The following is adapted from Linda V. Berens and Dario Nardi, Understanding Yourself and Others®: An Introduction to the Personality Type Code (Telos Publications, 2004) *Used with permission.
During World War II, a young woman named Isabel Myers decided to do her part for the war effort by creating a self-report inventory that would make Carl Jung's theory of psychological types available to more people. At this time self-report instruments were just beginning to be developed. Prior to that time, only psychologists "assessed" personality.
Her goals were two fold:
1)help people find a better fit for their work and so make the work in factories and in the military more effective
2)promote world peace by helping people develop more appreciation for individual differences and how to use the differences constructively rather than divisively.
Her work resulted in world-wide use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® and spawned an industry of professional "type practitioners" who apply type theory to business effectiveness, communication, career development, cross-cultural understanding, education, spirituality and more.
The MBTI® (and all psychological type instruments) report preferences on four dichotomies, with two opposing preferences on each dichotomy.
Your
Preferred World or Attitude
|
E | Extraversion Energized by interaction with others |
or
|
I
|
Introversion
Energized by solitary activities |
Mental
Process
Perception - Accessing / Gathering Information |
S | Sensing Concrete, experiential awareness |
or
|
N
|
iNtuiting Abstract, symbolic awareness |
Mental
Process
Judgment - Organizing / Evaluating / Deciding |
T | Thinking Information/situations assessed objectively based on criteria |
or
|
F
|
Feeling Information/situations assessed subjectively based on worth/values |
Orientation
to the
Outer World |
J | Judging Plan ahead and follow the plan |
or
|
P
|
Perceiving
Keep options open to adapt |
Aspects
of the Types
|
Characteristics
|
Looking at
the Preferences
|
|
Extraversion vs.
Introversion
E/I |
Extraversion is being primarily oriented to and energized by the world outside oneself. Introversion is being primarily oriented to and energized by the world inside oneself. |
Sensing vs. iNtuiting
S/N |
Sensing refers to tangible, experiential awareness. Intuiting refers to symbolic, conceptual awareness. |
Thinking vs. Feeling
T/F |
Thinking judgments are based on criteria or principles. Feeling judgments are based on appropriateness or worth. |
Judging vs. Perceiving
J/P |
A Judging preference indicates liking to live ones outer life with closure and structure using the preferred judging process of Thinking or Feeling. A Perceiving preference indicates liking to live ones outer life in a more emergent manner using the preferred perceiving process of Sensing or iNtuiting. |
The columns of the type table list the functional pairs. This tells us the kind of information (Sensing or iNtuiting) we pay attention to and the kind of decisions (Thinking or Feeling) we tend to make. |
|
Sensing and Thinking
ST |
Attention to the tangible realities based on current and past experiences with a focus on "objective" facts, criteria, or principles. A just-the-facts approach. |
Sensing and Feeling
SF |
Attention to the tangible realities based on current and past experiences with a focus on the people and the values involved. A sensitive-and-caring approach. |
iNtuiting and
Thinking
NT |
Attention to concepts, meanings, interrelationships, and probable or possible futures with a focus on the principles and criteria involved. An abstract, problem-solving approach. |
iNtuiting and
Feeling
NF |
Attention to concepts, meanings, interrelationships, and probable or possible futures with a focus on the people and values involved. A growth-and-development approach. |
The Type Preferences and the 16 Personality Types
ST
ISTJ |
SF
ISFJ |
NF
INFJ |
NT
INTJ |
ST
ISTP |
SF
ISFP |
NF
INFP |
NT
INTP |
ST
ESTP |
SF
ESFP |
NF
ENFP |
NT
ENTP |
ST
ESTJ |
SF
ESFJ |
NF
ENFJ |
NT
ENTJ |