Standard sitting
Four fixed items per facet. This is the shortest reportable version and provides the free-result path.
How we know what we claim
Personality tests: methods and evidence
See where the questions come from, how answers become scores, how to interpret the published reliability figures, and how to use your result responsibly.
Want to see what the report is like? Read selected excerpts.
24facet scales
6HEXACO domains
96standard items
192extended total
Source, licensing, and scope
The TooReal personality test uses fixed subsets of public-domain IPIP items developed to measure constructs similar to HEXACO. It presents six continuous dimensions and 24 facets. Its 64 archetypes summarize continuous scores; they are not independently validated personality categories.
TooReal uses a fixed subset of public-domain IPIP items written to measure HEXACO facets.
The source is the Preliminary IPIP Scales Measuring the Constructs Similar to Those in the HEXACO Personality Inventory. The source page publishes ten keyed items for each facet. TooReal records the source facet code, source item position, and positive or negative key for every selected item. The four-item and eight-item subsets are fixed in advance and are the same for every respondent.
IPIP items are in the public domain. The scoring implementation, six presentation axes, archetype codes, and report rules are TooReal implementations.
Why six axes rather than five?
HEXACO includes Honesty-Humility alongside Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness. Research comparing HEXACO with five-factor models found that this sixth domain captures relevant variation not represented in the same way by the five-factor structure.
MBTI, Big Five and HEXACO: what is the difference?
MBTI describes preferences through 16 types. The Big Five and HEXACO describe traits on continuous scales. These are different models, not interchangeable labels for the same result.
MBTI
MBTI describes four pairs of preferences and combines them into 16 personality types. A type summarizes preferences; it does not measure ability or diagnose a mental health condition. See the official description of the 16 types.
Big Five
The Big Five describes Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Negative Emotionality or Neuroticism, and Open-Mindedness or Openness to Experience. Results are continuous trait scores, not a set of 16 types. Some questionnaires also distinguish narrower facets; the BFI-2, for example, measures 15.
HEXACO
HEXACO describes six domains, including Honesty-Humility. It is not simply the Big Five with one extra scale: Agreeableness and Emotionality also cover somewhat different content. The model authors describe the six domains and their facets.
TooReal uses fixed subsets of IPIP items designed to measure constructs similar to HEXACO, with six axes and 24 facets. It is neither the official MBTI assessment nor the official HEXACO-PI-R. Its 64 combinations summarize continuous scores; they are not an expanded MBTI or evidence that more types make a test more accurate.
To judge a personality test, look beyond the model name: check the actual questions, scoring, language, validation evidence and limits on use. To see what the interpretation looks like, read the personality report sample and reading guide.
How 24 facets map to six axes
The six axes preserve the detail of all 24 facets while making the overall profile easier to read.
Each presentation axis corresponds to one HEXACO domain and is calculated only from that domain’s four facets.
| TooReal axis and poles | Four facets | HEXACO domain |
|---|---|---|
| Social expressionMore reserved / More outgoing | Sociability; Social boldness; Liveliness; Expressiveness | Extraversion (X) |
| Openness to explorationFamiliar approaches / New possibilities | Creative inclination; Inquisitiveness; Aesthetic appreciation; Unconventionality | Openness to Experience (O) |
| Interpersonal accommodationHold your ground / Make room for others | Forgiveness; Gentleness; Accommodation; Patience | Agreeableness (A) |
| Planning and follow-throughRespond as you go / Plan the route | Organization; Diligence; Prudence; Attention to detail | Conscientiousness (C) |
| Emotional sensitivityLess easily moved / More easily moved | Fearfulness; Worry inclination; Support orientation; Sentimentality | Emotionality (E) |
| Interests and principlesPractical return / Principled boundaries | Sincerity; Fairness; Greed avoidance; Modesty | Honesty-Humility (H) |
Emotional sensitivity retains the source direction: higher scores indicate stronger reported emotional responses. Interpersonal accommodation describes responses to disagreement, rather than reasoning ability or empathy.
A different model from MBTI
TooReal is not MBTI and is not an extension of its 16 types. TooReal retains continuous scores across six axes and 24 facets; the two systems use different constructs, scoring procedures, and result formats.
Administration and scoring
Scores are calculated by fixed, versioned rules; the same answers produce the same facet, axis, and archetype data.
All calculations are deterministic: the same versioned answers produce the same scores and report data.
- ResponsesEvery item uses five fully labelled choices from Strongly disagree (0) to Strongly agree (4). Items are interleaved so that every block of 24 includes one item from each facet.
- Reverse keysNegatively keyed items are transformed with 4 − response. Positive items retain the original response.
- Facet scoresThe keyed item mean is divided by 4 and multiplied by 100. A facet score therefore runs from 0 to 100.
- Axis scoresEach axis is the equal-weight mean of its four facet scores, retaining the direction and unrounded means used in the report.
- Archetype codeEach axis is split at 50. The X/A/E combination selects one row and O/C/H selects one column in the 64-cell matrix. The code summarizes continuous scores; it is not a separately validated type construct.
facet = mean(keyed responses) / 4 × 100axis = mean(4 facet scores)A score of 50 is the midpoint of the response scale. It does not mean the respondent is at the 50th population percentile. Completed reports require every item in the selected sitting, so the current scoring path does not impute missing answers.
Published reliability of the parent scales
Published reliability figures describe the source scales, not a guarantee about any one person’s result.
The values below are coefficient alpha reported by IPIP for the full ten-item parent scales. They provide context, but they are not reliability estimates for TooReal.
| Axis | Facet | TooReal items | Parent alpha |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social expression | Sociability | 4 / 8 | .85 |
| Social expression | Social boldness | 4 / 8 | .86 |
| Social expression | Liveliness | 4 / 8 | .82 |
| Social expression | Expressiveness | 4 / 8 | .84 |
| Openness to exploration | Creative inclination | 4 / 8 | .85 |
| Openness to exploration | Inquisitiveness | 4 / 8 | .78 |
| Openness to exploration | Aesthetic appreciation | 4 / 8 | .83 |
| Openness to exploration | Unconventionality | 4 / 8 | .84 |
| Interpersonal accommodation | Forgiveness | 4 / 8 | .78 |
| Interpersonal accommodation | Gentleness | 4 / 8 | .81 |
| Interpersonal accommodation | Accommodation | 4 / 8 | .73 |
| Interpersonal accommodation | Patience | 4 / 8 | .88 |
| Planning and follow-through | Organization | 4 / 8 | .85 |
| Planning and follow-through | Diligence | 4 / 8 | .81 |
| Planning and follow-through | Prudence | 4 / 8 | .80 |
| Planning and follow-through | Attention to detail | 4 / 8 | .80 |
| Emotional sensitivity | Fearfulness | 4 / 8 | .84 |
| Emotional sensitivity | Worry inclination | 4 / 8 | .85 |
| Emotional sensitivity | Support orientation | 4 / 8 | .73 |
| Emotional sensitivity | Sentimentality | 4 / 8 | .79 |
| Interests and principles | Sincerity | 4 / 8 | .81 |
| Interests and principles | Fairness | 4 / 8 | .81 |
| Interests and principles | Greed avoidance | 4 / 8 | .69 |
| Interests and principles | Modesty | 4 / 8 | .81 |
How to read these figures
They describe the ten-item source scales, not the shorter TooReal subsets. TooReal administers four or eight of each parent scale’s ten items, while reliability also depends on item selection, length, language, and the respondent sample. The published values are useful background, but they are not TooReal reliability estimates, a ceiling, or a guaranteed lower bound.
What alpha can and cannot tell you
Alpha describes how consistently the items in a scale move together. It does not by itself show that the scale measures the intended construct, remains stable over time, predicts an outcome, or is precise enough for an important decision about one person.
Greed Avoidance has the lowest published parent alpha in this set (.69), so its score deserves particular restraint in interpretation.
What changes between 96 and 192 items
The 96- and 192-item versions measure the same 24 facets; the longer version provides more observations for each facet.
Both sittings measure the same 24 facets and use the same scoring model.
Extended sitting
Adds four different fixed items per facet, for eight in total. It supplies more observations to each facet while preserving the same constructs and arithmetic.
Which version should you choose?
Choose 96 items for the shorter complete profile. Choose 192 if you are comfortable spending more time to provide twice as many responses for each facet. More well-matched items can make an average more stable, but we do not present the extended version as guaranteeing narrower confidence intervals or a more accurate diagnosis.
How reports are generated
Social expression, interpersonal accommodation and emotional sensitivity form eight interaction patterns. Openness to exploration, planning and follow-through, and interests and principles form eight approaches to action. Their 8 × 8 combination provides 64 readable summaries of continuous scores.
The scored report is generated from fixed, versioned rules.
The complete TooReal report is generated from versioned scores by fixed, server-side rules. The same instrument version and answers produce the same structured scores, archetype code, and selected strengths. The browser does not supply trusted report scores.
The archetype code splits each continuous axis at its midpoint. Report prose combines score bands and facet-specific rules; it should be read as structured interpretation, not as an independently validated psychological conclusion.
Appropriate use and prohibited decisions
TooReal can support self-reflection and conversation. It is not a clinical diagnosis, a measure of ability, or a basis for high-stakes decisions.
TooReal is a structured reflection tool for personal exploration.
Reasonable uses
- Generate questions for self-reflection.
- Discuss preferences and trade-offs voluntarily.
- Track hypotheses about recurring behavior.
Do not use it for
- Diagnosis, treatment, or crisis assessment.
- Hiring, promotion, admissions, or eligibility.
- Legal, financial, insurance, or safety decisions.
Do not interpret small score differences as meaningful change. Do not infer ability, morality, mental health, or future conduct from a facet name or archetype.
Sources and references
The model documents below identify the item sources and explain how TooReal applies them.
Links lead to the item source or publisher record where available.
- The Myers & Briggs Foundation. The 16 MBTI personality types.
- Soto, C. J., & John, O. P. (2017). The next Big Five Inventory (BFI-2): Developing and assessing a hierarchical model with 15 facets to enhance bandwidth, fidelity, and predictive power. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 113(1), 117–143. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000096
- Ashton, M. C., & Lee, K. HEXACO scale descriptions.
- International Personality Item Pool. Preliminary IPIP scales measuring constructs similar to the HEXACO Personality Inventory.
- Ashton, M. C., Lee, K., & Goldberg, L. R. (2007). The IPIP-HEXACO scales: An alternative, public-domain measure of the personality constructs in the HEXACO model. Personality and Individual Differences, 42(8), 1515–1526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006.10.027
- Ashton, M. C., & Lee, K. (2008). The prediction of Honesty–Humility-related criteria by the HEXACO and Five-Factor models of personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 42(5), 1216–1228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2008.03.006
- Goldberg, L. R. (1999). A broad-bandwidth, public-domain, personality inventory measuring the lower-level facets of several five-factor models. In I. Mervielde et al. (Eds.), Personality Psychology in Europe (Vol. 7, pp. 7–28).