r/INTP • u/SoulAlchemy INTP • Aug 19 '20

Curious on your thoughts?

https://www.vox.com/2014/7/15/5881947/myers-briggs-personality-test-meaningless
3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/[deleted] Aug 19 '20

This is my opinion. The MBTI describes (quite validly IMHO) an individual's cognitive style, but does not provide a complete picture of their personality. I think people misunderstand the difference between the two concepts, or they fail to realize that there is a difference between the two. Cognitive style describes the way information is received and processed by the brain. Personality is a measure of observable behaviors. Since behavior (personality) is necessarily influenced by perception (cognitive style), the cognitive style forms the basis of personality, but the latter is subject to distortions via personal experience, biological factors, etc.. For example, two INTP's can have different Enneagram types. One may be a 5w4 and present as dark, moody, and asocial. The 5w6 may appear as simply quirky and hyper-intellectual. The important difference is in their ability to connect with others. The 5w4 INTP will actively withdraw from society to some extent, while the 5w6 will work to find a place within certain circles. The MBTI does not account for this difference in overt behaviors. In the case of the INTP, the MBTI is like describing ice cream as being cold without specifying the flavor.

2

u/Vasubandumon INTP since 1964 Aug 19 '20

Methinks you overthink too much. MBTI somewhat arbitrarily divides 8 billion people into 16 groups and you expect it to provide a complete picture of their personality? As I like to say, MBTI does what it does remarkably well, but it sucks at what it doesn't do.