Are Online Personality Tests Accurate?
I recently came across an article in which the writer bashed almost all online personality tests. As a blogger who recently uploaded my own version of the “test” (the Myers-Briggs Organization doesn’t like to call it a test and that’s why it’s called an “Indicator” because they are not “testing” your personality just “indicating” your preference for your type), I could relate to what they were saying although I disagree that all the online versions are not accurate. The official MBTI can be more accurate but I personally know plenty of people who took the official “test” and their type was inaccurate. It is also how someone answers the questions that effects the results, and guess what? That can be done on any version of the “test”, including the official. Now the official version has more questions than the average online version (93 to be exact on the basic version of the “test” and then they a couple more versions that have more questions if you’re specifically working with a consultant for further evaluation, plus the questions are forced choice) which is better for capturing a more accurate result because in nature it has more questions which allows a higher chance to decipher what an individual prefers. Let me tell you what the official “test” still doesn’t capture and what it continues to fail to do:
The MBTI has an official training course that costs thousands of dollars (and more money to maintain your certification on an ongoing basis). You can only take it in-person. When I looked into the training I realized it doesn’t take several things into consideration. It doesn’t incorporate traditional psychology or therapy viewpoints because that is not the nature of their organization. Even the creators (Katharine Briggs and Isabel Myers) were not trained psychologists or therapists. Katharine was born in 1875…. She was an adult at the turn of the 20th century, 25 years old and already married with a three-year-old daughter. It was the 1940’s and the test was only being conducted on a select group of Americans, and at that time many were excluded by default. (Side note- the MBTI organization has since completed more research and has tested people throughout the world but in general most of the type statistics are heavily favored on the side of the Americas (and not the Canadian or Mexican side of the Americas). So there continues to be a considerable amount of bias and gap areas that have not been studied.
Now back to the types and preferences. Many people do not consider the MBTI to be a “scientific” instrument despite a long history of going through reliability and validity studies. Therefore it’s not accurate when someone says the test is just “theory” alone. Again, this test is based upon Jung’s psychology of types who was a psychologist.
As someone who had to learn how to score and interpret the test in grad school for clients, this is the other area it fails to take into consideration – the fact that some people are split down the middle on certain preferences and that’s why if someone has equal scores for the P and J preferences, the test instructs you to chose a “P” for that personality type instead of a J. Why? – Because that’s just the rules of the “test”. It doesn’t make any sense and I don’t agree with it. That’s why on my website I have a section on “dual personalities” in the descriptions of the different personalities. Some people possess equal characteristics for both preferences and I think that should be acknowledged. Now to be fair, recipients are allowed to decide for themselves if that profile fits or if the other one fits better. Since it’s not an exact science there are a lot of people who take the official test and do not completely agree with the results. Again the whole purpose of this “test” is for self-exploration and greater awareness of how we interact with those around us.
Now coming back to the issue of online tests being accurate. I question some of the expertise of these people. I think the issue with some of the consultants is that they are not actual psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, or practicing counselors who have studied therapy and psychology. In the MBTI repertoire of consultants there is a wide range and number of non-therapists. It’s the equivalent of someone coming up with a curriculum for elementary students but they never went to school for education and/or they never taught; just because you went to school for elementary education doesn’t make you knowledgeable on how to teach elementary students, or the best person to create curriculums.
What it also comes down to is that people think they’re right and they may be, but no one is 100% correct 100% of the time; obviously that also includes me! I refer clients to personality blogs and websites for information but I don’t agree with all the material. There may be information that people disagree with and that’s fine. I have a few close friends that take the personality typology as a grain of salt, some of them don’t even care about my hard work, sweat, and tears, ok I’m being a bit overdramatic but you get my point…. Really it’s not a big deal because there are enough people who will want to learn and listen more because it interests them. And if my friends do want to know something about personality and the related guess who they will ask? – Yes…. Me!
So again, are online personality tests accurate? Yes!! Some of them are, and some of them aren’t! The best way to discover your type is to read and do your own research because at the end of the day whatever website you come across, if you don’t believe the information then it’s not going to be valuable to you at all! Knowledge is only as good as the person who wants to receive it.
You can take the online personality test at the link below; remember when you’re answering the questions to ignore you father’s voice or a trait you admire in a best friend or sibling and answer according to how you would prefer to accomplish tasks or your personal viewpoint.