Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

MBTI is one of the worlds’ most widely used tools to describe personality.  The MBTI is developed by Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs.  MBTI reflects individual behavioural preferences across four dimensions:

(1) Orientation of energy (extraversion vs introversion)

(2) Preferred modes of perception (sensing vs intuition)

(3) Decision making (thinking vs feeling)

(4) Preferences for dealing with the outer world (judging vs perceiving (implied byJung,1971))

Elements of the MBTI

Psychological types	Focus and preference
Extraversion – introversion: where you focus your attention
Extraversion	People who prefer extraversion tend to focus their attention on the outer world of people and things
Introversion	People who prefer introversion tend to focus their attention on the inner world of ideas and impressions
Sensing – intuition: the way you take in information
Sensing	People who prefer sensing tend to take in information through the five senses and focus on the here and now
Intuition	People who prefer intuition tend to take in information from patterns and the big picture and focus on future possibilities
Thinking feeling: the way you make decisions
Thinking	People who prefer thinking tend to make decisions based primarily on logic and on objective analysis of cause and effect
Feeling	People who prefer feeling tend to make decisions based primarily on values and on subjective evaluation of person-centred concerns
Judging – perceiving: how you deal with the outer world
Judging	People who prefer judging tend to like a planned and organized approach to life and prefer to have things settled
Perceiving	People who prefer perceiving tend to like a flexible and spontaneous approach to life and prefer to keep their options open

Source: Adapted from MBTI Report profile, available at: www.cpp.com/products/mbti/index.asp

 Shared from:

Myleen M. Leary, Michael D. Reilly, F. William Brown, (2009),"A study of personality preferences and emotional intelligence", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 30 Iss: 5 pp. 421 - 434