The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

 

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was developed by Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs based on the teachings of Carl Jung.  The MBTI is a self-inventory questionnaire helps identify a person’s personality type, strengths, and preferences.  The questionnaire is designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions.

 

The model classifies individuals according to their behavioral preferences on scales derived from Jung’s theory of psychological types.  The MBTI system uses a four-scale structure for identifying and categorizing individuals, and each of the four scales represents two opposing preferences.  Based on the answers to the questions, people are identified as having one of 16 personality types.  

 

The ultimate goal of the MBTI is to allow people to explore and understand their own personalities including his or her strengths, weaknesses, and general preferences.  It can also help determine career preferences that would best match his or her personality.

 

According to MBTI model, there are four areas of personality that affect learning.  The model categorizes results based upon four dimensions:

 

Area of Personality	How A Person
Extraversion vs. Introversion	directs their energy
Sensing vs. Intuition	processed information
Thinking vs. Feeling	makes decisions
Judging vs. Perceiving	organization preferences

 

 

Learners may be:

 

Type	Actions
Extraverts (E)	try things out, focus on the outer world of people
Introverts (I)	think things through, focus on the inner world of ideas
Sensors (S)	practical, detail-oriented, focus on facts and procedures
Intuitors (N)	imaginative, concept-oriented, focus on meanings and possibilities
Thinkers (T)	skeptical, tend to make decisions based on logic and rules
Feelers (F)	appreciative, tend to make decisions based on personal and humanistic considerations
Judgers (J)	set and follow agendas, seek closure even with incomplete data
Perceivers (P)	adapt to changing circumstances, resist closure to obtain more data

 

The MBTI type preferences can be combined to form 16 different learning style types. For example, one person may be an ISTJ (introvert, sensor, thinker, judger) and another may be an ENFP (extravert, intuitor, feeler, perceiver).

 

The 16 preferences: