Myers-Briggs Personality Types: What They Are, Why They Matter

September 8th, 2009

If you’ve had any experience with psychologists, councilors or corporate HR people, you’ve probably had your Myers-Briggs personality type assessed. Some people even know their type like they know their phone number.

But why? What is it? And why does it matter? The Wikipedia entry on the subject is over 6,000 words long, excluding notes and references. This article will attempt to be a little more understandable, and a lot more relatable.

What They Are

Myers-Briggs personality types are four letter codes that represent a person’s personality preference. In other words, it’s a classification that shows how a person typically likes to behave.

A personality type is determined by four questions:

1. Are you extroverted (E) or introverted (I)?
2. Do you get information with your senses (S) or intuition (N)?
3. Do you decide based on your feelings (F) or thoughts (T)?
4. Do you prefer organizing, deciding and judging (J) or perceiving a situation and going with the flow (P)?

Tests of this nature are published under the name Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The aforementioned four questions are quite abstract, so if you would like to assess your own personality type with more accuracy, use one of the many online tests. Of course, the proponents of MBTI strongly recommend assessment by a professional.

After assessing the four core questions using the Myers-Briggs system, a personality type is determined and represented by a four letter code (e.g. INTP, Introverted, INtuition, Thinking, Perceiving).

This code is useful in classifying a person’s intrinsic preferences in how to think and act. It is thought that this preference is most firmly established in childhood, yet continues development through life.

There’s nothing stopping someone from behaving outside their personality type (e.g. being an introvert, yet acting like the life of a party), however, it requires them to buck their preference. Since this means operating outside of one’s comfort zone, behaving contrary to preference is usually short-lived. Of course some people are capable of being flexible, but most people stick to what they know.

Originally developed by Katharine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers during World War II, Myers-Briggs personality types were based on a 1921 publication by psychiatrist Carl Jung. Today, MBTI is one of the most established and widely used psychological classification systems available.

Why They Matter

To those who do not work in psychology, counseling, or HR, Myers-Briggs personality types mean little. Yet we can all benefit from the findings centred on this system.

Knowing that personality is only a preference and not a destiny gives us the freedom to act appropriately in any situation, rather than feeling trapped by our own personalities.

We can also use the system to see what courses of action are statistically best for us. If you’re an extrovert, you might find yourself suited to taking on the role of a leader. You can save yourself a lot of difficult trial and error simply by living a life that matches your personality preferences.

On the other hand, you can take your personality traits and make them a signature rather than a hindrance. Talk show host Johnny Carson was often considered an introvert, yet he was able to succeed in a world typically associated with extroverts. People watched him not because he was trying to be like everyone else, but because he was himself.

“Can a person change?”

The age-old question. Jung believed the dominant personality traits are established at a young age, and developed through life. Typically, life experiences of more significance make for more dramatic changes. The principal of neuroplasticity also suggests an opportunity for change should a consistent effort to do so be put forth. So it seems people can change, particularly in certain situations, including:

• in response to dramatic life events
• when continual effort to change is put forth
• when in complete belief of one’s ability to change

Typically personality shifts are socially more accepted in earlier years, but the ability to change is possible well into old age. The most important catalysts for personality change, much like all change, is consistent effort and faith in ability. With those, the answer to “can a person change”, becomes “yes”.

Myers-Briggs personality types are popular for a reason: they make it easy to understand ourselves. Scientific study gives us insight into how we behave and how we make our decisions. This gives us the power to benefit from those findings. Just remember you’re not a robot. You have the power to change, as needed or as wanted.