MBTI out the wazoo

[lupinesque]

David wrote:

>One problem I have with psychometric tests is that their compilers 
>don't seem to be aware of the distinction between what you prefer 
and 
>what you do, thus statements of the type:

>'I usually make decisions on the spur of the moment';

>'I prefer to consider all options carefully before deciding'

>are often posed as if they are opposites, when quite easily both 
>could be true, as in 'I prefer to consider all options carefully 
>before deciding, because bitter experience has shown that my habit 
of 
>making decisions on the spur of the moment leads to trouble'.

I ran into a similar problem with the MBTI with questions related to 
work habits.  E.g. I am a procrastinator.  I don't like the stress of 
trying to get everything done at the last second, I don't wait on 
purpose because of the rush or the inspiration of a time crunch; my 
motivations for putting things off are way less noble (namely, I'm 
lazy <g>).  I therefore had trouble with questions that posed choices 
such as "I prefer to complete my work well in advance" and "I prefer 
to do my work at the last minute," to paraphrase wildly from a 6-year-
old memory.  I didn't know what to say.

All in all, though, the test questions are excellent.  The overall 
description that emerged was definitely me.  And that's despite the 
fact that like you, Cindy, I usually want a third option no matter 
what the choices are.  (A beloved elementary school teacher of mine 
warned me that I would have trouble with standardized tests due to 
this tendency.  She turned out to be wrong, but perhaps I needed to 
have that warning in my head in order to do so well on them, which 
answers your "what is the point?" question.  Sometimes knowing one's 
own tendencies can be a big help.)

Also like you, Tabouli, I have at least two modes (don't we all?).  
When I took the test I was in grad school and very much in academic 
mode; in my art-school days I'd have answered differently, and now 
that I'm working I'd answer differently still.  Not drastically 
differently, but with different emphases.

B wrote:

>I sat my very introverted - people aren't as interesting as books 
and theories - 

Yikes!  Isn't that more I slander?  I think people are the most 
interesting thing in the world (note that my major concern in 
discussing these BOOKS is the CHARACTERS), but I'm still an out-and-
out I.

Amy
going home to curl up under the blankets and read ;-)