Personality Tests: Beyond the 16 Types of MBTI

The MBTI personality test has become popular but it has limitations. It's not scientific to divide everyone into just sixteen types. We should see the uniqueness of each person beyond the test results.

In recent times, a cryptic language has taken over social platforms. Statements like 'I am an INFP, looking for an ENFJ to connect with!' or 'As an ISTJ, we don't seem compatible as friends.' are becoming more and more common. These seemingly random letters come from the highly popular MBTI personality test. Tens of thousands of people are engaging in this test, using the results to guide their emotions, lives, and work.

The MBTI, short for Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, is a personality test based on the psychological theory of Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. It classifies an individual's personality from four dimensions: attention direction, cognitive style, judgment style, and lifestyle. Each dimension has two opposite indicators, resulting in 16 different letter combinations, representing 16 distinct personality types. For example, an 'ENFJ' type is often associated with being humane, empathetic, and understanding.

This isn't the first time MBTI has made an appearance in China. Born 78 years ago, it has long been a common tool in college career planning classes. Teachers often use this test to help students better understand themselves and encourage them to find suitable career directions based on their personality types.

However, when it transcends the boundary of a simple test and becomes a popular social tool, its role begins to change. Many people who take the test with the intention of better understanding themselves end up being controlled by it. It seems that many people have developed the belief that if their test results point to a certain personality, all their characteristics must match the adjectives associated with that personality, and their behavior should meet the expectations of the public for that personality group. The result of MBTI is no longer a test result based on one's inner self but a goal that must be achieved to fit in.

Job seekers are rejected because their MBTI results don't meet job requirements, and people are excluded from making friends because of MBTI incompatibility. This test has even given rise to a 'hierarchy of contempt', with INTJ at the top, regarded as a 'strategist', followed by 'commander' ESTJ, used to distinguish the maturity levels of different personalities.

But are there really only sixteen identical personalities among billions of individuals in the world? Everyone is unique, yet MBTI only offers sixteen types.

In fact, although the MBTI personality test has some psychological principles compared to the previously popular horoscope, and relatively concretely shows the different characteristics of different personalities, simply dividing everyone into sixteen personalities is not scientific. Fundamentally, the MBTI test is no different from horoscopes in that they both classify personalities by labeling. It overly magnifies the differences between different personality groups while blurring the individual differences within the same letter combination group, inadvertently promoting certain stereotypes about a personality group and making individuals within that group lose the motivation to find their own uniqueness.

MBTI itself is not wrong. It is just a tool to help people understand themselves and provides a general direction for us to understand personal characteristics. We should break free from the 'social trap' brought about by this test and see the existence of each specific person behind the four letters, better understand others, and cherish our own uniqueness.

16 MBTI Types, Which One Are You?