[Ailist] Efficacy of the MBTI

[Bill Scott]

Hello all,

At the expense of starting a firestorm of controversy on an appreciative list ...

I have found the recent posts with respect to the MBTI and its interaction with AI to
be very interesting. I have a lot of interest in self-awareness tools and the MBTI is
certainly one of those. I also teach organizational behaviour periodically and the
most recent research on the efficacy on the MBTI is, at best, mixed. In fact, more
recent work suggests that the Big Five Inventory is a better predictor of personality
types. I think all self-awareness tools are useful when they are used in combination
so that the many aspects of personality are covered and re-covered so that the
individual can make their own choices about where to go rather than have the test or
indicator map their direction for her/him.

Like everything in life, as we progress through our history we learn more. The MBTI
is now more than a half century old and its formulation has changed little since its
original development. If one were to draw a parallel with AI, at this point in our
history, we would be using revamped, revised and improved problem solving
methodologies rather than an appreciative exploration of the good, the life-giving,
the positive. So ... I personally take the results of the MBTI as one piece of
information to use in my personal and professional development.

It is not my intent to trash any individual's particular preferences or professional
attachments -- after all, I know how I'd feel if someone wanted to trash AI. I just
wanted to offer another perspective on the subject and perhaps, offer food for
thought and discussion.

(BTW, I'm an INTJ, at least when I last took the test.)  :-)

Regards,
Bill
 
WJS Consulting Inc
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
wjs.consulting at shaw.ca
604-574-1856
 
Engaging human potential