A new study out of Northwestern came up with four distinct personality types. And the researchers say we all tend to fit into one of them. Mostly, anyway.
They looked at the five big personality traits psychologists use . . . neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. And they took data from 1.5 million personality quizzes, then sorted it all using an algorithm.
The confusing part is you don’t necessarily fit into just one category your whole life. You might be between categories, and it tends to change as you get older and more mature. But most of us are at least close to one of them at any given point in time.
Here are the four personality types they came up with. And by definition, most of us fit into the first one, which they called “Average” . . .
1. Average. You’re relatively agreeable, conscientious, extraverted, and neurotic. But you’re a little cautious when it comes to trying new things. Apparently that’s most of us.
2. Reserved. You’re less extraverted, neurotic, and open to new things. But you’re still emotionally stable, conscientious, and agreeable.
3. Self-centered. You’re VERY extraverted, but score lower in the other four traits. People under 21 are more likely to fit into that one. Especially teenage boys.
4. Role model. You score high in all of the categories except neuroticism. So you’re extraverted, open to new experiences, agreeable, and emotionally stable. People over 40 were more likely to fit into that one.
(LiveScience / ARS Technica / YouTube)
