It's Good To Be 100% Confident That You Have
The Correct 4 Letter Personality Type

 

It is extremely critical to know precisely what your 4 letter Personality Type is, and it's worth taking a little bit of extra time to be 100% sure.

A dirty little secret in the personality testing field is that even the best, most well research assessments are only 60 to 70% accurate. This is even true of the most famous personality assessment, the MBTI® otherwise knows as the Myers-Briggs®. Thus when taking a personality test, 1 in 4 people will get the wrong Type.

The solution is that after you take the test, you should read a few different descriptions of Personality Types, and settle on the one that fits you the best.

There are 16 Personality Types, and picking the wrong type is like putting diesel fuel into a car that takes regular gasoline (petrol; for you Brit's). The wrong type of fuel just won't work right and you will damage your engine.

Having the wrong Personality Type will waste your time and result in you getting bad information about yourself.

Knowing your correct Type will help you achieve: more job satisfaction, more success and better relationships.

 

Five Reasons Why Your Personality Test Results May Not Be Accurate?

Thousands of people take our free personality test every month. Some will find the correct Personality Type the first time. Others will need some help. Why?

There are five main reasons why an individual's Personality Test results many not be accurate and why you may want to take extra steps to make sure you have the correct type.

1) Cultural Biases, Honesty, and the "Wanna Be Effect"

Experts agree that one of the most common reasons for people to get the wrong Type when they take a personality test is because they answer based on not how they really are, but how they want to be or how they think they should be.

This is because they have an image in their mind of what is proper and right.

For example, we have seen people who believe that being organized is very important, because that is what they were taught or that is what their work culture expects, yet we know they are not organized at all. However, they will answer as if they were very organized because they have that ideal image in their mind.

It's important to know yourself and to answer truthfully. Otherwise you are just fooling yourself and that will only waste your time and give you bad results.

Another example is where, in a world where being "on time" is seen as a positive attribute and being late is seen as being not so good, a person who frequently shows up late might find themselves answering a question by saying that being on time is very important to them. This would distort their Judging / Perceiving scores.

It would be better for this person to realize that because they get wrapped up in the experience of the moment they don't want to end the current experience to allow enough time to get to their next appointment. So they consciously make a decision to be a few minutes late.

In a world where we are taught that being neat and having a clean desk is good, a person who really prefers to have several stacks of paper on their desk might answer a question in the test by saying they like a neat workspace when in fact they really don't. This would distort their Judging / Perceiving scores. If you like all of your important papers stacked up on your desk, just say so. There is nothing wrong with it.

In a world where carrying a Day Timer or Personal Organizer is the accepted way of doing business, a person who hates "To Do Lists" might in fact say they are a very organized person who plans everyday. This would distort the Judging / Perceiving scores.

In a world where being tough is considered manly, certain men may not want to answer questions about the Thinking / Feeling preference if it indicates they are more Feeling oriented. Yet, there are huge advantages to the Feeling preference. So answering truthfully will result in a more accurate test score.

Thus we find that people can distort their test scores based by selecting what they think or believe is the better, more acceptable answer.

 

2) Too Much Thinking or Too Indecisive

We have seen very analytical people "over complicate" and "over think" the questions in the test. The instructions say you should answer quickly and not think too much.

On the flip side, there are Personality Types who prefer to hold off making decisions, because they want to leave room for more information to come in. These Personality Types may find that they resist making a decision to settle on one single Type. Each of us has only one Type. You can't have two and you can't be part one Type and part another Type. You have to select one Type or the system won't work for you and it won't do you any good.

 

3) Confusion about One's Self - and Self Awareness

People may not have a clear picture of themselves.

Some folks are more aware of themselves and know themselves better. Others have a much harder time knowing themselves.

We've seen professional actors and actresses who were so adept at playing different roles that they sometimes forget who they really are. They would slide into different roles while taking the test.

Yet, on the other hand we have seen 9th graders do really well and get an accurate test results.

 

4) Confusion Over Personality Type Terminology

The terminology used in the Type world is not necessarily the same that is used in everyday speech, and this causes confusion.

For example, we have encountered many people who think they are "Extraverted" when in fact they are "Introverted." Once the differences are explained, they agree that based on the formal definition, they are not Extraverted.

The issue is with the definition of these terms, and confusion over "shyness."

One true test for Introversion vs Extraversion is to see the person when they are out of their comfort zone. An Introvert who is in their comfort zone i.e. with close friends, might talk loud and fast just like an Extravert, but put them in a small group of strangers and watch what they do.

A true Introvert, when put in a small group of people they do not know will become very uncomfortable. An Extravert however gets excited about having more people to talk to, even if they are total strangers.

Another good test for Introversion and Extraversion is to find out just how much "private time" or "alone time" the person enjoys. Introverts love private time whereas, Extraverts would rather be with people.

Public speaking ability is not a good indicator of Introversion or Extraversion. Being able to stand up in front of 300 people and give a talk is not hard for many Introverts, if you give them time to prepare. However, ask them to do it without any preparation and you will see the anxiety build. So public speaking is not a good indicator for Introversion / Extraversion.

The Personality Type system is fairly complex and there are many subtleties. It takes considerable study and practice to become adept at determining a person's Type. For training and certification in the Personality Type system of Myers and Briggs, click here.

 

5) Your Core Self and the Influence of Age, Maturity, and Learned Behavior

Your 4 letter Personality Type stays the same from birth to death, but it's easier to determine one's Type when one is under 25. The reason is that as one matures and becomes more well rounded, one learns to adapt to situations. You pick up learned behaviors and these become layers of personality on top of your original personality. Thus, the older and more mature you are, the more layers you have hiding your original personality.

When you are trying to identify your 4 letter Personality Type, what you want to identify is what is known as your "True Self," or your "Core Self." This would be your personality without all the learned behaviors.

The learned behaviors are like a layer of personality top your Core Self. This layer is known as your "Developed Self."

There is one additional layer and that is your "Contextual Self" which describes how you behave in different circumstances. In certain situations, you might act totally different that what your Core Self would suggest.

The following diagram from Linda Berens "UnderStanding Yourself and Others, An Introduction to Interaction Styles" shows how this looks:

Core Self - Developed Self - Contextual Self Diagram

 

Two Ways To Make Sure You Have the Right Personality Type

There are two ways to make sure you have the correct Personality Type:

  1. Read descriptions of each Personality Type on our web site and decide which fits best

  2.  

  3. Talk to a person who is trained and certified in Myers-Briggs® personality assessment and have them determine your Type

 

People who are trained and certified in the Myers-Briggs® system are taught that when administering a personality test to someone you should also include a 1 on 1 discussion to help make sure they have the correct Personality Type.

We give our Personality Test for free, but it's not possible to for us to offer such a discussion for free. We do however offer a short Personality Type Counseling Session which we do over the phone.

Also, if you purchase one of our Career Counseling Sessions, we include the Personality Type interpretation. We do use the Personality Type information in everyone of our Career Counseling sessions because it is so powerful and it is the best way for us to get to know you and to help with your career direction.

 

Why is Knowing Your Personality Type so Important?

Knowing your 4 letter Personality Type is extremely powerful when it comes to understanding yourself and others. There are hundreds of books written about Personality Type that you can access to boost your personal growth and your success.

If you have the wrong Personality Type, all of this information is useless.

Thus if you want any of the following, then making sure you have the correct 4 Letter Personality Type is critical:

  • You are looking for insight into which careers you might be good at
  • You would like insight into your strengths and weaknesses
  • You want to achieve more and be more successful
  • You want to be happier
  • You want to know how to sell to others better
  • You want to know how to be more persuasive
  • You want to have better relationships
  • You want to know how to get along with others better
  • You have trouble getting along with a person and you want help figuring out what to do

The Personality Type system will help you to achieve all of those things, but only if you know your Type. Otherwise, all of the information will be inaccurate.

 

To See Your Personality Test Scores

If you have taken our Personality Test, you can see your scores by signing in and going to the Member's Menu.

 

 

®MBTI and Myers-Briggs are registered trademarks of CPP.