In the vast sea of social media content, memes, and viral posts, few topics intrigue people as much as quick, eye-catching “personality tests.” You might have scrolled through your feed, stumbled upon an image with concentric circles, and read a bold claim: “The Number of Circles You See Determines If You’re a Narcissist.” Perhaps you paused and tried to count the circles, or maybe you shared it with friends, curious about their reactions. Whatever the case, this particular meme taps into a powerful and enduring human desire: the wish to understand ourselves, and perhaps to understand others as well. Why do we give so much credence to a simple image that purports to measure something as complex as narcissism?

In a world where personality quizzes, from the “What Kind of Pizza Are You?” variety to the more established Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, are endlessly shared, this question is worth asking