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Critique Of MBTI

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The instrument I will be critiquing is Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the questionnaire was first published in 1943 in the U.S by Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers. Katherine got inspired by her daughter’s husband, who saw the world a different way than their family so she started researching personality type theory. She noticed that her theory and Carl Jung’s publication of Psychological Types resembled each other so she elaborated off his work. The MBTI was first published by the Educational Testing Service and then given to Consulting Psychologist Press (CPP). The MBTI is a self-report inventory which measures personality to gain insights on how people work and learn based on the variables in Jung’s personality typology. The MBTI is the most widely used personality test. In my critique, I will be talking about what specifically the MBTI does, who can administer it as well as reviewing two studies who have used it in their research and I will also be explaining why the MBTI works despite some of its faults. The MBTI consists of four scales, Extraversion-Introversion (E-I), Sensation- Intuition (S-N), Thinking-Feeling (T-F) and Judgment- Perception (J-P), it identifies 16 distinctive personality types/ patterns of action that every person fits. First it measures how we interact with the world whether that being an Extroversion or Introversion. Second it determines how we prefer to retain information with the types being Sensing or iNtuitive. The third one is how we make decisions, Thinking or Feeling. Lastly, the fourth measurement is how we prefer to live, Judging or Perceiving. The results show the way your four mental functions interact to see which one you prefer to use first. By exploring one’s personality people can see how they prefer to interact and communicate with others. The patterns also show how a person works and learns and it gives great insight to understand the similarities and differences among individuals. The MBTI must follow ethical guidelines and professionals are the only ones qualified to administer and interpret the results of the MBTI. Administrators must protect the confidentiality of the client, show them how to verify their type, and discuss the results. The

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