# Does Myers-Briggs testing have any value? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 20, 2001, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473 "2001-11-20T21:06:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/1 "2001-11-20T21:06:17Z")
[http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm](http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm) I’ve just finished taking this test at work. This was the third time I’ve taken it (2nd time was with previous employer and first time was on my own). The company specifically stated that they weren’t out to psychoanalyze anybody, and all of the results papers were ours to keep. So what is the value of personality profiling? All three times I got nearly the exact same result. I’m an [ISFP](http://typelogic.com/isfp.html), which I pretty much already knew before I took this test the very first time. Has anybody taken this & actually learned something from it? What does an employer have to gain? They paid some Myers-Briggs expert to spend a week in our building pulling everybody off the production line into (IMHO) unproductive meetings. What’s the company’s **R** eturn **O** n **I** nvestment? Is it right to label somebody an introvert because of the way they answered a handfull of yes/no questions? ---
**Author:** ![ASD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@ASD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASD)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/2 "2001-11-20T22:12:14Z")
We also had this testing at work. What was useful (other than the satisfying curiosity aspect) were the booklets they gave us about communicating with different personality types and about group dynamics. For example: ENFPs (which is what I am) tend to crack a lot of jokes in meetings which can be good because it breaks tension, but can also be really irritating to people who are trying to be serious. I had never really thought about that aspect of being funny before. It gave a lot of other hints about communicating one-on-one with other people too which have made me a lot more conscious of how I interact with people. Of the 3 people I work most closely with at work three are extroverts and one is an introvert. I make a lot more effort to encourage the introvert to express his opinions more and am more conscious of the fact that I really shouldn’t interrupt him. My manager has almost the polar opposite personality as me so we’ve learned that I’m not the best one to present ideas to her because we just don’t think the same way at all. None of this is exactly rocket science, but anything that makes you think more about how you communicate and gives you strategies for improving is worthwhile. I guess the company feels that enhanced communication improves productivity and morale. ---
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/3 "2001-11-20T22:13:14Z")
I dunno about the “rightness” or “wrongness” of labelling someone based on their answers to a bunch of yes-no questions. What I **do** know is that in the one company I worked for that used the test there was an improvement in communication between my boss and I, because we were on opposite sides of the scale in everything; knowing that, we were both able to change things to work better together. This is anecdotal evidence, of course, YMMV, and one of my favorite things to do with this test is to screw with it to get the answers I want that day. When it’s not a serious test, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/4 "2001-11-20T23:50:40Z")
I’ve never been “officially” tested, but I did a self-assessment in a career-planning book. The results were a bit ambiguous in most of the categories, but there was one thing that was very clear–I am an “I.” All of a sudden, a lot of things made a whole lot more sense to me. I didn’t feel guilty any more about my loner-like ways. My relationships with my friends and my husband got better once I realized that they were fundamentally different from me in the way they dealt with people. Frankly, I’ve just been happier since I found out that I was’t anti-social or something, but that I was just an introvert. So, it had value to me because I gained a lot of important self-understanding. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/5 "2001-11-20T23:55:48Z")
FWIW, according to the test that the OP linked to, I am an INFP. ---
**Author:** ![KeithB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/48db29/32.png) [@KeithB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KeithB)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/6 "2001-11-20T23:56:01Z")
Skeptic Dictionary has a pretty nrgative take: [http://skepdic.com/myersb.html](http://skepdic.com/myersb.html) ---
**Author:** ![Redboss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8baadc/32.png) [@Redboss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redboss)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/7 "2001-11-21T00:33:50Z")
I think the value in Myers Briggs at work is in learning how differently the people you work with take in information, make decisions, value input etc. As mentioned above. So your learning can be “I have to let go of how I see the important points and see the important points for X and put it in X’s terms, in order for X to see the advantages” When it’s done properly it also points out that we can get different results on different days, and that this is how humans tend to behave. Some Is become Es, depending on how the day goes. It’s certainly more insightful than astronomy, although based on the jungian system which I find as unscientific as “Your Stars This Week” Of course a partial understanding of any system is dangerous, and that’s all most participants get. However, businesses like to put money into training, and MB is not as bad as many other spurious activities marketed by the unscrupulous. And it’s fun. Redboss ---
**Author:** ![greenlady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@greenlady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greenlady)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/8 "2001-11-21T00:40:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Attrayant \* > > Is it right to label somebody an introvert because of the way they answered a handfull of yes/no questions? According to the Meyers-Briggs test, it isn’t a negative thing to be an introvert. If you read the analyses, you can see this quite clearly. I discovered this testing a few months ago, and it’s a fascinating way to look at how humans communicate and relate to each other. I’m an INFP. ---
**Author:** ![Hemlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Hemlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hemlock)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/9 "2001-11-21T00:49:42Z")
It reminds me of horoscopes… If a “Leo” asks you to read her horoscope from a magazine and you read out the sections for “Libra”, she will still say “wow, yes, that’s true” (because “astrologers” write all 12 in such a way they can apply to everyone). If you read out the description of an “ESFP” when someone’s test shows that they are “INFP”, they and third parties still recognize the person concerned in the description. Fine, if it makes people think about communicating better, but creepy if people are using it as a basis for making life-changing decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/10 "2001-11-21T02:34:09Z")
I didn’t say that being an introvert was a bad thing, I’m quite proud of my reserved nature. So it seems the exercise is useful insomuch as a mirror in your home is useful. Sake a step back and look at yourself. But as far as this: > [@](#): > > I think the value in Myers Briggs at work is in learning how differently the people you work with take in information, make decisions, value input etc. As mentioned above. I though that too, while we were all chit-chatting in the informal discussion about what the testing means. But the next day, I find myself trying to remember _who_ was a _what_. Oh here’s Andy. He was the ISFJ, so I should be receptive and open to- no wait that was Jane who was the ISFJ. Maybe Andy was the ENTJ? We’d all have to wear name tags for this to be really useful: **Hello! My Name is Attrayant - ISFP** What I got out of it was the feeling that everybody is not necessarily the same as me, sort of a golden rule with a twist. Treat people as you feel they want to be treated (not as _you_ would like to be treated). > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Redboss_: > > It’s certainly more insightful than astronomy… Boy are _you_ in trouble if **The Bad Astronomer** sees that. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/11 "2001-11-21T02:35:16Z")
My sister’s company uses it and she says it’s been very helpful to her as a manager in running meetings, for example, to make sure she gets input from the introverts. Also, it’s been very helpful to her at review time so that she knows which people can take the unvarnished truth and which ones need to be stroked a bit first. ---
**Author:** ![Intrinsic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e9a140/32.png) [@Intrinsic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intrinsic)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/12 "2001-11-21T16:38:44Z")
I am the ultimate skeptic… however, I have taken the test before and will be taking it at an upcoming workshop at my employer. I am well aware of the Forer effect and am hardly one to be swayed in any particular direction. I found the MBTI to be extremely useful in helping understand the dynamics among work colleagues. For example, I’ve always tended to rely on concrete data when making decisions and am extremely sensitive to timelines, whereas others may be more abstract in the decision making process or be totally oblivious to a pending deadline. The test basically confirmed what I already knew, but it gave me insight to others’ varied perceptions (and of course my own)… which I probably never considered previously and now better understand. While unlikely that everyone on the planet fits into 16 neat little boxes, you will definitely gain insight into the work styles of your colleagues. There is some underlying logic that seems to make some sense, as opposed to a horoscope which is completely random. If used as a tool and integrated into the bigger picture, it can be very helpful. Oh… I scored as an “ESTJ” if anyone cares. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/13 "2001-11-21T19:09:38Z")
In truth, I’d have more confidence in it if it didn’t always sound like a fortune teller trying to get you to believe. Just once, couldn’t it say, “Your personality type is XXXX. You’re screwed. No one except a psychopath is going to like you. Kill yourself now and save us the trouble.” Instead it’s all “Your strengths are this…You like this…People who share this personality type won 15 Nobel Prizes and got laid a lot.” Give me a break. And…for the record…over the last 20 years (I first took it in high school) ENTJ INFP ENTP INTP You tell me what the hell that means. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/14 "2001-11-21T20:23:36Z")
ENFJ here - I’ve taken the test more than once as well - for the record, the one on line is different than the “Official” one administered by a psychologist or psychometric annalist. The test is useful, in certain circumstances. When used as a career guidance tool for young people, I think it’s quite valuable. _Originally posted by Redboss_ > [@](#): > > \*\*When it’s done properly it also points out that we can get different results on different days, and that this is how humans tend to behave. Some Is become Es, depending on how the day goes. \*\* This isn’t actually accurate. The test is actually meant to reveal a persons true nature, not just how they’re feeling at a particular time of the day. I am an Extrovert in a HUGE way, but if I’m sick, or have a migraine headache, I want to be left alone. This doesn’t mean that my nature has changed to that of an introvert, it just means that I’m sick or have a migraine. _Originally posted by Jonathan Chance_ > [@](#): > > \*\*You tell me what the hell that means. \*\* Well, I would think that it means that when you took the test, you answered the questions based on how you were feeling right at that particular time, rather than how you generally feel. My guess would be that you are particularly close on your introversion/extroversion scores. I would assume that the NTP assessment was accurate. Al. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/15 "2001-11-21T20:24:38Z")
Ditto Jonathan. I rather suspect one’s mood while taking effects outcome. Your Type is: ENTJ ? (just having taken it) Described as “The Portrait of a Fieldmarshal (eNTj)” Bother. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/16 "2001-11-21T21:52:25Z")
Well, I’ve taken these tests in a few different places and they’ve all been _very_ similar… in fact, as far as I can recall, they’ve all been the same. I am an INTP. Some quotes from that page on INTPs: > [@](#): > > INTPs are pensive, analytical folks. They may venture so deeply into thought as to seem detached, and often actually are oblivious to the world around them… > > Precise about their descriptions, INTPs will often correct others (or be sorely tempted to) if the shade of meaning is a bit off… > > INTPs are relatively easy-going and amenable to most anything until their principles are violated, about which they may become outspoken and inflexible. They prefer to return, however, to a reserved albeit benign ambiance, not wishing to make spectacles of themselves… > > They spend considerable time second-guessing themselves. The open-endedness (from Perceiving) conjoined with the need for competence (NT) is expressed in a sense that one’s conclusion may well be met by an equally plausible alternative solution, and that, after all, one may very well have overlooked some critical bit of data… > > This fascination for logical wholes and their inner workings is often expressed in a detachment from the environment, a concentration where time is forgotten and extraneous stimuli are held at bay. Accomplishing a task or goal with this knowledge is secondary… > > Errors are not often due to poor logic – \*\*apparent faux pas in reasoning are usually a result of \*\*overlooking details or of **incorrect context** … [emphasis added and original emphasis removed] From what I seem to know of myself this certainly seems appropriate. I was thinking about starting an MPSIMS thread where posters tried to _predict_ what other posters were… like a secret thread where I would predict a poster’s type then email them the quiz link and the thread link where they would _then_ see if I was right. then they would pick a poster, make a prediction, etc., but I’m not certain that could successfully be pulled off. At any rate, I am always interested in these things if for no other reason that they are fun to play with. If anyone feels they have a grasp of what I am like on the boards (and I am not all that different in person, except that I flirt IRL and not really so here) then I would appreciate demonstrating how either almost _any_ of those “temperments” would apply to me, or how, in fact, I really _am_ an INTP. For the record, though I agree that horoscopes are meaningless, the signs people have are not applicable to everyone. Though a Pisces certainly matches my personality type to _some_ degree, there are many descriptions of other signs which would simply be incorrect. So, yeah, i think if Pisces were defined as a personality type instead of a birth sign it might be more fun, and-- in fact – more like these temperment tests. Armchair psychoanalysis, the stuff of drunken babbling 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spiritus\_Mundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Spiritus\_Mundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiritus_Mundi)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/17 "2001-11-21T22:18:48Z")
Like all taxonomies, it has utility to the extent that the groupings it recognizes are valued by the folks using the tool. Like all taxonomies it is misguided to use it as a prescriptive rather than a descriptive tool. Spiritus Mundi – IDRC ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/18 "2001-11-21T23:04:22Z")
Hemlock- i must disagree. I had serious doubts about MB having any validity- I thought is was something along the lines of horoscopes. So, being a subscriber to CISCOP, I tried their test- and asked people if the WRONG profile fit the person. If the profile was rather close- all agreed it fit that person (maybe reading the profile for a ESTP (me) for a ESTJ (also tested once as)). BUT- if it was quite opposite- say an INFJ- then the people said it did not fit. I tried this several times, with two different groups, and the results were similar. Note that several of the classes- Introverts vs Extroverts, say, are recognized by mainstream shrinks. Thus, it has some validity. How much, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/19 "2001-11-22T02:27:12Z")
I think it’s just great, they can pigeon-hole all 6 billion humans into 16 types. ---
**Author:** ![berdollos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@berdollos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/berdollos)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473/20 "2001-11-22T02:57:12Z")
> **[Portrait of an ISFP](http://www.personalitypage.com/ISFP.html)** > > Portrait of the ISFP Myers-Briggs Personality Type: The Artists and try the descriptions on for size. You will find, I think, most of them pretty good. check out the relationship part at the end, too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-myers-briggs-testing-have-any-value/94473.md?page=2)