MYTH WARRIORS! - “I am an INTJ (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator).” (Or, am I?)

In the MYTH WARRIORS™ series we are targeting ideas to begin to assess whether they are credible or not (i.e., they are a myth, fallacy or even a lie). The target for this episode is, “I am an INTJ (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator).” (Or, am I?)

What is it? “More than 10,000 companies, 2,500 colleges and universities and 200 government agencies in the United States use the test. It’s estimated that 50 million people have taken the Myers-Briggs personality test[.] MBTI is their framework for classifying personality types along four distinct axes: introversion vs. extroversion, sensing vs. intuition, thinking vs. feeling and judging vs. perceiving. […] For example, he might be introverted, a sensor, a thinker and a perceiver. Or, in Myers-Briggs shorthand, an “ISTP.”

How is it used and why should I care about it? “Today, organizations administer the personality test to employees, then use the results as a basis for training programs."

Is it credible? “No major journal has published research on the MBTI, which academics consider a strong repudiation of the test’s authority. […] It is a classic chicken-and-egg problem: No major journal has published on it, therefore no elite academic will support it, therefore no major journal will publish on it.” (all quotes from The Washington Post, “On Leadership - Does it pay to know your type?”, December 14, 2012 by Lillian Cunningham)

“INTJ - Have original minds and great drive for implementing their ideas and achieving their goals. […] Skeptical and independent, have high standards of competence and performance – for themselves and others.” http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/the-16-mbti-types.asp

What are you (allegedly)? Find out - http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp