Why the 16Personalities.com MBTI Test is Inconsistent (And how to take it better!)

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[OrderRealm]

I think a major issue is many people are not honest about themselves. They will answer what they want to be true, rather than what is.

[sirbradfordofhousejones]

I love this breakdown- very satisfying to see the rationale outside of just “16p bad.”

[imhereasalways]

I've also noticed if someone presents a vague and general description of functions and doesn't give proper examples or doesn't go into details, different people can perceive it differently and despite having different personalities all get the same result.
Your works are great but some people don't say what they exactly mean by saying XYZ and that causes misinterpretation and confusion.

[treetoon_]

Retook the test just to try binary answers, worked great; it clearly listed me as INTP. Previous tests would sometimes land me on INFP which isn't right at all, I'm just a very emotional INTP. This time the Thinking trait landed on 69%, previously it had landed on 51% so you can sort of see why it was a problem.

[XavierGuillaume]

I really like this discussion. You are correct. There are some days I am more extraverted and other days I am more introverted. My personality is not static. It is very dynamic. It depends on my mood, how secure I feel with myself, what I am going through, etc.

[sirbradfordofhousejones]

It’s funny, Chris. The longer I’ve been studying typology, the more I’m moving away from the cognitive functions as the end-all be-all of typology. Letter dichotomies are also incredibly useful and do not contradict the functions with a correct usage of the letters.

[antjuanfinch]

Love the more science focused video of late. Much needed stuff

[wellingtonmauriciosx]

This is actually pretty obvious, I have always done this, answering on extremes you're gonna easily find your true type. Great video Chris!

[eaxEA]

I believe the problems with the test are the following:
- answers are not binary true/false, leaving room for interpretation in the answers
- the roles of the tester and the tested are merged instead of being separated; most of the time, people will have a different internal view of who they are in comparison with their external perception; consistent and sound results often come from expertise; not everyone is introspective, honest or willing to dissect who they are when choosing what traits apply to them
- it's ultimately a flaw that we test extroversion and introversion as opposing traits rather than keeping their tests results separated; this also applies to intuition/sensing, and so on...
- the typologies we have in the present test out "umbrella" terms rather than "atomic" attributes a person may have, by using atomic I mean an attribute that cannot be divided in multiple attributes and does not define multiple ways of being; for example, saying that someone is creative ranges from being artistically inclined to being imaginative in coming with innovative solutions; one attribute means very little on its own in a person, it's like a broken piece from a mirror, and with each addition of another piece of that mirror, the reflection changes
- I've never seen if one question computes only the presence of one trait or if it computes the presence of multiple traits; also, how is the weight of an answer calculated and if the weights differ, how can you possibly objectively assign those values?
- a good questionnaire would put up the same question multiple times in different intervals to see if the answers change, and if so to remove it from the results, less ambiguity the better. It would also signal that there still is a lot of room for interpretation in that part of the questionnaire

[DJP]

I've taken like 11 different tests and 8 of them I got INTJ. I guess it's safe to say I'm an INTJ? I did this 16P test before and got INTJ, and did it again just now in the way you recommended and still got INTJ.

[d-bosssavagestak]

Good thing me do it perfect middle is either way as well with all conjoined information thats middle point so you dont have to change pattern of your own thoughts thinking backwards middle point is today maybe tomorrow maybe now the level of smouts of course will vary deoending on habits how frequent somethings needed to say sometimes to as well how much of

[rubberman]

I took the Myerbriggs test years ago my results were intj and it seemed to resonate with me back then. However i didn’t pay too much attention to it shortly after. Then recently I found out about 16personalty and took a couple tests because I thought about the Myerbriggs test ages ago and became really doubtful that I was an INTJ. My results on 16personality ranged from INTP, INFJ, and INTJ. Took the test after listening to this video and it’s good to know that results were INTJ. Little less doubtful now lol

[mirinae_]

This is exactly why it’s hard to get people interested in personality types. They do the test one day and get one result but then later they get another one and think the test isn’t working at all. Awesome video Chris! Next time I can just show this to people when I want to explain where the problem is, it’s always more convincing when there’s numbers involved. 😉 -Henriikka

[IYasmineI]

Excellent video. Thank you so much for your insights!

[Elodie_N_INTJ_Analyzes]

I had already tried, to test the test recently XD. To see if the results change. I still get the same type.
Select only the external answers is still better, and I still get the 2 middle functions balanced.
It's fun and satisfying to do the test many times and see 100% Introvert or 100% judging (on the French version)
Funny too to question the question and wonder what letter is related to the question.

Between English and French version, there is no translation, the questions are totally differents.

Test in French _ only middle answers : ISFP-T : 49% / 51% everywhere, except N 45% / S 55%
Test in English _ only middle answers : ISTP-T : 47 E / 53 I _ 42 N / 58 S _ 53 T / 47 F _ 49 J / 51 P _ 49 A / 51 T

[BlackSailPass_GuitarCovers]

@AsuraPsych
What would happen if you assumed Big 5 and MBTI categories could be mapped to each other* and applied a dichotomous MBTI category to your Big 5 results (I'm aware they aren't exact matches)? Would most people's MBTI type remain consistent?

*
Extraversion = *E/I*
Openness = *N/S*
Agreeableness = *F/T*
Conscientiousness = *J/P*
Neuroticism = *N/A* (or Assertive/Turbulent)

[shaneaverystarr]

Interesting and insightful video. Thank you!

[ewak.]

Used this method and still got INTP, I highly doubt I am one...
Tho looking at the percentages I got 49% of judging while all of the other dichotomies were pretty solidly set in one direction or the other. I was considering INTJ and now I wonder if my ADHD is skewing the results on the J/P axis dichotomy wise

[SaraHovera]

I arrived at the exact same conclusion after I’ve done so many (inconsistent) online tests🤣

[sirbradfordofhousejones]

And if you have this extreme variance, you can’t have terrible questions like “you enjoy going to art museums.” The questions need to be REALLY on point. Not sure if that question is still there, mind you.