Best Online Psychology Tests

By Tara Parker-Pope

Want to know what’s really going on in your own head? The mental health Web site PsychCentral offers a list of the best online psychology tests. Some of these are used to collect data for research experiments, while others are skill tests or quizzes that offer personal insights. Here are a few of the best.

1. The Stroop Test. A fun test that measures how fast and flexible a thinker you are by using color-coded words.

2. The Worst Sounds. Grab your headset and take this online sound test to find out which sounds bother you the most. You’ll hear snoring, crying babies and nails on the chalkboard.

3. Personality Test. Check out the “I Just Get Myself” personality test. It comprises just 40 easy questions but delivers a surprisingly insightful (at least I thought so) assessment of your personality traits.

4. Memory Test. After a series of numbers appears on the screen, click on a keypad to test your memory.

5. Reaction to Faces. This test allows you to rate your preference for different facial characteristics. Another test, PerceptionLab, measures your reaction to different faces.

6. Personal Biases. Test your implicit biases about race and other issues.

And for even more insight, take PsychCentral’s own Sanity Score quiz, which is designed to assess aspects of your mental health, including your risk for depression, anxiety and other emotional disorders.

For additional tests and more information about online psychology assessments, read the full PsychCentral article by clicking here.

Comments are no longer being accepted.

perra August 20, 2008 · 5:27 pm

What fun! And I learned something new. Thanks for this — a nice break from the deadly serious subjects of late. :)

anned1 August 20, 2008 · 5:57 pm

psychcentral

Sarah August 20, 2008 · 6:36 pm

Wow, thanks so much for this. I love these kinds of tests; they pegged me perfectly over at youjustgetme.com:

“It would be a good idea for you to do breathing exercises and relax once in awhile so that you don’t one day spontaneously combust while thinking about whether or not the planet will be taken over by mutant bacteria.”

Yep, that’s me, worrying so the rest of you don’t have to…

J Nelson RN August 20, 2008 · 8:35 pm

Here is what part of my personality test said:

“You are a very sane person. You are…snzzzzzzz. Oh, sorry, I fell asleep for a moment there while pondering your utter and complete ability to rationalize everything. You are calm to the point that even the Dalai Lama is in line to take serenity lessons from you.”

Guess I have been this way on the blog as well. My sincere apologies.

Shiv August 20, 2008 · 9:05 pm

Tara Parker-Pope,
Could you please get nytimes.com to remove the annoying setting of opening a new window for reading your blog articles?

One usually comes across your articles linked from the main nytimes.com site and its annoying to have it open in a new window and then close it when done. Thanks!

FROM TPP — Interesting concern. The thinking is that if it opens in a new window, it’s easier for you to get back to the original article or page by just closing the new window, rather than having to hit the back button.

L August 20, 2008 · 9:28 pm

Is anyone else having trouble with the personality test? I keep getting a “Problem loading page” message.

FROM TPP — Yes I think it’s getting a lot of traffic. Stick with it. It’s a simple test and fun. But I was getting the same “problem loading” message for a while and it came back eventually.

Laura August 20, 2008 · 10:27 pm

I second #5! I get the logic, but it drives me nuts. Linking to other articles doesn’t open a new window, it seems to be specific to this blog.

FROM TPP – Interesting. It’s actually easier to create links that don’t open new windows but we add the coding as a benefit to readers, not to drive you nuts.

ft123 August 21, 2008 · 12:20 am

They nailed it (me). My “wild and crazy” acting out behavior is to not brush my teeth at night on the rare occasion. Great stuff.

Anna August 21, 2008 · 4:15 am

Immediately lost faith in youjustgetme – can nobody among the listed professionals in their lot spell “extrovert”? Raises questions about the calibre of this operation.

cwm August 21, 2008 · 6:41 am

If you are using one of the newer browsers; which open tabs in your browser instead of a new browser; it’s really not a problem. Just close the window that is displaying the blog. Be sure that your settings for your browser tell it to do that.

This behavior is usually used by Webmasters for articles/links that are offsite or secondary to the main article. I think that the Times is correct in it’s thinking to open the blog in a new window.

Jen August 21, 2008 · 8:15 am

I concur: opening links in a new window is preferable so subsequent links on a divergent path in the new article/window still keep the original article/window easily accessible (without having to push the back button a gazillion times if you really get lost in the new thread!). I am frustrated when a new window does NOT open, so thank-you for taking the time to input the additional code.

Emily – LI August 21, 2008 · 8:59 am

Agreed with #9, I picked that up, too. That, and most of the results didn’t actually apply to me!

I wish most of these didn’t require registration. I hate registering for stuff, I just want to go do the darn test!

Also, was anyone able to get the sounds test to work? It simply loaded a blank page for me.

Meg August 21, 2008 · 10:28 am

I think it’s SO annoying that it opens in a new window, mostly because it’s not consistent with the rest of the NYT website. Also, why can’t you just press the back button or click on a link to whatever section you’re reading (opinions, health, etc). It makes my screen very cluttered and is frustrating that I don’t have the option to just open in the same window. People can easily enough open this site in a new window if they like without extra NYT coding.

N.E. Miller August 21, 2008 · 11:29 am

The personality test with all the cool colorful bubbles was pretty much on point. Pretty accurate.

Elle August 21, 2008 · 12:06 pm

Well, I learned that the only sounds that really drive me to insanity are loud chewing and vomit. What does that say about me? The baby crying didn’t even bother me that much, and I like babies!

Ciccina August 21, 2008 · 1:00 pm

Is the code that opens a new window when you click on the link part of the personality testing too?

JP August 21, 2008 · 1:01 pm

Seems like having an article appear in a new window is a psychological test for some people here.

Jason August 21, 2008 · 1:56 pm

Since the personality test asks us to rate ourselves, it’s no surprise that you all believe the results are spot-on.

I think the point is to get your friends & family to rate you, then see how your self-perception compares to your intimates’ perception of you.

FROM TPP — You should take the test. It doesn’t ask you to assess your own personality traits. It asks you how you feel about certain things – like not knowing anyone at a party or whether you worry about being late to events. The answers don’t require tremendous introspection, but the analysis that follows it is what is so interesting. But I agree, it’s not a bad idea for friends to tell you what they think the answers are. But I’m not sure it would make a huge difference given how straightforward the questions are.

Heron August 21, 2008 · 2:52 pm

I’d rather the blog didn’t open in a new window, too. I usually get here via a bookmark, which opens in the current tab, so I bypass the annoyance that way.

Heron August 21, 2008 · 2:59 pm

You have to start a free account in order to do PsychCentral’s sanity test. The aricle should make that clear.


FROM TPP — The article says: “You have to fill out an anonymous registration form before you start, and the quiz takes about 15 minutes to complete.”

Shana August 21, 2008 · 3:26 pm

Hey, did anyone else out there take the psychological test under “personal biases” about Obama and McCain? I found it strange that although I am going to vote for one of them, the test identified me as having a hidden preference for the other. So what does that mean when it comes time to vote? Hmmm.

I wonder if anyone else got that same type of reverse-result.

I Know My Spelling August 21, 2008 · 4:32 pm

Check the dictionary, #9 and #12 – “extrovert” and “extravert” are both acceptable.

Christine August 21, 2008 · 5:43 pm

You just get me.com said I was an extravert! I so am not! I am a identity introvert– according to Myer’s Briggs. Why the difference?

Ian Gilbert August 21, 2008 · 5:55 pm

The personality test seemed to be one step removed from one-size-fits-all horoscopes. The test results paraphrased and summarized my answers, but didn’t go beyond the answers the way, say, the MMPI does.

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