Posting challenge

[magnetic_pole]

Re: the Harry Potter sorting quiz that's been circulating recently:

I came up with Ravenclaw, the only real surprise being that I registered merely at the 95th percentile.

Your result for The Sorting Hat: A Comprehensive Harry Potter Personality Assessment [Test/Quiz]...

Ravenclaw

63% Ravenclaw, 49% Hufflepuff, 43% Slytherin and 39% Gryffindor!

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

The cardinal traits of Ravenclaw are intellect, wit and openness to experience. They are the most introverted house of the four. Ravenclaws are more likely to prefer small gatherings of like-minded individuals and require recooperation after stressful social interaction. These individuals are intuitive creatures, the quintessential researchers. They lack the stubborn, strict, and rule-abiding qualities that would inhibit intellectual growth—one can't be too set in their ways if they are to be open to exploring new ideas and paths of thought.In contrast to Slytherin and Gryffindor, Ravenclaws in general are much more emotionally stable. Their reactions seem dampened compared to the sometimes dramatic responses of the other houses—they're much less likely to get offended, they're more open to criticism, not particularly argumentative and interested in hearing different points of view. They can at times seem to be less interested in people and more interested in their own inner world, and appear to be disconnected from the rest of humanity.

Ambition is secondary to them. Although they may strive to excel in school, knowledge and self-enrichment is the primary goal as opposed to simply wanting good marks. If they do happen to strive for excellence, it is because it fits with their other goals, not out of a desire to be superior or the best. Due to their intuitiveness and willingness to listen, Ravenclaws can be empathetic and make good advisors. They should generally leave leadership roles to people who are more extraverted and who would enjoy them more, however.

Take The Sorting Hat: A Comprehensive Harry Potter Personality Assessment [Test/Quiz] at HelloQuizzy

I've actually never taken a sorting quiz before, because it seemed so obvious that I'd come up with this result that I hadn't bothered. The more interesting development was that that better half, whom I've always thought of as the quintessential Gryffindor, came up with Hufflepuff. (Folks who've met her: a surprise, right?) Just going by the criteria established, I'd say she's hardworking but not particularly loyal, patient, or kind (Hufflepuff traits, as defined by the test) and certainly brave, proud, stubborn, and extroverted, if not especially impulsive (Gryffindor). The test description says that the questions are drawn from NEO-PI Personality Inventories but doesn't explain how personality traits like extroversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism are translated into the characteristics of the four Houses. I'm inclined to trust my own instinct here.

Last week I recommended Before Peace, itself a highly intellectual fic about intellectualism and Ravenclaw involvement in political turmoil at Hogwarts over at hp_friendship. (Well, not just "last week"--I still recommend it today!) But it got me thinking about the Houses and what an odd kind of universe it would be to live and study and play with the people who are most like you in terms of personality. There's so much self-selection in the Muggle world of adolescence--in terms of class, gender, subculture, race and ethnicity--but personality type doesn't seem to be a strong criterion for friendship and companionship. In fact, if anything, different personality types seem to complement each other.*

Anyways, that brings me to my question: I've seen some of your sortings, but what kind of relationships are you in with romantic partners, close friends, children, siblings and family members, close coworkers? Are the people who are closest to you also similar to you in terms of personality?

* Arguably, that's the case in HP, as well, with most of the action taking place in the world of Gryffindor, but with Hermione and Neville bringing some of the best qualities of other Houses and Luna sneaking over the border altogether.

Comments

[delphi]

The test description says that the questions are drawn from NEO-PI Personality Inventories but doesn't explain how personality traits like extroversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism are translated into the characteristics of the four Houses. I'm inclined to trust my own instinct here.

I brought up something similar with Kelly, and she noted very astutely that the questions geared towards measuring Slytherin affiliation seemed primarily based on Snape rather than on the house as a whole. I ended up with a high Slytherin score despite being entirely devoid of ambition - solely, I think, based on my tendency towards grumpiness.

There's so much self-selection in the Muggle world of adolescence--in terms of class, gender, subculture, race and ethnicity--but personality type doesn't seem to be a strong criterion for friendship and companionship. In fact, if anything, different personality types seem to complement each other.*

Exactly. While I think I could only carry on a long-term romance with someone who has the objective interpersonal skills of a Ravenclaw or Slytherin (intimate emotional relationships with people who react 100% genuinely without a constant neurotic check- and re-check filter bring out the worst in me), the best groups of friends or co-workers I've been part of have been mixed in terms of personality. Social situations seem to be better balanced when you've got an even distribution of temperaments and inclinations, and I think they allow people to develop some of the neglected sides of themselves.

I feel like one of the reasons the house system in HP fell down thematically for me is because of this. Genre fiction, and fantasy in particular, thrives on the trope of a motley crew or found family coming together. HP sort of touches on this with Dumbledore's Army, but late in the series and notably short on Slytherins. Instead, that same dynamic is carried out through the coming together of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who do hit some of the recognizable archetypes that make for an enjoyable company of disparate characters, but who by all being Gryffindors (along with their parents and primary mentors) set it up as being "the house that heroes come from," leaving the other three underdeveloped.

All that said, I've been in what might be termed highly Ravenclawish environments in the past (a 'gifted' program, an esoteric program in undergrad, and then library school), and I've found that I am a little more at ease being dropped into social situations with people of that bent - not because of what I get from their company, but because of how I am and am not marked as different there. As someone who's female, queer, mixed race, non-Christian, and comes from a working class background, I'm almost always guaranteed to be "the [insert quality here] one" in any group. Currently, I work in an all-female office where I'm mostly closeted, have had the awkward conversation about my racial and ethnic background, and am okay with the confusion my rural roots elicit...but I have the damnedest time dealing with being The Smart One.

[liseuse]

I got Ravenclaw as well. Which is nice. 65% Ravenclaw, 46% Hufflepuff, 55% Slytherin and 32% Gryffindor, to be precise. I always have difficulty with this type of quiz because I want it to be more sensitive. You know, I don't like chatting to random people, but I do love chatting to my friends. I don't care very much about being the best at something, but I do expect myself to do things to the best of my ability. I think my relatively high Slytherin score is mostly because I am not the most optimistic person in the world, and don't have much patience. Not because I am actually sneaky or cunning. And, as you know, one of the things that frustrates me so much about the Harry Potter houses is the way that certain personality traits get coded as always being bad. Slytherin have so much bad press, but they aren't actually any more awful than the other houses. Heedless Gryffindor acts of bravery and valour can be just as bad for a society. *grump grump grump*