My experience with the MBTI
Back in grade 8, during my Career and Personal Planning Class, I had my personality analyzed for the first time. I remember logging into a website and completing somewhere around 60 or so questions for a personality inventory called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. I found myself to be an ENFP, but at that time, I wasn’t sure of what it was or what it meant. A couple of years later when I was in grade 10, I took the test again and my personality type had changed to an INFP. This time, I was a lot more interested in the test, and I took some time reading over my results and figuring out what it meant. As it turns out, I was an introverted (I) person who prefers to interpret and add meaning to basic information (N), that makes decisions based on people and special circumstances (F), and prefers to stay open to new information and options (P). Of the 16 possible personality types, I was a “humanist”.
The main reason our teacher made us take the test was because not only does the MBTI give an analysis of personality type, but it also suggests future career paths according to the analysis. I remember my top career paths being counselling psychologist, school counselor, therapist, and so on. I think it was then that I decided to pursue my studies in psychology. I’m not quite sure how big of an influence the test results had on my choices, but I do not regret deciding to major in psychology. The more I study it, the more I feel like it suits the way I think, feel, and act. If I take a look at the top career choices for the opposite personality type of INFP, which is ESTJ, they suggest careers such as military leader, business administrator, police officer, and so on. I do not think I will ever be interested in pursuing any one of those careers. And to my surprise, the test has been quite reliable so far. Since grade 10, I took the test multiple times every 2 years or so, with the most recent one being this January. No matter which version I take, the original one or a shortened version, I always turn out to be an INFP. If I look at the detailed analysis, I can see that I change over time because the numbers shift. For example, in grade 10, I scored 28 on introversion and 2 on extroversion, making me an extreme introvert. But on the more recent test, I scored 18 on introversion and 12 on extroversion, which still makes me an introvert, but not as extreme. The detailed analysis is useful because it allows me to see how the way I think and feel change over time according to my situation.
Now, some people may say that it is impossible to categorize 7 billion people into just 16 personality types, which is true because every one of us is so different. But I believe that the test is useful because it provides a broad outline of how one thinks and perceives the world. I actually took the test with my boyfriend, and also with my parents, and I was surprised at how accurately the results describe my parents or my boyfriend. It truly helped me to understand why my dad or my mom act the way they do sometimes! But of course, the test shouldn't be used to define a person or to create stereotypes. It should be used as a tool to gain a better understanding of oneself or the other on how one thinks and perceives the world.
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