16 MBTI Types, Which One Are You?

The MBTI personality test has become popular among young people as a social icebreaker. This article explores its origin, usage, and expert opinions, as well as the potential pitfalls of relying too much on it.

Discovering Youth | 'What's Your MBTI?': The Social 'Identity Code' Among Young People

In recent years, a four-letter combination known as MBTI has become a popular social 'icebreaker' among young people. This personality test, which was born 80 years ago, has now become a trendy topic for social interaction.

The Origin of the Personality Test for Career Advice MBTI stands for Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. It is a personality test based on the psychological theory of renowned psychologist Carl Jung. Jung proposed that humans experience the world mainly through four psychological functions in two dimensions: sensing (S)/intuition (N), thinking (T)/feeling (F). Each function has two manifestations: introversion (I)/extroversion (E), resulting in eight psychological types. In the 1940s, a mother and daughter added another dimension of judging (J)/perceiving (P) to Jung's theory and divided personality into 16 types to help people choose suitable jobs.

From 1942 to the present, after 80 years of continuous improvement and commercial marketing, MBTI has been widely used in career testing. Some job seekers have encountered companies using MBTI tests as part of the interview process. For example, news of a South Korean company not accepting applicants of certain MBTI types once sparked heated discussions.

A 12-Minute 'Identity Card' Compared to 'mystical' things like astrology, MBTI seems to have a scientific theoretical system. The test questions are very specific, and the results provide a detailed analysis. For example, a 25-year-old named Zhang found out she is an INFP personality type. After taking the test, she learned about her tendencies and also found out that there are many people like her.

The MBTI questionnaire has different versions for different needs. The most commonly used is the 60-question version on the 16 personalities official website. After spending 12 minutes taking the test, one can obtain an 'identity label' with a corresponding occupational group.

The趣缘 Social 'Labeled' Communication 'Shortcut' As MBTI has been explored for its social attributes among young people, various phenomena related to MBTI have emerged. For instance, young people create MBTI memes for entertainment and self-mockery, which has accelerated the 'going viral' of MBTI. At the same time, more derivative industries based on MBTI have emerged, such as self-media accounts and paid interpretation services. MBTI has also become an important reference label for making friends among young people.

Expert Opinions According to an expert, MBTI testing has a certain basis but cannot be blindly believed. Entertainment-oriented interpretations may lead to deviations and misguidance. The promotion and use of MBTI tests should be based on science and rationality.

Journalist's Notes Some people may repeatedly take the test to obtain the desired result, but this may lead to inaccurate results and fall into the Barnum effect. We should be aware that MBTI is not a life criterion. Although some people may use MBTI to gain a sense of superiority, we should be cautious of being confined by labels. Everyone is unique, and MBTI should be seen as different possibilities in life rather than a standard for 'matching seats'.