Non Academic Webpages

A new web service that is under development is found at Signal Patterns. This is a site that "is passionate about helping you learn more about yourself. We come from a variety of quantitative and behavioral sciences, and decades of research have gone into perfecting our new technology -- technology that gives you new ways to explore your personality, your preferences and your relationships with the people around you." The site is currently at beta release but seems promising. The scientific advisory board includes a number of major personality researchers. (In the interest of full disclosure, I am on that board.)

Many of the following pages have been influenced by the personality taxonomies of Jung: as operationalized in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. Others represent more diverse approaches to the field of personality. The Personality Project is designed to aid those interested in learning more about the field of personality, particularly as seen by academic personality researchers.

  • Postings on the sci.psychology.personality newsgroup have become very MBTI oriented, although there are the occasional posts by academic personality researchers.
  • The alt.psychology.personality newsgroup and a partial (from 93-95) archive and set of Frequently Asked Questions about personality typing
  • The Creativity Home Page includes information discussing the creative process and a very extensive list of books related to creativity. Unfortunately, it seems to have vanished from the web.
  • Personality and Consciousness is a web page devoted to selected personality theorists and was formerly called Pencil Sketches of Personality. Developed by Eric Pettifor. It includes links to Adler, Freud, Jung, Kelly, and Rogers.
  • MetaSelf -- A Visual Aid to Being Human This site introduces MetaSelf, a powerful visual model of the self and its place in the world. The model is easy to understand because it is constructed out of familiar metaphors in English, especially metaphors based on things we all share -- our bodily structure and our experience of space and gravity. A metaphorical "Big 5"?
  • Pages specifically discussing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and offering some caution (now missing) as well as an on-line application of the Keirsey typing test, a close relative of the MBTI.
  • The Personality Index organizes home pages of those who report MBTI scores and gives brief descriptions of this typology system.
  • For a parody of personality tests and personality typing, look at Subintellect's Personality Test (Unfortunately this has gone missing and I can not find it. Any suggestions would be welcome.)
  • Commercial sites discussing the application of personality measurement (usually using some form of a type measure rather than using conventional personality research instruments) include a number of sites. Most of these are uncritical proponents of the MBTI and fail to mention alternatives to "typing". These sites are listed here without recommendation and merely for information purposes. Unfortunately, although there are a number of serious criticisms of the use of "type" instruments available in the literature, none of them seem to be available online. For discussions of personality from a more research based approach, see the references under Personality-Readings.