Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

After class this week, I was curious about Lana's comments on the Myers-Briggs personality type test.  Lucky for me, she wrote about it in her blog so I was able to find out more (check it out here).

It really is a fascinating test, so I decided to check it out a bit more, and took a mock test.  It was not the exact Myers-Briggs, but, according to the website, the results would be similar.  I was found to be an ENFJ, even though I was basically moderate on everything other than being an extrovert.

Here are the results:

• You have strong preference of Extraversion over Introversion (78%)
• You have slight preference of Intuition over Sensing (12%)
• You have moderate preference of Feeling over Thinking (25%)
• You have slight preference of Judging over Perceiving (22%)

This is what I would have expected, but I do have some issues with the test and the weight some companies, organizations, and schools place on its results.  I'd consider myself fairly patient, but completing the test took a few minutes and by the end of it, I just started clicking the answer that came to me first.  Now I'm sure people who are applying for jobs take more careful time in filling it out, but with questions on how you prioritize time and deadlines, I like to think applicants will answer whatever they believe will look best to the company hiring.  

In addition, the test does not consider situation.  For example, when I was asked the question of whether I carefully plan something out or prefer to be spontaneous, I had to decide which I generally did more.  When working of a school project or something professional I am a planner and detail oriented, but when it comes to having fun or spending free time I prefer to just go with the flow and do something spontaneous without prior planning.  I believe this is why I came out so "slight" or "moderate" in many categories, because I answered the same type of question differently throughout the test because I continued to think of different situations.

I did a little research, and came across this article.  I find myself agreeing with a lot of what Dr. Pittenger says.  Though the test is to help us better understand ourselves so we can play to our strengths, I believe it actually limits and constrains us - either by sticking only to our designated areas without developing other strengths or by causing us to try and break free of the labels and try to do things in a way that are not natural to us.  

In the end, it is a really fascinating test to help us better understand ourselves, but we must remember the human being is far more intricate and amazing than a set of multiple choice questions.