‘What is your MBTI?’ ‘Oh… mine is ENFP…’ I automatically answer this question from a new person I just met. It surprises me how natural it has become for me to say my MBTI out loud. But is MBTI really that significant in describing who we are?

Introduction

MBTI, fully named the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, is a self-reported questionnaire that makes pseudoscientific (偽科學) claims to categorise people into sixteen ‘personality types’.

People are grouped by defining eight letters within four opposing categories. The four categories are:

• Extraversion vs Introversion

Extraverts tend to gain energy by communicating with other people and sharing their thoughts. Introverts prefer to gain energy by spending time alone and being more thoughtful before speaking.

• Sensing vs Intuition

‘Sensing’ people like to live in a more practical and realistic way; they work better with actual proof or examples. On the other hand, ‘intuition’ people (represented by ‘N’ in MBTI) like to imagine more and live in a more creative way.

• Thinking vs Feeling

‘Thinking’ people are more rational, focusing on facts rather than emotions. ‘Feeling’ people are more emotional; they seek attention and help for the community or others, and are often easily affected by others.

• Judging vs Perceiving

Judging refers to people who like to plan everything before starting. They prefer a structured schedule over random situations. Perceiving refers to people who enjoy spontaneity and remain flexible with everything.

Once you know which four letters suit you, a type (out of 16) will be presented to show you your personality.

Link to the MBTI test: https://www.16personalities.com

Problems

It seems that MBTI can help others and ourselves understand who we are, right? Through it, we believe we can find our dreams more easily and enhance ourselves. However, the problems with MBTI don’t lie in its usage, but in the personality it defines.

First, MBTI limits our thinking. With a known personality type, we tend to trust it and follow the advice to improve ourselves. But do we really 100% lean toward just one side of the personality? MBTI can only show how a person is during a recent period; it doesn’t fully reflect everything about our lives. We wouldn’t expect a test to tell us how to earn money, right?

Moreover, we frame ourselves with the simple letters provided by the test. In my surroundings, many people use ‘being an I person’ as an excuse not to communicate with others. Although everyone seems to accept this reasoning, does it really apply to all of us? No, of course not! We can’t define ourselves as purely 100% extroverted or introverted because we change throughout our lives for various reasons. It’s unreasonable to use MBTI as a shield to block difficulties from our view, let alone from reality!

Thirdly, MBTI affects our impressions of others. Through MBTI, we can work with others by knowing their type at first sight. Indeed, this can reduce the time needed to understand and adjust to each other. However, isn’t it the same as forming fixed first impressions based on MBTI?

We often say it’s not recommended to fix our impressions of others because they can change over time. But with MBTI, aren’t we repeating this exact process?

For example, Korean youths today often discuss their MBTI types. Even idols share their MBTI types with fans to help them feel more connected. While this is harmless for simply understanding or marketing purposes, the problem arises later. If an idol behaves in a way that doesn’t align with the MBTI type they presented, some fans may criticise them for being ‘out of character’ or ‘abnormal’. 

In the end, we wrongly interpret the purpose of MBTI and turn it into a restrictive label, which is totally unacceptable. We deprive everyone of the chance to change due to time, experience, or environment with just eight simple letters. But the essence of being human is that we learn and evolve. Through differences, we collaborate, adapt, and grow. MBTI, however, limits our perceptions, causing us to box in the behaviour of others and ourselves. I’ve heard classmates explain why they can’t engage in normal conversations with strangers, saying, ‘My MBTI is INTJ, so it’s hard for me to talk emotionally,’ or ‘I’m an F person, so I react in a more rude way.’ Since when did we use MBTI as a justification for our poor behaviour? It’s inevitable that we must face reality. If we only use MBTI to escape, we’ll never progress.

Claims and Suggestions

Even though MBTI leads to many problems, it remains a useful tool for self-reflection. The purpose of this article is to highlight the overuse of MBTI to handle problems. It’s suggested that we should only use it as a starting point for understanding ourselves and others.

If we can take it less seriously and instead choose to explore ourselves more freely, wouldn’t it be better to use a test as just one tool among many?

So, are you ready to put down your phone and face reality?