to not believe in Myers Briggs type tests?

[Stripeyclock]

I've recently tried a Myers Briggs type test online. It was recommended to me by someone who swore it was brilliant. Someone else said it saved their marriage because it helped them to understand their partner better.

This particular site isn't a fly by night silly one, it has a proper scientific basis. It has hundreds of positive Facebook comments with people saying things like 'this was so accurate I cried' and stuff to that affect.

I've tried it twice now and I have been as honest as possible. Both times I came out with a different 'type' and neither of them sounded anything like me.

For example both of my types said that I would be very popular with loads of friends. I literally have no friends right now, which in fairness is partly because I'm a SAHM, but yeah, I have never ever ever been popular. Also both types said I would be the sort of person to hate hierarchy and rules, but I think the opposite about myself - I'm pretty submissive and feel pretty comfortable in a hierarchy.

There wasn't really anything that rang true for me at all.

I know many people have to do these sort of tests as part of their career and in other circumstances. I'm wondering if anyone else has felt similarly at odds with their results?

i'm a leo with neptune on the descendant and the moon in the third house.

Seriously there is no agreed upon theory of personality, as Quiero says we're all just way too complex.

The 'ocean' theory has some support:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits

It can be a useful way to talk about different preferences, but should be taken with a hefty pinch of salt. On the point made by pp about different behaviour in different situations, the idea is that you have a basic preference but most people learn to adapt the way they behave, especially in a work context - in which case your basic type is whichever you find most comfortable, generally the non work type. It works best where you have strong preferences, which not everyone does - I'm a very strong N type (sees forest) and was working with a team of S types (sees trees) and doing MB as a team was actually useful in clarifying for me and others exactly why the job (which required a lot of attention to detail) was driving me crazy!

But what's the point of doing a test to tell you what personality you are? I KNOW what personality I am thanks very much, I'm me!

A crowd of us did it once at work and it was spot on for most of us. There were only two women whose results were somewhat dubious; and I just assumed that they hadn't answered all of the questions honestly.

As above - interesting as a curio and as an exercise in thinking about interpersonal interaction, personal development, people management etc., as long as treated in the right way (eg not as determinative or as scientific fact) - but they aren't scientific fact by a long way!

I think myers-briggs is excellent. I took the test and was astounded at how accurate it was (INFP); it really helped explain certain aspects of myself to me. My boyfriend took the test and it was also incredibly accurate. I learnt so much about him.

Obviously a sample size of two isn't conclusive but I was pretty impressed.

No way would I answer truthfully if I was to take the test at work though.

YANBU. These things can be 'interesting', but when management decisions are based on the results, I get a bit about it. Especially when those implementing the decisions think that one type (usually their own) is 'better' than the others.

I have completed MB and it was very accurate, but the most valuable part for me was to have someone qualified at level 2 to coach me through it and what it all means and how I could make full use of it.

I have to admit, that I prefer the Facet 5 psychometrics, as the reports are far more practical than MB. Saying that, you should still have someone qualified to take you through a systematic coaching session to really get some value from it.

I did Facet with my team and it really helped is to see other peoples preference, but more importantly how others perceive you and the impact of this. I have used Facet for recruitment (called audition). It is just one of many tools I use in recruitment and would not us this alone to decide if I employ someone or not.

My personal experience of a Facet 5 report has been fantastic. It has really helped me to see some of my areas for development and how I react in particular situations. This didn't come from doing the questionnaire and reading the report, it came on the related coaching I had after.

I would never see any value from just doing MB online and not having a coaching session to back it up. It's a bit pointless, as you have no one but yourelf to help make sense of the report and potentially challenge your thinking, especially if you don't agree with it.

I wish I could share with you the skit on Myers Briggs tests I saw a few years ago where your score was compared with a Simpsons character.

When I was at Uni the Myers Brigg was very popular. Might still be, but then everything seemed to include it then.

In one group, we had someone from the careers centre explain why ours had percentages while most of the others we'd taken (particularly online) rarely did. Most of us found ourselves only slightly one way or the other and that obviously someone who was 58% X would be very different to someone 95% X - and that that the later was very rare (I was the 95% introvert used in their example...but the other 3 for me were 58/42 divided) and that the closer together, the more likely that would switch depending on day, mood, questions, there is a lot more give there. They also said that, other than the extreme ones, most people could see themselves in most generic descriptions that lump everyone together which is why their test only have the numbers and what each letter meant rather than try to boil each 4 letter string into some overarching personality rather when really it's only small part of who we are and likely a lot more flexible than most consider.

I can see their use in an ongoing conversation of things, but the absolute natures so often described in their tests are no more believable than any other personality test for me.

I've done the MBTI test 4 times now. All in different work places.
The online ones aren't the proper thing.

It's accurate to a point but can be influenced by how you're feeling at the time. I have bipolar and whether I'm an I or E or P or J depends on whether I'm hypomanic or depressed.

I was shocked at how accurate it was to be honest. I did it as part of a training course and it was a good starting point for that particular course.

We did a version called Insights in a previous job which gave each aspect a colour. People then were given coloured bricks to put on their desks and it really did help with team communication. For eg, I'm not detail oriented, but a 'blue' person is and when you're having one of those conversations when you're thinking 'FFS why don't you get this' you'd catch sight of the blue brick and think 'Ah! Come back later with the detail'.

I always border between the I and the E. It could be either one depending on the test and day.

I really wouldn't put much stock into them unless you paid for a professional test, not an online or even work form one. They're a good starting point to help you gain self awareness I suppose, but not much else.

I find it very useful in a work context but I answered with my work head on and am different outside of work. What it helped me most with was understanding other people. I am a "think out loud" logical reasoner. I did mbt stuff at work in my 20s and it changed my work life. I honestly hadn't really thought before about how to adjust the workplace for people very unlike me, who don't think out loud, hate brainstorming and make decisions by feeling rather than logic. I think it's most useful in a whole training and team bonding / building context though.

I've done it at work. My response was pretty much "what else would you expect from someone in my field?"

I did a different, 2 dimensional test on another course. I can't remember what it was, but the focus of the course was that people on your team may well be different to you and you need to communicate with them and motivate them in different ways to get the best out of them. One guy on the course really struggled with the idea that people weren't all like him. It just didn't make sense to him that people weren't all driven by money and status.

Am sceptical. I did two 20 mins apart and got different results. And I was being honest each time and not trying to game it
I fear it's a bit like horoscopes-- you pick out the bitsthat fit

However one question I just loved was : what do you value more justice or mercy. I thought that was brilliant And a real sorter/divider of people types fwiw

I have done the test 5 or 6 times over the years and am always ESFP which is pretty accurate I think.

It's about as useful as reading the month ahead for Scorpio in a 2007 issue of Marie Claire in the dentist's.

I worked with people who constantly refered to it - we'd be having a normal conversation and suddenly they'd come out with "that's cos of your n preference"

Really got on my nerves the way they wanted to define everyone in these narrow boxes.

Myers-Briggs isn't one of the personality tests that's particularly accurate. It is not reliable (results tend to fluctuate a lot), so it can't be valid (not that it would be anyway as it doesn't describe or predict accurately for most people).

This personality test is far more accurate. It's a free version modeled on a test often used by mental health professionals. It uses the Big 5 someone else talked about.

[http://www.personal.psu.edu/~j5j/IPIP/ipipneo120.htm]

Ooops, I mean www.personal.psu.edu/~j5j/IPIP/ipipneo120.htm

I tried that test, I hope to god it's not accurate because it's pretty much told me that I am a horrible person!

failingmammalian I totally misread that as "picking out the batshit bits", very appropriate to a sentence about horoscopes