The Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory

How did you score on the Myers-Briggs personality test?

First, one small point — There is no such thing as a personality test, there are only personality profiles. A test has right or wrong answers. In a personality inventory, there is no such thing as right or wrong answers, since one personality type is not superior or inferior to another. Thus, an 800 on the SAT is simply a better score than a 500, while an ENTJ is not better or worse than an ISFP.

On Myers-Briggs (“MB” or “MBTI”), I am an INTJ. (If you’re not familiar with Myers- Briggs, it’s important to remember that MB uses labels that are different from their English meaning.)

1. E vs. I — On the Introvert vs. Extrovert scale, I’m dead in the middle, one point away from being an Extrovert. Most people assume I’m a strong E, rather than an I. This criterion defines the source and direction of energy expression for a person. The extrovert has a source and direction of energy expression mainly in the external world, while the introvert has a source of energy mainly in the internal world.

Extraverted characteristics include:

• Act first, think/reflect later
• Feel deprived when cutoff from interaction with the outside world
• Usually open to and motivated by outside world of people and things
• Enjoy wide variety and change in people relationships

Introverted characteristics include:

• Think/reflect first, then act
• Regularly require an amount of “private time” to recharge batteries
• Motivated internally. Mind is sometimes so active it is “closed” to outside world
• Prefer one-to-one communication and relationships

Bill Clinton is a classic strong E. He could enjoy going to a cocktail party, talking with 1000 people for 30 seconds each, and feel energized. I would find that exhausting, energy draining. I prefer much longer, deeper conversations with fewer people. I attend numerous large parties, but I could not do that every evening.

2. N vs. S — Sensor vs. Intuitive. Like E vs. I, I’m squarely in the middle. This criterion defines the method of information perception by a person. Sensing means that a person believes mainly information he receives directly from the external world. Intuition means that a person believes mainly information he receives from the internal or imaginative world.

Sensing characteristics include:

• Mentally live in the Now, attending to present opportunities
• Using common sense and creating practical solutions is automatic and instinctual
• Memory recall is rich in detail in facts and past events
• Best improvise from past experience
• Like clear and concrete information. Dislike guessing when facts are “fuzzy”

Intuitive characteristics include:

• Mentally live in the Future, attending to future possibilities
• Using their imagination and creating/inventing new possibilities is automatic and instinctual
• Memory recall emphasizes patterns, contexts, and connections
• Best improvise from theoretic understanding
• Comfortable with ambiguous, fuzzy data and with guessing its meaning

After attending a Myers-Briggs seminar, I was asked to come back several months later as one of the mystery guest. Our job was to be interviewed by groups of students that had just taken the class, and at the end they would guess our MBTI types. On the sensor vs. intuitive scale, about half of the group was convinced I was a strong S, while the other half was convinced I was a strong N.

3. T vs. F — On the Thinker vs. Feeler scale, I’m a strong T. This criterion defines how the person processes information. Thinking means that a person makes a decision mainly through logic. Feeling means that, as a rule, he makes a decision based on emontion. This scale is the only one in which there are meaningful gender differences — two-thirds of men are Ts while two-thirds of women are Fs.

Thinking characteristics include:

• Instinctively search for facts and logic in a decision situation
• Naturally notice tasks and work to be accomplished
• Easily able to provide an objective and critical analysis
• Accept conflict as a natural, normal part of relationships with people

Feeling characteristics include:

• Instinctively employ personal feelings and impact on people in decision situations
• Naturally sensitive to people needs and reactions
• Naturally seek consensus and popular opinions
• Unsettled by conflict. Have almost a toxic reaction to disharmony

4. J vs. P — On the Judger vs. Perceiver scale, I’m a strong J. This criterion defines how a person implements the information he has processed. Judging means that a person organizes all his life events and acts strictly according to his plans, while Perceiving means that he is inclined to improvise and seek alternatives.

Judging characteristics include:

• Plan many of the details in advance before moving into action
• Focus on task-related action. Complete meaningful segments before moving on.
• Work best and avoid stress when you keep ahead of deadlines
• Naturally use targets, dates and standard routines to manage life.

Perceiving characteristics include:

• Comfortable moving into action without a plan. Plan on the go
• Like to multitask, have variety, mix work and play
• Naturally tolerant of time pressure. Work best close to deadline
• Instinctively avoid commitments which interfere with flexibility, freedom and variety

A very good book on MBTI is  The Art of Speed Reading People: How to Size People Up and Speak Their Language” by Paul D. Tieger.

I’m a [fill in the blank] on the MB. Do you think we’re compatible?

I have found MB to be useful in understanding people, but not in accessing whether I would be romantically compatible with someone. Whether you click with someone cannot be ascertained from the 16 MB archetypes. (One could imagine a profile that measured breadth of intellectual interests, energy level, degree of verbal ability, intensity, and other factors that would indicate whether I would click with someone.) However, there are some useful indicators of those I would not click with. If someone is a very strong I, I might wonder if she was outgoing enough to be a hostess for parties I would want to give with her. Girls who are a very strong S (Intuitives vs. Sensors) might not be able to handle the complex, abstract intellectual conversations I enjoy. Women who are very strong Ps might be too flaky. In all cases, I am concerned only with very strong scores on all of these scales — e.g., a girl with mild Is, Ss or Ps would be fine.

Read James’ essay, The Mitchell Unconventionality Index.

List of other essays written by James Mitchell  |  Copyright notice

Cite as “The Myers-Briggs Personal Inventory??? by James Mitchell. May 1, 2009, version 1.5.
www.jmitchell.me/essays/myers-briggs-personality-inventory.