Do personality tests work? - Merve Emre

Examine how popular personality tests, like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Enneagram, are designed and their inconsistencies.

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In 1942, a mother-daughter duo named Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers developed a questionnaire that classified people’s personalities into 16 types. Called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI, it would go on to become one of the world’s most widely-used personality tests. But do these tests actually reveal truths about personality? Merve Emre examines their design flaws.

Lesson by Merve Emre, directed by Seoro Oh.

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Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Jennifer Kurkoski, Ryan B Harvey, Abhishek Bansal, Jose Arcadio Valdes Franco, Karl Laius, JY Kang, Charles A Hershberger, Robert Seik, Heidi Stolt, Alexis Hevia, Brady Jones, Christina Salvatore, Karlee Finch, Michael Goldberg, Mario Mejia, Nicolas Silva, Kurt Almendras, Denise A Pitts, Doug Henry, Kristiyan Bonev, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Jaime Arriola, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Valeria Sloan Vasquez, Yvette Mocete, Cyrus Garay, Victoria Soler-Roig, Samuel Barbas, Brighteagle, LadyGeek, Curtis Light, Dwight Schrute, Dianne Palomar, Marin Kovachev, Ravi S. Rāmphal, Tekin Gültekin, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Aidan Forero, Sunny Patel, Lowell Fleming, Hoai Nam Tran, Stina Boberg and Kack-Kyun Kim.

[shahmarzan]

I like the end statement of how institutions should not use this as a benchmark, but a single person can use it for some self satisfaction and learn a thing or two. Benchmarking people is a tricky slope, and this Ted-Ed vid just said it aptly.

[Olive-eycc]

The only personality tests I take are the buzzfeed quizzes to find out what dessert I am

[Portrial]

The reason why personality tests are unreliable, it because because of confirmation bias, self-serving bias, and overall subjectivity of the questiona that makes even the most honest person answer somewhat incorrectly to what they really are.

[chloeanne]

This is possibly the most visually appealing video I’ve ever seen

[notneean]

I’ve done a bunch of personality test (out of boredom) and while some parts I do think describe me pretty fairly, I’ve learned not to take them to seriously and try not to fit in with the mold of what I was given. That’s just my experience with these test.

[Serendipity-nhuk]

All of Ted-ed’s videos are *chef’s kiss* but this one? It’s on a whole other level. The animation is just OOF

[MANGLORIOUS]

Pls use this art style more often. It’s really aesthetically pleasing. Unless it’s hard to animate like this, then I won’t ask for more.

[MrEel-dckh]

Ok, this is one of the best animations from TED-Ed I've seen so far. Please, hire this animator again!

[TallSilhouette]

This is definitely one of the best animated videos they've ever put out.

[LukeVilent]

Before covid started, I've scored ENTP. I went to work every day, I socialized gladly with my colleagues, and this was reflected in my answers which I was trying to give to the very best of my knowledge and situation. After covid, I switched to home office, and suddenly I am an INFP. I didn't change, I just stopped commuting two hours a day.

[jesseberg]

I found Myer's Brigs useful for self reflection.
That doesn't mean it represents any kind of grand universal truth.

[peggyesterhuizen]

Test: most people answer based on " that's what I should answer."

[pzkqtvm]

The sounds used in this video is so extraordinary

[nikitamoskvin]

The mind is too complex to categorise with language, especially with only 4 traits (MBTI). So the test is good for some and horribly inconsistent for others. For me the test was exceptionally helpful by explaining why I have what I perceive to be bad habits. For one of my friends it always changed as he balanced right in between of several traits.

Our mind is too complex to analyse without faults. The test should not be taken as a "set in stone" description of your personality, only as a guide to some prominent features. If you want more accurate analysis use several tests and combine the results to increase the amount of variables tested.

[peko]

Thanks to Personality Tests like the MBTI I learned more about myself and some things about me made more sense, because I was always wondering why I felt different from others at school and work. But it's surely impossible to categorize every single person because personalities are too complex.

[ZOCCOK]

Question: How do personality tests work?
Answer: *They don't*

[BriefNerdOriginal]

In an interview for a big company, a HR person told me that my personality test was troubling for them, as I (it) was too equilibrated, hence they couldn't easily label me... What a waste of time and money

[matthew_thefallen]

Still better and more accurate than Astrology and the Zodiac.

[CoinuMedus]

Totally agree. Personality tests may give you a rough idea about who/how you are at the time you take them, but you should never expect them to give absolute results.

[AudoricArt]

Yet again TED finds some amazing artists for their videos.
Osro, you did a stellar job. 👏