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Myers Briggs Overview

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32 views2 pages

Myers Briggs Overview

Uploaded by

Ryan Shoen
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an introspective self-report


questionnaire with the purpose of indicating
differing psychological preferences in how people perceive the world around
them and make decisions. The MBTI was constructed for normal populations
and emphasizes the value of naturally occurring differences. “The underlying
assumption of the MBTI is that we all have specific preferences in the way
we construe our experiences, and these preferences underlie our interests,
needs, values, and motivation."(2)

Myers-Briggs theory is an adaptation of the theory of psychological types


produced by Carl Gustav Jung. It is based on 16 personality types, which
Jung viewed as stereotypes. They act as useful reference points to
understand your unique personality. (1) At the heart of Myers Briggs theory
are four preferences. People prefer to deal with:

 People and things (Extraversion or "E"), or ideas and information


(Introversion or "I").
 Facts and reality (Sensing or "S"), or possibilities and potential
(Intuition or "N").
 Logic and truth (Thinking or "T"), or values and relationships (Feeling
or "F").
 A lifestyle that is well-structured (Judgment or "J"), or one that goes
with the flow (Perception or "P").

In Myers Briggs theory, for each pair you prefer one style more than the
other. Jung also allowed a middle group where you like an equal balance of
the two. You combine the letters associated with your preferences to get
your Myers Briggs personality type. For example, having preferences for E,
S, T and J gives a personality type of ESTJ. Although you have preferences,
you still use all eight styles - in the same way that most people are right-
handed but they still use both hands.

Extraversion and Introversion - The first pair of styles is concerned with the
direction of your energy. If you prefer to direct your energy to deal with
people, things, situations, or "the outer world", then your preference is for
Extraversion. If you prefer to direct your energy to deal with ideas,
information, explanations or beliefs, or "the inner world", then your
preference is for Introversion. 
Sensing and Intuition - The second pair concerns the type of
information/things that you process. If you prefer to deal with facts, what
you know, to have clarity, or to describe what you see, then your preference
is for Sensing. If you prefer to deal with ideas, look into the unknown, to
generate new possibilities or to anticipate what isn't obvious, then your
preference is for Intuition. The letter N is used for intuition because I has
already been allocated to Introversion.

Thinking and Feeling - The third pair reflects your style of decision-making.
If you prefer to decide on the basis of objective logic, using an analytic and
detached approach, then your preference is for Thinking. If you prefer to
decide using values - i.e. on the basis of what or who you believe is
important - then your preference is for Feeling.

Judgment and Perception - The final pair describes the type of lifestyle you
adopt. If you prefer your life to be planned and well-structured then your
preference is for Judging. This is not to be confused with 'Judgmental', which
is quite different. If you prefer to go with the flow, to maintain flexibility and
respond to things as they arise, then your preference is for Perception.

When you put these four letters together, you get a personality type code.
Having four pairs to choose from means there are sixteen Myers Briggs
personality types.

Jung, C.G. (1921), Psychological Types, (London: Routledge, 1971)

Psychological Testing: Principles, Applications, and Issues (2009), p. 502.

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