Do personality tests work? - Merve Emre episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 14, 2026 · 7 MIN

Do personality tests work? - Merve Emre

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Examine how popular personality tests, like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Enneagram, are designed and their inconsistencies. --In 1942, a mother-daughter duo named Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers developed a questionnaire that classified people’s personalities into 16 types. Called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI, it would go on to become one of the world’s most widely-used personality tests. But do these tests actually reveal truths about personality? Merve Emre examines their design flaws.Lesson by Merve Emre, directed by Seoro Oh.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-personality-tests-work-merve-emreDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-personality-tests-work-merve-emre#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.facebook.com/osropage----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Jennifer Kurkoski, Ryan B Harvey, Abhishek Bansal, Jose Arcadio Valdes Franco, Karl Laius, JY Kang, Charles A Hershberger, Robert Seik, Heidi Stolt, Alexis Hevia, Brady Jones, Christina Salvatore, Karlee Finch, Michael Goldberg, Mario Mejia, Nicolas Silva, Kurt Almendras, Denise A Pitts, Doug Henry, Kristiyan Bonev, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Jaime Arriola, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Valeria Sloan Vasquez, Yvette Mocete, Cyrus Garay, Victoria Soler-Roig, Samuel Barbas, Brighteagle, LadyGeek, Curtis Light, Dwight Schrute, Dianne Palomar, Marin Kovachev, Ravi S. Rāmphal, Tekin Gültekin, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Aidan Forero, Sunny Patel, Lowell Fleming, Hoai Nam Tran, Stina Boberg and Kack-Kyun Kim. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 14, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

Do personality tests work? - Merve Emre

0:00 7:41

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of TED-Ed?

This episode is 7 minutes long.

When was this TED-Ed episode published?

This episode was published on August 14, 2026.

Can I download this TED-Ed episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!