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Discuss: What is your Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)?

Chris Frewin on October 15, 2018

I can start: I'm INTJ-A! I retook the test because I was somehow anxious (!?) that I could possibly be more INTP, but I consistently test as INTJ. ...
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Dian Fay

I'm a Gemini.

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Chris Frewin

😂

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Arden de Raaij • Edited

ENFJ-A. It sounds about right when I read the description... but I also tend to think that with my horoscope. Of course my horoscope doesn't come with a questionnaire. Are there any people here that used MBTI to decide / confirm what they want to do or what they're good at? Or at the other hand, are there companies that use this to see if people are in the right place?

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Dian Fay • Edited

The last company I worked for wanted everybody to take it before an annual offsite one time and printed the four-letter code on everyone's nametag. When pressed on its complete lack of methodological rigor they fell back on calling it a conversation starter, as here. I've only heard of people taking it more seriously secondhand.

I've taken it three times over the years and gotten three different results for my trouble. Say what you will about astrology, at least the zodiac stays the same (Ophiuchus schmophiuchus).

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Arden de Raaij

Ah so my initial idea that this is a pseudo-science that is hard to take serious, was right on the mark..no matter how badly I want to be in that 3% with Obama and Oprah 💁‍♀️.

Back to the horoscopes: It's going to be an interesting week with multiple days and you will experience emotions. Also, something with money.

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Dian Fay

It's a good time for new ventures and making decisions, but also for staying the course. Don't be surprised if you receive unexpected news.

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Stephanie Handsteiner • Edited

Yeah, those texts are (just like horoscopes) written in a way, that you'll go “Wow, that's totally me!“, that's called the Barnum effect. ;) Sneaky edit: The criticism section of the MBTI article is even linked under 'See also'.

Also there's the thing with self-questionnaires not being objective. Self-bias, people tend to fill out online questionnaires in a way they get their desired result.

Like I said in my other comment, I took this test a few years ago in school and I used the remainder of the lesson to research this a bit. Turns out everyone and their mother wants to be an INFJ, probably because of the very first sentence in the text. Who doesn't want to be in the 1% of the world (together with Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Goethe and Morgan Freeman)?

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Arden de Raaij

Very insightful! I guess I did actually learn something today :D. I tried to do some very unbiased googling as well and it seems that most people agree that MBTI is something that should've been gone already, but it just refuses to die. I'm thinking that a lot of people actually like the results and it's very much catering to the ego (as far as I can see there is no wrong in this test).

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Brian Rinaldi • Edited

We just did this at work. I ended up as an ENTJ. The description from the assessment at work sounded like me, but someone sent me the link to the 16personalities.com description and my first thought was that the ENTJ sounds like an a--hole...and lo and behold the first two examples are Steve Jobs and Gordon Ramsay, two notorious a--holes.

The nice thing that the one at work did (which I am not sure if this one does as I didn't retake it) was that it laid out some of the specifics within each grouping. So, for instance, I am T for Thinking over Feeling, but I also got tender over tough within that grouping. So my hope is that offsets some of the a--holeishness. 😉

That being said, it was a fun and useful exercise. Especially where it forced me to think about the ways I see myself versus the way the evaluation sees me.

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Stephanie Handsteiner

I took this test a few years ago, when one of our teachers made us to, during one lesson in our last school year (apparently a lot of HR people like this stuff, idk), got INFJ-A back then. Retook the test a few months ago, when I saw it pop up on reddit, still got INFJ-A as a result.

This apparently means that I'm an INFJ-A. 🤔

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Casey Brooks

I walk the line between INFJ and ENFJ. I'm more often introverted, but also have some strong extroverted tendencies, and so depending on the day I'll fall just a couple points to one side or the other.

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🇨🇵️ Nathan Graule

Coming late with an obligatory relevant Idea Channel episode: youtube.com/watch?v=5_wy8P2iwW8

MBTI, as with any personality test that aspires to boil down personalities into categories, shouldn't be taken more seriously than "for shits and giggles". I feel like employers are attracted to those as they promise an easier and quantifiable way to sort through applications. How can there be a good company culture if everybody is an I type?

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Ryan Palo

ISTJ, but like right on the line between Introvert and Extrovert (although, I feel more introverted than extroverted). All the way over on the Judging side of the scale, which makes sense. I do love a good to-do list.

I've read some things that mention this type as a good choice for a "second-in-command" kind of "useful, capable, support person". I feel like that lines up with how I like to be. I feel most comfortable not leading but being so useful and anticipating the teams needs that it makes the leader's job a lot easier.

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Helen Anderson

Same. A colleague once said to me 'I'm so glad you're here, you anticipated my incompetence.'

I'm taking it as a compliment.

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Kasey Speakman • Edited

I ended up being ISFP-T, aka the Adventurer. I only answered in the context of work. I have to say, on the whole it seems spot on (about work things).

Edit: I read the briefs on the Architect, the Logician, and the Advocate, and found a few points in each of those which strongly correlated to me (like the Logician sharing thoughts that are not fully formed and using conversation as a sounding board to develop their ideas further -- that's totally me). The Adventurer result I got most strongly correlated to me as a whole, but it is certainly not comprehensive.

I've done numerous personality tests over the years as group activities. They are always just one (limited) model of a person, and as such it provides some (limited) value in understanding how to interact with them. But you can't take it too seriously. A personality profile and a person have an infinite difference in depth.

I also find that a single individual's personality varies based on situation. To provide any value, you have to have a "scene" in mind, like work or home.

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Vaibhav

Am I the only INTP here?!

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Roxanne Buchanan

Nearly everyone I know comes out as INTJ, and yet the test description claims it's "rare". I also am INTJ (Surprise!)..

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Quentin Sonrel

I just took it (first time, I knew about it but never cared to try).

It seems I'm an INTJ-T.

Don't know what to do with that 🤔

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Helen Anderson

It doesn't matter how many times I do this or what mood I'm in, I always get ISTJ-A.

High introversion, highly observant, and highly highly judging (93%!). Probably not a bad thing for a Data Analyst.

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Dylan Kilkenny

I got INTP-P "Logician". The description does describe me pretty well, especially with friendships and relationships.

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Roberto Sanchez

I just did the test and got ISFP-T

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Ali Spittel

I'm ESFP! I think it makes sense, especially with the description given!

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Daragh Byrne

So ENFP it's not funny. The typical introverted extrovert. I'm a paradox of energy and meditation!

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JD Gonzales

I got INTJ the last couple times I took it. It helped both my s/o and I to understand each other better. She's an ENFJ.

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Chris Frewin

Wow! This is awesome! Everyone scored very differently! So I guess programming is such an amazing thing that it draws any personality towards it ;)

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Herb Wolfe

INTJ-T.

I've taken these before, and I'm fairly certain they all turn out relatively the same. The last one I took and saved the results was the same as this.