Myers-Briggs: An introduction to Personality Types & the MBTI

Personality Type or Psychological Type are terms most commonly associated with the
model of personality development created by Isabel Briggs Myers (aka Briggs Meyer, Meyer
Briggs, Briggs Myers, Myer Briggs) the author of the world's most widely used personality
inventory, the MBTI or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. ® Myers and her mother,
Katharine Briggs, developed their model and inventory around the ideas and theories of
psychologist Carl Jung, a contemporary of Sigmund Freud and a leading exponent of Gestalt
personality theory.

Beginning in the early 1940's, Myers & Briggs extended Jung's model with the initial
development of the MBTI. They put Jung's concepts into language that could be understood
and used by the average person. Isabel Myers' book "Gifts Differing", published
posthumously in 1980, provided a comprehensive introduction to the Jung/Myers theory.
Myers' book and her philosophy of celebrating human diversity anticipated the workplace
diversity movement.

The MBTI is a registered trademark of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Trust and is published by
CPP, Inc (formerly Consulting Psychologist Press) who also distributes the Inventory. The
MBTI is available from CPP and its licensees in approximately 20 foreign languages. In
addition, alternate versions of the inventory have been scientifically customized and
validated for other languages and cultures for which a straight translation of English
language terms would yield inaccurate results.

The Center for Applications of Psychological Type (CAPT) is a non-profit educational

organization founded by Myers and psychologist Mary McCaulley to promote continued
research into psychological type and application of psychological type to foster enhanced
personal development, increased human understanding, and improved management of
human conflict. Another non-profit organization, The Association for Psychological Type
(APT) is an international member education and certifying organization for professionals
who use type in their occupations and professional practices. Membership is also open to lay
persons who want to enrich their understanding and application of type.

The Basic Model - 2 Kinds of Mental Processes, 2 Kinds of Mental Orientations

2 Kinds of Mental Processes

In her studies of people and extensive reading of Jung's theories, Myers concluded there
were four primary ways people differed from one another. She labeled these differences
"preferences" - drawing a similarity to "hand preferences" to illustrate that although we all
use both of our hands, most of us have a preference for one over the other and "it" takes
the lead in many of the activities in which we use our hands.

The first set of mental preferences relates to how people "Perceive" or take in
information. In the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator - MBTI Type Code, this is the second letter.

Those who prefer Sensing Perception favor clear, tangible

data and information that fits in well with their direct here-
and-now experience.
 In contrast, those who prefer Intuition Perception are
drawn to information that is more abstract, conceptual, big-
picture, and represents imaginative possibilities for the
future.

The second set of mental preferences identifies how people form "Judgments" or make
decisions. In the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator - MBTI Type Code, this is the third letter.

Those who prefer Thinking Judgment have a natural

preference for making decisions in an objective, logical, and
analytical manner with an emphasis on tasks and results to
be accomplished.

Those whose preference is for Feeling Judgment make their

decisions in a somewhat global, visceral, harmony and value-
oriented way, paying particular attention to the impact of
decisions and actions on other people.

One of the practical applications of the MBTI and understanding these preferences is in
supporting better Teamwork. Differences in these mental preferences lead to quite
different value structures and communication styles, which can hamper mutual
understanding and cooperation.

For example, people who share Sensing and Thinking preferences find they are naturally
on the same wavelength; they easily understand one another, making good teammates and
partners. Likewise, people who share Intuition and Feeling have a similar kinship among
them. However, in the "real" world, it is more likely that you'll find a mixed bag of people, a
variety of types, in the same work group. While this diversity can be a useful strength,
contributing to greater depth and breadth of team competence, there will be natural
communication barriers within the team due to their natural mental language differences.

Such differences can be overcome, and the communication gap bridged, with mutual
respect and practice learning to "talk" and "think" in a second or third language. A MBTI
workshop can be seen as an introduction to learning the language, habits and culture of
other types.

2 Kinds of Mental Orientations

There are two other mental preferences that are part of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
model: Energy Orientation and Outer World Orientation. The first one is the dimension
of personality discovered by Carl Jung that became widely adopted by general psychology:
Extraversion-Introversion. The second is the dimension of personality that is Myers' unique
contribution to Jung's theory, an element she inferred from Jung's work but was not clearly
addressed as an essential component of his theory of types. This is the style or orientation
one uses in dealing with the external world: Judging or Perceiving.
Energy Orientation pertains to the two forms of Energy Consciousness each of us
experiences on a daily basis. We occupy two mental worlds: one is inwardly turned, the
other is outward. One of these worlds is our elemental source of energy; the other
secondary. In the Myers MBTI Type Code, this is the first letter.

Those who prefer Introversion draw their primary energy

from the inner world of information, thoughts, ideas, and
other reflections. When circumstances require an excessive
amount of attention spent in the "outside" world, those
preferring Introversion find the need to retreat to a more
private setting as if to recharge their drained batteries.

In contrast, those who prefer Extraversion are drawn to the

outside world as their elemental source of energy. Rarely, if
ever, do extraverted preference people feel their energy
batteries are "drained" by excessive amounts of interaction
with the outside world. They must engage the things, people,
places and activities going on in the outside world for their life force.

While the E-I dimension was Jung's gift to general psychology, unfortunately it has been
widely distorted into a well-unwell scale with characteristics of Introversion being cast in a
negative light and conversely characteristics of Extraversion cast in a positive light. This
cultural bias frequently leads natural introverted types to mis-identify their primary
preference as Extraversion.

Extraverted Orientation relates to which mental preference one relys upon in dealing
with/relating with the Outside World. It is the mental function that takes the lead in the
Extraverted portion of a person's personality. When this leading function is one of the two
Judging mental preferences, then this orientation is called Judging. When this leading
function is one of the two Perceiving mental preferences, then this orientation is called
Perceiving. In the Myers MBTI Type Code, this is the fourth letter.

Those who prefer Judging rely upon either their T or F

preference to manage their outer life. This typically leads to
a style oriented towards closure, organization, planning, or in
some fashion managing the things and or people found in
the external environment. The drive is to order the outside
world. While some people employ an assertive manner, others
"ordering touch" - with respect to people - may be light.

Those who prefer Perceiving rely upon either their S or N

preference to run their outer life. This typically results in an
open, adaptable, flexible style of relating to the things and
people found in the outside world. The drive is to experience
the outside world rather than order it; in general lack of
closure is easily tolerated.
For person's whose Energy Orientation preference is E, the Extraverted Orientation (J or P)
points to their dominant function, ergo "what you see is what you get." But for those whose
Energy Orientation favors I, their Extraverted Orientation (J or P) is opposite their
dominant function. Thus the four IxxJ types - whose extraverted style is Judging - are
actually Perceiving types on the inside! Thus their extraverted "personality" can mask their
primary nature. Likewise the four IxxP types - whose extraverted style is Perceiving and
thus tend to have an open style - are actually on the inside Judging oriented!

Differences in Energy Orientation and/or Extraverted Orientation can produce conflicts for
people and life management problems.

Extraverted types who work best by thinking out loud and considering matters in dialogue
can be frustrated by Introverted types whose best work on thinking and considering is
done internally and detached from active interaction. "Why doesn't she want to tell me what
she is thinking; why won't she share her concerns; what is he hiding?" Likewise
Introverted types can be harassed by the natural style of Extraverted types. "If he'd just
shut up, I'd be able to think about what he said; Why do we have to decide right now; I
can' t give you a good answer unless I have some time to reflect on it!" Introverted types
used to reflecting before they speak are frustrated by Extraverted types who frequently
seem to change their mind and change course (because they reflect out loud, may think or
talk about it later, and then finally conclude -
something different).

What is My
Types with an extraverted Judging orientation
are frequently put off by extraverted Personality Type?
Take our online self-
Perceiving types disorderly attention to things scoring "Personality Test"
and people around them - their failures to and learn more about your
properly plan, organize, manage, and finish Personality Type
affairs. Perceiving types can be seen as
"flakes" who constantly put things off til the
absolute last minute. Types with an
extraverted Perceiving orientation often see
their opposite number as control freaks and
imperceptive draft horses with blinders on -
and even then they sometimes miss things that are right in front of their noses! Extraverted
Judging types are naturally drawn to management positions; Extraverted Perceiving types
naturally resist being managed!

The mellowing process of aging sometimes produces similar mellowing of the J and P
orientations. Extraverted Perceiving types discover a need and an appreciation for a greater
degree of order in their external affairs and Extraverted Judging types discover a need and
an appreciation for a greater degree of openness and discovery in their external life.

The Type Code for the 16 Types

The permutations of these four preference dichotomies result in the 16 personality types
that form the basis of Myers Briggs model and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator - MBTI
inventory.

First Letter: E or I Which is your most favored Energy Source?

Second Letter: S or N Which your most favored Perceiving Mental Process?

Third Letter: T or F Which is your most favored Judging Mental Process?

Fourth Letter: J or P Which kind of mental process leads your Outside World Orientation?

While the tendancy is to understand each of the 16 types as the sum of its essential parts,
i.e. ESTJ=E+S+T+J, this misses an important part of the Myers & Briggs model: the
interaction of the four preferences and the unique mental patterns these interactions form.
For example, a mere sum of its parts does not explain why INTJ is the most independent
minded of the 16 types. Nor is the intuitive investigatory aptitude of an ISTP apparent from
looking at the four letters of her type code. And at first blush, the four letter code of an
INFP doesn't seem like it fits a computer geek. Understanding the natures of each type that
goes beyond the 4 code letters is part of the continuing journey in understanding ones self
and others