Why we put on the sorting hat: Motivations to take fan personality tests

Abstract

Background: There is little reason to believe that fan-related personality tests, which tell fans what type of person they are based on their favorite fan content, are valid or reliable. Nevertheless, fan-related personality tests remain incredibly popular online. Participants and Procedure: Building upon existing fan research, the present study tests whether fans may have other motivations for taking such personality tests, drawing upon prior research by Wann. Self-identified fans (N = 425, Mage = 26.41, SD = 8.44) completed measures regarding degree of identification with their fan interest, motivations to take fan quizzes, and frequency of taking fan personality quizzes. Results: Highly-identified fans were found to more frequently take fan-related personality tests, an association significantly mediated by both self-esteem and escapism motivations, but not mediated by eustress, entertainment, belongingness, or family motivations. Conclusions: The results suggest that highly identified fans participate in more fan personality quizzes to escape from the hassles of everyday life and increase positive self-worth. These results are discussed with respect to their theoretical relevance - both for research on personality testing and on fan activities - as well as for their practical implications.