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So what exactly are we talking about here?

Carl Jung—one of the most renowned psychologists in history—discovered patterns for how people take in new information and make decisions. He called these 8 patterns cognitive functions, and groupings of those functions became what we now refer to as the 16 types.

Everyone is unique. But Jung's research revealed some clear correlations between personality attributes. For example, most people who speak quickly and "think out loud" tend to also recharge their energy by being around people. And most people who prefer step-by-step procedures also tend to be more oriented toward the tangible past or present than the future or the abstract.

By mastering type dynamics, you'll be able to answer questions like... (TIP: Throughout the site, you'll see these buttons when more information is available. Tap once to expand and again to collapse.)

• Why are deadlines sacred to some but mere suggestions to others? (SJ vs. NP)
• How can some "introverts" be the life the of the party while some "extroverts" would rather sneak out to read a book alone? (ISFJ vs. ENTP)
• Why do some people think out loud with the first idea that comes to mind whereas others are much more thoughtful before opening their mouths? (E vs. I)
• Why do some people have far more difficulty making decisions than others? (Ti vs. Te)
• Why are some people oriented toward "what-if's" and others toward the here and now? (N vs. S)
• Why is tradition and respecting authority important to some people while others would rather discover what's true for themselves (and potentially rewrite all the rules)? (SJ vs. NT)
• When comparing two types with 3 out of 4 letters in common, why are they sometimes quite similar and sometimes very different? (ESTP/ESFP vs. ENTP/ENTJ)

Beyond your average personality test

Ever take an online quiz with questions like, "Would you rather stay home and read a book or go to a party?" How are you supposed to answer that? The only reasonable response is, "It depends."

Don't worry: This test is different. I've very carefully written my questions to get to the heart of what makes you tick.

So what can you expect? Well, the 16-types personality system is popular everywhere from Fortune 500 companies to online dating websites. So instead of introducing new terms, we'll be using the same four-letter personality types you've probably already heard of (things like ISTJ and ENFP).

But, nearly every other personality test stops with those four letters. We'll be going a step further by breaking those four-letter types down into their Jungian cognitive functions (things like Ti and Se).

So guess what? Contrary to what those other overly-simplistic personality tests would tell you, it's perfectly normal if you like partying one night but feel like staying home alone to read the next. Because the truth is: No one is 100% an extrovert or 100% an introvert. We're all a bit of both, and your type's cognitive functions will explain why.

Skeptical? You should be

Like I said, there are a lot of bad personality tests out there, and I'm promising a lot.

But, personality typing is all about understanding differences. And different communication styles work best for different types of people. So, let's put that concept to work. If you're a skeptic, click the + button for an alternative introduction to this subject.

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Personality Type Theory 101

There are 16 personality types, each made up of 4 letters called dimensions.

There are a lot of common misconceptions about this kind of personality typing...

Here's a short overview of the 4 dimensions (to avoid confusion, we'll ignore the badly-chosen words they stand for and just look at the letters):

• The first letter is I or E, and it explains what energizes you.

  If they're low on energy, I's recharge by having time alone or with close friends, and E's recharge by being with other people. I's tend to gather their thoughts first and then speak, whereas E's think out loud. Common misconception: This has nothing to do with shyness or quietness — E's can get bored at parties, and I's can be very talkative. Rather, it's about what kinds of things energize and de-energize you.

• The second letter, S or N, is all about how you take in new information.

  S's prefer hard, practical facts — they're oriented toward the 5 senses and what's actually going on in the world around them. N's prefer ideas, patterns, and imagination, looking at the big picture and making connections in their mind. S's tend to look to the past and present, but N's look to the future and the what-if.

• Third, T or F, describes how you make decisions.

  T's want to examine information objectively, analyzing what's logically true and false, and breaking things down into pros and cons. F's are more driven by their internal personal values, and they consider how decisions will affect people and their feelings.

• Fourth, P or J, explains your attitude toward the external world.

  J's are organized, driven, and decisive, finishing work in advance and driving projects toward completion. P's procrastinate and work well under adrenaline — they love beginning new projects, coming up with endless ideas (or exploring endless feelings), and finding inventive solutions (even if it takes longer).

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Is it really so black and white?

People in the psychology community often look down on the 16 types, calling them too simplistic. For example, what if you feel like you're in between a T and an F? Or, just because you're an S, does that mean you have no N whatsoever? What if you're a bit of everything?

That's where Jungian type dynamics come in. The truth is that a T does indeed have some F in them, an N has some S in them as well, and everyone is part I and part E.

The T/F and N/S dimensions actually have "sub-types" called cognitive functions. T splits into Ti and Te, N splits into Ni and Ne, etc. The 'i' stands for introverted and the 'e' for extroverted, so that Ti refers to a T facing inward and Te refers to a T facing outward. As you can see, even though two types might have a letter like T in common, each type's version of T might manifest very differently.

All 16 types have four cognitive functions (each of which can be Ti, Te, Fi, Fe, Si, Se, Ni, or Ne), and they're in a very specific order:

1. Primary: the function you use the most and are most comfortable with (it's unconscious because it comes so naturally to you)
2. Auxiliary: complements your primary and is used quite often as well (this one requires conscious thought until you truly master it later in life)
3. Tertiary: less developed and takes longer to mature (you begin life fairly weak in this area, but through conscious effort you can become skilled in it)
4. Inferior: matures latest in life, and it can be thought of as your biggest weakness (unconscious, and it can be especially troublesome because you might be less aware of it or have trouble understanding how it works)

To recap, every type has 4 dimensions and 4 cognitive functions. For example, an ENTP has the dimensions E, N, T, and P, and it has the cognitive functions Ne, Ti, Fe, and Si. Notice how even though there's no F in ENTP, they actually still do use an F-based cognitive function. Figuring out a type's cognitive functions can be a little tricky, but here's how to do it if you're interested (otherwise, the final page of the test will list them all)...

1. First, some context: The second dimension is known as the information-gathering dimension, and it's always N or S. The third dimension is known as the decision-making dimension, and it's always T or F. The fourth dimension, P or J, determines if the primary cognitive function is an information-gathering one or a decision-making one. Finally, two of the cognitive functions are always introverted and two are always extroverted.
2. Ok, check the type's fourth dimension, either P or J. If it's a J, it means that their decision-making function (which is always either T or F) will be extroverted, so Te or Fe. If it's a P, it means that their decision-making function will be introverted, so Ti or Fi.
3. In the case of ISFJ, the fourth dimension is a J and the decision-making function is an F. Therefore, the F will become an Fe.
4. Next, check the type's first dimension, either E or I. The primary cognitive function will always follow the type's first dimension. So since ISFJ starts with an I, it means that the primary function will have an i. Now, look back to the function we already decided for the ISFJ: Fe. Since it has an e, that means it can't be the primary function, so it must be the secondary one. Therefore, the information-gathering function (always S or N) must be the primary. So since the ISFJ has an S, it has to be Si.
5. That's actually everything we need. The third function is always the opposite of the second function. So in this case the opposite of Fe is Ti. And, the fourth function is always the opposite of the first function. So in this case, the opposite of Si is Ne (because i is the opposite of e and N is the opposite of S — "opposite" in the sense that they're the two choices in their dimensions: I/E and N/S).
6. So, for ISFJs, the functions are Si, Fe, Ti, Ne.
7. One more example: Let's do ESTP.
8. It ends with P, so we know that their T/F will be introverted. ESTP contains T, so it will be Ti.
9. Since we already found Ti, we know that the S/N will have to be an e. ESTP contains S, so it will be Se. And since ESTP starts with an E, we know that the Se will be the primary function because of its e.
10. That's all we need. We know that the third will be the opposite of the second (Ti), so Fe. And the fourth will be the opposite of the first (Se), so Ni.
11. So, ESTP breaks down into Se Ti Fe Ni.

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Keep in mind as you take the test

Each section will help you decide which of the cognitive function variants you're most comfortable with (e.g., Fi or Fe, Si or Se, etc.). Don't worry: I'll explain what those mean on the final results page.

Everyone uses all of the cognitive functions throughout their lives, but some should seem far more familiar/natural than others. That's why it's important to indicate how strongly you identify with each one.

Choose the "neutral" option if you feel that both choices apply equally well, if you can't decide, or if you don't particularly identify with either one. (P.S. The two choices won't always be opposites. They might just represent two potential approaches or perspectives.)

To get the best results...

The test should take 15-20 minutes. Let's get started.