The Guardian: Nothing personal: The questionable Myers-Briggs test

Now, this article was written a few years ago, so if you have any more-current information on this, please send it my way!

English: Carl Gustav Jung, full-length portrait, standing in front of building in Burghölzi, Zurich (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So, have you taken the Myers-Briggs test?  A lot of people take it really seriously.  But in March of 2013, Dean Burnett wrote this article for the Guardian.

Burnett gives a basic breakdown of the history of the test (helping women find appropriate jobs as the entered the workforce during World War II) and some of its scientific weaknesses (it wasn't created by scientists or psychologists; it's based on the theories of Jung; it assumes all traits are binary rather than spectral) before touching on what he perceives as the real problem:

Yes, the MBTI is harmless and potentially useful if you're aware of its limitations. That's the problem, though; the MBTI is predominately used in the workplace by HR departments, development/training teams and the like, who can often be clearly unaware of its limitations.

 That link was in the original, by the way, and I recommend you check it out for even more details about this issue.

In any event, Burnett's point is that maybe we shouldn't be so reliant on this particular personality test on a corporate level.

What are your thoughts on the Myers-Briggs test?

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