Editor's Note: MBTI is nothing new. Once it was a personality test favored by the top 500 companies in the United States and even the military, in the glory days, most Americans had to pass this hurdle before looking for a job. Fast forward to 2022, with the fluctuations of the Internet, MBTI is dominating the social discourse of young people with a new look. Let's take a look at the author!
Here, we present the face, stories and attitudes of today's young people.
The MBTI is on fire again.
Maybe you've done this test long ago, flaunting that you and Gu Ailing are both INTJs; maybe you can't read these 4 letters and are dizzy by 16 personality types; maybe you don't care at all, how different can this thing be from the constellation?
Whether it's opening Tinder's self-introduction late at night or a short video peddling personality test questionnaire, MBTI is a hot new topic and new business.
But it's also gradually becoming more flavorful.
First, young people who play with letters
For those who are keen on metaphysical fortune telling, MBTI is an old friend, and it was on fire ten years ago.
Constellation astrological disk, birthday eight characters, purple micro bucket number, tarot divination - traditional numerology tools have been tired of young people playing, the emergence of MBTI, just like the old lover replaced with a new vest, the combination of 4 letters, so that it appears more theoretical than the constellation, more academic support than tarot cards.
The MBTI test was mainly assigned to four control groups:
Extroversion: It tends to promote the flow of spiritual energy from the communication with external things.
Introversion: It will favor the flow of spiritual energy from the process of self-reflection and introspection.
Sensing: Focusing on current things, habitually using the five senses to feel the world first.
Intuition: Focusing on the future, focusing on possibilities and hunches, understanding the world from the subconscious mind and the connections between things.
Thinking: More emphasis on the logic of things than human feelings, spontaneous criticism.
Feeling: More attention is paid to people's feelings than the logic of things, and spontaneous appreciation.
Judging: A tendency to see the world in a structured way, an orderly and organized life, and a penchant for settling everything.
Perceiving: A tendency to perceive the world in an unstructured way, always open to choice, naturally occurring and resilient living.
Choose the first letters of various types to form the name of the test result, such as "INTJ" is an "introverted- intuitive- thinking-judgment" personality.
After doing the test, it is only the first step into the door of MBTI.
Swipe down, and you'll find that the bottom of the MBTI test will intimately provide the corresponding celebrities of each personality.
If you're an INTJ, you and Musk are in the same category.
If you're an ENFJ, you're in the same category as Obama.
If you're an INTP, congratulations, you're in the same category as Einstein and Newton.
I have to admit that it is easy for the tester to have such a psychological hint: Is it possible to be a genius scientist in my potential?
Of course, Newton and Einstein could not have done this MBTI test. All celebrity cases are just convenient for you to sit in and find a pleasant sense of identification.
Image source: personality database
If you want to truly enter the discourse circle of MBTI, you also need to make up for the type 16 personality characteristics.
MBTI followers evolved into folk wild psychologists, wandering around in Zhihu posts and Douban groups, eagerly analyzing their personality traits.
According to the popular saying on the Internet, the best identification is between I (introverted type) and E person (extraverted type):
I people can only force a smile on social occasions, and when the party is over and sits in a taxi, they will unload their burden and breathe a sigh of relief: with this kung fu, it is better to chase the drama at home.
E people can't accept being alone for a minute and a second, they are eager to stick to their friends every moment, the typical people come crazy, and the loudest voice in social situations is the energetic E people.
J people (planned type) and P people (outlook type) are also well categorized:
J man has a strict time planning schedule, tidys up the room in an orderly manner, and always clicks out all the new message prompts of the software.
P people are noticeably more laid-back, taking one step at a time, always late for appointments, and always putting off work until ddl is done.
The extranet even provides a simple questionnaire, which goes around, but these four questions:
- Were you popular when you were in school?
- Do you exercise?
- Are you good at math?
- Is your room tidy?
Once you've mastered every stereotype of the Type 16 personality, you can join the memes for self-deprecating revelry, and a big renaissance begins.
In the Weibo @MBTImemes and Reddit's content about MBTI, various personalities are gathered to complain and submit.
Enfp people, for example, are keen to show off that they are the "cute puppies" of all personalities, trying to make friends with all carbon-based creatures:
Image source: Douyin
When ENFP tries to express its love to the world, it will never hide a single bit:
ENFP may also be the noisiest and most vocal person in the world:
Image source: Douyin
The debater ENTP is the person who loves to quarrel and debate the most in the world.
When you immediately agree with him: a punch in the cotton will drive them crazy.
In contrast to Type E people, type I people's suffering is similar to the confession of a social terrorist.
When the social terror INTJ had to go out:
When ISFPs realized that they were the most ordinary personalities in the world:
When ENTJ (Overlord CEO Personality) and INFP (Lazy Waste Personality) chat:
When the intJ, who is not good at expression, watches E-people friends play together:
When the social fear intJ does not dare to make voice calls:
Analyzing real-life people is no longer enough, and MBTI's methodology can be applied to virtual characters and paper people.
As a result, this set of psychological tools has become a part of the entertainment industry.
Harry Potter is an adventurous ISFP, Hermione is the radical manager ESTJ, Ron is the typical entertaining personality ESFP, and Luna is a somewhat neurotic INFP.
Image source: personality database
Superheroes in Marvel can also apply the MBTI Dafa.
Iron Man is an extroverted entrepreneurial personality ESTP, Spider-Man is the cute puppy ENFP, and Doctor Strange is naturally an INTJ with a high IQ.
Image source: personality database
Zhen Huan is a thoughtful INFJ, Shen Meizhuang is a leadership ENFJ, and An Lingrong is a sensitive and delicate ISFJ.
Source: Test field @intp Station B
THE MBTI has come back to life in the Internet age, and its greatest glory is attributed to social media.
From the perspective of communication science, it is difficult for ordinary people to refuse to join this wave of entertainment that "self-positioning & defining others".
If a meme can summarize the characteristics of our most self-deprecating or boastful in social, workplace, and relationships, I believe most people can't help but smile.
But is it worth believing?
Is the MBTI a new type of Internet cult?
Problems followed.
After all, the MBTI is a popular culture about personality classification, not a rigorous scientific psychological test. To put it bluntly, playing MBTI is a picture of a music, serious people lose.
The MBTI does have a psychological background, but this background is not rigorous.
Its full name is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, an introspective self-reporting questionnaire that shows that people have different psychological preferences about how they see the world and make decisions.
The test was invented at home by Katharine Briggs of the United States and her daughter Isabel Briggs, who were avid lovers of Jung's Psychological Typology. But in fact, the mother and daughter do not have any psychology degrees, which is also the "original sin" that MBTI has been criticized by the psychological community.
Catherine and Isabelle mother and daughter
It looks scientific, but in fact no professional journal has demonstrated that it is an accurate measurement tool. The psychology community has a more negative attitude towards MBTI, and there has been a debate about whether ITis is pseudoscience/folk science.
Source: Zhihu
Even if the theoretical tree behind MBTI is Jung's Psychological Typology, it does not mean that it is completely reliable.
Jung proposed three dimensions in his theory: introverted I-extrovert E, sensational S-intuition N (preference for perceiving facts/details or perceiving the whole/possibility), and thinking T-emotion F (preference for judging based on logic or based on emotion/harmony).
Later, Catherine and Isabelle added a dimension to Jung's "judgment of J-perception P (preference for a standard controllable lifestyle or a flexible and open lifestyle)", 2x2x2x2 = 16 types.
The problem is that Jung's theory is a judgment drawn from clinical observations, but has not been empirically tested. Jung himself wrote to denounce Catherine and Isabel's mother-daughter intervention of their subjects.
Psychological Typology Jung
Theoretical sources aside, there are more problems in the actual testing process.
Discerning people may have discovered that the MBTI test is all nonsense.
Question: "Are you an introverted, organized, emotional person?"
The result: you're an introvert, organized, emotional person.
Image source: 16 peronalities
Among them, the most questioned by the academic community is the scientific nature of the MBTI personality test.
Specifically, it is a problem of reliability and validity.
Reliability refers to the consistency of the measurement tool. As a yardstick, the measurement results should be maintained with a high degree of accuracy. But this is not the case, "there are studies that found that more than 50% of people took the two MBTI tests, and the results were completely different.".
Image source: YouTube@Vox
Whether it's The Shell's 2015 article "MBTI Test, Unreliable from Head to Toe," or The Guardian's Nothing personal: The questionable Myers-Briggs test and The Wall Street Post's Myers-Briggs: Does it pay to know your type?, several articles point to the reasons for the poor reliability:
One is a forced election (two choices). According to the normal distribution, most people are in a "both" state, always jumping between the two extremes. People are not always either/or, and someone can be extroverted or introverted in a given situation.
Moreover, different emotions and different scenarios will also affect the final answer. Assuming I'm unusually emo today, I'm more likely to test an F-personality, and if I'm calm and logical today, the test result is more likely to be a T-personality.
Whether you are 90% extroverted or 51% extroverted, according to the scoring method, it will be called E-type, in fact, 51% of E and 49% of I-people, their personalities may be closer.
The validity refers to the validity of the test results, the validity is based on the reliability, if even the measured results are constantly floating, the effectiveness is naturally weak.
In the article Goodbye to MBTI, the Fad That Won't Die in the psychology journal Psychology Today, the authors point out that there is no consistent relationship between MBTI personality types and jobs, and that using MBTI to plan your career is clearly ineffective.
Of course, we must not forget the famous psychological phenomenon: the Barnum effect.
People give highly accurate evaluations of personality descriptions that they believe are tailored to themselves, and these descriptions are often so vague and common that they can be applied to many people from all over the world. The Barnum effect provides a complete explanation for why many pseudosciences such as astrology, divination or psychological testing, and lottery throws are widely accepted. (Wikipedia)
Never underestimate people's ability to deceive and beautify themselves. The personality you choose may not be your actual personality, but the ideal personality you expect to be.
The legendary "overbearing president" type personality ENTJ
Another scenario is when you get a four-letter title and can't help but sit in the right seat. Constantly reinforcing myself with a thought: I am such a person, I should remain in this state, constantly limiting myself, suppressing my own infinite possibilities.
What happens next? MBTI's followers will continue to validate his results within social groups and apply the same 16 labels and methodologies to others.
"You see, I know you're an INTP."
Is this conversation familiar?
"You're so clean, you must be a Virgo, right?"
"You have a bad temper, you must be a fire sign, right?"
The MBTI has also spawned a series of chains of contempt.
For example, a map that once circulated on the Internet revealed the misunderstandings and prejudices that people had when using MBTI.
The MBTI is inherently a product of stereotypes, and the MBTI chain of contempt is the hardest hit area of stereotypes. THE ISFJS (Mother Guardian Personality) are placed at the bottom of the pyramid, and they are like worker bees in a society, ordinary people who are the furthest away from success.
Source: Zhihu @ Headwind Jade
Conversely, if you're lucky enough to be an ESTJ, you'll be motivated by the page of the test results: they even put up a quote from Jobs to motivate you to be a good leader.
So, will a personality that does not meet mainstream expectations be seen as a "defect"?
Do people who think logically have a higher IQ than sentimental emo people?
Are extroverts better at surviving in society than introverts?
Planned, well-organized J people, only suitable for boring, uncreative work?
Image source: Zhihu @Xylitol, MBTI stereotype family barrel
This is obviously unfair to the players/testers who are addicted to it.
Even the official explanation is always pleasing to the testers: you are sharp and insightful, and you are outward-leaning and have leadership and appeal. Remember how the personality color test a year ago changed the law to praise you? It is always difficult for people to refuse the praise and blessings that come to their door.
But in the process of dissemination, these personality elements are constantly interpreted and entertained by the participants. A series of leaderboards were born:
Who has the highest IQ among type 16 personalities?
Who among the Type 16 personalities makes the most money?
Who cares the most about type 16 personality?
……
Followed by the phrase "Are you on the list", MBTI has completely degenerated into a new "horoscope".
Image source: Douyin
Third, know yourself
Socrates said: Know yourself.
This is the most difficult thing ever done, and it is also the ultimate problem for human beings to explore inward.
In the hippocratic tradition of humors, humans are divided into polysplethemia, mucus, bile, and depressive. We are always curious about personality and temperament, in every era.
Of course, this is also a good business to make money.
The CPP company behind mbti's personality test is in charge of the $200 billion business.
On CPP's official website, it costs $49.95 to do a set of genuine MBTI tests
MBTI is a star product that is very good at marketing.
From an academic point of view, The Five Personality Elements (TheFive Factor Model, abbreviated as FFAM) have a better reputation in the academic community, but in fact, the "Big Five Personality" is not well known to the public.
On the other hand, the popularity of MBTI is inseparable from excellent marketing ability, after all, CPP companies spend a lot of resources to train MBTI-related consultants and sales personnel.
And, MBTI does have a pop element — it makes "tagging" faster and more straightforward.
The MBTI's answering process is binary, and the results are clear enough. It also means that the barrier to understanding is low, it's easy for testers to sit right, and it's easier to stereotype.
It can be used to counsel employment, it can test your ideal partner, and even when socializing, test whether the other person is in tune with you – it has stepped on the needs of capital society for nearly a hundred years.
We need an efficient tool to simplify the social process, but being an avid personality classification enthusiast doesn't give you a better understanding of everyone. The MBTI and other classification tools are nothing more than a postmodern filter in front of your eyes: "He's INTP, Sun Octopus, Rising Virgin, 985 Master, he can socialize"
Source: Little Red Book
But are there only 16 types of humans in the world?
When the label classification of MBTI is too pursued, it is inevitable to lead to the alienation of people.
Each individual is a complex combination of reason and reason, loneliness and enthusiasm.
Ignoring specific people and blurring specific bodies and faces according to 4-letter code names is too much like the scenes that will appear in "Black Mirror".
In the New Yorker article What Personality Tests Deliever, the author mentions a 1956 American book, The Organizer. William White believes that the emergence of various personality tests is actually related to the herd mentality of Americans after World War II. Through personality tests, we demonstrate obedience to society.
Each specific person is quantified as a controllable, sortable labor symbol, taciturn or noisy, down-to-earth or self-motivated, and these numbers appear in the database of the big factory HR, or in the segment of a 15-second short video — we collectively shape these absurd social stereotypes.
And after removing this series of labels, who are you and me?
Behind the label, there is a loneliness that human beings can never escape.
MBTI is just another hat for us to show ourselves to the outside world, nothing more than to let more people "see me, understand me, love me", "I am a funny and lovely person, I am a deep-thinking person, I deserve to be recognized and liked".
Unfortunately, the interaction between people is not a label exchange.
Author: Cucumber Soda; Public Number: That NG
Original link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/cB7YCRNqoO2yjP_mFeHQbg
This article is published by @That NG with permission from Everyone is a Product Manager and reproduction without permission is prohibited.
The title image is from Unsplash, based on the CC0 protocol