What author Merve Emre uncovered about the origins of the Myers-Briggs personality test

[DokaGirl]

September 18, 2018 article in the Globe and Mail about how the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was developed. Interesting, as the developers started this at their kitchen table - an informal start, having no degrees in psychology or psychiatry. According to the author, professor Merve Emre, investigating this test, much of its history is hidden. She was not allowed access to archives about one of the founders of this popular test used by many for decades:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/lif...overed-about-the-origins-of-the-myers-briggs/

Oxford professor, Merve Emre, has written The Personality Brokers: The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing. "Emre delivers what she eventually uncovered - the story of two women, who despite their lack of any formal training, created one of the most, popular personality tests in the world".

Emre said: " I don't want to dismiss this or belittle it, but for many people the indicator continues to be valuable and continues to speak to them, despite the fact it has no basis in any verifiable theory of human personality and that there's no evidence for either its validity or its reliability."

The article closes with Professor Emre saying: " I think it's really dangerous that the indicator makes people's psychological livelihood available to people in power at corporations, or schools or or any type of institution."

This all sounds very familiar.....

The more I learn about the underpinnings of the "science of psychology", the more I wonder if much of it is based on what air ferns eat.

 

[TiredSam]

I've long thought that the field of personality testing is a pile of steaming horse shit, so I enjoyed reading this article.

 

[hinterland]

https://www.16personalities.com/

You can find your Myers-Briggs personality type here, free test. I found it uncanny and surprisingly insightful!

Edited to add:
I'm not being sarcastic here. Despite reservations over the scientific validity of such tests, I found the test informative and fun to do!

 

[TiredSam]

I just did it. I'm an architect. Amazing. Apparently I'm the bitterest of cynics, which is probably why I still think it's a load of bollocks. Fun though, like having your fortune told or astrology or anything else where it's all about me. I wish it didn't have the status it did and that companies made employment decisions based on it or ME sufferers were accused of being type A perfectionists who can't be bothered to push through their symptoms.

Right - back to reading about architects. Fascinating. It makes me feel really special. I wonder if anyone gets a result which says "You're a boring twat, why do you bother?" I doubt it. Something for everyone I expect.

It’s lonely at the top, and being one of the rarest and most strategically capable personality types, Architects know this all too well.

Oh yes.

Architects radiate self-confidence and an aura of mystery, and their insightful observations, original ideas and formidable logic enable them to push change through with sheer willpower and force of personality.

Yes, yes, that's me!

Gosh I'm special. Love this personality type stuff.

 

[adambeyoncelowe]

YOUR PERSONALITY TYPE IS:
CAMPAIGNER(ENFP-A)

What do you mean "life is boring"? Are we living on the same planet?

MIND
This trait determines how we interact with our environment.
Extraverted
88%
Introverted
12%
ENERGY
This trait shows where we direct our mental energy.
Intuitive
51%
Observant
49%
NATURE
This trait determines how we make decisions and cope with emotions.
Thinking
33%
Feeling
67%
TACTICS
This trait reflects our approach to work, planning and decision-making.
Judging
47%
Prospecting
53%
IDENTITY
This trait underpins all others, showing how confident we are in our abilities and decisions.
Assertive
94%
Turbulent
6%

Relatively accurate, but sometimes I'm more J than P and more T than F. It depends on my mood. And obviously, it's all relative. I can't physically be as extroverted as I was.

ETA: And O/N is close to 50/50, too, which means I could potentially score O instead of N some days. In short, I may be EOTJ some days instead, depending on how I feel like answering the questions...

 

[TiredSam]

TiredSam's Software Development Academy Final Exam

Task

1. Design a program which starts with a questionnaire asking the user to answer a series of subjective questions about how they see themselves

2. The program should use these answers to construct a text which confirms the user's view of themselves

3. Maximum credit will be given for a text which describes the user as positively as possible, makes them feel special, and elicits lots of "gosh that's me" type reactions

For the purposes of this task you may assume that the user will forget that it was they who told the program all that stuff about themselves in the first place

 

[Mij]

Personality Type: EXECUTIVE haha, I've been compared to Judge Judy in the past she is also and Executive. It's true! I believe it all!

 

[James Morris-Lent]

The only trait that runs on a spectrum is introverted/extroverted. All the rest, you could be strongly both. Observation an intuition, thinking and feeling, judging and prospecting: these aren't opposed. I don't know what's meant by assertive/turbulent.

 

[andypants]

The only trait that runs on a spectrum is introverted/extroverted. All the rest, you could be strongly both. Observation an intuition, thinking and feeling, judging and prospecting: these aren't opposed. I don't know what's meant by assertive/turbulent.

You can also be an ambivert. I am

My personality type is COMMANDER! Which is pretty accurate, except for the not understanding emotion part. One of my best traits is having a very good ability to interpret and understand others’ feelings.

Shocking that people can’t be tidily sorted into categories like that.

 

[Binkie4]

Somehow can’t resist doing these things!

Mine is advocate which might be of use around here especially as it’s very rare.

And I’ ve lost the capacity to follow up on one quality. That’s an interesting slant on ME.

 

[dreampop]

Ah I knew this was totally bs. And it's crazy how deep that stuff has saturated society. People in my school were given colleges to look at based on this test. Insanity.

I don’t want to dismiss this or belittle it, but for many people, the indicator continues to be valuable and continues to speak to them, despite the fact it has no basis in any verifiable theory of human personality and that there’s no evidence for either its validity or its reliability.

???

 

[Forbin]

I believe in sticking with the "hard" sciences...

 

[Little Bluestem]

I've long thought that the field of personality testing is a pile of steaming horse shit, so I enjoyed reading this article.

That is an insult to all horses and their shit. May they drop a sample on you so that you will learn to speak more nicely.

 

[adambeyoncelowe]

The only trait that runs on a spectrum is introverted/extroverted. All the rest, you could be strongly both. Observation an intuition, thinking and feeling, judging and prospecting: these aren't opposed. I don't know what's meant by assertive/turbulent.

This. The test encourages you not to use the middle values, but those were often where I wanted to put my score. Because my answer was quite often: 'well, sometimes, but only if x'.

So I agree with TiredSam that it's about scoring an idealised version of self.

Is it useful? Maybe. It might reveal what you think you should be, and the gap between that and who you actually are.

 

[Trish]

For what it's worth, my personality type came out as MEDIATOR.
Make of that what you will.

Of course all it's doing is feeding back to you approximately what you told it with someone else's (often wrong) interpretation on what that means, and sticking labels on it.

 

[Inara]

Somehow can’t resist doing these things!

Mine is advocate which might be of use around here especially as it’s very rare.

And I’ ve lost the capacity to follow up on one quality. That’s an interesting slant on ME.

Agree I didn't want to do it, but did it. Duh. (Seems I'm an advocate, too, but I don't know exactly what an advocate is and I don't know if it's accurate.) I know these tests can't be taken at face value, but I like to reflect (or have a laugh - I love laughing). Interesting what the others get.

Edit: I think I'll make the test again later and compare.
I see advocate goes under diplomate. I am not a diplomate.

 

[Sly Saint]

Apparently I'm a Protagonist...........same as Barack Obama and Daenerys Targaryen among others.


eta: think I did this test before (there was a thread at the other place) and it came out the same...hmm

 

[Inara]

I'm still an advocate. I can't identify with that, I have to say.
That's not like with horoscopes. I'm disappointed. ( )

 

[Sly Saint]

I remember doing psychometric tests as part of a job interview (I've got the results somewhere); the HR manager said they had never seen such a big difference between the one on how I see myself and how I think I am perceived by others............ oh dear, where did it all go wrong.

 

[alex3619]

For the purposes of this task you may assume that the user will forget that it was they who told the program all that stuff about themselves in the first place

You missed a step. Regurgitate their description of themselves using completely different words so its less obvious.