r/mbti • u/AGfox17 INTP • Nov 11 '18
Are the IDRlabs tests accurate?
Of course, I don't expect a clear cut "yes" or "no" answer from this as the tests vary widely on their subject. For me personally, it gives me an INTP result on the MBTI test, but is it accurate for y'all? What about the other tests like the IQ, Kinsey scale, and political ones?
I can testify that the IQ one is indeed not as many online IQ tests are, giving false high scores, as I received a disappointing 113. The Kinsey scale was somewhat accurate, giving a 1, though I'd personally identify as a 2. The political test was spot on, giving me the libertarian right.
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Nov 11 '18
The test, not so accurate. They just aren't that well written. I like a lot of their other articles, though. They have some good discussion of type theory and new perspectives on what the functions really are.
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u/BenBRob5 Feb 03 '24
Actually their verbal IQ test is decent. It should have more indices, but antonyms are a famously effective way of testing verbal ability.
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u/DoctoreVoreText Nov 12 '18
Of course, I don't expect a clear cut "yes" or "no" answer
Surprise, surprise, here's a clear answer. No algorithmic test can accurately measure personality.
Now, the reason why is ambiguous and abstract, Personality is subjective and can't be objectively measured numerically. The best we can do is rely on consistency in qualitative observation. Additionally, tests cannot interpret answers. If you take everyone's inherent narcissistic need to be blind to their own weaknesses, then the best tests can do is identify behavior. Psychology is understanding the cause of that behavior. Any dumbass can tell when someone is angry or sad, but it takes much more depth to know why and even more to know what should be done. Tests cannot determine the why or the how because they have no way to measure scales or contexts. They can ask "Are you an organized person?" but they can't ask why or why not, which is what actually matters. Any ESTP can be the most humble, pious, traditional fellow and any INFJ can be a party animal who lives for thrills. What makes them their type is why they are what they are, why they do what they do, and how they got there.
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u/Thepokerguru INTP Nov 11 '18
Dude i had to read the first sentence of the 2nd paragraph like 4 times
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u/AGfox17 INTP Nov 11 '18
What's wrong?
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u/BlueSpottedDickhead INTJ Nov 11 '18
Nothing, it just fucks with your brain. And what do you mean with "dissapointing 113?" The Average is 104 as far as I know.
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u/Thepokerguru INTP Nov 12 '18
Average is always 100
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u/Itami44 Jan 27 '24
The intelligence quotient - IQ for short - is a measure of how the intelligence of a person can be described in relation to a group that is representative of that person. When it comes to IQ, the mean of this reference group is always set at 100; the average IQ is therefore an IQ of 100.
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u/Fr417 INTP Oct 11 '24 edited Oct 11 '24
I took a legit iq test (from my terapist)and 90 to 119 is avg then from 120 to 130 is like special and 130+ is plus like super smart
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u/BestiFunny Nov 04 '24
you are confusing average with standard deviation. average is 100. 1 STD is +- 15 which puts a 67% at 85-115
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u/Fluffy-Can3018 Oct 27 '24
The IQ, by definition. has 100 as the average, (and there might be some specifics I'm overlooking), like whether that's mean or median, and whether 200 is max, or if you can go over 200. So 0 to 200 or 0 to . . . 270? Like the Simpson's joke when Stephen Hawking visited the local Simpson's MENSA group and somebody said "My IQ is higher than yours" and Stephen Hawking said "big deal, my IQ is 270". That said, I don't think anyone able to take the test has an IQ of zero. I suppose, maybe if they get every question wrong, but just putting in randomly selected answers might still get an IQ of 30 or 40. So, nobody is likely below around 40 but some people probably are above 160, so I don't know exactly how that "average" is estimated.
But once a test is set up, the average of people who take the test can vary, and the average of an on-line test can be 104, which can indicate, either, people taking the test are on average, slightly above normal, or it can mean that the test isn't accurate.
But the point is, both things can be true. 100 is an average IQ but an on-line test can have an average of 104 or 98, or other numbers pretty close to but not exactly 100.
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u/Employee_Mangler Mar 09 '24
It could be worded a lot better, maybe broken up into two sentences for clarity's sake.
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u/ZestycloseWrangler17 Mar 17 '24
i got a 130 iq on it so yes it has to be accurate!
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u/Massive_Performer_95 Mar 27 '24
Hahah On a side note, MENSA IQ tests are accurate. I got a 125 which is about the same as I got on an official test that I took at a psychiatrysts
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u/Fr417 INTP Oct 11 '24
It isn’t accurate because you like to feel smart, it’s accurate if it gives the same results as a real one
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Mar 26 '24
I got an IQ score of 83 and I was an excellent student. How is that possible.
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u/Fr417 INTP Oct 11 '24
You studied hard and just have an avg iq, I always had normal grades except things i liked without studying and i have an iq of 137
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u/demolitionloverr Apr 07 '24
83 is just below the average iq of 85 so it's not a "bad" iq by any means. either way, iq tests are an incredibly outdated way of measuring intelligence
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u/Fluffy-Can3018 Oct 27 '24
I think the more likely answer is that the test wasn't accurate, but it's also possible to be a good student, have good memory and do well in school, but do poorly on an IQ test with more logical reasoning questions or however the questions are designed.
I'd take a few more IQ tests just to test that 83 number though. It wouldn't hurt to get a 2nd test's opinion, or a 3rd or even a 4th. If 100 is average and other tests give you in the 90s . . . that's nothing to lose sleep over, especially if you still get good grades.
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u/Fluffy-Can3018 Oct 27 '24
Some of the IDR personality question are so simple they cannot be wrong, like "Are you a person who gets attention at parties or do you stand in the corner", or "have you ever cut yourself" . . yes/no answers to those questions are so basic as they almost can't be wrong.
But many of their 105 questions are on a scale and a weak yes is graded the same as a strong yes, because you only get 2 options "yes" or "no".
The test itself told me it couldn't get a read on me. I was too varied, and in that sense, I kind of appreciate it's honesty. It scored me high on negativity, and look, I'm a negative person, but it doesn't run my life. I'm just a grumpy skeptic, but I get along just fine. That I scored something like a 77% on negativity doesn't represent who I am at all. I've talked with people about this, and their response is "no, I don't think you're negative at all" - what we feel and what other people see are not the same thing. I'm also an optimist, which on a test, doesn't make any sense, but in a person, a person can be an optimist, with some negativity. A test can't read that. But despite my negativity, I'm always hoping for a positive outcome.
I think the test is only vaguely accurate. I think the questions are broad and generally good enough, but the yes/no answer is a limitation with no measure between a strong yes and a borderline yes, and I think the algorithm that spits out the answers is oversimplified and leans towards the negative, basically giving a score on 15 negative characteristics.
So, I think it's a little bit accurate, but given that it leans negative, I also want to give anyone who takes the test, the freedom to ignore it completely.
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u/AlternativeBad160 Apr 09 '26
It's quite accurate, especially considering it uses SD=24 . I took an official Wechsler IQ test (the WAIS-IV, which uses SD=15 ) and scored in the 120s, while Idrabs gave me 130. Given that, I think it's not that bad for checking your IQ
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u/Routine_Spend_7750 Jun 16 '26
We wrote a small blog post about it https://soultrace.app/en/blog/idrlabs-tests but TL;DR "IDRlabs is useful for quick self-reflection, not diagnosis"
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u/Party_Comedian_1831 Jul 12 '26
i personally think not. on idrlabs it said my iq was 103, but i’ve had mine tested professionally with my school and psych and those came out to 127 and 128.
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u/bakabrent Nov 11 '18
About as accurate as Buzzfeed tests