This Fast Company article, by Michael Roller, about designers and personality type caught my attention. Michael undertook an experiment with some designers to find out  which personality traits designers shared.

He was really looking to see if there was an ideal personality type for a designer. It was interesting that he called it personality traits- and then used Myers Briggs, who do not measure traits! They measure on bipolar scales and combine these scales to identify a whole personality type not a measure of whatever trait a person may have.

Still, he did came up with some interesting findings – although from the information provided the sample size looked too small to reach any conclusions. What he discovered from this small sample was that all of the people scored high in Intuition (N). There was an almost even split between those with a preference for Thinking and Feeling as there was for the attitudes of Introversion and Extraversion.

One of the things that always fascinates about Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is that people seem to talk in code. Are they aiming for a closed community where you only get to join the debate if you have an understanding of the Myers Briggs system? Certainly the founders of Myers Briggs did not want to use their system as a way of excluding anyone. They might even be upset, if alive today, at the shorthand code that is used to describe people.

They started the system in the first place to help people understand their own and others behaviour. That people have different preferences was a key discovery that they were anxious to share. Some had a preference for intuition (N) others for sensing (S), then some had a preference for Thinking (T) or feeling (F). These together with a person’s attitude for either extraversion or introversion provide a very good guide to how people might respond to their environment.

The system is brilliant and based on the work of Carl Jung the Swiss psychologist. Its main purpose was for clarification and understanding, which is miles away from those in the know speaking in code. It is a fact of modern life that we all do seek short cuts for one thing or another, however when the system is being used in exploring where designers are likely to come from, it would be better that plain language were used as it is unlikely that designers would all understand the Myers Briggs system.

What has it actually told us, in truth not a lot. The major conclusion that can be taken from the example given is that there were no designers in this sample who had a preference for sensing. Could this be the reality? I think that the term designer is too loose to define an ideal type that would fit the role. There are many different types of design and even more types of designers. For any personality system to identify a good fit with the job role other factors need to be included. Without these factors this exercise is actually meaningless. Interesting and a bit of fun maybe, but of any use to anyone –  no way!

Generally when someone refers to me using a four letter word, it`s not complementary. Although in Scotland it`s almost a term of endearment but in general it`s not nice.

It`s not nice for a number of reasons, one of them being because it`s a gross over simplification of something as complex as me (or you for that matter).

Even to be insulted and cursed I insist upon a complex sentence or even a paragraph. A mere word just won`t suffice. It`s not big and it`s not clever.

Which is why PeopleMaps psychometric reports avoid labels. If a single four letter word is insufficient to insult someone then I don`t think it is adequate to describe an individuals entire personality.

I`m not a S#@% or any other four letter word. I am a complex individual that deserves to be insulted in a complex way. If PeopleMaps were to insult you they would take several pages and do you justice. As it is we do not want to insult you or anyone else but we do want to respect your complexity as a human being. We also want to provide you with information that you can immediately use.

Having your label is simply insufficient and often distracting. This is why PeopleMaps provides you with psychometric, personality reports that have a specific purpose, that aim to lead you somewhere, to help you move your life forward. A personality report for it`s own sake is simply a bit S#@%

I have already covered the history of MBTI elsewhere on this site – the purpose of this document is to explain the rationale of MBTI according to Isabel Myers Briggs who together with her mother Katherine Briggs was the originator of the MBTI. Isabel’s belief was that many problems could be dealt with more successfully if approached in the light of CJ Jung’s theory of psychological types. The implications of the theory go beyond statistics and can be expressed only in human terms.

Personality Differences

Every individual is unique. Each is the product of heredity and environment. we cannot safely assume that other’s minds work on the same principles as our own. Often others do not reason as we do, often others do not value what we do nor are they interested in what interest us. The theory enables us to expect personality differences in particular people and to cope with the people and the difficulties in a constructive way.

Much seemingly chance variation in human behaviour is not due to chance; it is in fact the logical result of a few basic, observable differences in mental functioning, These differences concern the way people prefer to use their minds, the way they perceive and make judgements.

According to Isabel Myers Briggs Perceiving had to be understood to include the process of becoming aware of things: people: occurances and ideas whereas Judgement was to include the process of coming to conclusions about what has been perceived. Together perception and judgement, which make up a large portion of people’s total mental activity, govern much of their behaviour, because perception by definition – determines what people see in a situation and their judgement determines what they decide to do about it. It is reasonable that basic differences in perception and judgement should result in corresponding differences in behaviour.

MBTI was created with the above as a focus for Isabel Myers Briggs and she went on to align these with Extraversion and introversion, which formed the basis of Jung’s work on psychological types.

Extraversion – Introversion

These words are now in common use and Jung called them the Attitudes. MBTI describe Extraversion ‘E’ as energy that seems to flow out and Introversion ‘I’ as energy drawn from the environment and consolidated within one’s position.

Jung combined these two attitudes with the preferences which he labelled rational, and irrational. The rational were Thinking and Feeling and the irrational, Sensing and Intuition, so called because they were ‘mere perceptions which are not evaluated or interpreted.’ By combining these four with either an Extraverted or introverted attitude Jung arrived at his eight types. He was quick to say that since people were unique there was a different type for every single person in the world however to try and gain some understanding of human behaviour he believed that these combinations were categories that most people would fit in varying degrees.

See this article for further information on Jung.

MBTI

Although the importance of judgement and perception was implicit in Jung’s work it was made explicit by Isabel Myers and Kathering Briggs in the development of the MBTI. With this addition they were able to create sixteen types. Jung had four preferences or functions; Thinking ‘T’ , Feeling ‘F’, Sensing ‘S’, Intuition ‘N’ when he added these to either an extraverted or introverted attitude, four became eight i.e. four extraverted and four introverted types. MBTI took these eight types and added either ‘J’ judging or ‘P’ perception to further divide into the sixteen types used through out the world today

MBTI® Types

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (Myers and McCaulley, 1985) is the most widely used measure of Jungian psychological type. The MBTI is a self-report questionnaire that assesses type preferences on Extraversion-Introversion (E-I), Sensation-Intuition (S-N), Thinking-Feeling (T-F), and also on Judgment-Perception (J-P). The J-P scale defines the person’s preferred manner of dealing with the outer world. Judging reflects a closed, organised, decisive approach, whereas Perceiving is more open, flexible and curious. J-P is not specifically recognised as a separate dimension in Jung’s theory, and it is included in the MBTI mainly as a way of indirectly determining which function is dominant.

MBTI types are described using four letters indicating preferences on each scale. This results in sixteen types. These types, and their classical Jungian equivalents, are shown in the table below. In the Jung types, the function in brackets is the auxiliary. Thus IS(T) refers to an Introverted Sensory Thinker with Sensation dominant, whereas IT(S) is the same type, but with Thinking dominant

Each of these attitudes and preferences are measured on bi-polar scales although both Jung and MBTI are keen to point out that behaviour can move along these scales and is not fixed in blood. People can have an extraverted and an introverted attitude to the world. The majority of people who fall close to the middle of this scale can easily switch between these attitudes. There are of course people who will be more clearly defined as, either or, but even they can use both attitudes from time to time.

Using a combination of these scales MBTI create the sixteen types and these are:-

Descriptions of the MBTI types may be found atMBTI Personality Profiles

History of MBTI

Isabel Briggs Myers built upon the work her mother Katherine Briggs started around the time of the first world war. They were both pioneers in their time and built a respectable and enduring product with a world wide reputation. In the 21st Century MBTI is still a name to be reckoned with and has grown exponentially through the years. World wide there are a very many consultants trained in the use of MBTI who offer their services to interpret the results of the profiles generated from individual’s completion of questionnaires. A major strength of MBTI is this trained network of consultants that clients can purchase questionnaires and consultancy time from.

The Internet and MBTI

It is true that parts of MBTI can be accessed via the internet however this does not make it an internet product. The same terrestrial questionnaire that is completed by hand is offered through registration with an appointed consultancy as an online form. The results are scored and then sent back to the person purchasing. Recently a questionnaire has been created, and offered online though this does not produce a full MBTI profile. It is called MBTi complete, however it is not really an internet product as the applicant is required to register and then an email is sent with a personal user ID and passsword both of which are needed to complete the assessment. The assessment costs $99.95 however this includes a 30 minute telephone debrief – see link http://www.typeinsights.com/

Again the system isn’t fully automated or instant and is generally used to hook you into engaging a consultant or taking a programme. Myers Brigs doesn’t write in plain English and you will generally need a MBTI trained consultant to interpret the results for you.

PeopleMaps as an online alternative to MBTI

PeopleMaps offers an excellent online alternative to MBTI. PeopleMaps is underpinned by the psychology of Carl Gustav Jung as is MBTI. The PeopleMaps profile is a product designed especially for the Internet and the entire service is delivered instantly online. There are no delays and the questionnaire can be completed in 7 minutes and the resultant profile is instantaneous.

Unlike MBTI, PeopleMaps writes in plain English so you do not need a consultant or training to read and understand the report. In fact PeopleMaps does not offer training or consultancy even if you wanted it, making it truly an online alternative to MBTI.

The Origins of MBTI

Katherine Cooke married Lyman Briggs in the period of World War 1. She had an interest in typology through studying biography and once she discovered Jung she accepted his system then explored and elaborated on it. Lyman Briggs was a scientist who had a major role in modern aviation and atomic energy. They had one daughter Isabel Briggs whom they educated at home until college age. She graduated first in her class and married Clarence Myers and until the outbreak of world war 2 she was a mother and a homemaker.

She had absorbed her mother’s admiration of Jungian Typology and determined to devise a method of making the theory of practical use, thus the idea of a Type Indicator was born and due to the combination of both her own and her husband’s names it became the Myers Briggs Type Indicator or MBTI as it is known today.

Isabel Myers Briggs was a remarkable woman who was well ahead of her time, as was the MBTI. She believed that many problems might be dealt with more successfully if approached in the light of CG Jung’s theory of psychological types. She also thought the implications of the theory went beyond statistics and could be expressed only in human terms.

Jung would have agreed with her on this. He was a psychiatrist as well as a psychologist. Isobel had no training in psychology or statistics, no academic sponsorship or research grants yet she set about the painstaking task of developing an item pool to underpin the MBTI. She and her mother had information on many people and she wanted to create this item pool to tap the attitudes, feelings, perceptions and behaviours of these different psychological types to start her MBTI research.

Being a singuarly determined woman she taught herself statistics and psychometrics then apprenticed herself to Edward N Hay, who later founded one of the first successful personnel firms in the USA. She knew that she would need many people to undertake her testing and as a result persuaded many school principals in Western Pennsylvania to allow her to test their students. She then tested medical students until she had MBTI results for more than 5000 medical students and 10000 nurses. It seems that if statistics were to be demanded she was going to provide plenty of them.

In 1962 Henry Chauncey, head of educational testing services ETS, sufficiently impressed with the MBTI, wrote to Myers with a proposal for ETS to distribute and test for research purposes. Donald T McKinnon, the distinguished director of the Institute of Personality Assessment and Research at the university of California, added the MBTI to the tests used in assessing creative persons and published supportive findings.

Professor Harold Grant of Michigan State and Auburn universities and Dr Mary McCaulley of the university of Florida also undertook significant research with the MBTI. In 1975 publication of the MBTI was transferred to Consulting Psychological Press and the Centre for Appplications of Psychological Type was organised as a service and research laboratory for the MBTI.

Isabel Myers was indeed a pioneer in her generation and one wonders what she would have made of the technology available to today’s generation. PeopleMaps is on a similar crusade to assess Typology, also based on the work of Carl Jung and recognising the enormous contribution that Isabel Myers Briggs and her MBTI made while using the very latest modern technology to pioneer the method.