I just took the Myers-Briggs typology quiz again for the first time in several years. I'm an INTJ, in case you want to know -- Introverted-Intuitive-Thinking-Judging. I'm practicallly off the scale on "introverted," though, which is no big surprise to me, and I barely register on "Judging," which might surprise some of you. According to the scoring, that makes me a "Mastermind," a description I rather like; who wouldn't? This is supposedly me:
All Rationals are good at planning operations, but Masterminds are head and shoulders above all the rest in contingency planning. Complex operations involve many steps or stages, one following another in a necessary progression, and Masterminds are naturally able to grasp how each one leads to the next, and to prepare alternatives for difficulties that are likely to arise any step of the way. Trying to anticipate every contingency, Masterminds never set off on their current project without a Plan A firmly in mind, but they are always prepared to switch to Plan B or C or D if need be.
According to the literature (that's how these people talk: The Literature), Masterminds don't immediately take charge. We hang back to see if whoever does screws it up; then we take over. Guilty as charged -- if I'm in a directionless meeting, I tend to gradually take over, just to get the damn thing done so we can go back to real work.
I guess I'm not a "true introvet," which would be an INFJ. But it's the trait I think is the strongest in me, and it's the way a lot of people describe me. The link to Myers-Briggs was at a blog entry I stumbled across that included a discussion of "10 Myths About Introverts," which includes this one:
Myth #4
Comments
Introvert in Myers-Briggs Land means that you process your ideas internally. You are the guy in the meeting that everyone waits on to finally contribute a concise, well thought out, solution to the problem at issue. You probably already knew how your ideas are generated but MB is usually right on in ascertaining it.
On the other hand my rating starts with an E (and I don't remember the rest) because I develop thoughts by talking about the problem. All I really need from you is an interested ear.
The following is from Wikipedia:
Some researchers have interpreted the reliability of the test as being low. Studies have found that between 39% and 76% of those tested fall into different types upon retesting some weeks or years later.[13][15]
One study reports that the MBTI dichotomies exhibit good split-half reliability; however, the dichotomy scores are distributed in a bell curve, and the overall type allocations are less reliable. Also, test-retest reliability is sensitive to the time between tests. Within each dichotomy scale, as measured on Form G, about 83% of categorizations remain the same when individuals are retested within nine months, and around 75% when individuals are retested after nine months. About 50% of people tested within nine months remain the same overall type, and 36% remain the same type after more than nine months.[45] For Form M (the most current form of the MBTI instrument), the MBTI Manual reports that these scores are higher (p. 163, Table 8.6).
In one study, when people were asked to compare their preferred type to that assigned by the MBTI assessment, only half of people picked the same profile.[46] Critics also argue that the MBTI lacks falsifiability, which can cause confirmation bias in the interpretation of results.
I wouldn't take the test too seriously.
I worked for a company that used an MBTI-type test before hiring. They seemed to think it important. I think they misused it; a company needs diverse skills to weather adversity, and not only are they long gone now, but so is the company thatbought them.
A friend told me 20 years ago that Bell Labs posted everybody's MBTI (they're actually Jung) personality type on their office door. They thought it aided communications. One of the reasons he quit his job with ATT Labs. And they are no longer around, either....