Myers Briggs: Fact or Fallacy 1

Myers Briggs: Fact or Fallacy

Justin M. Downes

Brooklyn College

Authors Note

This paper was prepared for PSYC 1000: Introduction to Psychology, section EC1A, taught by

Professor Jack Giamanco MA, MS

Myers Briggs: Fact or Fallacy 2

Abstract

The Myers-Briggs personality test and typing has been under heavy scrutiny since its

conception. While many argue that its validity and efficacy are way overrated it still remains a

popular tool used by 89 of the top fortune 100 companies and over 2.5 million people take the

test each year. Some scientists even think that the system in totally useless. This literature

examines studies done that examine Myers Briggs system and point out the usefulness of the test

while comparing the results against opposing studies with different testing methods and the

opposite conclusion that disavows the Myers Briggs test.

Keywords: Myers-Briggs, typing, personality

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MBTI stands for the Myers Briggs Testing Inventory.
Myers Briggs: Fact or Fallacy 3

Myers Briggs: Fact or Fallacy

An Introduction to the Topic

The Myers Briggs test is a test based on Carl Jung's work on personality mainly from his

book Personality Types (1971) published in 1921. He postulated that everyone has a personality

type which this thinking correlates well with the Psychoanalytic school of thought which he was

from. Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs in WW2 wanted a way based on Jung's work for people

to use his ideas in real life and by that created the Myers-Briggs test ( ).This literature

investigates the validity and reliability of the Myers-Briggs test by responding to these questions:

1. What is the Relationship with behavior in Myers Briggs?

2. Does the Myers Briggs Type personality correctly?

3. Does the MBTI1 have any merit or is it useless?

4. Is the Myers Briggs the Best personality test to understand personality?

Understanding the Myers-Briggs test is important when people take the test to learn more about

themselves only to be disappointed when the results you got from a test is inaccurate.

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MBTI stands for the Myers Briggs Testing Inventory.
Myers Briggs: Fact or Fallacy 4

What is the Relationship Between MBTI type and Behavior?

The Myers Briggs test is based on 4 scales of preferences which are E-I

(Extraversion-Introversion) which measures the way a person puts most of their mental energy

where Introverts put most of their energy in internal subjective mental processes and Extroverts

puts most of their mental processes into External world and objective mental processes, S-N

(Sensing-Intuitive) this axis deals with how people take in information in which sensing people

take in information primarily through their senses while intuitives take in information based on

information that is not readily accessible through the 5 senses, T-F (Thinking-Feeling) this axis

deals with how people make decisions and according to Celebrity Types Thinking tends to

make decisions or render judgment based on the impersonal, factual, and logical aspects of the

information. Feeling tends to make decisions and render judgment based upon the personal,

agreeable, and ideal aspects of the information, as well as the needs of the people who are

involved in the situation (Celebrity Types , 2013) J-P (Judging- Perceiving) this last axis deals

with how we actually perceive and act on information where Perceivers take in information

without evaluation and Judgers organize and process information . All in all there are 16 possible

combinations of each of these of types. It is important to know that the scales for each mental

function are not one or the other but on a continuum which is similar to the 5 factor model of

personality where 5 factors of personality (Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness,

Extraversion, Neuroticism, and agreeableness) are put on a continuum with their respective

opposite traits. The only difference with the MBTI and the big 5 model is that with the big factor

model emotional reactivity or Neuroticism is measured in their test. The E-I scale corresponds to

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MBTI stands for the Myers Briggs Testing Inventory.
Myers Briggs: Fact or Fallacy 5

the Extraversion scale, S-N scale corresponds to the Openness scale, T-F to the Agreeableness

scale and J-P relates to the conscientious scale. It has been found out that Neuroticism

correlated to the T-F and E-I scales ( 1989). A closer look at this can reveal that even though

that this personality typing system is based on preferences of mental processes not on behavior

but since mental processes influence behavior there must be a connection between the two. There

is and in the Myers-Briggs personality typing there are descriptions to each of the 16 types. Each

type has their own set of behaviors and ways of interacting with the world. An example is the

type INTJ (Introverted, INtuitive,Thinking, and Judging) who according to the

Myers-Briggs.org site Have original minds and great drive for implementing their ideas and

achieving their goals. Quickly see patterns in external events and develop long-range explanatory

perspectives. When committed, organize a job and carry it through. Skeptical and independent,

have high standards of competence and performance - for themselves and others. (The 16

MBTI Types). This description is based on the type INTJ and individual functions which

although are preferences in the mind of the person and it does not mean that the INTJ person

cannot be extroverted it's just that he is predisposed to being introverted. This is similar to a

person being right handed but able to use their left hand, they have a preference for the right

hand but are still able to utilize the left.

Does the Myers Briggs type personality correctly?

People my argue that the Myers Briggs type does not personality correctly and because of

this is pretty useless. Well this statement is mostly false. The Myers Briggs test has been shown

to type personality correctly based on its questions and methods of its own system. We can prove

this by looking at graphs such as this one.

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MBTI stands for the Myers Briggs Testing Inventory.
Myers Briggs: Fact or Fallacy 6

Graph 1:

In graph 1 we see a graph measuring internal consistency. Internal consistency reliability,

as measured by Cronbachs alpha, evaluates the consistency of responses to a set of items

assessing the same concept (Cronbach, 1951). In sum and substance it is the degree to which

similar items on a test produce the same scores. In this graph we see that the correlation is about

.9 for each group which shows a strong consistency. Thi shows that the MBTI test can be used

reliably to type across multiple employment situations.

Graph 2:

This graph is now measuring the internal consistency reliability of the people by ethnicity

and the mean is around .9 but in the S-N group it is slightly lower and this may be because

different races may have different abilities of competence using their 5 senses. According to the

New York Times This conclusion has been embraced, more or less recklessly, by sports figures

ranging from Al Campanis and Jimmy the Greek to O. J. Simpson and Carl Lewis. It has also

been promoted by a somewhat marginal group of scientists, who have accumulated a body of

genetic and physiological evidence that, they claim, lends it support. they also go on to say,

Entine notes that some racial differences are apparent from birth. Black babies mature faster on

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MBTI stands for the Myers Briggs Testing Inventory.
Myers Briggs: Fact or Fallacy 7

average than their white counterparts, even when they are poorer and eat a less healthy diet; they

show better hand-eye coordination and walk earlier by about a month (Jim Holt). Tis means that

some children will have a greater sensing mechanism because of their race and how it developed

early on in life.

By looking at these charts we can clearly see that MBTI types personality correctly due

to the fact that across all Races and Employment levels it has a strong internal consistency.

Does the MBTI have any merit or is it useless?

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MBTI stands for the Myers Briggs Testing Inventory.
Myers Briggs: Fact or Fallacy 8

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MBTI stands for the Myers Briggs Testing Inventory.
Myers Briggs: Fact or Fallacy 9

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Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of

tests. Psychometrika, 16 (3), 97334

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December 17, 2016, from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/give-and-take/201309/goodbye-mbti-the-fad-won-t-die

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MBTI stands for the Myers Briggs Testing Inventory.
Myers Briggs: Fact or Fallacy 10

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the Mind That Separates the Best From the Rest : BRAIN MATTERS. Retrieved

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Jung, C G (1971) Psychological types (H G Baynes, Trans , revised by R F C Hull)

Princeton Princeton University Press (Original work published 1923)

1
MBTI stands for the Myers Briggs Testing Inventory.