Personality Articles

Medically Reviewed By: Aaron Horn, LMFT, MA

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What defines a personality?

A personality is a complex internal process. Personality is often broken into three factors. These are:

• Behaviors. How we act around others and when we’re alone.
• Cognitive processes. How we think and perceive the world is another facet of personality. Our cognition often leads to our behaviors, too.
• Emotional patterns. How we react to the world is another way we define personality.

What is personality in your own words?

Personality is how you and others would describe your behaviors and actions. Personality is our entire self, and it’s usually set in stone, though you can change some of your behaviors. If your self is inconsistent and problematic, you could have a personality disorder. Someone who has a personality disorder may want to seek help. A personality disorder can trouble you for life if you don’t seek help.

How can I identify my personality?

If you want to identify your personality, one way you can do so is to take an official personality test. For example, the Myers-Briggs personality test is quick and can give you a personality type in about 10 minutes or so. Some people also might identify with more niche groups, such as having dnd personality traits.

For a deeper dive, go with a personality test from a licensed therapist. Someone who is a professional and knows personality and social psychology can help you find your type, including looking for any personality disorders. If you suspect that something is wrong with your personality, it could be a personality disorder.

If you feel like you have an unstable thinking pattern and inconsistent behaviors, you could have a personality disorder. Personality disorders can be treated by a professional. You should never attempt to self-diagnose. Instead, you should meet with a professional to see if there are any signs of a personality disorder.

Why is personality development important?

In order to explain why personality development is important, we should first talk about what exactly the definition of personality development is. It’s how our personality grows as we get older. When you’re very young, you don’t have a unique personality. You're a sponge who absorbs what everyone else is saying. However, with time, you soon develop your own personality.

Personality development is important because it helps us understand more about our behaviors and cognitions. Is personality the product of nature or nurture? It’s hard to say, but most people agree it probably is a combination of both. Understanding personality development may help you make better decisions when raising your kids, or when you're exploring your own personality development. 

What makes a person unique?

This is a tough question to answer, because everyone has his or her own definition of what being unique is. Some people may see being unique as trying hard to be different from everyone else, but others may feel the opposite.

In reality, most people are unique. They may have a similar personality or beliefs, but their life experiences are what make them unique. Just because you share similar traits to someone across the world, they are going to be different due to their life experiences.

What makes a beautiful personality?

This is one of those questions where there are going to be different answers. It all depends on what traits, personality types, and more. Here are some examples of what one person may find beautiful:

• Confidence. Someone who has a beautiful personality may be seen as having high self-esteem and self-image. 
• A sense of humor. Someone who has a beautiful personality may find humor in almost anything and can laugh at their own expense. 
• Emotional. Someone may be considered beautiful, at least in personality psychology, if they’re someone who can express their emotions. However, someone who is more mysterious may be seen as beautiful.

What are my best qualities?

This is a question that many are curious about. They may wonder what their best traits are and how they can enhance them. Taking a personality quiz can help with this, along with some introspection. Think about your best traits. Your friends and family may be able to help you list the qualities that are your best.

What are the 16 traits of a personality?

These are the Myers-Briggs personality types. If you’ve seen someone describing their personality in four letters, such as INFJ, there’s a good chance they’re talking about this. You take the Myers-Briggs personality test, it can help you better understand your personality and how you relate to others.

Before we list the types, let’s break down the letters. It’s divided into four parts:

• 1. Extraversion (E) vs. Introversion (I)

If someone is extraverted, they are talkative and outgoing. Someone who is introverted may tend to keep to himself or herself. There tends to be a spectrum, and people’s extraversion can change depending on circumstances, but most swing one direction or the other.

• 2. Sensing (S) Vs. Intuition (N)

Someone who is sensing looks at all of the details, and learn from what they can see. They are fact-based and prefer approaching the world through their own hands. Meanwhile, someone who is geared towards intuition may see patterns, think about the future, and imagine all sorts of scenarios.

• 3. Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F)

This is the logic vs. emotion debate. Someone who is a thinker tends to be someone who looks at the data and facts. They are someone who tends to choose the most logical choice. 

Meanwhile, someone who feels is someone who uses his or her emotions more. They may trust how they feel or how another person feels when making their decision. Even if it means the choice is less in their favor, their sense of empathy may make them choose something that doesn't benefit them. 

• 4. Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P)

This looks at how someone handles the outside world and the structure there. Someone who is a judger may be a person who prefers an organized, decisive world. Meanwhile, a perceiver may be someone who goes with the flow and adapts.

There are 16 combinations you can have. These are:

1. The Inspector: ISTJ
2. The Crafter: ISTP
3. The Protector: ISFJ
4. The Artist: ISFP
5. The Advocate: INFJ
6. The Mediator: INFP
7. The Architect: INTJ
8. The Thinker: INTP
9. The Persuader: ESTP
10. The Director: ESTJ
11. The Performer: ESFP
12. The Caregiver: ESFJ
13. The Champion: ENFP
14. The Giver: ENFJ
15. The Debater: ENTP
16. The Commander: ENTJ

We recommend you take the personality test yourself and see which trait you are. It’s interesting, and you may like what you find.

What are the 16 personality types?

The 16 personality types in the Myers-Briggs list are interesting to look at and a fun part of personality psychology to study. Here are 16 types and what they mean.

• INFP: The Mediator

The Mediator, also known as the Healer, is someone who is diplomatic and follows what they believe. Someone who is a mediator can see the good and potential in everyone and their personality is a result of their ever-growing imagination.

• INTJ: The Architect  

Also known as the Mastermind, is someone who is always innovating. They are people who always try to do their own projects, and they can see how something in their life can improve. They are people who try to solve problems, or at least create slow but sure solutions to them. Always wanting to improve is an aspect of personality psychology that most people can relate to, but especially an Architect.

• INJFJ: The Advocate

The Advocate is also known as the Counselor. These are people who are just like counselors, who may try to help others reach their goals through their own solutions. They are often people who see growth through others’ growth, trying to improve others’ personality traits, personality flaws, and help them find their potential.

• INTP: The Thinker

These people are philosophical. The Thinker personality refers to anyone who thinks about life and what it means. Often, a Thinker may have a philosophical reason that explains what they believe, but sometimes, they may be people who are scientific and want to study personality, study the universe, and find the ultimate truth through evidence.

• ENFP: The Champion

The Champion is someone who helps others grow, just like a Counselor, but they have more enthusiasm. Their extroversion allows them to look at their friends and family and see all the possibilities. They can turn someone who doesn’t know what to do into someone who does.

Someone who is a Champion will view personality as something that has potential for everyone.

ENTJ: The Commander

As you could probably infer from the name, this is someone who is a leader. They see a problem, and they’re going to lead people with solutions. They are logical and can speak well. Commanders are people who are usually found as leaders. While not every commander is a cult of personality leader, they do have an air around them that wants to make people get things done.

• ENTP: The Debater

Also known as the Visionary, these are people who innovate and look at solutions for common problems. The Debater’s psychology of personality is ever growing. It’s common for them to challenge others on what they believe, hence their name. If you’re a debater, you’re someone who is open to new ideas but also ready to defend your beliefs.

• ENFJ: The Giver

Also known as the Teacher, these are people who want to educate and see others grow. They have a vision and they think they know what is best for the world. They tend to spread that vision through education and giving. Someone who is a Giver has a personality inventory full of ways to educate.

• ISFJ: The Protector

These are people who care about the world and want to protect it. They may do so by caring for others and raising them to be the best people possible. Sometimes, a person who is a protector may be traditional and want to protect those traditions as well as their own personal identity.

• ISFP: The Artist

Also known as the Composer, these are people who are mindful of the world around them and like to go with the flow of life. As the name entails, someone who is an Artist may love art and has a handbook of personality traits and skills to help them. With a strong sense of personal identity, an Artist can be an interesting person.

• ISTJ: The Inspector

The Inspector is a person who is organized and enforces that organization. They may come across as authoritarian to some, but an Inspector can just be someone who has an organized sense of personal identity and they want to spread it to everyone.

• ISTP: The Crafter

An ISTP is also called a Craftsman, Craftswoman, or Craftsperson. These are the mechanical artists of the world. They look at everything in their environment with a strong sense of logic. A Crafter is usually good with his or her hands and good with conceptualization.

ESFJ: The Caregiver

Also known as the Provider, this is a person who is always helping others. They can be highly empathetic people and can give the people they know everything they got, sometimes sacrificing their own personal joy out of helping others.

• ESFP: The Performer

These are the jesters of our world but in a good way. They are people who want to entertain others through performance and their own personality. Besides entertaining others, everything around them is entertaining, from food to nature. The Performer doesn’t just have handbook of personality: they have an entire library.

• ESTJ: The Director

Also known as the Supervisor, this is someone who is a hard worker and wants to take over any project they can. Someone who supervises wants to get the job done, and has their own method of doing so. They are people who abide by rules.

• ESTP: The Persuader

This is a person who doesn’t seem to be afraid of death. They seek thrills and go into life without a care in the world. With how much energy they exude, they tend to hype up others around them, hence their name. If you’re someone who is fearful, running into an ESTP can be a life-changing experience.

What do the letters stand for in the 16 personality types?

With the 16 personality types, you may see different letters. Let’s break down what the letters mean.

• E-Extraversion

This is anyone who is extremely outgoing. You probably know the extravert as being someone who never stops talking. They contrast with the introverts.

• F-Feeling

Someone who is feeling contrasts someone is thinking. People who feel prefer to follow their emotions rather than data and facts. This doesn’t mean that they are illogical, but sometimes, they go with their gut and they may be more empathetic towards others despite someone who is more fact-based being colder towards another person.

• I-Introversion

These are people who have short social batteries. While they may occasionally like to talk to people and seek thrills, they prefer being all to themselves. An introvert can be a creative person, and they may care about others in their own way.

• J-Judging

Someone who is judging is the opposite of perceiving. A judger is someone who wants everything in order. When things are out of order or make no sense, someone who is judging may feel anxious as a result. Judgers may be people who like to make plans ahead of time and they may be upset when plans happen last-minute.

• N-Intuition

Because there couldn’t be two “I”s. This is the opposite of sensing. A person who is intuitive may think about all the possibilities in the world. They may ponder the future and the concept of alternative universes. They may look for patterns in the world and draw conclusions from them.

• P-Perceive

Someone who perceives is very adaptive. They are the opposite of judgers, and when their plans are ruined, they just go with the flow. You can commonly find them moving around and not taking life too seriously.

• S-Sensing

A sensor is someone who is more detail-based and looks at the evidence. Using their senses, they explore the world according to what they can see. Someone who is a sensor may ponder a few extraordinary ideas here and there, but they’re still grounded in the concept of evidence.

• T-Thinking

Thinking people trust their head and tend to take their heart with a grain of salt. A thinker is one who may only fear what is statistically probable. They’re people who try to be objective on almost everything they can.

What is having no personality?

When someone says that someone has no personality, this doesn't mean that they literally don’t have a single personality trait. It is a subjective definition, but in most cases, it means one of two things:

• Having “no personality” may refer to someone who is extremely introverted. They may not talk that much and keep to themselves. They’re the person who sits alone at a party. They’re people who have their own traits, but they just don’t voice them often.
• Having “no personality” may also refer to people whose traits seem generic. For example, if someone on social media only talks about sports, they may be seen as having no personality outside of it.

It’s usually an insult, and not a scientific term involving the study of personality. Not everyone has to be extroverted or have a unique interest to have a personality.

What is a strong personality?

A strong personality type consists of anyone who has personality traits that are desirable. This is a bit subjective, of course, but there are many traits that most will agree are good. These include:

• Being confident and not relying on anyone else to determine your self-worth.
• Loving yourself for who you are, and if there’s anything you want to change, you make an effort to do so.
• Having charisma. Someone with a strong personality type may not necessarily be a public speaker, but they can attract a crowd and be a smooth talker.
• Able to say no when they don’t want to do something.

These are just a few examples of personality traits that would be considered strong. You get the idea, and chances are you know someone who you consider to have a strong personality.

What is a fluid personality?

A fluid personality is a personality type that changes according to the situation. Many of us have a fluid personality to a degree. Our personality around our friends at a bar is probably not the same as when we go to our grandmother’s house. Of course, some people’s personality traits are more fluid than others.

What are the 4 types of personality? 

Depending on where you look, different sources will claim different personality types in regards to the main four. Let’s make it simple and define personality into four main types. These include:

• Normal 

This is your average type. Someone with a normal type is extroverted and neurotic, but not open to themselves.

• Reserved 

Reserved is when you are not open to yourself, nor do you have a neurotic personality. However, you are stable. These are your introverts who have personality traits, but they keep it to themselves.

• Leaders 

These are the role-models of the world. They are very open, extraverted, and are reliable. They are always there to have new ideas.

• Self-Centered 

Someone who is self-centered is extraverted, but not open and agreeable. Everything is about themselves.

What are examples of personality?

If you want to see what examples of personality are, just look at the five main personality traits. These are personality characters that everyone has, and the levels can determine your personality. In order to help measure personality, learn the big five personality traits, which are:

• Openness

This is how willing you are to try a new experience. Someone who is open is willing to eat new foods, while someone less open may stick to what they know. Someone who is open may want to travel all around, while someone who is more closed stays at home and never leaves their hometown despite being able to.

• Extraversion

The more extraverted you are, the more talkative and energetic you are. An extraverted person is the life of the party. Meanwhile, someone who is introverted may not speak as much, as they only want to talk when it’s necessary. Some people may fluctuate between the two.

• Conscientiousness

This is when you’re a planner and not someone who is spontaneous. Have you ever had a friend who always wanted to hang at the last minute, and never made plans? They may be someone who lacked conscientiousness. Meanwhile, someone on the opposite end may make plans way ahead of time, and should something change, it irritates them.

• Agreeableness

This is when someone is helpful, nice, and sympathetic. We all can have different levels of agreeableness depending on our mood, but the more agreeable you are, the more likely you are to look past your mood. Some people have no empathy and only care about others if they get something out of it.

• Neurotic

Someone who is neurotic worries a lot. They may be prone to mood swings and have vulnerability, too.

Everyone has a combination of different levels of these personality traits, and they can be a little fluid. Few people are on either extreme.

What are the 5 main personality traits?

The five main personality traits are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. These are the big five personality traits.

Are Melancholiacs romantic?

Someone with melancholic personality measures every detail. They tend to be the ones lost in thought, and can be self-reliant. Because of this, they may not be openly romantic, but could have deep emotions for someone else. If you’re unsure if you're a melancholic, take one of the many four temperament personality tests and see which one you are.

What are the main personality types?

There are four types that are widely known, and these are average, reserved, role models, and self-centered. Most people can fit into one of these four very well. Of course, there’s always going to be more nuanced and complex types, too.

What is good personality?

This is subjective, since everyone has a different definition of what makes something good or not. Usually, you can define a good personality by having traits that many desire. Someone who is kind, loyal, not afraid to speak their mind, and who shows empathy are examples of traits many find good. However, others may prefer a person who is a little more standoffish. Not to mention, there may be cultural differences and expectations of personality.

What's a good personality for a girl?

Personality refers to a list of traits that make up oneself, and if you're a girl, you may wonder which aspect of human personality is good for you. While you can’t change your personality psychology entirely, there are ways for you to emphasize your better traits, such as:

• Kindness. This is a trait that any girl (or person in general) should have. Learning to be kind to others, especially those who are different, is one aspect of your human personality that people will love. With that said, your kindness should only go so far, and some people may not be worth your kindness.
• Independence. Knowing how to take care of yourself is an important trait for anyone regardless of gender. In this world, sustaining yourself is a skill that not too many people have, and if you do end up having it, you’re able to go far.
• Opinionated. Being informed on issues and having your own opinion on it is another aspect of human personality. Not everyone may like your opinions, but that’s okay.
• Intimate. People like a girl who will be intimate. Intimacy does not have to be romantic and instead can refer to people who have deep friendships.

All of these traits are good for people in general to have, too. Look at your assessments of personality and see which one you are.

How does your personality affect your life?

Your personality can definitely affect your life, regardless of which personality theories you subscribe to. Let’s take a look at a few ways it can change your life.

First, let’s talk about introversion vs. extraversion. If you're more extraverted, your life can change. You may find it easier to barter with someone to get a better house. Seeking the job of your dreams is much easier. You may find that it’s quite easy to make new friends, and this helps you make connections. However, being an introvert can have positive impacts on your life. You may spend your time to yourself perfecting a skill.

When you're logical or emotional, this can have an impact. You may find it easier to travel through plane if you're logical because you know that you’re unlikely to die. However, someone who is more emotional may worry about the plane.

A person who is more organized may have a detailed plan to reach their goal, while someone who is more sporadic doesn't reach their goal, but instead finds something else to reach.

These are just a few examples.