Which personality test is best: Myers-Briggs Type

Though the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is the most recognized personality type test, many varying tests have succeeded it. Among these assessments is another commonly recognized test known as the Enneagram test. Yet, there are several characteristics of the MBTI that make it superior to its counterparts. 

The MBTI strives to offer people a comprehensive understanding of their minds. There are four characteristics within the MBTI: extraversion or introversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling and judging or perceiving. The broken-down characteristics generate 16 personality combination types.

Conversely, the Enneagram test broadly categorizes all the personalities into nine nicknamed attributes: the reformer, the helper, the achiever, the individualist, the investigator, the loyalist, the enthusiast, the challenger and the peacemaker. 

The MBTI is a powerful and respected resource that gives people insight into how they think, behave and respond to situations. Katharine Briggs, her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, and psychoanalyst C. G. Jung created this revolutionary tool. The original intention of the test was to study children and learn about their developing brains and how they are wired. 

Decades later, the test has transformed into a widely embraced mechanism that government agencies like the Department of Defense, the CIA and military institutions use to assess one’s personality, according to the World Economic Forum. 

In the last century, populations have been itching to discover and understand how every person — including themselves — operates, and the MBTI offers that chance for personal understanding. Since its establishment, businesses have adopted this personality test to gain a better perception of the employees in their organizations, according to Indeed.

Gaining that insight then allows people to understand others and how to best interact with them, and it is why organizations implement such personality tests into their company cultures. 

The MBTI is a ground-breaking questionnaire that takes people on a journey that helps them better understand themselves and those around them. With many other personality tests now available, the MBTI remains an unrivaled personality test used by over 2 million people each year. 

However, even though the renowned questionnaire gives a detailed representation of how an individual operates, there are always exceptions. These tests are purely intended to better the communication between people, as its users can be more empathetic to others once they know how everyone, including themselves, perceives and responds to things. 

The MBTI has revolutionized the world of self-assessment, and when compared to the Enneagram test, beats it in every regard. Yet, with its profound breakthroughs, every individual who takes this test, or any other, should not place their whole identity in the answers of a personality assessment, but in the one who created them. 

So, the next time you take the MBTI, analyze your results and see what you can learn from them and the results of others. However, know that one personality type is not better than another; this is simply a tool used to inform how you likely think and operate, and while it can help you understand who you are, it does not define you.

Daniel is an opinion writer for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X