Assignment
Comparison & Contrast between Big Five Personality Model & Myers Briggs Type Indicator
The ‘Big Five Personality Trait Model’, which is also known as the ‘Five Factor Model’ is a broadly observed theory based on the five core dimensions that are primarily labeled by the psychologists to define human psyche and personality. The five core dimensions of Big Five Personality Trait Model include;
Openness to Experience - admiration of art, adventure, sentiment, emotion, ideas, curiosity and imagination.
Conscientiousness - self-discipline, compliance, organization rather than spontaneity; goal-oriented.
Extraversion - energy, positive emotions, more comfortable and excited in the company of other people, go-getter.
Agreeableness - an inclination towards empathy, compassion and cooperation rather than be antagonistic and doubtful towards others.
Neuroticism or neuroticism - the opposite of emotional stability; a propensity to effortlessly experience obnoxious emotions such as nervousness, anger, or depression (Furnham & Crump, 2015).
These five dimensions are a least to describe a whole character of a person. The traits it designate proves one’s self. On the other hand, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is simply a personality analysis intended to assist an individual to identify and recognize some of their most important personal preferences. The indicator is frequently used in such fields as personnel training, personal development, education, development of leadership skills, marriage counseling, and group dynamics (Furnham, 2012).
Benefits & Shortcomings of Big Five Personality Model & Myers Briggs Type Indicator
The Big Five Model has an empirical origin as they emerged from observation and statistical analysis. Many researchers highlighted the limitations of the Big Five Model. They are somewhat redundant, and not quite complete. They remained to be explained. Their very existence is challenged as they are reflected in subjective responses to non-devoid of arbitrariness questionnaires. The Big Five attributes in the model are not totally independent of each other so a description that assesses someone on each of them is partially redundant. The method used to highlight the Big Five model, the factor analysis, generates many possible sets of factors but the Big Five are the only set reproduced in various studies. Many research applications have relied solely on self-descriptions and in the case of comparative studies such as those between genders and cultures, the observed could mainly reflect differences (Furnham & Crump, 2015).
On the other hand, MBTI is a commonly used method to describe the different personalities within a team, for example, team building. On the basis of MBTI, assumptions can be made about the manner of cooperation within the team. Several coaches and trainers use MBTI to understand the personal skills of employees within a company. Although MBTI is very popular in the HR world; however, there is no scientific evidence for this theory. MBTI was developed by mother and daughter Myers and Briggs, who never received psychological training and merely relied on the work of Carl Gustav Jung. But Jung has never done scientific research. Moreover, MBTI is not consistent with the science-based Big Five personality dimensions. In contrast to Big Five model, MBTI is not supported by academia and there are consequently no scientific articles support this typology (Furnham & Crump, 2015).
Personality Measure to Increase Cooperation
If I need to use one of these personality measures, I would rather go for Big Five Model irrespective of its few shortcomings. I would prefer Big Five over MBTI because MBTI is not a test, but an indicator (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator). It measures preferences, not properties (traits) with variations. The MBTI explicitly considers learning behavior so that a right-handed can learn to perform certain activities with the left, even better than a left-handed, but nevertheless remains right-handed. Moreover, Big Five Model is capable of determining any significant differences between people, which can help in effective team building. By using such traits, a manager can put work in a better way by taking a watchful note of these traits when hiring an individual. This can also help understanding the personality styles, skills and experience, and interests of an individual. This will also facilitate in complimenting the personality types into the corporate culture and also pair employees with similar personalities (Furnham, 2012).
References
Furnham, A. (2012). The big five versus the big four: the relationship between the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and NEO-PI five-factor model of personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 21(2), 303-307.
Furnham, A., & Crump, J. (2015). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Promotion at Work. Psychology, 6(12), 1510.
