PERSONAL GROWTH

Trait Scholar

Your results are shared below. You’ll see we have used your answers to match you
within three subdimensions for each trait you selected to explore. We encourage you
not only to read the descriptions that match your personality, but those that were
not a fit for you. Sometimes you gain the fullest insight into who you are by
better understanding what you are not.
This test was constructed separately from our main test, using new items. Although
we carefully designed this tool to minimize possible discrepancies, your particular
combinations of answers on this test may lead to different results than you have
previously received. If something strikes you as inaccurate, please be sure to let
us know using the feedback sections provided.
Good test design does not stop when the test is released to users, especially for
innovative tools like this one. Our researchers will use your answers and your
feedback to validate each item and carry out improvements to make this as useful
and as accurate as possible.
Now we know you are eager to see your results, so let’s get to it!
Extraverted Introverted
Sociable
Intimate
31%
69%
This facet describes the kinds of social interactions you prefer, and whether you
typically prioritize spending time alone or with others.
Sociable
Intimate
As an Intimate personality, you usually prefer time spent alone or in small groups
instead of large gatherings. Social interaction can quickly exhaust you. Solitude
recharges you, and you like having time and space to process your day, think about
the future, and calm your mind.
Of course, this doesn’t make you a hermit. You value close friendships and try to
maintain good relationships with a few people you know and trust well. Mutual
understanding is important to you, so your network of friends is comprised mostly
of people with related backgrounds, interests, and values.
You prefer activities that don’t have you interacting with many people for a long
time. And when in large groups, you often end up observing more than actively
participating. It may be hard for you to value big gatherings where only
superficial interaction seems possible. You tend to see social interaction as a
choice between quality and quantity, so even a group of friends can feel
uncomfortable if too many people are present.
For you, the most rewarding social situations usually involve just a handful of
people in a quieter setting where you can intently spend as much time as you wish
with each person. And when there’s a strong connection between you and another
person, you may even behave in ways that can seem Extraverted.
Initiating
Reacting
51%
49%
This facet describes how you tend to act in social situations, including whether
you prefer to start interactions or react to what others decide to do and say.
Initiating
Reacting
As an Initiating personality, you’re comfortable taking the lead in social
situations. You might strike up a conversation with a stranger or be the first to
step into a dance circle. Some people may admire or even marvel at your willingness
to take the initiative, but it comes to you quite easily and naturally.
When joining a group, you tend to assume that you’re welcome, diving in and
introducing yourself to anyone you don’t know. If a conversation is already in
progress, you add your two cents. If people are standing around, you happily
suggest something to boost the energy in the gathering.
In the longer term, you find it relatively easy to meet people and form new
friendships. You’re comfortable in both formal and informal settings, and confident
that people will appreciate your efforts. When they don’t respond to your
suggestions and initiative, you don’t take it too personally.
Dynamic
Reserved
44%
56%
This facet describes your normal level of activity and your desire for excitement
and outside stimulation.
Dynamic
Reserved
You are fairly sensitive to external stimuli, preferring stable environments
without too much action. Social situations like a packed bar can easily leave you
feeling overwhelmed by noise and commotion. For similar reasons, you prefer to
focus on a single activity rather than multitasking. When you need to concentrate,
you find quiet places with few distractions.
Ideals of home, family, and friendship probably hold a lot of meaning for you.
There are some places where you just feel completely cozy, safe, and at ease, and
you’re most comfortable among people you’ve known for a long time. For you, part of
valuing friendships means not rushing into new ones. You’d rather patiently build
trust with someone than pour your heart out upon first meeting them.
You likely have certain little routines that give you great satisfaction, like
having your coffee just so every morning. Or it might be occasional treats like a
relaxing bath at the end of the week, or a sports program you never miss.
You may even be suspicious of big changes, though you eventually adapt. You
appreciate some novelty – you just like to approach new things carefully and
mentally prepare for the unfamiliar. Your ideal vacation probably offers the
opportunity to “get away from it all” without a lot of surprises. Whether in quiet
solitude or enjoying the company of others, you prefer to engage the world at your
own pace.
Observant Intuitive
Practical
Imaginative
40%
60%
This facet describes what kinds of ideas, events, and activities you find most
compelling. It may be those with concrete outcomes and practical benefits or ones
that allow you to use your creativity and imagination with few limits.
Practical
Imaginative
As someone with an Imaginative mindset, you likely spend a lot of time losing
yourself in thought and imagination. You may invent alternative scenarios or even
pursue artistic or inventive projects.
Your mind can feel like an endless maze with a new surprise around each corner.
Such explorations can lead to something insightful, useful, beautiful, or nowhere
at all. This doesn’t bother you, however. You place more importance on experiences,
originality, or elegance and beauty than outcomes like a high grade point average
at school or big salary at work.
You aren’t bothered by criticism that you need to be more practical. If anything,
you think that purely practical people are missing the point by striving for
security without fully enjoying life. It’s easy for you to lose yourself in books,
games, television programs, or just your own imagination. Such alternate realities
may seem more exciting and meaningful than a mundane existence of eating,
socializing, and going to work.
Away from work you likely have a certain creative side, whether drawing, writing,
crafting, or music. You may express yourself through less formal artistic things
like clothes, furniture, hairstyles, or a love of dancing. Envisioning your ideas
may be as satisfying as actually carrying them out, and while you appreciate
recognition, you’re OK if your endeavors are appreciated by only a few, or no one
at all. The creative act gives you the most fulfillment, not the end result.
In general, you’re drawn to places, events, and things with certain values. Chief
among these values are personal insight, creativity, and imagination. To you, works
of personal expression that may strike others as whimsical or pointless can feel
like the purest reflection of humanity. You appreciate when people dream and create
just to explore the limits of possibility. Opening new horizons or experiencing
beauty, whether in nature or the human spirit, appeals to you very much.
Experiential
Theoretical
31%
69%
This facet describes how you prefer to gain understanding. This may be by using
common sense and your own direct experience of tangible facts, or a preference to
venture into more abstract theories in search of underlying explanations. Put
simply: Are you more interested in the “what” or in the “why”?
Experiential
Theoretical
As someone with a Theoretical mindset, you don’t feel that you really know a
person, place, idea, or thing until you see past the surface. You seek the big
picture beyond the immediate and the specific.
For you, observable facts are merely the starting point for what really matters:
the hidden principles that govern everything. It’s not enough for you to simply see
that something works – you want to understand how it works or why it’s an
improvement.
You don’t like being told to do something without an explanation of why you should,
or when people refuse to go beyond mere facts to discuss the underlying principles.
In school, you were probably always raising your hand and asking, “Why?”
When you travel, you find that reading an area’s history deepens your experience of
seeing it in person. You hate to pass a historical site without knowing what it’s
about. It’s almost as if background knowledge of a place, or even things like music
or works of art, is as meaningful and tangible to you as what you can perceive with
your senses.
When deciding or forming an opinion, you like grasping the full range of knowledge
on the issue. You understand that people’s perceptions are fallible, and struggle
to empathize with those who operate on narrow perspectives and experiences. You
prefer to explore new theories and big ideas. It excites you when an explanation
brings seemingly unrelated things together, helping a pattern or understanding
emerge.
For the same reason, you sometimes struggle to appreciate everyday occurrences.
Even something beautiful and surprising may feel unsatisfying until you understand
the reasons behind it.
Because you enjoy exploring theory and ideas, you likely enjoy conversation with
others like you. This is particularly true when it comes to big questions of
science, spirituality, and philosophy. You may get impatient with those who are
focused on concrete matters, or who dismiss theorizing as having little use in the
real world.
Scanning
Envisioning
31%
69%
This facet describes whether you tend to accept the world as it is or focus on how
it can be changed and improved.
Scanning
Envisioning
As someone with an Envisioning mindset, you view things in terms of their likely
meaning in the future. You are more driven to explore how things could be improved
than how they work right now.
You’re often bored by purely descriptive articles, books, and conversations that
don’t contain ideas about how things could or should be. You’d rather hear an
expert discuss visions for his field than a detailed current overview. You value
having a good knowledge base but want to use it to pursue progress in technology,
society, or preserving human well-being and the environment.
People with Envisioning mindsets can have diverse interests, from the technical and
scientific to the psychological and spiritual. But you all tend to keep up with
developments in whatever captures your imagination. You probably love to delve into
speculative topics like human colonization of other planets, or whether we are
evolving toward greater spiritual connectivity.
You’re also probably concerned with major challenges like war, climate change,
artificial intelligence. You may have little patience for people who dismiss such
concerns out of hand. You tend to get frustrated when using a device, method, or
institution that seems to rely on outdated or inefficient technology. Why someone
would resist obvious improvements baffles you.
You do recognize that society benefits from deep knowledge of current affairs and
proven methods. However, you admire visionary innovators working to create
previously unimaginable opportunities. When such efforts prove fruitless, you don’t
see it as waste, but as progress. To you, such moments are inevitable steps in the
process of advancing collective knowledge, creating new possibilities, and making
the world a better place.
Thinking Feeling
Rational
Emotional
77%
23%
This facet describes whether you tend to apply logic and rationality in your
reactions and decisions, or whether your emotional responses usually guide you. In
other words, do you lead with your head, or with your heart?
Rational
Emotional
You place high value on reason and logic, guided by the laws of rationality. You
recognize the power of emotions but try not to let them influence your decision-
making. You think many people make poor choices by reacting with their hearts
instead of their heads. You might even feel uncomfortable with strong emotions that
threaten your self-control.
When passing judgement or evaluating the morality of a situation, you tend to
emphasize the ideal of fairness. It’s important to you that everyone gets an equal
shot and equal rights, though that doesn’t have to mean an equal outcome. You
examine things with a critical eye, and rarely respect or value anything that seems
illogical.
Some people may find you judgmental, but you usually hold yourself to the same
standards as others. In fact, you probably wish more people would give you the same
clear feedback that you give them.
In your relationships, you’re drawn toward people who are consistent and honest.
It’s hard for you to tolerate hypocrisy anywhere, or ambiguity in people’s behavior
toward you. However, just because you don’t lead with emotion doesn’t mean you
don’t value relationships or care about how people feel. When someone is suffering,
you try to help, typically by suggesting solutions. You may even point out blind
spots or things that contribute to their problems.
Unfortunately, even when you’re right, this form of support isn’t always effective,
or even appreciated. Often, all people really want is to be listened to and have
their thoughts and feelings validated, and your form of care sometimes skips such
hand-holding.
Individualistic
Harmonious
61%
39%
This facet describes how much emphasis you place on protecting and even uplifting
other people’s feelings.
Individualistic
Harmonious
As an Individualistic personality, you rarely believe that people’s feelings are
your responsibility. You’re not always insensitive or unsympathetic, but you don’t
go out of your way to build people up or hold their hands.
This attitude manifests itself in many aspects of your life. When competing against
someone who can’t match you, you rarely hold back and may celebrate your victories
despite your opponents being upset. Or, if you think you have something to
contribute at work or see a flaw in someone’s idea, you usually say it clearly no
matter how it might make someone else feel.
Even if people don’t agree with you, you expect them to consider what you say and
restrain their emotional response without causing distraction or conflict. You
believe it’s misguided to try to please everyone or ensure no one’s feelings ever
get hurt. This certainly doesn’t mean you condone cruelty, unnecessary criticism,
or rudeness, however.
Rather, you believe it’s more important to be honest than to protect people’s
emotions. In groups, you’re probably the one who speaks difficult truths or
highlights the points at hand if others get off course. This rubs some people the
wrong way, but many can appreciate your ability to help evaluate a situation
clearly and keep things on track.
Stoic
Expressive
80%
20%
This facet describes whether you’re comfortable with openly displaying your
emotions, or if you tend to hide them.
Stoic
Expressive
As a Stoic personality, you strive to maintain your cool no matter what you’re
feeling, preferring not to show any unguarded emotions. While it isn’t always
possible to keep feelings completely in check, you’re usually able to maintain your
poise, and some might say you have a “poker face.” You likely show displeasure in
indirect ways, like ignoring someone. And to show someone that you care about them,
you’re more likely to help them than give them a big hug.
Your Stoic inclinations may come from a desire to protect your inner life or avoid
being hurt. There may be other times when you feel the need to shield others from
whatever is going on inside you. But it would be a mistake for anyone to believe
that you’re incapable of deep emotions just because you often have a flat,
controlled exterior.
The reality is that you do have feelings, sometimes passionate ones. However, when
strong feelings arise you may instinctively – even subconsciously – try to subdue
or repress them. It’s possible that in the rare moments when your emotions do
emerge in full force, they feel uncontrollable. This discomfort may lead you to
believe that your emotions are scary or unacceptable.
Judging Prospecting
Strategic
Spontaneous
74%
26%
This facet describes whether you’re more likely to plan things out ahead of time or
take them as they come.
Strategic
Spontaneous
With a Strategic approach to life, you like to plan things deliberately more than
improvise in the moment, taking methodical steps to meet deadlines and achieve
goals. You do research in order to maximize the odds of success and minimize any
unpleasant surprises. You probably have a fondness for checklists and schedules,
even if it’s just in your head, and make appointments well in advance.
You have at least a general sense of your life and career goals and the steps
needed to achieve them. When buying anything, you usually consult available
information to narrow down your options and make good choices. In general, you
don’t like to make a decision until you feel completely confident that every
possibility has been reviewed. This way, you won’t look back and regret that you
could have done better.
This approach usually requires quite a bit of preparation, and you can get stressed
if you feel you’re being rushed into a decision. You’ve probably developed a system
for accomplishing workplace goals in a specific way. Because of this, you may get
frustrated when objectives keep changing, or you’re given a new task without much
advance notice.
Deciding
Browsing
52%
48%
This facet describes whether you prefer to make up your mind as quickly as possible
or keep your options open as long as you can.
Deciding
Browsing
As someone with a Deciding orientation, you like to choose and commit to a course
of action. You aren’t afraid to make a binding promise, and you like to have a
clear sense of where you’re headed and what you’ll do. You don’t necessarily rush a
decision or act impulsively, but you focus steadily on examining your options and
making your choice.
You don’t enjoy complicated situations or confusing signals in anything from
personal relationships to the books you read. You prefer straight talk and clear
outcomes, and this distaste for uncertainty extends to most aspects of your life.
In professional situations, you push for definition and resolution. You’re easily
frustrated when anyone puts off or drags out a difficult decision rather than
making a choice and dealing with the consequences. If you aren’t sure where you
stand in a relationship, you want to discuss and resolve the problem in a
straightforward way.
Disciplined
Whimsical
61%
39%
This facet describes whether you tend to stick to your commitments and decisions,
or change your mind and follow your inclinations.
Disciplined
Whimsical
As someone with a Disciplined mindset, you usually follow through on your plans and
choices. You have the willpower to carry out your promises even if it’s unpleasant.
If you do change your plans or goals, it’s for an important reason rather than a
whim. You place greater value on being responsible and reliable than chasing
momentary pleasures. You like order in your life, from taking care of your
possessions to meeting your deadlines.
It frustrates you when people don’t honor their commitments or back out of
arrangements at the last minute. You may lose patience with those who frequently
change their mind, and more impulsive people may consider you rigid as a result.
In general, your tendencies and tastes remain fairly stable over time. You craft
the life you want by keeping your possessions and environment neat, fulfilling your
obligations, and maintaining progress toward your goals.
Assertive Turbulent
Confident
Doubtful
76%
24%
This facet describes how you evaluate yourself and your abilities.
Confident
Doubtful
As a Confident personality, you trust in your knowledge and abilities. You approach
most situations with optimism, believing that people will approve of you and your
actions will be successful. You are comfortable with how you appear to others and
spend little time worrying about being accepted or rejected.
You’re not immune to people’s opinions, but you keep faith in yourself when no one
else does. You rarely let others’ disapproval stop your progress if you believe in
your course. At a more basic level, you believe that you have value as a human
being and deserve respect and recognition. You likely speak out when people
infringe on your dignity or your rights, standing up for yourself and the causes
you believe in.
Although your self-esteem may be justified, there’s always the risk of
overconfidence in your abilities. Even healthy confidence can come across as
arrogance. There may even be times when less secure people outperform you because
they’re driven to prove themselves. Confidence is a great thing, but it’s also
important to be clear-eyed about your strengths and weaknesses so you can continue
to learn, grow, and improve.
Stable
Agitated
62%
38%
This facet describes your sensitivity to stress and anxiety.
Stable
Agitated
As someone with a Stable personality, you rarely experience extreme mood changes or
long periods of negative feelings. You are mostly optimistic. You don’t get anxious
or afraid easily or spend lots of time worrying about the future. You may find
yourself involved in drama and petty disputes between others, but you usually play
a mediating role. You are almost never the cause of, or a contributor to, such
situations.
When stress or strong emotions do threaten to overwhelm, you’ve probably developed
good ways of restoring a healthy mental state. You can hold extreme emotions at bay
until you can process them in ways that help you move forward calmly. For instance,
you may place a stressful event in context by comparing it with previous situations
that you successfully endured, even though they seemed bad at the time.
You are good at handling uncertainty and pressure well. You try not to let other
people get under your skin, and you’re usually successful. In general, you tend to
feel a sense of mastery over your emotions, as they rarely overwhelm you or take
you by surprise.
Flowing
Lingering
43%
57%
This facet describes how much time you spend thinking about things that occurred in
the past.
Flowing
Lingering
As someone with a Lingering personality, you often think about the past. You’re
likely to review events and decisions that have already occurred. You don’t simply
replay memories in your head, you examine what happened and consider how things
could have been different.
You may offer comfort or forgiveness to others when they make mistakes, but you
usually struggle to extend such leeway to yourself. While some people can move past
a humiliating incident, and maybe even laugh about it, your worst moments tend to
haunt you with a similar gut-sinking feeling as when they happened. Time may heal
all wounds, but in your case, it can seem like a very slow process.
You may return to difficult memories because you feel you must gain clarity about
your past to make better choices in the future. It’s certainly important to apply
history’s lessons to the future, and it takes courage to examine your mistakes.
However, it’s also important to know whether looking into the past gives lessons
you can use; punishing yourself or reliving hurtful experiences in ways that keep
them fresh can slow or prevent healing. Allowing yourself to make amends or forgive
is key to moving forward.