The CIA has been using MBTI since the 1930’s when it was the OSS (as I wrote about here), so it was fun to hear ex-CIA spy Andrew Bustamante talk in this video about how he used MBTI when he was a spy, even though he doesn’t take a particularly Jungian approach.
He says the real value in personality type isn’t what it teaches you about yourself but what type tells you about other people. I take issue with that a bit, because type is an important stepping stone towards individuation. But on a practical day-to-day level type is indeed helpful for understanding coworkers, family, etc.
The interviewer said he gets confused by the letters, so Bustamante gave three main things type helps you understand about other people:
1.) Where do they get their energy?
2.) How do they interpret data? (sensation vs. intuition)
3.) How do they make decisions? (feeler vs. perceiver, which he describes as sensation vs. intuition. He doesn’t mention the thinking function.)
I like that he says an online assessment isn’t adequate for discovering your type. He says it takes 100’s of questions and talking with a typologist to discover your type.
The interviewer says he sees himself using all the functions, so Bustamante said: “Personality doesn’t tell you what you are limited to. It tells you what default to.” Well said.
Emma Peel from the 1960’s show The Avengers show is my favorite spy. So now I’m wondering what type she is. Hmmmm.
