The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a theoretically crafted personality test based on theory of psychology types. This theory was developed by Carl Jung at the beginning of the 1920s (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2013). Jung underlined the distinction between introversion, which refers to the individual’s focus on his/her inner world, and extraversion, which Jung defined as concentration on the outside world (Kalat, 2014). Additionally, he stated that we experience and discover the world via four main ways: sensing, intuition, feeling, and thinking. Sensing refers to gaining knowledge through touch, sight, hearing, and the rest of human senses. Intuition means drawing inferences about what sensor inputs cannot grasp. Feeling implies focusing on the emotion part of the experience, and thinking represents the ability for reasoning and abstract thinking. Jung argued that people should strive to achieve balance between these four modes, but each individual has a tendency to perceive the surrounding world prioritizing one way over the others (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2013). These concepts have been employed to create a pen-and-paper personality test, the MBTI, which enables classifying people as types. These types represent a combination of personality characteristics: apart from being introverted or extraverted, an individual is also classed as thinking or feeling, judging or perceiving, and sensing or intuitive. The outcome of the MBTI is a personality type provided as a combination of four traits. For instance, the test can classify a person as belonging to an extraverted-intuitive-feeling-judging (EIFJ) type. Consequently, the total number of personality types reflected in the MBTI is 16.
The MBTI was developed in 1943 by Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, Katharine’s daughter. Neither of them had psychological education or occupied faculty positions (Chung & Hyland, 2012). Katherine Briggs became interested in personality when she met her future son-in-law, who incredibly differentiated from the others in her family. She then started to develop a personality theory of her own, but while studying related works of Carl Jung, discovered that they were much more insightful and revealing in regards to personalities of people. Later, Isabel Myers extended this work on personality development. Although she had no connections with the world of academic psychology, Isabel was familiar with test development and test theory, since she worked in a personnel department of a major bank. Consequently, together with her mother, Isabel was able to collect a considerable pool of data on the test. The first version of the test called the Briggs-Myers scale was published in 1942. In 1956, the name was changed to Myers-Briggs scale (Chung & Hyland, 2012). Commercial utilization of the test started in 1975, when the Consulting Psychological Press started to sell the MBTI. Complete version of the test initially totaled 93 multiple-choice question, but there are different short and extended versions available.
As it was mentioned, there are various version of the MBTI. Since 1998, Form M is considered to be the standard version of the test (Miller, McIntire, & Lovler, 2011). It contains 93 items and is written at the reading level of the seventh grade. Form M is designed for people who are 14 or older. It features a single booklet that contains 93 multiple-choice questions, an answer sheet, and interpretative guidelines. Simple instructions for scoring are provided as well. Form Q is an extended version of the test, and contains additional 51 items, so the total number of questions constitutes 144. This version is more explicit, and explains why similar types of people can behave differently. Forms G and F contain 126 and 166 items respectively, and were the standard forms prior to Form M. Similar to Form Q, Forms J and K represent an extended version of the MBTI, and include 290 and 131 items respectively. In each case, 94 of them can be scored by hand, but only computer can score the rest. These types of MBTI provide further explanation about within-type differences, and are mainly used for counselling or clinical purposes (Miller, McIntire, & Lovler, 2011). It was mentioned before that data regarding four sets of preferences is provided via MBTI: Extraversion or Introversion, Sensing or Intuition, Thinking or Feeling, and Judging of Perceiving. The outcome is represented by a type code of four letters denoting those preferences that are typical for a person’s personality. Consequently, according to MBTI, 16 different personality types exist, as depicted in table 1.
Sixteen personality types represented in the MBTI
Naturally, even people who have the same personality type according to the MBTI can differ considerably. However, this nuance is taken into account in the test, especially in more explicit versions like Forms Q, J, and K. Each preference usually has a percentage value, in order to identify an individual’s distinctive traits within their personality type.
In modern times, the MBTI is one of the most popular and studied tests around the world. It is mainly used in business, and helps to define training needs through identification of performance factors and objectives, and development of training goals and recommendations (Saha, 2006). Managers employ this test to understand their employees’ personalities, in order to find the most effective ways of cooperating with them and motivating them. Moreover, there are some special adaptation of this test designed specifically for children and teenagers aged from 8 to 18 years. For instance, the Murphy-Meisgeier Type Indicator for Children (MMTIC) contains 70 items, and can be scored either by computer or by hand (Miller, McIntire, & Lovler, 2011). Additionally, extended versions of the MBTI, such as Form J, are often used by counselors to assist students in choosing their future careers (Kalat, 2014). Global popularity of the MBTI can be explained by the simplicity of usage and outcomes interpretation. People can easily understand the findings of the test and draw the necessary conclusions without asking for professional psychological assistance.
Despite its widespread usage on a global scale and incredible popularity in business, many professional psychologists are skeptical towards viability of the MBTI (Kalat, 2014). One of the main reasons for this skepticism is the test’s relative narrowness in terms of a limited number of distinct personality types presented in the outcomes. For instance, Costa and McCrae conducted a factor analysis of the Myers-Briggs questionnaire, and discovered that the test’s fundamental factor structure was inconsistent with the theory (as cited in Chung & Hyland, 2012). Additionally, some psychologists argue that
However, although there is a considerable amount of criticism from the professional psychological community toward the MBTI, the fact that this test is one of the most universally used personality scales on a global level is undeniable (Chung & Hyland, 2012). It has been extensively used to research communication styles, emotional perception, leadership, and self-efficacy (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2013). The fact that a personality test developed by a mother and her daughter who had no formal education in psychology, and had no connections in the psychological professional society became such a widespread phenomenon proves its uniqueness and underlines its important place in the history of psychology.
References
Chung, M. C., & Hyland, M. E. (2012). History and philosophy of psychology. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Kalat, J. W. (2014). Introduction to psychology (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2013). Psychological testing: principles, applications, and issues (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Miller, L. A., McIntire, S. A., & Lovler, R. L. (2011). Foundations of psychological testing (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Saha, J. M. (2006). Management and organizational behavior. New Delhi: Excel Books.
