Why I find tests like Myers-Briggs and the PI frustrating as a neurodivergent person...

We all have probably taken the Myers-Briggs or the PI at least once. If you're in the workforce or have applied for a job, you most certainly have taken the PI or a form of the PI. You may not have gotten your test results back because it's primarily for your employer to look at and evaluate to test where you may best belong, but that's irrelevant. Most people have probably at least heard of the Myers-Briggs and seen initials like IFNJ or something like that at least once. A conversation a few weeks ago made me really frustrated. I remember a while back, people talking about it and getting emotionally frustrated with the situation because I don't really know my own Myers-Briggs. I have tried to take it a few times and it's come up slightly different each time. Usually, it comes up introverted, but at least once, recently, it came up extroverted.

I wanted to delve into why that is. And I think one thing that is very difficult for a neurodivergent person about such tests is it puts our brains into a systematized box which is something that isn't actually helpful for us. By asking us about adjectives people would use to describe us, we may not necessarily think in terms of restricting these types of people usually whereas a neurotypical person might restrict the types of people. Or even if it's adjectives we would use to describe ourselves, our brains are not wired in such ways. I'm autistic so communication is not one of my specialties. For neurotypical people, communication works very well. I've had job coaches in the past who have helped me with the PI part of an application explaining what the test is actually "looking" for. It still doesn't make sense.

Let me just give an example of a typical question that a neurotypical person might be able to systematize but a neurodivergent person may not. "Do you get along well with others?" This type of question makes for an easy yes or no response from a neurotypical person. They can assess themselves and say "Yes I do!" or "No, I prefer to hang out by myself." For myself, as an autistic person, the answer isn't easy. Sometimes it might be a strong agreement because I enjoy being with other people and having quality conversations. But other times, I worry about what I may or may not say wrong. Or if someone says something facetious that I don't understand. Or I misread "body language". All of these things could happen. And so I might lean toward the strongly disagree position. And it wouldn't matter whether I'm extroverted or introverted, the test comes up wayward in both directions.

Sometimes I prefer to work on a team. It relaxes pressure during those moments. But then teammates can start bickering and the social interaction becomes overwhelming. All of these things imbalance neurodivergent people far more than they cause imbalance or distress to a neurotypical person. And it causes misreadings of more than just social interactions. Exactly how much to "mask" my neurodivergence is another difficulty I have. It can be frustrating.

As an autistic person, I also like to find an answer that's a solid "yes" or "no" but these tests also don't usually come with a solid "yes" or "no". Like in being asked adjectives people use to describe me, I may factor in what enemies have said which can be very unkind things. "Smart-alac" would be one word. "Sassy" is a word that's been used to describe me. But so have words such as "reliable" and "meticulous". It's a frustrating experience filtering out words and knowing what adjectives are best used. These are just some examples. Overall, I think there is a deeper problem.

For neurotypical people, mood swings are more natural and detectable and intrusive thoughts don't hit as hard as their brains are able to systematize things better. Neurodivergent people have much greater challenges. Our brains are not wired into a system. It can be a tangled mess. A fuse can blow at just about anytime. It doesn't mean we're something to be fearful of, it just means our brains are not in the alignment of a neurotypical assumption and these tests assume a neurotypical mindset. This makes these tests problematic. I can be an extrovert at times, but when I get overwhelmed, I want to go into a corner and become an introvert and only care about cats. For a neurotypical person, they know whether they are extroverted or introverted or whether they'll be able to deal with people or not. That doesn't come easily for a neurodivergent people. It feels like the wires in my brain are flickering and dancing, scrambled, jumbled, etc. These tests frustrate me...I wish I could belong in a more systematized structure, but I think a puzzle piece definitely more accurately describes my situation.