To ask what Myers Briggs type you are?

[NorthernLurker]

Did this on a course today. I am ISFJ and I was totally freaked out by the profile. It isn't sort of like me. It IS me. It's like somebody sat on my shoulder for a year and then described me. Anybody else had this?

This seems an interesting and well balanced article.

I have seen people come on to these anti- MBPT threads and debunk Jung yes. I read somebody say Jung had been discredited. And the mother / daughter team who developed it in to what it is today, they didn't change it much (I've looked at the original). It's sexism that leaves their minor alteration of it open to criticism. It the mother's life's work researching theory of type. One man (Stromberg) comes along and trashes it and people register that opinion (which is all it is) as ''oh yeh, MBPT has been debunked now riiight...".

Obviously even being a believer in the merit of the MBPT I don't want employers to make hiring and firing decisions based on my results because they don't take some things in to account, such as motivation. I may not be suited to being a secretary for example but i could be extremely motivated to make a particular job work for me, and be very successful at that too. So for that reason, I want MBPT to work for the individuals applying rather than the employers hiring.

BertrandRussell, you always crop up on MBPT threads to tell us that MBPT is crap. If that's your opinion get on with that but don't feel the need every single time to tell us that it's crap based on the fact that it didn't help you.

The second article is better but I think people misunderstand if they say like it's news that the test measures preference not ability - and make that remark as a criticism of the testing!

Also, I do tend to get on with INFPs and ENFPs, but I would never rule somebody out for not being the 'right' type.

I did date one man who was an ISTP (and so was my x, my children's dad). When I didn't want to continue the relationship he seized on a comment I'd made about him having the same type as my x and got all defensive about not having the same 'personality' (his words) as my ex. {eye roll}

"BertrandRussell, you always crop up on MBPT threads to tell us that MBPT is crap. If that's your opinion get on with that but don't feel the need every single time to tell us that it's crap based on the fact that it didn't help you."
You would be right-if that's what I was basing it on!

And I do tend to come in threads about stuff like this because I hate seeing people being taken in by it.

INFP, very strong towards intuition and perceiving, much more borderline on introversion and feeling. Very much stacks up for me.

pagangoddess of course they'll all be out partying! I'll join them later once my 3 sons are collected, fed, watered and placed out of harm's way. Anyone fancy joining us. Promise we won't embarass you or make you dance!

And I do tend to come in threads about stuff like this because I hate seeing people being taken in by it.

Why, Bertrand?

ESFJ and the description is absolutely spot on

get a refund OP.

INFP - so pretty rare.
I take it all with a pinch of salt, but most of the descriptions i've read seem pretty accurate, apart from the ability to learn foreign languages!

"And I do tend to come in threads about stuff like this because I hate seeing people being taken in by it.

Why, Bertrand?"

Because I care a lot about other people. Not sure what category that puts me in.......

ENTJ - The commander

I hate seeing people being taken in by it.

In what sense are they being 'taken in'? They're not handing over money or making big decisions off the base of it. They're just trying to understand themselves a bit better. If they feel like it's a helpful tool, who are you to tell them otherwise?

I'm ENFJ, which is pretty accurate.

I got INTJ, -A/-T

LaurieMarlow

Commentary on the MB test was an insignificant part of my PhD but enough to allow me to comment.

It's true that in some cases it can cause no harm - similar to the way my MiL tells me about my month ahead as a Virgo. However, when it's used by people like HR teams it becomes counter productive. Training in it is expensive and so, those who use it are loathe to acknowledge its limitations.

The reason that it was of limited mention in my work is that it's simply laughed at by any academic but loved by twats HR. 95 questions to divide the world's population into 16 types.

Human traits don't have a bimodal distribution and assuming they do is simply done because a couple of women with no scientific credentials thought they might. Statistically, MB has a 50% consistency.

It's as harmless as any other form of nonsense. Seen for what it is, it's of vague interest.

However, when it's used by people like HR teams it becomes counter productive.

Does anyone have any examples of when it's used concretely by HR to make decisions that have real impact? In my experience it's banded about by HR teams and occasionally referenced as a way of managing workplace relationships, but I've never seen it go further than this. And I've worked with plenty of starry eyed, gung ho HR types.

My whole class did this test back in the day. The most vocal critic disagreed with her results, however the rest of the class thought her results quite accurate.

7 years post grad and she is still struggling to find a job in her desired field.

MB used by HR

Surely if nonsense has any influence at any time it should be debunked. Of course, banded about is better than treated deferentially but it's still like religion. Less is better than more but some is still an issue.

INFP. Same as my Dd, very accurate!

I've certainly never seen it used for hiring. I don't have time to look in detail, but seems like the UK based articles there are all a few years old.

Also, even if it is used as part of a hiring process, it will be in conjunction with a whole range of interviews and further tests. It's not like the decision is wholly based on it.

Not that I would advocate using it, I don't. I just don't think it's a major issue that requires tackling.

I'm ESTJ. I think it's pretty accurate but I don't make big life decisions based on it.

As an academic psychologist, I once accidentally attended a course on which the MBTI was delivered and discussed.

I hadn't come across the MBTI before so I asked about the origin of the original items, factor structure, reliability, validity, standardisation, age-based population norms etc. and vulnerability to cultural, ethnic, gender and other effects. Specifically, I wondered if the trainer knew where key data relating to the test had been published and replicated. The 'trainer' got very, very flustered and informed me that it simply wasn't 'that kind of test'.

I now know that I would be laughed out of any professional meeting or rejected from any good quality journal if I used it. If people enjoy completing it and feel that they gain something from that experience, well and good, but there are plenty of good quality psychometric instruments that can be used for this purpose too. In my first year 'personality' lectures I have a single slide debunking MBTI because someone always asks!

Of course it isn't a major issue. I would however think 'moron' if I saw anyone using it in whatever capacity.

"Conjunction with range of interviews and other tests"? What does this mean? I interviewed and hired someone for £144k (excl benefits) last month. 2 interviews and no test(s).