Understanding MBTI: Unraveling Personality Types
This article explores the MBTI personality test, its origin, classification method, drawbacks, and popularity. It also discusses the difference between MBTI and the Big Five personality traits and offers advice on self-understanding.
Understanding MBTI: Unraveling Personality Types
MBTI, short for Myers–Briggs Type Indicator, is a personality test that divides people into sixteen types. Based on the personality classification theory of the great psychologist Carl Jung, it was developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother Katharine Cook Briggs.
The two were not professional psychologists but rather housewives who made a living by writing novels. After reading Jung's 'Psychological Types', they became devout followers of Jung's theory. During World War II, they created the MBTI test to solve the problem of classifying female workers and later promoted it worldwide.
The MBTI test classifies personality into four layers. Firstly, it determines where your energy comes from, whether it is obtained from the outside (Extraverted - E) or generated internally (Introverted - I). Secondly, it looks at how you obtain information, whether you focus on details and like specific descriptions (Sensing - S) or rely on intuition and sixth sense (Intuition - N). Thirdly, it considers how you analyze information and make judgments, whether you are more subjective and emotional (Feeling - F) or more objective and stubborn (Thinking - T). Finally, it examines your behavior pattern, whether you like to make plans and stick to them for an orderly life (Judging - J) or prefer a flexible and free lifestyle (Perceiving - P).
However, MBTI has its drawbacks. It classifies people, which is not favored by scientific psychology. In fact, differences between people are more of a matter of degree rather than essence. Also, the test has low retest reliability, as a small change in answers can lead to a completely different personality type.
In contrast, the 'Big Five' personality traits, which include Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (OCEAN), are more widely accepted by psychologists. This assessment believes that there are only five basic elements or traits that make up personality, and it can provide a unique 'personality portrait' for each person.
Despite its lack of professionalism, MBTI is very popular. This is partly due to commercial interests and the influence of social media. For example, in South Korea, there is a popular social observation variety show called 'MBTI Inside'. In this era of social networking, personality tests have gained an additional social attribute.
In conclusion, while MBTI can be a useful tool for self-exploration, especially when we are young and seeking to find our place and sense of value, as we accumulate life experience, we may no longer need it to define ourselves. If you want to understand yourself, it is better to ask 'What are the truly important things in your life?' rather than 'What personality type do you belong to?'. For those interested in learning more about MBTI, the book 'Gifts Differing' by Isabel Briggs Myers is a good introductory read, with a preface by Zhang Jianxin from the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.