32 animal friends
KidType measures your child across five traits and shows the combination as one of 32 animal friends. You can read what each animal is like here, without taking the test.
- Bold KangarooFearless and refreshingly simple
- Clever FoxEnergetic, my-way free spirit
- Chatty ParrotFull of expression, loves what it knows
- Playful MonkeyWitty, spontaneous prankster
- Steadfast BisonOnce decided, pushes all the way through
- Brave LionA solid leader who likes to take charge
- Solid WolfClear standards, keeps the rules
- Sharp HawkGoal-driven, sensitive competitor
- Cheerful PuppyBright, easy-going, happy as they come
- Excited SquirrelCurious, energetic adventurer
- Warm SealBig feelings, loves familiar faces
- Lively DolphinSociable, free-spirited mood-maker
- Reliable PonyBright, dependable, always the same
- Reliable Golden RetrieverBright, kind, and capable leader
- Steady ShepherdA tender heart that holds its post
- Affectionate Border CollieFull of energy and tender at heart
- Delicate DeerQuiet, kind, and diligent friend
- Loyal PenguinTreasures the rules and the group
- Easygoing KoalaCalm, kind, and steady friend
- Easy SlothNever rushed, wide open heart
- Tender HedgehogSoft-hearted, kind peacemaker
- Careful HamsterOpens up where it feels at home
- Gentle RabbitMild and peaceful friend
- Mellow PandaPeaceful, never picks a fight
- Thoughtful OwlCareful, deep-thinking observer
- Meticulous BadgerQuietly gets it done its own way
- Steady TortoiseCareful, my-pace champion of persistence
- Diligent AntCarries its share without a word
- Curious CatIndependent, sensitive explorer
- Tender PufferfishQuiet outside, moved deeply inside
- Easygoing RaccoonIndependent, spontaneous free soul
- Easygoing BearUnhurried and at peace
How is an animal type decided?
Your child's answers produce scores on five traits โ outgoing, warm, self-regulating, emotionally sensitive, and curious. Whether each trait lands above or below the middle (50) gives 2ร2ร2ร2ร2, that is 32 combinations, and each one carries an animal name. The animal is only a way to make the scores memorable; the real result is always the trait bars.
The five dimensions
Energy describes whether a child spends energy outward or inward. Warmth describes whether they tend to accommodate others or hold to their own standard. Self-regulation is the capacity to plan and wait. Emotional sensitivity is how finely a child feels things. Curiosity describes preference for the familiar versus the new. Neither end is better than the other โ they are directions, not rankings. Wherever there is a strength at the high end, there is a matching strength at the low end.
What this guide rests on
The five dimensions KidType measures, and the way the child answers, are grounded in research on children's temperament and personality. The grouping into thirty-two animals, by contrast, is validated by no study at all. The animal is a device for making the scores memorable; what is evidenced is the dimensions beneath it and the measurement method.
The sources below apply to the measurement model, the response scales, stability, and the decision not to use a typological model. They informed KidType โ that does not mean these works validate KidType.
- Temperament model for ages 3-6Rothbart et al. (2001), Child Development 72(5)
- Item design, CBQ short formPutnam & Rothbart (2006), Journal of Personality Assessment 87(1)
- Children's โLittle Sixโ dimensionsMervielde & De Fruyt (1999), HiPIC
- Development of self-report by ageSoto et al. (2008), JPSP 94(4)
- 3-point (ages 7-9) and 5-point (age 10) scaleMaฤkiewicz & Cieciuch (2016), PPTQ-C, Frontiers in Psychology 7:498
- Illustrated forced choice for ages 3-6Ringoot et al. (2013), Berkeley Puppet Interview
- Why the result is presented as a snapshotRoberts & DelVecchio (2000), Psychological Bulletin 126(1)
- Anchor-item equating for tracking changeKolen & Brennan (2014), Test Equating, Scaling, and Linking
- Why an MBTI-style typological model is not usedPittenger (2005), Consulting Psychology Journal 57(3)
โ ๏ธ This description is a temperament snapshot for reference, not a medical or psychological diagnosis. Temperament shifts as children grow, and results for ages 3-6 are especially changeable. If something worries you, speak with a child psychology professional.
Start the quiz โ