Strengths and Weaknesses of Self-Report Inventories

My personality type is INTJ. I have taken his test on a number of occasions throughout my life and my findings are the same. What strikes me as different was that the scores did not add up to a whole percentage of 100. By this result I had a very low percentile in thinking and low percentile in judging. This is strange because I’m a huge thinker, I also have anxiety which explains why I overthink many things and why I have no marginal preference of thinking over feeling. I am analytical, I am most comfortable working alone and tend to be less sociable than other types. Yet I am prepared to lead if no one else seems up to the task, or if they see a major weakness in the current leadership. As stated by the INTJ I as well tend to be pragmatic, logical, and creative. I do not readily accept authority based on tradition, rank, or title Using the MBTI in the hiring process is unethical for the same reason as asking if a person has a car is illegal—both create a bias and do not allow for people having the ability to do the job using their ingenuity.

After hiring, using the MBTI as part of the new hire training process would be an excellent use of the tool. All of us can benefit from learning about our own preferences and considering how to use them–or how to consciously and deliberately act differently– to best perform the job. I can’t think of a better use of the MBTI in the hiring process. It lets the new hire know ‘we value you, want you to succeed, and want to help you fit into our company. Self-report inventories are often a good solution when researchers need to administer a large number of tests in relatively short space of time. Another strength is that the results of self report inventories are generally much more reliable and valid than projective tests. Scoring of the tests a standardized and based on norms that have been previously established. However, self report inventories do have their weaknesses. For example, while many tests implement strategies to prevent “faking good” or “faking bad,” research has shown that people are able to exercise deception while taking self report tests (Nevid, 2015).

Another weakness is that some tests are very long and tedious. For example, the MMPI takes approximately 3 hours to complete. In some cases, test respondents may simply lose interest and not answer questions accurately. Additionally, people are sometimes not the best judges of their own behavior. Some individuals may try to hide their own feelings, thoughts and attitudes. The Bible, just like the MBTI seeks to find understanding of a person in its entirety and not by what is visibly seen to others. “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 ESV All in all they are very I feel that I have worked in the past to be around other people, to make new friends and of course for the income, but I truly feel the income is not as important as rather you love your job or not. I’ve always loved being around people and talking about God especially.

I never looked at my work as just a job but also as a way for God to allow me to help others.The type of work I have always done gave me the opportunity to meet new people and do just that. I worked in the medical field and had many different patients throughout the years I was employed there and I loved to work with the patients and get into conversations about God with them. Most of them loved it too. I never really put it into perspective that our secular work is just as important as our spiritual work, but it should not take place over our spiritual work. I’m not currently employed at this time but Lord knows I still work all the time as a mommy. “Your work matters to God” demonstrates just how important secular work is to God. Whether a man or a woman, once you realize how many different ways there are to influence your coworkers for Christ without preaching a word, you’ll be challenged to develop a lifestyle so striking and true, the people you work with will be eager to let you talk about what makes you different.

One statement that stuck out in my mind that the author made in the article made a lot of sense to me “For those who work secular jobs– the vast majority of people– it is about learning all of God’s purpose for all of our lives, not just his “religious” purposes (Doug Sherman). We are constantly changing throughout adulthood and along with that our brains are changing also. What we once enjoyed as a career we may not enjoy anymore as we age and I’ve even experienced that myself. I feel I have gained a lot of experience and wisdom in my life throughout the work field and it’s all been a part of Gods plan. Working has also gave me the chance to build new relationships and be a witness for Christ and that has been my favorite thing about working. Before reading the chapters and watching the presentation I didn’t realize there are so many different developmental stages throughout early, middle, and late adulthood and the different ways we are effected by them. I thoroughly enjoyed the article “Your Work Matters To God” by Doug Sherman and appreciate the information in the article.

The presentation talked about spiritual formation which I wasn’t familiar with but I now have a good understanding of the term. With spiritual formation being the process of spiritual shaping and growth it can also be incorporated within our secular work everyday by worship, prayer, service, and so on. I understand many places don’t allow these things as they consider them religion but in my field I had the freedom to allow this to be a part of my work. Work that’s aligned with God’s purpose for your life is fullfilling and fruitful. When you connect your faith with your job and let God lead your career, you start to realize that your daily labor has eternal significance. Stop feeling frustrated and fatigued by your job and start seeing your work from God’s perspective (Rick Warren). This subject was a great study and I really enjoyed it.