Have you taken the Myers Briggs Type Indicator more than once? If so, have your results varied in any degree?

I don’t believe in those sorts of things, I think they’re more amusing than anything.
I’ve taken Myers-Briggs multiple times, and gotten different results.

Wikipedia has a little bit on its reliability. In general I am skeptical of studying personality traits. They’re loosely defined, highly variable, etc.

To actually answer your question, I think I usually get the same thing, but I know that it has changed over the years.

I’ve taken them a few times, but I never pay attention to the results, so I can’t tell if they were the same or different. It’s just an amusement, as far as I’m concerned.

I agree with all of the above. I’ve come to regard personality tests in the same way as I regard horoscopes: entertaining, but lacking solid science to back them up.

I have taken that test with varying results. I think the Minnesota Multi-Phasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is slightly more accurate in finding certain types of sociopathic disorders. It has been years since I have administered any kinds of psychometric testing so there may be some newer things on the market that are more reliable, but I don’t think the Myers-Briggs is one of them.

MBTI renders an “indication” not a definitive result. I’ve taken it twice and my results were fairly consistent. nonetheless, i do think it’s possible to game the test (and most other personality tests) and whenever that happens, the results are of course useless.

my boss once made his directs take the test along with himself. he’s a gruff ex-military guy and when his result came back they indicated someone totally opposite who he is – sentimental, touchy-feeley, that kind of indication. it was hilarious when he declared the test useless as he sponsored our taking it in the first place!

I have taken it 3 times over a 10–12 year span. First result INFP, second was INFJ, third was INFP. But all 3 times the fourth category was basically in the middle. I guess it depends on my mood which way I sway on that last category.

Their accuracy may/does vary for each individual taking the test, but in the overall analysis of a a large test taking population, they are accurately predictive of how well you will fit in a given job.

My son joined then Navy to prove that “Under NO circumstances should you consider the military for a career” was not true, and he found out the hard way, he should have followed their advice.

Nope. I’m an amiable.

I almost always score as INTP.

While I’m a bit dubious about how accurate personality tests can be,
my results over the years have been fairly consistent.

Inevitably, I fall under ENTP or INTP.
Probably depending on whether I am going through a social or antisocial phase.
I’d guess I’d come up as INTP these days.

Another issue about these tests is that is an inherent bias in self perception.
It’d be interesting to have a test based on your friends/family/colleague’s perception of you as well.
While you may know yourself ‘best’, it would add another interesting layer to the results.

I knew we were meant to be, my many tentacled love.

many organizations use something calleed a multi-point or 360 review process for the very reason that it’s useful to learn what others think about you as opposed to what you think others think about you.

@asmonet Yes, not terribly surprising. Love, love.

@avalmez That’s interesting. What are the results
of these review processes usually used for?

to provide the subject feedback on various questions from more than one person. usually the subject is asked to select the feedback providers with guidelines – e.g., some customers/clients, some peers, some directs, and usually the boss person. feedback is analysed for common themes. outliers are normally discarded as subjective.

subject is normally asked to chose themes he/she thinks merit a plan for improvement. so, if for example, most of my feedback providers indicate i frequently discard the opinions of others, i might formulate a plan for being more sensitive to contrary opinions. if feedback is that i make promises i don’t keep, likewise.

process is very dependent on the honesty of the feedback providers – sometimes a provider will chose to slam the subject, and that’s why it needs to be up to the subject to chose the providers and decide how to react to their feedback.

I’ve taken it numerous times over the years and always came out INFP. Just took it again because of a class assignment and came out INTP. I took a second test on a different site just for kicks and still came out INTP.

Now, my T-F split is about 60–40, so I do identify quite a bit with the INFP profile, but when I read the INTP profile, my jaw dropped after reading the second or third sentence. I can’t get over how scary accurate it is, and it’s exciting because I do live in my head and I struggle with relating to other people. Actually, quite a few things people take for granted as “normal”, I struggle with. So it’s really nice to know it’s not just me, that there are others out there having similar problems.

Mine changes depending on when I take it, since the splits in my ranges are always less than 60–40, making me right in the middle of so many aspects. That can cause the whole thing to shift with a single question answered slightly differently.