by Courtney Cox, Staff Writer
Asbury loves personality tests. Students often ask friends about their personality types as a means of getting to know each other. While personality tests can certainly be fun to take and read about, do they really have much validity? Psychology majors Bethany Engler and Alyssa Martin have some advice on determining the role in our lives of popular personality tests such as the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) and the enneagram.
Are the tests accurate?
“Popular personality tests are sometimes and selectively accurate. Some tend to be more accurate than others based upon previous testing conducted by psychologists. Due to the fact that personality tests are becoming so trendy and knowledge about the different ‘types’ has become more common, I feel as if the accuracy has gone down. Individuals taking these tests with previous knowledge regarding the purpose of the tests may subconsciously allow their biases to interfere with their answers. For example, if an individual is taking the MBTI and expects or desires to be higher on the extravert scale, they will most likely respond to questions as if they were an extravert, even if not intentionally. Overall, I feel that there is some truth to the results of the tests, but such truth should be taken lightly and with caution,” Martin said.
Are they credible?
“The overall opinions of the psychological community on personality tests depend on evidence supporting their validity and reliability. In terms of the MBTI and enneagram, there is evidence to support the accuracy of the MBTI, although it has been recently debated. The enneagram, however, has little to no evidence to support its accuracy; it appears to be a trend outside of the psychological community,” Martin said.
Does my personality type matter for my future career?
“Personality tests can show you what your strengths and weaknesses are as a person. Recognizing these areas can help you see what kind of skill set you have and what kind of work environment you would enjoy. Individuals can get a better understanding of why they do the things they do and can better prepare themselves for situations where certain aspects of their personality will show themselves,” Engler said.
How might my personality type affect my relationships with others?
“It is important not to confine other people to the limitations of personality tests or make assumptions about them based on their test results. On the other hand, personality tests can also help us to understand other people better by recognizing the ways we think and perceive the world differently from others,” Engler said.
“Ultimately, I believe that in general, individuals often overemphasize their personality types in making career decisions. We all have individualized passions, and I do not believe that we will be drawn to careers that conflict with our personality types. Personality tests may be able to provide some direction if an individual is completely lost in a career decision; however, prayer, consultation with others, research, and individual passions seem to be much more important to me, particularly when an individual is much closer to making a career decision,” Martin said.
What are the potential dangers in personality tests
“Personality tests often deny the changes that may occur in an individual’s life that changes them or their reactions to situations; in other words, they are often too absolute, or at least interpreted in this way,” Martin said.
“I think there is a danger of limiting oneself to personality test results if we fail to realize that these results only show who we are most of the time. Just because you are an introvert, it doesn’t mean you can’t ever cope in social situations, or just because you are an extrovert, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy spending time alone. When interpreting results, it is important to recognize the context of the situation you are in and not to place limits on yourself based on these results,” Engler said.
