Depending on our way of reacting to stimuli and preferences when making decisions, our personality will be within one of the 16 types known as the Myers-Briggs Indicator.
Human beings have an almost innate need to classify things and to encompass everything we see in very specific groups. Sometimes this is more or less simple, such as classifying living things into families, genera and species. But there are other times that it is not easy at all, especially if we delve into the human mind.
The human mind and brain remain, despite incredible advances in their knowledge, great unknown to science. And within this field of study, one of the most enigmatic concepts is the origin of personality , that is, “why am I the way I am?”
- We recommend you read: “25 curiosities and interesting facts about the brain”
The origin and development of the human personality, as well as the behaviors that derive from it, is something that has always fascinated psychologists and other professionals in everything related to neuroscience.
And the result of this fascination emerged the most famous (and controversial) personality test in the world, which is called the Myers-Briggs Indicator. This test, which is based on the correlation between different parameters on behavior and decision-making, allows us to classify our personality within one of the 16 types that the indicator defends exist. In today’s article we will delve into it.
How are personalities classified? It is useful?
The Myers-Briggs Indicator was created in 1942 by psychologists Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers , mother and daughter, respectively. These two psychologists were based on studies on human personality developed by Carl Jung, a Swiss psychologist who developed a theory in which the presence of 8 basic personality types was defended.
Taking this theory as a reference, the two psychologists developed a more complex test that allowed us to obtain 16 personality types. This classification is achieved by going to the most essential of human behavior, that is, looking for what defines people in a global way, without focusing on specific aspects.
We will not go too far into how this test is carried out, as we would leave the common thread of the article. The important thing is to stay with the basics: the indicator is based on four different “questions”, with two options for each one. Therefore, there are 16 possible combinations. Depending on which one has been obtained, we will be facing one personality or another .
The first “question” is how we focus our energy. In this sense, we can be extroverts (we show our feelings) or introverts (we keep them to ourselves). The second is how we perceive information, being able to be intuitive (understand something without the need to reason) or sensitive (reasoning). The third is how we make decisions, that is, by thought (through logic and analyzing the consequences) or by feeling (depending on what we feel at the time). And the fourth is how we organize our life, which can be by judgment (we usually organize our future) or by perception (we have a tendency to improvise).
According to the creative psychologists, this is enough to classify anyone within one of the 16 main personality types. The Myers-Briggs Indicator has been widely used (and continues to be) in fields such as pedagogy, human resources, group dynamics, staffing, personal development or even marriage counseling.
In any case, although there are those who find it very useful in their working lives, the truth is that it has always been surrounded by a lot of controversy , partly because the results are often ambiguous and on the other hand because it lacks scientific veracity, since it is not It was obtained by implementing the scientific method, which is why it is considered insufficient to accurately define personality patterns.
Be that as it may and regardless of the controversy, the truth is that this test is a very attractive and interesting tool to analyze.
What are the main personality types?
As we have said, depending on which of the two options for each of the four questions that the test presents, we will obtain a specific combination of traits. And depending on what it is, the test will tell us which of the following personalities we have .
- Executive personality
Extroversion, feeling, thinking and judgment. These are the answers to the four questions. These are people who like to always be in control of things, organize activities and lead teams of people. In this sense, we refer to it as the personality of the executive or that of the inspector.
- Personality of the entrepreneur
Extroversion, sensation, thought and perception. These are people with a tendency to be leaders and demonstrate mastery and a lot of confidence in themselves, but without having such a strong will to control and organize everything perfectly.
Personality of the provider
Extroversion, feeling, feeling and judgment. These are people who are always willing to help others and who are diplomatic, avoiding conflicts but always asserting their opinion. It is the personality of most cooperative, popular, sociable and assertive people.
- Personality of the entertainer
Extroversion, sensation, feeling and perception. These are people who like a lot to have fun but also to make others laugh, which is why they are usually the entertainers of any social group. They are usually happy, spontaneous, funny and full of vitality.
- Moral personality
Introversion, feeling, thinking and judgment. They are very reliable people as they have a very high sense of morality, ethics and duty. Everything they do must be in accordance with their values and they tend to structure their lives through systems that allow them to always act in the way they consider fair.
- reserved personality
Introversion, sensation, thought and perception. These are reserved people but who have the gift of perfectly analyzing situations and providing solutions to problems that they or their group may encounter. It is the personality of those who have what we know as “cold mind.”
- Protective personality
Introversion, sensation, feeling and judgment. These are people who find maximum personal satisfaction in helping others. However, they also tend to forget about their own pleasure, since what they want most is to meet the needs of others.
- Quiet personality
Introversion, sensation, feeling and perception. Being the personality of many artists, it is one in which the person usually lives in their own world and directing their own rhythm and establishing their norms. They do not worry if someone does not share their point of view and they always seek to stimulate their senses.
Leadership personality
Extroversion, intuition, thinking and judgment. These are people with a great will, clear ideas and a very strong mentality. They do not collapse when difficulties arise and they usually have the gift of other people following them wherever they go. Leaders have this personality.
- Personality of the innovator
Extroversion, intuition, thought and perception. These are people who are very curious about the world around them, very creative, with a lot of imagination, enormous mental agility and the gift of seeing the world with different eyes. They like to overcome not only challenges, but themselves. Hence, the most innovative people have this personality.
- Charismatic personality
Extroversion, intuition, feeling and judgment. These are people who, as soon as they stand in front of an audience, are really listened to, as they have the gift of attracting others and being magnetic. They know how to communicate their ideas well, they are creative and have the ability to influence the behavior of others, whether for better or for worse.
- Sociable personality
Extroversion, intuition, feeling and perception. They are happy and positive people, so others want to share their time with them. They also tend to have the desire to change society and encourage others to fight for what they want.
- Thoughtful personality
Introversion, intuition, thinking and perception. The great minds of history have had this personality. These are people with incredible imaginative capacity, who see the world with their own eyes and who have the will to always increase their knowledge.
Reflective personality
Introversion, intuition, thinking and perception. Like the previous ones, these people have a great thirst for knowledge, although in this case they take everything they learn and reflect on it, with the will to find errors or other ways of understanding concepts. They love to create theories that explain what we do not understand and are usually very perfectionists.
- Counselor personality
Introversion, intuition, feeling and judgment. They are empathetic people, who know how to listen, sensitive and willing to always give good advice to help others, especially their loved ones. Although unlike the protectors, these do not have a tendency to neglect their own needs.
- Altruistic personality
Introversion, intuition, feeling and perception. In a similar way to the previous one, this is the personality of those people who want to help others and who are perfectly capable of getting into their skin, although in this case their will to do good is more related to people who are not close (The counselor used to do it with friends or family), so they are usually people who collaborate with NGOs, volunteer, participate in food collection campaigns …
