HBO Max’s documentary Persona: The Dark Truth About Personality Tests pulls back the curtain on the history and implications of one of the world’s most popular psychological tools—and honestly, I was horrified.
Okay, horrified may sound dramatic, but it’s an accurate description of my reaction.
The documentary begins with an investigative journalist recounting her first job. Her boss, convinced she was destined for management after taking a personality test, promoted her to a leadership role. Despite the confidence her boss had in her ENTJ (CEO-type) personality, six months later, she quit, admitting:
“I was a terrible management consultant. I spent most of my time reading novels under my desk. That’s when I realized I needed to write about personalities.”
What follows is a deep dive into the origins of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)—and the truth is stranger than fiction.
The Origins of Myers-Briggs: A Cosmic Laboratory?
Myers and Briggs were not two men, as many assume, but a mother-daughter duo, Katherine Briggs and Isabel Myers, with no formal training in psychology. The origins of the test? Katherine, a 1900s housewife, began studying personality by observing her daughter in what she called their “cosmic laboratory of baby training.”
She even tested neighborhood children, having parents answer questions like, “Is your child calm or impulsive?” When Isabel went off to college, Katherine, grieving the end of her “experiment,” turned to Carl Jung’s work on personality types. After WWII, Isabel picked up where her mother left off, hoping to create a tool that would promote empathy and self-understanding.
And so, the MBTI was born—a test now used globally despite its highly questionable scientific foundations.
Why Does This Matter?
Here’s the thing: personality tests like the MBTI aren’t just tools for self-reflection. They’ve infiltrated workplaces, influencing hiring decisions and career trajectories. According to the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 13% of U.S. employers use personality tests in hiring, while nearly 30% use some form of psychological assessment.
But these tests weren’t designed for this purpose, and their application can be deeply problematic.
Discrimination in Testing
The MBTI and similar tools are historically rooted in norms of the white managerial class
