PersonalDNA test results

For some reason I tend to find personality-type tests entertaining. I found this PersonalDNA site through a link from a link from a link from a blog whose feed I subscribe to (but I don't recall preceisely which at the moment).

My numeric scores combined with their glossary defenition of what the terms mean to them:

Confidence

How confident you are about expressing your opinions and accomplishing things.

54 [Sounds about right vis a viz expressing my opinions, but seems low as far as accomplishing things goes.]

Openness

Your degree of openness to new experiences.

80 [Sounds about right with the caveat that said experiences are moral, ethical & legal.]

Extroversion

How outgoing you are. High means you are extroverted. Low means you are introverted.

14 [There is no question I'm an introvert, but am I really that introverted?]

Empathy

How much you understand (and experience) the emotions and thoughts of others.

92 [This seems overly high; I try and understand how other people think and feel but I wouldn't say that I regularly "experience" their emotions.]

Trust in Others

The general faith you have in other people; how much you think people are good at heart.

74 [I'm generally willing to assume good intent until specific experience teaches otherwise.]

Authoritarianism

Your adherence to the social order and how much you favor obedience.

50 [Uh, ok.]

Masculinity

The degree of your stereotypically-male traits.

84 [They don't enumerate what "stereotypical male traits" they are talking about so...]

Femininity

The degree of your stereotypically-female traits.

58 [Does this mean I'm slightly in touch with my "feminine-side?"]

Spontaneity

How comfortable you are with making plans at the last minute.

72 [This number probably would have been even higher when I was in college.]

Attention to Style

How aware you are of fashion trends. How much effort you put in to your own style.

12 [Hey, at least I didn't score in the single digit range!]

Agency

How much you believe you determine your own outcomes. High means you believe that you have control over your life. Low means you believe that other factorssuch as chance, fate, and powerful others influence your life.

60 [I'd have expected this number to be higher...]

Imaginative/Earthy

Your prefererence for concrete or abstract things. Low means you prefer abstract, theoretical things. High means you prefer detail-oriented, practical things.

14 [Perhaps a bit low; I am good at troubleshooting because I can pick out relavent details from the "big abstract picture" so to speak.]

Functional/Aesthetic

Your prefererence for beauty or form. Low means you care more about how something works. High means you care more about how something looks.

10 [I guess this goes along with the low score for attention to style...]

Incidentally, some of the questions asked you to answer—instead of on a mere sliding scale (1-10, etc.)—by plotting your answer on a two dimensional grid. Nice technique (though broken without Javascript being enabled).

—Michael A. Cleverly
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 at 20:30