Chapter 7: Quiz
1. The MBTI's test-retest reliability problem means:
- A) The test always gives the same result
- B) Approximately 50% of people receive a different type when retested after five weeks
- C) The test cannot be taken more than once
- D) Results improve with repeated testing
Answer: B. About half of test-takers get a different four-letter type on retest, because most people score near the middle of each dimension and small fluctuations tip them into a different category.
2. Who created the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator?
- A) Two clinical psychologists at Stanford
- B) Carl Jung himself
- C) Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, neither of whom were psychologists
- D) The American Psychological Association
Answer: C. The MBTI was developed by a mother-daughter team — Katharine Briggs (homemaker) and Isabel Myers (political science degree) — based on their reading of Carl Jung.
3. When MBTI score distributions are examined, they show:
- A) 16 distinct clusters corresponding to the 16 types
- B) Continuous bell curves on each dimension, with most people near the middle
- C) Bimodal distributions with clear type separation
- D) Random distributions with no pattern
Answer: B. Scores form continuous distributions, not distinct types. The "types" are imposed by the scoring system's binary cutoffs, not discovered in the data.
4. Which important personality dimension does the MBTI fail to measure?
- A) Extroversion
- B) Thinking vs. Feeling
- C) Neuroticism (emotional stability)
- D) Sensing vs. Intuition
Answer: C. The MBTI does not measure neuroticism — arguably the most important dimension for predicting mental health, relationship quality, and job performance.
5. The Enneagram's evidence base is best described as:
- A) Comparable to the Big Five
- B) Strong but limited to workplace settings
- C) Extremely thin — no consistent factor structure, poor psychometrics, and no predictive validity
- D) Robust in spiritual contexts but not in scientific ones
Answer: C. The Enneagram has essentially no scientific support. Factor analyses do not produce nine distinct types, reliability is poor, and no studies demonstrate predictive validity.
6. The Big Five personality model has been replicated across approximately how many cultures?
- A) 5
- B) 15
- C) 30
- D) 50+
Answer: D. The five-factor structure has been replicated in data from over 50 cultures, suggesting it captures something universal about human personality variation.
7. Which Big Five dimension is the strongest personality predictor of job performance?
- A) Extroversion
- B) Openness
- C) Conscientiousness
- D) Agreeableness
Answer: C. Conscientiousness (reliability, organization, self-discipline) is consistently the strongest personality predictor of job performance across occupations.
8. The MBTI persists despite weak evidence primarily because of:
- A) Its scientific validity
- B) Government regulations requiring its use
- C) The Barnum effect, identity value, institutional momentum, the certification industry, and fun factor
- D) Its superiority over all alternative assessments
Answer: C. The MBTI survives because it satisfies psychological needs (identity, community, self-knowledge via the Barnum effect) and is protected by institutional and financial incentives (sunk costs, certification revenue).
9. The Big Five is culturally unpopular compared to MBTI because:
- A) It's less scientifically valid
- B) It provides scores on dimensions rather than a tidy type label, includes neuroticism (unflattering), and doesn't create community
- C) It costs more to administer
- D) It can only be used by clinical psychologists
Answer: B. The Big Five's scientific strengths (continuous dimensions, honest about all personality variation) are the same features that make it culturally unappealing. The virality-accuracy trade-off in action.
10. Carl Jung, whose work inspired the MBTI:
- A) Designed the MBTI himself and endorsed its use
- B) Warned against using his types as a classification system, saying "every individual is an exception to the rule"
- C) Was a co-author of the MBTI with Isabel Myers
- D) Considered the MBTI his greatest contribution to psychology
Answer: B. Jung described his types as idealizations and explicitly warned against rigid classification. The MBTI's creators did exactly what Jung cautioned against.