Addressing Confirmation Bias in Personality Tests

Confirmation bias is a pervasive issue in many areas of life, and personality typing isn't immune to it. Just to clarify, confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms our pre-existing beliefs (Nickerson, 1998).

With personality type models, it can definitely come into play. For instance, someone who identifies strongly with their Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) result might start to see their behaviour exclusively through that lens. Let's say they're an INFJ, often described as insightful and idealistic. They might start to unconsciously emphasize behaviours that align with this description and downplay or ignore behaviours that don't.

Or take a manager who uses personality typing for team building. If they believe a team member is a certain 'type', they might interpret that person's actions in line with their expectations of that type, even if an alternative explanation might be more accurate.

However, this isn't an issue exclusive to personality types—it's a broader psychological phenomenon. What's key is that we're aware of it and work actively to mitigate it. We need to recognize that personality types offer general patterns, not definitive predictions. A person typed as an ESTJ (often described as organized and decisive) in the MBTI can still have moments of spontaneity or indecisiveness (Myers et al., 1998).

At the end of the day, these models are tools. They can offer a starting point for self-understanding and improved interpersonal communication, but they're not definitive guides to our complex personalities. If used with care and a recognition of their limitations, they can still be of value in personal and professional contexts.

References:

Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2(2), 175-220.

Myers, I. B., McCaulley, M. H., Quenk, N. L., & Hammer, A. L. (1998). MBTI Manual (A guide to the development and use of the Myers Briggs type indicator). Consulting Psychologists Press.