So what does a test do and how? A test generally assigns a score to, and categorizes the person taking it, by comparing his or her responses to an existing standard on the basis of how many are correct or incorrect. For instance, a student who gets nine out of 10 answers correct on a quiz or test will receive a 90 which will probably be rated as an A or excellent.
But the MBTI tool does not do this. It is solely about preferences. Its purpose is to help those who take it to become aware of how they prefer to energize themselves, take in information, make decisions and orient themselves to the outside world.
A test is about an individual's PERFORMANCE, whereas the MBTI assessment is about an individual HIM or HERSELF. Another way to look at this is that a test is about DOING, while the MBTI tool is about BEING. It's about who the person taking it really is on the inside as opposed to what he or she can do.
Besides comparing the scores of those who take it to a standard, a test also ranks the test - taker by comparing his or her scores to those of the others who've taken the same test. We've all heard about someone who received the highest or lowest grade on a test at school, for instance, and the positive or negative labels which were attached to this person as a result. Many of us who've taken college admission tests are also familiar with percentile rankings which tell us how many of our fellow test - takers scored higher or lower, better or worse, than we did.
But the MBTI tool does not measure, pass judgment on, or compare us to anything. It is simply an indicator, a tool used to help us better understand ourselves and others. The concepts of strength, skill, right, wrong, good, bad, or value - laden comparisons with others are foreign to the purpose of the MBTI assessment. Thus to say "I am a strong (or weak) Introvert", or "He was the strongest Extravert in the group", or "ENFJs are better than INFPs" etc. shows a lack of understanding of the assessment. Either I prefer Introversion OR Extraversion, period. It is the same with the other three dichotomies. I prefer either Sensing or Intuition, Thinking or Feeling, Judging or Perceiving, one four - letter type code (in my case INFJ) above the other 15, period. Any use of the MBTI tool beyond what I've mentioned here is incorrect and possibly even unethical.
I highly recommend an excellent blog which I recently added to my Books, etc. resources page and speaks beautifully about this issue. "The MBTI - My Most Valued Tool" was posted on September 20, 2013 by Hile Rutledge, the president of OKA (Otto Kroeger Associates), a company which provides training on the MBTI assessment as well as several others. It was one of many pieces written by various people to defend the MBTI tool after it was recently attacked by someone who clearly does not understand its purpose.
In this blog Mr. Rutledge states that what he likes best about the MBTI tool "...is that it speaks to personal preferences and not to specific skills, performance or ability." As he says so well, it is a tool of self - awareness. "It never tries to select us, or grade us, or rank order us...It is not - and has never been - a test."
There are many "...tools to measure, rank, predict and select." The MBTI tool is not one of them. I agree with Mr. Rutledge that "...this is its greatest gift."