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Many of you have probably heard of the Myers-Briggs test, also known as the "16 Personalities" test. Today, if this test were used solely for entertainment purposes, there would be no issue. However, problems arise when the company that holds the copyright for the test charges people to take it and, more importantly, when 88% of Fortune 500 companies use the test results to screen candidates during recruitment.
So, let's explore why the Myers-Briggs test should not be used in serious areas like recruitment. The objections to the test can mainly be grouped into three categories:
Criticisms of the Authors
Theoretical Criticisms
Scientific Criticisms
Firstly, when we look at the history of the test, we see that the authors, Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers, were not qualified experts in the field of psychology, nor could they be considered scientists. They can only be regarded as book writers. After conducting extensive research, the authors concluded that categorizing people into four types was appropriate: meditative type, spontaneous type, managerial type, and social type. These types form the basis of the four main personality groups in today's Myers-Briggs test.
To establish a scientific-methodological foundation for their theory, the authors conducted deep research and eventually discovered Carl Jung's work "Psychological Types." In his work, Carl Jung, like Briggs and Myers, divided people into four categories along two different dimensions (thinking vs. feeling; sensing vs. intuition). Although Jung did not claim that people necessarily belong to just one of these categories, he believed that one of the types tends to be more dominant in a person's character to some degree.
While it is understandable that Myers and Briggs were interested in Jung's ideas, the problem lies in the fact that the scholar on whom their theory is based is no longer taken very seriously in modern psychology. Jung did not consider it necessary to verify hypothetical assumptions through empirical research (real observation) in scientific studies.
Firstly, it is important to note that human character is a linear concept rather than a categorical one. For example, when you roll a die, the face that lands on top is categorical: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. The outcome will definitely be one of these six categories. However, if you throw the same die forward, how far it travels will vary linearly—2 meters, 5 meters, 10 meters... Similarly, human character is a concept that changes more linearly. In this regard, the test's approach of placing people into predefined categories (which, incidentally, lack scientific basis) is incorrect.
Another problem with the test is the sharp distinction made between the categories into which people are placed. For example, one of the values measured by the test is introversion versus extroversion: individuals scoring between 0-50 points are classified as introverts, while those scoring 50-100 points are classified as extroverts. In this scenario, a person scoring 48 points is categorized the same as someone who scores 5 points, even though they may be more similar in character to someone who scores 53 points. The test places individuals who score 48 and 53 points in completely opposite categories, even though they might actually be more alike.
Psychology tests are expected to be scientifically grounded from the outset. For example, if a test claims to measure your likelihood of future divorce or predisposition to a certain psychological disorder, it should provide accurate results based on data. Instead, the Myers-Briggs test only tells you what you want to hear.
It is also crucial for psychology tests to be reliable. This means that if you retake the test after a few weeks, you should obtain approximately the same results. While small fluctuations are normal, significant differences are unacceptable. With the Myers-Briggs test, radically different results can be obtained even after a few days.
We mentioned that the Myers-Briggs test measures across four dimensions, which are:
Studies show that the last two categories are closely related and measure roughly the same traits, which is further evidence of the test's poor design.
Lastly, it is unacceptable that the Myers-Briggs test does not measure negative psychological traits such as neuroticism. In general, the test’s use of only positive statements, similar to horoscopes, is one of the indicators that it is misleading people.
In conclusion, while the Myers-Briggs test is harmful even for personal use, its use in evaluating candidates during recruitment is entirely undesirable. It should be noted that psychology tests like HEXACO, which are developed based on a scientific approach, can be used for self-assessment. However, using psychology tests (even high-quality ones) in recruitment presents another problem—the reliability of the test results depends on the honesty of the individuals. For a public relations vacancy, for instance, a candidate who knows that extroverts will be favored will likely choose answers that result in an extroverted profile. This goes against the company’s interests...
