Psychological questions to get to know a person: a list of questions and identifying true character

December 2, 2018
Psychological terms
Yulia Abdulbarova

Agree, this often happens: you have known a person all your life, but it turns out that you don’t know him at all. This is because most of us are not aware of the questions that need to be asked to a loved one or relative in order to get to know him better. But what are they? We will present popular psychological questions to get to know a person. They are simple and not deeply personal, but they will allow you to discover a completely new side of your loved one, and be surprised to find out how similar you are in some way.

What is your most vivid memory from childhood?

And this is the first psychological question to get to know a person. He will make both a young girl and a respectable veteran smile. For many of us, these are the warmest memories that we want to talk about with humor and a smile on our faces. About trips with the whole family, children's dreams, dashing adventures, children's companions, happy holidays.

Memories of childhood bring people closer together - you will understand how much you had in common then, even if you did not know each other at that time.

How did you meet...

With your husband or wife, your best friend or girlfriend, with one of your mutual friends. The narrative of an acquaintance that spans a person's entire life opens him up. And it allows him to relive the joyful emotions of years gone by.

This is a very useful psychological question to get to know a person. And above all - for the one who asks it. You get acquainted with real-life experience of how to maintain a friendship or relationship for many years, how to overcome quarrels and difficulties together.

What kind of music do you like?

If you need 10 questions to get to know a person, don't forget to include this one in your honor roll. Favorite music reflects a person’s character and temperament, speaks of his dreams and hopes. After all, what a person listens to resonates with his soul.

Therefore, musical preferences will tell you what your friend is like deep down. And they can often surprise you. Outwardly calm people sometimes prefer heavy rock music. Severe and unemotional people put love romances first. By sharing your musical preferences, you can tell a lot more about yourself than words can express.

What 5 things would you take to a desert island/space flight?

This is a question about a person that will make him think hard. The things to which we are most attached clearly characterize us. What a person chooses is most dear to him. Why? He must answer this question for himself.

What are the selected items? Are these material goods or things that hold dear memories? Are these objects of art or modern gadgets? As you can see, the question allows you to find out what exactly your interlocutor puts forward in the first place.

Which first teacher is more dear to you than others?

Experts consider this one of the important psychological issues. To get to know a person from the perspective of his attitude to knowledge and self-knowledge, ask him about his first teacher. After all, it is this teacher who instills a love of knowledge in general, helps to reveal the child’s creative potential and aspirations in the field of knowledge.

If a person has negative memories of his first teacher, this may also explain some of his real problems. Perhaps he is busy with something he doesn’t like because once upon a time he was not helped to decide on a field of activity that was more suitable for him than others.

What will be written on your tombstone?

Psychologists also give this question to a person in order to get to know him better. But remember that for many it is very personal and unacceptable, so it is worth asking it to those whose reaction will be adequate.

What will the answer give you? You will understand what a person strives for, what he wants to leave behind. What he wants to be remembered by his loved ones, what is his life’s work.

A few more philosophical questions to start an interesting conversation

What is the meaning of life for you?
What do you think will be your last memory?
How long do you think you will be remembered?
What's the most important thing you've done in your life?
How have you managed to change the world at least a little?
What is the most important quality for any person?
What should there be more of in the world?
What should there be less of in the world?
What do you think will be more valued in 50 years: science or art?
Why do you think art is important (or vice versa, useless)?
Do you think the influence of religions will increase or decrease?
What is happiness?
What do you consider more important and why: improving your own life, helping your family, or making the world a better place?
By what criteria should society be assessed?
Is the world changing for the better or for the worse? And why?
Do you have a motto or main life principle?
Are moral principles relative or absolute?
What from the past would be worth preserving?
How has society changed during your lifetime?
What do you think are the reasons for these changes?
What is better - to be a realist or an optimist?

“It’s always useful to have in your “arsenal” a set of important and interesting questions that can start an interesting dialogue. Such questions help you get to know others and yourself better and strengthen relationships with loved ones,” emphasizes Holly Richmond.

What radically changed your life?

This is not just a question to get to know the person better. This is a way to take communication to a new level of trust.

In everyone’s life, at least one situation has happened, because of which the attitude towards familiar things has changed, a person looked at his surroundings with different eyes. He began to cherish something with all his heart, but something forever lost its value for him.

Such revaluation is preceded by a lot of psychological and emotional work on oneself. And these are always very personal experiences. If your interlocutor shares them with you from the bottom of his heart, it means that he completely trusts you.

Biography

33. Where did you live before? How is that city different from your current place of residence? 34. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 35. Do you have any hidden talents or unexpected hobbies? 36. What did you like to do in elementary school (outside the school curriculum)? 37. What accessory or item was your “must-have” in childhood/teenage, i.e., growing up? 38. What was the most incredible thing that has ever happened to you? 39. Who was the most significant person, mentor, role model for you? 40. What was the most valuable piece of advice you've ever been given?

What do you do in your free time?

This question serves as an organic addition to the previous one. Creates a holistic picture of how your interlocutor organized his own life.

Interests, hobbies, favorite pastimes are great topics to get closer to your friend. More than likely, you'll find something you like equally as much. Hobbies tell a lot about a person’s character, his temperament, and preferred lifestyle.

What to ask your partner

How do you feel most often lately?
Do you think we're close enough?
Are you satisfied with everything about sex?
How could we make our relationship even better?
When do you feel especially loved/loved?
Is there something so important to you that you would risk your life for it?
How can I become a better partner?
What were you like as a child? And in adolescence?
When was the last time you felt lonely even though we were together?
What do you dream about?
At what moments do you think you and I are especially close?
Is there something bothering you that I could help with?
What is your idea of a truly great relationship?

What would you spend your big lottery winnings on?

Often we cannot realize our dreams just because it is financially difficult or practically impossible. This way you will find out where the money issue limits your friend.

Big money is also a serious test for each of us. Even if we manage them only in our thoughts. By telling what he would do with a big win, a person expresses his attitude towards money and reveals his true life goals. Would he quit his job or use the money to help those in need? Would you make your dream come true or put it off for the future? Or maybe your interlocutor would completely refuse a big win?

Lifestyle questions

Now that you've gotten over the awkwardness of the first meeting, you can try asking them a little more about their lifestyle.

You can start with their hobbies and interests, moving on to more serious topics such as stress management and even finances.

What is your work/study schedule?
Do you smoke?
Can you cook?
What do you like best? Live in an apartment in the center or in your own house, but outside the city?
What do you usually eat for breakfast?
At what age did you buy your first car?
Do you participate in lotteries?
Have you ever thought about starting your own business?
…What type of business do you have in mind?
What do you like best? Stay at home or walk outside?
Sushi or pizza?
Dogs or cats?
Do you have a pet at home?
Do you like trips out of town and walks in nature?
Do you drink alcohol?
Have you ever invested in stocks or do you prefer to keep your savings in the bank?
What's the most expensive purchase you've made?
Do you love shopping online?
When was the last time you were hospitalized?
Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Do you like to buy branded items?
Have you ever been on a diet?
Do you like going to nightclubs/bars?
Do you like swimming/going to the beach?
Do you do any sports?

Do you have any favorite books? Which?

The love of reading itself tells a lot about a person. It is equally important what genres of books, what authors and literary heroes he likes. Why did he remember them, what was attractive in their words and thoughts? Why did this or that book become a reference book for this person?

When talking about their favorite books, people find something in common with each other, an inexhaustible topic for debate and reasoning.

A game that will help determine the true character of a person

Finding a common language with a stranger can be difficult. This is not due to a lack of communication skills. To determine a person’s character, it is recommended to use special psychology questions.

In addition, it is worth paying attention to an interesting game - try on the role of a super agent. At the same time, it is worth observing the stranger in order to compose his portrait for yourself. To do this, it is recommended to pay attention to details: what this person eats, what he wears, how he behaves in a given situation, how he communicates with colleagues.

It is worth paying attention to whether a person acts spontaneously or is used to analyzing everything, how he perceives the disadvantages of other people, where the boundaries of goodness end. The sincerity of the interlocutor is of no small importance - when he starts to lie, up to what amount of money he remains incorruptible. After a detailed analysis, it will be possible to draw conclusions about how a person will be able to act in a given situation and whether he can be trusted.

What is love to you?

A question to ask the person you like. After all, the basis of all quarrels and omissions between lovers is that people can understand love in completely different ways. For some, these are romantic feelings, for others - bright emotions, for others, the word is associated only with serious relationships and family ties.

You will learn how a person expresses his love, what he expects in return from his loved ones. Which makes him feel loved.

What's your ideal day? What is the most awkward moment in life? How old do you feel? What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? What would you change as president? There is a whole sea of psychological questions to get to know a person better. Or rediscover a friend you've known for a long time.

drunk guest

Have you started a new job and need to establish relationships with your team, but don’t know where to start the conversation? We offer a list of 100 questions that will help you get to know a person better.

Who is your hero?
If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
What are you most afraid of?
What's your favorite family vacation?
What would you like to change about yourself if you could?
What really makes you angry?
What motivates you to work hard?
What do you enjoy most about your job?
What are you most unhappy about in your job?
What is your greatest achievement?
What is your child's greatest achievement?
What is your favorite book?
What makes you laugh the most?
What was the last movie you went to? What do you think of him?
What did you want to be when you were little?
What does your child want to be when he grows up?
If you could choose to do anything during the day, what would it be?
What is your favorite game or sport?
Would you rather: ride a bike, ride a horse, drive a car?
What song would you sing karaoke all night?
What two radio stations do you listen to most often in the car?
What would you rather do: wash the dishes, mow the lawn, clean the bathroom, or vacuum the house?
If you could hire an assistant, what would you do? For help with cleaning, cooking, or working in the garden?
If you could only eat one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Who is your favorite author?
Have you ever had nicknames? Which?
Do you like or don't like surprises? Why or why not?
In the evening, would you rather play, visit relatives, watch a movie or read?
Would you rather vacation in Hawaii or Alaska, and why?
What would you like more: winning the lottery or having the perfect job? And why?
Who would you send to a desert island?
If there was no money, what would you do all day?
If you could go back in time, what year would you go to?
How would your friends describe you?
What are your hobbies?
What's the best gift you've ever received?
What's the worst gift you've ever received?
Aside from the essentials, what's the one thing you still can't live without all day?
List two problems with keeping pets.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
How many pairs of shoes do you have?
If you were a super hero, what super powers would you have?
What would you do if you won the lottery?
What type of public transport do you prefer? (plane, train, bus, car, etc.)
What is your favorite pet?
If you could go back in time to change one thing, what would it be?
If you could have lunch with any 4 people, who would they be?
How many pillows do you sleep on?
How long have you been awake at most (and why)?
What's the tallest building you've climbed?
Would you choose intelligence or looks?
How often do you buy clothes?
Have you ever had a secret admirer?
What is your favorite holiday?
What's the bravest thing you've ever done?
What's the last thing you recorded on TV?
What was the last book you read?
What's your favorite foreign food?
Are you a clean or dirty person?
If they made a film about your life, who would play you? Which actor?
How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
What kitchen appliance do you use every day?
What's your favorite fast food?
What's your favorite family recipe?
Do you love or hate roller coasters?
What's your favorite family tradition?
What is your favorite childhood memory?
What is your favorite film?
How old were you when you found out Santa didn't exist? How do you know?
Is your glass half full or half empty?
What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of love?
What three items would you take with you to a desert island?
What was your favorite subject at school?
What's the most unusual dish you've eaten?
Do you collect anything?
Is there anything you would like to bring back into fashion?
Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
Which five senses do you consider the most powerful?
Have you ever had a surprise party? (that was a real surprise)
Do you have any famous relatives?
What do you do to keep fit?
Does your family have a motto?
If you were the ruler of your country, what would be the first law you would introduce?
Who was your favorite teacher at school and why?
What three things do you think are most important to do every day?
If you heard a warning, what would you respond?
Do you have a song that seems to be sung about you?
Which celebrity would you have a cup of coffee with?
Who was your first love?
What's the most interesting thing you can see from your office or kitchen window?
On a scale of 1-10, how funny are your jokes?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
What was your first job?
If you could join any music group, past or present, which one would you want to join?
How many languages do you know?
What is your favorite family holiday, traditions?
Who is the smartest person you know?
What animal do you identify with?
What thing would you never do again?
Who knows you best?

Translation: drunk guest