Myers–Briggs Type Indicator

"MBTI" redirects here; not to be confused with MTBI.

The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a self-report questionnaire that makes pseudoscientific claims[6] to categorize individuals into 16 distinct "personality types" based on psychology. The test assigns a binary letter value to each of four dichotomous categories: introversion or extraversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving. This produces a four-letter test result such as "INTJ" or "ESFP", representing one of 16 possible types.[7][8]

The MBTI was constructed during World War II by Americans Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers, inspired by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung's 1921 book Psychological Types.[9] Isabel Myers was particularly fascinated by the concept of "introversion", and she typed herself as an "INFP". However, she felt the book was too complex for the general public, and therefore she tried to organize the Jungian cognitive functions to make it more accessible.[10]

The perceived accuracy of test results relies on the Barnum effect, flattery, and confirmation bias, leading participants to personally identify with descriptions that are somewhat desirable, vague, and widely applicable.[11] As a psychometric indicator, the test exhibits significant deficiencies, including poor validity, poor reliability, measuring supposedly dichotomous categories that are not independent, and not being comprehensive.[12][13][14][15] Most of the research supporting the MBTI's validity has been produced by the Center for Applications of Psychological Type, an organization run by the Myers–Briggs Foundation, and published in the center's own journal, the Journal of Psychological Type (JPT), raising questions of independence, bias and conflict of interest.[5]

The MBTI is widely regarded as "totally meaningless" by the scientific community.[16][17] According to University of Pennsylvania professor Adam Grant, “There is no evidence behind it. The traits measured by the test have almost no predictive power when it comes to how happy you'll be in a given situation, how well you'll perform at your job, or how satisfied you'll be in your marriage.”[18] Despite controversies over validity, the instrument has demonstrated widespread influence since its adoption by the Educational Testing Service in 1962. It is estimated that 50 million people have taken the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator and that 10,000 businesses, 2,500 colleges and universities, and 200 government agencies in the United States use the MBTI.[19]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference v512 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Schweiger was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Stein & Swan 2019.
  4. ^ Thyer & Pignotti 2015.
  5. ^ a b Lilienfeld, Lynn & Lohr 2014.
  6. ^ Attributed to multiple sources:[1][2][3][4][5]
  7. ^ Myers & Myers 1995.
  8. ^ "MBTI® Basics". The Myers & Briggs Foundation. Archived from the original on 2021-10-12. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  9. ^ Pittenger, David J. (December 1993). "The Utility of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator". Review of Educational Research. 63 (4): 467–488. doi:10.3102/00346543063004467.
  10. ^ Block, Melissa (September 22, 2018). "How The Myers-Briggs Personality Test Began In A Mother's Living Room Lab". NPR. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Whitbourne was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Grant 2013.
  13. ^ Pittenger 1993.
  14. ^ Gardner & Martinko 1996.
  15. ^ Boyle 1995.
  16. ^ North, Anna (2014-07-18). "Why Myers-Briggs Is Totally Useless — but Wildly Popular". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  17. ^ "Debunking the Myers-Briggs personality test". BBC News. 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  18. ^ Stromberg, Joseph (2014-07-15). "Why the Myers-Briggs test is totally meaningless". Vox. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  19. ^ Cunningham, Lillian (14 December 2012). "Myers-Briggs: Does it pay to know your type?". The Washington Post. ProQuest 1239570178.
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