Jung and Myers – Briggs

Typology

Carl G Jung (1921/1971), > a Swiss

psychiatrist, developed a theory that explains
personality similarities and differences by identifying
attitudes of people (Extrovert and Introvert) along
with opposite mental functions, which are the ways
people perceive or prefer to take in and make use of
information from the world around them. Jung
proposed that people are likely to operate in a variety
of ways depending on the circumstances. Despite
these situations adaptations, each individual will tend
to develop comfortable patterns, which dictate
behavior in certain predictable ways. Jung used the
word type to identify these styles of personality.
Jung said that everyone uses these opposing
perceptions to some degree when dealing with people
and situations, but each person has a preference from
one way of looking at the world. Individuals become
more skilled in arriving at a decisions in either a
thinking or feeling way and can function as extraverts
at one time, but they tend to develop patterns that are
most typical and comfortable.
 By combining the different preferences,
Myers and Briggs identified 16 personality types,
each with its owns strength and interests.
People can be classified into the 16 personality
types by using the following four constructs.
• Extraversion
• Sensing-intuition
• Thinking-feeling
• Judging-perceiving

1. Extraversion-introversion (E-I)
reflects an orientation to either the outside
world of people and things or to the inner world of
concepts and ideas. This pair of opposite preferences
describes the extent to which our behavior are
determined by our attitudes toward the world. Jung
invented the terms from Latin words meaning
outward turning (extraversion) or inward turning
(introversion).
2.Sensing-intuition (S-N)

Describes perception as coming directly through the

five senses or indirectly by the way of the
unconscious. This pair of opposite preferences
explains how people understands what is
experienced. People who prefer sensing experience
the world through their senses. They observed what is
real, what is factual, and what is actually happening.
Seeing or experiencing is believing. These sensory
functions allow the individual to observe carefully,
gather facts, and focus on practical actions

3. Thinking-Feeling (T-F)
is the approach used by individuals to arrive at
judgments thought objective versus subjective
processes. Thinking types analyze information, data,
situations, and people and make decisions based on
logic. They are careful and slow in the analysis of the
data, because accuracy and thoroughness are
important to them. They trust objectivity and put faith
in logical predictions and rational arguments.
Thinking types explore and weigh all alternatives,
and final decision is reached impersonally,
unemotionally, and carefully.
4. Judging-perceiving
According to Myers and Briggs, an individual
comes to a conclusion about or becomes aware of
something through a preferences of judging, which is
the desire to regulate and bring closure to
circumstances in life or through their preferences of
perceiving which is the desire to be open minded and
understanding.

Instruments to Measure the Myers-Briggs

Personality Types
Myers and Briggs developed an instrument
called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) that
would permit people to learn about their own type of
behavior and thus understand themselves better with
respect to the way in which they interact with others.
Although though the MBTI is not a learning style
instruments, it does measure differences in
personality types, which are combinations of the four
dichotomous preferences. The MBTI is a forced-
choice, self report inventory.