A fun, quirky acronym in dating profiles, a conversation for introspective psychologist majors and now a buzzword used in the office. For those late to the party, the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) simply known as “Myers Briggs” is a simple questionnaire, usually completed within 15 minutes to identify your preferences, decision-making process and view on the world.
The questionnaire quantifies your answers from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree“. Soon after, the answers are rigorously ‘crunched‘ and you too will have a four-letter acronym detailing whether you are:
- Introverted (I) or Extroverted (E): How you interact with your environment and those around you (Sorry ambiverts)
- Intuitive (N) or Sensory (S): Where and how you direct your energy
- Thinking (T) or Feeling (F): How you make decisions and cope with your emotions
- Judging (J) or Perceiving (P): Your approach to work, planning and decision making
It’s remarkable to think that within such a short time and a few generic questions you will be provided with a report on your: strengths and weaknesses, romantic relationships, friendships, workplace habits, career path and much more – sounds similar to a horoscope, right? But, MBTI was first published in 1962 and is still popular today with close to 88% of Fortune 500 companies integrating it throughout their business – according to “The Myers Briggs Company” (2019). So, how has it withstood the test of time and become so popular?
What are the benefits of Myers Briggs?
For those starting out, unsure of themselves and looking for more answers, Myers Briggs offers a great introductory introspective view on the participant. Through the final report, a participant can identify their strengths, weakness and broad insights that could be cultivated toward a career and development plan.
When completed in a group and sharing results, a team can collaborate on better ways of working, can be more conscious of their working styles and develop stronger relationships.
What are the disadvantages of Myers Briggs?
While this test has some benefits, the non-targeted questions, findings and overall report are broad – it will always provide generic results and descriptions. Answering it truthfully and without bias is easier said than done with subjectivity consistently swaying the answers and results – having a bad day, something on your mind or skipping lunch could change the result.
The test itself is not reliable.
Research conducted by Caskadon & Howes (1979) and Pittenger (1993) identified that roughly 50% of respondents obtain different results and profiles (within 5 weeks of testing).
For example: if you are having a great day in the office and you’re kicking goals you may get the “Commander” (ENTJ). However, if you were late to work and were disciplined by your manager, you may get the “Debater” (ENTP). While one could draw some similarities from the acronym, the direction, career advice and information provided is different.
Why is it wrong to use in interviews?
My main concern with the Myers Briggs test is offering it as a solution to improve candidate selection throughout the interview process – for best fit. With such inconsistent results, the test’s validity and reliability are being questioned. Its appropriate application is part of an ongoing debate with psychologists, readers and co-workers alike. Why would you conduct this test and waste the candidate’s, hiring manager’s and business’ money, time and resources?
The several stages of the interview process, targeted behavioural questions and reference checks should be thorough and tell more about the candidate than a simple, broad questioned test. If the hiring manager and business are still unsure, then either the candidate is not a good fit or someone is asking the wrong questions.
Final verdict for Myers Briggs?
Myer Briggs offers a broad introspective view of the participant, despite one Myers Briggs site describing it as “freakishly accurate“. It is a guide – a rough one at best and should be subject to high scrutiny.
At the end of the day, if you find value in this test and can utilize it in a development plan or create better ways of working – then do so. For me, none of the results came as a surprise and I was left with the final thought of; “why did I waste 15 minutes here!“.
Why should you believe me? I’m just another Aries ENTJ whose IQ is in the genius spectrum and spirit animal’s a wolf.
References:
- Howes, R. J. and T. G. Carskadon. “Test-Retest Reliabilities of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as a Function of Mood Changes.” Research in Psychological Type, Vol. 2, No. 1 (1979), pp. 67-72.
- Myers Briggs Company (2019), website. “Results that engage and inspire” Viewed June 2020. shorturl.at/qvFTZ
- Pittenger, D, J. (November 1993). “Measuring the MBTI … And Coming Up Short” (PDF). Journal of Career Planning and Employment. 54 (1): 48–52.