... my personality must be a lot of disorders all at once. Or maybe that's just what a normal human is.
I don't know.

[TwistedTube]

I'm an enfp on the Myers-Briggs test, the assertive variant. Everytime I do a big Five test, I score 0 % in the neuroticism department. Which kind of sounds impossible. It makes sense for me to score quite low there, but 0%?

[Asker]

Could have a lot to do with how you're answering the questions. Like what you're keeping in mind. 🤔 And answering them based on how you generally are and not how you'd like to be. And you could also go steps further and answer them with difference environments in mind. For instance, a safe environment with people you trust vs not a safe one with people you don't trust.

But yeah, with these tests, I think it's best to think of them as general areas for where we lie. Not necesarily for being very very specific and accurate. Because so many elements make it hard to be totally accurate. And big ones are the fact that we're having to rely on self-report which can be very very very inaccurate.

[Kaneki05]

ain't that tested on the 0-6 or 0-12 neuroticism? which if so it's pretty normal to get 0 i think... I could be wrong tho.

[TwistedTube]

@Sonorous I actually would have loved to get stressed more easily, stress motivates you to do stuff. I lack motivation due to a lack of stress. All my answers have sincerely been about how I am rather than how I'd like to be

[Asker]

Dangg, I lack motivation due to trying to avoid stress 😂

[Curmudgeon]

ISTJ here. I have more anxiety than you, ha ha. :D I think there is also a dimension to the more complicated Myers-Briggs tests: Stable vs. Turbulent.

[Asker]

I wish it wasn't so, but I really don't think anyone on this site has more anxiety than me 😂 my schedules adjust themselves around my anxiety

[jennifer_bloom]

I’m very confident so people think I’m extroverted but I actually avoid people who try to be my friend most of of the time.

[Asker]

My mother is the same way!

[ChiTown33]

Ya know what I don't like about the myer Briggs? I hate designations like Extrovert and Introvert. Because I feel very few people are one or the other.

[Asker]

I always thought that people were usually generally one or the other. Of course not in a fixed way, but one that's just around either side of the spectrum to varying degrees. 🤔 Because an Introvert is basically anyone that is exhausted by social interaction. And recovers/gains sanity back through solitude. And social interaction gives extroverts energy. Solitude exhausts them.

[ChiTown33]

Well maybe I'm just not enough in touch with my feelings then. I also struggle with those tests because sometimes I feel it gives me a designation opposite of what I am. I think you have to be completely honest with yourself when taking them tests. And sometimes we see ourselves as being one way when quite the opposite.

[Asker]

That could be it. Also, I did notice when taking it that it was hard to answer some without a specific reference.

[ChiTown33]

Agreed! It's no different then on here. You can ask the same question but get 2 different answers from the same person based on the words you use, how you ask it, and the tone of the question.

[Jersey2]

In Myers-Briggs, introvert means that you regain energy when alone. An extrovert regains energy at a party, but the introvert will find that an energy drain. That’s what it means and it is right for me.

[HOAAH]

I am an ISFJ, I am very introverted. Some people might think I am extroverted because some times I need to be around people I love or like or want to be around so I don't feel too lonely but most of the time I just want to be alone.

[Gray-Wisp]

I score INTJ and low in everything on the big 5. I don't really know what the normal correlation between the two are.

[Asker]

intj stands for introvert, intuitive, thinker, & judger. So, I think that MBTI just fits you into a certain general class/type. Then the big 5 are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreableness, and neuroticism. And I think has more to do with your style/traits within the class. And I've heard it has better predictive success.

[jerdanro]

I've taken that test three times and had three differend results. Questionaires like that don't work for me because the answer to a lot of questions is that it depends on the situation.

[Asker]

Since these tests can easily slightly vary, you've gotta take as many as you can and then average out the results.

[jerdanro]

Good idea

[Asker]

And it also benefit to keep the different environments in mind. I don't know about you but I tend to be more relaxed and reserved when I'm at home with people I trust vs out in the world. So it can really mess up the test if I base my answers on that environment around people I trust

[Kas19]

I usually get ISTJ/ISFJ. Nothing particularly interesting or special about my personality. Very introverted and I hate people but love them at the same time.

[kevyhanma]

I don’t mind reading the paragraphs but I hate rosemary grow limes they keeps snakes away and smell better

[Asker]

Im sorry wut 👄

[have_a_good_day]

it says I'm INTJ
But I'm gonna take the Big 5 test on the toilet now and see what they say I am

[Toast792]

Eh. there's a lot of things. I don't know that I want to list them here tho.

[watrewks]

It’s not surprising to me but my personality is extremely sexy.

[MzAsh]

I’m an INTJ and nothing surprises me about that.

[EnglishEuropean]

I'm kind of an asshole.

[player61526]

I am surprisingly calm

[MudRucker]

I am a pure bread paranoid/schizophrenic

[Dinosaursandanime65]

You will know

[Asker]

I'm scared

[Dinosaursandanime65]

The first series is more on the scary side, but the end of it and beyond is just cool

[Dinosaursandanime65]

Well, maybe except for one if the antagonists but besides him and another it should be fine.

[Asker]

I'm more scared

[Dinosaursandanime65]

Wanna hear their concept designs to be even more scared?

[Asker]

Yes‏‏‎ ‎

[FreyaRed]

ESTJ-A

[Curmudgeon]

Which is fitting for someone with the moniker "Freya". :D