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1. Personality tests are inherently skewed because the kind of people likely to take a test at all also tend to be more likely to answer certain questions similarly. For example, if you are really invested in discovering what you are like, you are probably also given to introspection, and introspection means you probably think of yourself as somewhat anxious and insecure.
2. Personality profiling, which for years was mostly a useless corporate exercise to make HR departments prove they were actually doing something, has become a way for modern people to craft an identity.
3. Self-knowledge gleaned from personality tests is of course interesting, but another reason people pursue it is that it is a kind of social membership card. Finding another INFJ or Enneagram 6 gives the sense of togetherness that the vast majority of modern people can’t find and cannot seem to build.
4. Personality profiling easily becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Years ago someone told me that middle children (such as me) are adaptable but struggle to feel seen. Throughout the years I’ve told this story to myself often, interpreting behavior and feelings through this prism, and I’m almost certainly less assertive and more insecure because I’ve told myself I was already these things.
5. Related to that point, personality types seem to be a psychological sorting hat that a lot of people hide behind. The clearest example I’ve seen is how the concept of “introvert” is used to describe basically anyone less outgoing than a prom queen. The rising levels of loneliness in society suggest, though, that “introversion” may be what people use to excuse themselves from meaningful membership.
6. “Introvert” and “extrovert” can be legitimate descriptors of behavior but they are illegitimate categories of people.
7. There are certain habits and experiences that are beneficial to all people because of how we are made. Ennobling the avoidance of these habits and experiences due to “social anxiety” or personality is an example of the harmful pseudo-science of much trauma rhetoric.
8. The New Testament’s words about dying to self and preferring others are difficult words and it is normal when trying to be faithful in these ways feels difficult. Difficulty itself is not a sign that we’re trying to be or do something we shouldn’t be trying.
9. People who protect their time rather than their friendships usually end up regretting it.
10. Faithful, friendly, effective people have a variety of tendencies. There’s no “leadership personality,” and if recent evangelical history tells us anything, it might be telling us that the people who look and sound like leaders are not always the right leaders.
Ten Thoughts About Personalities
Ok, but that quiz about which Disney princess I am was right on the money. :)
I don't deny a lot of this but in defense of the pursuit of understanding why we are the way we are I do think that there is a lot that can be learned that is of great practical use. Some systems will no doubt be better than others and each system will have it's purpose. This means it will be important to understand that I order to use and/or evaluate each one. However, this points us to much of the problem. I think most of what you pointed out are examples of abuse or misuse. The more 'ground level you make a system the more people wander in blindly. It might not be unlike social media theology and the way some people just read something, make a determination, think they've understood and they haven't. That doesn't make theology bad or useless, it's just that some things require both a bit of work to use and also a proper attitude.
I think this is somewhat like that.
To give a point from the other side. Just because people are all individual's with unique histories doesn't mean that there isn't something we can understand about what makes people behave the way they do. Personality theory can't explain everything, nor is it an excuse for your flaws or tendencies, but I can be helpful to know that there are reasons why you prefer somethings over others or certain ways of doing things. Especially for those of us for whom making sense of things is important in all we do.
I'll end by giving a personal testimony. I had a real moment of personal liberation when a book on certain aspects of personality, written by a Christian author, opened my eyes to the reality that what so often had sounded like the voice of God in my life was, in fact, just a strong part of my personality that wanted to do things and see them done in a certain way. I'm being intentionally vague here because I don't want to post details on the Internet. Suffice it to say that gaining the awareness that I didn't have to obey every last impulse to do things a certain way brought me to tears. It allowed me to gain a more objective perspective on life and that although I might strongly feel a pull towards certain priorities other people have different ones and I have the freedom to choose to do things differently. It wasn't OCD, but I can certainly relate to the idea of feeling compelled to certain paths. Personality theory helped me in that way. It's just often abused or misunderstood or taken too far and I think we lose a very useful tool in life if we throw it away.