The 16 personality types (and their characteristics)

The Myers-Briggs indicator shows us sixteen personality profiles of human beings.

The Myers-Briggs Indicator is one of today's most popular personality tests, not least because of its ambitious approach.

Unlike other personality measurement instruments, which measure very specific aspects of our behavior and thought patterns, the Myers-Briggs Indicator was developed to explore the most important and unique aspects that would serve to describe each individual's way of being across 16 personality types.

The latter means that the Myers-Briggs Indicator was developed with the intention of describing personality globally, rather than measuring very specific aspects of the way people are. This idea, based on what is usually known as "holistic" approaches, is very attractive to many people who see in this personality test a way to get to know the most essential part of people, that which defines them in the most complete sense. a way of getting to know the most essential part of people, that which defines them in a more complete sense..

However, today the Myers-Briggs Indicator has critics who question the validity and usefulness of the test and, consequently, of the 16 personality types it proposes. Let's see what the defense and negative criticism of this personality classification system is based on.

What is the Myers-Briggs Test Indicator?

The MBTI, as it is known in English, is a personality test based on the work of Carl Gustav Jung and the personality types he proposed.

The Myers-Briggs Indicator borrows 8 of the psychological functions that Jung used to theorize about the different personality types and proposes a system of questions that serve to study the way in which people's preferences and ways of being conform to these categories.

If you want to know more about these ideas of Carl Jung, you can read this article:

• The 8 personality types according to Carl Gustav Jung.

How does the MBTI work?

The Myers-Briggs Indicator uses four dichotomies with two extremes each to study personality. These factors are as follows:

• Extraversion (E) or Intraversion (I).
• Intuition (N) or Sensation (S)
• Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
• Judgment (J) or Perception (P)

Each person responds to the questions posed in the test by reflecting on his or her way of being, thinking and feeling, which makes this a measurement tool based on introspection. From these answers, the data obtained are grouped and in this way it is established which of the 16 types of personality serves to better describe one's way of being and one's preferences.

The 16 personality types

From the crossing of data of these 8 variables established in the 4 dichotomies, the 16 personality types of the Myers-Briggs Indicator are formulated. They are as follows.

1. ESTJ (Extraverted Sensing Thinking Judging).

People who like to be in control of what is going on around them, always looking for ways to make everything right.They always look for a way to make everything work as it should and, if necessary, implement it themselves.

2. ESTP (Extraverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving)

People who belong to this category are spontaneous, cheerful and active.They tend to be spontaneous, cheerful and active, but as with ESTJs, they tend to dominate others, in this case through their observation skills and charisma.

3. ESFJ (Extraverted Sensing Feeling Judging)

These are people who are very focused on meeting the needs of others.especially if they are part of their close circle: family and friends. That is why they always lend their help and make sure that their close social circles remain stable and in good health. That is why they tend to avoid strong conflicts and are diplomatic when there are clashes of interests.

4. ESFP (Extraverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving)

They are cheerful and spontaneous people who enjoy entertaining themselves and others.. Fun is one of the most important pillars of their lives, and they are approachable and warm-tempered. They love novelty and talking about personal experiences.

5. ISTJ (Introverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving)

A personality type defined by a strong sense of morality and duty.. They like to plan and implement systems of rules that allow teams and organizations to function with clear logic and order. They place great value on rules and the need for reality to correspond to how things should be. Although they are introverted people, they do not shy away from interaction with others.

6. ISTP (Introverted Sensing Thinking Perceiving)

These are people who are reserved, action-oriented, and oriented to practical solutions to everyday problems.. They are also defined by their tendency toward logical thinking and their spontaneity and autonomy. They like to explore environments and discover ways in which they can interact with them.

7. ISFJ (Introverted Sensing Feeling Judging)

They are defined primarily by their desire to protect and help others and, ultimately, to be trusted. They strive to do all that is expected of them, but do not have high aspirations and are not very ambitious. They tend to think that it is wrong to ask for compensation or raises in exchange for the sacrifices they make at work, since this should be a goal in itself.

8. ISFP (Introverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving)

People who live totally in the here and now, in constant search of novelty and sensorially stimulating situations.. They are reserved, but also cheerful, spontaneous and warm with their friends; they have a special talent in the world of the arts.

9. ENTJ (Extraverted Intuitive Thinking Judging)

This is one of the 16 personality types most closely related to leadership and assertiveness.. People described by this category are communicative, agile and analytical thinkers who are predisposed to lead teams and organizations. They adapt well to change and make their strategies adaptable as the environment changes. In addition, they almost always know how to explain their projects or stories in a way that will be of interest to others, which makes them a very good salesperson.

10. ENTP (Extraverted Intuitive Thinking Perceiving)

People who are especially driven by curiosity and by challenges that require intellectually stimulating questions to be solved. Their mental agility and their ability to detect logical inconsistencies make them predisposed to be interested in science or philosophy. In addition, their tendency to be competitive makes them very active during the day, always trying to come up with innovative solutions to complex problems.

11. ENFJ (Extraverted Intuitive Feeling Judging)

People who are constantly learning about all areas of knowledge (or a good part of them). (or a good part of them) and help others to learn, guiding them in their own evolution. They like to offer mentoring and advice, and are very good at influencing the behavior of others. They focus on their values and ideals and do their best to improve the well-being of the greatest number of people through their ideas and actions.

12. ENFP (Extraverted Intuitive Feeling Perceiving)

One of the 16 personality types with the greatest propensity for creative thinking, the arts and sociability. They are cheerful, enjoy interaction with other people, and act with their position as part of a "whole" of humanity in mind, and are not individualistic. In fact, they often get involved in collective tasks to help others, thinking of the social impact of their actions. However, they are also easily distracted and often put off tasks they consider boring or too simple and routine.

13. INTJ (Introverted Intuitive Thinking Judging)

A personality type oriented towards specific problem solving based on analytical reasoning.. Those described by this category are very focused on their own ideas and theories about how the world works, which means that they analyze their environment by focusing on their ideas about how it operates. They are knowledgeable about their own capabilities and trust their own judgment, even if it goes against some superiors.

They often become experts in a very specific area of knowledge, since they like to have enough knowledge about something to be able to take into account all the factors that come into play in its operation and, from there, to know what can be done or what will happen in the future.

14. INTP (Introverted Intuitive Thinking Perceiving)

One of the 16 personality types most defined by the propensity for reflection.. They like theories that can explain everything that can happen in a system, and their tendency toward perfectionism causes them to correct others on multiple occasions. They value accuracy in theoretical terms more than pragmatism and concrete problem solving.

15. INFJ (Introverted Intuitive Feeling Judging)

People who are very sensitive, reserved and driven by very well-defined ideals and who, in addition, feel the need to make others benefit from these ideals as well. This makes them prone to both reflection and action, which can be so much work that they become overburdened by too many responsibilities. They show a great ability to successfully interpret the mental states of others and try to use this information to help them before the other person asks them to do so.

16. INFP (Introverted Intuitive Feeling Perceiving)

Less moralistic than INFJs, INFPs are also very concerned about helping others from their reserved position. from their reserved position. They show an aesthetic and artistic sensibility that makes them creative.

Criticisms of the Myers-Briggs Indicator

There are numerous researchers and academics who deny the idea that the MBTI has any value for science, basically because it is based on ideas (those of Carl Jung) that were not born through the use of the scientific method and because, in addition, they consider that the 16 types of personality are not the result of the scientific method, they consider the 16 personality types to be too ambiguous and abstract to be used for predicting to be used to predict patterns of thought or behavior.

That is, anyone could read the descriptions of these personality categories and be reflected in many of them at once, because they are so general. This phenomenon is an example of the Forer effect, whereby when personality categories are sufficiently ambiguous, anyone can come to identify with them to the point of believing that they fit well with the way they are and not with others. This, in turn, is a case of confirmation bias.

So... isn't it useful?

The problem of ambiguity of the personality categories with which the Myers-Briggs indicator works also occurs in a similar way, for example, in Carl Jung's personality approach. A personality model is supposed to lay the groundwork for isolating relevant psychological variables that in certain investigations have a certain predictive value. have a certain predictive value (i.e., they (i.e., that they clear up doubts about what will happen, for example, if a person with high levels of neuroticism starts working in a high-pressure, public-facing environment).

When the popularity of a personality model is based on the Forer effect, one should expect little of its usefulness as a research tool, because everyone is capable of identifying with virtually any personality type and the final result will depend on unimportant factors, such as the personality style description read above, for example.

That is why, although the Myers-Briggs Indicator continues to be used in organizational contexts to select personnel or assess the possibility of someone being promoted, in the field of research this tool has been so harshly criticized that its use is a rarity.

However, this does not mean that, in its own way, there may be certain uses for the Myers-Briggs indicator. For example, the possibility to inspire us, to make us reflect on how our personality is structured and how these aspects of personality relate to each other.