What is Truth? Sociology and the MBTI

My students are going to take that the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator about ten times by the time they are in their mid-twenties, and, at least once, they will start trying to predict what everyone they know is based on Myers-Briggs. I like to present this test, which seems almost entirely arbitrary at times, as a Sacramental sign of common human desire to be in relationship with the self and with others. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator assists individuals in identifying their strengths in regard to how one is “energized”, how one gathers information, how one makes decisions, and how one deals with complex issues. By using a series of tests, the MBTI can assist an individual in identifying who they are within the context of the test parameters. The MBTI classifies individuals with terms related to the previously mentioned strengths as Extroverted or Introverted, Sensing or Intuitive, Thinking or Feeling, and Perceiving or Judging. This form of personality assessment utilizes academic tools for classifying who a person is, or, rather, for describing who a person is. This Material epistemological tool measures an individual’s personality within the context of a predetermined scale. It is purely done within the context of the Pit. Without describing in detail how this scale is determined and how the test is administered, the result is a description of an individual in terms of the previously mentioned dimensions. This description can be used in multiple ways to assist the individual in their personal and professional life. That is, as one better understands their Personality Type as determined by the MBTI, they may better understand their natural likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the dimensions of the MBTI. Knowing this gives the individual a way in which to make decisions that will best fit their personality, thereby allowing them to make the healthiest and most natural choices in their lives. Further, if one is aware of another’s personality type and if they have trained themselves to adapt to various personality types in relationship, they can better relate to the world around them. Ultimately, in the Pit, we can know our “type” based on simple observations, but knowing our “type” is only part of the equation.

West Rim Train at Big Bend National Park in Texas. Introspection and reflection are vital in helping to know the self, but this all means nothing if we do not use this knowledge to deepen interpersonal relationships (photo T. Burrell)

            Most often, I tell students, people finish the test and now they have their “type” identified. They are now defined by four little letters. Most students, when I challenge then to think about boiling down their personality to four letters, suspect there to be something wrong with the test. I tell them there is nothing wrong with the test; we just can’t look at this as the end of the story. “What can we do with type indicators?” I ask. The answers come flooding in.  Again, they are using ideas we have studied earlier in class. “If we know what our type is then we can explain why we act the way we do.” If we know our type and the type of others, we can predict their behavior better.” “If we know types, Mr. Smith, we know ourselves and others better…we can have stronger relationships.” Exactly! I explain to students, again, how if we stop at just our “type” then everything around us is only seen as it relates to the self. We are still alone in the Pit. But if we are aware of other peoples’ “types”, then we can start to develop relationships with others, even if we are all in the Pit.