Treatment & Procedure
Personality assessment
Network
Personality is not a soft topic. How conscientious, sociable or sensitive someone is has been shown to be associated with health, career and even life expectancy. What matters is the instrument used to measure it.
In short
Personality assessment uses questionnaires to describe how someone typically thinks, feels and acts. The scientifically best supported model is the five-factor model; in large meta-analyses its traits are associated with mortality and occupational success. For many commercial type and profile tests, by contrast, there are no independent validation studies. As a prompt for self-reflection in coaching, a profile can be useful; it does not provide a diagnosis or a reliable prediction for the individual person.
Traits instead of pigeonholes
Personality psychology today works mainly with traits that every person has to a different degree. The best-known model is the Big Five: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism, that is, emotional sensitivity. You are not either introverted or extraverted; you lie somewhere on a scale.
Many tests from coaching and human resources, by contrast, work with types or color profiles. This is catchy and good for conversations in a team, but often does not come from research but from consultancy concepts. Whether such a test measures what it promises can only be shown in studies on reliability and validity.
How to recognize a sound instrument
A good provider can say which model the test is based on, how reliably it measures, against which comparison group the scores are normed and where the validation studies were published. For job-related aptitude assessment, DIN 33430 provides a voluntary quality standard. Among other things, it requires empirical proof of validity and appropriate norms. It is also a sign of seriousness when the result is put into context in a conversation instead of a report simply being sent out.
What is well supported
It is well supported that personality matters. A 2007 review of prospective longitudinal studies found that personality traits predict mortality, divorce and occupational success about as well as socioeconomic status and intelligence. The largest meta-analysis on personality and mortality to date, from 2026, with 569,859 people and 43,851 deaths, confirms this: high neuroticism was associated with higher mortality risk, high conscientiousness and extraversion with lower mortality risk. The five-factor model explained the data most parsimoniously.
It is also well supported that personality remains fairly stable in adulthood. The agreement between repeated measurements increases over the lifespan and reaches a plateau between 50 and 70 years. A profile therefore describes something enduring, but nothing unchangeable.
What the studies show
Personality and mortality, meta-analysis 2026
McGeehan and colleagues pooled longitudinal data from 569,859 people with 43,851 deaths from four continents. Neuroticism predicted a higher, conscientiousness and extraversion a lower mortality risk. For openness, the effect did not survive a correction for small studies; for agreeableness there was no association.
Conscientiousness in seven cohorts, 2013
Jokela and colleagues analyzed individual data from 76,150 adults from 7 cohorts, including the German Socio-Economic Panel. Only low conscientiousness was associated with increased mortality risk; the hazard ratio was 1.37, even after accounting for health behaviors.
Where the data stop
The strong findings concern groups, not individuals. Even well-measured traits predict only to a limited extent for a specific person, and a large reassessment from 2022 concluded that the predictive power of many selection procedures at work is considerably lower than previously assumed. Structured interviews came out on top there.
For many commercial profile tests, such as instruments based on the DISC model, no independent validation studies published in peer-reviewed journals were found. Whether a personality profile on its own reduces stress, improves teams or promotes health has not been tested in controlled studies. The benefit depends above all on what happens in the conversation afterwards.
Status, approval and legal
Personality tests are neither a medical device nor covered by statutory health insurance when they are used for coaching or self-reflection; you pay for them yourself. For use in personnel selection and aptitude assessment, there is the voluntary standard DIN 33430, valid in its 2016 version. It was first published in 2002 and requires the quality criteria of the instruments to be reviewed at least every 8 years.
Safety
There are no physical risks. The risk lies in the interpretation: a type label can become a self-image or a pigeonhole in the team. Personality tests from coaching are also not psychological diagnostics of illnesses. Anyone suffering from anxiety, low mood or persistent exhaustion needs a medical or psychotherapeutic assessment, not a profile.
Frequently asked questions about personality assessment
Which personality test is scientifically sound?
The best researched are instruments based on the five-factor model, the Big Five. They measure openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism on scales rather than in types. For many commercial type tests, independent validation studies are lacking.
What are the Big Five?
Five broad personality traits that every person has to a different degree. In large meta-analyses they are associated with health, career and life expectancy, especially conscientiousness and neuroticism.
Is the DISC test scientific?
For DISC-based instruments, no independent validation studies published in peer-reviewed journals were found. Such a profile can still be useful as a conversation starter in a team; without proof of validity, it is not suitable as a basis for personnel decisions.
Does personality change over the course of life?
Yes, but slowly. The agreement between repeated measurements increases with age and reaches a plateau between 50 and 70 years. Personality is therefore fairly stable, but not set in stone.
Can a personality test detect stress or burnout?
No. It can show how someone typically reacts to strain, for example with high neuroticism. It does not diagnose an illness; that requires a medical or psychotherapeutic examination.
How do I recognize a good personality test?
The provider can name the underlying model, the reliability, the comparison group and published validation studies. For personnel selection, DIN 33430 sets a quality standard.
Related
- Same categoryMedical services
- Same categoryGenetic testing
- Same categoryEpigenetics coaching
- Related topicHealth coaching
- Related topicPrevention, epigenetics & genetics
- Related topicVNS analysis (HRV)
- Same sectionMuscle as an organ (grip strength & myokines)
- Same sectionMicronutrient coaching
- Same sectionScreenings
Sources
- McGeehan M et al., J Pers Soc Psychol 2026 — personality and mortality risk, meta-analysis
- Jokela M et al., Am J Epidemiol 2013 — personality and all-cause mortality, individual-participant meta-analysis
- Roberts BW et al., Perspect Psychol Sci 2007 — The Power of Personality
- Roberts BW, DelVecchio WF, Psychol Bull 2000 — stability of personality traits across the lifespan
- Sackett PR et al., J Appl Psychol 2022 — revisiting the validity of selection procedures
- psychologie.de (DGPs, BDP, ZPID) — DIN 33430 on aptitude assessment
- German Psychological Society (DGPs) — standards for job-related aptitude assessment, DIN 33430
Open in the database – with search, filters and comparison (German app)
Information only, not medical advice and not a usage or dosage recommendation. Prescription-only and unapproved substances belong in the hands of a physician. Last updated: 2026-09-30.