The MBTI, or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, is a personality inventory designed to make C.G. Jung's theory of Psychological Types practical and useful in people's lives. It deals with what are considered natural preferences, not pathologies.
Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother Katharine Cook Briggs are the original developers of the MBTI. Since their deaths, others have carried on their work.
There are various MBTI Forms. They all present a series of forced-choice questions, in phrase and word pair format. Each question, or item, relates to a preference one of 4 sets of psychological opposites:
- Extraversion-Introversion
- Sensing-Intuition
- Thinking-Feeling
- Judgement-Perception
The 4 scales on the MBTI represent these opposites. They do not claim to say everything about these opposites.
The MBTI is a sorting mechanism for psychological preferences, not a measure of skills or abilities. Scores on the MBTI are like votes for one side or another, where each option is considered good, or valuable. People completing the MBTI can leave out questions where they like neither or all of the options presented. Isabel Myers didn't want you to give false data about preferences.
Clarity of preference on a scale relates to a level of confidence that the result is correct for the person completing it. Scores are therefore not related to any notion of development, or lack of development.
What is the MBTI used for?
The MBTI is used effectively with individuals, groups and organisations throughout the world (there are a number of translations). MBTI is used in:
- Self development
- Career development and exploration
- Relationship counselling
- Academic counselling
- Organisation development
- Change Management
- Selling
- Problem solving
- Management and leadership training
- Education and curriculum development
- Team building
- Diversity and multi-cultural training
- Coaching and mentoring
- Communication Training
- Health Care
- Grief Counselling
- Conflict Management
- Understanding People Through Type
MBTI and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator are registered trademarks of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Trust in the United States and other countries.
