Talking about what I don't know about (MBTI)

[bbennett320178]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "davewitley" <dfrankiswork at n...> wrote:

> IMO, the possibility of self-deceit by the respondent is ignored.
 
> Since I have never done MBTI - and require convincing about the $5 -
> does the team think that it copes well with issues of this sort?

> 'Not knowing what you are talking about is the essence of a logical 
> argument' - a colleague of mine, years ago

Can the tests fool you? Sure, some of them. I sat my very 
introverted - people aren't as interesting as books and theories - 
dad down to take the Keirsey version, and had to literally bite my 
tongue to keep from yelling "Are you high??" as I watched him answer 
affirmative to E, S, and F questions. Even though this is a good 
online test, if you answer how you think you should be rather than 
how you are, then yes, you can fool it. Try to answer A. how you 
usually act and B. how you act in Real Life (AKA not your work 
persona, if you have one). The MBTI is another story, IMO. It's much 
more thorough, it took me three days to fill that damn thing out 
(sure sign of a P - we're fence-sitting both sides of the fence sorts 
of people), and when the results were handed back, we had ample time 
to ask questions and to make sure we understood the results (it was a 
leadership training thing for work). 

Is it worth it to take the test?

It depends. If you're an SJ, you're probably pretty self aware 
already, and would recognize yourself from simply reading the 
description either online at keirsey.com, or from one of the books. 
If you are still trying to sort yourself out, however, then I highly 
recommend taking the test. After the test, but before getting the 
results back, we were required to self-type. From reading the 
descriptions, I was convinced I was an INFP. I was dumbfounded to 
find out I'm not only a Thinker, I'm *way* a Thinker. Even though I 
thought I was one way, I still didn't manage to fool the test. And I 
have to tell you, this was the one of the best things I've done for 
myself. I've spent years berating myself for being a slow decision 
maker (Ps take their time), worried that I was too "cold" (Ts are 
more impersonal, but that isn't a bad thing), and being self-critical 
in general (an NT trait). This test gave me new insight into myself.

This isn't flakiness; the research on this really has been around a 
very long time (MB wrote the test in the 40s based on centuries of 
research; Keirsey has been researching since the 50s).
If you're pretty sure of "who you are", I'd still recommend reading 
more about personality types. My best friend is my four letter 
opposite - an ESFJ. Although good friends before, we are now so much 
more understanding of each other (I'm more patient with her 'I hate 
being alone!' demeanor, she's more patient with my 'Let's look at all 
the options at least twice before making a major decision' attitude). 
I'm single, but it's obvious how important to a relationship it could 
be to have knowledge of your significant other's personality.

I'm really enjoying these posts!
B