Posted by Dinah on December 6, 2001, at 8:36:37
I recently went in for personality testing to answer the question "Why on earth do I do the things I do?". I had the Rorschach, the MMPI, and the Myers Briggs. The Myers Briggs seemed to be slightly more accurate than astrology (I should add that I am pretty evenly divided in all areas except introverted). The Rorshach had some valid points but I found some of the conclusions to be a stretch. But the MMPI nailed me perfectly. I was a 2-7-8 which described me far better than any of the DSM-IV personality diagnoses. I guess it didn't tell me anything I didn't know, but it put it together in a way that clarified it for me.
By the way, I drove the psychologist crazy. She was a very "positive" person who didn't want to put anything in my summary report that might make me feel bad about myself. I of course noticed this (as my therapist ruefully thought I might). I pressed her for more details and finally got the 2-7-8 results, but she insisted that she wasn't allowed to give me more information than that. Since I had happened to read the code of ethics about testing I knew that wasn't quite true, so in true obsessional style I set out on a quest to find out my scores like a crusader on the quest for the Holy Grail. I ended up using textbooks to totally reconstruct the test - all 500+ questions, along with scoring protocols. Then I was able to determine my actual scores. I guess that effort might tell me more about my personality than all the personality testing in the world. The psychologist and my therapist were quite taken aback, and both expressed the wish that I would use my perseverence and ingenuity to better purpose. In fact the psychologist seemed quite concerned at my obsessiveness while my therapist laughed and said "But that's what you do!" So my efforts were not in vain, since I guess the true purpose was to annoy the psychologist. At least I'm creative when I express hostility.
poster:Dinah
thread:15071
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20011130/msgs/15071.html