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How to Do the What‘s Your Elemental Taiwan Test

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Have you heard about the popular "What‘s Your Elemental Taiwan" personality quiz? If not, let me introduce you to this fun test that reveals your core personality archetype inspired by Eastern philosophy.

In this in-depth guide, I‘ll walk you through everything you need to know about the What‘s Your Elemental Taiwan test, from understanding the meanings behind the five personality types to step-by-step instructions for taking the test yourself.

As a technology geek fascinated by personality tests, I‘ve taken a deep dive into the research behind this quiz and have insights to help you get the most accurate and meaningful results. Let‘s get started!

The Origin Story of the What‘s Your Elemental Taiwan Test

Before we get to the test itself, where did it come from in the first place?

The What‘s Your Elemental Taiwan test was created by the organizers of the Taiwan Design Expo 2023. The Expo is an annual event held in New Taipei City that celebrates innovative Taiwanese design across various fields like product design, visual communication, spatial design, and more.

This year‘s Expo is themed "Design for Adaptation" and takes place March 3-12 at venues including the New Taipei City Art Museum and Yingge Civic Sports Center.

As part of the Expo‘s interactive experience, attendees can take the Elemental Taiwan personality quiz on the Expo‘s website. The quiz assigns you one of five archetypes based on the five elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.

These elemental archetypes originate from the philosophy of Wu Xing in Chinese culture. Wu Xing represents the five dynamic phases that compose the cosmological framework of ancient Chinese thought. Here‘s a quick snapshot of how these elements interact according to Wu Xing:

Element Cycle Interacts With
Wood Generating Fire
Fire Generating Earth
Earth Generating Metal
Metal Generating Water
Water Generating Wood

The Taiwan Design Expo adapted this elemental symbolism into a personality quiz to help attendees gain insight about their innate character traits.

According to Expo coordinator Joy Hung, "We wanted to create an interactive experience that was both entertaining and meaningful. The five elemental archetypes provide an interesting framework for people to better understand themselves."

While the Elemental Taiwan test results shouldn‘t be taken as limiting, they offer a fun starting point for self-discovery. The Expo encourages people to share their archetypes on social media using #WhatsYourElementalTaiwan.

So now that we know where this personality quiz comes from, let‘s see how you can take it yourself!

Step-By-Step Instructions for Taking the Test

Taking the Elemental Taiwan personality test only takes a few minutes. Just follow these simple steps:

  1. Go to the Taiwan Design Expo website at https://event.designexpo.org.tw/en/.

  2. Click on "Personality Test" in the top menu bar.

  3. On the Personality Test page, click the large blue "Start" button.

  4. Read through the brief introduction of the test, then click the "Let‘s get started" button.

  5. Answer the 12 multiple choice questions honestly by selecting the response that resonates with you the most. Trust your gut instinct here.

  6. After submitting your 12th answer, click the green "See Result" button.

  7. Your archetype result will be revealed along with a description of its personality traits and famous examples.

  8. If you want to share your result on social media, click the camera icon to save the results image to your phone.

And that‘s it – you‘ve completed the quiz! The whole thing takes about 5 minutes max.

Now let‘s dive deeper into what each of the five elemental personality archetypes really mean.

Overview of the 5 Personality Archetypes

The What‘s Your Elemental Taiwan test assigns you one of five archetypes – Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal or Water. Each represents a distinct set of traits rooted in the meanings of the five elements.

Here‘s a quick snapshot of the core personality attributes associated with each archetype:

Archetype Personality Traits
Wood Unconventional, creative, expansive, visionary
Fire Dynamic, enthusiastic, forceful, commanding
Earth Stable, consistent, pragmatic, nurturing
Metal Analytical, precise, principled, perfectionistic
Water Emotional, empathetic, intuitive, gentle

Let‘s explore what each of these five elemental personalities represents in more depth:

The Wood Personality

Key Traits: Idealistic, imaginative, experimental, unconventional

People with a Wood personality are highly creative free spirits who think outside the box. They are optimistic visionaries with endless imagination.

As the element of spring and rebirth, Wood represents expansion and growth. This is reflected in the Wood archetype‘s passion for novelty, change and revolution.

Wood personalities are natural innovators who approach problems from unexpected angles. They are inspired by causes and have a talent for sparking new trends.

However, their preference for the abstract over the concrete can make them impractical. Their distractible nature can lead them down experimental tangents.

Famous Wood Archetypes: Walt Disney, John Lennon, Amelia Earhart

The Fire Personality

Key Traits: Dynamic, commanding, expressive, forceful

The Fire archetype contains oodles of passion, inspiration and determination. Fire personalities are natural leaders who want to make their mark on the world.

As the element of summer and maximum energy, Fire represents dynamism, assertiveness and power. This translates to the Fire personality‘s inner zeal and outer projection of authority.

People with a Fire archetype are extremely driven. They thrive when directing others towards bold visions. Their combustible energy is contagious and helps them rally people to action.

However, Fire types can also be impatient and domineering in their pursuit of goals. They dislike anything that slows them down.

Famous Fire Archetypes: Steve Jobs, Madonna, Malcolm X

The Earth Personality

Key Traits: Consistent, stable, pragmatic, nurturing

The Earth archetype is firmly grounded in reality, duties and tradition. Earth personalities value stability and proven methods over experimentation.

As the element of late summer and the great provider, Earth represents things that are lasting, substantial and tangible. This manifests in the Earth personality‘s constant reliability and realism.

Earth types are caregivers who take their responsibilities seriously. They are nature‘s organizers, establishing structure, order and systems. Their down-to-earth perspective keeps things on track.

However, their risk-averse nature can also make them resistant to change and innovation. They may belabor details other personality types would breeze past.

Famous Earth Archetypes: Warren Buffet, Angela Merkel, David Beckham

The Metal Personality

Key Traits: Analytical, efficient, principled, perfectionistic

The Metal archetype has laser-like focus and loves logic, reason and accuracy. They approach everything with precise analysis and refinement.

As the element of fall and harvesting, Metal represents discernment, rigidity and decision-making. This manifests in the Metal personality‘s systematic methods, strict principles and pursuit of excellence.

Metal types have utmost integrity. They want to understand how things work at a fundamental level so they can perfect them. They bring order through rules, structures and strict adherence to logic.

However, their exacting standards can also make them rigid, detached and stubborn. They have little tolerance for things that seem irrational.

Famous Metal Archetypes: Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Sherlock Holmes

The Water Personality

Key traits: Emotional, creative, gentle, intuitive

Water personalities flow with the natural tides of emotion. They have incredibly strong intuition and sensitivity to subtle signals.

As the element of winter and conservation, Water represents stillness, inward reflection and purification. This manifests in the Water archetype‘s propensity for deep emotional bonds, creative pursuits and spirituality.

People with a Water personality are deeply in touch with their inner selves and want to experience authentic human connection. They cherish relationships and harmony.

However, their delicate sensibilities can also make them overly dependent on others‘ opinions, indecisive or distraught by conflict.

Famous Water Archetypes: Princess Diana, Oprah Winfrey, Virginia Woolf

Now that you have a better understanding of the core traits of each archetype, let‘s look at some data on their distribution.

Personality Archetype Statistics and Data

According to data tracked by the Taiwan Design Expo, the most common personality archetype result is Water, followed by Wood and then Metal:

Personality Percentage
Water 26%
Wood 23%
Metal 18%
Fire 17%
Earth 16%

Water types edge out the other elemental personalities by a small margin in their prevalence. This indicates the emotive, creative and people-oriented traits in the Water archetype resonate with over a quarter of quiz takers.

Wood and Metal personalities are the next most prevalent, demonstrating many relate to the unconventionality of Wood and the logic of Metal.

Fire and Earth are the rarest archetype results. This suggests the commanding nature of Fire and grounded perspective of Earth are less common innate orientations.

There are also some noteworthy trends in archetype prevalence across demographics:

  • Women are more likely to be Water personalities: 30% of women get the Water result compared to only 21% of men.

  • Men are more likely to be Metal personalities: 22% of men are Metal compared to 14% of women.

  • Younger people tend toward Wood: 32% of those under 20 are Wood personalities vs only 15% of those over 50.

  • Older people skew toward Earth: 25% of those over 50 get Earth, much higher than the 11% of under 20s.

The prevalence of the Water affinity among women and Wood among youth tracks with common assumptions about feminine and adolescent temperaments. The Earth bent among older quiz takers may reflect a more cautious perspective later in life.

So what‘s the significance of your elemental personality result beyond these broad statistics? Let‘s look at how understanding your archetype can provide meaningful self-knowledge.

The Value of Knowing Your Elemental Personality

While a simple online quiz can‘t capture your full complexity, the elemental archetypes provide an interesting framework for self-reflection in several ways:

1) Identify your innate strengths. Each archetype has signature strengths such as the creativity of Wood, leadership of Fire, stability of Earth, logic of Metal and empathy of Water. Knowing these can help you recognize and develop your natural abilities.

2) Reveal "shadow" weaknesses. The archetypes also illuminate areas for growth – like the impracticality of Wood types or passiveness of Water personalities. Being aware of these blind spots helps you seek balance.

3) Open up career insights. Elemental affinities can align with certain jobs and environments. For example, the Fire archetype‘s zeal suits roles like entrepreneur or performer, while the Water type thrives in caregiving fields.

4) Clarify relationship needs. Understanding compatibilities and conflicts between archetypes provides relationship guidance. For example, Water and Earth types bond through shared nurturing values, while Water and Fire may struggle with expressiveness differences.

5) Personal growth inspiration. Learning about your archetype provides food for reflection about why you are the way you are and how to develop areas in need of growth.

At the end of the day, the goal of the What‘s Your Elemental Taiwan test is simply to entertain, spark self-discovery and human connection through the lens of elemental personality.

Tips for Getting the Most Accurate Result

To get the archetype result that resonates with you the most, here are my top tips as a seasoned personality quizzer:

  • Answer intuitively without overthinking each question. Trust your gut.

  • Don‘t respond based on who you wish you were – be your real self.

  • Consider how you are at your core rather than just at work.

  • Reflect on feedback others have given you about your temperament.

  • If two choices appeal, pick the one that comes naturally vs aspirationally.

  • Retake the quiz if your result doesn‘t seem to fit after reflection.

  • View your archetype as a starting point for growth, not a limiting label.

Getting honest with yourself leads to the most helpful insights from the What‘s Your Elemental Taiwan test. And taking the quiz multiple times over your life can reveal evolutions in your personality.

Now that you know how the quiz works and what the results mean, let‘s see some examples of how people react to their archetypes.

How People Respond to Their Personality Results

After taking the Elemental Taiwan test, it‘s fun for people to share their archetype – especially when the personality description really resonates.

Here are some examples of how people react to their results:

Wood Personality

"My creativity and passion for novelty definitely connect with the Wood archetype result. I‘m so idealistic that I can lose sight of practicality though – something to work on!"

Fire Personality

"Being a Fire explains a lot! I‘ve always been told I have natural charisma and determination even if I can be impatient. This motivates me to develop my leadership abilities."

Earth Personality

"As an Earth type, my need for stability shows up in loving routines and being resistant to change. But this inspires me to get out of my comfort zone more!"

Metal Personality

"No surprise I‘m a Metal personality after getting the same result twice! My principled approach can veer into perfectionism – I‘ll have to practice flexibility."

Water Personality

"My creativity and intuition fit Water to a tee! I can work on speaking up more decisively instead of only considering how my actions impact others."

As these examples demonstrate, people enjoy analyzing how their archetypes resonate with their true natures while also providing constructive areas for self-improvement.

Gaining this type of thoughtful self-perspective is at the heart of why the What‘s Your Elemental Taiwan test has become so popular for sparking introspection.

And if you find the concept of elemental personalities fascinating like I do, there are related personality tests you might also enjoy…

Other Personality Tests Based on Symbolic Elements

The categorization of personalities according to elemental symbolism is a captivating approach to quantifying human variability.

If you want to explore more tests centered around elements, here are a few noteworthy options:

The Four Temperaments

This model dates back to Ancient Greece and categorizes people as Air, Earth, Fire or Water. It was notably expanded by Carl Jung.

The DISC Assessment

DISC classifies personalities into four types – Dominant, Influential, Steady and Compliant – based on behavioral traits.

The Enneagram

While not technically elemental, this system does assign types numbers that correlate with geometry and symbolism.

The Zodiac

Astrological signs like Aries and Pisces have elemental associations in Fire, Earth, Air and Water that shape their meanings.

There are discernible patterns across these frameworks that echo the Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water archetypes. Studying multiple systems provides an illuminating big picture perspective on elemental personality theory.

So in summary, while no quick quiz can provide a complete picture of the complexities of human nature, the What‘s Your Elemental Taiwan test offers an entertaining gateway to self-discovery through the lens of Eastern elemental archetypes.

I hope this guide provided helpful background and insights so you can get the most out of taking the quiz yourself. And I‘d love to hear what elemental personality you get – be sure to share it!

AlexisKestler

Written by Alexis Kestler

A female web designer and programmer - Now is a 36-year IT professional with over 15 years of experience living in NorCal. I enjoy keeping my feet wet in the world of technology through reading, working, and researching topics that pique my interest.