According to the MBTI personality system, people fall into 16 types of personality. I mentioned in the other thread that I am INTJ.

I am not much educated about the MBTI system, but have learned a few things here and there , and can say it is very helpful in dealing with people. This is especially important in times of stress. You get to know which person is going to behave in this way or that way.

Off course, our emotions, ideas, and behavior are not engraved in stone. We do change over the years, but this system gives you the overall idea. For example, I discovered a young cousin to be INTJ like me. I remembered how I was 40 years ago, and I expected his marriage to have some serious problems, and indeed he didn't get along with his outgoing wife, the marriage ended. Same guy , I would trust to tell him about all my preps without fear of him ridiculing me or telling anyone.

For those who do not know , INTJ means :

(I) = Introvert
.... other type is (E)xtrovert

(N) = Intuitive
.... other type is (S)ensor

(T) = Thinker
.... other type is (F)eeler

(J) = Judging
.... other type is (P)erceiving

For example, a (T)hinker uses logic to decide about a problem, while a (F)eeler person uses feelings to make a decision

People fall in 16 types according to the mix of those 4 elements
For example

ENFP
ISFJ
ENTJ

And any other combination, up to 16 types. Each one has distinct combination of traits to make a whole personality


What are your thoughts ???

Some people have used this system to predict which job is best for you and how your relation will be with the other type for example. I see them very useful although some people see them as some sort of astrology . LOL. I don't see it that way. Our personalities are analyzed on the basis of what we really do and how we do things in real life, not based on the date of birth or the zodiac, for example.

When you dig into the system it was never based on much solid science. It's interesting and I've taken the tests before but I don't put a lot of stock in it.

I have an MS in psychology, and I do much interviewing and assessing people for jobs. The Myers-Briggs is useful. It describes more your ways of interacting with the world around you, how you perceive. It is not the only personality "theory". I find that using both the 5 factor model and the Myers-Briggs gives a more complete understanding of a person and how they are likely to interact with other people and fit in to a particular position.

Can you please tell us a bit about the 5 factor model ??
In layman's language please
Thanx

A psychology major? I imagine I'm an interesting case for you to study.

Jeanette Isabelle

This is within the scope of my profession (Forensic Psychology) andI know of no one in my world (perhaps narrow) who would use the Myers-Briggs... even though it is one of the most used instruments out there (not by psychologists as much as by human resources type folks), the psychometrics and the "ecological significance" (that is... does what it says it measures correlate to real life/ecological data) are too challenged in state-of-the-art research for people like me to use it in "high stakes" situations. No personality inventory is reliable enough to sort people into 16 type categories, which is why people can get different type profiles when they take the inventory on multiple occasions. So it does not make much sense to classify people with four-letter codes. I agree with Montanero that personality trait/factor theory is more accepted nowadays. This looks at (typically) 5 or 7 "dimensions" and where a person falls on the scale in each dimension. We don't label a person with a "type" any more.

It is all in how you use it. It is an aid, not a be-all, end-all indicator. People have tendencies, and personality is not set in concrete. We change over time and with experiences. What the Myers-Briggs helps with is indicating how people will interact with each other and how they will perceive situations. Humans are by nature complex. There is nothing out there that will tell you without doubt what a person is really like or how they will act. What these assessments give you are tendencies and proclivities. This is why there are many different questionnaires for personality assessment, some more in depth and some way too shallow. Most people are familiar with a very short and superficial Myers-Briggs questionnaire, which is less than optimal. A more in depth questionnaire along with observation in real life situations can be very informative in understanding how a person is likely to work with others and deal with situations. It shows tendency and likelihood, not a hard prediction. I dislike questionnaires in general because people who know they are being assessed will change their answers every time they take it and try to second guess every question. They are problematic.

The 5 factor model is:

Openness-to new experiences

Conscientiousness-attention to detail and consistency

Extraversion-a scale between introversion and extraversion

Agreeableness-how easy they are to get along with

Neuroticism-tendency toward negative views and emotions

There is overlap between the models, and these are not the only 2 theories out there. They do have explanatory power in assessing people and their behaviors, but as I said, personality is not set in concrete. You grow and learn over a lifetime, recent experience can have a huge impact on a test result. It is more accurate to observe a person in real life over an extended period, but if they know you are assessing them, they do change their behavior. In both models, each factor is a scale. They do not show an either/or category. You need to understand where on that scale they fall.

Any assessment of people is problematic and will not give precise measures. People are complex, and are made up of their biology, their experiences, social environment, current situation, beliefs, and many other factors. If you are completely honest with yourself, you can assess yourself. This will help greatly in understanding personality in other people.

Jeanette!

Believe me Jeanette, we all have our "interesting" parts of our psychology. Our MS Psychology friend here can become a PhD using us as study subjects. LOL. I think I have mentioned in another thread that, a few years ago, I was so much disappointed in humanity that I had the EDC bag as my best friend !!! LOL. Just one example.

Thanks Montanero
And thanks Naro for enriching the discussion.

I do believe the MBTI type changes a bit with age
I am now softer and warmer than I was in my younger years
A little bit like INFJ, but still predominantly INTJ, a wiser INTJ, I would say.

Reference to the 5 factor putting people in scales, some MBTI tests I have taken a few years back do in fact give you results like : 50% INTJ, 30% INFJ, 20% ISTJ. And I think it is a good way to describe a person more accurately.

Question to the psychological experts

Why is the MBTI so well known while the Big 5 Trait (or 5 factor model) is less mentioned around ?? Is it that MBTI is popular among the general public and the 5FM is more popular among professionals ???

You may have mentioned that a few years ago. If you did, I'm sorry for forgetting.

I do know you brought it up earlier this month in the "Castaway" thread.

Edit: I found it. It is at least one of the posts in which you mention this.

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=256507#Post256507

Jeanette Isabelle

Chisel, that's sort of my take on this. The MBTI seems more in use in human resources and organizational situations. The evidence-based standard for psychometric instruments is more relaxed in those usages. In the Clinical and the Forensic arenas the empirical soundness of the instrument is more often challenged, so different instruments tend to be more accepted.

A major issue here, really (IMHO) is that our views about personality are constantly in flux. My perception is that there was a "medicalization" movement some years ago which popularized the concept of personality "disorders" and re-vitalized the notion of personality "types". With the last edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic manual the committee which was moving away from "disorders" and "types" ran into a political wall and was sidelined in favor of the "medical model" retaining the idea of "disorders" and "types." This wasn't science. It was ....something else.

Currently there is a very strong movement (which I believe will be codified in the next diagnostic manual) to the notion of "facets" or "traits"...newly named "dimensions." The Big 5, the NEO 5, and the PSY 5 all look at personality (even pathology) as a conglomeration of sliders along each of those scales.

Finally...(whew)... I have to defend my opinions and evaluations in highly contentious arenas (legal, Threat Assessment, etc.) and I never talk about personality types or personality disorders. Only varying degrees of the menu (of 5) of factors/traits.

Thanks NAro

Looks like my needs for analyzing people are much less critical than yours. Mostly I need to know people's personality in general in order to figure out how to best deal with them. Case in point, the narcissist personality. Although outside our discussion in this thread, and not part of the MBTI system, but learning about narcissism has greatly helped me sort things out and deal with things in much more relaxed manner. Very briefly, I was dealing with a covert narcissist and it made my thinking very blurred and blood pressure go through the roof. Now, it's behind me.

I would appreciate any further input about MBTI, and the Big 5 and where to use them best for an average guy.

Many thanks