Can job applicants fake personality tests? Not really, although it depends on what is meant by the word “faking.”

Personality tests don’t have a pass or fail result. They simply describe personality characteristics. What this means is that candidates can’t manipulate their test results with the “correct” responses. Actually—and this might surprise you—it doesn’t matter if people try to fake personality tests.

We’ll give you four reasons why trying to fake a personality test doesn’t matter. But first, let’s clarify what is often meant by “faking.”

Since 2020, about 25% of all US workers are hybrid workers, with about 15% working fully from home. What could explain this ongoing trend in remote work? Aside from evidence for increased productivity and well-being, personality characteristics can help explain work-from-home preferences.

The science of personality matters to high-potential employees and to the organizations seeking to fill succession benches. The predictive power of personality data can help accelerate effectiveness in high-potential development. But how, exactly?

A discussion between Ryne Sherman, PhD, and Blake Loepp with Allan Church, PhD, cofounder and managing partner at Maestro Consulting and former SVP of global talent management at PepsiCo. He explained why the impact of personality on high-potential employees and leadership development is critical.

We’ve all allowed others to influence our decisions, whether consciously or subconsciously. But what underlying psychological factors are at play? How do social forces change the way we think, feel, and behave?

Let’s talk about how social interaction can cause people to change their behaviors.

“The influence that our environment and other people have on us has an important impact on our lives,” Ryne Sherman said. “How do people influence us? And how do we impact others?”

Do personality characteristics relate to nightmares? If so, which?

Recently on The Science of Personality, cohosts Ryne Sherman, PhD, and Blake Loepp spoke with returning podcast guest Zlatan Krizan, PhD, professor of psychology at Iowa State University, about the psychology of nightmares.

As a child, Zlatan had a recurring nightmare of a gorilla coming down a hallway toward his bedroom. Within one of these nightmares, he eventually realized he was dreaming and decided to flee the gorilla by jumping out of his bedroom window. He woke up before he landed and never had the dream again.

This article covers what causes nightmares, what happens in the brain during dreams, the difference between nightmares and night terrors, and the impact of personality.

A personality test isn’t quite like other job-related tests. There’s no such thing as passing or failing, for one. And it’s not even truly a test—it’s an assessment, which is more like a measurement. Because of that, we have a few important tips for how to take a personality test.

This article, signed by  Ryne Sherman, PhD, and Blake Loepp, covers what a personality assessment measures, how to take a personality assessment, and how not to.

During everyday social interactions, people try to influence how others view them. Some people make this effort deliberately, while others do so unconsciously. In social psychology, this behavior is called impression management. This article explores what impression management is, who impression managers are, and why it matters.

Impression management is the process of trying to control the impression others have of you.¹ It’s an intentional attempt to influence your reputation, or how you seem to others. If you want to seem friendly, you’ll probably make eye contact, smile, start a conversation, use people’s names, and remember details about their lives. An impression manager chooses to present in a certain way to create a specific image of themself.

“Impression management has a lot of advantages,” said Alise Dabdoub, PhD, director of product innovation at Hogan Assessments. “It can help you get a job, do better in the workplace, make sales—all kinds of things.”

Our personality can affect our sleep, and our sleep can affect our personality. Given that we spend about one-third of our time asleep, the psychology of sleep may have a greater influence on our well-being than we tend to believe.

Recently on The Science of Personality, Zlatan Krizan, PhD, an award-winning researcher and professor of psychology at Iowa State University, spoke about the psychology of sleep and its relation to personality. How exactly does sleep deprivation affect our physical, mental, and emotional well-being, both personally and professionally?

When psychologists talk about the Dark Triad, they mean narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. But that list doesn’t cover all the dark-side personality characteristics.

Recently on The Science of Personality, cohosts Ryne Sherman, PhD, chief science officer, and Blake Loepp, PR manager, spoke with Peter Harms, PhD, professor of management at the University of Alabama, about dark-side behaviors not covered by the Dark Triad.

“I hope nobody finds out I’m really a fraud.” That’s an extremely common worry for high performers. Imposter syndrome haunts many of us despite (and sometimes because of) our successes. The three types of imposter syndrome all relate to anxiety. But the goal shouldn’t necessarily be to overcome it. Instead, we can benefit from it by allowing it to motivate us.

Recently on The Science of Personality, Michael Sanger, director of assessment solutions for Leadership Development Worldwide, spoke about the topic. Currently based in Atlanta, Michael has lived in New York, Amsterdam, and Shanghai. “I’ve always known how it feels to be secretly insecure,” he said, referring to his global experience.

Imposter syndrome doesn’t have to be bad, though. In this article, we’ll cover what it is, three types of imposter syndrome, the possible benefits, and how to use imposter syndrome to improve performance.