It is safe to say that almost every jobseeker has experienced employee selection using psychological tests. This kind of test is usually used during selection to read the character of the candidate in order to find the right employee for a certain position. In fact, there are companies that want the process of selection to run quickly. Hence, they often use online psychological tests. Not only do these tests provide instant reports, they are also free.
Talking about free online psychological tests, one of the most popular is called 16 Personalities. The parties behind this one claim that this test is accurate and is a good psychological measurement tool based on the Myers-Briggs theory. Contrary to what they claim, it is actually not that accurate.
Why is 16Personalities.com So Popular?
Due to the popularity of 16personalities.com, a reality show called MBTI Inside was held by South Korean TV in 2021. This one combined 16 people with different personalities based on what they got from the website. If you are a fan of a boy group, girl group, or Korean dramas, you must be familiar with MBTI because almost every artist at least mentions it once in their life.
Actually, the popularity of 16personalities.com is not new among the Indonesian people because it has been used as a free personality test for professional purposes. For example, it is often used by employers when hiring employees.
While some people may think MBTI is good, there are some dangers behind it, especially when it is used for professional needs. What are these dangers?
Disadvantages of Assessment with Free Online Tests
No one knows whether the artists and companies that use 16personalities.com understand the theoretical basis. Some of them may be yes while some others may not. However, it seems like people mostly just follow the trend and spread it. Just like other public figures, they do everything to make people pay attention to them. The worst thing is that their target audience is young people who are still looking for identity or fans who have nothing to do but to follow the lifestyle that their idols have.
Then, what about the company? As for the company, it is known that they want freebies. They hate complicated things. Besides, they think that an online test is enough to show the personality of the candidate. Not only for selection, this kind of test is also usually used by the company to find out the strengths and weaknesses of team members.
What are the downsides of using the 16 Personalities test in the professional realm? Find out everything below:
-
- The results of the test cannot be accounted for
A psychology test can be considered good if it has consistency in measurements. According to Dewi, the validity and reliability of the test are counted as indicators of whether or not a test is consistent. Validity is the term used to call the accuracy of a measuring instrument if making measurements. As for reliability, it refers to the stability or stability of the results of test measurements.
When choosing measuring tools for employee selection or regular assessments, the measuring tool can be considered good or bad based on a few criteria, as follows:
A. Does the test measure what it claims to measure consistently?
Some users say that they get the same results when taking the test twice. So, if you take the test twice, the score of the second test would be the same as the score of the first test. However, there are also some other ones who claim they get different results. These statements show that the test is used is not completely accurate and reliable. In theory, it is possible for the personality to change due to many things, including unexpected events. However, it is unlikely for drastic personality changes to change people to a certain group of people.
According to Elise from MBTI Journey, the weakness of this test is that it does not explain in detail about the types with different letters, such as INFP and INFJ. Basically, the 16 Personalities test tends to consider a user an S and not an N if they tend to go a lot towards S, which is weird.
B. Can the test measure what it claims to measure?
It is a must for every psychological test to be on point. For instance, intelligence tests have to measure the mental abilities of an individual instead of their other characteristics. Then, what about the 16 Personalities test? As for the 16 Personalities test, you can find out on its official website that it measures personal characters based on 5 factors, including introversion-extraversion, sensing, perceiving, intuitive, and judging. Based on the law of test preparation, the origin of these five factors should be clarified. According to the authors of 16 Personalities, the test only measures the spectrum of the five factors. It becomes an issue because there is no clarity on what direction the sensing is or how intuitive it is. It is clear that the basis of this theory is too shallow when compared to the Myers-Briggs concept, the one that refers to aspects of the mindset that shape personality through its cognitive functions.
Once again, the 16 Personalities test is not clear what aspect it wants to measure. Besides, the theory just does not make sense. The company can lose due to all kinds of assessments that use unclear measuring instruments. The reason is because they do not get candidates who match the job criteria.
-
- Shallow theories can be misleading
Theoretically, the origin of the 16 Personalities test is unclear. It only takes the tendency of the 4 letters of Myers-Briggs without including the concept of cognitive functions compiled by Isabel Briggs Myers and Catherine Cook Briggs. Apparently, this topic was also once discussed by the Real Wealth Business website. According to the website, the test does not respect the Myers-Briggs scoring process, so it cannot be stated that the 16 Personalities and Myers-Briggs test are the same test. It means the 16 Personalities test should not be used for professional personality assessment as it has questionable theoretical basis. It will be misleading if it continues to be used.
While it is true that there are still a lot of people who debate the real Myers-Briggs theory, recent research states that the Myers-Briggs test can be used as a self-discovery tool that is useful for people to determine their life path, especially regarding interests and careers, according to this personality.
Why is that so?
Everyone who has different cognitive functions clearly has different mindsets. It will affect how they behave towards a certain job. For instance, those who pay attention to detail and the current situation would be perfect to work as accountants or admin staff. As for those who are full of ideas and live from a vision, it would be perfect for them to work as journalists.
-
- Easy to bias
16 Personalities test can make people swayed by the confirmation bias and the barnum effect. If you have no idea about confirmation bias, it refers to the tendency to justify information that is felt to be in accordance with the values held by the individual. As for the barnum effect, it is the name of a psychological phenomenon where people tend to feel that a description that is actually neutral fits them really well. For instance, when reading a zodiac or blood type forecast.
Remember that the descriptions they show on the website do not necessarily apply to everyone. In fact, there are two things that shape personality: nature (genetics) and nurture (environment). If you think that each person’s personality is absolutely based solely on innate characteristic tendencies, then you are wrong. It is the reason why it is better for you to first study the Myers-Briggs theory of cognitive functions before deciding to use a self-assessment or self-test like MBTI.
Conclusion
In conclusion, online tests are not reliable to be used in the professional realm, even though it is easy and affordable. If you are wondering whether it is fine to take the test on 16 Personalities, the answer to the question is yes. While it is fine, please do not take it seriously because the test has not been scientifically proven to be accurate.
If you need to take a personality test to apply for a job or for college, you are suggested to visit the psychology bureau that is close to your area. Aside from that, you can also use the original Myers-Briggs test from the Myers-Briggs Company. Once again, do not use an online test with no clear origin.
For those who are still curious about the Myers-Briggs theory and other personality theories, make sure not to learn it through 16 Personalities. Instead, please visit trusted psychological sites and the media, especially the ones whose contributors consist of practitioners in various fields of psychology. Some of the most recommended sites to visit include:
-
- Psychology Junkie
- Psychology Today
- Personality Growth
- Introvert, Dear
- Personality Junkie
In addition, you should be aware that you live in a digital era. So, it is better for you to crosscheck all the information that you find on the internet to avoid losing.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
