In 1942, a mother-daughter duo Katherine Cook Briggs
and Isabel Briggs Myers developed a questionnaire that classified
people’s personalities into 16 types. Called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator,
or MBTI, it would go on to become one of the world’s
most widely-used personality tests. Today, personality testing
is a multi-billion dollar industry used by individuals, schools,
and companies. But none of these tests, including
the MBTI, the Big Five, the DiSC assessment,
the Process Communication Model, and the Enneagram, actually reveal truths about personality. In fact, it’s up for debate
whether personality is a stable, measurable feature
of an individual at all. Part of the problem is the way the tests
are constructed. Each is based on a different set
of metrics to define personality: the Myers-Briggs, for instance, focuses on features like introversion
and extroversion to classify people into
personality "types," while the Big Five scores participants
on five different traits. Most are self-reported, meaning the results are based on questions
participants answer about themselves. So it’s easy to lie, but even with
the best intentions, objective self-evaluation is tricky. Take this question from the Big Five: How would you rate the accuracy
of the statement "I am always prepared"? There’s a clear favorable answer here,
which makes it difficult to be objective. People subconsciously aim to please: when asked to agree or disagree,
we show a bias toward answering however we believe
the person or institution asking the question wants us to answer. Here’s another question— what do you value more,
justice or fairness? What about harmony or forgiveness? You may well value both sides
of each pair, but the MBTI would force
you to choose one. And while it’s tempting to assume
the results of that forced choice must somehow reveal a true preference,
they don’t: When faced with the same forced choice
question multiple times, the same person will sometimes
change their answer. Given these design flaws, it’s no surprise
that test results can be inconsistent. One study found that nearly half of people
who take the Myers-Briggs a second time only five weeks after the first
get assigned a different type. And other studies on the Myers-Briggs have
found that people with very similar scores end up being placed
in different categories, suggesting that the strict divisions
between personality types don’t reflect real-life nuances. Complicating matters further, the definitions of personality traits
are constantly shifting. The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who popularized the terms
introvert and extrovert, defined an introvert as someone who sticks
to their principles regardless of situation, and an extrovert as someone who molds
their self according to circumstance. Introversion later came to mean shyness,
while an extrovert was someone outgoing. Today, an introvert is someone who finds
alone time restorative, an extrovert draws energy
from social interaction, and an ambivert falls somewhere
between these two extremes. The notion of an innate,
unchanging personality forms the basis of all these tests. But research increasingly suggests that
personality shifts during key periods— like our school years,
or when we start working. Though certain features
of a person’s behavior may remain relatively stable over time, others are malleable, moulded by our
upbringing, life experiences, and age. All of this matters more or less depending
on how a personality test is used. Though anyone using them should take
the results with a grain of salt, there isn’t much harm in individual use— and users may even learn some
new terms and concepts in the process. But the use of personality tests extends
far beyond self discovery. Schools use them to advise students
what to study and what jobs to pursue. Companies use them decide who to hire
and for what positions. Yet the results don’t predict how a person
will perform in a specific role. So by using personality tests this way, institutions can deprive people
of opportunities they’d excel at, or discourage them from considering
certain paths.
The worst is "I'm ABXY so I'm incapable of this or that or the other." No you're just too lazy to work on yourself because it's hard and uncomfortable.
MBTI is a meme culture and it entertains me
Thanks, too many people treat their result as some sort of end-all be-all that can solve their personality issues, or find the perfect mate.
A prerecorded questionnaire tied back to two housewives with no psychiatric experience or education in psychology. No qualifications whatsoever.
Half the time I take the test, I'm an ENTP.
Not gonna lie though it's hilarious when posts here call me out totally
Cheers. Thanks for sharing. It's indeed a very complex branch of science. Furthermore, there are some people that insist on saying that psychology is not a science at all. It's hard to argue about that too though. I am currently studying psychology, and the doubts seep in too.
About personality tests. There is definitely nothing wrong with personality tests and types, it eases our minds on conceptualizing people's behaviour and tries to provide information about why certain people behave the way they do. Yet, this is also dangerous, for people who have taken the test (i.e MBTI) could be trapped in his/her own imaginative concept of his/her self. Becoming less motivated to do good things/ actions that are "opposite" of their personality types, and becoming less harsh to self to intolerable behaviour like bad habits and such because they "fit" their "personality type".
Currently, this branch of knowledge is evolving, especially in the west. Personally, I consider western psychology is still in its infant phase. The reason for this is probably how we are trying to measure something intangible to out senses. A near impossible task.
I do believe in the presence of the soul inside our body, a very unpopular opinion amongst scientists and scholars these days. Though if I may write down my opinion on this; it is simply impossible to measure one's true self. There is also a probability that our soul is the one that defines our "personality". Thus our true self could be the marriage between our soul and our real-life experiences. Intricate thing, life is. And most exciting of all, humans.