Personality Testing

QUESTION 1
One of your friends has found an online site that offers personality testing. He takes the test and reports that
the results prove he’s “intuitive” rather than a “sensing” personality, who likes to look at the big picture rather
than focusing on tangible here-and-now experiences. “This explains a lot,” he says, “like why I have trouble
remembering details like other people’s birthdays, and why it’s hard for me to finish projects before the
deadline.” Aside from warning your friend about the dangers of self-diagnosis via Internet quizzes, what would
you tell him about the relationship between personality types and behaviors? How well do scores on
personality tests predict a person’s actual behavior?
QUESTION 2
One of your friends tells you that her boyfriend cheated on her, so she will never date him again or date anyone
who has ever been unfaithful because “once a cheat, always a cheat.” She goes on to explain that personality
and character are stable over time, so people will always make the same decisions and repeat the same
mistakes over time. What do we know about the interaction between personality and situations that might
confirm or deny her statements?