The CPP Education Blog has moved to http://www.cppblogcentral.com/category/education-blog/. You will be redirected to the new blog.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Misperception #4 about unclear type: “My mid-range score of 2 for Extraversion means I’m balanced and/or very healthy”

Bookmark and Share


Written by Catherine Rains 

A very common misinterpretation (and closely related to misperception #1) of a slight score is that someone is balanced, and/or that this type of score indicates positive mental health. Your student certainly could be very healthy, but a mid-range score is not what would indicate mental balance and health.  It simply means that they split their “vote”, or chose items on the assessment an almost equal amount of times on both sides of the preference pair.  This would also be called unclear type, and this is a type in and of itself.  In other words, at this moment, your student is not clear about their type, and that IS a type – unclear.  But type theory says that at some point in a student’s life, they will become clear about all 4 preferences, and claim one side of each preference pair as their own.  Until then, their type is unclear.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Misperception #3 about unclear type: “I am more extraverted with a score of 30 than my friend who is only a 2”

Bookmark and Share

Written by Catherine Rains

Your students’ MBTI ® score measures consistency, not quantity. A student who scores 30 has answered all the extraverted questions in the extraverted direction, and therefore will more than likely agree (validate) that they have a preference for Extraversion. However, when a student scores 2 for Extraversion, it doesn’t mean they are any less extraverted than the student who scores 30. Again, the MBTI doesn’t measure how much you are of a preference, but rather how consistently you answered in one direction or the other. Our student with a score of 30 could indeed have more extraverted behaviors, but the MBTI is not measuring the amount of extraverted behaviors that they exhibit. But rather, it indicates how sure they are that they are an Extravert.

One thing you can almost certainly count on – the student with a score of 30 will agree with their result for Extraversion. Our student with a score of 2 for Extraversion will most likely be unsure and need to explore this preference pair in order to validate their best fit type for either Extraversion or Introversion. I happen to have a score of 2 for Extraversion and went back and forth for years trying to decide just this. In my mid-forties I finally realized that I am indeed an Extravert, but my score is still a 2. I express Extraversion in my own unique way, with a bit of Introverted behaviors thrown in for good measure! But once I claimed Extraversion, according to the MBTI, I am just as Extraverted as someone with a score of 30. An Extravert is an Extravert is an Extravert, no matter the score. Once you validate, that is your preference, period. A lower score could be a sign that more exploration is needed in this pair before someone can claim their true preference.