Re: Myers-Briggs Personality Type Survey II
Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 3:25 am
Honestly, I don't put all that much stock in any version of the Myers-Briggs type inventory.
The official version is probably OK (I've never paid the cash to take it). But a lot of the online versions are -- well, let's call them "highly variable in quality."
Rather than accepting at face value whatever one of these surveys says you are, there's an easier and better way: just read the descriptions of the 16 types and decide for yourself which of them seems to be the pattern that's closest to who you think you actually are.
If that aligns with one or more of the survey results, great; if not, then I'd put more emphasis on the written description, bearing in mind that individual human beings are individuals -- you may or may not be a close match with one of the 16 typical patterns of aggregate behavior.
As a starting point, you might find the official Keirsey Temperament Sorter site useful. Check out the short versions of the portraits of the 16 MB types on the right side of the Temperament Overview page. (Even better would be to pick up a copy of Please Understand Me II. I never liked that title, but the book is extraordinary... and I don't say that about more than a handful of books out of the thousands I've read in my life so far.)
Another great resource is the Oddly Developed Types site. Don't be put off by the name; this site is not only clearly and succinctly written, it's also very funny. Be sure to check out the author's cartoons as well, as some of them communicate the real nature of each type and temperament better than a lot of words can.
Interestingly (to me, anyway), both of these -- the Keirsey temperaments and Oddly Developed Types -- were written by INTPs....
The official version is probably OK (I've never paid the cash to take it). But a lot of the online versions are -- well, let's call them "highly variable in quality."
Rather than accepting at face value whatever one of these surveys says you are, there's an easier and better way: just read the descriptions of the 16 types and decide for yourself which of them seems to be the pattern that's closest to who you think you actually are.
If that aligns with one or more of the survey results, great; if not, then I'd put more emphasis on the written description, bearing in mind that individual human beings are individuals -- you may or may not be a close match with one of the 16 typical patterns of aggregate behavior.
As a starting point, you might find the official Keirsey Temperament Sorter site useful. Check out the short versions of the portraits of the 16 MB types on the right side of the Temperament Overview page. (Even better would be to pick up a copy of Please Understand Me II. I never liked that title, but the book is extraordinary... and I don't say that about more than a handful of books out of the thousands I've read in my life so far.)
Another great resource is the Oddly Developed Types site. Don't be put off by the name; this site is not only clearly and succinctly written, it's also very funny. Be sure to check out the author's cartoons as well, as some of them communicate the real nature of each type and temperament better than a lot of words can.
Interestingly (to me, anyway), both of these -- the Keirsey temperaments and Oddly Developed Types -- were written by INTPs....