only this personality test is backed by scientists & psychologists

Read time: 3 minutes

howdy y’all,

if you couldn’t already tell, i love personality tests.

the majority are pseudo science, except for the one we’re discussing today.

jordan peterson, a famous clinical psychologist & author of 12 rules for life, an international bestseller subtitled an antidote to chaos, supports it.

it’s called the big five personality test.

the results from this test help you pin down your personality traits relative to others.

it’s a personal user manual for you.

but better

because it’s a user manual for other’s too!

by the end of this post, you’ll understand why you bond instantly with some people & never with others.

big five background

introducing the big five.

the gold standard for personality testing.

the top pick by psychologists & scientists.

the most proven & accurate of the tests.

the big five theory, also known as the five factor model (ffm), gives 5 scores across 5 traits. specifically:

you may know this by the acronyms for the trait [the way i memorized it in my psyc 101 course]:

OCEAN or CANOE.

ocean deep dive

grab your scuba gear, we’re diving deeper into each trait:

🎨 openness 
how open to new ideas & experiences
higher # = more focused on new
more intellectually curious & creative

⏰ conscientiousness 
how goal-directed, persistent & organized
higher # = more focused on results
more productive, responsible, & self-disciplined

🎉 extraversion 
how energized by attention & engagement
higher # = more focused on outside world
more social, energetic, & assertive

😇 agreeableness 
how much others needs are put first
higher # = more focused on others 
more compassionate, respecting, & trusting

🎢 neuroticism 
how sensitive to stress & negative emotions
higher # = more focused on negative
more anxiety, depression, & emotional volatility

test time

the test is structured in series of direct statements.

to which you respond on a spectrum from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

it’s about 30-60 questions.

so it only takes a few minutes.

a perfect thing for you to do right now as your sip your monday coffee.

here are the two quizzes i recommend:

top pick: fivethirtyeight quiz

yes that same fivethiryeight, an opinion polling analysis website & blog created by nate silver.

now owned by ESPN & covering many more topics, including the big five traits.

which they believe is the only personality quiz that’s not junk science.

i’m a big fan of their quiz for a few reasons:

• it’s short

• results are super understandable

• each trait is broken into 3 additional dimensions (e.g., extraversion breaks into assertiveness, sociability, & energy level)

• includes a comparison to the average american

• AND includes a comparison to our merry makery reader group

runner-up: truity quiz

with the prior newsletters on 5 love languages & DISC behavior styles, i recommended truity quizzes. so sharing here too.

truity also used the big five personality model to make two more quizzes to reveal:

• your toxic trait (7 archetypes)

• your leadership/boss style (8 types)

bell curve > boxes

the beautiful & overarching truth to the big five personality framework is that we all have varying amounts of each of these traits.

most personality tests put you into one bucket out of 4, 5, 16, etc.

but we so rarely fit perfectly into one box.

fivethirtyeight’s article on this test expertly explained:

and this is why the big five is the gold standard.

you are scored in a range for each trait, compared to other respondents.

geopsychology

according to an article in big think, science shows that where you live impacts your personality.

this emerging field is known as geopsychology.

bc apparently pscyhogeography was already taken (& means a common pastime of most urban dwellers, specifically means walking while moody 🤷‍♀️ )

so here’s how the US looks across the big five traits as of 2021:

• openness is highest in the west

• conscientiousness highest in the south

• extraversion highest in the central northern & south

• agreeableness highest in the south

• emotional stability is highest in the west & south (note they flipped neuroticism here so these regions are the least neurotic)

and here’s how the UK looks across the big five traits as of 2015 [afraid to make specific comment revealing my lack of knowledge of UK geograophy]

mack’s picks

welcome to the newest section where i’ll share my picks of the week, expect all things merry, mail, metrics, & mindsets.

if you know me, you know i don’t really like to the read the news.

i find it overwhelming & depressing.

which is why i was so stoked to discover the know, a free daily(UK) and/or weekly (US & UK) newsletter that covers the biggest news stories, sans jargon, written with positivity by a team of badass women in the UK.

every friday after i read it, i feel informed & inspired.

i especially love how they always start with numbers 🤓 

i know you’ll love it too. subscribe in one-click here!

other pick is all the new cards in my stationery store, featuring new designs & color ways, paired with sentiments written by a dearly cherished friend.

tysm laura for the inspo!

all together now

so now that you know about the know ;)

and the big five, you’re on the path of self-discovery, where you get to hone your strengths & work on your weaknesses.

this in turn will help you connect others because you understand the fundamental traits that govern human behavior.

next week we’ll be diving deeper into each of these traits as well as some fascinating correlations across other disciplines.

be merry,

p.s. whenever you need help, i’m always here for you from custom cards to corporate workshops to our merry membership. i want to make you merry!

p.p.s. holiday season is around the corner & i’m working on my holiday designs this week. please reply with any ideas or requests!