3 Reasons why you should take the actual MBTI assessment
…and tips to identify the knockoffs
Around 2 million people take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) each year.
It’s the most popular personality assessment in the world, widely known for its use in organizational settings (most of Forbes 100 Companies use it).
The popularity, though, started a wave of scientifically invalid online personality quizzes meant copy the MBTI and use marketing language to make people think they’re taking the actual MBTI assessment.
How can you know if you’re taking the actual, research-backed MBTI assessment ? And why shouldn’t you trust the knockoffs? Here’s what you should know:
1) The official Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment is backed by years of research
Unlike other online quizzes, the MBTI assessment is one of the most robust and well-researched psychometric measurement tools available. Based on Carl Jung’s typology theory, the MBTI assessment was developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers in 1943.
Isabel Briggs Myers worked with Educational Testing Service in Princeton, NJ, a major test publisher, in developing the instrument. ETS was its first publisher (as a research instrument) in 1962. Twenty years of research preceded its initial publication, and the instrument is updated regularly based on continuing research.
Five technical manuals and supplements have been published on the MBTI personality assessment (1962, 1985, 1998, 2009 and 2018) providing a wealth of research-based evidence on its reliability and validity.
The Myers-Briggs MBTI Global Manual 4th Edition reports test-retest correlations up to 15 weeks for the most recent version of the Myers-Briggs instrument averaging .87 for the four scales, indicating good reliability for each preference over long periods of time. The most recent manual’s longest chapter is on the validity of the MBTI instrument when used appropriately.
Learn more about the history and uses of the instrument in the MBTI Facts page.
2) The actual MBTI assessment has resources focusing on your continued personal development
If you’ve already taken the MBTI assessment at work or at school, you may have worked with an MBTI Certified Practitioner in a comprehensive feedback session. That session should have included discussing your preferences, action plans to better understand how personality preferences play in your organization or team, and even how to achieve specific work or study-related goals.
The MBTI assessment isn’t restricted to companies, and individuals willing to learn more about themselves have the option of taking the MBTI online by themselves. After reading the instructions and answering the questionnaire (about 25 minutes), they’ll receive a thorough report that highlights how their answers and their personality preferences are reflected in conflict management, relationships, communication and other areas.
If you’re not taking the assessment with a certified practitioner (like a career counselor, marriage & family therapist, or HR professional), you can only do it on the official website www.mbtionline.com, and it’s not free.
3) The MBTI doesn’t label people
The MBTI assessment looks at your personality preferences. Preferences are not skills or abilities, but rather dispositions to respond in certain ways, much like our preference to use our right vs. left hand. In the same way, we all have preferences when it comes to our personality.
Most people are more comfortable with one preference and feel more natural and competent using it. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t use the other preference. We all use all eight personality preferences every day. (This is also why ambiverts don’t exist — but that’s a whole separate article).
It’s not a matter of labeling people (like ‘the Architect’ or ‘the Campaigner’) or giving them the ultimate definition of themselves. It’s a way to see and understand differences and what’s working (and what needs improvement) in each one of us.
If you take a free four-letter knockoff, you’ll receive a result that doesn’t take into consideration personality type preferences and you will probably feel labeled, put into a box, or pigeonholed. In addition, there’s no guarantee of accuracy — try and find the science behind those online quizzes and you’ll be sorely dissapointed.
The actual MBTI assessment provides self-awareness insights and helps people understand, for example, why someone that prefers Introversion needs to flex and use Extraversion daily in their personal lives. And people do use both of their preferences. Everyday. But if you don’t understand your own natural tendencies, it’s more difficult to step outside of yourself and flex to more effectively approach the situation.
If you’re just looking for a simple, free quiz online to kill some time — we get it. And there are a ton of them out there you can try. They are literally less than a dime a dozen, and all they’ll cost you is your tiime.
But, if you’re going to really invest in yourself, in your personal development and your self-awareness to improve yourself and make your life better — then do it right. Invest in the actual, research-backed MBTI assessment that meets the standards of the American Psychological Association and the British Psychological Society for psychometric personality assessments.
The one that was designed to help you better understand yourself for a more successful, fulfilling life.
