Myers-Briggs Test: Is it Informative or Garbage?

  • Thread starter Math Is Hard
  • Start date
  • Tags
    Test
In summary, the conversation on the humanmetrics.com website discusses the accuracy and usefulness of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test. The participants share their own results and opinions about the test, with some finding it to be informative while others view it as unreliable. The conversation also touches on the idea of introversion and extroversion on the internet, as well as the potential for the MBTI test to be used in job recruitment.
  • #1
Math Is Hard
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
4,652
37
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

I have taken this a few times over the years and scored alternately as INTJ and INFJ.

We had a thread on this before and most people on PF (IIRC) scored as INTJs.

What do you think about this test? Is it informative? Garbage? I haven't quite made up my mind because I think in some ways it reflects my preferences, but I could also see myself in any of the descriptions of these personality types (like with zodiac signs) depending on my mood.
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
I thought it was fairly accurate. I've been both INTJ, ENTJ. I was given this test as part of my job years ago, we also had to take a test on personality types called DISC, I don't think you can take the actual test online for free though. I've seem some "similar" DISC tests. I was a high I, with S secondary, then C, D. By the time I was adminitered the test the secong time a few years later (at work), I had a much higher D rating.

I think DISC is excellent.
 
  • #3
I've never heard of DISC. I am going to look that up.

Is the C part for clumsiness? :biggrin:
 
Last edited:
  • #4
INTJ.

very expressed introvert

moderately expressed intuitive personality

distinctively expressed thinking personality

slightly expressed judging personality
 
  • #5
No one seems introverted on the internet.
 
  • #6
I did one of these once, I was being hired at a consultancy.
Their recruitment policy was Ivy league PhD in Maths/Physics and 10years experience - they then did an MB test to see if you had the right personality for working in a technical role!

"Yes professor we like your anti-gravity machine but our test shows you are intuitive rather than reasoning so you aren't really suitable for science."
 
  • #7
Math Is Hard said:
No one seems introverted on the internet.


I am.:uhh: Then again maybe not.:biggrin:
 
  • #8
ENTJ, I remember the last time I took this on PF, I got a different result...
 
  • #9
mgb_phys said:
I did one of these once, I was being hired at a consultancy.
Their recruitment policy was Ivy league PhD in Maths/Physics and 10years experience - they then did an MB test to see if you had the right personality for working in a technical role!

"Yes professor we like your anti-gravity machine but our test shows you are intuitive rather than reasoning so you aren't really suitable for science."

Geez, I want to laugh, but that is just really sad. I've met some pretty wacky HR people so I believe it.
 
  • #10
Math Is Hard said:
No one seems introverted on the internet.

My results are a bit slewed, i would answer some questions differently if i had some interesting people to talk to.
 
  • #11
INTP here. I doubted the MBTI at first but every test I've taken has yielded consistent results and the profiles do match my personality very well. The best test I've taken is the ddli:

http://www.ling.rochester.edu/~duniho/ddli/
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #12
I am an entj and my wife is a esfj. Seems to be fairly accurate. Interesting profile analysis. My wife is an angel and I am a bossy prick. lol
 
  • #13
INFP, though I've taken this test and been an ENFP.

I find it a useful test. I used to work at a place that gave this test to everyone, and it helped me recognize the sometimes a person isn't being a jackass just to be a jackass, but rather, their behavior is just due to their temperment.
 
  • #14
Math Is Hard said:
No one seems introverted on the internet.

lisab said:
INFP, though I've taken this test and been an ENFP.

I find it a useful test. I used to work at a place that gave this test to everyone, and it helped me recognize the sometimes a person isn't being a jackass just to be a jackass, but rather, their behavior is just due to their temperment.

is everyone on the internet a jackass? or is their behaviour due to their impairment?
 
  • #15
Your Type is
ENFP
You are:
moderately expressed extravert
distinctively expressed intuitive personality
moderately expressed feeling personality
slightly expressed perceiving personality
Essentially the exact opposite of how I scored last time I took this test. The questions that time were more oriented to work than to socializing however.

In my work everything is done by the books, carefully, planned out. I don't want to be bothered, and I certainly do not wish to waste my time thinking about "what ifs" when I'm still working on one part of it.

On the other hand, in my social life, I enjoy thinking about all possible situations that could result from every action, and spontaneous ideas are fun.
 
  • #16
My wife is taking a behavioral psychology class in which this particular site was mentioned in a discussion with a few classmates. I figured I'd see if there was a thread on PF about it (as I do with just about anything that's caught my interest).

I took the test twice - the first time through, I took the test alone and answered each question as honestly as I could. The second time through, I had my better half answer the questions for me. She agreed with all but three of my responses, and I found her explanations to be much more convincing than my own, so I changed them. :biggrin:

The final results:

-INTJ-

Strength of preference percent:

Introverted: 67 (The 3 questions I changed brought this figure up from what was previously a 50)
Intuitive: 62
Thinking: 88
Judging: 78

I did have issues with a few of the questions/situations/statements, the main one being:

"You are consistent in your habits." Yes/No?

:confused: Isn't consistency required to satisfy the very definition of the word "habit?"

Aside from a bit of ambiguity, I feel like the test is fairly accurate in representing my responses/choices in the situations presented. The site also provided links to other sites, such as http://typelogic.com/" one, that seemed to confirm the claims made about "my" personality type. Interesting stuff!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #17
Your Type is
INTJ
Introverted Intuitive Thinking Judging
Strength of the preferences %
100 12 50 44I believe it is accurate : http://typelogic.com/intj.html

INTJs have no regard for authority when, in fact, what INTJs have is a lack of respect for authority that is not "learned" in ways that will benefit the system - a lack of respect for authority that is not "in the know", for INTJs respect knowledge above all and want only to deal with those who "know".

I have been in many small troubles at work particularly because of this and I had been wondering why for a long time now
 
Last edited:
  • #18
Oh, this test.

I always end up moderate INT and then borderline P/J. Seems as reasonably accurate as such a test can be.
 
  • #19
INTP. When reading the results, I feel like I'm reading a horoscope. How specific ARE these 'results' as opposed to what an astrologer might tell me?
 
  • #20
anirudh215 said:
INTP. When reading the results, I feel like I'm reading a horoscope. How specific ARE these 'results' as opposed to what an astrologer might tell me?

I don't know how good this specific test is, but the MB test is generally considered one of the more reliable tests.

Your Type is
INTJ
Introverted Intuitive Thinking Judging
Strength of the preferences %
22 88 38 1

Qualitative analysis of your type formula

You are:

* slightly expressed introvert
* very expressed intuitive personality
* moderately expressed thinking personality
* slightly expressed judging personalityHeh. Roughly what I usually get. Some parts of the description of the personality was spot-on (wanting people to make sense, knowing what I know and don't know, capable of affection but people being turned off by my aura of confidence), others were a bit off (I'm not much of a perfectionist). Some of the INTP descriptions were more accurate (though I felt they were more off in general than the INTJ ones)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #21
Very odd. Either I do not know myself very well, or this test does not judge me very well. I just took three online tests for a rough estimate, and my results were:

ISFP -- http://kisa.ca/personality/
INTP -- http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm
ISTP (ENFJ or ISTP supplementary) -- http://www.4np.net/ddli/

I tend to give the 3rd test more weight, as it appeared the most comprehensive. But, apparently I'm some sort of artist, thinker, mechanic, giver hybrid. Maybe I'm insane. :rofl:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #22
My test indicated me as ENTP and after reading the details and comparing with other types I must say I was surprised how accurate it was. To the extend that people really feel that they "fit" a type I think it can be a good tool to use at work places as a reminder that people may think and be driven by different "goal", and that your own preferences may not be shared by everyone in a group. Introverts can usually get a lot more "respect" from extroverts at meeting and similar if the extroverts are aware of that not everyone works best by saying things out loud right away.
 
  • #23
ENTJ

Oooh. I'm a http://keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=5&c=fieldmarshal" ! :cool: Now where's my Napoleon hat?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #24
Math Is Hard said:
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

I have taken this a few times over the years and scored alternately as INTJ and INFJ.

We had a thread on this before and most people on PF (IIRC) scored as INTJs.

What do you think about this test? Is it informative? Garbage? I haven't quite made up my mind because I think in some ways it reflects my preferences, but I could also see myself in any of the descriptions of these personality types (like with zodiac signs) depending on my mood.

Wow, you're an extremely rare persons. INFJ's make up the smallest portion of the population, followed by INTJ's. Except it actually varies by gender. INFJ men are the rarest of all, followed by INTJ women, INFJ women, and INTJ men. (Oops, put my F in the worng place.)

I'm an INTJ. The INT part is solid, but I'm more borderline between the J and P, as I've also scored INTP a few times as well.
 
Last edited:
  • #25
BobG said:
Wow, you're an extremely rare persons. INTF's make up the smallest portion of the population, followed by INTJ's. Except it actually varies by gender. INTF men are the rarest of all, followed by INTJ women, INTF women, and INTJ men.

I'm an INTJ. The INT part is solid, but I'm more borderline between the J and P, as I've also scored INTP a few times as well.

The INT part seems really common among scientists. Every time I've done one of these things in a group of scientists, the only thing that ever seems to vary much is that last letter. But, then again, scientists are fairly rare among the general population too, just not the PF population.
 
  • #26
BobG said:
Wow, you're an extremely rare persons. INFJ's make up the smallest portion of the population, followed by INTJ's. Except it actually varies by gender. INFJ men are the rarest of all, followed by INTJ women, INFJ women, and INTJ men. (Oops, put my F in the worng place.)

I'm an INTJ. The INT part is solid, but I'm more borderline between the J and P, as I've also scored INTP a few times as well.

I also toggle between J and P; I just took the test again this afternoon and got INTJ.
 
  • #27
So of the three rarest personality types (INFJ, INTJ, INTP), there's been 9 in this thread so far.

Of the three most common personality types (ISFJ, ESFJ, ISTJ), there's been 0 in this thread so far.

And 7 fall in one of the other 10 personality types.

I've seen this on other forums, as well. The three rarest types seem to have more internet friends than real life friends.

I say we ban the three most common personality types - they already have a life and there's no reason to let them intrude on ours.

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/my-mbti-results/how-frequent-is-my-type.asp

I wonder where ENTP's go, since they're rare both in real life and on the internet.

Wow! : There's tons of INTJ's on this forum.

Uh, :uhh: bye, guys.
 
Last edited:
  • #28
I have always scored (very strongly) ESTP.

I've taken a couple of DISC assessments as well for both college and work. I found the M-B and DISC assessments to have a lot of useful information. It's improved the way I deal with people (although it says as an ESTP I'm already quite talented in this area), or at least given me a broader perspective.
 
  • #29
I have always found http://www.davesbrain.ca/aura/index.php" to be a much more interesting test. But then again, I'm biased. :biggrin:


(BtW, despite appearances, there is nothing woo-woo about it. It is strictly a personality test and, in fact, maps pretty well onto MB types.)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #30
BobG said:
Wow, you're an extremely rare persons. INFJ's make up the smallest portion of the population, followed by INTJ's.

Yep, I think it's just me and Jerry Seinfeld. :biggrin:
 
  • #31
BobG said:
So of the three rarest personality types (INFJ, INTJ, INTP), there's been 9 in this thread so far.

Of the three most common personality types (ISFJ, ESFJ, ISTJ), there's been 0 in this thread so far.

And 7 fall in one of the other 10 personality types.

I've seen this on other forums, as well. The three rarest types seem to have more internet friends than real life friends.

I say we ban the three most common personality types - they already have a life and there's no reason to let them intrude on ours.

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/my-mbti-results/how-frequent-is-my-type.asp

I wonder where ENTP's go, since they're rare both in real life and on the internet.

Wow! : There's tons of INTJ's on this forum.

Uh, :uhh: bye, guys.

BobG, I really enjoy your sense of humor. :approve:

DaveC426913 said:
I have always found http://www.davesbrain.ca/aura/index.php" to be a much more interesting test. But then again, I'm biased. :biggrin:


(BtW, despite appearances, there is nothing woo-woo about it. It is strictly a personality test and, in fact, maps pretty well onto MB types.)

I'm definitely intrigued. Gah! I'm supposed to be doing other things! *grumble*

I'm really quite surprised at how interesting this stuff is to me. When my wife mentioned it, I was like, "Meh, sure I'll take it." I had no idea that such tests are used by companies and schools, nor did I realize that they could be so helpful in honing study methods, interaction with others, etc.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #32
Slight I
Moderate N
Slight F
Slight J
 
  • #33
DaveC426913 said:
I have always found http://www.davesbrain.ca/aura/index.php" to be a much more interesting test. But then again, I'm biased. :biggrin:(BtW, despite appearances, there is nothing woo-woo about it. It is strictly a personality test and, in fact, maps pretty well onto MB types.)

I took the test twice. The first time through, I got Physical Tan. The second time through, I tried to be a little more decisive; there were a few questions to which I had just answered "sometimes," when I should have entered a stronger reply. I also found a couple questions that I'd incorrectly answered due to not reading the question/statement properly. The second time through designated me a Mental Tan.

To me, this test seemed to be much more precise than the humanmetric test, and I liked the thoroughness of the questions. My only gripe is the typos, which don't really have anything to do with the analysis, they're just a bit distracting/confusing in certain places.

Thanks for the link!

Edit: There actually aren't that many typos, and I suspect some of the issues I'm seeing to be formatting/rendering related anyway.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #34
I believe the aphorism is "Know thyself!" So, despite natural tendencies and inclinations in one direction, I've tried to push myself in other directions where I thought I could use the improvement. Makes it hard to take these sorts of tests sometimes (go with instinct, or go with training / what you'd actually do, or try to, at least). Probably manifests itself in not being strongly typed (ENTJ):
  • slightly expressed extravert
  • moderately expressed intuitive personality
  • slightly expressed thinking personality
  • slightly expressed judging personality

That or I could just take these tests twice: 'Real'/instinctual me, 'Desired'/intellectual me!
 
Last edited:
  • #35
DaveC426913 said:
I have always found http://www.davesbrain.ca/aura/index.php" to be a much more interesting test. But then again, I'm biased. :biggrin:


(BtW, despite appearances, there is nothing woo-woo about it. It is strictly a personality test and, in fact, maps pretty well onto MB types.)

Nurturing Tans are the pillars of their community. They are helpers, volunteers, believers in brotherhood, dedicated, tenacious, service-oriented, unselfish, self-effacing, communicative and mental.

Nurturing Tans are another of the Eclipse Colors in the Personality Spectrums system. The color closest to their body is Mental Tan. Outside the Mental Tan and completely encircling their body is a band of Blue. These two colors combine many of the characteristics of both the Mental Family of colors and the Emotional/Spiritual Family of colors. However, a Nurturing Tan has a distinctly different motivation from either of these two colors alone, with personality and character traits unique to this color.

The driving force of the Nurturing Tans, the mission that gives their lives meaning, is the concept of brotherhood. They demonstrate their commitment to this mission by rendering service to the family, the neighborhood, the city, the nation, or the world. They put the needs of others before their own, teaching humanitarianism by example.

The lesson that Nurturing Tans need to learn is to identify and serve their own personal ego needs as well and to satisfy their own longings and desires in such a way as to make existence something worth living for. Nurturing Tans need to learn that it is acceptable to give something to themselves while serving others.


How cliché. But it sounds roughly accurate.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Similar threads

Replies
27
Views
4K
  • Poll
  • General Discussion
3
Replies
89
Views
18K
Replies
8
Views
2K
  • General Discussion
Replies
23
Views
10K
  • General Discussion
Replies
8
Views
13K
  • New Member Introductions
Replies
2
Views
734
Replies
152
Views
5K
  • STEM Academic Advising
Replies
10
Views
5K
  • STEM Academic Advising
Replies
13
Views
2K
  • STEM Academic Advising
4
Replies
110
Views
22K
Back
Top