Does knowing too much about type end up biasing your test results?

[Such Irony]

Do you find that when taking a personality test, you know enough about the theory to know immediately what each question is testing for? Does that knowledge end up biasing your test result in some way- either consciously or unconsciously?

When I take a personality test, regardless of how many I've taken before and what my previous results were and what I believe myself to be, I approach the test as if I know nothing about MBTI. By taking this approach I hope to avoid the knowledge bias. However, I can only do this with minimal success. It's like telling someone not to think of pink elephants. What do they most likely do? Yeah, that's right, they think of pink elephants!

Even if I can't detach myself from prior MBTI knowledge and experience, I try my best to answer each question honestly, even if it means some tests will point away from the type I perceive myself to be. On a conscious level, I don't think I'm biasing my results by having knowledge of MBTI. However, I can't help but wonder if I'm biasing myself on a more subconscious level. For example, if I'm torn between two options, I wonder if I subconsciously choose the one that more closely lines up with my self-perception of my type. When I'm taking a test, and I've noticed that I have an atypical amount of answers pointing away from I, N, T, and P, I can't help but take notice. I can anticipate where the result is going as I'm taking the test and I can't seem to 'turn that off'.

 

[Thalassa]

Yes, I think it does. I tested INFJ for years, and I honestly think I started getting INFP and ENFP more often when I started studying type and people kept forcing their opinion upon me that I have Fi.

It's not that I think I have Fe, per se, but it's more like I just have more of an I/N/F/J personality in terms of the four dichotomies, and not in terms of function.

The theories between Keirsey and function theory seem to clash. On the one hand people tell me I'm not like other INFJs because I'm not using Fe (at least that they observe on this forum, though people seem to be more in agreement with this upon meeting me in real life) ...and on the other hand, I think I'm a little more judge-y than some ENFPs, but I keep being told that's because of Te.

At this point I'm not sure how I feel about function theory, to be perfectly honest with you. Especially since Simulated World kept insisting that I was NFP and Tater was NFJ and tried to suggest Edgar is ENTP, then tried to say that I must be an Enneagram 7 because he is, and asked me if my depression was actually caused by ADHD because that's what he has...it made me begin to suspect that Simulated World's world-view is a bit clouded by...well...by himself. He sees himself when he's analyzing other people, so I'm not sure how seriously I take his opinion anymore, and I also wonder how many people think I'm ENFP just because they're so used to me being plainly identified by the four letters E-N-F-P.

 

[Rail Tracer]

Very easily. Not only MBTI, but it also happens with enneagram.

It tends to go like
How we perceive ourselves
How we actually are and
How we want others to perceive ourselves.

Lots of people (real life) that would read the description of an ISFP or an INFP would immediately tell me that it ain't me.

 

[skylights]

yes, absolutely. i'm pretty sure that i am an ENFP, so trying to type myself personally doesn't really matter to me much, but in terms of judging how good the tests are, i think it throws me off a lot. i've always been a clear N but my F and T, and J and P, didn't use to test as far to the dichotomies as they usually do in tests i take now.

 

[jbking]

Generally, yes though not 100% all the time flawlessly. It does bias the result as I'm intentionally choosing answers to get a specific result. It also doesn't help that some tests recycle the same question and so some answers almost become hardwired in my head. This can be a bit of a double-edged sword as I could be cheating myself out of something, right?

 

[highlander]

At this point I'm not sure how I feel about function theory, to be perfectly honest with you. Especially since Simulated World kept insisting that I was NFP and Tater was NFJ and tried to suggest Edgar is ENTP, then tried to say that I must be an Enneagram 7 because he is, and asked me if my depression was actually caused by ADHD because that's what he has...it made me begin to suspect that Simulated World's world-view is a bit clouded by...well...by himself. He sees himself when he's analyzing other people, so I'm not sure how seriously I take his opinion anymore, and I also wonder how many people think I'm ENFP just because they're so used to me being plainly identified by the four letters E-N-F-P.

Your paragraph above seems like Ne for what it's worth.

 

[xisnotx]

Yes. I find myself thinking stuff like "that's Te" or "I'm not really a Judger, so I guess I should answer no". Obviously when I catch myself doing this I tell myself to knock it off.

I once took the same test 3 different times because I wanted to see how the results would change if I answered the questions I was iffy on differently. I got two intps and an infp.

 

[Cybin]

Tests use context free stereotypical questions on behavior to try to identify type, a theory of cognition. They aren't useful for much else besides a good starting point to finding your type.

The questions are so obvious too, they really could just cut the facade and go for "Choose this option for F, choose this option for T"

 

[Cybin]

Tests use context free stereotypical questions on behavior to try to identify type, a theory of cognition. They aren't useful for much else besides a good starting point to finding your type.

The questions are so obvious too, they really could just cut the facade and go for "Choose this option for F, choose this option for T"

 

[Eckhart]

Yes. I often find myself attributing questions to certain types and have to really force me sometimes to not getting influenced by that, but I doubt that I am always successful on that.

 

[ReflecTcelfeR]

It is very difficult to avoid this because disregarding information is nigh impossible as you said, but I think the information that you have should be used in order to answer the questions. I believe that even if you know what answer you will get, the point is to answer from experience, instead of preference. If experience states that you logically thought through a situation and considered only what you knew to be true, then you are more likely a T, an leaning towards S undertones. That's why I wish someone would create a test that was more problem solving based. Instead of asking personality based questions.

 

[rav3n]

Some of the questions are so easy to answer, literally without much thought. Those are T vs. F questions and that's one dichotomy that's not in question since it's so natural for me.

Some of the questions that appear to be more difficult, lean towards the dichotomies that are in question or borderline for me. So with these questions, I have to catch myself not to bias my responses towards want vs. natural preferences or rejection of vs. natural preferences. Uncertain how successful this tactic. Hopefully reasonably, since there's no type I desperately want or want not to be.

 

[Such Irony]

That's why I wish someone would create a test that was more problem solving based. Instead of asking personality based questions.

I think test questions should be more scenario based. Its easy to think you are more one way or another in theory but does it reflect what you *actually* tend to do?

 

[Thalassa]

It's pretty easy for me to type myself by the four dichotomies. I mean, I largely am either alone, one-on-one, or with very small groups of people. It costs me energy to be around people a bunch. It's like performing. My quote on my Live Journal used to be Sartre's "Hell is other people." My ex used to always say I was an introvert, and he doesn't even study MBTI, he meant it from a layman's perspective.

NF is pretty clear if we rule out function theory.

And I'm J...I like for things to be a certain way, I've been that way since I was like...a toddler? I remember I used to scream and throw a fit if my own little sisters messed up my room and didn't clean it up. My penmanship has always been neat, I was always a very good student (except for about two years when I slacked off in high school), even my Internet posts have more structure than many ENFPs I've observed. I used to be so anal about my Live Journal posts that I would re-read them several times before I posted them, though I've grown out of that since I went to college. I think it's more obvious in person, people can see it in my body language, which is why I got called ENFJ, INFJ or ISFJ in person by people from this site when they met me.

Knowing about function theory makes everything confusing and contrived. I'm not so sure I trust it anymore, though at one point I was quite fluent in it. Maybe I don't "use a lot of Te" or "have an obvious ISTJ shadow"...maybe I'm just an NFJ.

 

[ReflecTcelfeR]

I think test questions should be more scenario based. Its easy to think you are more one way or another in theory but does it reflect what you *actually* tend to do?

That's essentially what I meant. Real world problem solving. I'm surprised no one has really thought of that, or it isn't very publicized if it has been. I think it'd be a strong boost for Cognitive Theory.

 

[Eric B]

It probably depends on the test and concepts. I remember seeing the instructions to administering the MBTI, you are supposed to let them read the different descriptions and then choose the best sounding type, in addition to the questionnaire results.
I found that knowing more about the concepts made it easier to decipher the best type. (I had fallen into the whole Ti vs Fi NTP/NFP confusion, as many of the simplistic descriptions of functions made them ambiguous).

The APS, on the other hand, says that the testee should know as little about the theory as possible. It is much more sensitive to possible bias (especially since it is aiming to measure inborn temperament, while the FIRO it is based on disclaims inborn traits), and even the questions are arranged in a specific way to address that.

I only put up the whole breakdown of it (link in bottom, and with a caution to prospective testees at the beginning) and direct people to the online profiles, figuring they won't pay to take the official test, so it won't hurt them to know about it (though a couple here did eventually take it).

 

[Random Ness]

Definitely. That's why I never take those tests anymore. I just read and compare descriptions.

 

[The Outsider]

Not if you are honest with yourself.

 

[swift sylvan]

The first time I ever took the test in high school I scored ESFx(P), although I wasn't able to see how close I was to the other three. I guess to be fair I should also point out that as far as who I am now I was not developed as an indivdual having suffered from depression for years up until a feww months before I took the test.

Now I consider myself an INXX(J) after having learned about all the types, of course I used to believe that J and P were a matter of being organized/disorganized, as I learned more about type my type slowly went in this fashion: ESFP -> ENFP -> INFP ->INFJ

I could be biased because I consider the INFJ the best type (someone once compared them to lonely lighthouse keepers, but for their abilities I am biased that way) or maybe as my understanding of MBTI has evolved so has my scoring.