MBTI

Introduction

The origin of MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) goes back to 1943 with the work of July Myers, based on a typology of four psychological functions created by Carl Jung in 1921.

The original system is published by the Myers-Briggs Company, based in Mountain View, CA (ex CPP). The system is translated into many languages and is widely sold in all countries. Many copies of the MBTI exist today on the market. The system’s popularity started in the 1980s, once CPP acquired the publishing rights, with the early adoption by the Stanford University Psychology department, and technology companies like Apple, the US administration, and business schools. The rise of coaching and the connections with Jung's theories certainly helped the MBTI to take off.

Generalities

Jung observed that people’s minds have four basic psychological functions:

• Two irrational functions of Perceiving (P) to collect information in two different ways, with Sensing (S) or with Intuition (I).
• Two rational functions of Judgment (J) to deal with the information and reach conclusions through Thinking (T) of Feeling (F).
• Two other functions were added later by Myers: one of Extroversion and another of Introversion (I). These two explain how people find their energy: extroverts find it with the external environment, through activities and experiences, and introverts get it through thinking, ideas, souvenirs, and emotions.

The MBTI indicator is composed of four letters. The combinations of the letters enable to identification of 16 different types of preferences. The four dimensions are recapted below with an estimate of their corresponding GRI factors.

Dimension	Description	GRI a priori
E (extraversion) or I (introversion)	Where one orients their attention and gets energy: Outward world of people/things vs. inner world of ideas/reflection.	High 2 vs low 2
S (sensing) or N (intuition)	The way one gathers information: facts and concrete details vs. patterns and future possibilities.	Low 2, high 4, vs High 1, low 4
T (Thinking) or F (Feeling)	How one makes decisions: Logic and objective facts vs. personal values and harmony.	Low 2 vs low 1, high 3
J (judgment) or P (perception)	How you deal with the outer world: A structured and planned approach vs. a flexible and spontaneous approach.	High 4, vs Low 4

The MBTI original assessment was composed of 84 forced-choice items, but there are now various ways that expedite the measures of the MBTI indicator, including by paper/pencil and self-scoring. For instance, the Keirsey measures the MBTI indicators with just 70 items. When one buys the book, they can score it for free.

MBTI exists in different versions, the last one: MBTI II enables to have refined measurements of the dimensions. The training for MBTI generally takes one week. The training is essentially built for coaches, consultants, or HR experts.

Usage

MBTI is used for coaching and team-building applications, but cannot be used for hiring or promotion due to its lack of accuracy, work-relatedness, and legal compliance. The results, like those of many systems, if not all, benefit from what we call at GRI the medium effect. The measures help establish relationships with people, engage in a discussion, eventually validate some aspects of the narrative produced by the measurement, and apply methods and theories to reach some objectives with a person or a group, and as such, are used as a medium.

Comments

Scales and Intensity

The typology used by MBTI for measuring personality doesn’t capture the intensity of each of the four types being measured. Typologies are oversimplifications that offer shortcuts to categorize people. They are easy to understand, but also lead to inaccurate assumptions and to apply negative stereotyping, hiding important nuances of the dimensions being measured. The typology scale is called a nominal scale; It’s the most basic and least precise scale. They cannot account for the adaptation, efforts, and development of the behaviors being described. Neither can they account for how behaviors can more frequently and effortlessly be expressed over time.

Parsimony and Orthogonality

As evidenced by GRI’s adaptive profiles and the FFM (Five Factor Model) personality theory, a few dimensions are enough to cover a large range of behaviors. MBTI’s four dimensions are parsimonious enough.

However, the selection of dimensions from Jung, Myers, and Briggs did not go through a rigorous process as would have been possible decades later. Jung was a prolific observer and writer, but nonetheless could not apply methods that were not available in his time, nor Myers and Briggs.

By construction, the four dimensions of the MBTI do not cover a large and distinct range of behaviors, something that’s evidenced when comparing with GRI’s four factors in the table above. Additionally, the four MBTI dimensions are not as distinct from each other as possible, something we refer to as orthogonality.

Work Relatedness

The MBTI does not consider how measures relate to job demand, limiting its usefulness in recruitment. There is no method or any intent to measure expectations within jobs, so there are no capabilities to analyze the potential fit and necessary adjustments between the candidate and the position, or for developing a tailored plan for the person to adjust to the demands of the position. Additionally, MBTI cannot evidence work-relatedness and compliance with EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) regulations to prevent discriminating against protected classes, which further restricts its use in recruitment and promotion.

Concepts’ Being Measured

MBTI measures perceptions, feelings, judgments, sensing, and intuition, which can be inferred from behaviors, but cannot be directly observed. The dimensions’ definitions offer some tips about the behaviors that result from experiencing those concepts, which are useful to understand what to do with them. Nevertheless, the content of the measures remains abstract and malleable. This is a major difference from other systems that assess personality. Among the four dimensions, the introversion/extraversion one is the most commonly measured among personality assessments. The definition of GRI’s adaptive profile Factor 2 is close. However, many more people who are extroverted (E), measured High 2 with GRI. One can argue that you express some forms of extraversion, as long as you are alive, but that doesn’t help make this measure useful, but for its medium effect and to entertain a discussion.

As shown in the above table, by comparing the four dimensions with the GRI factors, the contents overlap significantly. The understanding of one dimension, influenced by the other three dimensions, may then mislead its use.

Adaptation

The MBTI doesn’t consider the behaviors people feel the necessity to act out in order to adapt to their environment. The measurement combines natural and adapted behaviors into a single metric. The measures only reflect how people needed to behave when they answered the survey.

How people make efforts to adapt their behaviors and are engaged is crucial information that links the individual to their environment and job demands, and the MBTI cannot account for these.

Environment's Account

Several studies have been conducted with the MBTI, including by Isabel Briggs Myers with General Electric and the Home Life Insurance Company in the 1940s, to analyze what MBTI types may be more likely to be found in specific jobs. But there is today no genuine interest in trying to figure out MBTI dimensions in jobs since they are abstract and cannot be specifically related to jobs or organizational development. Consequently, MBTI has no technique to evaluate position demands, such as the PBI (Position Behavior Indicator) survey with GRI. The MBTI of individuals cannot be compared with jobs’ expectations and is limited to use for personal development applications, and without much practical meaning on how it applies to working in organizations.

Representation Model

One remembers the four letters like others remember the GRI profiles and their factors. Once you have memorized the meaning of the four dimensions and their combinations, with this “in mind,” you can easily use the letters in day-to-day decision-making, self, and social awareness. It’s an important capability of the MBTI metrics: being able to carry its meaning and recommendations into many situations, thanks to its easy-to-remember four letters.

It does not mean the letters or the measurements behind the letters are good, even if it "kind of works." The four MBTI letters have many limitations outlined above. They do not carry nuanced analyses and even mislead judgment and decision-making, pigeonholing people into categories, one of the many reproaches people make to the MBTI.