Myers-Briggs Type Indicator/Introduction

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the name of a personality test designed to assess psychological type. It was developed by Katherine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Myers during World War II. The use of type follows from the theories of Carl Jung. The phrase is also sometimes used as a trademark of CPP Inc., formerly known as Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc. The trademark is owned by the Myers Briggs Type Indicator Trust, and when used as a trademark it must include a registered trademark symbol after the name: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator&reg; or MBTI&reg;.

There are a few widely used ways of interpreting the results: Jung-like methods, Keirsey-like methods, and popular psychology methods.

The MBTI is popular with recruiters and managers, because studies using this assessment show clusters of different personality types in different professions. For instance, the proportion of engineers who are ../INTJ/ is higher than the 1% found in the general population.

There are significant differences by sex, especially on the T vs. F distribution.

Proponents of the system claim that almost all arguments between people tend to be manifestations of a type conflict (e.g., E vs. I, S vs. N, T vs. F, J vs. P). The P-J conflict is said to be the clearest: one person gets mad when the rules are broken and the other gets mad when rules are made.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is perhaps the world's most popular personality type description tool. Since its inception, many people have turned to the MBTI&reg; for a deeper understanding of themselves and others.

This MBTI textbook is designed to bring together general knowledge about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and make it available for understanding and application for individuals and groups, for personal and professional lives.