The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test has become an obsession for many in China in recent years. Young people use it to select potential dates. Employers use it to screen job candidates. Influencers employ the test’s jargon to drive engagement.

But society’s excessive trust in MBTI results is having unintended consequences, leading employers to make biased hiring decisions and young people to develop a distorted self-image, a pair of Chinese academics argue in a new paper.

The MBTI test was first developed in the United States in the 1940s. It divides individuals into 16 distinct personality types based on their answers to dozens of questions designed to gauge how they interact with others, process information, and make decisions.

It’s unclear how or why the test has gained such prominence in China, but it has become a ubiquitous part of everyday life in recent years. Young people especially have begun to see their MBTI as a core part of their identities; “What’s your MBTI?” is now a common ice-breaker, used as casually as “What do you do for work?” or previous generations’ equivalent, “What’s your star sign?”

However, in a paper published in Chinese Youth Journal — a theoretical journal overseen by the Communist Youth League — a pair of scholars from Zhejiang University and Peking University push back against the growing cult of MBTI, asking: “Can MBTI genuinely define us?”

For their paper, the academics set out to study the influence of MBTI on Chinese society, conducting an analysis of online discussions of the test on social media and in-depth interviews with a dozen young people.

They found that in some cases the MBTI can be counterproductive. Originally, the test was intended to help individuals gain some insight into their strengths and weaknesses, giving them a springboard for self-development.

But some young people and employers have come to view a person’s MBTI score as fixed and definitive — MBTI as destiny. This can lead individuals to define themselves and others solely based on their MBTI types, which limits their self-awareness and ability to understand others.

The authors call for a more rational and balanced use of MBTI in society. While acknowledging the potential uses of the test, they argue that employers in particular need to avoid basing hiring decisions solely on a candidate’s personality type.

Employers’ use of MBTI tests has become a contentious topic in China in recent months, as a growing number of companies are reportedly forcing candidates to take personality tests in addition to written exams and in-person interviews.

On Chinese social media, job seekers are increasingly pushing back against recruiters’ use of MBTI, calling personality tests a new form of employment discrimination.

Users are swapping tips on how to game tests during job applications, and some companies have even begun advertising MBTI tutoring services to help job seekers align their answers with employers’ expectations.

Jiang Yun, a job seeker from Shanghai, told Sixth Tone that she recently attended an in-person interview for a media job, during which one of the interviewers directly asked her about her MBTI. When she responded that she was an ENTP (known as a “Debater”), the interviewers noted it down in her profile without providing any further comment.

According to Jiang, this kind of question is becoming increasingly common in Chinese workplaces. Though she acknowledges the MBTI may allow employers to gain some insight into job applicants’ characters, she argues that it is wrong for employers to make hiring decisions purely on the basis of a person’s MBTI score.

“Relying solely on this personality test may perpetuate preconceived notions and stereotypes, such as assuming that J (‘judging’) individuals are better at planning and may be more productive,” Jiang said. “MBTI should serve as a reference point and shouldn’t unduly influence interview outcomes.”

In their paper, the authors conclude by cautioning against allowing the MBTI — a tool intended to empower individuals — to become a force that alienates and dominates us.

“Restricting individuals within the constraints of MBTI labels goes against the pursuit of freedom and holistic development,” they write.

(Header image: VCG)