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rbkegley's review
3.0
I've never had a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) evaluation, but I know many people who have. In some cases, they thought it was somewhat useful, in others they thought it was a waste of everyone's time. I don't know anyone who believed it gave them unique insights into themselves. Merve Emre digs deeply into the origins of the MBTI, uncovering that it was the product of a mostly academically-untrained mother and daughter over a period of 30 years. She manages to pierce the veil of secrecy that the current corporation tries to maintain about the inventors, showing that despite being largely unproven by an statistical methods, it nevertheless has gained an overwhelming share of personality inventory methods. I might have enjoyed the book a bit more if Emre's dislike of Myers and Briggs were less evident, but it was an interesting read anyway.
wiserebel's review
2.0
I don't feel this book met the promise it makes in the opening pages at all. The first half is a fairly turgid and highly subjective synopsis of the lives of the authors, with a deafeningly loud, snarky narrative voice and interpretation. The link (or lack thereof) it shows between Isobel and Jung was interesting, but a lot of the to-ing and fro-ing felt over-long to me. The second half picks up speed a bit, and the last few chapters fairly gallop through the last 40 years (when the indicator appears to be effectively left for dead by conscientious researchers, only to be resurrected by an unscrupulous corporation and turned into the juggernaut it is today) - the book goes from too slow to too fast and isn't an even read.
I first started using the MBTI as a practitioner over ten years ago, and back in the day found it genuinely helpful in learning, development and teamwork. In recent years I've moved on to more accurate, whole-person trait-based tools in coaching and organisational development work, and haven't used the MBTI for some time.
For a book about a psychological movement, there was very little curiosity about the current state of psychology and personality theory within. I'd have liked to see much more on this - if not MBTI or type theory, then what? Though I'm interested in the subject matter and well-versed in the tool itself (including its flaws, which I accept), I found myself running out of puff and feeling disappointed that the book only does a fair-to-middling job of tearing down a pop-psychology edifice, and doesn't propose anything better to go in its place or explore the alternatives. There isn't even a mention of the Big Five work done in the last 30 years, or any of its attendant tools. The whole thing leaves a fairly polemical, unsatisfying aftertaste.
I first started using the MBTI as a practitioner over ten years ago, and back in the day found it genuinely helpful in learning, development and teamwork. In recent years I've moved on to more accurate, whole-person trait-based tools in coaching and organisational development work, and haven't used the MBTI for some time.
For a book about a psychological movement, there was very little curiosity about the current state of psychology and personality theory within. I'd have liked to see much more on this - if not MBTI or type theory, then what? Though I'm interested in the subject matter and well-versed in the tool itself (including its flaws, which I accept), I found myself running out of puff and feeling disappointed that the book only does a fair-to-middling job of tearing down a pop-psychology edifice, and doesn't propose anything better to go in its place or explore the alternatives. There isn't even a mention of the Big Five work done in the last 30 years, or any of its attendant tools. The whole thing leaves a fairly polemical, unsatisfying aftertaste.
lydiacatherine's review
This started off so well! Mystery... cover ups... intrigue... a secret society of corrupt personality theorists... ? I'm in!
Then... I realised that was just the author's introduction.
I'll admit, the first parts exploring the mother/child relationship was really interesting (and a bit disturbing). It definitely felt like it warranted a gritty Netflix drama.
However... then it fell apart for me. I had been expecting a fiction/journalistic exploration of the measurement yet it mostly appeared to be a historical narrative (in detail, at that) about how it gained popularity at the time. I'm not one for history or biographies, so it wasn't really for me.
I skimmed a few chapters then DNF'd it. Meh.
Then... I realised that was just the author's introduction.
I'll admit, the first parts exploring the mother/child relationship was really interesting (and a bit disturbing). It definitely felt like it warranted a gritty Netflix drama.
However... then it fell apart for me. I had been expecting a fiction/journalistic exploration of the measurement yet it mostly appeared to be a historical narrative (in detail, at that) about how it gained popularity at the time. I'm not one for history or biographies, so it wasn't really for me.
I skimmed a few chapters then DNF'd it. Meh.
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