Frequently Asked Questions

Personality Key is a multi-system personality assessment platform that runs six different personality frameworks independently. Instead of forcing all personality into one model, we let each system ask its own questions and produce its own results. You get a richer, more nuanced picture of yourself through multiple lenses.

We currently offer six systems: (1) Big Five — the most researched trait model in psychology, (2) Four Letter — a generic implementation of the popular type indicator, (3) Enneagram — nine types based on core motivations, (4) Zodiac — the ancient astrological tradition, (5) Eight Functions — Jung's cognitive functions scored continuously, and (6) Dominant Function — your leading cognitive function-attitude.

Most tests take 5-10 minutes to complete. Our adaptive testing system typically reduces the number of questions by 30-50% compared to fixed-length tests, while maintaining or improving accuracy. You can complete all six systems in about an hour, or spread them out over multiple sessions.

Yes. We don't require an email, we don't create accounts, and nothing you type is ever sent to a server. Your responses stay on your device. Results are stored in your browser's local storage and can be exported or deleted at any time.

Adaptive testing means the questions you see depend on your previous answers. The system uses Item Response Theory (IRT) to select the most informative next question based on your current estimated trait level. This means fewer questions and more precise measurement where it matters most for you.

All our reference packs are currently marked as 'piloted' rather than 'validated' — meaning the psychometric parameters are illustrative, not derived from large calibration samples. We're transparent about this limitation. The Big Five pack will move to empirical parameters once we have response data. Every result shows its uncertainty explicitly — no false precision.

Yes! That's the whole point. Each system produces its own result independently, but once you've completed multiple systems, you can view them side-by-side. We also provide a correspondence layer that shows how different systems relate to each other — but crucially, this never influences the scoring itself.

Your personality key is the collection of your results across all six systems. Think of it like a physical key with multiple cuts — each system adds another dimension. The key is encoded into a shareable format so you can save it or share it with others.

No. These are for self-discovery and reflection only. They are not for clinical diagnosis, hiring decisions, or any high-stakes use. The Big Five tradition is the most empirically supported, but our specific implementation is not yet validated on large samples.

Yes. If you have an existing result, you can choose to 'extend' (answer more items to improve precision) or 'retest' (start fresh). If you retest within 14 days, the system recognizes it's the same session; after that, it starts a new administration.

That's the standard error of measurement — it tells you how uncertain the estimate is. At SE = 0.30, your 95% confidence interval is roughly ±23 percentile points. Smaller is better. The uncertainty is real information, not a bug.

We use a stanine scale (9 levels) and only show a digit when the standard error is small enough to support it (SE < 0.5). If the interval is too wide, we show ? to indicate that the data doesn't support a precise claim. This is honest measurement — better to show uncertainty than false precision.

The platform is built for multiple locales from the ground up. Currently, the Four Letter system has a complete Amharic translation. We're working on expanding language support. The architecture ensures UI chrome and content never fall back across locales — if something isn't translated, we tell you rather than silently switching languages.

Yes! The entire specification is open, and the code is available on GitHub. You can author new personality packs following our spec, contribute translations, or build on top of the framework. See the documentation for details on creating new systems.

Both use Jung's eight function-attitudes (Se, Si, Ne, Ni, Te, Ti, Fe, Fi). Eight Functions scores them all as continuous dimensions — you get a full profile. Dominant Function looks for a clear winner — it only reports a dominant type if the top two functions separate by a sufficient margin. One gives you the whole landscape; the other tells you which peak is highest, if there clearly is one.

Personality is too complex for any single model to capture fully. The Big Five captures broad traits well but misses motivational structure. The Enneagram captures motivation but lacks the empirical breadth of the Big Five. Cognitive functions capture how you process information. Each system is a lens — useful, but partial. Together, they give you a richer picture.

Three key differences: (1) We run multiple systems independently rather than collapsing everything into one type. (2) We're transparent about uncertainty — every result shows its confidence interval. (3) We're open about our limitations — our packs are currently 'piloted' not 'validated,' and we say so explicitly.

Yes. Results are stored in your browser's local storage automatically. You can also export your key as a code that you can save or share. Enter that code on any device to restore your results.

If you clear local storage, you'll lose your saved results. That's why we recommend saving your key code — you can restore everything from it. In the future, we'll add cloud backup options.

Yes, completely free. No premium tier, no paywall. The platform is static — no server costs — and it's built as a public resource.