Research on the Popularity and Impact of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator on Young People in China

Abstract

Self-concept is always an essential part of individuals. A personality test can help people recognize the connections between themselves and the mass society. In recent two years, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI, has become significantly popular among young people in China. Most past research focuses on the theories and implications of MBTI but does not have a clear investigation of how the wide use of MBTI would have an impact on people. This paper will target MBTI as the research subject, discussing its advantages and limitations as well as the possible impacts on young people in disseminating MBTI. A questionnaire will be distributed randomly to young people from different regions of China, combining past research and psychological concept with the result of the questionnaire to help the analysis and conclusion. The research concludes that young people, mostly in urban areas in China, are highly exposed to the MBTI test. The dissemination of MBTI could contribute to interior factors (psychological aspects) and exterior factors (social aspects). From the data analysis, the reliability of MBTI is still under discussion. In general, most people believe their personality types resemble themselves. However, there are pros and cons that result from the popularity of MBTI. For example, most noticeably, judging a person purely based on their personality test results.