I have considerable interest in psychometrics and measurement, and personality psychology seems a promising area. I’ve looked at some of the personality classifications and done a few self-assessments based on these, that I share below for the benefit of others who share my interest in personality psychology. Keep in mind that the use of self-assessment in identifying personality profiles make such profiles unreliable. I would urge you not to read too much into the information below in getting a picture of me. It is intended more as yet another data point for people interested in personality psychology.

In addition to the information here, you might wish to see the answers to the question What is Vipul Naik like in real life? on Quora.

Big Five personality traits

Here is my self-assessment based on the Big Five personality traits (also known as OCEAN).

• Openness to experience: I score highly on the sample items. However, there are at least a few ways that I am not open to experience. First, I generally follow relatively set routines and don’t experiment much in areas where I don’t have much interest. For instance, I’m not much into trying out new types of food or new places (though I’m not averse to it per se, it’s generally not worth the opportunity cost). Second, I am not into art, one of the markers of high openness to experience.
• Conscientiousness: I score highly on the sample items. There is the following caveat: while I like set routines, I can also be very irregular and haphazard insofar as I think it helps me be more creative and generative and I believe that it does not adversely affect my goals. Sometimes, I misjudge, and I appear to not have been conscientious.
• Extraversion: I score low on the sample items (i.e., I am introverted). However, low extraversion should not be confused for low assertiveness or low willingness to start conversations. I’m quite happy about initiating conversations and/or being the center of attention when this is in the service of some other goal that is important to me.
• Agreeableness: I score somewhere in between. There are two complicating factors. On the one hand, I have moderately strong prosocial tendencies, which points in the direction of my being more agreeable. On the other hand, I am also less prone to social desirability bias, which points in the direction of my being less agreeable.
• Neuroticism: I score on the low end here. There is an important caveat: I do tend to get obsessive about many things. Despite this, my neuroticism is low because my obsessivism within an area does not spill into my general mood or sense of self-esteem or self-worth.

Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI)

I have taken a few tests attempting to determine my Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in the 2006-2008 period. My type fluctuated between INTJ and INFP. I was relatively extreme on the I (introverted) and N (intuitive) dimensions, and close to the middle on the T/F (thinking/feeling) and J/P (judging/perceiving) dimensions.