Personality Testing : The Big Five Model And Myers Briggs Type Indicator

Throughout the beginning of this semester I have looked at how individuals behave within business organizations. Through various exercises and results, I have found a number of patterns within my behavior and interests. I have become aware to what interests me, and a number of skills/abilities I was oblivious I had. This reflection and in class exercises have allowed me to expand my skills, abilities, and behaviors, well fitting them into prospective future employment.

Personality theories, or models, are metaphors for describing something which is intrinsically indescribable, the human personality. Currently, one of the most popular approaches among psychologists for studying personality theory is the Five-Factor Model (FFM) or Big Five dimensions of personality. This essay will explore the 'Big Five ' personality constructs and seek to explain how useful they are to understanding how people are likely to perform in a work situation. In conclusion, this essay will also discuss some of the arguments against the relevance and accuracy of personality testing within the employment context.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Personality (MBTI) was developed by Briggs Myers and her mother Katharine Cook Briggs in 1943 during the onset of World War II (Ham, 2016). Briggs recognized the need for psychological instruments that would value human differences and utilized the C G Jungs theory in creating the MBTI (The Story of Isabel Briggs Myers, n.d). According to The Myers & Briggs Foundation (2014) Myers and Briggs initially tested a group of 20 relatives and friends. They utilized such sample, because they thought they could predict their personality solemnly on observation which by observation. The initial random sample did not truly represent a whole population, but merely were used due to availability.

Why do NFL teams conduct training camps annually? Fundamentally, they are testing each player’s level of knowledge of the team’s playbook. This assists the coaches in deciding who to keep or cut, but more importantly, it allows the executives to assess each athlete’s character. Likewise, the Myers-Briggs Test has everyone answer a myriad of questions to figure out their specific personality. I received the designation of introverted, sensing, feeling, and judging or “ISFJ.” Simply, I am someone who avoids receiving attention, builds deep, personal friendships, and judges people harshly for their mistakes. Additionally, this test was extremely informative because it helped me identify possible future jobs and explained how I can further excel within social relationships.

Who are you? Many fortune cookies, horoscopes, and other whimsical devices attempt to tell us our personalities, or our combination of traits and behaviors that make up who we are. However, psychologists today deviate from those unsubstantiated methods and have concocted various personality tests that give us a better understanding of who we are. One such test is called the Myers-Briggs personality test. Based on theories by Carl Jung, but primarily created by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs, the test gives people a standardized survey of questions to answer. Standardized, meaning the test is given and scored in the exact same way every time to give unbiased and accurate results. It scores people in four pairs of characteristics, so there is a total of 16 possible personality types. Each pair of characteristics are opposites and a person can fall anywhere between the extreme end of one opposite to the extreme end of the other. The pairs are extroverted and introverted, sensing and intuition, thinking and feeling, finally judging and perceiving. A person can have strong, moderate or weak tendencies towards a preference. (Rathus, 2010, p. 420) There is some criticism of the Myers-Briggs test however, not everyone fits into the categories. People may answer according to socially acceptable norms instead of their honest answers. Not all of the theories were proven, Carl Jung made many observations and deductions but they weren’t formally

John Adams once said, “Thanks be to God that he gave me stubbornness when I know I am right”. John Adams, like myself was introverted, intellectual, thinking, and judging, or an INTJ on the Myers Briggs personality test. Like all INTJs, Adams was stubborn and flouted the ideas of others that he did not agree with. By using my results from the Meyers Briggs personality test, I can examine how I react to certain things and use this to improve my Spirituality, my relationship with God, and ultimately my relationship with others through Christ.

The first section of this paper details the elements that a personality type assessment typically measures. The second section contains discussion on the personality type assessment of the author of this paper. In the third and last section, the author shares how his personal assessment outcomes could affect his work relationships with his colleagues.

The “Big Five” personality classification model includes the traits of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience. The Big Five are broad, global traits that are associated with behaviors at work.

Everyday you learn more and more about yourself.. You might not know it, but you could really like the sushi at the local place you always pass through after school but never get the curiosity of trying it. As senior year comes half of us know where we want to do with the rest of their lives, but the other half is still trying to find who they are. Taking personality tests can be important because they help us learn more about ourselves whether or not they are accurate. While taking both the Big Five Project and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assessment, I learned a little more about myself then I had expected.

Who would have known that four letters can describe a person in complete detail! The Myers Briggs Personality Test can explain your own personality better than you ever thought you could. My personality falls under ESTJ, which stands for extraverted, sensing, thinking, judging. ESTJ 's are usually hard workers that use logic and tradition to complete things efficiently while staying organized. They tend to be very stable people that remain loyal, dependable, and active. They enjoy creating things around the house, volunteering in the community, as well as watching and playing sports. ESTJ 's are known to be great leaders, often times employed as an engineer, doctor, manager, consultant, technician, or agriculturist.

We assess personality to determine wpe of person you are and to see how you will fit and work with others. Companies use questionnaires and personality surveys to see whether or not you will be a good fit with the company. One of the best theories for assessing personality is eysenck’s. He believes that depending on whether or not you're an introvert or extravert you can determine what type of traits and personality you have.

Personality tests give employers an opportunity to have a regulated way of assessing someone's preferences and how they are most likely to behave in a work environment. A number of employers make use of personality tests early on in selecting the kind of employees they want, and will then make a follow up by conducting an interview into the "red flags" or the areas that might be of concern as shown by the results of the personality test (Van Der Merwe, 2002).

Allport defines personality as ‘the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment’ (Allport, 1937). An individual’s unique personality traits and attributes are a powerful indicator of how he/she will interact with the work environment. The difference between average and outstanding employees can often be solely personality related. As the employee is the most valuable asset to the company, ‘selecting the right employee during the process is critical’ (Carbery and Cross, 2013, pp. 41-53)

Companies have started to use personality tests in the past five years so that they can find a potential employee’s strengths and weaknesses. If questions and answers are quite accurate and test is done properly it can help an employer to find more about person’s advantages and disadvantages. It is very important to know because one of the most important points is that most of personality tests help to recognize unqualified candidates. “Although experts warn that many personality assessments don't deliver what they promise, legitimate scientifically validated tests are helping employers evaluate job candidates to select those best suited for particular positions. Other tests are designed to measure intelligence, honesty, management aptitude and other qualities.”

The Five Factor Model or Big Five model developed by McCrae and Costa factor together personality traits into 5 major categories. Those factors were Neuroticism (worried insecure, nervous, highly strung), Extraversion (Sociable, talkative, fun-loving, affectionate), Openness (Original, independent, creative, daring), Agreeableness (Good-natured, softhearted, trusting, courteous), and Conscientiousness (Careful, reliable, hardworking, organized). (Schultz & Schultz, 2013). They are able to include most of other lower order traits accounting for specific dimensions of individual differences in personality. (Schultz & Schultz, 2013)