Episode 130 - Personality Profiling: Helpful or Hokum?

Companies use personality tests for a variety of purposes, such as employment screening, assessing leadership potential, fostering corroboration and teamwork, etc. The most widely used is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), created by Pennsylvania housewife Isabel Myers. This particular test is utilized by 89% of the Fortune 100, given to 2.5 million people each year to identify strengths and enhance teamwork. The Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (MMPI) was developed in 1946 to sort mental patients into diagnostic categories. It was then expanded in an attempt to describe normal people. Of course, popularity does not imply validity. What is worse, most companies keep these tests confidential so the data cannot be tested to determine effectiveness. These tests are also popular among consultants, who are paid good money to administer them in a convivial atmosphere. Helpful or hokum? We will attempt to answer in this week's show.