To think that INFJ is a made up thing?

[beautyandtheflleced]

Quiet and introverted type ?
A future date described himself as this in his profile.
What are the dark sides ?
Sounds a bit wanky or is it a thing ?

I think on this scenario it doesn’t matter if the actual personality test is a load of wank, what matters is that he thinks INFJ sums him up. So Google it, look at the traits (positive and negative) and decide whether you would be irritated by someone with traits like those or not - because that is who he thinks he is or aspires to be.

As a caveat to the above, also think about whether you would want to spend time with a person who THINKS they have those traits (but maybe doesn’t).

I like the Myers-Biggs tests but they're not in fashion at the moment. They are more than 'horoscopes' (which are totally unbelievable in my opinion) because they are based on generalisations gained from your own answers to a whole series of questions (assuming you answered truthfully), which aim to measure several attributes which in turn gives your type.

Of course there are many flaws but as a generalisation they can give some indicators, which some find helpful.

My own type is INTJ, and when I read my profile it is very VERY much like me (especially the negative bits I don't want to acknowledge!)

The I - E (introvert- extrovert) scale is often mis-understood. It is NOT a measure of how sociable you are, or whether you like people, or whether you are shy. It is a measure of where you get your energy from.

Extroverts get their energy from other people. If they are on their own for a long time they get depressed and ring someone up for a chat or go out for a drink with a friend, and come back much happier for it.

Introverts may be very sociable but get their energy from within, and from being quiet, away from others. I know that's true for myself; I love being around friends but I also find people draining. When I want to re-energise I go off to be alone and draw great strength and refreshment from that, before re-joining normal life again.

I just retook the quiz after reading this thread - I took it for a management course once and have done it a few times since out of curiosity. I always come out the same (an ENFP/INFP borderline so interested to read @BertieBotts comment.)

Also did the SDI core strengths as part of a leadership course and I am a hub apparently which means I am flexible and visionary. Go me.

Personality quizzes have more validity than star signs as the verdict comes from statements that you have agreed or disagreed with, but they are more of use as a tool for self-reflection or understanding interactions than something to live your life by.

As someone else said previously, the MBTI is useful for businesses to find out who might be more compatible for certain roles.

Certain personality traits are better for relating to people, and others might be more suited to analytical roles.

They're not bullshit, it's just people also use them to find out who they might be more likely to get on with. Unfortunately some folks tend to announce their type as if it's a be all and end all religious experience.

I found out my type when I did the questionnaire as part of a hiring process for a job. Hilariously, I'm also INFJ and I haaaaaate the fact that I see others under this type use it as a HEY I'M AWESOME badge. The only thing it does, is tell me I'm more suited to certain types of work than others.

I've just been and tried it and did my level best to answer as honestly as possible. I spent ages thinking about a couple of questions.

The conclusion it came to is so far wide of who I am. Certain elements are categorically, the complete opposite of who I am. The suggested jobs was like a list of things I could never do and would never want to.

I don't suppose we will ever stop the need to categorise and classify but it is a load of old tut.

Hahaha

..and as is ALWAYS the way, whenever this subject comes up, the INFJ types come out of the woodwork.

That itself confused me until I realised that certain types are apparently more likely to take personality tests, which means whenever we talk about them, a barrage of similar types speak up. Usually INFJ/INFP/INTJ types comment.

There's nothing wrong with understanding personality traits, but it's not some special thing. It gets really cringey, especially when people talk about combining it with zodiac signs and it all being predestined nonsense. If I met someone and the first thing they asked me was my star sign and MBTI type, I'd probably disengage. We might have similar traits that categorise us for work purposes, but it's definitely not a good idea to base personal relationships on it because that means we stop looking at people as individuals, which is a shit thing to do.

It's a theory, that's all. Some new theory will be along any day now which will be the next big thing. And the new theory should also be taken with several large pinches of salt.
It already feels somewhat passé, there's not nearly so much of it about as there was a few years ago.

@discobrain

I'm a fan of MBTI in some circumstances and am very clear that it I'd not suitable to be used in selecting for roles.

MBTI is useful for businesses to find out who might be more compatible for certain roles.

It is useful to consider how anyone might suit a particular role, how it would fit their strengths and weaknesses and what support they might require.

My type is quite unusual for my role, it means that some things more typically a struggle are easy for me. Im very comfortable these days with my style snd approach, which is acknowledged to be different. I'm a useful complement to many of my colleagues.

It would not have been fair for me to have been denied the role as a result. It is good to be clear what I do well and where I'm likely to need support.

I'd go so far as to say that it would be unethical to use MBTI to select for roles. We acknowledge the value of diversity : selecting by type would not be likely to encourage diversity, would it?

Wanky pseudoscience

The conclusion it came to is so far wide of who I am.

@ShowOfHands

Your experience describes the limits of self diagnosis, rather than the limit of the method.

I only really got comfortable with my 'type' when my results were analysed by a professional practitioner who asked my to read a very different type to the one that I was according to my own answers. It's really impossible to be objective about one's own qualities.

I was asked to do the test for a job in my twenties, and I'm almost forty-six now so the fact that it's still being used for a hiring process seems very outdated.

If someone wants a job then they will likely tell an employer what they want to hear, so the answers might not be accurate. If it was coupled with other evaluation techniques to ensure accuracy then it might be okay, but I don't know how widely it's used now.

It's like IQ testing. We aren't meant to be processed like data, and so many variables can skew IQ tests too.

But, you know what the business world is like. They're not really interested in a person, they want the skills.

Myers & Briggs were a mother and daughter with no relevent knowledge or qualifications who dreamed up the whole thing.

It's quack pseudoscience and about as valid as horoscopes.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers–Briggs_Type_Indicator

I am so sceptical but I think there's something in MBTI. Maybe it's confirmation bias but the types people close to me have come out as seem so accurate.
DH thinks it's all rubbish, but he's INTJ 😃

I've just got DH and DD to answer according to who they think I am and it says the same thing as when I did it. It's such a nonsense.

I stand by my assumption. It's horseshit. And I've just done a cursory Google and read a couple of analysis pieces/research studies and they all conclude it's inaccurate, inconsistent and of no practical use.

I'm pretty sure Myers Briggs says it's unethical to use as a tool for hiring @discobrain.

When I did it through work about 5 years ago, it was used more as a tool to highlight how you should consider different management styles for different types. It was more about inclusion and space for all types in the work place when managed correctly.

I’m an INFJ

I’m not quiet in the least. People think I’m an extrovert. But l love time on my own.