Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
The Basic Idea
What’s your MBTI type? INTJ, ESFP, ISTP?
At some point in your life, you’ve likely done a personality test, and the most popular personality test worldwide is the MBTI: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Since the first official publication of the test in 1962, millions of people around the world have taken the test and discovered their “type”.¹
The framework divides people into 16 different human personality types, each made up of four binary preferences. According to the Myers-Briggs Foundation, these are:
Extroverted (E) or Introverted (I): This trait refers to our preference to focus on the world around us (Extroverted) or our inner world (Introverted), and how we get our energy from these systems.
Sensing (S) or Intuitive (N): How do we take in information? Do we pay attention to what we sense through our five basic senses (Sensing) or do we focus more on the meanings and patterns in what we see (Intuitive)?
Thinking (T) or Feeling (F): The preference between thinking and feeling describes how we make decisions. Some of us value objectivity and an impersonal approach (Thinking), while others put more weight on personal and social factors (Feeling).
Judging (J) or Perceiving (P): The final preference covers how we behave, or our “orientation to the outer world”. We might favor a decided way of life (Judging) or we could prefer a more adaptable lifestyle (Perceiving).
These four traits combine to give us our personality type, a 4 letter “type” that can shed insight on anything from careers we might thrive in to our preferred parenting style. Given the test’s popularity, it’s likely you know people that identify strongly with their type and swear by the test.
Others, including the academic community, have not been as impressed with the test’s lack of foundation in research and inconsistent results. Despite the controversy, the test remains incredibly popular in workplaces and schools. The four preferences have become a language of their own that many psychologists, therapists, career counselors and recruiters heavily rely on today.
Whatever the circumstances of your life, the understanding of type can make your perceptions clearer, your judgments sounder, and your life closer to your heart’s desire.
– Isabel Briggs Myers
About the Author
Katharine Kocik
Katharine Kocik earned a Bachelor of Arts and Science from McGill University with major concentrations in molecular biology and English literature. She has worked as an English teacher and a marketing strategist specializing in digital channels.
