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LadyAngelika -> RE: Myers-Briggs personality types (1/23/2010 12:20:17 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: pompeii
quote:
ORIGINAL: LadyAngelika
I'm actually not an Extrovert, but rather an Ambivert so the MBTI is misleading.
The difference is in scale and interpretation. For example, 1% Extrovert is not at all the same as a 50% or 70% Extervert but for the purpose of the overall summary, all three people would be reported as an E.
How the Myers-Briggs test REPORTS the scale & who does the interpretation is what is throwing people off the scent.
When you take the (big bucks) professional tests, an experienced psychologist interprets the scalar results for you, so, that psychologist knows the difference between a 5% Extrovert and a 20% Extrovert. I would be going out on a limb by going much deeper but it's common knowledge that a 5% Extrovert isn't all that different from a 5% Introvert; both have the ability to energize from both sides of the equation (alone, in a quiet room and in the middle of Grand Central Station).
So, it's not the MBTI which is misleading; it's the fact that we're not reporting the SCALE and we're the ones doing the interpretation. The MBTI is actually NOT misleading; it's one of the best tools out there (not the free tests, mind you) ... it's just that we're using the el' cheapo stuff and we're not providing the scale.
I agree 100% with this pompeii.
The firm I work for administers these tests and though I'm not an expert in their interpretation, I have an overall understanding of how they work.
In raw points, I'm Extraversion 11 – Introversion 10
I was pointing out the ambivert as when I found this definition, it helped me.
___
Now lets look at the first 5 questions of the MBTI test:
1. When you go somewhere for the day, would you rather
(a) plan what you will do and when, or
(b) just go?
Depends. Do I have goals I need to accomplish that day? If yes, absolutely (a). If I don't have anything particularly pressing, that I'm just going to relax, then I'm absolutely open to just going with the flow (b).
2. Do you consider yourself to be
(a) more of a spontaneous person, or
(b) more of an organized person
Initially, I took this test at work and wrote organized, as I am quite organized. I just thought about this a little bit more now that I'm sitting in my living room and I think that when in business, I'm more organized then I am in my personal life, that's for sure, but that really, I'm pretty spontaneous. Like I have to go out and do groceries today but I won't write a list. If I write lists, it's because I feel I have to in order to get structure, but I won't instinctively...
So for fun, I changed this answer and re-evaluated my results and I'd be
3. If you were a teacher, would you rather teach
(a) fact courses, or
(b) courses involving theory
Now here is a tricky one. I love theory much more than I love fact. But I recongnize that in training (not teaching), facts are more appropriate.
4. Are you usually
(a) a "good mixer", or
(b) rather quiet and reserved?
Now here's a question that is so very situational. With people I know well, (a) for sure. With strangers, one on one (a) and in groups, definitely (b) with the odd manifestation of (a) but I don't know if "good" would qualify my interactions.
This is a perfect example of what makes me an ambivert.
5. Do you usually get along better with
(a) imaginative people
(b) realistic people
I need both in my life 50-50. That is what balances me.
____
So when I'm taking this test, I don't sit there an discuss each point. We are told to take it quickly and instinctively. Well as someone pointed out earlier in this thread, my instinct at work isn't the same as my instinct socially. My instinct under pressure isn't the same as my instinct in my comfort zone.
- LA
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