July 2004 - MBTI

Exposing Psychology, Exalting Christ

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Is the MBTI® scientific and effective?

The MBTI®*, or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®*, is a personality type classification test used by millions to help them with job placement and performance, personal relationships, self-analysis and even spirituality. The American church uses the MBTI extensively, including seminaries, churches and missionary organizations. Results of the test classify you as a combination of four traits: Extravert (E) or Introvert (I), Sensate (S) or Intuitive (N), Thinking (T) or Feeling (F), and Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).

Consulting Psychologists Press (http://www.cpp.com), owners of the rights to the test, claim that the test is "the most accurate personality type assessment" and that it helps "build understanding and transform lives." David J. Pittenger, Ph.D. in psychology and assistant professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Marietta College, challenges these claims of accuracy and effectiveness in his Fall 1993 Journal of Career Planning & Placement article "Measuring the MBTI and Coming Up Short," located here: http://www.work911.com/cgi-bin/links/jump.cgi?ID=4014. (Adobe Acrobat Reader software required.)

Here is a summary of the article's eye-opening findings:

	Several studies show that up to 50 percent of people can take the same test five weeks later and be classified as a different personality type.
	Most people score between the two extremes of each of the four personality categories, creating the possibility that the scores of an E, for example, will be very close or even overlap the scores of an I.
	The standard error of measure for each of the four types is fairly large.
	Since there are only 16 possible combinations of personality types, it is possible for people with relatively similar scores to be labeled with much different personalities.
	One study showed that 83 percent of the differences among students who took the test could not be accounted for by the MBTI.
	Numerous studies show that the proportion of MBTI types within each occupation is equivalent to that within a random sample of the population, shattering the foundational assumption that some jobs attract more of a particular MBTI personality type than other jobs.
	There is no evidence to show a positive relation between MBTI type and success within an occupation, whether it be job performance, satisfaction or longevity.

These findings are one reason the Army has rejected using the MBTI for career planning counseling.

It is clear from the above studies and general common sense that you cannot categorize every human being into 16 personality types. God made every person unique. Like snowflakes and fingerprints, no two people are alike.

The MBTI is not unlike astrology, fortune telling, and other mystical practices in that it gives people a false sense of comfort by describing general characteristics and situations that could be applied to anyone at a given time in their lives. We bet the average person has been every one of the 16 personality combinations at various times in their lives. God created people with a mind, a will, a spirit and emotions. These dynamic factors change with the situation, and it is ludicrous to think that a man-made psychological test like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator can classify and label us as if we were robots just off an assembly line.

It is clear from the above data that the MBTI is not effective for career planning. But is it helpful for the Christian to better understand self, relationships, and spirituality? We will examine this question in next month's Psychology Debunked newsletter.

* The Myers-Briggs Type lndicator and MBTI are registered trademarks of Consulting Psychologists Press.

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Last updated: 11/25/2007

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