Personality Tests and What They Can Tell Us

By: Jaime Kurtz, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Jaime Kurtz

The ancient Greek maxim “know thyself” speaks to the age-old human desire for self-understanding. Generations have made countless attempts to force the very subjective concept of self-understanding into a scientific measurement of what makes us us. From these endeavors have emerged a selection of questionnaires that purport to measure our personality, which we can then use to help us determine what will likely make us happy or unhappy, in which environments will we thrive, what methods of communications we respond best to, and—in general—who we are.

But not all personality tests are created equal, and most of them reflect very different aspects of our personality, even when the questions they are asking seem to be similar.

Join Dr. Jaime Kurtz in Personality Tests and What They Can Tell Us to get the information you need to critically evaluate what the most popular personality tests measure and which ones are best suited for your goals. Dr. Kurtz will lead you through the history of personality testing to bring you to the most used tests today, such as the Myers-Briggs, the Enneagram, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, and the five-factor model. You’ll learn how these surveys were developed, what they can tell you, and the underlying science behind the study of personality.

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Best for Its History of Such Tests

Everyone knows that there are personality tests out there. Many of us have taken them on the internet or had them handed out in school. (We took one in high school that told everyone in my class of more than 400 that we should be farmers.) But when push came to shove, I realize I knew very little about them, so I read this very short Great Courses book. I enjoyed learning a little about the history and exploring the types of tests out there, but I didn’t come away thinking that these tests actually help very much to learn about peoples’ personalities.

interesting Overview

Dr. Kurtz does a nice job of describing how personality tests should work and what their shortcomings are. I was glad she took on Myers-Briggs early because that test has zero science to it.

I liked the way she described the methods and gave details on the plusses and minuses of each test as well as a look at what some of the research has shown in terms of larger trends.

I like her speaking voice and felt like I was in a room getting a good lecture.

High level but interesting

Nicely done, brief overview of personality tests. Lecturer has a nice voice. Will look for others by this author.

Great Info on Personality Tests

I am a psych major who didn’t study past the undergraduate level, however I enjoy keeping up with psychological trends. This lecture series was an outstanding means of staying abreast of what is happening in the field. While studying psych I was particularly interested in the myriad of personalities and this lecture series peaked my interest. This was an outstanding read.

Too "Self Help"ish

Great Courses are usually academic. Unfortunately, this missed the mark and was filled with anecdotes, hypotheticals, and life advice. Seemed light on the academic rigor characteristic of the other Great Courses I have listened too.

Great primer on common personality tests

With this brief series of lectures you get an introduction to the concepts of personality traits and their relevance to daily life, a brief history of defining, detecting, and analyzing these traits, and descriptions of popular tests and the ways we can "test the tests" for validity, etc. The tone is conversational, but the vocabulary is specific and, I believe (without any training in psychology), consistent so that you pick up on the narrower, as well as broader, meanings and can better communicate basic ideas in the study of personality. You might also better predict what the outcomes of tests taken in the human resources offices reveal to your employers and how that might affect your career at that place of employment. Three hours well spent for anyone with minimal experience in psychology.

Awful narrator, interesting content

The lecturer is a combination of childish,condescending, and disingenuous. What she is saying is both interesting and coherent, but the delivery is maybe the worst I’ve heard. Maybe this is an American thing, but the male narrators on the great courses don’t do this. Very odd and disturbing. Other than that it’s a fair short intro to personality testing.

Meh...

If statistical analysis and research is your jam, here's your peanut butter. But for me...it was meh.

A lesson in low openness

I wish I had something good to say about this audiobook, but it’s almost as though the author doesn’t understand *all* self-report personality tests are inherently flawed. The misinformation is an amusing touch.

What's the point?

It's not that the lecture is bad... It's just information you could easily find out on your own. It's not exciting, inspiring or thought-provoking. I could have skipped this one.