Regardless of what you make of my stance, let's take a moment to think about how the test actually works: it maps one's position based on two parameters - left vs. right, and libertarian vs. authoritarian. Since having only two variables is so conveniently mappable, and the test questions were constructed in such a way that allows for qualitative analysis, it is perfectly possible to represent one's test result on a grid with two axes, as illustrated above. Very self-evident, yes? The graphical representation is particularly effective at telling you that this test gives no further insight into your persona beyond the two parameters its questions were designed to test.Now, what if, instead of a graph, the test resorted to giving you a two-letter result? For example, in my case I would be LL for Left Libertarian, while others could be LA, RL, or RA. Instead of showing your friends your obviously unique and special pretty shiny graph, you're suddenly reduced to simply LL, or just one possibility out of a grand total of four permutations. How special is that? It's even better than the horoscopes where statistically only 1/12 of all people are just like you!
But! Hold on, I have a way to make you feel even more special. How about instead of only two measly parameters, we use FOUR? (Now it's so complex we can't even map it! So we HAVE to resort to four-letter results!) How about instead of political views, we use personal preferences and characteristics? Namely, 1. whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, 2. whether you prefer to rely on the senses or intuition, 3. whether you prefer to rely on thoughts or feelings, and 4. whether you are judgmental or perceptive! In that case, I just happen to be an introverted intuitive feeling judge! Or INFJ for short! SWEET. Obviously this must mean I'm soo special, just like every other INFJ out there! We're all like the exact same person according to this logic!
THIS IS WHY MYERS-BRIGGS IS FULL OF SHIT! I HATE PERSONALITY TESTS BECAUSE I'M SO INSECURE ABOUT MYSELF! WHY DOES IT LABEL ME AND THINKS IT KNOWS MEEEE????!!!? (OWWIE IN MY BUTT, ETC.)
...
But seriously guys, the above is apparently the most common argument against Myers-Briggs I remember hearing from people. Take it at face value (combination/coordination based on four dichotomies) and nothing more. If you don't have a problem with the political compass (which is by no means a COMPLETE analysis nor picture of your political stance), why would you hate on Myers-Briggs (which is also by no means meant to represent your WHOLE person) when the two tests operate on the exact same principles?
Interpretation of one's Myers-Briggs result is also incomparable to reading horoscopes. To illustrate, let's go back to the Political Compass. If we were to compile a description of someone who falls into the LL quadrant, we might say he or she is a collectivist/Commie anarchist. Well woah there, Jing! Is she really like that?! Of course not, to that extreme. Nevertheless, compared to people who occupy the other quadrants, that is the general relative direction in which I point. I do not even necessarily agree with the most extremists in my own quadrant, but on the grander scale, "liberal libertarian" is where I fall. Similarly, all the Myers-Briggs personality type descriptions you read should also be interpreted as relative generalizations based on conclusions drawn only from the four parameters tested.
Lastly, neither Myers-Briggs nor the Political Compass find people evenly divided among types. Why that should be so for politics should be obvious...but for Myers-Briggs personality types, certain combinations simply are (statistically) significantly rarer than the expected 1/16 (or 6.25%). The likes of INFJ and INFP are usually listed as ~3% max. How or why that is no one may ever know...it might be due to sampling error for all I care. Point is, neither is fundamentally the same as random distribution.
Also this is officially the longest and possibly most pointless disclaimer I have ever written. I don't know. Not in a mood to compare with that time I had to rant about knowledge and determinism.
Anyway, on to the original point of the poast.I was 14 or 15 when I had my first run-in with dear Jung and Myers-Briggs. I was kind of in that phase where an ideal pastime would be taking various quizzes and collecting all the flattering results they had to offer my teenage self, which I would then post on the now-defunct Tsuki board. I remember distinctly that this INFJ business was by far the most ego-stroking piece of text I had ever come across. Through the rest of high school and early college, I have had the chance to retake the test a couple of times, but have always gotten the same result.
Then SPS happened, along with that process/realization of change/maturation and what I saw as an embracing of my left brain. I stepped on solid ground for what felt like the first time, and suddenly I realized just how much my views have changed by how little I could reconnect with people whom I once shared great understanding and common language. I pulled back significantly from the past into the here and now, with increased focus on preparation and anticipation for the future. My approach to issues has become methodological and practical to a sometimes merciless degree. Despite what I have happily spent over 200 hours voluntarily doing over the past year plus, I found I had less and less compassion/empathy/patience with people I actually knew, especially if they were dealing with issues I secretly deemed 'petty' and 'juvenile.' It reached the point that I began to question whether I had somehow let rational thinking completely take over my life.
And then, last week, a discussion on our old friend Myers-Briggs triggered me to retake the test for shits and giggles. I was honestly curious whether I had turned from F to T...but lo and behold, I found out that not only was I still INFJ, I have apparently grown into/become even more INFJ than I ever have in the past. Reading its descriptive passages was not so much flattery rather than WTF WHY IS THIS SO CREEPILY ACCURATE. Let's look at some quotes in particular.
"INFJs are champions of the oppressed and downtrodden. They often are found in the wake of an emergency, rescuing those who are in acute distress."- Would anyone even believe me at all if I say I did NOT choose to volunteer where I do without meaning to fulfill this on purpose?
"The INFJ under stress may fall prey to various forms of immediate gratification."
- Hello, various forms of binging. This comes in how I take certain foods, music, games, you name it.
"Strongly humanitarian in outlook, INFJs tend to be idealists, and because of their J preference for closure and completion, they are generally "doers" as well as dreamers. This rare combination of vision and practicality often results in INFJs taking a disproportionate amount of responsibility in the various causes to which so many of them seem to be drawn."
- So apparently that 'practical' and 'just get shit done' mentality I thought was T was really my full-on expression of J. HURR DURR
"INFJs are deeply concerned about their relations with individuals as well as the state of humanity at large. They are, in fact, sometimes mistaken for extroverts because they appear so outgoing and are so genuinely interested in people"
- I had a conversation about this sobre my training experience at SPS. My trainees would have a difficult time believing I'm a true introvert through and through.
"On the contrary, INFJs are true introverts, who can only be emotionally intimate and fulfilled with a chosen few from among their long-term friends, family, or obvious "soul mates."
- Yeah.
"at intervals INFJs will suddenly withdraw into themselves, sometimes shutting out even their intimates."
- Jarek would laugh and cry at the truth in this.
"there can sometimes be a "tug-of-war" between NF vision and idealism and the J practicality that urges compromise for the sake of achieving the highest priority goals. And the I and J combination, while perhaps enhancing self-awareness, may make it difficult for INFJs to articulate their deepest and most convoluted feelings."
- Hello permanent writer's/artist's block. Hello cruel practicality.
"the significant minority of INFJs who do pursue studies and careers in the [sciences] tend to be as successful as their T counterparts, as it is *iNtuition* -- the dominant function for the INFJ type -- which governs the ability to understand abstract theory and implement it creatively."
- Found this out when studying for the MCAT as I realized that all the "intuitive" tricks those ExamCrackers guys try to teach you were the ones I came up with myself to learn science in the first place. Hooray.
From yet another source:"INFJs place great importance on havings things orderly and systematic in their outer world. They put a lot of energy into identifying the best system for getting things done, and constantly define and re-define the priorities in their lives."
- Again, definitely not T, but instead very expected for J.
"INFJ is a perfectionist who doubts that they are living up to their full potential. INFJs are rarely at complete peace with themselves - there's always something else they should be doing to improve themselves and the world around them."
- Holy shit? Except in my earlier years, I chose to not try in the first place. Thank you, immaturity and Stuy.
"Conversely, they have very high expectations of themselves, and frequently of their families. They don't believe in compromising their ideals."
- Sorry, Jarek and trainees who give me feedback saying I push too hard. =|
"An INFJ who has gone the route of becoming meticulous about details may be highly critical of other individuals who are not."
- Hello OCD behavior in SPS paperwork...
Sigh. That's all for now. Link for those interested in a quick test themselves.
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