EP014 Is The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: Personality Pseudoscience?

Welcome to this week’s edition of the podcast. If you like what I’m doing here, share this episode with a friend, post a comment. Many thanks for your support!The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one of the most popular personality tests in the world. Developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers and based upon Carl Jung's work, it categorises individuals into 16 distinct types based on four dichotomies: Introversion vs Extraversion, Sensing vs Intuition, Thinking vs Feeling, and Judging vs Perceiving. Despite its widespread use in a variety of settings and its apparent utility (Pittenger, 1993)1, from corporate team-building to personal self-discovery, the MBTI has faced significant criticism from the scientific community.Although influential, Jung's work is mainly considered speculative (Mayer, 2005)2 and not subjected to rigorous scientific testing. His typology was derived from clinical observations rather than systematic research, making it a weak foundation for a personality assessment tool. In contrast, modern personality psychology relies on empirical studies to validate theoretical constructs and measurement instruments.Read the full articleI am a registered test user with the British Psychological Society. I provide tests and test administration in workplace settings in areas such as leadership, personality, motivation, ability, intelligence and others. Find out more about assessments and how they can help you in your career and business.Get Evidence-Based Psychometric AssessmentsGet free ResourcesBook a coaching sessionSubscribe to the newsletterSubscribe on YouTube This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit peak.humanperformance.ie