Are you a blamer, placator, leveller, distractor or cool cookie? Now that you've discovered your personality type, read on for in-depth analysis of what exactly that means for you

The placator

Who are you - and why?
Sometimes we all feel a bit scared by life. As a placator your coping strategy is to put other people first. Somewhere along the line, you've learned that to agree rather than disagree, to back down rather than win is the way to lead your life. When things get tough, you back down.

The positive:
You're absolutely great with people. Everyone likes you and many people love you. You're never a problem, never a challenge - and as a peacemaker, you're the best.

The negative:
You can end up feeling resentful because you never get enough time, space or attention for yourself. You often put yourself down in order to boost people up and that can mean you get a little exploited.

The placator at work:
You are a great team member and never one to avoid responsibilities. But you may find it difficult to cope with conflict - so if you're in a position of responsibility, you may give way too easily when employees challenge you.

The placator in love:
You love to give. Beware of being in relationships where the power balance is always against you - remember that the strongest relationships are between equals.

Your love match is:
Pair up with a blamer and you'll end up a total doormat. Paired with a leveller you'll learn to both give and take.

Next steps: You need to put yourself first and learn to stand up for yourself. Read How to Say No by Corinne Sweet (Hodder & Stoughton, £6.99). An assertive training course may help you learn to cope with conflict and be more confident.

Discover even more about your personality by reading Susan Quilliam's new book, What Makes People Tick? (Element, £9.99)

The Blamer

Who are you - and why?
Life can be tough. And as a blamer, you've learned to bite back - to strike out before anything emotionally affects you. Don't feel bad - it's a very effective coping strategy in a threatening world.

The positives:
You never take any flack. You're great in conflict situations especially where there's a need for strong leadership or champion for a cause. Your energy carries you through where other people may fear to tread.

The negatives:
Your upfront attitude can make people wary of you.

The blamer at work:
You can handle stress, like no one else. You thrive in demanding jobs and are great on the front line. The risk is that you may burn out - or alienate colleagues with your attitude.

The blamer in love:
You never make a dull partner. If you don't watch out, you could end up lonely. You must work at letting down your barriers to create intimacy.

Your love match:
Pair you with a placator and you may feel much less threatened and so be able to enjoy the relationship, while a leveller may help you to relax and trust enough to truly love.

What should you do?
You need to face up to your tendency to conflict and blame. Read Stop Arguing, Start Talking by Susan Quilliam, (Vermilion, £6.99) or consider taking an anger management course in order to stay calm and approachable.

Discover even more about your personality by reading Susan Quilliam's new book, What Makes People Tick? (Element, £9.99)

The Leveller

Who are you - and why?
As a leveller, you've got your life together. While other personalities major too much on thinking or feeling, you are in perfect balance. You respond to situations with clear-sightedness, taking your cue from your feelings, but using your mind to help you make decisions and action plans.

The positives:
You're very together. You really take life by the scruff of the neck and do what you want with it. You make and achieve your goals because you have all the bits of the lifestyle jigsaw.

The negatives:
There aren't many other people like you. You might sometimes feel you're the only sorted person in the world!

The leveller at work:
You are a good colleague and team member able to support but also keep people on task. You're particularly good at management roles where the need is to balance out different sets of needs without getting swamped by your feelings.

The leveller in love:
You are a great partner because you rarely get hooked into the sort of destructive patterns that many of the other personality types do.

Your love match is:
Your ideal pairing is with a leveller and you'll both live happily ever after. With any of the other personality types you risk doing all the giving, simply because you are more together than they are.

What should you do?
Carry on doing what you're doing and make sure that your friends, relatives, colleagues and partners are duly grateful for your having you around.

Discover even more about your personality by reading Susan Quilliam's new book, What Makes People Tick? (Element, £9.99)

The Distractor

Who are you - and why?
When life gets awkward, a distractor simply flutters away. When life gets tough, you tend to either ignore the problems or distract yourself and move onto something new. And when you're in trouble, you are very good at avoiding the blame by distracting people from the problem.

The positives:
You have such fun. You love partying and indulging yourself - and if you hit a problem, you just swan breeze over it. You tend to have lots of friends and live in a great social whirl.

The negatives:
Underneath the fun-loving party girl is someone a lot more anxious. You don't like taking on responsibility, or facing up to your mistakes - and if you have to do that, it hurts.

The distractor at work:
Your creative mind and energy is a real asset at work. However, if something goes wrong, you often step out of the firing line and that can get you disliked. You may even get a reputation for not pulling your weight or for passing up responsibilities.

The distractor in love:
You jump in with abandon. But you may find it a bit more difficult to really commit, to take on the challenge of loving rather than being 'in love'.

Your love match is:
Pair you with any one of the personality types and you'll shrug off the difficulties. But pair you with a leveller, and he'll support and help you to love in a mature way.

What should you do?
You need to learn to cope with the rough times and either take criticism on the chin or stand up for yourself. Read Confidence Works by Gladeana McMahon, (Sheldon Press, £7.99) or take a confidence-building course to help you face life and learn to deal with its challenges.

Discover even more about your personality by reading Susan Quilliam's new book, What Makes People Tick? (Element, £9.99)

The Cool Cookie

Who are you - and why?
Cool cookie scores highly when faced with life challenges. She thinks rather than feels. You're great in an emergency, superb at finding practical and logical solutions, but the problem is, you may find it difficult to feel much and you tend to miss out on rich emotion.

The positives:
You get things done. You stay rational and operational even under stress - and you sail through life's crises, such as divorce or job loss, without seeming to break stride.

The negatives:
You can tend to live too much in your head - and deny the emotions that you do feel because they're too uncomfortable. And if the stress is too much, then you may go into overload, and just get paralysed.

The cool cookie in work:
You get a job done quickly, efficiently and always to deadline. You are a reliable worker and will rise to a challenge. You take tricky clients and stroppy bosses in your stride. Watch out though, you may be unaware of the social and emotional side of the game and often can't cope with office politics or group dynamics.

The cool cookie in love:
You are good at making the right choice of partner, but can fall short on the romance and emotional intensity. You may find it difficult to fall in love and stay in love, simply because being emotional does not come naturally to you. You may tend to be unsympathetic to a partner's emotional problems.

Your love match is:
Paired with any of the other personality types, your unemotional attitude will balance out their more emotional personality - although their emotional intensity leaves you feeling uncomfortable. The partner who'll cope best with that, and who will help you contact your emotions, will be a leveller.

What should you do?
You will be happier and more fulfilled if you start getting in touch with your emotions. Read Feelings - Exploring Your Inner Emotions by Dr Brian Roet, (Piatkus, #9.99) or take a personal development course to help you get in tune with the feeling side of your personality.

Discover even more about your personality by reading Susan Quilliam's new book, What Makes People Tick? (Element, £9.99)