How Seriously Do You Take The MBTI?

[Gloriana]

This kind of thread has probably already been done, but even if it has hopefully there might be fresh responses.

I was just wondering how seriously YOU take the MBTI?

Do you consider it more of a tool for insight, or more like a 'code of understanding'? Are you so into it that you constantly think of yourself as your 'type'? Do you type everyone you know? How much stock would you say you put into the MBTI when it comes to defining yourself and others?

I'm only asking because I personally don't take it all that seriously. It's hella interesting to be sure, but I start pulling back when it begins treading into stereotype territory, or narrowing the landscape in terms of getting to know a person.

The thing that strikes me most about these boards is the constant back and forth about the types. One person will post something about a particular type as if it accepted fact that all people of a certain type are a certain way, then it is followed by a bunch of people with the previously mentioned type piping up to say "That's funny because that's not like me at all!!".

I get a little whingey when it starts getting into "I know you better than you know yourself because I've read more about your type than you have" territory. I get more than a little bothered when the MBTI (when in certain hands) seems to turn into more fodder for discrimination towards others. I'm not hating on it, far from it, these are just some thoughts.

 

[TopherRed]

I really think that when we teach people about the MBTI, we should start with teaching about the cognitive functions; the 16 "markers" or "categories" are simply points on a line graph of personality and many people fall between them. I believe the index would be taken much more seriously if we more closely examine the parts that make up the whole rather than the whole broken down into parts. Or maybe that's my inner Ni talking...

 

[bcvcdc]

Very. Understanding MBTI saved me from certain death.

 

[Edgar]

How seriously do I take MBTI?

I kill in the name of it, that's how serious.

 

[TopherRed]

How seriously do I take MBTI?

I kill in the name of it, that's how serious.

Right, cause you have a license to kill you stole off of Bond. *squirl eye*

 

[Mondo]

I simply see it as piece to understanding people as a whole and nothing more.
I use the MBTI- it doesn't use me.

 

[Usehername]

I just got back an email from my INFJ prof who was talking about Type A personality, and I linked her bestfittype.com and "my" (INTJ) profile and what I perceived to be "her" (INFJ) profile.

INFJ prof replies

Humorously enough, in my off hours I took a silly facebook personality-type quiz and it turned out INTJ...you just never know !

And it's itching me. I really want to clarify things, especially because the Facebook quiz really sucks. But OTOH, it doesn't matter, she doesn't appear to have read the profiles I linked to her, so I should just let it go, because ultimately I like her for who she is and not because of her letters. Which I'm still confident would be INFJ if she just read the description. But MBTI is bunk. (EDIT: Now I'm re-evaluating to see if she's INTJ with developed F like me. This whole MBTI system is broken, but captivating.)

Due to how much it's itching at me (and has in the past) I'd say I emotionally value it a lot more than I intellectually value it.

 

[TopherRed]

Fascinating dichotomy Usehername.

 

[The Outsider]

I used to be religious, but after reading about MBTI, I was forced to push away my God and accept Jung.

I even have an altar.

 

[Yloh]

I believe MBTI can give you a basic idea on who somebody is, but it shouldn't be set and stone. I do admit, I try and type people now.

While MBTI is great on scratching the surface of a person, don't avoid that person if their type doesn't match what you want. What truly matters in friendships and relationships is having common believes, open communication, and the willingness to sacrafice for the other. It is true that people are better able to get along with others that are more like them (having the same MBTI type), but if their believes and communication are off, it would be much more difficult for them to be friends or lovers (possibly even more so than with someone with a different MBTI type).

 

[Poki]

I try to use it to understand people. I am good at learning a person, but I am not so good at categorizing people. This categorizing helps me to deal with people that I dont know as good. When it comes to an individual basis what works in the real world is what takes precedence over someone type because I could always be wrong about there type.

 

[Athenian200]

Depends on my mood. Sometimes I start taking it more seriously when I'm anxious, and tend not to take it too seriously when I'm not.

 

[01011010]

I don't.

 

[Athenian200]

I don't.

Terse, yet sufficient.

 

[Jaguar]

I don't.

Ditto.

 

[OrangeAppled]

For me, it's like a hobby. It's entertaining and thought-provoking. I type friends/family/celebs for fun, but it's not like it changes my impression of them. They are still the same people they always were. It's really funny to see my interaction with them in retrospect after figuring out their type too. I also find it interesting to make the connection between two people who give me the same "vibe" but are also very different (oooh, they are both ESFPs!).

I also think it is useful in the sense that it can help you to see that not everyone has the same thought process as you. I mean, I knew that to begin with, but grasping cognitive functions really explains the differences. I view the types as caricatures and generalizations of how the functions often work together, not as fully accurate descriptions of individuals.

It's comforting for me to know my own type and know that I am not an alien, and to help me see my strengths (which is something I often don't see) and my weaknesses in a more objective way.

I think people who are offended by MBTI and by people making generalizations based on it actually take MBTI more seriously. I think the generalizations mostly open up productive discussion and broaden people's views on types. When you understand the thought process behind certain behavior, it can make it less annoying or offensive. You get a glimpse of where other people are coming from.

 

[Nonsensical]

Far more serious than I should.

 

[syckkz]

I think that most of these tests are interesting.. it's always fun to read up on your personality and see where you excel and what you need work on.

I don't take my type serious as a means of EXACTLY who I am, there are many things that make me me.. this is just one of them.

In the end I believe I am more than just a person who's personality can just be listed.. nothing more nothing less.
Though it's fun to learn about different types, learn about myself.. this ain't the only dimension of my personality.

 

[iamathousandapples]

Well to tell you, let me tell you about my altar that I have constructed: It takes up about an acre and is 4 pronged, representing, Jung, Myers, Briggs, and Keirsey. Each prong points in the direction of their birth. It is made of marble and solid Burmese gold, and adorned with diamonds hand selected from the mines in Botswana. There are steps leading up to each prong and a picture of the person at the end, and a circle adorning a pentagram(made of the sacred minerals, and other assorted goods) on the end. It is there in which I make my sacrifices, chanting "Mecka lecka hi mecka hiney ho!" before making the final cut.

So in other words, it's just casual.

 

[ajblaise]

MBTI and the few other personality type theories out there aren't the best at what they do.... but they are the only ones that do it.

In 100 years, the study of personality psychology and type will be more refined, just as MBTI is a more refined version of the Four Humors.