Determine Your Myers Briggs Personality Type

The Myers-Briggs personality type system was invented by Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, a mother-daughter team looking for ways to help American women find jobs that would best suit their personalities during World War II. The idea behind the system is that, just as people are right-handed or left-handed, we are also inclined to think and act in certain ways which we are naturally most comfortable with. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) analyzes four preferences, resulting in sixteen possible combinations. Which one are you?

Steps

Finding Your Type

  1. Determine if you are introverted or extroverted. This preference is not so much about how social you are (which is what these terms are often associated with), as much as it deals with your tendency to act. When solving a problem, do you look inside first to solve the problem or outside? In other words, do you think about yourself first, or others? (Note: Do not be ashamed to admit that you think about yourself first. If you do, you are most likely a feeling type.)
    • Someone who normally looks in and is energized by social activity is typically extroverted in MBTI terms. They also crave being around people.
    • If you're the kind of person who thinks about other's feelings before acting and needs alone time to recharge, you're probably introverted.
  2. Think about how you gather information. Do you do it through sensing or through intuition? Sensors see the trees; intuitives see the forest.
    • Sensors prefer concrete detail and facts. They're more likely to say "I won't believe it till I see it." They tend to distrust hunches or guesses when they're not rooted in logic, observation or facts. They also are better at details. They also are very conscious about their own needs.
    • Intuitives, on the other hand, feel more comfortable with abstract information and theories. They are spontaneous and more imaginative than sensors and enjoy exploring beyond the here and now, especially when thinking about the possibilities of the future. Their thoughts revolve around patterns, connections, and flashes of insights. Some also have trouble staying in the present, often daydreaming or forgetful - for example, they may forget to eat their lunch when really focused.
  3. Look at how you make decisions. Once you gather your information, whether by sensing or by feeling, how do you arrive at a decision?
    • Do you tend to try to look at it from the perspective of everyone involved in an attempt to find the most balanced, harmonious solution (e.g. reach a consensus)? If so, your preference is probably for feeling.
    • If you tend to look for the most logical and consistent solution, perhaps measuring it up against a set of rules or assumptions, then your decision-making preference is likely to be thinking.
      • Feeling types tend to be very uncomfortable with the presence of conflict, while thinking types usually accept and expect it as part and parcel of dealing with others.
      • Some people assume that the feeling preference implies an emotional person, while the thinking preference is tied to a more rational person, but this is not the case. Both are rational approaches, and people with either preference can be emotional.
  4. Think about how you relate to the outside world. Do you tend to communicate judgments or perceptions to others?
    • If you have a judging preference, you're more likely to explain to people how you make decisions and like to have matters settled - case closed. You like to make plans, check things off of a to-do list, and get things done ahead of deadlines.
    • On the other hand, if you're the perceiving type, you'll tend to share your observations with the world, leaving matters open. You also prefer to do things "on the fly", mix work with play, and wait until the last minute before making a decision or commitment.
  5. Determine your personality type, which is a combination of four letters (e.g. INTJ, ENFP).
    • The first letter is either I (for introverted) or E (for extroverted).
    • The second letter is either S (for sensing) or N (for intuitive).
    • The third letter is either T (for thinking) or F (for feeling).
    • The fourth letter is either J (for judging) or P (for perceiving).

Taking the Test

  1. Go online. Simply doing an Internet search for the four-letter combination will result in several websites describing your Myers Briggs Personality Type. Read them in order to gain insights into your personality and determine areas where you can push out of your comfort zone and develop new skills.
    • If the description isn't accurate, you may want to take an MBTI test. There are many types available, ranging from free online quizzes to long, thorough and official MBTI evaluations administered by a qualified professional.
  2. Take the official MBTI test. If you don't trust the abyss that is the Internet, you may be interested in taking the MBTI test from a professional, like a psychologist or even a career counselor. More than 10,000 companies, 2,500 colleges and universities and 200 government agencies use the test to understand their employees and students.[1] Join 'em!
    • You may or may not get the same results as you would on a test you take on the Internet. If you're on the fence on a trait or two, even the mood of that day could determine your results.
  3. Look up your type's profile. Just knowing your type isn't all that's out there. There are entire profiles you can look up on the Internet or that your psychologist or employer could give you. It can help you understand what "sensing" or "perceiving" really mean. They are assigned titles, like "The Giver," or "The Teacher," etc.
    • The full profile addresses your personality type in a number of environments -- work, personal relationships, home, and so on and so forth. You may think the four-letter code doesn't sound like you, but a more in-depth analysis may convince you.

Using Your Results

  1. Put your type to action. When you know what type you are, you can begin to understand how you might fit into the world around you. If you're an INTJ and you're a salesman, you might be rethinking your line of work! There are plenty of everyday uses for this test.[2]
    • Consider it when you're learning. How do you take in and perceive facts and concepts?
    • Consider it in your relationships. How do you mix with other personality types?
    • Consider it for personal growth. Knowing your tendencies is the only way you can recognize them and begin branching out. Or harnessing your power!
  2. Understand that no one preference is better than another. No single personality type is superior to another. The MBTI seeks to identify natural preferences, not abilities. When determining your type, look at it from the perspective of what you tend to do, not what you think you should do. Recognizing your own preferences is a useful tool in self-development.
  3. Ask others about their type. This is a fascinating concept -- quite clearly a trendy, fascinating concept: millions of people take it every year.[1] So get to asking your friends! It may even help you relate to each other.
    • An ESFJ and an INTP might make for an interesting conversation when it comes to personality type. Find people who are different than you and sit down to talk about the test. And find someone who is the same -- did you know you were the same or were you surprised? Sometimes it's hard to tell.
  4. Know that it's not the end-all be-all. If you're unhappy with your results, don't sweat it. This is a very prominent test, yes, but there is so much more to you than your MBTI results. It's like saying, "Oh. You're an Aquarius, huh? You'll never be punctual and caring!" No. It doesn't work like that.
    • And in fact, your results may fluctuate throughout your life. That's partly because your environment determines a lot about you. So take the test now and revisit it again in a few years! You may have flip-flopped on a tendency or two.

Tips

  • If you're having trouble determining your preference, try to imagine what you would've chosen when you were younger, such as before you were 12 years old. The idea is to find out what your natural preference was before you learned to behave or respond in alternative ways and "nurture" picks up where "nature" left off.[3]

Warnings

  • Just because you have a certain personality type isn't an excuse to behave in a certain way. Preferences can always be overruled by choice. So don't play video games in your cubicle and say "But I'm a perceiving type!" when you get caught. And don't shut people out and yell "But I'm Myers Briggs introverted! Leave me alone!" through the closed door.

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-12-14/national/35847528_1_personality-types-myers-briggs-type-indicator-financial-success
  2. ↑ http://www.myersbriggs.org/type-use-for-everyday-life/
  3. ↑ http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html#Inventory
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