MBTI Basics: What Is The Myers-Briggs Personality Test?

Of all the personality assessments out there, one reigns supreme as perhaps the most popular and well known: the MBTI. "MBTI" stands for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and the nearly 100-year-old questionnaire has become a standby among all the tests out there.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a personality assessment that groups people into one of 16 categories. To do this, the MBTI asks questions based on four categories of preferences: extroverted versus introverted, sensing versus intuiting, thinking versus feeling, and judging versus perceiving. Virtually everyone will fall toward one end of the spectrum for each of the four categories, resulting in a four-letter combination, or "type" (e.g., ESTP, INFJ, etc.).

According to John Hackston, the head of thought leadership at The Myers-Briggs Company, it's important to note that while the MBTI is often called a test, there are no right or wrong answers, with each type having its own strengths and weaknesses. So, "test" really isn't an accurate word.

"The MBTI isn't just a test or assessment. It's a process," he tells mbg. "So we don't say, 'Here are the results, good luck.' We say, 'Here are the results; now let's talk that through to help make the results more relevant to your reality.'"

According to Dario Nardi, Ph.D., personality expert and author of Neuroscience of Personality, the word "preference" here is key. "As in, what is it you prefer to do in various situations?" he notes. For example, someone who's introverted may typically prefer to spend time alone, but that doesn't mean they never enjoy the company of others.

You can take the assessment online, though Hackston says you can also work with someone who's trained in the MBTI, to find out your type and how to work with it.

Extroversion versus introversion refers to how you get your energy. Extroverts feel energized by spending time with others, while introverts prefer to recharge on their own. As psychologist Kristina Hallett, Ph.D., ABPP, previously explained to mbg, extroverts are "enlivened by crowds, parties, and spending time with others," while introverts "prefer to re-energize through quiet time and solitary pursuits."

According to both Hackston and Nardi, the MBTI was first inspired by the work of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. In 1921, he published a book called Psychological Type, where he first introduced his therapeutic framework for understanding "forms of consciousness—the ways people make decisions and gather information and in general, how they think about things internally," Nardi explains.

His ideas were then picked up by Katharine Cook Briggs and, later on, her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers. "Isabel developed the first version of the MBTI, so that's why it's called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator—because it was Isabel and her mother who were ultimately behind it," Hackston explains.

According to Nardi, the MBTI is the most researched personality assessment in the world. That said, the jury is still out on to whether the test is accurate. Some research and personality experts question the MBTI's validity. According to one study published in the journal Social and Personality Psychology Compass in 2019, "the MBTI theory falters on rigorous theoretical criteria in that it lacks agreement with known facts and data, lacks testability, and possesses internal contradictions."

It's also worth noting that some of the research in support of the MBTI's validity is funded by companies that sell the assessment and follow-up materials, calling conflicts of interest into question.

But some studies have indeed found the MBTI to be a good measure of personality. In a 2002 study1 published in the journal Educational and Psychological Measurement, the authors write, "The MBTI and its scales yielded scores with strong internal consistency and test-retest reliability estimates."

The MBTI also has research-backed implications for romantic compatibility. One study2, for example, found that if two people are the same in sensing/judging (ESTJ, ESFJ, ISTJ, ISFJ) or intuition/feeling (ENFP, INFP, ENFJ, INFJ), there's a greater than 70% chance of being compatible in a relationship.

Being what's probably the most popular personality assessment in the world today, the MBTI has, of course, come up against some criticism. In addition to the research's mixed results when it comes to the assessment's reliability, Hallett explains some of the main criticisms also include that people's results can change, or that people can feel "boxed-in" by the results.

In a 1993 paper titled "Measuring the MBTI and Coming Up Short," David Pittenger, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Marshall University, reviews the research on the Myers-Briggs test and raises questions about its underlying concepts. "The MBTI reminds us of the obvious truth that all people are not alike, but then claims that every person can be fit neatly into one of 16 boxes," he writes. "I believe that MBTI attempts to force the complexities of human personality into an artificial and limiting classification scheme. The focus on the 'typing' of people reduces the attention paid to the unique qualities and potential of each individual."

To that, Hackston and Nardi explain that these types are about preferences, and your type doesn't suggest you can't move outside your own preferences. Nardi says you can think of it like whether you're left or right-handed. "If I'm right-handed, that doesn't mean I don't use my left hand, or I don't use my hands together," he explains.

Hackston notes the results are meant to be more of a "springboard" for understanding your preferences so you can recognize your own patterns and actively choose to "go against your type" when situations call for it.

Some experts also do not respect the work of Carl Jung, Katharine Cook Briggs, or Isabel Briggs Myers. Jung, for one thing, has received plenty of criticism, given how much of his theories were based on his own dreams and ideas as opposed to scientific fact. Cook Briggs and Briggs Myers were also not trained psychologists or mental health professionals, though Nardi points out that this particular criticism is "actually incredibly sexist because, at the time, it was very difficult for women to become psychologists or even get into college."

There are plenty of personality tests out there that focus on different things. The Big 5 personality test, for example, measures your degree of five traits: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Or take the Fisherman Temperament Inventory, which groups everyone into one of four types—Explorer, Builder, Negotiator, or Director—based on brain imaging.

And then you have your more abstract, less scientifically sound ways to understand your personality, such as astrology or human design, which have no real evidence to support them but nevertheless receive plenty of attention from people curious to understand themselves. And those two, of course, are not based on a self-reported questionnaire but on your birth date, birth time, and birth location.

Hallett explains that the MBTI is a great springboard for "being willing to look in the mirror and both own some of your strengths and also look at where perhaps you may be able to make some shift in attitude and behavior."

Another excellent application of the MBTI is to use it for improving your relationships, from romantic ones to platonic ones, and yes, even in the workplace. "Using this in the context of work or relationships, this is perhaps a slightly more helpful means of planning areas of personal growth or advocating for needed support," Hallett explains, adding, "It's a great way to begin to develop a different perspective of self and others, in a positive, problem-solving manner."

Lastly, Nardi says your MBTI results never mean you always have to behave in a certain way. In fact, it's quite the opposite, with the MBTI showing you where you can make adjustments as necessary. The different preferences can be expressed in different ways, he says, "and it's up to the person to decide how they're going to express that."

While it has received criticism, the MBTI holds a strong spot as one of the most popular and most well-researched personality assessments out there. All personality assessments should be taken with a grain of salt, but if it helps you understand yourself better and you feel you're getting some benefit out of it, that's ultimately the most important thing.