Personality Types: The Truth About The Barnum Effect

References:

Dalal, R. S., Meyer, R. D., Bradshaw, R. P., Green, J. P., Kelly, E. D., & Zhu, M. (2015). Personality strength and situational influences on behavior: A conceptual review and research agenda. Journal of Management, 41(1), 261-287.

Musek, J. (2007). A general factor of personality: Evidence for the Big One in the five-factor model. Journal of research in personality, 41(6), 1213-1233.

Terracciano, A., & McCrae, R. R. (2006). Cross-cultural studies of personality traits and their relevance to psychiatry. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 15(3), 176-184.

The Barnum Effect is the tendency for people to relate to vague and general characteristics as highly specific and individual to them, and is one of the biggest criticisms against personality typology. This video explores the extent to which this is true, and the consequences of trying to eliminate the Barnum Effect entirely.

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About me:
Hi, I'm Harry, and I'm intensely passionate about personality typing and self-development - so much so that I have created my own Jung-inspired system, taking a more high-resolution look at the factors making up personality.

Through Cognitive Personality Theory I examine the underlying mechanisms behind cognition, and the means through which a single type can have limitless individual variation - I believe type itself is just a set of cognitive predispositions that can according to the needs of the situation be overcome.

I don't believe any type is limited in what they can achieve, but have noticed sensationalist attitudes and internet trends propagating a culture in which type-development is actively discouraged in favour of conforming to simplistic archetypes. Through CPT I hope to dispel various myths and oversimplifications of what constitutes personality type, and along the way encourage a healthier attitude towards type that allows a person to become not who they are told they are, but rather who they want to be.
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00:00 - Introduction
01:47 - You're more than one type
04:31 - Personality is fluid
06:53 - When the Barnum Effect is a valid criticism
09:35 - Complexity is complex
10:08 - Healthy typology presents ways, not whats
12:01 - A self-reference tool
12:51 - Wrap-up
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KEY

Ni/Introverted Intuition - Broad & plethoric perception of internal world.
Ne/Extraverted Intuition - Broad & plethoric perception of external world.

Si/Introverted Sensing - Specific and concrete perception of internal world.
Se/Extraverted Sensing - Specific and concrete perception of external world.

Fi/Introverted Feeling - Subjective codec; internal emotional data & harmony.
Fe/Extraverted Feeling - Subjective codec; external nervous data & harmony.

Ti/Introverted Thinking - Objective codec; internal logical order.
Te/Extraverted Thinking - Objective codec; external logical order.

Lens - Perceives data.
Codec - Rationalises data.

Convergent - Positive, creative, enacting change and seeking novelty.
Divergent - Negative, authoritative, instilling consequence and driving utility.

For more clarification on terms see the CPT eBook!