Different Personalities Prefer Different Harry Potter Houses. Which is Your Favorite?

Back when the Harry Potter series was still being released, I used to take these quizzes to see which house I belonged in. Of course, I’d answer the questions in such a way that I’d get the house I wanted: Slytherin. But I knew in my heart of hearts that the Sorting Hat would place me in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. After all, I really only wanted to be in Slytherin to show that bad-boy Malfoy there was more to life than being a bully.

But a recent study has shown that my house choice might say something about my personality. BPS reports that Laura Crysel and her colleagues went into online communities to find some committed Harry Potter fans, and ask them to take a personality test for the Big Five types.

Before taking the test, they had participants choose their favorite house — Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin.

The researchers wrote that they “found positive associations between need for cognition and placement in Ravenclaw (known for wit and learning), and between the Dark Triad traits and placement in Slytherin (known for using any means to achieve their ends). We expected — but did not find — that those in Gryffindor (known for bravery) would be higher in extraversion and openness, and that Hufflepuffs (known for loyalty) would be higher on need to belong.”

Knowing my own personality test results, I’d say the Sorting Hat would most certainly place me in Hufflepuff — I’m way too agreeable.

If you put yourself in the Slytherin house, Jeffrey Kluger, author of The Narcissist Next Door, might tell you to run for president. He describes some of the key traits of narcissistic personality disorder, pointing out that some of our greatest leaders have narcissistic tendencies.

To read more about the study, head over the BPS.

Photo Credit: Getty Images