MBTI and Self Knowledge

[Natalia]

I have always been pretty skeptic of personality tests and other ways to categorize people and attempt to predict future behavior based on such categorization (especially astrology); however, I have found MBTI to be quite on-spot and interesting for those pursuing self-knowledge, at least compared to other personality tests. MBTI personality types also seem to be correlated with giftedness.

 

Having taken the test multiple times throughout the years, I have always gotten either INTP or INTJ (mostly INTP); however, I often do find myself acting as the website’s description of an ENTP (as the very fact that I engage in arguments in this forum evinces); that may be due to the claim I’ve read that introverts have different facets of their personality that arise in different situations, while extroverts tend to be extrovert everywhere. I apologize for not being able to remember exactly where I read that, you can disregard my claim.

 

In this thread: share your results from https://www.16personalities.com and discuss your thoughts on the test, your results and its implications.

[Spivee]

I get ENTP (I used to get ENFP) first of all.

 

My question is how do the insights of these categories weigh against the negatives of perhaps 'picking sides' in one's outlooks, and/or taking false insights along with the true?

 

An example of both is my retesting and getting 51% T thus shifting me from ENFP to ENTP... Suddenly there is a large change in the focus of the summaries and I go from "passionate plan maker" to "passionate debater"... (along with a lot of things that don't seem to change)

 

of course I can be consciously aware of these inaccuracies, though that pinch of salt then starts to affect the relateable parts too.

 

I'd be interested in if other's experience self doubt when criticizing personality advice.

[Natalia]

I get ENTP (I used to get ENFP) first of all.

My question is how do the insights of these categories weigh against the negatives of perhaps 'picking sides' in one's outlooks, and/or taking false insights along with the true?

An example of both is my retesting and getting 51% T thus shifting me from ENFP to ENTP... Suddenly there is a large change in the focus of the summaries and I go from "passionate plan maker" to "passionate debater"... (along with a lot of things that don't seem to change)

of course I can be consciously aware of these inaccuracies, though that pinch of salt then starts to affect the relateable parts too.

I'd be interested in if other's experience self doubt when criticizing personality advice.

That's why it’s good that they inform you those percentages. It is also important to always be at least a little skeptical of those types of personality categorizations—I don’t think something like that could ever be 100% accurate, by its very nature. I did find their advice spot on and useful, but that could be just me.

 

The Big Five is a better way to measure personality, although there's no classification as with the MBTI. I may make a thread about it later.

 

I was researching some statistics about MBTI types, and I found some correlations between them and income as well. Interestingly, the correlation is almost the reverse as that between MBTI types and "giftedness."

 

http://www.truity.com/sites/default/files/PersonalityType-CareerAchievementStudy.pdf

[RichardY]

I get INTP, some of the questions I find I might answer differently depending on the context and situation.

 

I wonder the extent it is possible to change your personality to being more out going and knowing when to make a judgement or continue thinking. Recently I thought I might try and be more outgoing by posting on FDR, as a way of offloading some questions I have, kind of taking advantage of more brainpower, but hopefully providing some limited value as well. I think I might be able to shift to being more judgemental by developing a deeper understanding of philosophy and some kind of maxim.  

 

If everybody with the same personality type was to live in a particular area I would imagine differences would emerge with some being more out going and better with tools than others, perhaps as a necessity of survival. How much of personality could be influenced by upbringing or genetics?

[Jot]

(especially astrology);

Does this mean you are not rejecting astrology on metaphysical grounds?

[Natalia]

Does this mean you are not rejecting astrology on metaphysical grounds?

I never thought much about it. Rejecting astrology was like rejecting religion to me; I was a child and saw that it wasn’t based on scientific or rational grounds.

[violet]

I got INFJ. I typically get INTJ on these tests though, so the 'F' result is a bit surprising. However, it does depend on how you interpret the questions. I think the discrepancy lies in the fact that I am an emotional person, but I prefer to make decisions based on rational thought more than feelings when given the chance. So maybe I'm naturally an 'F' type and a 'T' type with effort.

 

however, I often do find myself acting as the website’s description of an ENTP (as the very fact that I engage in arguments in this forum evinces); that may be due to the claim I’ve read that introverts have different facets of their personality that arise in different situations, while extroverts tend to be extrovert everywhere.

As far as I understand it, the main difference between an introvert and extrovert is in the processing of stimuli. The more reactive/sensitive you are to stimulation in general, the more introverted you appear. So in a low-stimulation environment (such as using a computer in a quiet room where you are free to concentrate on reading or writing text), you can display "extroverted" traits.