The Personality Brokers

Are we born with unchangeable traits, or do systems like the Myers-Briggs test merely tell us comforting tales about ourselves?

1. The Popularity of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has established itself as the world’s most popular personality test, with over two million people taking it every year. It is widely used in corporate settings, educational institutions, and personal development programs. Unlike many assessments, its simplicity and nonjudgmental structure appeal to individuals who seek to better understand themselves.

MBTI's creators, Katharine Briggs and Isabel Myers, designed the test around four binary personality dimensions: introversion versus extraversion, intuition versus sensing, thinking versus feeling, and judging versus perceiving. Through these dimensions, the test offers 16 possible personality combinations, each described in positive, relatable terms. This positivity makes the test approachable and deeply affirming for participants.

Despite its fame, MBTI’s methods diverge significantly from scientific evidence. Still, millions resonate with its classifications, valuing the clarity and confidence MBTI provides about their core selves.

Examples

• Fortune 500 companies use MBTI in recruitment and team-building initiatives.
• Universities adopt it to help students understand their learning and career preferences.
• Many users find its results comforting, feeling validated in their personality traits.

2. The Test's Foundations on Carl Jung's Theories

The MBTI's theoretical base lies in Carl Jung’s early 20th-century work, particularly his book Psychological Types. Jung asserted that personality arises from opposing traits, such as introversion versus extraversion, which resonated with Katharine Briggs’s lifelong interest in personality classification.

However, Jung’s theories were never scientifically validated. He drew his concepts from mythology, philosophy, and literature, believing these sources provided a more comprehensive view of the human psyche than empirical science could achieve. Critics, including contemporaneous psychologists, viewed Jung’s ideas as speculative and mystical rather than evidence-based.

Despite these criticisms, Briggs found Jung’s theories inspiring and rooted her personality framework in his categories. This decision shaped MBTI’s lasting structure, solidifying a legacy valued more for subjective insight than scientific merit.

Examples

• Briggs derived Jung’s categories into her questionnaire for simple mass applicability.
• Some of Jung’s concepts were inspired by ancient Greek myths, such as Prometheus and Epimetheus.
• The behavioral psychologist John B. Watson dismissed Jung’s work as closer to religion than to science.

3. Katharine Briggs’s Personal Obsession with Jung

For Katharine Briggs, Jung was more than an intellectual inspiration—he became an object of personal worship. By 1923, her interest in Jung’s theories turned into deep obsession, guiding her life and endeavors for years to come.

Briggs claimed Jung appeared to her in a dream, inspiring her to burn her earlier work, which she saw as inferior. She spent years dedicating herself to rewriting quotes from his work and crafting fictional stories that idolized him. Although she never met Jung, she credited him with helping her to imagine new ways to live meaningfully.

Her reverence for Jung may seem extreme, but it illustrates the power his theories held over her and how MBTI emerged out of both intellectual pursuit and fervent personal fascination.

Examples

• Briggs’s novella The Man from Zurich fictionalized a Jungian psychoanalyst.
• She referred to Jung as “the Man from Zurich” rather than his name.
• Briggs converted her admiration into song lyrics honoring Jung’s contribution to her life.

4. The Cultural Reception of Personality Typing

Briggs first introduced her ideas in a 1926 magazine article, “Meet Yourself: How to Use the Personality Paintbox,” during a time when American society sought psychological guidance. Her accessible ideas found an eager audience.

The article resonated in the 1920s, an era marked by shifting norms and uncertainties. Consumerism, jazz culture, and new freedoms placed personal identity under the spotlight. People wanted to break away from traditional religious judgment and instead sought clearer, self-defined paths to fulfillment.

Briggs’s framing of MBTI as a fun, nonthreatening way to understand oneself struck a chord. However, early 20th-century enthusiasm for categorization, including psychological typing, had unsettling implications later raised by critics.

Examples

• The 1920s saw widespread interest in radio psychology shows and self-help columns.
• Briggs attracted readers by comparing personality types to “paint colors.”
• Her system aligned with a modern rejection of religious rigidity in favor of personal empowerment.

5. The Dangerous Undercurrents of Personality Typing

While MBTI promised self-discovery, critics saw risks in the practice of personality classification. German philosopher Theodor Adorno linked personality typing to oppressive ideologies like those seen in Nazi Germany.

Adorno warned that categorizing individuals inherently strips them of individuality, reducing them to stereotypes. In this view, personality typing could be a pathway to discrimination and authoritarianism, as systems divide people into “acceptable” and “unacceptable” classes.

The criticism extended to capitalism. Adorno believed that typing personalities was an invention of corporate systems to classify workers and optimize productivity—a distortion that reduced human potential into economic fragments.

Examples

• Adorno argued that Nazi racial policies used similar classification logic.
• He claimed capitalism conditioned people into preset roles, perpetuated by tools like MBTI.
• Adorno’s book, The Authoritarian Personality, critiques personality theories’ divisive effects.

6. MBTI as a Scientifically Problematic Tool

Despite its widespread use, MBTI lacks scientific reliability. Studies show individuals often obtain different results when retaking the test, casting doubt on its consistency. Additionally, the descriptions of MBTI’s 16 types are so broad that they can apply to nearly anyone.

Many psychologists point out that MBTI findings do not correlate reliably with concrete behavioral patterns. While people resonate with their results, it’s less about accuracy and more about a sense of validation and connection.

Its lack of credibility has not diminished its popularity, as users often focus on its subjective benefits rather than its scientific soundness.

Examples

• Studies indicate more than 50% of users get a different type when retaking MBTI.
• Critics compare MBTI’s generality to horoscopes, saying its profiles fit nearly everyone.
• It has no association with validated psychological practices like the Big Five traits.

7. Its Value Lies Beyond Science

Though MBTI is scientifically flawed, its emotional impact remains substantial. For many, MBTI allows individuals to rethink themselves in positive terms and to gain reassurance about their traits.

MBTI provides a framework where individuals can embrace their behavior as innate rather than flawed. The test promotes self-acceptance, which can help individuals navigate life decisions with less regret and confusion.

What MBTI offers cannot be empirically measured—but its supportive role contributes to personal growth in ways detached from scientific debates.

Examples

• Divorced individuals may feel validated in understanding how their personality impacted relationships.
• MBTI influences personal growth workshops focused on strengths rather than faults.
• Its nonjudgmental format fosters acceptance rather than competitiveness among test-takers.

8. MBTI’s Rise in Fortune 500 and Beyond

The corporate appeal of MBTI stems from its simplicity in categorizing personalities, which aids managers in team dynamics and communication strategies. It is now embedded in workplaces globally.

Organizations use MBTI to match personalities for harmonious collaborations. The test’s non-offensive nature ensures it feels accessible rather than divisive, making its applications seamless in professional development scenarios.

However, corporate reliance on MBTI has also attracted scrutiny for perpetuating stereotypes within the workplace.

Examples

• Companies use MBTI to tailor leadership training programs.
• MBTI workshops are a feature at global tech companies for team alignment.
• Critics suggest MBTI labels workers in restrictive ways, reflecting Adorno’s fears.

9. Legacy of MBTI and Public Fascination

The MBTI phenomenon endures because it aligns with a universal need for identity exploration. It offers a language for self-expression and paths to acceptance without claiming absolute correctness.

Today, MBTI’s two-billion-dollar influence spans language translations, cultural adaptations, and industries seeking accessible personal development tools.

Even as scientific critiques mount, the MBTI thrives as a cultural artifact, reflecting our need for belonging in a complex world.

Examples

• MBTI has been adopted in over 25 countries and translated into 20 languages.
• Personality trainers credit MBTI for helping non-native English speakers in cross-cultural settings.
• Many cultural critics reflect on MBTI’s enduring relevance as non-threatening self-discovery.

Takeaways

1. Approach personality tests as tools for reflection, not factual truths.
2. Use personality assessments to foster self-acceptance rather than rigid definitions of who you are.
3. Be critical of systems that label individuals, understanding their broader implications in societal and workplace structures.