The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is almost certainly the single most commonly used personality assessment. Based on self-reported answers to 93 questions, it categorizes each test-taker based on four factors. Each one is a dichotomy, with a person landing on one side or the other of the extrovert/introvert, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judgment/perception divides.
The result is any one of sixteen four-letter types. You’ve surely seen people refer to these abbreviations, like ESTJ or INFP, everywhere from workplaces to dating sites. Despite its popularity, the Myers-Briggs assessment shouldn’t be relied on too heavily. Its primary flaw is that the results vary – sometimes substantially – over time. Researchers have found that there’s about a 50% chance the results won’t be validated when a person takes the test more than once. That’s not a very good result, compared to other assessments that focus more on your interests.
In addition, the results of Myers-Briggs aren’t very sensitive to differences in personality. Even when two people fall into the same four-letter type, one person may have been a single question away from falling into a different category, while another could have answered each one exactly in line with that determination.
It might make good conversation for the brunch table, but it can be a real problem when personality assessments like this are used in hiring decisions or when individuals look to the Myers-Briggs to predict suitable careers for themselves. Quite a few career coaches employ this tool without explaining its limitations. The success of the Myers-Briggs is more a triumph of marketing than of sound social science.
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