The MBTI Personality Test (aka “16 Personalities”) is a very well-known and widely used test which claims to be able to give you a “freakishly accurate” analysis of your personality type. In this episode I take the test, explain the reasons for my answers, explain some vocabulary and give my thoughts on the test results and the test itself. Includes plenty of expressions for describing personality traits, behaviour, ways of thinking and feeling and the subject of psychological testing.
Transcript / Notes
Hello!
In this much-requested episode I am going to take the MBTI personality test and use it to help you learn English.
I’ll go through the test, answering all the questions, and I will explain vocabulary that comes up along the way.
I expect there will be plenty of English here that we use to describe personality, behaviour, feelings, psychology and psychological testing.
I also want to discuss this test, which despite its massive popularity, is criticised for not being reliable or accurate.
What’s going on here? Why is the test so popular? Can it really identify our true personality? What kind of personality type am I? And what about you?
You can take the test yourself if you want. It’s free and you’ll find a link in the description.
A comment from a listener
Here’s a comment I received ages ago in response to the Q&A I did for episode 800.
| JiaqiThese Q&A episodes are so fun! Thanks Luke! I agree with one question – it’d be really interesting if you do the MBTI personality test and talk us through your choices! On 16personalities.com they have really good questions and good analysis of your result 😄 I have a feeling that you might be ENFJ aka The Protagonist, Luke👀… Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging. I’m INFJ (the introverted version). |
OK then!
What is the MBTI Personality Test?
The MBTI Personality Test, in case you don’t know, is a very popular personality test which promises to help you learn all about yourself.
Wikipedia
The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a pseudoscientific[1][2] self-report questionnaire that claims to indicate differing personality types.
The test attempts to assign a binary value to each of four categories: introversion or extraversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving.
One letter from each category is taken to produce a four-letter test result representing one of sixteen possible personalities, such as “INFP” or “ESTJ”.
The MBTI was constructed by two Americans: Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers, who were inspired by the book Psychological Types written by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. The test was first published in the 1960s, and was based on work done by Katherine and Isabel in the 1940s.
This test claims to be backed up by research and is used by millions of people around the world, especially in the world of work where employers often use it to work out the competences of their staff. They use it to put employees into different personality categories in order to help place them into roles at work that they are most suitable for.
The test is divided into questions and your answers put you somewhere on a sliding scale between certain “opposite” personality traits. At the end, the test gives you a personality profile, putting you into one of 16 personality categories or personality types. I’ll go through those types in a moment.
This test is extremely popular and actually Jiaqi is not the first person to ask me to take the test and talk about it.
Episode Plan
The plan is to do 3 things:
- Take the test and talk you through my decision making process for each question – I’m curious to see what personality type I’m going to get. Will Jiaqi be right about me being an ENFJ?
- Explain different vocabulary or possibly grammar that comes up in the test. I’m sure there will be loads of words and phrases to describe things like personality traits, feelings, ways of thinking, decision making processes and so on.
- Talk about the test itself – I want to evaluate the test and consider whether it really is a valid and reliable test of someone’s character.
16 Personalities
Let’s look at the 16 personality types developed by Myers-Briggs.
As we go through these profiles, consider these things.
- What category type are you?
- Which one do you think I am? (You’ll find out, apparently)
https://www.16personalities.com/personality-types
Interestingly, there are no negative categories. All the categories are positive.
Surely there must be some negative personality traits in people?
Why don’t they come up in this evaluation?
For example, there are no categories like these.
| 7 Negative Personality Types (NOT in the MBTI test) Couch potatoes Lazy time-wasters who avoid all sense of responsibility or personal challenge by spending the day lying in bed, scrolling through TikTok and maybe ordering a pizza. Internet trolls Hate-filled nerds who use the anonymity and lack of accountability of the internet to provoke negative emotional responses from other users, probably because they have trouble establishing genuine loving relationships in the real world. Selfish scumbags The type of person who would push your elderly grandmother out of the way while getting off a bus, these are completely self-interested psychopaths whose only motivations are to gain wealth, power and influence over others, all for their own benefit. Scroungers Never willing to pay their own way, scroungers are always looking for opportunities to get things for free or to benefit from the hard work of others, while making the least amount of effort possible and spending none of their own money. Cowards Weak-willed losers who run away from any challenge due to a fear of failure which is actually caused by an underlying narcissistic tendency with an overriding sense of self-preservation combined with the feeling they have been wronged somewhere down the line and therefore deserve to be given everything they want without taking any risk themselves. Bullies Bullies make themselves feel better by making other people feel worse. They belittle, abuse and pick on people in weaker, lower-status positions in order to cover up for a deep-seated sense of inadequacy probably stemming from a problematic loveless relationship with one or both of their parents, who probably bullied them too, sending them into a vicious cycle of abuse. Other possible categories: Creepy weirdos Manipulative gaslighters Compulsive liars Sociopaths Politicians |
We all know people like that, but interestingly the test contains no descriptions like that, or in fact any negative descriptions whatsoever.
Some comments before I begin
This will probably take a lot of time because I think there are lots of sentences in this test, but that’s fine isn’t it. (By the way, I am glad so many people agree with my thoughts from episode 871 about longer episodes).
As I discuss these questions, you might think I am over-analysing or thinking about each question too much, but I’m not. I’m going to answer the questions in the most honest way I can, but I also want to use my critical thinking to analyse the thinking or assumptions behind each one.
Full disclosure, I am sceptical about this test. I will discuss why as we go through the questions.
I did an A Level in Psychology (I got a B – check me out) so I am vaguely familiar with some of the science behind this kind of thing.
Test reliability and test validity
For a test like this to be objectively, measurably accurate it should be both reliable and valid.
These are standard concepts in scientific testing, which any good test should comply with in order to produce results which we can reasonably accept to be accurate.
Test reliability – tests should be reliable
This refers to the consistency of a test – how the test consistently produces the same results, time and time again.
If the MBTI test is reliable, it should always produce the same results every time someone takes it.
Because, as the makers claim, we have fixed personalities and so it should always put us in the same category each time.
Also, if a test is unaffected by measurement errors or random effects like the person’s mood, environmental factors, the weather on that particular day etc – if it is unaffected by these things, it makes the test stronger and more reliable.
Test validity – tests should be valid
This means that the test actually tests what it says it tests, and nothing else.
It’s different from reliability because even if a test gets the same results each time, it might not be valid, meaning that the results still might not be accurate.
If the MBTI test is valid, it means that, for example, it is accurately labelling people – it is putting people in the right categories. For example, when it says that someone has a certain personality type and would be well suited for a particular job, this is actually true.
Let’s take the test 👉 https://www.16personalities.com
Luke’s result on 6 March 2024: INFP “The Mediator”
I have taken the test before (did I get the same results?)
Luke’s Result on 11 December 2023: INTP “The Logician”
Results when I took the text on 11 December 2023. I was at work and I had a bad stomach.
Luke’s Result on 19 Jan 2023: INFJ “The Advocate”
The results when I took the test on Friday 19 January 2023 and I felt a bit tired.
Problems with the MBTI test / Criticisms
- Poor validity
According to its critics, the test does not accurately predict a person’s performance in any way.
It’s basically meaningless and comparable to a horoscope in terms of its validity.
But of course plenty of people believe horoscopes, including you maybe and you might disagree with my criticisms here because you like horoscopes and you like this test because you feel that it gives you a meaningful sense of perspective and insight into yourself.
But if horoscopes are true and we really can predict someone’s future, why don’t newspapers put them on the front page? Instead they always put them in the middle of the newspaper, down at the bottom somewhere next to the puzzles?
More about horoscopes in a moment.
- Poor reliability
People typically get different results when they take the test multiple times.
- Inaccurate representation of character traits
The test presents its character traits as independent from each other and mutually exclusive, but they’re not. In each question you are either one or the other (introvert or extrovert) but in reality these things are not mutually exclusive concepts and we can be a bit of both, and maybe it depends on the situation.
It is possible to be a bit of both, but the test rigidly divides you into one or the other with every single question. This is true for all its categories which are presented as mutually exclusive. Even though there is a middle position in each question, you will ultimately be put in one of the categories.
- Conflict of interest
There are huge questions of independence, bias and conflict of interest.
All the research behind the test is done by the same organisation that produces and sells the test worldwide making a large profit from it.
- Barnum effect
The test has been likened to horoscopes as both rely on the Barnum effect, flattery, and confirmation bias, leading participants to personally identify with descriptions that are somewhat desirable, vague, and widely applicable.
People believe the results because they want to. It confirms what they already (want to) believe about themselves, and it flatters them in the process – it makes them feel good. Everyone is a winner and nobody has any particular reason to disagree or criticise the results of the test.
117. Psychics / Cold Reading / Barnum Statements | Luke’s ENGLISH Podcast - This is in fact just a glorified version of online quizzes such as “Which Harry Potter character are you?” but in fact it is more successful than that because it presents itself as serious, backed up by research and all the results are positive, unlike in the Harry Potter quiz because nobody is happy if they end up being Draco Malfoy or something.
Debunking the test
Jordan Peterson actually does a good job of debunking the test. I’m not a big fan of his, but he seems to be spot on here.
Summary of his main points
The probability that a company will use a personality test is inversely related to the accuracy of the test.
Meaning that the less accurate the test, the easier it is to sell.
So there are other factors which cause this test to be so popular – it’s really nothing to do with its ability to accurately describe your personality or predict what you will be good at.
Companies buy the MBTI test. It sells about one million units per year. But it has ZERO predictive utility with regards to performance prediction. It does not predict performance.
Why do people use it? Because it doesn’t hurt anyone’s feelings. In fact, it makes people feel good. Companies ultimately want their staff to have high morale.
The test is old, it’s based on unsound and outmoded psychological techniques and should be replaced by another test called “The Big Five”.
An article on vox.com – CLICK HERE TO READ
A summary of the article
The arguments against the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test presented in the article can be summarized as follows:
1. Lack of scientific evidence: The test lacks empirical evidence to support its claims. It doesn’t predict job success, marital happiness, or overall performance in various situations.
2. Theoretical basis: The MBTI was formulated in the 1940s based on Carl Jung’s untested theories. Even Jung himself cautioned that his personality “types” were rough observations rather than strict classifications.
3. Unsupported principles: Jung’s theories were not grounded in controlled experiments or data but were rather theoretical. The test was developed by individuals without formal psychology training, further lacking scientific credibility.
4. Limited and false binaries: The test’s binary questions oversimplify complex human traits that usually exist along a spectrum. It categorizes individuals as one extreme or the other, ignoring the nuanced nature of human behavior.
5. Inconsistent and inaccurate results: The test often yields inconsistent results when taken multiple times by the same person, indicating its unreliability. It fails to measure traits consistently different among individuals.
6. Disregarded by psychologists: The Myers-Briggs test is mostly disregarded by contemporary psychologists, as it lacks significant research support in reputable psychology journals. Newer, empirically driven tests focus on different personality categories backed by actual data.
7. Entertainment value vs. practical use: While the MBTI might serve as entertainment, it lacks practical validity. Despite its widespread use in corporations and government agencies, its reliability and effectiveness have been debunked by psychologists.
Also the test assumes that you are a good judge of your own character. We might choose options based on how we want to be perceived, rather than on who we really are.
In conclusion, the arguments highlight the lack of scientific basis, the test’s reliance on outdated theories, its oversimplification of human traits, inconsistency in results, and the absence of support from the psychology community, suggesting that the MBTI is unreliable and largely disregarded by reputable psychologists.
The Big Five (another personality test)
Apparently this is a more accurate personality test, and interestingly it has its roots in language. The developers listed every single adjective they could find which describes personality and distilled them into 5 broad concepts. Basically, all personality descriptions boil down to these 5 areas:
- openness to experience (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious)
- conscientiousness (efficient/organized vs. extravagant/careless)
- extraversion (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved)
- agreeableness (friendly/compassionate vs. critical/judgmental)
- neuroticism (sensitive/nervous vs. resilient/confident)
The test is based on these 5 factors then, and on other more valid research and methods.
Take the test 👉 Big Five Personality Test
But that is another story for another time.
Your Comments?
- What do you think?
- Do you think the test is valid or reliable? (actually this is not a question of opinion – it isn’t!)
- What did you think of my result? Do you agree?
- Have you taken the test? What result did you get? What did you think?