It’s time to talk about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator system, or MBTi for short. MBTi categorizes people into sixteen different personality types based upon the ordering of their top four cognitive functions. There are eight total cognitive functions: introverted/extraverted Thinking, Feeling, Sensing, and Intuition.
So, sixteen different personality types, and based off your personality type, it implies certain things about who you are compatible with or what you should do for a living. The compatibility part is important for a lot of girls, which is why it gets lumped in with astrological signs and enneagram and all sorts of other personality tests (Which Hogwarts House are you?) that you can find on Facebook. If you wanted to criticize MBTi, this is the easiest way to do it — claim that it’s one of those dumb online personality tests that isn’t scientifically-backed or objective in any way, and therefore has no practical use outside of novelty or entertainment.
What are people trying to get from personality tests? Insight into themselves, probably, the same sort of stuff that you would go to a psychic or card reader for. MBTi easily serves as a psychological defense mechanism for people who are looking for one. The issue is that it’s a tool that can be used or abused, but the main point I want to make is that this particular tool is useful with the right motivations.
A personality typing system is useful if it improves your diagnostic and prognostic accuracy. In other words, you should be less confused by what people’s past behavior (diagnostic) after learning the system than you were before AND make more accurate predictions (prognostic) about how people will act, given the circumstances that they find themselves in.
That’s great, but not enough. A good personality typing system also needs to provide a prescriptive framework that, given a diagnosis, prescribes a course of action that ultimately helps solve the issue in question.
There are many MBTi gurus out there who have reframed their entire understanding of people around the Myers-Briggs framework and claim that Myers-Briggs is the “truth”. I’m not saying here that MBTi is the ultimate guide to understanding human nature, all I’m saying is that it works better than trying to figure it all out yourself. It’s one tool in the toolbox that you can use, but not the only tool in the toolbox, of course.
The Objective Personality System is an attempt at making the typing process objective. Objective in the personality typing context means that the typing process should yield the same results no matter who is doing the typing, so long as they follow the same typing process. If you’re curious, you can read about the system here: https://www.objectivepersonality.com/
The Objective Personality System builds on the original Myers-Briggs system to identify an additional 32 subtypes for each of the original 16 MBTi types, for a total of 512 total personality types. The extra 32 subtypes come from the Masculine/Feminine function modalities, Jumper types, and Animal stack, which provide more granularity to the original MBTi type system. This is useful not only in improving diagnostic and prognostic accuracy, but also in providing more tailored prescriptions for one’s personality type. The only way to provide 32x statistically significant more types is to collect 32x more data than is needed to prove the significance of the original 16 types. Dave and Shan, the two behind the Objective Personality System, have collected quite a bit of data on people that they’ve typed and are confident enough to assert the presence of 512 distinct personality types.
I’ve spend quite a bit of time reading and watching videos on MBTi and the Objective Personality System. I’ve tapered off a while ago and don’t plan on ever investing that much time in the system again because I feel like I’ve learned the most important parts.
- The increased diagnostic accuracy from the MBTi/OPS frameworks has helped me be more accepting of myself and others. I don’t get nearly as frustrated with myself or other people as I did before because most of the time, what they are doing lines up with their particular type. (This only works for people that you’ve typed accurately.)
- The increased prognostic accuracy has helped me allocate my time and resources more effectively. Instead of wasting my time on things that go against my type or other people’s type, I look for solutions that will work for both my type and the other person’s type. Again, this only works when you’ve typed yourself and the other person accurately.
- The Tertiary Loop: This is a pattern that manifests in all types where the first and third cognitive function become the main driving functions. The first and third functions have the same orientation (i.e. either both introverted or both extraverted), which leads to problems where the person withdraws (excessive introversion) or loses their grounding (excessive extraversion). The tertiary loop usually occurs during adolescence / early 20’s and happens to be the cause of many problems people experience in this time. To break out of the loop, one needs to dedicate more time and energy into using their auxiliary function (or second function).
- Inferior Grip State: This pattern of behavior can also occur in all types. This happens when you neglect the needs of your inferior (fourth) function for an extended period of time and self-correction occurs, which usually results in highly uncharacteristic behavior that is unpleasant for the person experiencing the grip state. OPS describes this state as a “tidal wave”. In order to prevent grip states, you must consistently attend to the needs of inferior function. The inferior function does not require as much attention as the other three functions in the stack, nor can it tolerate as much attention, so attending to the needs may only involve doing something for five to ten minutes every day.
If you do want to learn more about MBTi or the Objective Personality System, check out the following:
- Objective Personality YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/DaveSuperPowers
- Objective Personality System website: https://www.objectivepersonality.com/
- MBTi Notes: https://mbti-notes.tumblr.com/
