Improving the Myers Brigg Test

[Ah.hell]

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Well it doesn't screen for self-deception. Nothing stops someone from "gaming" the test and choosing the answers that sound most like what that person aspires or thinks of themselves. It's an okay test of self-image, but no better than a horoscope at adding any new information.

If we were going to start trying to group by personality traits, then I have to agree it might be better to ensure there's good science behind it first.

This is the problem I always have with these tests. Most people can just provide the answers in such a way that they get an outcome which represents something they wish they were more like.

Or, some people are so lacking self awareness that they're unable to accurately answer questions about themselves.

I'd argue, most people fall into that category.  For the most part, we are the worst judges of ourselves.  Which, in my opinion is one of the most important lessons of skepticism. 

[SkeptiQueer]

(click to show/hide)

Well it doesn't screen for self-deception. Nothing stops someone from "gaming" the test and choosing the answers that sound most like what that person aspires or thinks of themselves. It's an okay test of self-image, but no better than a horoscope at adding any new information.

If we were going to start trying to group by personality traits, then I have to agree it might be better to ensure there's good science behind it first.

This is the problem I always have with these tests. Most people can just provide the answers in such a way that they get an outcome which represents something they wish they were more like.

Or, some people are so lacking self awareness that they're unable to accurately answer questions about themselves.

I'd argue, most people fall into that category.  For the most part, we are the worst judges of ourselves.  Which, in my opinion is one of the most important lessons of skepticism.

Dunning-Krueger factors in; we all know someone who isn't as much a people person as they think. The idea of the self is always different than the reality and different from how others percieve us. Perhaps we could be subjected to a blind areay of tests to determine how we really act.

I have no point that if Big 5 or BM or anything worked, I would have taken it when I enlisted so the giant bureaucracy could tell whether I was suited for particular types of jobs. Instead, I took a skills test and special jobs required that I be judged by other people, like the STA an Recon indocs, HET interview panels, etc.

[Nosmas]

(click to show/hide)

Well it doesn't screen for self-deception. Nothing stops someone from "gaming" the test and choosing the answers that sound most like what that person aspires or thinks of themselves. It's an okay test of self-image, but no better than a horoscope at adding any new information.

If we were going to start trying to group by personality traits, then I have to agree it might be better to ensure there's good science behind it first.

This is the problem I always have with these tests. Most people can just provide the answers in such a way that they get an outcome which represents something they wish they were more like.

Or, some people are so lacking self awareness that they're unable to accurately answer questions about themselves.

I'd argue, most people fall into that category.  For the most part, we are the worst judges of ourselves.  Which, in my opinion is one of the most important lessons of skepticism.

It would be interesting to see what kind of results we would get if we asked the 5 or 10 people who know is best to answer the survey for us with the exception of "what's going on in your head" type questions. Not that this would necessarily be accurate either but it could show the contrast between how you view yourself and how others do. Maybe my wife can answer if I'm a "dreamer"....

[Alex Simmons]

Myers Briggs and similar tests are just ways for management consultants to fill out another half day and charge hideous fees to companies for management training and development sessions for employees.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Myers Briggs and similar tests are just ways for management consultants to fill out another half day and charge hideous fees to companies for management training and development sessions for employees.

Agreed. It is pseudoscientific nonsense, and it is sad that it appears to be used so extensively among recruiters and HR people.

[JuniorSpaceman]

I agree with those saying that the test is pseudoscience, but what makes it dangerous is not how it is measured, but how it is applied to somehow categorise workers/students. I've been in a lot of workplaces around a lot of people (and I'd say I've had less jobs for someone my age than most), and 'intrinsic personality' is one of the least useful ways of determining how well somebody is going to do their job. Almost every other factor (ranging from external factors like pay, how interesting or relevant the work is, how supportive the team they're on is, through to internal but fluctuating factors like how much sleep they've had, and what they've eaten) is vastly more important than whether they are 'introverts' or 'extroverts'.

I think of the test results as being slightly more useful than astrology, but not by very much.

[John Albert]

Myers Briggs is a load of corporate pop-psych garbage.

[xenu]

Not sure if I agree with these results.

Personality type: “The Adventurer” (ISFP-A)
Individual traits: Introverted – 81%, Observant – 62%, Feeling – 53%, Prospecting – 63%, Assertive – 69%
Role: Explorer
Strategy: Confident Individualism

[arthwollipot]

Myers Briggs is a load of corporate pop-psych garbage.

I completely agree, but it did serve one useful purpose for me. I had to do one for a job once, and of course my Introvert score was through the roof. Obviously. But after pointing this out to the other people in my office, they no longer bugged me to join in their morning teas and social events. So that was nice.

[John Albert]

Myers Briggs is a load of corporate pop-psych garbage.

I completely agree, but it did serve one useful purpose for me. I had to do one for a job once, and of course my Introvert score was through the roof. Obviously. But after pointing this out to the other people in my office, they no longer bugged me to join in their morning teas and social events. So that was nice.

In one of my jobs, I convinced a manager to let me excuse myself from unnecessary meetings and put a "Do Not Disturb" sign above my cubicle whenever I needed to work uninterrupted.

[Billzbub]

My daughter is about to go in for a round of learning disability diagnostic tests for college, and we met with the school psychologist that will be doing the testing yesterday.  One of the tests he was describing sounded kind of like the Myers Brigg test, so I asked him if it was.  He said no, and that he doesn't really think that test has any merit.  I smiled at that.

He did say there's a different test called the Clifton Strengths Test, and he says that one is pretty good at figuring out what your strengths are.  He added that to her testing, so we'll see how it goes.

[arthwollipot]

He did say there's a different test called the Clifton Strengths Test, and he says that one is pretty good at figuring out what your strengths are.  He added that to her testing, so we'll see how it goes.

The website does not fill me with confidence.

[John Albert]

He did say there's a different test called the Clifton Strengths Test, and he says that one is pretty good at figuring out what your strengths are.  He added that to her testing, so we'll see how it goes.

The website does not fill me with confidence.

Wow, that is ridiculous.

[Billzbub]

He did say there's a different test called the Clifton Strengths Test, and he says that one is pretty good at figuring out what your strengths are.  He added that to her testing, so we'll see how it goes.

The website does not fill me with confidence.

Wow, that is ridiculous.

Yeah /sigh

[John Albert]

He did say there's a different test called the Clifton Strengths Test, and he says that one is pretty good at figuring out what your strengths are.  He added that to her testing, so we'll see how it goes.

The website does not fill me with confidence.

Wow, that is ridiculous.

Yeah /sigh

On the other hand, perhaps I might feel differently if I were Maximizing My Infinite Potential... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯