Personality
Personality snapshot
10 questions · 2 min
This is a very short version of the “Big Five”, the most widely used way psychologists describe personality. It looks at five broad traits: how outgoing you are, how warm, how organised, how emotionally steady and how open to new things. Everyone has all five, just in different amounts. None of the traits is better or worse than another.
Because it uses only ten questions, it gives a quick first sketch rather than a detailed portrait. Your answers can also shift a little with your mood and circumstances.
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What it shows
A rough sketch of five broad traits, each scored separately.
What it doesn’t
A detailed profile, a type label, or anything good or bad about you.
Who it’s for
This is for you if you’re curious about personality but only have a couple of minutes. It gives a first sketch of the Big Five traits that you can hold up against how you see yourself.
If you’d like more detail, it makes a good warm-up before a longer personality questionnaire. It’s also a light way to compare notes with a partner or friend, as long as you both remember that no trait is better than another.
Questions people ask
What does the TIPI measure?
It gives a rough score for each of the Big Five traits: how outgoing you are, how you relate to others, how organised you are, how steady your emotions feel and how open you are to new ideas.
How long does it take?
About two minutes. There are ten short descriptions, two for each trait, and you rate how well each one fits you on a scale from 1 to 7.
How is it scored?
Each trait is the average of its two answers, giving a score from 1 to 7, with one of each pair counted in reverse. You get five separate scores, not one overall result.
Is there a good or bad result?
No. None of the traits is better or worse than another; a quieter person and an outgoing one simply bring different things. The test doesn’t give you a type label either, just where you sit on each trait.
How accurate is a ten-question personality test?
With only two questions per trait, it can’t pick up finer detail, and a single answer can move a score quite a lot. It’s best as a quick overview; a longer questionnaire gives a fuller picture.
How often can I retake it?
Personality changes slowly, so once every six months or so is plenty. Retaking it sooner mostly shows how your mood on the day colours your answers.
Where it comes from
Developed by psychologists Samuel Gosling, Jason Rentfrow and William Swann at the University of Texas in 2003.
Ten-Item Personality Inventory
On iPhone or iPad?
Sprout is an app there too, and this link opens the test straight away if you have it.
Coming soon to the App Store