What is MBTI and how this assessment tool is used today

by

Alina

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) (1998) is a personality test designed to assist a person in identifying their personality preferences.

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 (Jung, 1933) of psychological types available to more people. 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 and 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 worldwide 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.

Myers Briggs Personality Type is based on Jung’s two psychological attitudes (1933), (Extraversion and Introversion), and four personality dimensions, Intuiting (those who look for patterns and trust their hunches), Thinking (those who prefer to use logic, analysis, and experiences that can be verified as facts), Sensing (people who prefer to rely on who they can see, hear through their own physical senses, and Feeling (those who tends to make decisions base on their personal values and emotional reactions). It is about 125 questions with four scales: Extraversion and Introversion (E-I), Sensing and Intuiting (S-N), Thinking and Feeling (T-F), Judging and Perceiving (J-P). These four dimensions can differ for each individual, resulting in eight different preferences and in the possibility of 16 different personality types. Each type is represented by four letters: ISTJ, ISTP, ISFP, ISFJ, etc. (Briggs& Myers, 1988). Example: ISTJ (Introversion, Sensing, Thinking, Judging). This person is serious, quiet, earn success by concentration and thoroughness, practical, orderly, logical, realistic, and dependable, Take responsibility, make up their own minds as to what should be accomplished and work toward it steadily, regardless of protests or distractions.

Myers Briggs Type Indicator is a tool use today to provide practical access to personality type to help individuals to:

• Improve communication between one another, especially husband and wife, Colleagues and siblings
• Deal with conflict in work place and families.

• Eliminate problem-solving blind spots.

• Enhance team performance in work place and school

• Foster leadership development and coaching.

MBTI is especially beneficial to organization. When team members of an organization understand their own personality styles and those of their co-workers, they can become more effective in a teamwork context.

Understand their own personality types will:

• Provide team members a framework for addressing differences to minimize conflicts.

• Identify team members’ potential strengths for promotion and department transfer.

• Identify team members’ potential areas of growth.

• Improve team and individual problem solving processes.

• Assist with executive coaching and leadership development.

• Provide improvement in the organization's effectiveness

For example an introvert, who has a day of meetings, can schedule private time to be alone. An extrovert, who has a day of paperwork to get through, can schedule in a break to touch base with clients or colleagues.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the world’s most valid and reliable personality instrument. Because of its success (when used appropriately), it is used by 70% of Fortune 500 companies (Article-Connecting the ROI and the MBTI) to improving leadership skills, team building and coaching clients into areas of preference and avoidance which impacts decision making, problem solving, communications and conflict.

Couples' therapists use this information to assist partner growth processes. The career professional can use MBTI to help clients discover an occupational experience that is a closer match to their personality, identify how to balance their daily energy needs, and express themselves clearly during personal job interviews. MBTI brings to light the subtle nuances of personality type found in us all. It helps to target areas of personal strength and challenges that are clear and specific, which results in a more productive type experience.

In medical field MBTI is clinical used in individual counseling (adolescent, college, and adult), career counseling, marital counseling, family counseling and mediation services from high school through adults

After the MBTI test I was totally convince that MBTI is a reliable tool (at least 90%), because MBTI help to identify my unique gifts. The information enhances my understanding of myself, my motivations, my natural strengths, and my potential areas for growth. It also helps me appreciate people who differ from me. Understanding my MBTI type is self-affirming and encourages cooperation with others.


Reference:

1. Myers, D. (1993). The pursuit of Happiness: Who is happy, and why? Avon.
2. Briggs, KC., & Myers, IB (1998) The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator-Form M. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychology Press.
3. Jung, C. (1933) Modern man in search of a soul. New York: Harcourt Brace
4. Cicarelli, Saundra, Psychology, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
5. Hartzler, Margaret. (1998) Using Type with Couples. Gaithersburg, Md.: Type Resources.