Criminal Minds Test

The Criminal Minds Test is inspired by psychometric methodology and based on research into the characters of the series. The test provides feedback such as the following:

David Rossi

David Rossi is the veteran profiler and BAU legend who returns from semi-retirement to rejoin the team. As one of the original architects of the unit, he brings decades of experience and a sharp, sometimes blunt, directness to every case. While he initially appears somewhat aloof and focused on his own legacy, he reveals a deeply paternal core. He mentors younger agents and offers steady counsel during personal crises. Beneath his confident exterior lies a man marked by failed marriages and a need to find closure. He handles fear through dark humor and storytelling, eventually becoming a central father figure who values loyalty above all else.

Jennifer "JJ" Jareau

Jennifer "JJ" Jareau is the BAU’s communications liaison turned profiler, serving as the calm, organized bridge between the team and the outside world. Her defining traits are reliability, emotional intelligence, and quiet courage. She manages the intense pressure of her work while balancing a demanding family life, often acting as the emotional glue for her colleagues. Beneath her poised, professional surface, she is fiercely protective and frequently self-sacrificing, hiding her own trauma to avoid burdening those she loves. She navigates conflict with a blend of logic and empathy, proving that she is capable of decisive, firm action when her chosen family is threatened.

Emily Prentiss

Emily Prentiss is the resilient, morally driven leader of the Behavioral Analysis Unit who balances a global perspective with deep, personal loyalty. As a former Interpol operative, she possesses a sophisticated understanding of international crime and a sharp, strategic mind. Her defining trait is her willingness to sacrifice her own safety and peace to protect her team, often carrying the heavy burden of past secrets alone. While she initially enters the unit as an outsider under political suspicion, she earns her place through unwavering integrity. She navigates the tension between institutional duty and the needs of her chosen family, proving herself a steadfast, empathetic protector.

Aaron Hotchner

Aaron Hotchner is the stern, principled Unit Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Unit, serving as the team’s moral and legal anchor. He is defined by his discipline, emotional restraint, and an unwavering sense of duty that often leads him to prioritize his responsibilities over his personal happiness. While he maintains a rigid, professional exterior to protect his team and ensure procedural safety, he is a deeply caring mentor and father who struggles with the heavy cost of leadership. He channels his own past trauma into a relentless drive for justice, often compartmentalizing his vulnerability until he is forced to face it in private.

Penelope Garcia

Penelope Garcia is the team’s bright, eccentric technical analyst—a reformed underground hacker who turns her outlaw skills into a mission of compassion from behind a wall of computers, glitter, and jokes. She chooses the BAU to redeem herself and do something noble with her talent. Her defining traits are creativity, empathy, and theatrical cheer. She serves as an emotional lifeline, offering constant affirmation while feeding her teammates crucial intel. Underneath, she is far more sensitive than her bubbly persona suggests, needing rituals of kindness to keep from being swallowed by darkness. She avoids direct confrontation, preferring to bend rules creatively to protect those she loves.

Dr. Spencer Reid

Dr. Spencer Reid is the socially awkward boy genius of the BAU, a certified prodigy whose brilliance often outpaces his emotional experience. He begins as the team’s statistics and geographic profiling whiz, more comfortable with theoretical models than with small talk or field tactics. His defining traits are raw intellect, intense curiosity, and deep sensitivity. Beneath his prodigy exterior lies profound vulnerability, including a fraught relationship with his mentally ill mother and persistent fears of inheriting her condition. He handles fear by compartmentalizing and intellectualizing, often burying his pain in work until it surfaces in moments of intense self-sacrifice for his chosen family.

Derek Morgan

Derek Morgan is the charismatic, physically brave ex-Chicago cop and expert on obsessional crimes who serves as the team’s action-hero big brother. His defining traits are courage, loyalty, and a fierce protective instinct. He runs toward danger and tackles suspects head-on, often volunteering for the riskiest tasks to act as a shield for his colleagues. Beneath his confident, sometimes hot-headed exterior lies a man still processing childhood trauma, who uses toughness to cope with past feelings of powerlessness. He is motivated by justice and love rather than rigid rules, often challenging authority to protect those he cares about. His deep, affectionate bond with Penelope Garcia and his role as a mentor to Spencer Reid highlight his capacity for warmth and his commitment to his chosen family.