[niki]

Seeing of how many of us here seems to be somewhat greatly helped, even influenced so much, after knowing MBTI, I'm just wondering if each of us here should go, after seeing its usefulness in our life & interactions with other people, spread this knowledges about MBTI to everywhere we go?

Because for example, particularly in my country here in Indonesia, the knowledge about MBTI is still very very low, with probably still less than 1% of the country know about this "hidden gem" knowledge, that would probably change their perspective into understanding better (as it did to me), and hence, changing many lives.

I don't know...but what about in your particular country or city, or area/location?
is MBTI already quite widespread, or at least starting to get widely acknowledged & circulating?
shall each of us spread more info/knowledge about it to many people who still don't know about this?
is it useful? or not very much?

please share your thoughts.
thanks.

 

[northernsky]

I already do, but not many people are interested enough to take it further, as far as I'm aware. I've talked about it to most of my friends and family, people at work and I even tried on Twitter but I think it has to spark off something inside you for you to follow it up more.

 

[Nasmoe]

I think it could be helpful in understanding each other. It would be much better than horoscopes which seems to be the most popular way of understanding someone.

 

[Gaminegirlie]

I totally understand what you mean, also coming from a place where knowledge about MBTI is nonexistent. But the funny thing is, the MBTI was based on some old divination methods. The Myers Briggs sisters initially hoped that the MBTI would help prevent wars and such by people understanding each other through the tool.

IFA FA

aethyrflux: IFA (edited slightly, for the uninitiated)

The MBTI has been used in some other forms. So the question is. what has been done with this knowledge so far. Is there any concrete finding, which shows the positive effect of the influence of MBTI?

 

[Dallas]

I actually don't think it's a very good idea to do it unless you're doing it on a small scale and only with people who are interested in delving deep into it. Typology is so easily misused, usually on the basis that people assume that behavior = type, which isn't exactly true. I don't believe that you could get enough people to have an accurate enough understanding of it, which would just lead to more hurtful stereotyping and labeling*. I would say that if you have close friends who you'd be interested in sharing it with, go for it, but don't just make them take a test and give them a description. Actually go INTO it with them. Go into cognitive functions! ;D (If you're not there yet, get there.)

*Eg: The whole N-type arrogance thing. "OH I HATE SENSORS SO MUCH BECAUSE THEY'RE STUPID AND DON'T THINK." It happens, and it's really disappointing, as it's supposed to be a tool to help understand each other, and for some people it just more deeply divides them.

 

[Molock]

It wouldn't be a good idea imo. Most people wouldn't commit enough time to gaining a proper understanding of the theory and it would end being used as a labeling system.

Just me speculating :crazy:

 

[zephryi]

It wouldn't be a good idea imo. Most people wouldn't commit enough time to gaining a proper understanding of the theory and it would end being used as a labeling system.

Just me speculating :crazy:

I'd definitely agree with this. MBTI is very unscientific, based on self-identification and the idea that understanding yourself and how you will relate to people will help make life better. Nothing is definitive in MBTI, but having those labels to apply to people makes it very easy to simply slap on the label, take the descriptions at face value, and not try to get to know the person due to the sort of misunderstanding and type prejudices that tend to pop up in the typing community. Without a good understanding of how type descriptions are generated and exactly what it means to be a certain type rather than the simplistic labels people tend to use without thinking, MBTI is useless in really trying to understand others and simply creates more division.

 

[Nitou]

Everyone I have tried to talk to about MBTI isn't very interested. I think it is pretty important stuff but I also agree that one must at least understand the cognitive functions before it is any use. That's fine if most people aren't interested; they're into stuff that I'm not into that they think is important. I have found it interesting and useful and will apply it where it's relevant. For example, I have a good friend at work who is ESFP. When she began thinking about working towards a promotion, she was feeling doubtful of her abilities. I wrote out her cognitive functions (Se>Fi>Te>Ni) and explained that while she is a "performing artist" (and she is a very good artist), she also has innate administrative ability if she chooses to develop it. I also explained the difference between Te and Ti, saying that I use Ti which makes me a good troubleshooter/scholar but a poor administrator. Since then she has been working on developing her Te and I can see the difference. She has had a lot of support too, not just from me.

 

[Vaka]

It wouldn't be a good idea imo. Most people wouldn't commit enough time to gaining a proper understanding of the theory and it would end being used as a labeling system.

Just me speculating :crazy:

That's most likely true. Quite a few people on this site don't really seem to delve too deep into proper understanding.
Now, to get off of my high-horse: In theory, it would be very nice in helping people understand themselves and their interactions with others. It may give them a broader understanding of people. I think it could actually give people an edge in everyday life in handling people or things...provided they actually spend time trying to understand it.

 

[UncertainSomething]

I think it might be a good idea to spread it, personally I do talk about it with others but there is not really much deep interested. MBTI and another well known personality test is already used in many areas of society already and has been for many years. Corporations, military, police, politics and various institutes use it for recruitment and aptitude purposes, but it is not really educated to wider society outside these areas. Even most of those that have taken tests in schools or jobs are not fully aware of the potential, mostly through ignorance I suspect. Like most things it seems, the average joe doesn't really want to go to deep into themselves or their thoughts, some may even outright dismiss it as voodoo or just pointless.

 

[Karen]

I already do, but not many people are interested enough to take it further, as far as I'm aware. I've talked about it to most of my friends and family, people at work and I even tried on Twitter but I think it has to spark off something inside you for you to follow it up more.

That's been my experience, also.

I'm not into holding back information, even when maybe I should, so I try to spread it around but tell people it's just a starting point to understanding yourself and others, but not very accurate unless it's studied in more depth.

 

[DJArendee]

I find Ni users tend to give me the "all you talk about is ... " treatment whenever I mention the word "myers briggs" because they apparently stop listening if they think you've discussed it before or have any indication that I'm about to again. So I simply cut that word from my vocabulary and they suddenly listen to me again. I speak it in layman's terms and a couple of people have asked me, "how do you know everything about people?" Then I just point them to myers briggs and leave it at that.

 

[ENTrePenuer]

Seeing of how many of us here seems to be somewhat greatly helped, even influenced so much, after knowing MBTI, I'm just wondering if each of us here should go, after seeing its usefulness in our life & interactions with other people, spread this knowledges about MBTI to everywhere we go?

Because for example, particularly in my country here in Indonesia, the knowledge about MBTI is still very very low, with probably still less than 1% of the country know about this "hidden gem" knowledge, that would probably change their perspective into understanding better (as it did to me), and hence, changing many lives.

I don't know...but what about in your particular country or city, or area/location?
is MBTI already quite widespread, or at least starting to get widely acknowledged & circulating?
shall each of us spread more info/knowledge about it to many people who still don't know about this?
is it useful? or not very much?

please share your thoughts.
thanks.

No.

It can be useful to some small number of people, but for the most part it is harmful.

It should be relegated to the dustbin of history as just another occult science.
Accessible only to those interested enough to drop their own pretenses and seek real knowledge.

 

[DJArendee]

You know, I ask how it is harmful, no one ever wants to answer.

How do you think its harmful?

edit: new thread topic, ignore this post.

 

[ENTrePenuer]

You know, I ask how it is harmful, no one ever wants to answer.

How do you think its harmful?

edit: new thread topic, ignore this post.

Some things cannot be explained.

The mbti seeks to unify the idea of universal truth.

That is that all points of view can be at once correct.
The only difference being a matter of perception.
This means mysticism and science are at their core the same.

The mbti, expresses a universal philosophy touched on in every religion, reflected in almost every scientific discipline, alluded to in every philosophical and political treatise. In every religion, in every culture, at any time ever.

The mbti alludes to human growth, unfortunately human growth can be damaged by being exposed to knowledge without the corresponding experience.

I suggest you stop reading about it, and even if you continue to be interested keep it to yourself.

 

[Michael]

Myers-Briggs should be taught in high school

Myers-Briggs is being taught in many corporations, under the guise of leadership training and team building.

It's a huge industry. Good business for organizational psychologists.

Personally, I wish I had learned about MBTI back in high school. Maybe 9th grade.

I think it would have helped me build better relationships, and would have helped me know myself better. Had I understood the differences between introverts and extraverts, and sensors and intuitives, life would have been easier. I would have know why I didn't fit in.

I'm not worried about people abusing the knowledge. Most people don't even show an interest in this subject. Most of my friends get bored when I talk about Type.

You might have a few people who use it to manipulate others. But the overall impact should be positive.

 

[IcePick]

Simply no. People will mistake the MBTI to be such things as horoscopes and astrology signs. The MBTI is tool that allows us to understand other people and requires a person to invest time to learn it to extract a profound meaning out of it. Unlike astrology signs you must actually read a lot about the MBTI to understand anything.

Example:

Girl: Hi, I'm a Pisces.
Me: That's nice...
Girl: Well what sign are you?
Me: Does it really matter?
Girl: Yes! I want to know!
Me: I'm a Capricorn.
Girl: Cool!

We become meaningless labels. Do you really want people to use the 16 MBTI types as simply labels? Why force anyone to learn MBTI if they don't want to? and when they don't want to put in the extra effort to learn it properly? Horoscopes are about as bad as cold reading.

Here's today's horoscope for Capricorns:
"You're a planner by nature, and it's all starting to pay off for you today. You can relax and let your mental energy scan ahead for opportunities and dangers while you work through today's schedule."

Awesome right? And tomorrow I will win the lottery by using the numbers off of a fortune cookie (*note* someone actually did).

MBTI should be reserved for those who are willing to invest the time and energy to learn more about theirself, their type, and other people's types to grasp a fuller understanding of personalities.

 

[Darner]

MBTI can be harmful, for example people could or couldn't give you a job according to your identity (as they do already with horoscope). But I would still give people an option of getting a personality test - those who would be interested, could continue with analyzing themselves, others would just get some new idea about themselves. Personally, MBTI helped me probably the most in analyzing myself and I understood so much that I'm trying to spread it as much as I can.

 

[Michael]

I am surprised so many posts suggest keeping Myers-Briggs a secret.

I would like to see it covered in high school. Some would abuse it. Most would ignore it. But a few would grasp the potential benefit and begin to utilize it.

As I said before, I really wish I had been exposed to Personality Type earlier in life.

The benefits in the areas of selecting a career, better work relationships, and knowing one's self should out weigh the negatives.

What do u think?