Church of MBTI

[entropie]

So what do you think ? Isnt it getting too far ?

Especially the posts by F types I read are pretty hard to swallow. Things like: "Dont worry I am just that way because I am NP".

Do you think, it makes for a healthy society, if everybody, who has got questions,justifies his actions through a concept, they havent really intrapersonalized themselves, but borrowed from another persons mind ?

 

[Giggly]

yes it's definitely gone too far but there is too much joy people get from it so it's unlikely to stop.

 

[nozflubber]

We all borrow from each other's minds, that's not the problem. The problem is people try to explain EVERY LAST THING about themselves using only type theory. Your gender, culture, age, socioeconomic status are all stronger influences on your thoughts and behaviors, but type theory is so engaging that people will reach for it first and lastly when understanding themselves.

However, to answer your question, I don't think an MBTI "church" would be so far-fetched. There's so much unscientific literature out there about it that you might akin it to scientology.

 

[ragashree]

So what do you think ? Isnt it getting too far ?

Especially the posts by F types I read are pretty hard to swallow. Things like: "Dont worry I am just that way because I am NP".

Do you think, it makes for a healthy society, if everybody, who has got questions,justifies his actions through a concept, they havent really intrapersonalized themselves, but borrowed from another persons mind ?

Indeed, but I hardly think F types have a monopoly on the misuse of too little type knowledge on this forum. Equally silly and immature, for example, is the common tendency of T types to dismiss something said by an F-type as being irrational, unimportant, etc because it is said by an F-type, who they are assuming to be wishy-washy and irrational sue to their personal prejudice, not because they have actually analysed what they said in depth. The most productive use I can see for knowledge of type is to enhance one's understanding of self and others, leading to greater personal security, better relationships, and more interpersonal effectiveness. If, however, people choose to use what knowledge they have of type to fuel the fires of their psychological defenses, they have only themselves to blame if the above-mentioned three circumstances do not improve for them. It is also a way of using MBTI type, just not a very sensible one unless your philosophy of life is Nihilism.

 

[6sticks]

Do not question the words of Jung the Judicious, who guides us through his infallible theories, and is one and yet three with Briggs the Mother and Myers the Daughter. For ye, as the N doth question so shall the S follow with great eagerness, and F shall clasp hands with T and with everlasting joy the populace shall cry out in praise of the Indicator of Type. So it is written.

 

[Jack Flak]

It goes too far when individuals go too far. Which they can't help doing, because people are ridiculous and stupid.

 

[entropie]

Thx, I am glad I am not alone with my opinion.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

We all borrow from each other's minds, that's not the problem. The problem is people try to explain EVERY LAST THING about themselves using only type theory. Your gender, culture, age, socioeconomic status are all stronger influences on your thoughts and behaviors, but type theory is so engaging that people will reach for it first and lastly when understanding themselves.

I agree with this, but would go a step further to say that the mistake people make is thinking it explains anything. MBTI is just a classification system; it doesn't explain why you do the things you do. People think "oh, I'm an I therefore I do x, y, and z." It's just the opposite, that you do x, y, and z, so we give you a label called I. People forget that it's a label and think it's something with potential energy, able to put things into motion. People use that concept as a springboard to justify their dysfunctional behavior, such as "I can be a rude jackass in a debate because I'm an INTP." They end up getting "stuck" in their type and forget that there's progress to be made.

 

[entropie]

never could it put better

 

[Not_Me]

People use that concept as a springboard to justify their dysfunctional behavior, such as "I can be a rude jackass in a debate because I'm an INTP." They end up getting "stuck" in their type and forget that there's progress to be made.

Undoubtedly some people do this. But others use it as a guideline for self improvement and the understanding of others. MBTI is harmful nor beneficial. It depends on what one does with the information.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

Undoubtedly some people do this. But others use it as a guideline for self improvement and the understanding of others. MBTI is harmful nor beneficial. It depends on what one does with the information.

Yep.

 

[entropie]

Undoubtedly some people do this. But others use it as a guideline for self improvement and the understanding of others. MBTI is harmful nor beneficial. It depends on what one does with the information.

ouh really ? did you actually read the thread ? Or was the answer more out of the belly ?

 

[raz]

I've used the whole, "You made that decision because you're an F" against people, or "I can't stand you because you're an extravert," but a lot of it I just take in stride. I have been reading a lot about MBTI, but I know that it is only the tip of the iceberg. It's helped with understanding myself and others. At times, I do think of it as a cult, and I get uneasy about learning more about it. The only thing that really keeps me into it is knowing it is actually theoretical psychology.

I'm not sure if I know enough about it to make this statement, but from what I've learned, the biggest benefit came from learning the difference between extraversion/introversion and the cognitive processes. Using those, I was able to actually make sense of other people's behavior. All my life, I've done things I just deemed as "weird" but were natural for me. I couldn't explain it. It helps a great amount just to have this theory that might explain why someone has been acting more 'introverted" their entire life or they're not quite as creative as some of their peers.

I haven't learned much about psychology, aside from the bits and pieces I've taken from what I have read about MBTI. It's actually because of the MBTI, that I chose to take my intro to psychology course in college this Spring, instead of a later date. I want to see what it's like. I'm well aware that there is much more out there to explain human behavior than the MBTI. I'm actually a little intimidated by taking such a class after focusing so much on the MBTI. I'm afraid of becoming too biased toward one theory.

I've had enough experiences the last month to prove to me that not all people of one type are the same. However, I've learned through the preferences, temperaments, and cognitive processes, that people are likely to have similar motivations, but it will manifest in the practical world in different ways. That's where it starts getting shady and unreliable.

One thing I've noticed about this forum is that the majority of discussions are among people that don't have much experience or knowledge on the topic, so you're likely trying to find an answer within a group of people with limited knowledge that you could just go find in a book. I guess I started looking at it from the point of view of, "if everyone actually knew the MBTI pretty damn well, what would we be talking about here?" The only thing is hearing about how you've used it to help you in your life, which you do hear about from time to time.

One person in the INTJ forum described the MBTI as being half "furor effect" and half "confirmation bias." So, basically the whole thing is just too general to not be false, and you're going to overlook the signs in someone's behavior that point away from their "type." I agree with that, to an extent. Like I said earlier, a lot of what you get from the MBTI is from acknowledgement of the preferences, temperaments and cognitive processes. I mean, sure, there are other things like the Enneagram or Socionics. Who's to say other people aren't taking those things too seriously?

You can't just box people into a type and say, "you're only supposed to act like this description of you in a book." That's not realistic. However, the underlying motivations are always worth looking at. But, really, what's the difference in this and just....getting to know the person? Is it just more for acceptance? If you can label what they're doing, you can accept them more easily? I'll admit, that's happened to me.

When you say, though, that people are taking it too far, are you referring to this forum only, or anything else? What about all of the other type forums? Have you been to intjforum.com? That place is much worse than this, although I really enjoy reading it.

I think the thing is, though, that this forum is just 90% random chatting and 10% actual MBTI theoretical talk. I will just say, though, that I make a lot of the comments regarding justifications based on type in lighthearted fun. I mean, if I can disregard someone's personality as them just being victims of their own desires, I'm one step closer to my empire!

I could be going way off-topic.

 

[entropie]

I am gonna read that tomorrow because at the moment I am so drunk I hardly hit the keys

 

[entropie]

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9G1bodzjbs"]It's in vain[/YOUTUBE]

 

[GZA]

At this point, I don't even really think it's that valid in any way... even in it's "understanding yourself and others", it's fairly dubious at the end of the day. If you really want to understand people you can just listen to them and think about what their motives and goals and everything seem to be. When you do this after studying MBTI, you listen to their goals and motives and worldview and say they are XXXX, but if you leave it at simply listening to someone and understanding them without the XXXX, you get just as much out of it without assuming a bunch of stuff about them based on what you think their "type" is.

Maybe that applies to all psychology; at what point you you cross from wanting to understand people to dehumanizing them and yourself?

 

[Orangey]

Ah, the perennial "MBTI is a cult/religion/church/dogma" topic. I honestly don't see what the big deal is here. Most people on this site are not fanatical about MBTI (in fact, many would probably admit to being mostly ignorant about it anyway). And those same people who use their type to justify unhealthy behavior would have found some other excuse had they never even heard of type.

 

[Travo7]

Yes, it can create more problems depending on how you use it. But at the same time, I think there is some value in it, at least for reflection.

Take thinking and feeling for example. I think its pretty cool to think people are learning that men can have a preference for feeling, contrary to the fact that if not for mbti those same people would still regard women as the "feeling" type, and think of "feeling" males as weak.

I think it would do alot of people good to consider this, not that mbti is the only way to get to this kind of thinking or anything. But yes, I think it can promote a positive learning experience for people.

 

[01011010]

And those same people who use their type to justify unhealthy behavior would have found some other excuse had they never even heard of type.

Most likely, true.

 

[ThatGirl]

Like anything else mbti provides information in theory to define patterns and preferences. How you interperate this information is subject to your life experiences and how you view the world in general. Any information, even hypothetical is useful. I'm not sure that most people who are drawn to the mbti would consider it an unquestionable truth. As far as making excuses for behavior, I would say that you are more likely to excuse behaviors that aren't really a big deal if you understand them better. Most behavior makes sense in some aspect. Understanding that aspect will inevitably give leway if not taken in social context as pertaining to norms. I don't think anyone would excuse a serial killer based on their four letter acronym.