The Problem With Personality Continuums

Yesterday my daughter shared with me another new personality test she learned about in school. This one has continuums; e.g. Thinker vs. Feeler. Your personality lands somewhere on the continuum. Several popular personality models use continuums. The most widely used one in the world is not valid.

The problem with continuums is that it places two distinct extremes in opposition to one another. The more introverted you are, the less extroverted you can be. The more you feel, the less you think.

This isn’t how personality works. The science simply doesn’t support it. You can have a strong capacity to feel, AND a strong capacity to think. You can be introverted under certain conditions, and extroverted in others.

• Personality is about types IN people, not types OF people. It’s not about continuums, quadrants, colors or labels.
• We all have the same types in us, arranged in a preferred, set order.
• We can move around within our personality, energizing different types.
• We all have the capacity to develop and grow into our personalities even while maintaining our unique preferences.
• A good personality model helps you transcend labels, boxes, and categories.

Learn about the dangers in personality models and how to beat it.

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