The Meyer Briggs Type Index, made by Katherine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Meyers, is a 100-question introspective test that assigns its participants one of 16 personality types. The MBTI assumes that everyone is four of eight main traits: extroverted or introverted, intuitive or sensing, feeling or thinking, and precepting or judging.
The test will give a person a combination of one letter from each set, making their personality type. For example, if a person received ESTJ, that would mean that they are extroverted, a sensor, they mainly think to make decisions and judge situations (not negatively) before they occur; In the world of MBTI this type is called the "Executive".
The purpose of this article is not to go through each type and explain how they act, if you are interested in learning more of about your type or the test in general, click this link here: https://www.16personalities.com/. Instead, I'd like to share what I believe are the pros and cons of taking this test and or getting obsessed with reading about personality types, like myself.
I am happy to have broken this habit, but I was at a point where I couldn't walk into a room or watch T.V. without instantly trying to figure out what everyone's MBTI was. While this may seem a bit crazy, I wholeheartedly believe that there are both positives and negatives to understanding MBTI to this degree.
A common critique of the MBTI is that it puts people into 16 distinct cookie cutter boxes. If everyone is different, how can we be split into 16 color-coded groups? While I do think that there is some truth to that statement, I believe that people need to look at the test from a different perspective.
At its core, the MBTI is a collection of data on how different kinds of people work. When taken as "Oh I am an ENFP I must be everything that the test tells me I am" then the test can be dangerous, on the premise that it threatens a person's individually and creative mindset. However, MBTI needs to be looked at as a collection of experiences and life knowledge from people who share similar ways of interacting with the world at large. It is true that everyone cannot fully fit into the 16-type paradigm, yet most of the time the results of the test come with scarily accurate truths.
Another positive of the test further relates to the collection of experiences idea concept; this test can be used to help people better understand themselves. Understanding yourself can be easy for some and extremely difficult for others. If you are anything like me, someone who overthinks, overanalyzes and contradicts yourself all the time, then MBTI may be a great way for you to help yourself get sorted out. It presents you with ways to get through decisions, that more often than not, match with your core values.
The test also frames things you may have already thought about yourself in a way that is easier to contextualize and grasp. Realizing different aspects of yourself will allow them to show when you are interacting with people because instead of a part of yourself that is confusing, it is now a part of you that you embrace and want to share.
If you are now interested in learning about your Meyer Briggs type then get ready for the easiest introspective journey you will ever have. However, I urge you to take a step back from the results of the test and never lose sight of the fact that you are a unique individual, not a personality type.
