To get detailed insights about your personality, you can take a free personality test at the end of this article. The test uses the latest advancements in artificial intelligence to give you deep insights into your personality.
In this post, you’ll learn about the MBTI test, what it is, and how it works, and find out which personality type you have.
Understanding the Mysterious World of the Human Personality
Our personality has a powerful influence on every area of our lives. It affects how we expend our energy, receive information, make decisions, and interact with other people.
For centuries, humans have sought to understand the mysterious world of an individual’s personality. Today, debates continue to rage in the scientific community about what determines our personalities: genetics, environmental factors, or the brain.
Whether personality is determined by one or a combination of the above factors, one thing is for certain, cognitive processes, emotional responses, and behavioral traits are unique to every human on the planet.
You may have questions about your personality, questions such as;
- Why are my thoughts, feelings, and behavior different from family members and friends?
- Why do I relate well to some people but not to others?
Taking a personality test will provide answers to these questions.
What Is a Personality Test and How Does It Work?
A personality test is a systematic way of analyzing or assessing a person’s characteristics, motivations, values, preferences, skills, strengths, and weaknesses.
The most common type of personality test is a self-reporting inventory questionnaire which asks a range of questions.
The test may have questions such as: Do you prefer to socialize in a large group? (Strongly disagree – 1) or (Strongly agree – 5).
You might be asked to choose which sentence best describes you, A) I prefer to improvise. B) I prefer to follow a schedule.
An Important Note About a Personality Test
An important thing to be aware of when it comes to taking a personality test is that it’s not designed to pigeonhole you or to show that one personality is better than another personality.
A personality test is an empowering personal development tool that provides you with a wealth of benefits such as:
- Find out your personality type.
- Have a greater understanding of your thoughts, feelings, and motivations.
- Identify your strength and weaknesses.
- Build healthy relationships.
- Make smarter education and career choices.
- Be more confident in a job interview.
- Stand out from other job candidates.
- Network successfully.
- Be better equipped to handle stress.
- Improve your communication and learning skills.
- Work cohesively with others.
Types of Personality Tests
Personality testing is not a new idea. In the 18th and 19th centuries, phrenology was used to assess an individual’s character and abilities by the measurement of bumps on the human skull.
Physiognomy is the practice of assessing personality based on a person’s facial appearance, and this study even goes back to 500 BC.
The first modern-day personality test was developed by Robert Woodworth in 1917; His Personal Data Sheet (PDS) was used to screen United States Army recruits for their shell-shock risk.
You may have heard of other personality tests like the Four Basic Temperaments Test, which is based on the philosophical insights of Aristotle and Hippocrates, or The Big Five test.
One of the most popular personality tests is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Test (MBTI Test).
The Development of the MBTI Test
During the 1940s, Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Briggs were fascinated by Carl Jung’s theory of personality archetypes. After studying his work, they wanted to make Jung’s work easier to understand and use in the real world.
As women had to fill in the gap in the workplace during World War II, Myers and Briggs also wanted to help women find the best job that was suited for them. In 1943, the MBTI personality assessment test was born.
How Does the MBTI Test Work?
The MBTI Test is a psychometric questionnaire that contains 90+ multiple-choice questions, and there are currently four versions of the MBTI test.
Each question gives you two different sentences, and you choose which sentence best describes you.
The test is usually completed online but it can also be downloaded and completed on paper.
The MBTI test is very different from the other personality tests as it assesses an individual’s preferences, dominant traits, and strengths based on four key areas.
- How they expend energy.
- How they receive information.
- How they make decisions.
- How they interact with the world.
Based on their answers to the questions, people are identified as having one of 16 personality types. Each personality is indicated by a four-letter code or acronym that’s based on the Jungian four dichotomies or preference pairs.
- Introversion/Extraversion
- Sensing/Intuition
- Thinking/Feeling
- Judging/Perceiving
If your test results show that your preferences are Introversion (I), Sensing (S), Feeling (F), and Judging (J), your personality type is ISFJ.
How you use these preferences can change over time and some of these preferences may be used more often than others.
The Four Preference Pairs
Introversion
Introverts recharge their energy by spending time alone. They’re quiet, serious, and reserved, but they enjoy meaningful social interactions with close friends.
Extraversion
Extroverts gain energy by interacting with others. They’re easy to spot as they’re outgoing, talkative, and the life of the party.
Sensing
Sensors live in the present, so they pick up on details other people miss. They’re great listeners and prefer to learn through practical experience.
Intuition
Intuitives are good at reading between the lines, and they like to explore the deeper things of life. They’re exciting people as they believe the world is full of possibilities.
Thinking
Thinkers are logical, analytical, rational, and objective. They can be relied upon to make good decisions as they rely on information rather than subjective feelings.
Feeling
Feelers make decisions with their heart rather than their head. They’re people-focused, so their decision-making will depend on how their actions may affect other people.
Judging
Judgers prefer to live an organized life. To maintain order and stability, they make a list and follow a strict schedule, so they’re very reliable.
Perceiving
Perceivers are easy-going people. They go with the flow, stay open to new opportunities, and are highly adaptable.
The MBTI 16 Personality Types
Introverts
ISTJ (introversion, sensing, thinking, judging)
People who have the ISTJ personality are practical, dependable, efficient, logical, and incredibly loyal. As they’re detail-orientated, they can be relied on to produce quality work.
ISTP (introversion, sensing, thinking, and perceiving)
ISTPs are logical people but also creative and imaginative. They like to build and fix things. One of their main traits is their adaptability and spontaneous approach to life.
ISFJ (introversion, intuitive, feeling, judging)
ISFJs are more people-oriented than other introverted personalities. They’re warm-hearted, compassionate, caring, and loyal, and they enjoy helping others.
ISFP (introversion, sensing, feeling, perceiving)
ISFPs are creative, curious, and free-spirited. They might be more introspective, but they know how to enjoy life to the full, and they make great friends.
INFJ (introversion, intuitive, feeling, judging)
INFJs are logical and analytical but they’re passionate people. They excel at forming long-lasting and meaningful connections with others.
INFP (introversion, intuitive, feeling, perceiving)
INFPs are idealistic, highly principled, optimistic, and sensitive to people’s needs. They’re gifted-problems solvers who use their skills to make the world a better place.
INTJ (introversion, intuitive, thinking, judging)
INTJs are analytical and logical, but also imaginative and creative. Although they’re distant at first, they’re friendly once you get to know them, and will bring out the best in you.
INTP (introversion, intuitive, thinking, perceiving)
INTPs are unusual people. They like order but can adapt easily to change. They’re logical thinkers and they’re known for their creative problem-solving solutions.
The extroverts
ESTJ (extraversion, sensing, thinking, judging)
Confidant, practical, diligent, and dependable, ESTJs are success go-getters. They put their plans into action and don’t let anything or anyone stop them from achieving their goals.
ESTP (extraversion, sensing, thinking, perceiving)
ESTPs are gregarious, energetic, witty, influential, and persuasive. Although they can be frivolous at times, they’re down-to-earth, detail-oriented, adaptable, and resourceful.
ESFP (extraversion, sensing, feeling, perceiving)
A person who’s an ESFP is outgoing, spontaneous, fun, warm, kind, and optimistic. ESFPs like to keep everyone happy, which makes them popular and well-liked by others. They’re good people to be around in a crisis.
ESFJ (extraversion, sensing, feeling, judging)
ESFJs are outgoing, gregarious, caring, loyal, and organized, and they build strong, long-lasting friendships.
They focus on the good in people and will often put the needs of others above their own.
ENFP (extraversion, intuitive, feeling, perceiving)
Charismatic, enthusiastic, caring, and empathetic, ENFPs make great leaders. People follow ENFPs as they have excellent interpersonal skills. They generate innovative ideas and easily adapt to changing circumstances.
ENFJ (extraversion, intuitive, feeling, judging)
Out of all the extroverts, ENFJs are the most gregarious. They’re warm-hearted and are committed to helping others.
They do well in leadership positions as they’re confident, charismatic, and optimistic about the future.
ENTP (extraversion, intuitive, thinking, perceiving)
The ENTP personality loves to engage in a hearty debate on varied topics.
These types of people are curious about the world, and have an amazing ability to understand complex information, ideas, and concepts quickly.
ENTJ (extraversion, intuitive, thinking, judging)
The ENTJ personality is a natural leader. People follow ENTJs because they’re smart, charismatic, assertive, confident, and well-organized.
ENTJs are not deterred by challenges. The bigger the challenge, the more they shine.
Is the MBTI Test Accurate and Reliable?
Personality tests, like the MBTI, are always under intense scrutiny about their accuracy and reliability. They cannot be 100% accurate as the human personality is complex and can be influenced by other factors.
The MBTI is the more effective way to assess your innate personality and its updated current version has 75-90% accuracy when it’s used for its intended purpose. Studies have been conducted to confirm its reliability and validity.
Isabel Briggs Myers said it best ‘It is up to each person to recognize [their] true preferences.’
While the test isn’t designed for selection purposes, it’s perfect for building stronger teams.
Over the decades, the MBTI test’s popularity has not waned. Since the 1960s, it has been taken by around 50 million people. About 2 million people take it every year. Around 80% of Fortune 500 companies use this personality test for people development.
To get accurate results, Myers and Briggs advise you to answer the questions as truthfully as you can and select answers that are best suited for you.
The MBTI test is not like a school or university test. There are no right or wrong answers.
The best way to gauge the accuracy of the MBTI is to take the test on our website. The test is free, and it uses artificial intelligence to interpret your results so you’ll receive accurate results and detailed feedback.
Conclusion
Once you take the MBTI test and find out what personality type you have, your life will be transformed. You’ll discover new things about yourself, have a greater understanding of others, and enjoy a more successful life.
Diana Jane Heath
Based in Sydney, Diana has worked as a freelance writer for over 5 years. She is passionate about writing and helping people reach their full potential and to live a more successful life.
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