The SAPA Project

a personality assessment collaboratory

Your Personality Report

(scroll down to see the full report.)
Here's the full report on your personality profile, including
your scores on the 27 narrow traits of the SPI-27, your
scores on the Big Five traits (the SPI-5), and your
cognition score. Click here for advice about saving your
report.

SPI 27 Factor Trait Scores

This figure provides a visual summary of your scores

on the factors of the SPI-27. The black line down the
middle indicates the average score for each trait. The
colored bars show how much you scored above the
average (the colored bar extends out to the right from
the mid-line) or below the average (left of the mid-
line). If your score matches the average, you won't see
any color.

download the image

The next section gives more detailed descriptions of

each trait and some thoughts about the meaning of
your scores. By default, we only show the feedback for
your 4 most extreme scores. To see your scores on
all of the factors, click the link at the bottom of
this box.

Perfectionism

The Perfectionism factor is one of the most intuitive to

understand — it can be explained simply as an
individual's desire for perfection. An individual high in
Perfectionism will likely set high expectations and then
expect those to be met, by themselves and others.
Perfectionists notice many errors and flaws, and are
therefore often hard to satisfy. Their work may be of
an especially high standard, but those around them
feel pressured as they strive to meet expectations. At
its most extreme, Perfectionism has the potential to
cause difficulties in relationships. Individuals low in
Perfectionism feel less need to aspire to lofty
standards, and are more content with getting to the
point of "good enough" and leaving it at that. They
may have more ease in letting go of one project and
moving on to the next than those high in
Perfectionism.

Your score of 61 on Perfectionism places you higher

than 86% of previous participants in this survey.

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Your score on the Perfectionism scale indicates that

you are very high in Perfectionism. You probably pride
yourself on completing excellent work and in achieving
success in other areas of life as well. At work, people
may turn to you when they have something which
needs to be completed with great precision. As a
leader, friend, or family member, you may make it
clear that you will not be satisfied with subpar effort.
Accordingly, you may find yourself feeling like the
responsible or reliable one. Those around you may feel
pressure to meet your standards.

"You cannot invest your soul in a compromise."

— David Emerald

Honesty

The Honesty dimension relates mainly to the behaviors

of cheating or lying, but it also extends more generally
to include one's willingness to take advantage of
others for their own benefit. Individuals who are less
honest would be more likely, for example, to deceive
others or cut corners when there are no perceived
consequences (and maybe even when there are
consequences). Highly honest individuals, on the other
hand, are more likely to uphold social norms about
stealing, cheating, and acting in good faith in
interpersonal relationships. Of course, the social
demands for honesty are quite high and, ironically,
dishonest individuals may be relatively unlikely to
respond openly to items about lying and cheating. The
feedback provided here is based on the answers you
gave, so the accuracy of your scores will reflect the
degree to which you were honest with yourself!

Your score of 39 on Honesty places you higher than

14% of previous participants in this survey.

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Your score on the Honesty scale was somewhat low

but this does not necessarily imply that you are truly
a dishonest individual! To the contrary, it is sometimes
the case that individuals with lower scores on this trait
are simply less troubled by relatively benign rule-
breaking behavior. It's also ironically possible to get a
low Honesty score by being more willing to disclose
your dishonest behavior. Regardless of how this
occurred, be sure to keep in mind that many types of
dishonest behavior can get you into an awful lot of
trouble.

"You can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest.

Honestly, it's the honest ones you have to watch out
for."
— Captain Jack Sparrow, 'Pirates of the Caribbean'

Sensation-Seeking

The Sensation-Seeking factor involves one's desire to

engage in more adventurous or risky activities.
Sensation-Seeking can take a variety of forms; for
instance, some individuals who score highly may love
scaling mountains but eschew recreational drug use,
while others feel the opposite. Individuals high in
Sensation-Seeking may feel bored when idle or if they
go long stretches with nothing exciting or thrilling to
do. Individuals low in Sensation-Seeking derive less
pleasure from thrilling activities, often because they
find higher levels of arousal unpleasant.

Your score of 61 on Sensation-Seeking places you

higher than 86% of previous participants in this
survey.

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Your score indicates that you are high in Sensation-

Seeking. This means you probably enjoy, and maybe
even seek out, activities which others might avoid. You
may even feel bored in the absence of such activities.
It may be that you enjoy the high that comes with
successfully completing an adventurous or risky task,
or it may simply be that you are less sensitive to the
feeling of risk. Either way, you are probably often the
first person to step up for a difficult and exciting
assignment. Ultimately, you may have a different
relationship to fear than others typically do. Whether
you rarely feel fear or simply enjoy the feeling of
overcoming it, this likely enables you to accomplish
feats that others would only dream of. But be careful!
Higher risk doesn't only mean higher reward.

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all."

— Helen Keller

Adaptability

An adaptable individual is someone who can more

readily adjust to changes in their environment. They
are more likely to crave novelty and variety in their
life, and to find themselves bored with routine.
Adaptability also relates to one's ability to perform on
the fly, or conversely to one's preference for
comprehensive planning. Individuals low in
Adaptability may find themselves more flustered by
change, as they prefer plans and the stability of
repetition. Not knowing what will come next is more a
source of concern or frustration than of excitement.

Your score of 60 on Adaptability places you higher

than 84% of previous participants in this survey.

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Your score on the Adaptability scale indicates that you

are high in Adaptability. You are probably comfortable
and happy to ride the tides of change and deal with
things as they come, and to explore a variety of
lifestyles. Moreover, you are likely flexible and prefer to
keep things varied and interesting. The idea of living
every day of your life according to one routine is
probably highly unappealing to you. Some might see
your attitude as too carefree or untethered, but your
ease with adjusting to novelty makes you better able
to handle situations that might cause others some
distress.

"I never say never, and I never say always."

— Grace Kelly

Click here to SHOW/HIDE the rest of

your SPI-27 scores.

Big Five (SPI-5) Scores

All 5 of your Big Five (SPI-5) scores are shown

below.

Agreeableness

Features of Agreeableness include compassion, trust,

honesty, and politeness but the defining characteristic
may well be empathy. It seems that the ability to
recognize others' emotions contributes to all of these
underlying traits as well as many other nuances of
personality that are often associated with agreeable
people. Agreeableness also reflects individual
differences in cooperation and social harmony. While
agreeable people are typically more popular than
those low on Agreeableness, it is not popularity that
motivates them so much as the desire to avoid (or
reduce) conflict in their immediate environment. While
this quality has several obvious benefits, Agreeableness
is not necessarily useful in situations that are highly
stressful or that frequently involve tough decisions. As
a result, people who feel less need to be agreeable
often make excellent scientists, critics, or soldiers.

Your score of 44 on Agreeableness places you higher

than 27% of previous participants in this survey.

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Your score on the Agreeableness scale indicates that

you are somewhat more disagreeable than most
others. You may have less concern with others' needs
than with your own. This likely reflects an occasional
lack of interest in other people's lives and/or a belief
that others should be more resourceful in dealing with
their own problems. It may also be that your
compassion is limited to some individuals (perhaps
friends and family) without extending to acquaintances
or strangers. You may tend to be somewhat intolerant
of others' shortcomings. The most disagreeable
individuals place self-interest above getting along with
others. They are generally unconcerned with others'
well-being, and therefore are unlikely to extend
themselves for other people. Sometimes their
skepticism about others' motives causes them to be
suspicious, unfriendly, and uncooperative.

Conscientiousness

By definition, a conscientious individual is guided by

an inner sense of what is "right" (this inner sense
being known as one's "conscience"). While they may
hold dramatically different opinions about the nature
of socially acceptable behavior, conscientious
individuals typically have reputations for being
meticulous, thorough, and deliberate. Extreme
conscientiousness can lead to unrealistic expectations
and perfectionistic behaviors that are ultimately
unproductive. Conscientiousness is most highly
associated with Industry and Order, though it is also
positively correlated with low impulsivity, authoritarian
views, honest behavior and strong self-control. Most of
these traits relate to self-discipline in one way or
another, a feature which likely contributes to the
similarity between Conscientiousness and traditional
conceptions of "character." While some of the traits
within Conscientiousness seem similar enough to be
redundant, they generally have unique relationships
with other aspects of behavior. For example,
Impulsivity relates to the general tendency to act
without thinking while Self-Control is the ability to
resist temptations and cravings.

Your score of 56 on Conscientiousness places you

higher than 73% of previous participants in this
survey.

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Your score on the Conscientiousness scale suggests

that you are somewhat conscientious. You probably set
clear goals on a regular basis and pursue them with
determination. People likely regard you as reliable and
hard-working, but probably not overzealous or
perfectionistic. You may occasionally prefer to live for
the moment and do what feels good now, instead of
delaying gratification for the sake of longer-term
objectives. You are probably good at detecting
mistakes or inconsistencies in your environment. The
most conscientious individuals tend to avoid trouble
and achieve high levels of success through purposeful
planning and persistence. On the negative side, they
can be compulsive perfectionists and workaholics.
Extremely conscientious individuals are also sometimes
regarded as boring, due to their predictability and
focus on work.

Extraversion

Extraversion is perhaps the most widely recognized

feature of human personality. The popularized notion
of Extraversion is mainly limited to the idea that
extraverts seek out social interaction while introverts
spend more time alone. Personality theorists suggest
that the extraversion/introversion dimension is more
accurately framed as a function of stimulation.
Individuals who are more sensitive to outside stimuli
(introverts) tend to prefer interacting in small groups.
They also engage more often in independent,
analytical, and cognitively-demanding activities.
Extraverts are less sensitive to external stimuli and, as
a result, seek more of it. They tend to enjoy large
gatherings, act more gregariously, and are quick to
assert themselves.

Your score of 49 on Extraversion places you higher

than 46% of previous participants in this survey.

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Your score on the Extraversion scale indicates that you

are somewhat introverted. You are probably more
reserved and quiet than most others. You may enjoy
solitude and solitary activities a bit more than others,
and your socializing may be restricted to a small circle
of close friends. While you may occasionally enjoy
large parties and meeting new people, it probably
depends on the circumstances and your energy level.
You are more likely to allow others to take charge so
that you can avoid the spotlight, which has the
advantage of being seen as less threatening by others.
You may not be known as having a strong personality,
but most likely you can still be effective at influencing
others as long as you have time to gather your
thoughts. The occasional avoidance of social
interaction by introverts does not necessarily mean
they are shy or depressed; these people simply need
less stimulation than those who are more extraverted.
This independence and willingness to be alone can
sometimes be mistaken by others as unfriendliness or
aloofness. However, many introverts (especially those
who score highly on Agreeableness) are quite pleasant
when approached even though they do not actively
seek out interaction.

Neuroticism

The trait of Neuroticism is marked by elevated

reactivity to stress and the more frequent experience
of emotions that most people view as negative or
unpleasant — anxiety, sadness, frustration, fear, and
anger. Neurotic individuals view the world as relatively
more threatening and dangerous. Historically, use of
the label neuroticism (or neurotic, as an adjective)
stemmed from the idea that individuals behave in
ways that are more or less affected by neuroses —
nervous disorders. While the term neurosis is now
rarely used by health professionals, the term
Neuroticism is still used for the personality trait
relating to the persistent tendency to be in a negative
mood state. Some people feel that this label is
unnecessarily negative, though the truth is that nearly
everyone behaves neurotically from time to time and
most neurotic behaviors are within socially acceptable
limits. Individuals with low levels of neuroticism are
less likely to become upset by stress and spend
relatively less time feeling worried, scared, and angry
— but just about everyone experiences these emotions
sometimes. It's no surprise that highly neurotic
individuals are at risk for a range of mental health
concerns, but more recent research suggests that these
risks also extend to several physical health concerns.

Your score of 52 on Neuroticism places you higher

than 58% of previous participants in this survey.

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Your score on the Neuroticism scale indicates that you

are a little less even tempered than the average
person. This suggests that you experience slightly more
emotional swings throughout the day than average
and that you react more strongly to stressful events.
This doesn't necessarily mean that you regularly
experience negative emotions (fear/worry, sadness,
irritability, anger), but you likely experience them more
intensely than most people and you are quicker to
react when facing stressful events. But, take heart —
others likely view you as a passionate individual. If
you are bothered by the experience of strong
emotions, consider learning more about the many
healthy ways to manage them.

Openness

Openness is probably the most broadly encompassing

factor of personality. In fact, many people are
surprised to learn that the two most widely studied
aspects (Intellect and Openness to New Experiences)
are highly positively correlated. This positive
association can be explained by the fact that both
aspects share the common trait of being willing to
engage with new ideas. Openness is also associated