Myers-Briggs® Type Indicator
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is one of the most popular questionnaires in the world.
This page introduces the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, including links to articles both at this and other sites. It provides a way of helping to find out your 'personality type' - your preferred ways of thinking and behaving. Understanding your preferences can help you in many ways, such as choosing an appropriate career, reducing stress at work, managing your relationships with others, being more influential etc..
An introduction
The preferences that are measured by the MBTI are, in summary:
- Extraversion or Introversion - denoted by the letter E or I - this preference indicates whether you prefer to direct your energy or creativity towards the outer world of people and things, or the inner world of ideas and information
- Sensing or iNtuition - denoted by the letter S or N - indicates whether you prefer to deal with present realities or future possibilities
- Thinking or Feeling - denoted by the letter T or F - indicates whether you prefer to make decisions on the basis of objective logic or using personal beliefs or values
- Judgement or Perception - denoted by the letter J or P - indicates whether you prefer a lifestyle that is organised or flexible.
When these preference are put together, they form a four-letter code - such as ENFP or ISTJ - that indicates your preferences. Further information on the meaning of these preferences can be found in our introduction to the basics.
Whilst the MBTI is the original and best researched of all the Type Indicators, in recent years a number of alternatives have been springing up, such as the Personality Profiler, Jung Type Indicator, and Psychological Type Indicator. The Keirsey Temperament Sorter is also very popular but, unlike the aforementioned questionnaires, it does not have any validity or reliability research behind it.
The questionnaire measures 4 key personality preferences. At Team Technology, we have developed and published a new questionnaire that measures complementary team roles. Using the MBTI alongside the MTR-i helps you compare what you prefer to do with what you are doing, to identify causes of stress and help you identify ways of increasing work enjoyment. For further information, read our text-based introduction to the MBTI basics.
Where to find more information
There are a wide variety of topics covered on the internet. The main articles that discuss the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator at this site include:
- A graphical Myers-Briggs Type Indicator introduction presentation
- A text-based article to help you work out your MBTI four letter code.
- MBTI type descriptions (brief descriptions of each type are provided, together with more in-depth versions).
- An on-line research questionnaire
- More advanced type dynamics
- MBTI and marriage
- Midlife crisis from a type perspective
- Exploring personal growth (using the Mental Muscle Diagram
- MTR-i: MBTI-compatible team roles
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