Status Updates From The Cult of Personality Tes...

If one is wanting the nitty gritty science, the statistical reasons why various personality tests lack validity and reliability, on and on, this book doesn't go into that kind of statistical detail. I don't mind.

I was looking over the critical reviews, and one point a review brings up is actually why I like this book.

I'm always nervous when reading nonfiction books (especially in science) because the book may be outdated. This has a pop history slant, the author goes into the background of how various personality tests were developed.

It's engaging (if one is interested in this subject) ...

Human beings are complex creatures, and we need simple ways of grasping them to survive. But how we simplify— which shortcuts we take, which approximations we accept—demands close inspection, especially since these approximations so often stand in for the real thing.

Personality testing has thrived in the shade of casual neglect, growing unchecked along with abuses like invasive questions, inaccurate labels, and unjust outcomes.

Today personality testing is a $400 million industry, one that’s expanding annually by 8 percent to 10 percent. Yet despite their prevalence—and the importance of the matters they are called upon to decide—personality tests have received surprisingly little scrutiny.