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I've found that Meyers Briggs feels accurate to people whose classifications don't fall right on the margin. If two of the letters fall close to the margin, par

I've found that Meyers Briggs feels accurate to people whose classifications don't fall right on the margin. If two of the letters fall close to the margin, parts of the description will feel a bit inaccurate. In my opinion, the Meyers Briggs is useful mainly because it can help people become more self-aware and more empathetic toward others. I've observed that in a group of 15 people who just got their Meyers Briggs results, several usually think it was uncannily accurate, and a few are immediately defensive because the result does not jive with their self-perception (usually because the personality type is described as similar to some unsavory characters from history). When I read articles criticizing Meyers Briggs, I always assume it was written by one of these people. If you are in a relationship, one interesting game to play with your significant other is to take the Meyers Briggs test and then read some of the stuff that has been written about relationship compatibility through the Meyers Briggs lens. I've found it to be quite accurate for many couples I know. There is also a very amusing book called Please Understand me II which has detailed write-ups about the characteristics of each type. It's great for parties to read out loud everyone's results over a glass of wine. IMHO Personality tests are useful mainly to encourage self-awareness, introspection and empathy. As a Meyers Briggs ENTP I find the descriptions of an ENTP personality flattering and desirable. I suspect nearly any type would find their own type description equally flattering and desirable.

imagist 10y ago
The problem here is that since the MBTI only collects your own perceptions, it is only as accurate as your own perceptions--it isn't going to tell you anything you don't already think. There's some value in bringing what you think of yourself into your conscious awareness, but I don't think that can be represented as increasing self-awareness--it only can cause you to think what you already think. There's even some risk that it may reinforce incorrect ideas you may have about yourself. > As a Meyers Briggs ENTP I find the descriptions of an ENTP personality flattering and desirable. Of course, they're your descriptions and therefore they're biased. (Incidentally, I'm an ENTP too).
- grandalf 10y ago
  > it isn't going to tell you anything you don't already think. Well, if you take a 2000 word write-up about your own type, there may be some thought-provoking generalizations either about your own type or about patterns that are consistent when people of different types interact... things which derive from what you believed about yourself but are consequences of the MBTI's generalizations about human interactions. But I agree, it would be interesting to incorporate the sort of information in the MBTI along with less subjective metrics and come up with a more rich analysis.
  - imagist 10y ago
    > Well, if you take a 2000 word write-up about your own type, there may be some thought-provoking generalizations either about your own type or about patterns that are consistent when people of different types interact... things which derive from what you believed about yourself but are consequences of the MBTI's generalizations about human interactions. Right, but how many of those generalizations are actually verified? The specifics are studied to be consistent, but there are very few generalizations backed up by data.
    - grandalf 10y ago
      I don't know whether they are verified. Not sure how much it matters though, if the goal is to foster self-understanding and communication between people with different personalities. Obviously it would be great if there were research offering a more robust version of all of that.
3minus1 10y ago
> When I read articles criticizing Meyers Briggs, I always assume it was written by one of these people how dismissive of you. do you dismiss the science in those articles as well?
- grandalf 10y ago
  That comment was intended as a joke. No, I do not. Although I think I'd view MBTI less favorably if it said I had the same personality type as a variety of dictators, etc.
  - 3minus1 10y ago
    fair enough. my comment was definitely overly grumpy
    - grandalf 10y ago
      no worries.
      - 3minus1 10y ago
        btw I'm not one of those people that disagrees with their MBTI type. I always felt like mine was pretty accurate.
Bartweiss 10y ago
> I've found that Meyers Briggs feels accurate to people whose classifications don't fall right on the margin. If two of the letters fall close to the margin, parts of the description will feel a bit inaccurate. Unfortunately, the traits investigated by the MBTI seem to be normally distributed. So as true as this is, it still means that people who are decisively placed on all four axes are the exception rather than the rule.
- grandalf 10y ago
  True, in my case I'm close to the P/J line and the E/I line, so there are aspects of the ENTJ, INTJ, and INTP that ring true to me, but in spite of that the ENTP description tends to feel more accurate. Nonetheless, one meets a lot of ENTJs and INTPs and understanding some of the subtle differences between those and ENTP has helped me understand my differences and similarities with those people better.
analog31 10y ago
In my opinion, the Meyers Briggs is useful mainly because it can help people become more self-aware and more empathetic toward others. Could this be the placebo effect? I once read a comment, that all self-help methods are successful, simply because they make you self conscious. The personality test gives the impression of being a carefully developed machine that can peer into your soul. Does it need to be real, in order to be useful? I've observed that in a group of 15 people who just got their Meyers Briggs results, several usually think it was uncannily accurate, and a few are immediately defensive because the result does not jive with their self-perception (usually because the personality type is described as similar to some unsavory characters from history). When I read articles criticizing Meyers Briggs, I always assume it was written by one of these people. But isn't that an argumentum ad hominem? At the very least, it's a good reason why an individual's personal impression of the results is a poor source of validation. The ones who think it's accurate could be wrong too. On the other hand, in a workplace situation, the defensive ones are simply not thinking tactically.
- grandalf 10y ago
  > On the other hand, in a workplace situation, the defensive ones are simply not thinking tactically. Haha absolutely true. It puzzles me that anyone would react that way. Your points are totally valid. For me, the interesting part was reading my own results and thinking about my reaction to them, and watching people I know pretty well reading and reacting to theirs. Also, the way the results are framed teases apart some of the more "identity-oriented" aspects of peoples' personalities and validates them as legitimate rather than (perhaps) annoying quirks. I think this can lead to empathy. So I don't really think it matters how psychologically real the assessment is, so long as it's interesting, relatively repeatable, and useful in the sense I mentioned. Just my opinion though. In the workplace I've used it before alongside a few other metrics (like DISC and one other private one) as part of a fun "learn about each other" exercise. I would not use it for hiring decisions or as part of any kind of official HR oriented policy.

imagist 10y ago

The problem here is that since the MBTI only collects your own perceptions, it is only as accurate as your own perceptions--it isn't going to tell you anything you don't already think. There's some value in bringing what you think of yourself into your conscious awareness, but I don't think that can be represented as increasing self-awareness--it only can cause you to think what you already think. There's even some risk that it may reinforce incorrect ideas you may have about yourself. > As a Meyers Briggs ENTP I find the descriptions of an ENTP personality flattering and desirable. Of course, they're your descriptions and therefore they're biased. (Incidentally, I'm an ENTP too).

grandalf 10y ago
> it isn't going to tell you anything you don't already think. Well, if you take a 2000 word write-up about your own type, there may be some thought-provoking generalizations either about your own type or about patterns that are consistent when people of different types interact... things which derive from what you believed about yourself but are consequences of the MBTI's generalizations about human interactions. But I agree, it would be interesting to incorporate the sort of information in the MBTI along with less subjective metrics and come up with a more rich analysis.
- imagist 10y ago
  > Well, if you take a 2000 word write-up about your own type, there may be some thought-provoking generalizations either about your own type or about patterns that are consistent when people of different types interact... things which derive from what you believed about yourself but are consequences of the MBTI's generalizations about human interactions. Right, but how many of those generalizations are actually verified? The specifics are studied to be consistent, but there are very few generalizations backed up by data.
  - grandalf 10y ago
    I don't know whether they are verified. Not sure how much it matters though, if the goal is to foster self-understanding and communication between people with different personalities. Obviously it would be great if there were research offering a more robust version of all of that.

3minus1 10y ago

> When I read articles criticizing Meyers Briggs, I always assume it was written by one of these people how dismissive of you. do you dismiss the science in those articles as well?

grandalf 10y ago
That comment was intended as a joke. No, I do not. Although I think I'd view MBTI less favorably if it said I had the same personality type as a variety of dictators, etc.
- 3minus1 10y ago
  fair enough. my comment was definitely overly grumpy
  - grandalf 10y ago
    no worries.
    - 3minus1 10y ago
      btw I'm not one of those people that disagrees with their MBTI type. I always felt like mine was pretty accurate.

Bartweiss 10y ago

> I've found that Meyers Briggs feels accurate to people whose classifications don't fall right on the margin. If two of the letters fall close to the margin, parts of the description will feel a bit inaccurate. Unfortunately, the traits investigated by the MBTI seem to be normally distributed. So as true as this is, it still means that people who are decisively placed on all four axes are the exception rather than the rule.

grandalf 10y ago
True, in my case I'm close to the P/J line and the E/I line, so there are aspects of the ENTJ, INTJ, and INTP that ring true to me, but in spite of that the ENTP description tends to feel more accurate. Nonetheless, one meets a lot of ENTJs and INTPs and understanding some of the subtle differences between those and ENTP has helped me understand my differences and similarities with those people better.

analog31 10y ago

In my opinion, the Meyers Briggs is useful mainly because it can help people become more self-aware and more empathetic toward others. Could this be the placebo effect? I once read a comment, that all self-help methods are successful, simply because they make you self conscious. The personality test gives the impression of being a carefully developed machine that can peer into your soul. Does it need to be real, in order to be useful? I've observed that in a group of 15 people who just got their Meyers Briggs results, several usually think it was uncannily accurate, and a few are immediately defensive because the result does not jive with their self-perception (usually because the personality type is described as similar to some unsavory characters from history). When I read articles criticizing Meyers Briggs, I always assume it was written by one of these people. But isn't that an argumentum ad hominem? At the very least, it's a good reason why an individual's personal impression of the results is a poor source of validation. The ones who think it's accurate could be wrong too. On the other hand, in a workplace situation, the defensive ones are simply not thinking tactically.

grandalf 10y ago
> On the other hand, in a workplace situation, the defensive ones are simply not thinking tactically. Haha absolutely true. It puzzles me that anyone would react that way. Your points are totally valid. For me, the interesting part was reading my own results and thinking about my reaction to them, and watching people I know pretty well reading and reacting to theirs. Also, the way the results are framed teases apart some of the more "identity-oriented" aspects of peoples' personalities and validates them as legitimate rather than (perhaps) annoying quirks. I think this can lead to empathy. So I don't really think it matters how psychologically real the assessment is, so long as it's interesting, relatively repeatable, and useful in the sense I mentioned. Just my opinion though. In the workplace I've used it before alongside a few other metrics (like DISC and one other private one) as part of a fun "learn about each other" exercise. I would not use it for hiring decisions or as part of any kind of official HR oriented policy.