The Myers-Briggs Test: Totally Unscientific?

So, this is my current Twitter bio

Life Explorer, HE/learning, Christian, cultural history, WW2 posters: Keep Calm & Carry On, digital, ENFP, #digitalparenting @digitalfprint @ww2poster@bigbible

which you’ll notice includes the Myers-Briggs personality type ‘ENFP’, and I’ve always been fascinated by personality tools that can help understand how I can make the most of myself, and understand others better. In chatting with others, there’s a strong feeling that Myers-Briggs is little better than horoscopes … although I’ve always thought ‘well, at least it’s not randomly assigned to the month that you’re born’ … but I’m fascinated by this Guardian piece (H/T @revpamsmith) in which Dean Burnett indicates that the Myers-Briggs tests is too binary – too black and white … and that most people fall in places along the scale. I have to say I’ve always thought that, but I still, in general, can find Myers-Briggs and other tests give me something to think about .. I’m rarely looking at them (or anything else) for the magic bullet! Fascinating!

I personally feel it’s more to do with people’s tendency to go for anything that offers an easy solution. People will always go for the new fad diet, thealternative remedy, the five dollar wrinkle trick that makes dermatologists hate you for some reason. For all that it may be well-intended, the MBTI offers a variation on that. People are very complex, variable and unpredictable. Many users of the MBTI believe that a straightforward test can simplify them to the point where they can be managed, controlled and utilised to make them as efficient and productive as possible. It’s no wonder businesses are keen to embrace something like that; it would be the ideal tool if it were guaranteed to achieve this. Read full article.

P.S. Check out this diagram!