When someone new runs across Human Art, our personality methodology, they are often very curious as to how our methodology compares to other personality typing approaches. There are many that we are aware of and probably a few that we are not. One that comes up a lot because it is so well known is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Several of the other personality tests are also a spin-off of the Myers-Briggs, so we will use that as an example to compare, but know that this analysis also applies to the other tests.
Self Report vs. Empirical
The first important distinction is that the Myers-Briggs (as well as others) is based on self-report; meaning you are answering questions or providing the information yourself. Human Art, on the other hand, is empirically based so it is observable. You do not need to take a test to see one’s personality. You can simply start to deduct what their design or personality is within seconds of them walking through the door or approaching them.
This is important for several reasons but the most obvious is that when needing the benefits of a personality test you do not always have the luxury of sitting down, administering a test, sending it in to an expert to evaluate it and draw conclusions and then sending the results back to you. With Human Art you start to get a clear view of someone’s personality within seconds, and you can do it for yourself. We use correct principles of art, design, and psychology and the elements of color, line, sound, and movement to quickly observe someone’s personality or design.
Potential for Skewed Results
The second reason self-report like a Myers-Briggs test and those that spin off of it might not always be the superior option is that an individual taking a self-report test can skew the test results. This can happen when a person answers a question to portray the way they want to be seen, rather than how they truly are. Or if there are traits seen as more valued than others, they may answer in an effort to show they have that valued characteristic or meet an expectation. This skewing could be a conscious or subconscious decision. Regardless, it has the potential to cloud the results, leading to a gap in which unhealthy relating seeps in.
Then you are in a situation where the advantage of knowing someone, or using a test to know how to best work with an individual, is based off false information; which then has the potential for failure and negates the reason you were administering the test in the first place. The test has the potential to be inaccurate. For example, if an employer administers a Myers-Briggs or other similar test, if any answer is skewed or based on false report, it gives the employer a false sense of what the profile means; which then leads to an incorrect expectation or view of the person they are hiring. That could give you the opposite result, low job satisfaction and high turnover.
The original intention from the other personality tests, in my opinion, is to categorize which type of people can do certain tasks. At Human Art we just simply tell how all personalities do that same task in their best way.
Motivation and Categorization
The third reason, and the most important one to me, is the motivation of the Myers-Briggs and other tests seem to be too simple in my opinion. It is trying to categorize a human and put them in a specific category, which is counter-intuitive to human independence and the need for a healthy autonomy. I hear this all the time with people who are afraid of personality tests; they all say about the same thing: “I don’t want to be put in a box.”
I Googled how many people are on the planet and got the answer 7 billion. Because we are all so different and unique, that would require a personality system that had approximately seven billion boxes.
The Purpose of Human Art
I feel very strongly about this. It is not in my nature to compare. My usual response is to find the good in all systems. I have done that. Today it is not about that. Today it is simply a warning to not let our industry, one that yes I am a part of, in any way rob you of your autonomy and independence. My intention is to have a healthy debate about how we use personality tests and move into a space where we get more of what we all want: healthy independence, more efficacy and higher sense of self. No more beating each other up over who has a superior personality type and who has the superior thought process.
To be clear, every human being is born with a basic right to be acknowledged for who they are, understood for what they need, seen for how they feel and think and love, and to be one of a kind.
Here is an example of this. One of my mentors, we will just call her Nancy for today, was high up in a very large international company. She did a lot of public speaking and training. It was time for one of her first appearances with this new and rather large company. Her boss, a very smart and well-respected man in the business community, was trying to get her to be more of a prototype business personality type. He had worked with her on this with all the good intentions in the world. As often happens, he had his view on how she would best find success. As she was about to walk on stage, he mentioned something that had a negative ring to her and led her to believe in her mind that she was not enough. The thought rang through her head, “Don’t be Nancy.” This is the problem I am talking about.
When she got on stage she recounts how she made the decision to not only be Nancy but to really be Nancy, in an attempt to stay true to the Nancy she knew was authentic. When she was done, she said to her boss, “don’t ever ask me to speak again unless you want me to be Nancy.” She turned and noticed the crowd and they were all on their feet giving her her first standing ovation.
Later, in an attempt to find the “real Nancy,” she was administered another self-report test like Myers-Briggs. When we finally caught up with her at Human Art, the first thing she did was throw the report at us and said, “here you might have more use for this than me. I don’t even understand it.” She recounts her first interaction at Human Art when I had the privilege to explain her equation and design. She said it hit her so hard when I told her she was introverted first and then in social settings she became more extroverted. She told me I was the first person who had ever understood that about her. Every other personality test she had taken identified her as extremely extroverted. She said it meant so much to her that I knew her, and it was all because of the principles behind Human Art. That was my goal and always will be—to know someone for who they really are.
Everyone is A Unique Masterpiece
At Human Art, we use four personality types, we call them harmonies or designs, to find a unique equation of a person’s personality. Everyone is a unique combination of all four. The slightest amount of one makes a totally different profile than what someone else’s is. I personally have done thousands of personality profiles over the years and no two people have ever been the same. I can attest to the fact that EVERYONE IS UNIQUE. Even though I have not met everyone, it just makes sense to me that if everyone I have profiled is different and unique, so must be the rest, and I will spend the rest of my life observing personalities and their uniqueness.
Our test is empirical and can be observed. You do not have to fill out a self-report test. You can watch and see with your own eyes, the study, the science, the art of being human—Human Art—where everyone is a masterpiece.
~Brook
To learn more about Human Art: The Original Personality Test and what we do, visit our main website at theoriginalpersonalitytest.com
RELATED POSTS:
Human Art vs Other Personality Tests: Thinking vs. Feeling
Human Art vs. Other Personality Tests: Sensing vs. Intuitive
Human Art vs. Other Personality Tests: The Point of all This is You
LOVE this Brook and Rod! So wise and well written! And as always you leave me wanting more. ❤️ N