Personality type indicators

dmsmith

I was almost going to put this in the rant thread, but I want to see if I can understand it better.

I am refering to the Myers/Briggs sorts of tests - which claim to be able tell a person their personality type and help them find the right job, partner etc.

Also there are the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Omega types often applied to men - eg. Leaders are often alpha males.

Honestly I have never been sure where I fall, and for years I thought it there was only two type of male, because that was all I heard talk about - Alpha or Beta males!! Now I discover there are at least five, maybe six sorts of male. Also there are good guy alphas, and bad boy alphas.

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_myth_of_the_alpha_male

What I want to know is what happens when there are several alpha males together- do they all stay alpha males, or do some basically adopt beta roles for a while, and let one be the alpha? Or can they all fall into various non-alpha roles, or do some just leave and seek a setting with no other alpha males around! :-?

Do these types really exist? Are they inherent in a person's make up? Or can someone be alpha at one time and beta, or another type at another time?

Antiriad2097

I thought all of this had been decreed bullshite of the highest order?

Maroc's Other Projection

I’ve done various tests like these with work in the past and normally end up somewhere in the middle. I’m good at mentoring people and training others but i’ve never directly managed other staff.

I’ve just taken on a new role in work which involves supervisory aspects so I’m going on a management programme which is going to involve a bunch of this stuff (we have an ex-forces general manager who loves these types of things).

I don’t have a problem with it as I find it quite interesting but I know a lot of people find it annoying. Being promoted from within a department had its own challenges and I think it might help me to take responsibility where I was previously on the same level. It’s a tricky one.

dm_boozefreek

I’m no longer a manager at my work well not officially. I stepped down roughly 3 years ago without losing any pay. I get left in charge occasionally as they know I can hold the fort if we need somebody to do so.

But basically if I can manage an entire night shift, and keep a supermarket functioning all night long, then basically anybody can be a manager. I set myself basic rules. Don’t be afraid to tell somebody what to do, you get into that habit then nobody will listen to you when you have to tell them what to do. No matter how much someone pisses you off never lose your rag with them, it doesn’t pay off in the long run, and no matter how trivial it may seem always take the time to actually listen to your team, if there’s a problem it’s better to try and work out a solution quickly rather than letting it fester.

Look at me saying sensible stuff! :))

Timmy

Yeah, sounds like probably one of the worst things devised in the last century. Not only were those personality types badly defined, but the problem went worse when they attached the wrong roles to different personalities.

And now you just end up with companies who only care about fighting with you; how to squeeze the last money out of you; or how to sell you out; instead of having companies who would make money by helping you.

I'd rather believe horoscopes than this.

Gwyn

I've been through "team building" courses with these kind of tests before, and I do think the results are a fairly good way of categorizing and understanding different personality types for everyone involved.

What I don't agree with is using that information to somehow guide corporate and business decisions. It might help people understand and deal accordingly with other personalities in the company, but shouldn't be used as any kind of grading or judgement system in employees' careers.

Zup

Enjoying playing Monopoly is a dead giveaway for a psychopath...

AndyC

Yeah, there may be some merit in using these kinds of things as a very rough metric for trying to understand how better to manage people. Some people prefer a lot of praise, some work better alone, etc

But when you get to Personality X people are the only ones worth having in job Y, then you've lost the plot. It's pseudo science at best and honestly veers closer to astrology at least half the time.

dm_boozefreek

Like measuring the size of peoples heads to ascertain if they're insane or not :))

polomint

dm_boozefreek wrote: »

Like measuring the size of peoples heads to ascertain if they're insane or not :))

I think I could do a test for that, I have a collection of heads in the freezer...

Ælita

In steps I with some phrenologi...

I really do believe Alpha stuff exists in RL. Just study the wolf pack. However, I don't believe it exists on these here interwebs. Nerds sorta rule here(kinda..not really..emptyness)...so if it does sorta exist on the interweb, best that can be hoped for is King of the nerds. Not saying much...or maybe it is! KING of the METAVERSE!...

dmsmith

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/52/7f/2c/527f2c15159e18d38d66f7c9cb49e201.jpg

Ælita

Hehe. That fella on the right sure looks it. Just to make sure, they gave him extras.

I just wonder now if that's why they elongated skulls years ago. Wasn't ancient aliens at all. It was an advanced form of phrenology,

Luny

I liked Pratchett's idea of the opposite, where someone gives you lumps to change your personality. :))

Scottie_uk

Myers Brigs, VARK, Belbin I've seen several over the years. Some are useful as a rough metric, some are backed by studies that show its effective but then the authors of the studies were the ones who came up with the ideas and then commercialized them. So they kind of sit on a continuum from useful to outright quackery, but unfortunately most people can tell the difference without digging deep.

That said, I have have found using such categorizations is far better than not doing any when forming teams.

Ælita

Luny wrote: »

I liked Pratchett's idea of the opposite, where someone gives you lumps to change your personality. :))

Oh Yeah! There is a scene of it in the first Discworld game I remember.

Hmmm.. I fell off a bike and smashed back of my head about age 10. Got a slight lump to this day....hmmm..

:))

Luny

Ah well, that lump there represents your characteristics of being a bit accident prone. :)

dmsmith

Luny wrote: »

Ah well, that lump there represents your characteristics of being a bit accident prone. :)

briscaF1

INTJ here, from what I remember.

I think it sums me up pretty well.

I've always been a bit of a loner that finally found solace in computing in the early 80s and I saw INTJ as confirming this.

I found that a lot of the bumpf surrounding Myers-Briggs was actually quite relevant to understanding myself and how I interact with others. Plus, it also taught me that you need a mixture of people in an organisation for it to function properly and that being the sort of person that I am is just as valuable as the extroverts that I can't be arsed with/aspire to be at the same time!

Ælita

Oh really. I just did the test there. I got INTP.

It says. "A Logician (INTP) is someone with the Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Prospecting personality traits. These flexible thinkers enjoy taking an unconventional approach to many aspects of life. They often seek out unlikely paths, mixing willingness to experiment with personal creativity."

I have to say, that's pretty much accurate too. I wouldn't say I am introverted, but I'm onto that side of the line for sure. Fascinating!

briscaF1

Ælita wrote: »

Oh really. I just did the test there. I got INTP.

It says. "A Logician (INTP) is someone with the Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Prospecting personality traits. These flexible thinkers enjoy taking an unconventional approach to many aspects of life. They often seek out unlikely paths, mixing willingness to experiment with personal creativity."

I have to say, that's pretty much accurate too. I wouldn't say I am introverted, but I'm onto that side of the line for sure. Fascinating!

Nice to hear that you got some confirmation, too. I used to this it was a bit like astrology nonsense but when I hear what other people say they test as, I think it's pretty accurate, especially on the introvert/extrovert front. I did a course once and they said that my personality type found it a little exhausting to be around extroverts and that I would find that I'd need to go and "recharge" myself from time to time in those situations, which was good as I tended to end up in the kitchen at parties (like Jona Lewis ;-)) having deep discussions about things rather than talking in a group about what happened on X Factor last week. Understanding yourself better - that it's OK to be different/who you are - I've found to be pretty important over the years.

dm_boozefreek

Fellow kitchen dweller here :))

Luny

I have no personality as I do not exist.

dmsmith

I always end up on the introversion side, last one I did said I was a logician. :|

Ælita

There's nothing really wrong with being introverted. You could be just 52% Introverted anyway. I think INT part must be the case for the majority of people anyway. There probably is a few true extroverts, but there's likely to be a ton of true introverts. I can't say I believe people that are extroverted anyway, It's all fake! Short burst of it in public to show how great there are. Damn fakers, probably go home crying. Look at social media, the sun shines out the ass of all the happy, chirpy extroverts. Yeah right. It's kinda sad that being introverted is seen as an undesirable quality and that pain in the ass extroverts are seen as being a very desirable train. Me..I aim for the middle ground. Always the middle road.

dm_boozefreek

Way I look at it is I like my alone time, and maybe I like it more than my social time! Especially nowadays! I can mix mingle, and be A OK in a crowd of people, but it's not what I really want! I have no desire to be loved by "millions" I have no desire to brag about every aspect of my life even if it's something irrelevant like "Look at me I bought a bottle of water this morning that cost $15!"......It's all w@nk!

I have no desire at all to pander to any political bullshit either, most of it is lies anyway, and that's official politics, gender politics, and social justice! It's all fake as f*ck these days! If it's not getting likes or retweets, or ruining somebodies life, it's not relevant......But what it really is, is sad!!!

Like me for who I am or f*ck off! I don't care! I'll still be here when the world burns, and I'll fight for me! Not a group of brainwashed pigeons!

briscaF1

"Social media influencer"

If there's one thing that shows the decline of humanity (apart from corporatisation and associated political corruption), it's this.

I'm sure a lot of it is pretty harmless but there's a dishonesty in being sponsored with cash and product to provide "impartial" reviews. Or worse; there was one Russian (Siberian?) influencer who spent their time mostly drunk and chucked his girlfriend out of the house, naked, as a punishment...and she died of exposure....or an American one who used to film himself abusing clearly vulnerable women he'd met from Tinder (he did one livestream that was reported and the police turned up and nicked him) or the obviously stupid ones like the dry ice in the swimming pool where a number of people died.

It seems that people have allowed themselves to be dumbed down and to be dictated to in terms of how and what to think for themselves or maybe it is to seek acceptance to the herd?

Or to condone cruelty? Maybe people think it's ok to see someone worse off than they are?

Or maybe that's always happened?

Regardless, it's bollocks.

Luny

I'm working hard to get introverts onto the LBQT etc list. It is our right as individuals to be recognised. No more being told to live outside your comfort zone or that the only way to be positive is to shout at the crowd. Be allowed to not have to stand up in the crowd and hold a speech. Never feel guilty for not getting FOMO and never be abused, told you're a freak because you don't go out as much as others. ;)

Of course some of the younger Is want to be called 'ahem' / 'ahim', but that is probably just going too far.

dmsmith

Ælita wrote: »

There's nothing really wrong with being introverted. You could be just 52% Introverted anyway. I think INT part must be the case for the majority of people anyway. There probably is a few true extroverts, but there's likely to be a ton of true introverts. I can't say I believe people that are extroverted anyway, It's all fake! Short burst of it in public to show how great there are. Damn fakers, probably go home crying. Look at social media, the sun shines out the ass of all the happy, chirpy extroverts. Yeah right. It's kinda sad that being introverted is seen as an undesirable quality and that pain in the ass extroverts are seen as being a very desirable train. Me..I aim for the middle ground. Always the middle road.

On the one hand I don't like being put in a box, on the other I'd like to know better what sort of work I should look for. But I don't think its so neat as these personality types inventories make it seem, maybe there are far more types than 16?

Ælita

Of course. I think that Briggs indicator thing is a little too obsessed by INT/EXT stuff as Brisca said. Yes, I know I'm tipped over on that side of the fence but am in no way introvert. That result makes me think I'm some crazy loner with a knife. Fuel of INCELS. Big INT letters ..da da da daaaaa. Nah. forgetting the Da da da daaaa INT part, was pretty accurate.

Anyhoohow, it's all crap, your kinda victorian diagram above proved it. The murder was committed by a crazy loner with a family of four,

@briscaF1 Those influencers only seem to have a lifespan of 30 years tops. Every day I'm looking at news another influencer has died. The ultimate influence.