Photo by tentwo.teneight, showing what two groups did with a supply of Legos and instructions to “build a structure.” On the left is the work of the sensing types; on the right, the work of the intuitive types.

In my post Bomb Threats And You: Temperaments In Action, I wrote about the four personality temperaments. The temperaments are now part of the modern Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, but they date back to at least 590 B.C.

Akemi Gaines at Real Life Spirituality left a comment on that post, bringing up a number of points I wanted to respond to. Now a year and three months later, I figure it’s about time I did! All quotes are from Akemi’s comment.

“All these personality analysis are based on the respondents’ answers, in other words, their own perception of their preferences and choices. This automatically sets limits…is my own observation correct?”

The MBTI and most personality profilers are based on the individual’s self-assessment. And while that makes perfect sense in some ways, it also makes it easy to intentionally or unintentionally bias the results. If you want to be a certain type, or you think you know the “right” answer, or you wish a particular trait applied to you, it’s easy to be less than honest with yourself (possibly subconsciously).

Last month I wrote about a career test based on color preferences. While I wasn’t much of a fan of that test, I like how it’s hard to influence. If you like green, and you have no idea whether that’s “good” or “bad,” you might as well say you like green.

But if the person is capable of steering the results towards what they want, I think we just have to accept that as a limitation of the testing methodology. The best defense is to be careful to answer the questions accurately, knowing that there are no right or wrong answers.

“For instance, if I choose going out with friends rather than staying home as my preferred way of spending spare time, wouldn’t I know already I’m extroverted? Do I need the test to tell me?”

Probably not. Most people already know whether they’re an introvert or an extravert, because these are terms they’ve been hearing for years. However, it’s very unlikely that they really understand what they mean, particularly introverts (hence, the need for The Introverts Strike Back and Introverts And Extraverts: Can’t We Just Get Along?).

Also, there are people who are somewhat borderline, who might need a test to tell them what they are. There have been many I vs. E debates over Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Adolf Hitler, for example.

Finally, while the average person may already know whether they’re an introvert or extravert, they don’t know a thing about sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, or judging/perceiving.

“In reality, I spend the majority of my time alone at home, and my answer may be based on my perception of what I do in my spare time — those occasional special time I go out. So am I really E?”

When someone came to my workplace to administer the MBTI, she went over the types of our company’s two founders. She surprised some people by telling us that our extremely chatty CTO was an I. She explained that although he talked a lot, you have to pay attention to what he was talking about – generally software, never himself.

In the same way, there are surely explanations for an extravert who spends most of their time alone at home, but let’s not put Akemi under the microscope.

“Another problem of these analysis is they force us to think in either-or way. For instance, MBTI puts you either sensing or intuitive. But really? This may be helpful for someone who is close to 100% of either way (I’m 100% intuitive. I hardly see the “practical” side of reality) but what if someone is, say, 60% intuitive and 40% sensing?”

I think this is one of the most valid criticisms of the MBTI. If you think of the S-N scale as a continuum from 0% N to 100% N, it follows a normal distribution, or a bell-shaped curve. A few people are close to 0% N, a few people are close to 100% N, but most people are clustered around 50% N. So then why are we polarizing everyone, when most people are near the middle?

I don’t have a good explanation, but the theory is that your absolute position on the scale matters less than the side of the middle on which you lie. Meaning that a 45% N might be more similar to a 20% N (far, but same side of the middle) than they are to a 55% N (close, but on the other side).

This doesn’t make much sense, but it actually seems to hold up pretty well. I’m not an extreme T and I’m probably only a moderate N, but I definitely connect with these sides far more than their opposites.

“In this case [60% intuitive and 40% sensing], I think it would be more helpful to say, “You are very intuitive and conceptual, but you are also very capable in paying attention to details””

Yes, people should be aware of different sides of their personality. If a detailed customized report is available, it should explain this. If only general descriptions of each type are available, the person should read about similar types. And if they can take the MBTI step 2, this breaks down each letter pair into 5 facets, to show their preferences in much more detail.

“In my case, judgmental and perceptive is almost the same amount. If you check ENFJ, you may agree it’s Akemi.” [She identified herself as an ENFP]

Yes, I can see that. ENFJ’s are “the great communicators.” I’m very split on J/P too, and if you check INTJ (“the masterminds”), you may agree that it’s me [but I'm really an INTP]. (BTW, be careful to use the words judging and perceiving rather than judgmental and perceptive – many people use them interchangeably, but they have different meanings.)

Being split on a letter does happen sometimes. I spoke to a career coach who had a client that was split right down the middle on all four letters – and very confused about what career path to follow!

Thanks for the great comment, Akemi, and sorry for the delay in responding! Anyone wanting to learn more about their own personality is invited to read my ebook The Personality Puzzle.

Forty years ago, Richard Bolles asked job seekers “What color is your parachute?” It turns out that he may not have been speaking metaphorically.

The Dewey Color System offers a free career test based entirely on color preferences – just spend a minute clicking on the colors you like most or least. They claim it is now the world’s most accurate career test.

Compared to the general public, CEOs are three times more likely to choose magenta, three times less likely to choose red, and three and a half times less likely to choose yellow.

What does this mean? According to the Color Career Counselor test, CEOs are more sensitive and private than average, less likely to be dominant or a perfectionist, and more likely to be emotionally unstable.

The makers of this test say it measures 16 personality factors, including independence, anxiety, self-control, extraversion, and tough-mindedness. They also say it may identify things such as overeating tendencies or emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.

Its supporters say that this simple test is as valid as the much lengthier Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (not a career test, BTW) and Gallup StrengthsFinder, and much harder to influence. Some people have called it eerily accurate, others have likened it to horoscopes.

I gave it a try to see how accurate it was for me. (It asks for an email address at the end, but it’s optional, and you have to skip past one ad). The results were mixed at best.

For my best occupational category, it said:

You’re a CREATOR
Keywords: Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

Check, kind of.

For my second best occupational category, it said:

You’re a SOCIAL MANAGER
Keywords: Tactful, Cooperative, Generous, Understanding, Insightful, Friendly, and Cheerful

Um, no.

And as with any career test I’ve ever seen, the list of suggested occupations is so ridiculously broad as to be useless.

While I wasn’t wowed by my results, I think color preference probably does say something about you. But for now, a good old fashioned verbal test seems more likely to show your true colors.

Photo by tibchris

I’ve been interviewed on the Introvert Zone regarding my ebook The Personality Puzzle.

The Personality Puzzle: Interview with Hunter Nuttall, Part 1 – this is about whether our personality changes with age, or in response to significant life events.

The Personality Puzzle: Interview with Hunter Nuttall, Part 2 – this is about why it’s helpful to understand different personality types, and what advice I have for introverts.

Klaus @ TechPatio asked a question in the comments, but when I realized that my reply was way too long for a comment, I told him I’d answer his question here. Here’s what he asked:

“A week ago I took a 40-question test that gave me these four letters: INTJ
I: 75%
N: 55%
T: 55%
J: 55%
As you can see, NTJ is pretty close to the middle, I’m not sure if that’s good or bad, if I’m just “average”?

But then I took another 40-question test a few days ago, that placed me as ISTP and a bit ISTJ. So I think it’s quite confusing with all those personality types when they can change so much in tests depending on your mood when you take them, and how you understand the questions.

I guess my question is, Hunter, what is the *best* way to find out your four-letters?”

Great question! It’s not always easy to determine your type.

When I attended a full day MBTI workshop, I came away thinking I was an ISTJ. I actually tested as an INTP, but the facilitator explained that the test is not always accurate, and after going through all the exercises, I decided I was an ISTJ in spite of what the test said.

Looking back on that now, it sounds ridiculous to me, but it made sense at the time.

3 years later, I met with a career coach to talk about career options, and the MBTI just happened to come up. I said I was an ISTJ, and she seemed surprised. She asked me if fitting in was very important to me, and I said no, if anything, I’d want to be different.

She said, “Oh, then you’re definitely not an ISTJ,” and after a couple of minutes decided that I was probably an INTP. I told her that’s what the test said, and she smiled.

Now I can see why I misunderstood some things and concluded that I was an ISTJ. And when I take the online tests, I get INTJ/ISTJ/ISTP quite often, and I can see that it depends on how I’m interpreting the questions, and even my mood.

First you need to realize that even the official test isn’t perfectly accurate. Yet it’s been tested and refined over 40 million administrations, and it meets and exceeds the standards for psychological instruments for both reliability (consistent results from one test to the next) and validity (measuring what it attempts to measure).

On the other hand, the online knockoffs have barely been tested at all. And even tiny variations in the questions can make a difference in how you answer them.

When I see you’re testing as INTJ, ISTP, or ISTJ, I know something is way off. These aren’t just three different types – they’re three different temperaments.

The 16 types are organized into four temperaments, which are the most basic personality types dating back to ancient times. They represent the starkest differences you can have between different personalities.

So if the online tests are taking you across temperament boundaries so easily (even if you’re borderline on those letters), something is wrong.

The best ways to find out your type, in descending order:

#3 – Take the official test and attend an MBTI workshop. The test results will probably be accurate, and the workshop will provide additional info as well as being a lot of fun.

#2 – Read books and websites about the MBTI until your type becomes obvious. The official MBTI guidelines say that you are the best judge of your own type, regardless of what the test says. And I think that when you understand the different types well enough, you can’t fail to correctly type yourself.

And the #1 best way to find out your four letters…read my book!

While I’m at it, I’ll comment on this part too:

“As you can see, NTJ is pretty close to the middle, I’m not sure if that’s good or bad, if I’m just ‘average’? ”

You’re using a smiley, so you know that “average” isn’t a bad thing here. It just is what it is.

If you have split preferences, you can say you have a balanced personality. This might sound good, and of course it is in some ways. At the same time, it can lead to confusion. Imagine not being sure whether you want to be a hedge fund analyst or a panda ballet choreographer.

If you have very clear preferences, you won’t have this confusion. You’ll be pulled in only one direction, and you’ll be full speed ahead when you get to do what you want. The downside is that you’ll be a fish out of water when you have to act against your preferences.

There are always pros and cons. There are no bad types, nor bad preference splits. So just be who you are!

I want to put together a list of people’s Myers-Briggs types, so that we can see who has the same personality type as us. Tell me your type, and get a free link on one of these 16 pages. (I just whipped up something quick, so the look may change.)

ISTJ ISFJ INFJ INTJ ISTP ISFP INFP INTP ESTP ESFP ENFP ENTP ESTJ ESFJ ENFJ ENTJ

In order to avoid creating a link farm, I’ll have to use “nofollow” links, meaning it won’t help your Google PageRank. However, it will still be a clickable link that can send people your way. People who might think you’re cool because they’re the same type.

To participate, just leave a comment below.

- The name you use can include branding or identification words, but it should start with your real name. If you use an alias instead of your real name online for privacy reasons, that’s OK. I reserve the right to drop spammy-looking keywords (“Make Money Online”) or names with no last name (I don’t want a whole bunch of anonymous Bobs).

- Your URL (optional) should point to actual content, not just an ad.

- Tell us what your Myers-Briggs type is. You can’t say it depends; you have to pick one. Don’t know your type? Read The Personality Puzzle.

Four weeks ago, I started a wacky experiment of working against my personality type, deliberately acting out my non-preferences on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

This involved acting as an ESFJ instead of my natural type of INTP, one letter at a time.

• extraversion instead of introversion
• sensing instead of intuition
• feeling instead of thinking
• judging instead of perceiving

I consider myself to have passed the trials, because I said I would judge myself by effort and not results. But it was very hard to make significant changes on any of the four dimensions. Even my least clear preference, perceiving, was hard to budge.

Michael J Pastor (no link because his blog is only open to invited readers) suggested that I was trying to do too much at once, and that just like with weights, you want to increase the stress gradually. This is absolutely true. If it was really my goal to change, I would have started by making a plan to slowly ease into each trial, instead of jumping in headfirst.

But my intention wasn’t to change, at least not permanently. The point was just to do it to see what it was like. I was curious how hard it would be (very), and whether I would want to continue doing anything differently after it was over (not really). It was entertaining to try it, but I’m happy to go back to normal.

I said in The Personality Puzzle that while we can upgrade our abilities, our preferences are pretty much fixed. And for that reason, I think it makes a lot more sense to go with what you are than trying to change things about yourself that you really don’t want to change. Not that we can’t get better at things with practice, but you’ll always be better at what you like to do. And since all types are equal, why change?

However, we’re all surrounded by people of different types, and I think it’s helpful to be able to understand where they’re coming from. Now whenever I meet a new person, I’ll know that we have something in common, because I tried on their personality for a while.