Roadgeeks and Myers-Briggs

[english si]

Oddly, INTJ is the rarest subset of people and we seem to have a lot of them here.

Arguably it fits rather well with the hobby.

Here's my breakdown - its little wonder that those with Js I struggle with more than the other clashes*
INFP
Introvert(56%)  iNtuitive(25%)  Feeling(25%)  Perceiving(78%)
You have moderate preference of Introversion over Extraversion (56%)
You have moderate preference of Intuition over Sensing (25%)
You have moderate preference of Feeling over Thinking (25%)
You have strong preference of Perceiving over Judging (78%)

*didn't help that I recently did a leadership course where the other 12 people were all Js and the guy running it had spent the last 6 years working for a strong P and got annoyed a lot (though only half the time it was due to the personality clash - the rest were really vision differences that were blamed on the clash of personalities by the J) and finally could be more public with those difficulties, so a couple of sessons descended into P-bashing. Of course, as an INFP I quietly seethed, rather than shouted out (though I did get close when correcting a "we're all Js on Myers-Briggs, right" comment to snapping and giving several reasons why Js wind me up).

[6a]

Oddly, INTJ is the rarest subset of people and we seem to have a lot of them here.

Arguably it fits rather well with the hobby.

After I saw that roughly 2% of the population is INTJ I took another online test with more detailed question/answer options and got the same result. I suppose the fact I did that in the first place fits in with the type. I do think you're correct, though, in this hobby being a magnet for that personality.


iPhone

[triplemultiplex]

Oh boy, this malarky.
Any company or organization making decisions based on the Myers-Briggs Test is wasting their time and money and probably costing themselves quality employees/members.

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4221

It is fundamentally flawed in that they attempt to divide a person into one of two categories with every question.
Never mind the that the descriptions of every single "personality type" can be ascribed to almost every single person.

It's basically astrology.

[vdeane]

You might be like me and have one letter that doesn't have a clear preference one way or another; I had to read type descriptions and find the best match.  I always assumed you were some variant of INT for various reasons;

So I took the test kj3400 linked to and it's pegging me as an INTJ. Huh.

    You have distinct preference of Introversion over Extraversion (67%)
    You have moderate preference of Intuition over Sensing (25%)
    You have strong preference of Thinking over Feeling (100%)
    You have moderate preference of Judging over Perceiving (56%)

I suppose it depends on what questions you ask. The last time I took a test like this it had me about 25% the other way on S versus N.

Based on Myers-Briggs' own descriptions, though, I have to say I definitely fit the Sensing category better than the Intuition category.

I've tested as both INTJ and INFJ in the past.  There was definitely an element of how well I knew myself at the time, but it can also be affected by mood and how one interprets the questions.  Plus some people have a weak/difficult to feel preference for one or more of the letters - my Dad is in the middle of I/E, and I'm close to the middle for both F/T and J/P (this is actually very useful at work as I can often leverage the best of both).

Oddly, INTJ is the rarest subset of people and we seem to have a lot of them here.

Most sources I read say INFJ is the rarest, though INFP was identified as such on one.

Oh boy, this malarky.
Any company or organization making decisions based on the Myers-Briggs Test is wasting their time and money and probably costing themselves quality employees/members.

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4221

It is fundamentally flawed in that they attempt to divide a person into one of two categories with every question.
Never mind the that the descriptions of every single "personality type" can be ascribed to almost every single person.

It's basically astrology.

It's not meant to be used to drive workplace decisions and should not be used as such.  That said, much of the psychology does fit (though as a young science, psychology doesn't have its fundamental paradigms pinned down yet).  The test isn't even the best way to measure it because the cognitive functions are what really matter, though the test is easiest.  I wouldn't say the type descriptions fit everyone, but they are generalized and idealized and you have to take into account the complete picture, not on a sentence-by-sentence basis (and sometimes they're misleading; INFPs, despite being perceivers, can be quite resistant to change they don't initiate, for example).

[english si]

It's not meant to be used to drive workplace decisions and should not be used as such.

They are sort of shorthand guide - a shortcut that doesn't replace getting to know how someone works, but gives you a picture and a language to discuss it. Not that they ought to encourage lazy interviewing! And at least MBTI are relatively fixed and not hugely mood-dependent, meaning that you aren't set tasks based on someone who isn't you any more unless it was ages ago (like a year) since you took the test or you are close to the line and haven't seen the breakdown.

I had a personal development project at uni based off DISC (and other measures, but they weren't really explained until February, so we basically ignored them). Took the (rather thorough) test in August and got 6 pages of data off it and a 10-minute one-on-one in September, which I was to use to create a 3 goal personal development plan in October that would last 6 months and then write it up in May. The issue was that DISC is entirely behaviour based and very fluid, even on the 'how you would like to do things' level, not just the 'how you are working' level. I took two tests in May as part of the write up, and they were not only fundamentally different to how I was in August, but two weeks apart they were different enough to mean a differing emphasis. I got a bad mark ('too negative') for being honest and stating that the project had stunted my development and increased my stress, by trying to become more who I wanted to be and how I wanted to act in August, rather than who I wanted to be a few months later and how I wanted to act. A classmate, who did this for a living, even teaching similar modules at other places, and slammed the exercise and got a high mark as he slammed it the right way.

The key issue (and main thing I learnt) is to not let it define you too much - even things like Myers-Briggs which are more foundational descriptors than DISC.

[Duke87]

Oh boy, this malarky.
Any company or organization making decisions based on the Myers-Briggs Test is wasting their time and money and probably costing themselves quality employees/members.

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4221

It is fundamentally flawed in that they attempt to divide a person into one of two categories with every question.
Never mind the that the descriptions of every single "personality type" can be ascribed to almost every single person.

It's basically astrology.

It is certainly unscientific.

But whereas what constellation is where in the sky or what planet is bright tonight obviously has no impact on human events on earth (except when people decide to base decisions on it), MBTI does at least anecdotally and clunkily describe concepts which we know to be real.

Am I defined by my MBTI type? No. No one is. But when you tell me I'm an introvert I really can't argue with that assessment since it's most certainly true. Introversion versus extroversion is an actual thing, some people are outgoing and others are not.
Sensing versus intuition is an actual thing. Some people learn best by observation and experimentation. Others are better at working theoretically with abstract concepts.
Thinking versus feeling is an actual thing. Some people are more likely to make decisions based on logic, others are more likely to make decisions based on emotion.
And perceiving versus judging is an actual thing as well. Some people like to keep their options open and tend to avoid committing to a decision if they don't have to, other people have a need to make decisions quickly.

But here is the thing: in reality everyone can exhibit either tendency of these four options depending on the situation, and can exhibit them to varying degrees. They aren't absolute dichotomies as the system makes them out to be. And even with that in mind, there are still many facets of human psychology that this system does not capture.

So yes, it is unscientific. But unlike astrology it is not completely detached from reality. It is only the testing and categorizing that are flawed, the underlying concepts are legitimate.

[vdeane]

But whereas what constellation is where in the sky or what planet is bright tonight obviously has no impact on human events on earth (except when people decide to base decisions on it), MBTI does at least anecdotally and clunkily describe concepts which we know to be real.

What planet is bright will very much have an impact on human events when the giant reflector dish the aliens constructed on Mars comes into alignment with Earth on a day where Mars is very bright, causing the unholy beam of solar fury being reflected/concentrated our way to be at its strongest, burning a hole right through the planet.

[freebrickproductions]

I don't pay much attention to what "personality type" I get from the Myers-Briggs test most of the time. I don't think my entire life and career(s) should be determined by what kind of personality I have.

[DeaconG]

Well, I took the test and I scored INTJ:

    You have slight preference of Introversion over Extraversion (22%)
    You have moderate preference of Intuition over Sensing (50%)
    You have marginal or no preference of Thinking over Feeling (1%)
    You have slight preference of Judging over Perceiving (22%)

There's another data point for ya.

EDIT: Oh dear, in the descriptions I now read this:

Because you appear to have marginal or no (1%) preference of Thinking over Feeling, characteristics of more than one personality type may apply to you:
INTJ and INFJ.

Now that I read them both...yeah, I think it works for me.

[6a]

But whereas what constellation is where in the sky or what planet is bright tonight obviously has no impact on human events on earth (except when people decide to base decisions on it), MBTI does at least anecdotally and clunkily describe concepts which we know to be real.

What planet is bright will very much have an impact on human events when the giant reflector dish the aliens constructed on Mars comes into alignment with Earth on a day where Mars is very bright, causing the unholy beam of solar fury being reflected/concentrated our way to be at its strongest, burning a hole right through the planet.

Only when Mars is in retrograde, though. You gotta watch out for the retrograde.

[cjk374]

Huh. ESTJ. Although I guess the "J" was most surprising.

"You have moderate preference of Extraversion over Introversion (44%)
You have slight preference of Sensing over Intuition (12%)
You have slight preference of Thinking over Feeling (12%)
You have moderate preference of Judging over Perceiving (44%)"

Me too.  My numbers are a bit different though:

You have moderate preference of Extraversion over Introversion (56%)
You have slight preference of Sensing over Intuition (25%)
You have slight preference of Thinking over Feeling (1%)
You have moderate preference of Judging over Perceiving (56%)

As theoretical as this test and its results are, it described how I perceive myself fairly well.  Scary.   

[Pete from Boston]

In today's Boston Globe, interesting given this recent discussion here: 

ISTJ? ENFP? Careers hinge on a dubious personality test

"All these scientific shortcomings suggest that perhaps there's no such thing as an underlying psychological type after all. Myers-Briggs starts to look, instead, like a very sophisticated horoscope, where your answers to the questions tautologically imply what type you are."

[Dr Frankenstein]

I'm INTJ, for what it's worth.