ABSTRACT

A familiarity with psychological personality theory is a requirement of the BPS Certification of Competence in Testing (Level B), and the subject is therefore covered here in some detail. Although the term ‘personality’ is widely used in everyday conversation, defining its meaning is not a simple task. We commonly talk about television ‘personalities’, or we may describe someone as ‘being a personality’ or as ‘having a lot of personality’, suggesting the kind of person who is typically lively, loquacious and who tends not to be ignored.