[Ailist] Efficacy of the MBTI

[David J. Snider]

Hi Folks

Bill, your assessment of the MBTI has created an occasion for me to  
re-think and share why I appreciate it.

Before I do that I need to address your comment that the MBTI has  
"changed little since its original development" more than a half  
century ago.  I pulled out my MBTI Manual: A Guide to the Develoment  
and Use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator by Myers, McCaulley, Quenk  
and Hammer.  In their history of the development of MBTI forms the  
authors appear to believe there has been substantial change.  The  
"Mothers and Fathers" of the MBTI take seriously the need to revise  
and update the instrument.  This report provides some information on  
how leaders of different generations have done that.

Now I want to say why I value the MBTI,  I also want to provide  
information that Ai List folks not acquainted with the MBTI can  
explore to discover whether it might be a useful tool to complement  
your use of AI.

I love the MBTI for giving us a positive language for talking about  
our differences.  I like how it appears to be relevant across  
national cultures, race, gender, age.   I also value the fact that  
the MBTI Indicator is taken as giving us an indication of our type  
preferences.  It is not regarded as giving us the "last word" on who  
we are regarding personality type.  That decision is regarded as the  
responsibility of each person choosing to use the MBTI indicator.  In  
consultation with someone qualified to use the MBTI the persons  
taking the indicator look at their own experience and behavior and  
then decide what are their natural preferences.

I have my workshop participants take the MBTI online, and then that  
data becomes part of our conversation about how we are different, how  
we can value and complement each other.  From how my folks experience  
the MBTI it appears to be useful.  That is one reason I keep enjoying  
using the Indicator.

A second reason I like it is the impressive amount of research that  
practitioners have done and published on how type differences affect  
our behavior in different settings.  Titles that I use regularly  
include Introduction To Type and Teams by Hirsch et al, WorkTypes by  
Kummerow, et al, and MotherStyles by Janet Penley.  These and a long  
list of other titles give me and others who value the MBTI as an  
indicator and conversation starter a sense of what different type  
preferences "look like" in everyday life.  They also help me keep  
increasing my understanding of myself and of other people.  These  
sources also help me identify type behavior more easily.

A third reason I value the MBTI is because there is a rich reservoir  
of practitioners who support and develop use of the Indicator through  
national/international associations.  Folks who want more on these  
associations with primarily Canadian and United States members can go  
to 2007 APT International Conference Program at
http://apt.timberlakepublishing.com/files/Complete program.pdf

For books in English see the CAPT site
https://www.capt.org/research/mbti-bibliography-search.htm or  
Consulting Psychologists Press (CPP)
http://www.cpp-db.com/

For associations and sources in Europe go to the European Type  
Conference site
http://www.europeantypeconference.org/associations.htm

I know that Yuki Sonoda, a Japanese woman who lived her teen-age  
years in New York led the creation of a Japanese version of the MBTI  
that was published around 2002 or 2003.  If individuals need her  
email, contact me

I enjoy the richness of research and sources that come from folks who  
are using the MBTI in over 30 languages.  And I love the level of  
connections I am able to make between AI and the MBTI.

If you want an introduction go to the Myers and Briggs Foundation web  
site http://www.myersbriggs.org/

I hope my comments and sources provide Ai List readers who do not  
know the MBTI clues about whether it might support your use of AI and  
how to find out more about it.  And if you already know the MBTI and  
find new resources in my note, I will be delighted.

Best to you,

David (INTJ)

David J. Snider, Ph.D.
David Snider Associates
   Consultants On Personal and
   Organizational Development
17214 Wildemere
Detroit, MI 48221
O: 313 342 8060
Fax: 313 342 8650
davidsnider at mindspring.com



On Mar 14, 2007, at 10:49 AM, Bill Scott wrote:

> 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
>
>
>
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