You have probably seen strange these strange combinations of four letters in Instagram bios or saw a status on Facebook from a third party quiz site shared by your friends. With social media, it’s probable that we have all taken some kind of personality quiz online in a bout of curiosity or boredom. Another form of this would be obnoxious click bait sites that we're all guilty of trying.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is one of the most widely and commonly used "professional" personality tests by employers (including multiple Fortune 500 companies.) The test is credited as being reliable for its thorough 16 possible options and analysis. The MBTI tests the "way individuals prefer to use their perception and judgement" as stated by the organization.
It was developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katharine Briggs, as a result of their interest in Carl Jung’s work in psychiatry, psychotherapy and analytical psychology in 1943. Then the test became widely popular when women in World War II used them to find the best job matches in the once male dominated jobs field. Jung's theories concluded that the way that people see the world or do things are innate from the moment they were born. Little can be done to change that fact but this is what led to his personality typing theory.
Despite the thorough explanations, credibility and professional recommendations, how accurate, valid and reliable is it? The test is just another fad, the same as zodiac horoscopes, astrology, or Facebook profile analyzer.
Using the official explanations from the Myers-Brigg organization site, each letter is easily explainable and can be categorized and grouped in multiple combinations.
1. Where energy is obtained and the world preferred. E: Extroverted vs. I: Introverted
Extroverts rely on energy from socializing, also known as the “outer world,” while introverts rely on themselves and need alone time to “recharge”.
2. How information is taken in. S: Sensing vs. N: Intuition
People who rely on sensing prefer using the five senses to focus on the things here and now while those who rely on intuition prefer analyzing patterns to look in the future.
3. How decisions are made. T: Thinking vs. F: Feeling
Thinking is based on logical and objective analysis (with tendencies to lean towards apathy) while feeling is based on emotion aspects and empathetic connections.
4. How the world is organized. J: Judging vs. P: Perceiving
People who prefer judging tend to go with organized plans while those who prefer perceiving tend to be spontaneous and have multiple options.
There are many flaws in the MBTI—like any other test—but the MBTI specifically states that test takers can only directly be one of the dichotomies, there is no “both” or “half.” Considering the 16 possibilities of the test, whenever a test is retaken, only one of the dichotomous pairs is changed if consistent results are kept. These four letters are able to make a combination of sixteen different personality types, yet the chances of test takers getting a different personality is extremely high with every retake. As many as "three quarters of test takers get a different personality type when tested again" according to Murphy Paul. Also the Barnum Effect may have a significant role in the validity of the test as test takers are more likely to accept their results as being true and relevant.
Although there are only 16 personalities, these 16 are supposed to be able to generalize and categorize everyone who takes the test into extremely broad descriptions. As a result, some of the descriptions overlap, applying the same vague analysis in other possible outcomes.
No personality test is scientifically valid, so the test is just another personality test good for laughs and what not.
