Few subjects in the great ocean of social media material, memes, and viral posts fascinate people as much as fast, eye-catching “personality tests.” You may have gone through your page, found an image with concentric circles, and read a bold assertion: “The Number of Circles You See Determines If You’re a Narcissist.” Maybe you,

paused to count the circles or even told others about it to gauge their responses. Whatever the situation, this specific meme plays on a strong and timeless human need: the want to know ourselves and maybe to know others as well. A straightforward picture claiming to gauge something as complicated as narcissism seems to get us much credence.

This question is relevant in a society where people discuss constantly personality tests ranging from the “What Kind of Pizza Are You?” to the more conventional Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.