Term Paper: An Evaluation of the Reliability of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Killeen McClowry
The University of Texas at Dallas
BIS3320-The Nature of Intellectual Inquiry
An Evaluation of the Reliability of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an evaluative personality tool that is widely used throughout the world today. It is important for a tool that is popularly utilized in a variety of fields and at numerous professional institutions worldwide to be a credible one. So, is the MBTI really the valid reliable personality inventory instrument it claims to be? Evaluating this tool will show that empirically sound evidence does not exist to support the MBTI as an accurate, reliable, or valid instrument for profiling one’s personality type.
The MBTI questionnaire was created by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers. Their collaborative work to develop this measurement of personality was inspired by to the writings/work of Carl Jung (more specifically his book entitled Psychological Type). This mother and daughter’s shared fascination and interest in type theory led them “to create the MBTI in the early 1940s as a test to be used for personnel selection. Myers believed that different occupations favored different personality orientations, and that Jung’s theory provided a theoretical link between personality and job performance” (Pittenger, 1993). It is important to note that it was Myers “belief” that
Similar to Belbin’s theory, the Myers- Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) theory is driven by a desire to help people understand themselves, and each other better,
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.
A person’s personality is his or her essence. It is what guides decisions, emotions, and even thoughts. Some may wonder if it is possible to explore every nuance of such a complex part of a being, but there are ways to determine what type of personality a person has, and then branch off into a more detailed examination of that person specifically. Combined with other factors, such as personality disorders and the environment that someone has grown up in, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI, test (Enrichment 1) and analysis can determine an accurate portrayal of a personality. Created in 1943 by Katherine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, it is a system made up of four basic functions and sub functions that combine to make a personality type. The mother and daughter team constructed it off of Jung’s theories (History 2). Based on this system, one of the most common personality types in the US population is called an ESTJ, and one of the least common personality types is called an INFJ. There are many differences and similarities between these two types. An ESTJ personality, overall, is practical, fact-based, and outgoing, whereas an INFJ personality is more private and makes decisions based on feelings; however, both are organized people who make good leaders and are capable of great success in roles that involve helping others.
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.
They suggest that measuring one’s characteristics such as sociability, drive, self-determination and demeanor can aid one to better interpret and discern them introspectively. By taking the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) I am able to compare my personality traits to careers in which I may enjoy, will fit my individual personality and enable me to be successful say Drummond, Jones & Sheperis (2016). The results of my self-administered inventory are as follows; Introvert (I) 55%, Intuitive (N) 76%, Feeling (F) 86% and Perceiving (P) 67%. The four dimensions of the inventory seem to be very accurate for the manner in which I view myself. The result of INFP suggests that my personality shows a predominant association with being in a career in which I am able to care for others, such as a healer. This is a correlate with my first career as a firefighter and
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) “is an introspective self-report questionnaire designed to indicate psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions” (13). It is one of several personality assessments that is popular among modern mental health experts throughout the world. Currently, it is estimated that the MBTI is “taken by more than two million people per year and is translated into 16 languages (10). “The purpose of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory is to make the theory of psychological types described by C. G. Jung understandable and useful in people 's lives” (4).
The MBTI results have brought forth many questions that for many people. However, the results are not definite, but alines a person with certain expectation of the the results. In order to get a precise idea about anyone, you will have to get to know them personally. Conflicts arise when generalization concludes everyone in the same category, reason being that humans changes depended upon their environment and situation. These tests may be great for determining success, however they lack the candidate’s values, motives, and work styles and will not give the final verdict for which is right for the job. The assessment of personality should not be
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator over the years has become an extremely popular test among the average individual and the large business corporations. It fascinately breaks down people’s personality and gives them a rough code for how their brain function and what they are more inclined to do depending on the circumstances. Despite the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator large popularity there are many stipulations and suspicions about the credibility of the test. The two major arguments that are presented in David Pittenger’s article Cautionary comments regarding the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator are large businesses using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test as a tool to indicate who should be hired for particular jobs and accersey of test results, especially when the individual takes the test again and
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was developed by Katherine Briggs and Isabel Myers-Briggs. The test was designed for individual’s ages 14 and older. It was also written on a seventh grade reading level to ensure complete test comprehension (Fleenor, 2001). Each of the 93 items on the test measure only type of personality to ensure simple and accurate scoring (Fleenor, 2001). The purpose of the MBTI is to classify individuals on each of the four levels as identified in Carl Jung’s theory, and then provide them with a description of their personality as a result of their test (Fleenor, 2001).
One hundred seventy-eight anonymous participants (120 females, 48 males, and 10 non-specified genders) between the ages of 18 and 26 participated in a fifteen question survey regarding how portions of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) relate to age and gender. The participants were selected by convenience sampling. Using questions designed to determine two aspects of each subject’s personality type—whether they relied on Intuition and Sensing, and Thinking or Feeling—and comparing this data with gender, no significant correlation between MBTI score and gender were found. A significant positive correlation between age and Sensing
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is based on the Jung’s theory of psychological types. The test is a self-report questionnaire that gives insight in how people interpret the world around them. This can be significantly important, as it can help someone better understand themselves, as well as their relationships, education, career, and role in the workplace. The MBTI was was developed by Katharine Cook Briggs together with her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was developed by Katherine Briggs and Isabel Myers in 1962. The MBTI identifies personal preferences based on the theory of psychological types of Jung. In 1921 Jung published a book about Psychological types in which gives an accurate analysis of the difference of human personalities (Blutner&Hochandel, 2010). He said about his own theory: “Its purpose is to provide a critical psychology which will make methodical investigation and presentation of the empirical material possible. First and foremost it is a critical tool for the research worker, who needs definite points of view and guidelines if he is to reduce the chaotic profusion of individual experiences to any kind of order. Secondly, a typology is a great help understanding the wide variations that occur among individuals, and it also furnishes a clue to the fundamental difference in the psychological theories now current. Last but not least, it is an essential means for determining the “personal equation” of
The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) enables an individual to gain a deeper insight into their inherent personality traits. For some people, they have had prior knowledge or underlying assumptions about their personality, but this test provides clearer information about each of their identifiable traits. According to the MBTI in Human-metric personality test, my scores were 22% (E) extroverted thinking more than introverted, 9% (N) intuitive as oppose to sensing, 16% (T) thinking more than feeling, and 12% (J) judging as compared to perceiving. Thus, my personality type is ENFJ. The ENFJ personality group is described as a minority group that consists of natural-born leaders, and people filled with passion, and charisma for example, Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey; they are notable members of this group, also known as the protagonists (16personalities, 2016). The protagonists apprehend pride in providing guidance for others to improve individually and to improve the community at large (16personalities, 2016). The protagonists find it naturally easy to communicate with others and excel at communicating with other people in person (16personalities, 2016).
Recently we discussed the Myers Briggs types and how although these types are a very well known and popular measure of personality, that the Big 5 personality Types (OCEAN) are a more scientifically backed measure of personality. While the Myers Briggs types measure individuals based on four traits, on which individuals are usually generalized either to be at one extreme end of the scale or the other based on their placement on a scale. This allows individuals to be labeled as personalities such as “ENFJ” or “INTP”. However, The OCEAN model rates people on a scale of how much of a certain trait they possess. Individuals are often deemed to be “high” or “low” on a certain trait. The 5 traits (also known as OCEAN) are as follows: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. Individuals who are high in the trait of openness tend to enjoy new experiences and trying new things. Those who are high in the trait of conscientiousness are very organized and detail-oriented. People high in extraversion are very outgoing and talkative. Individuals who are very agreeable tend to be trustworthy, kind and affectionate. Individuals high in neuroticism tend to be emotionally
Based on the work of Carl Jung, Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs developed the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, a self-inventory geared toward helping individuals determine their personality types and individual areas of strength. “By helping people understand themselves, Myers and Briggs believed that they could help people select occupations that were best suited to their personality types and lead healthier, happier lives” (Cherry, 2015). This test, through helping me explore my own personality, likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and various preferences and compatibilities, has been instrumental in affirming my