Judging (J) or Perceiving (P): How do you prefer to organize or plan your day? Generally, judging types prefer organization and perceiving types prefer a flexible, spontaneous work environment. Thinking (T) or Feeling (F): How do you make decisions? Thinking types value logic and reason over people’s personal feelings, whereas feeling types think about people’s emotions, motives, and responses when making decisions. The letters represent the following: Extroverted (E) or Introverted (I): Where do you get and spend your energy? Do you learn by interacting with others and focusing on the outside world? Or is your focus more internal? Sensing (S) or Intuitive (N): How do you take in information? Do you use your senses and observe the world around you or do you tend to look at the bigger picture? Intuitive types tend to daydream, thinking about patterns rather than paying careful attention to the individually distinct things around them. There are two different possibilities for each of the four letters, meaning there are a total of 16 combinations or so-called personality types. The result of your test will have four letters.
Although the CCP charges for administration of the test, you can take the test for free on a number of other sites. From 1975 onward, the official MBTI has been owned by the CCP. The first version of the MBTI-then named the Briggs Myers Type Indicator Handbook-was published in 1944.
They created the indicator to help women entering the workforce who weren’t sure of what career path they should pursue. Myers and Briggs were both self-taught enthusiasts of psychometrics, and their work was heavily influenced by Carl Jung’s ideas about personality types. The personality test was developed by Katharine Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, during World War II. Is it worth taking the test, or is it something better off ignored? And is it helpful when it comes to dating, career choices, friendships, choosing future housemates, or finding your life’s purpose? Understanding the Myers-Briggs at a deeper level can help you decide how to use it-or if you want to. But the MBTI has been met with a lot of criticism from researchers, who often disregard it entirely. According to the Consulting Psychologists Press (CPP), the official publishers of the MBTI, their tests are used by 88 percent of Fortune 500 companies. It’s also a tool used by online dating sites, life coaches, and eager-to-help friends. The test is used by employers and human resources departments to manage and select employees. The MBTI has been around for nearly eight decades, and its popularity has grown over the years. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator-commonly known as MBTI or the Myers-Briggs personality test-is nearly ubiquitous, it seems. You might have seen four letters, like ESFP, in someone’s Tinder bio, or you might have been given a quiz before being hired or promoted. In this case, we were guessing the types of two friends we’re about to move in with. We guess someone’s Myers-Briggs type and then we make them take the test to see whether we’re right. “We’ll ask them to take the test before they move in.” It’s a game my housemate and I play, and one that might resonate with you as well.
“Or maybe she’s an ENFJ, like me.” “Well, Cole is definitely an introvert,” my roommate Nadia chimes in.