Doc this is much like a book I have, Please Understand Me. It's like a seventy five question test, then it lists your personality type. I freaked out when I read mine, just me to a T! It also pegged my husband, and said that our types were compatable. A very neat book. Everyone that I made take the test was surprised.
Nikki
Nikki
Doctor Strange said:I think you're on the right track that you have to make an effort to understand YOURSELF in order to understand how you interact with others. My suggestion for an interesting (and seemingly pretty accurate) method to self-knowledge is the Enneagram:
http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/
Understand that I have never been one to jump on the self-help or pop psychology bandwagon before - I am traditionally profoundly dubious about this sort of thing, and actively avoid it.
But a good friend pushed a bunch of books about the Enneagram at me during a particularly low period (my separation/divorce), and when I read the detailed description of my Personality Type, I was utterly astonished: There were things from so deep inside me that I had thought to be totally unique and mysterious, yet here they were, WRITTEN, as a means of classifying higher- and lower-functioning (that is, less and more self-destructive) behavior within my Personality Type!
So, I read on. It all seemed to make sense, and it's helped me size up other people (especially their motives and MOs) better than I could before.
Anyway, it's quite interesting and might prove useful. Start at the Website for free, and only move on to getting the books if you're seriously intrigued. (At the very least, it might come in handy as a parlour trick at a party - "Guess your personality type!")
Disclaimer: I have been divorced since 2001 and haven't made it into a lasting relationship yet, so having self-knowledge is obviously only PART of the equation!