In the Stars

The WoW/sex poll must have really awakened the psych student in me, because here's another psych related post! Brookie and I were talking about personality tests in guild chat, and he linked me a description of INTP to read (I'm guessing the test he took was here). The two times that I've done a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, I have been told that I'm an INTP. Graham did one and tried to answer as though he were me, and he got ISTP, which is only one letter off.

I read the PDF that Brookie linked, and I found that a lot of the terms described me pretty well:

-they see everything in terms of how it could be improved, or what it could be turned into
-they are the "absent-minded professors"
-they're very tolerant and flexible in most situations, unless one of their firmly held beliefs has been violated or challenged, in which case they may take a very rigid stance

are just a few from the first section.

Then Brookie told me what he got, and he said that he has the same personality type that I do. Not that it's a bad thing, but I've always felt like Brookie and I are pretty different people. We do share some common interests, like helping other people out, and achievement whoring, but the way that we talk, the way that we play, it seems like we approach life in a different way. Then again, he said himself that he doesn't think INTP describes him at all. However, he did a few tests, and they all told him the same thing, so something has to be wrong!

One of the things we talked about was "innate" personality vs. "situational" personality. The idea is that everyone has a personality that usually becomes fairly static after childhood, and this is someone's personality deep-down. The situational personality being the type of person you become in different situations - e.g. you might be lively and talkative when with friends, and sullen and quiet while with family.

In biology class, Mr Hanna once said that he refuses to believe in astrology because it's something some idiots created based on stars that have now moved to completely different locations, and only another idiot could possibly believe that such a thing dictates their life. Sometimes I wonder if personality types aren't a little bit like star signs as well. The only reason Brookie was doing the tests was because he had to do it for work. He said that depending on the results, he might be moved to another department better suited to his personality.

I understand that companies pay heaps to train people up, and at least they would rather find him a better placement than fire him outright, but why move people just because some test said they'd make a better X than Y? One of the important things I remember from I/O psych was that diverse groups can be quite strong, if they can get over their diversity, because they can draw from many different types of experiences, rather than just the same experiences over and over again. Maybe that problem of diversity is the reason some companies are so reliant on personality tests, but if someone has been working there for a few years, and has a proven track record of being able to play nice with others, it seems pointless.

Plus, there is no guarantee that the person taking the test isn't lying for the sake of social desirability anyway. More importantly, it might not be accurately measuring their situational personality. I wonder what will happen to me when I start work, especially as an Aries, INTP, moderate on openness, low conscientiousness, low extraversion, high on agreeable, and moderately neurotic?