The MBTI is corporate astrology

As a psychometrician, one of my biggest annoyances is when tools that have very little validity get major kudos.

The MBTI is one of the worst.

Don’t get me wrong. If people want to use the MBTI to have a discussion about each other’s preferences, or out of curiosity about themselves, or even to find a date (it happens!), that’s all well and good. In the same way as people would use astrology to help guide them in life, it’s a matter of choice and preference.

But when I see the MBTI used in situations that imply that it has some sort of validity — that it predicts something meaningful in the workplace, and hence that meaningful decisions should be guided by it — well, that’s going too far.

Let me explain this a bit more, but first its worth spending a little time understanding what exactly I am talking about here.

What is the MBTI?

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI for short, is a closed questionnaire which purports to elucidate psychological preferences in how individuals perceive their environment and make decisions. It was developed by Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, a mother-daughter combo, during the Second World War.

The basis for the MBTI can be found to some extent in the work of Carl Jung on…