UNLOCK YOUR POTENTIAL

Unlock your potential… Any good therapist will tell you that deep self-knowledge is the key to making positive changes in your life. But can The Cambridge Code, a quick online personality quiz, help you do the same? Arielle Tchiprout finds out

Can a personality quiz change your life?

Iam on an eternal mission to understand myself better. I’ll take any personality quiz I stumble across (who doesn’t?), and gravitate towards articles and books that help me uncover why I do the things I do. I’m sure that the more self-awareness I have, the more empowered I’ll be to make choices that align with my values. I’ll also be better equipped to avoid any negative behaviour patterns, improve my relationships and boost my mental wellbeing.

And yes, I also know that if I really want to achieve all that, I should probably see a professional therapist. But here’s the thing: I’m low on funds, short of time and also not sure I’m quite ready to explore the deepest, darkest parts of my psyche. I’m the kind of person who likes to keep things quick and easy, so I’ve always been frustrated by the fact that there hasn’t been a genuine shortcut for psychological exploration – until now.

Enter The Cambridge Code (TCC), a 30-minute psychometric test that claims to be ‘a DNA test for the mind’, revealing the subconscious pathways that make us who we are. Created by acclaimed psychologist Dr Emma Loveridge and doctor-turned-headhunter Dr Curly Moloney, TCC was developed by a team of Cambridge scientists, who began a lengthy process of research and trialling in 2013, eventually designing an algorithm to translate numerical scores into a picture of an individual’s characteristics. It’s estimated that six to eight hours of work with a therapist will give you an ‘image’ of the subconscious

mind, and TCC claims to give similar insight in only 30 minutes. ‘It’s a diagnostic tool,’ says Dr Loveridge. ‘It’s not meant to replace exploration with a therapist, but it can give you a head start.’

Until recently, the test has been primarily used to assist companies in their recruitment processes; to discover subconscious potential and therefore make smarter, unbiased hiring decisions. But now, anyone who buys a copy of their book The Cambridge Code can access the test online, in order to reap the benefits for themselves.

Like many forms of therapy, TCC is based on the premise that the first 18 years of our lives are formative; that they shape the way we think and operate in adult life. ‘Every day, without being aware of it, we slip down the rungs of an internal ladder to various states of development,’ Dr Loveridge explains. ‘For example, when we feel needy we’re back to childhood, and when we’re grumpy we become a moody teenager. These responses can last a significant period of time, or we can make a swift recovery. The questions in TCC measure the degree of the slip and the speed of recovery. Essentially, they reveal which parts of your development you might become ‘stuck’ in. It’s like seeing your instincts written out for you.’

So why is this helpful? ‘Self-knowledge gives you some say over who you are, without it just flooding you,’ says Dr Loveridge. ‘It will enable you to understand what suits you in life and what does not; why you have a tendency to act, react, think and behave in certain ways in specific situations. It’s not about getting hung up on the past, but seeing what impact the past has had on you, in order to take that into the future.’

‘The first 18 years of life are formative; they shape the way we think’

Taking the test

I’m intrigued to log in to the special online portal, using a unique user ID that came with the book. The questions are all multiple choice, and the first few concern the facts of my childhood – like how many siblings I have and whether my parents split up. So far, not too difficult. But the questions that follow concern various scenarios, many of which seem strange to me (‘Have you ever had an imaginary twin?’) or painful and intrusive (‘Remember when you first lost out to a rival. What did you do?’). The questions tended to contain two parts – one asking about my direct response and another about how I felt afterwards. I regularly found myself shouting at the screen because I didn’t think any of the multiple choice options I was allowed to select really described how I felt. This, Dr Loveridge tells me, is exactly the point. ‘Most people want to choose a nice, balanced, adult answer – but we wanted to see what you would instinctively choose if you weren’t trying to be a nice, balanced adult.’ The fact there are not any obvious or ‘right’ answers makes it almost impossible to cheat the system; you can’t try to craft your desired outcome. When I tell Dr Loveridge afterwards how uncomfortable the test made me feel, she assures me that I’m not alone. ‘The test can be exciting, interesting, intrusive and challenging,’ she says. ‘Indeed, not unlike the experience of working with a therapist.’

Decoding my results

My results are calculated and displayed on screen in the form of 12 different brains, each coloured green or blue. Each brain represents a different domain of the subconscious mind: adaptability, analytical, authenticity, boundaried, competitiveness, entrepreneurial, graciousness, independence, neediness, perfectionist, rebelliousness and resilience.

Around half of mine are green: ‘this is where you’re more aware of what you’re doing – those elements probably don’t give you any trouble,’ explains Dr Loveridge. But the other half are blue: ‘this is where you have less choice – where things happen to you that you don’t feel you have control over.’ Essentially, these areas are where I can easily slip down the rungs of development; they’re where I get stuck. But, says Dr Loveridge, green isn’t necessarily better than blue. The areas where we’re stuck can also be the source of our creativity or purpose and we can use them to our advantage. Plus, blue can manifest in different ways. One person may explicitly seek affirmation, while another could appear as if they don’t need anyone, but they might both code blue for neediness, as the subconscious desire is the same. And despite my 50/50 split, Dr Loveridge says everyone has a different configuration of blue and green – this is what makes up the unique ‘map’ of our subconscious minds.

Once I’ve understood the colours, I read the document provided, which explains my results, alongside tips on how to

deal with trouble areas. Many of my results gave me that feeling of looking in the mirror – I coded blue for ‘analytical’, which said I tend to overthink and struggle to make decisions (nothing unexpected). But other results surprised me. I also coded blue on ‘competitiveness’. I’ve never considered myself to be competitive; I don’t care for games or sports and I’m supportive of friends and colleagues. At first, I dismissed this as a glitch, but then I read further. ‘The competitive element to your personality may not always be easily recognisable to others (and even yourself),’ my results said. Suddenly, memories bubbled up; of crying at school when my friend got a better grade than me, and, more recently, of secretly hoping I had the best ideas in a meeting. At first,

I felt ashamed and guilty, then I realised that this must be the driving force behind my ambition. Finally admitting this ‘undesirable’ quality to myself has been strangely liberating.

My results also helped me rewrite some of the stories I’d told about myself. I’ve always described myself as sensitive, yet I coded green on ‘resilience’. ‘Real resilience is when you can be upset, feel the grief, and then recover,’ Dr Loveridge says. I learned that the way I let my feelings flood me is actually an asset, as it allows me to flush out the sadness and bounce back stronger. I’d never thought of it that way. ‘I think part of this is about patting yourself on the back,’ Dr Loveridge adds. ‘After getting their results, lots of people say to me, “Oh gosh, I’m actually all right, aren’t I?”’