Myers-Briggs Personality Test

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Splas, Jun 5, 2004.

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  1. Splas

    Splas New Member

    I am a long time reader, but rarely a poster. I am always impressed at the high level of maturity and intelligence that is on these forums. So, I thought I would ask you guys/gals your opinions on this test and the results it gives.

    I recently took a Myers-Briggs type Personality Test online (Jung Topology) at:

    http://www.humanmetrics.com/

    And was amazed at the results I saw. I have never taken anything like this this before so I was pleasently surpised, and shocked to see this test nail me good :eek:.

    I was classified as a INTJ (Rational:Mastermind/Free-Thinker). Very amusing to say the least :D. Then I went on and read the personality traits of this type, and became almost frightened by the similairities (not 100% similair however). It says they make up 1% of the population, and boy does it feel that way sometimes :(.

    I then had my family members and some friends take the test, and it nailed them pretty good too.

    So my questions is, what do you think of this test and its conclusions? Especially the individuals who are familiar with psychology, but I want to hear everyones thoughts. I am curious as to how academics and intellectuals respond to this type of thing.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 5, 2004
  2. DL-Luvr

    DL-Luvr New Member

    MBTI

    I've taken the MBTI and after reading a lot about it, I'm not very impressed. By the way I'm an ENTP - for what it's worth. It's not really standardized, but social service and education agencies seem to like it. What keeps it going is the great marketing machine behind it. JMHO

    The Skeptics Dictionary has a good analysis: Skeptics Dictionary - MBTI
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 5, 2004
  3. Han

    Han New Member

    I am in aerospace, and a doctrate student came in and did a beyers briggs test for the entire team (about 100 people). He classified us, and came to conculsions of which personalities fit best with which function. It was very interesting.
     
  4. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    ISTP for me.

    When they do actually verbalize, ISTPs are masters of the one-liner, often showing flashes of humor in the most tense situations; this can result in their being seen as thick-skinned or tasteless.

    That's dead-on. :D
     
  5. Howard

    Howard New Member

    Amusing, fun at parties, somewhat good in business and industry to foster team building; but I have yet to find any really significant use for the MBTI.

    BTW, your type may vary depending on the way you feel at the time and the instrument is limited to only personality classification and does not provide pathology.

    INTJ is what I am today; tomorrow - who knows.
     
  6. Michael Lloyd

    Michael Lloyd New Member

    I have taken this many times through the years, and consistently score as an ISTJ.
     
  7. Guest

    Guest Guest

    INTJ
     
  8. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    I took the test

    I followed the link and took that test and here are the results:
    • Your Type is ISFJ

      Strength of the preferences %
    • Sensing 1%
    • Feeling 11%
    • Introverted 22%
    • Judging 56%
    • (me? judgemental? :D)

      Qualitative analysis of your type formula: You are:
      [*]slightly expressed sensing personality 1%
      [*]slightly expressed feeling personality 11%
      [*]slightly expressed introvert 22%
      [*]moderately expressed judging personality 56%
    I have no idea what all that stuff means. I'm really not much of a believer is those sorts of tests. However, I know that a lot of psychology majors believe in them.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 6, 2004
  9. DL-Luvr

    DL-Luvr New Member

    MBTI


    You're right Howard, the results are not consistent over periods of time. I heard that the US Army doesn't use it for that reason. MBTI is a poorly constructed instrument based on Jungs types which have never been scientifically validated.

    A little astrology anyone ?
     
  10. trigo

    trigo New Member

    I'm ENTJ.
    IMO, Myers-Briggs is Ok but too Western (or too complicated) for my applications in Asia. Too many combinations to visualize for ordinary people.
    However, I prefer the personality types through Enneagrams. I find them more exotic (Eastern approach) and esoteric. Had good results with workgroups appreciating and understanding the differences of each other's personality.
     
  11. Dr. Gina

    Dr. Gina New Member

    I am INTJ too! Here is a description:




    The Portrait of the Mastermind (iNTj)
    .

    Of the four aspects of strategic analysis and definition it is the contingency planning or entailment organizing role that reaches the highest development in Masterminds. Entailing or contingency planning is not an informative activity, rather it is a directive one in which the planner tells others what to do and in what order to do it. As the organizing capabilities the Masterminds increase so does their inclination to take charge of whatever is going on.

    It is in their abilities that Masterminds differ from the other Rationals, while in most of their attitudes they are just like the others. However there is one attitude that sets them apart from other Rationals: they tend to be much more self-confident than the rest, having, for obscure reasons, developed a very strong will. They are rather rare, comprising no more than, say, one percent of the population. Being very judicious, decisions come naturally to them; indeed, they can hardly rest until they have things settled, decided, and set. They are the people who are able to formulate coherent and comprehensive contingency plans, hence contingency organizers or "entailers."

    Masterminds will adopt ideas only if they are useful, which is to say if they work efficiently toward accomplishing the Mastermind's well-defined goals. Natural leaders, Masterminds are not at all eager to take command of projects or groups, preferring to stay in the background until others demonstrate their inability to lead. Once in charge, however, Masterminds are the supreme pragmatists, seeing reality as a crucible for refining their strategies for goal-directed action. In a sense, Masterminds approach reality as they would a giant chess board, always seeking strategies that have a high payoff, and always devising contingency plans in case of error or adversity. To the Mastermind, organizational structure and operational procedures are never arbitrary, never set in concrete, but are quite malleable and can be changed, improved, streamlined. In their drive for efficient action, Masterminds are the most open-minded of all the types. No idea is too far-fetched to be entertained-if it is useful. Masterminds are natural brainstormers, always open to new concepts and, in fact, aggressively seeking them. They are also alert to the consequences of applying new ideas or positions. Theories which cannot be made to work are quickly discarded by the Masterminds. On the other hand, Masterminds can be quite ruthless in implementing effective ideas, seldom counting personal cost in terms of time and energy.
     
  12. Veteran101

    Veteran101 New Member

    Holy Crap

    Im Al Gore!!!!!!:confused:
     
  13. Splas

    Splas New Member

    Wow that is three INTJ's in just a few replies :eek:.

    To DL-Luvr: Do you really put this type of test on the same level as astrology? If so why? I'd always believed that astology was more of a spiritual thing than and attempt at scientific explanations of behavior (Which of the two the MBTI test is, Im not sure :confused:.).

    To Veteran101: My apologizes for showing you the test. I hope one day you be able to recover from such a tramatic, life altering, shock and disapointment :).

    Does anyone know of any studies or articles that have been done concerning this test? I like all the thoughts shared, but I was kind of hoping for more analysis on it scientificly. Does it exsist?
     
  14. Han

    Han New Member

    A UoP student did one in 2002, he was from Boeing. He used our team from 4 locations, team mapped , role, based on fucntion and these test results. It was very intersting. Sorry I don't have the details, but he presented the results to us, and it was interesting.
     
  15. I'm an INTJ that wants to be an ENTJ....
     
  16. DL-Luvr

    DL-Luvr New Member

    Astrology attempts to be scientific though it is a pseudoscience. Measuring the MBTI...And Coming Up Short
     
  17. Splas

    Splas New Member

    Thanks for the article DL-Luvr, I definitly agree that it shouldn't be used as a predictor of job positions or fields. I do think that it does a good job getting your personality close though. There has to be some dull edge this test has that could be sharpened into something really good and useful. What it is, I have no idea.

    I think e-Harmony.com uses something like the MBTI for matching couples. Would be interesting to say the least; I've read that the INTJ is compatible with the ESFP (center of attention, flashy, fun lovin') and visa versa (thank you God for your kindness to this poor soul :D). Since they have no letters in common they cover all eight letters, complete opposites! Now if this were only true I could use it as a ice breaker on all the girls I would think that I have no chance of getting :cool:.

    Carl_Reginstein, why would you want to be a ENTJ? Thats what my brother got and it fit him almost to the letter.
     
  18. There's something about those field marshals that I like.... and in my job, being able to bluster in front of a crowd and have them eating out of my hand would be a definite benefit, combined with all of my many other wonderful abilities, of course (ahem) ;)

    By the way, as an INTJ, my wife is an ESFP and we are most definitely quite compatible....
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 21, 2004
  19. DesElms

    DesElms New Member

    Reasonable alternative to Myers-Briggs?

    For what it's worth, an associate/almost-friend of mine back in Minneapolis who is a licensed psychologist and who is in the business of administering a variety of standardized tests -- usually for pre-employment purposes -- always used to complain about Myers-Briggs and, as I recall, he used to cite many of the complaints I've read in this thread. I remember him telling me that he was investigating (and was, at least preliminarily, halfway impressed with) the Keirsey Temperament Sorter as a more appropriate, psychologically sound alternative to Myers-Briggs. I never followed-up with him about it and I have no idea if he ultimately decided whether or not his initial impressions were valid and/or sound, but I remember him sending me to the Keirsey web site to take a look at it as long ago as... hmm... lemmee think... I guess it was 1995 or 1996 maybe... so I know it's been around awhile. And upon examining the site just now, I notice that it looks just as unprofessional today as it did then... but I don't suppose that makes any difference.

    Just thought I'd toss that into the mix, here, in case anyone found it informative or useful in any way.
     
  20. Orson

    Orson New Member

    Re: MBTI

    I've taken the MBTI twice - some years apart. It gave me consistent results, giving personal support to the idea of reliability.

    e(i)-Ntj
    In other words, all measures were close to the medisn except Intuition level.

    As a complimentary excercise for exploring career interests, I found the experiences valuable and validating. In general, it was also sucessful in the business group I was once involved with.

     

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