6 Reasons Why MBTI Tests Give You Bad Results

When I first learned about MBTI, I took one of those free online tests, as most people do. Surprisingly enough, as a young teenager, it actually pegged me right. (I questioned it later, switched to a different personality type, but then eventually ended up right back where I’d started.) Unfortunately, this is not always the case. People take different tests and get multiple different types all the time, and then end up on the MBTI online communities asking what it all means. I’ll answer that question now: it means that the tests are bad at accurately determining personality type.

Novice MBTI enthusiasts tend to be over eager to trust the test results, and then end up all confused when test results contradict each other or contradict their hunch about someone else. Should you consider the results? Sure. It’s definitely not a bad thing to double-check yourself, but don’t try to force something to fit that doesn’t simply because a test fed you some wonky result. They’re far from infallible.

NOTE: While this article is written from my perspective, Ryan actually wrote large portions of certain sections, so this is me giving credit where it’s due.  🙂

The Reasons

1. The questions are fundamentally flawed

Enjoy lively places or crowds? Do you have more than just a close few friends? Congratulations! You are automatically an extravert! But what if you’re not? What if you were an introvert who just so happened to live in a city for your whole life? Chances are, crowds won’t bother you, and you may even find it strange to be in a state of having no people around at all. Also, why is it that only extraverts can have a large group of friends? What if you are an older adult who has had adequate time to settle down into a social group, and a large portion of those people have become your friends? Would this mean you became an extravert over time? No, it’s simply a flaw in the way the test is designed. Instead of figuring out if you do indeed lead with an extraverted function, they rely on statements that are stereotypically associated with being extraverted and have you either agree or disagree. These same flaws are found with all the dichotomies: E/I, S/N,T/F,P/J You have a scrap of compassion in you? Great! You’re a feeler. What about abstract thoughts or daydreaming? Guess that means you’re an intuitive. Don’t wait until the last minute to get things done? The test will probably call you a J. The way the MBTI test goes about asking questions is just fundamentally flawed, which naturally means bad results.

2.  They rely on stereotypes

Sensors can be creative. Perceivers can be organized. Judgers can be disorganized. Mature thinkers take people’s feeling into account. Etc. Don’t forget that. MBTI is about our internal thought processes and how we interact with the external world. The tests sometimes try to attribute certain actions or abilities to certain types, and that is inherently flawed. For instance, creativity and artistic ability tends to be attributed to either N or F. Ergo, an artistic ST is automatically discounted. In general, the MBTI stereotypes that you see rampant across the MBTI community are equally prevalent within the tests. Are the stereotypes caused by the test, or is the test influenced by the stereotypes? It’s hard to say, but just be aware the two frequently end up going hand in hand.

3. They focus on extreme cases

I am a solid ISTP, but once upon a time, before I understood the cognitive functions, I began to wonder if I was an ISTJ. Why? Because I have never been the scattered, chaotic mess that perceivers are made out to be. I was raised in a relatively structured environment, ergo, I became somewhat structured and disciplined. I’ve never been the type to wait until the last minute to start working on something that’s important. (I actually studied for tests in advance, so I wouldn’t have to get all up into a flurry and study straight through the night like many of my fellow college students. I value my sleep. >.>) However, put me next to a real ISTJ or any solid Te user for that matter, and I start to feel like chaos in comparison.

4. Most don’t take into account the cognitive functions

I’m aware that there are some tests out there that do, hence the “most”. But anyways, I’ll give you an example of why this would matter. Order and structure are always attributed to the Judgers. In reality though, order and structure is more specifically a Te desire, and maybe Si as well because they desire consistency. While that may cover the SFJs, and TJs, it leaves out the NFJs, who are probably about as naturally unstructured as Perceivers are. Plus, if only a few wrong answers scores a person a J instead of a P, the test just messed up someone’s type terribly. For example, an ENTJ and ENTP share zero of the same functions and are massively different personality types. This is part of the reason some people take the test and then read the description for the type they got and can’t relate to it in the slightest.

5. People fail to understand themselves or are biased

Obviously, this is not a problem with the tests, but some people struggle to see themselves for who they really are. There are a few different reasons why. First off, people tend to have a trumped-up view of themselves. People want to see themselves a specific way, and sometimes refuse to recognize their shortcomings or that part of them that they’re ashamed of. People want to believe that they are more “impressive” than they actually are.

In addition, asking questions about whether you think you are logical, or kind, or resourceful is just asking for a mistype because it’s going to be affected by the test takers own biased view of themselves. Of course, I’m going to want to consider myself as logical, kind, and resourceful. So the test takes that and scores you a Thinker for being logical, a Feeler for being kind, and an Intuitive for being resourceful. It’s inherently flawed to focus on what traits you think you have instead of focusing on the way your brain is geared to think. Much of the bias is removed if the questions being asked are looking into how you would approach a problem instead of asking if you are logical, kind, or resourceful.

Another reason is that people tend to compare themselves to others. This isn’t always necessarily a bad thing when done properly. Comparing yourself to others can give you a well-rounded and less-biased perspective of yourself. However, if you’re only ever around the same kind of people, this will backfire. We go back to my ISTP example from earlier. Next to most of my family members, I was relatively organized and structured… but most of my family members (at that time) were living chaos. (Just about anyway, lol.) When you live with family, sometimes it’s hard to separate what’s actually you and what’s their influence on you. I know that my patterns and behaviors change a bit when I know I’ll be completely alone and have complete freedom to do as I please. Most people, whether or not they’re willing to admit it, do change their behavior to a certain degree around others.

The final reason I thought of is similar: when around the same people over and over again, sometimes we accept their perspective on us as reality. Example: they think I’m evil so I must be evil.  (And then you go into a state of shock later when someone calls you “sweet”. True story.) Unfortunately, the law of first impressions can screw us over if we’ve known someone for a long time and have actually managed to change.

6. People sometimes answer differently based on mood

I want to say that this problem is probably primarily a feeler issue, but I can’t say for certain. Basically, an introvert that is usually pretty introverted might be feeling lonely one day, and then end up answering all the questions like an extravert. I’m sure you can come up with other potential scenarios. Technically speaking, mood should not affect how someone answer’s questions on the test. The questions should be answered with the way you are usually in mind, but… I guess people don’t always realize this? Here again a lot of this could be solved if the test focused more on which cognitive functions you use instead of relying on how you are feeling in the moment. For example, a Si dom will always value safety and security in spite of how they are feeling that day, so if you took a test that scored for that it would pin you as an introvert in spite of your mood.

So, now what?

Ok, so I just bashed the tests. How on earth are you supposed to determine your type? Well, as always, I recommend you study the cognitive functions, and consider which ones you relate to most. Take an honest look at yourself. Pinpoint your faults and your strengths.  Analyze how your brain works, what you value the most in life, what motivates you, the way you are currently versus the way you were when you were younger… etc. Of course, it’s certainly not a bad idea to get someone else’s perspective on you, or ask an MBTI community how they would type you.

Let me know in the comments if I’ve missed anything, or if there is a specific test out there that you’ve found to be pretty accurate!