Knowing how you compare to the average person can give you insight into which parts of your personality stand out when you interact with other people.

Personality Measurement Is Relative
When reading your Personality Report, it is important to understand that personality measurements are what scientists call 'relative' measurements. For example, think about the statement: "Sarah B. is a talkative person." What does this statement mean? We are all talkative when we compare ourselves to a goldfish, but perhaps less talkative when we compare ourselves to a gossip journalist. The question is: 'Sarah B. is talkative, compared to whom?' The answer is: 'Compared to the average person in the population.

Researchers from the Institute for Personality Assessment in California have revealed interesting findings about the way our personality compares to the average. By carefully tracking the personality traits of hundreds of individuals from preschool through adulthood, researchers have concluded that people, on average, can and do change in predictable ways over time. Our activity level, for example, slowly decreases as we grow older. We also tend to become less emotional, less extroverted, and more thorough as we get older.

On a relative basis, though, people's comparison to the average tends to remain stable. That is, although you might become less active as you get older, if your activity level at the age of 20 was above average when compared to your peers, you will most likely still be above average when compared to your peers at the age of 70. Personality studies show, for example, that 3-year-olds who were more afraid than 37 average of unfamiliar objects (a metallic robot) also tended to be shyer than average at the age of 18. Although the children became less afraid with age, so did their peers.

To see where your personality stands out, compare yourself to the average. It is this relative nature of personality measurements that tells us what can be predicted from a personality test. A personality test cannot predict how you will act in each and every situation. On some days you will be more active, while on other days you will be less. But a personality test can predict how you will act on average, on an average day, compared to the average person.

In the case of personality measurement, it is important to remember that 'average' does not mean 'good' or 'bad', or even 'normal', it simply tells you the 'most common' score. You can consider the areas in which you deviate most from the average to be the areas of your personality that stand out the most when you interact with other people.

Ready to do test your personality? You could find up online personality test in Google