Myers-Briggs: The Differences in People Explained
While sitting at the dinner table with your family, you see a sibling reach for some fish, the sight and scent of which you hate. While arguing with a friend, it feels like sometimes you could never truly understand their opinions. From situations like these you can see how people can be so different. However, these differences in people are not as arbitrary as they seem.
Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katherine Briggs created the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality system during World War II to help women work in occupations they were believed to be suited to do. Myers Briggs was based on Carl Jung’s philosophy about people’s personalities and the different layers that make up an individual. Specifically, Myers Briggs uses four major categories to understand a person’s personality.
The first category is what kind of world a person prefers to live in. This is split into the outer world, which is associated with extroverts, and the inner world, which is associated with introverts. Extroverts tend to energize by being around other people and socializing, while introverts use solitude to energize. This does not necessarily mean, however, that extroverts are better at talking in public or communicating with others. Or, that introverts are always quiet and cold towards other people. The two types of people just prefer different atmospheres. In the MBTI types, extroverts are depicted with the letter E and introverts are identified with the letter I.
The second category is how individuals process information. The two ways are through intuition or sensing. Individuals who identify as sensing collect information by looking at facts and physical realities, such as what they see, hear, taste, feel or smell. People who are sensing tend to notice specific details and prefer hands-on activities. People who are intuitive on the other hand, absorb information through patterns and like to think out the concept of a problem rather than physically experiencing the situation. Intuitive people prefer to think about theories and ideas. They notice bigger ideas before smaller details. The sensing type is denoted with the letter S and the intuition type is designated with the letter N.
The third category focuses on how a person makes decisions. The Myers Briggs bases this category on the idea that people make decisions either based on feeling or their thinking. People who make decisions based on their feelings tend to value other people’s perspective and try to maintain harmony among others. They are often very tactful. Individuals who make decisions based on their thinking look at the facts of a situation and draw conclusions logically. They try to focus on the truth of a circumstance and understand it in an impersonal way. These characteristics do not mean that a person who identifies with feeling (F) is overly emotional or a person who identifies with thinking (T) is cold or heartless.
The fourth and final category is how an individual leads their lives and interacts with the world. Those who are judging (J) are decisive (through feeling or thinking) and tend like structure or routine in their lifestyles. Judging does not correspond in any way with being judgemental, it merely describes a person who likes things to be clear and organized. Conversely, those who are perceiving (P) like to use the information they collect (through intuition or sensing) in the outer world. They tend to lead flexible and spontaneous lives. Furthermore, they like to be open to possibilities. Perceiving does not mean that a person is perceptive, it just means they like to take in information. It is important to understand that this category strictly focuses on interactions with the outer world. This means that those who are judging may be open minded and flexible to new information on the inside, and similarly those who are perceiving may be structured in their thinking.
The descriptions of the letters above will most likely not be completely accurate for any person. This is because people tend to have certain characteristics from each letter in a category. This is why when the MBTI results of a person are shown, it is shown in percentages. Your personality type is just an outline of who you are, not a definition. The combinations of the categories above form the 16 MBTI personality types shown below.
All of these types are unique and admirable in their own ways. MBTI was made to better understand the differences in people and appreciate them. All of the different personality types are equally useful and important in the world. Using MBTI can help us understand why conflicts between people occur and possibly increase harmony in our relationships.