Personality Forcing Methods

[STRATUS]

Hello! I'm a beginner tulpamancer, and I have a question about personality forcing!

 

So, is taking a personality test with what you think would be your tulpa's mindset, for example, https://www.16personalities.com/ be a good way to flesh out a tulpa's personality?  

 

This might be a really dumb question, but I figured there's nothing better to do than get involved in the tulpamancy community, and I finally have something interesting to ask.

 

[mattx]

Welcome!

It's an interesting approach to use 16 personality to "blueprint" your tulpa's expected mindset - in the past there used to be entire guides written on "how to shape the tulpa's personality" (it was called "list based personality forcing") but fundamentally they all boiled down to the same "work towards the personality you want them to have".

I recommend reading my guide, which is a good "mindset starter" for all the eventual setbacks you might have in the future, and I also recommend to take it slow - making a tulpa is a slow process that involves rewiring the way your brain works and requires multiple habits to form, which inevitably take time.

Do not be alarmed also if, during the process, your tulpa shifts from your expectations when it comes to their personality - that is to be expected.

Best of luck! Feel free to DM me if you have any more questions.

[fennecfoxx]

Kayleigh:

 

> inb4 fennec says why 16 personalities is trash and gives a lecture on jungian typology no one asked for

 

Yeah, there's no real way to do personality forcing "wrong" unless you deliberately make your tulpa an asshole or something. Personality tests are helpful for thinking about aspects of your tulpa's personality you might not have considered, especially if you think about the questions in depth.

 

Don't put too much stock in the result, though. Young tulpas tend to change, especially when they, you know, experience life.

 

Fennec (host) wants to point out that MBTI is actually about cognitive style, not personality traits, and recommends Sakinorva's test if you want to consider that side of it, too.

 

(EDIT: How did I forget about Michael Caloz's test? It's based around cognitive functions and has real-world examples for each question. It's by far the best MBTI test I've found (and I've taken just about every free one), though I advise skipping the weaknesses section for reasons I explain in my Enneagram post below. -fennec)

 

I'll stop indulging my host now. Good luck!

Edited June 1 by fennecfoxx
I've taken way too many personality tests and misplaced my mental tierlist. Ask me about MBTI/Socionics/Enneagram/Attitudinal Psyche/Psychosophy! -fennec

[mattx]

26 minutes ago, fennecfoxx said:

Fennec (host) wants to point out that MBTI is actually about cognitive style, not personality traits, and recommends Keys2Cognition if you want to consider that side of it, too.

Out of curiosity I've done that test too (my results) and they pretty much line up with what I would get on 16personalities (although they point me more towards ISTJ than INTP)

 

For OP: since we're on the subject, I would also recommend taking an enneagram test - I remember doing a full course about it and it explained a lot about behaviors and your core motivations.

[fennecfoxx]

16 minutes ago, mattx said:

For OP: since we're on the subject, I would also recommend taking an enneagram test - I remember doing a full course about it and it explained a lot about behaviors and your core motivations.

 

Wow, most of those questions have either nothing to do with the Enneagram or just focus on stereotypes. I'm suspicious of any test that claims to be "the most accurate", especially paired with a corporate art style. Sure enough, it wouldn't tell me my type until I gave it my email address, then said I had to pay for detailed results. Nope.

 

My personal recommendation for anyone interested is Enneagram User Guide. It focuses on your motivations (which is what Enneagram is about) and has a whole bunch of tests: core type (short or long test), type comparison tests, more advanced stuff like wings and tritype, plus learning resources. Plus, it doesn't ask for your money and personal data.

 

Bringing this back to tulpamancy, traits and cognitive style are probably better to focus on than core needs? I mean, Enneagram theory boils down to "This is your core need, which stems from a childhood wound. Your entire personality is organized around trying to fulfill that need or avoid your core fear, which is its opposite." Good tool for writers, but you should probably just cherry-pick the positive stuff if you're using it for forcing.

 

Since this is the beginners' subforum, I want to be explicit: Tulpas will develop complex personalities over time, whether you do extensive personality forcing or none at all. Personality forcing just gives them a seed to develop from rather than a blank slate. There is zero reason to give them flaws or neuroses; that's just artificially giving you and them unnecessary problems.

 

Just in case anyone thinks otherwise.

[mattx]

14 minutes ago, fennecfoxx said:

Wow, most of those questions have either nothing to do with the Enneagram or just focus on stereotypes. I'm suspicious of any test that claims to be "the most accurate", especially paired with a corporate art style. Sure enough, it wouldn't tell me my type until I gave it my email address, then said I had to pay for detailed results. Nope.

I specifically chose this one because the first few results on Google were indeed paywalled, this is the only one that I tested and gave me the enneagram type (there is a paywalled extra but it's unnecessary)

When I want to take a test, I usually use one that I have in paperback form which is from a 3-day course that I attended (as a foh technician, but still) - for the purposes of OP which is just to "baseline" a prototype personality foundation for their new tulpa, it's more than enough.

 

18 minutes ago, fennecfoxx said:

Enneagram theory boils down to "This is your core need, which stems from a childhood wound. Your entire personality is organized around trying to fulfill that need or avoid your core fear, which is its opposite." Good tool for writers, but you should probably just cherry-pick the positive stuff if you're using it for forcing.

Just like most personality or cognitive-style assessments based on tests, quizzes, and self-reporting, I’d take Enneagram as a loose framework rather than objective truth. At the end of the day, a lot of it comes from anecdotal patterns and subjective interpretation, so whatever you already believe, you’ll probably find something in it that seems to “fit.”

 

[STRATUS]

Wow! Thank you for the input, both of you! i'll keep this all in mind.

[fennecfoxx]

You're welcome! (Kayleigh says you're welcome as well.)

[Autumn Ren]

Don't be discouraged if yout tulpa shifts from desired personality traits, and if it becomes an issue, it can be adjusted later, that's what my host did for me.