The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has become a cornerstone in the world of personality assessment. From corporate retreats to social media bios, it's a ubiquitous tool for self-understanding. But how did this global phenomenon come to be?
Its story isn't one of a sterile laboratory, but one of passionate observation, historical necessity, and the lifelong work of two women who wanted to make complex psychological theory accessible to everyone. From a Swiss psychiatrist's abstract ideas to a tool used by millions, this is the origin of the MBTI.
Rooted in Jung's Theories:
The MBTI's story begins with Carl Jung, a prominent Swiss psychiatrist, who in 1921 published his groundbreaking work, "Psychological Types." Jung proposed that individuals have inherent psychological preferences that shape how they perceive the world and interact with it. He wasn't trying to create a test, but to explain the different "lenses" through which people experience life. These preferences, he argued, fell into two main categories:
- Attitudes: Extraversion (energy directed outward to the world) vs. Introversion (energy directed inward to ideas).
- Psychological Functions: These are the "how" of our processing. They include the "perceiving" functions of Sensing (focusing on concrete details and the present) vs. Intuition (focusing on abstract possibilities and the future), and the "judging" functions of Thinking (making decisions based on objective reasoning) vs. Feeling (making decisions based on subjective values and impact on people).
Katharine Briggs and the "People Sorting" Dream:
While Jung's work laid the academic foundation, it was Katharine Briggs, an American mother with a keen interest in personality, who took the next crucial step. Briggs was a self-taught intellectual who had been developing her own system for "people sorting" long before she discovered Jung. A popular story holds that her interest was piqued when she met her future son-in-law and noticed he had a fundamentally different, yet consistent, way of seeing the world than her family. When she read Jung's "Psychological Types" in 1923, it gave her a formal framework for her own meticulous observations, and she became a dedicated student of his work.
Isabel Briggs Myers Joins the Journey:
Katharine's daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, became an enthusiastic collaborator. It's important to note that neither Briggs nor Myers were formally trained psychologists or psychiatrists. Isabel, with a background in political science and writing, was a keen observer of people. Together, they spent decades refining Jung's abstract ideas into a practical, usable tool. Isabel, in particular, was instrumental in developing the questionnaire format—the "Indicator"—that would attempt to identify a person's preferences and assign one of the 16 types, like the INTJ, ESFP, ISTJ, or ENFP.
World War II and the Need for Understanding People:
The MBTI's development accelerated significantly during World War II. Isabel Briggs Myers saw a practical and patriotic need for the tool. With millions of women entering the industrial workforce for the first time, there was a massive challenge in placing them in jobs where they would be most effective and content. Isabel believed her indicator could help match women to suitable wartime jobs that aligned with their natural preferences, reducing turnover and boosting the war effort. This provided the first large-scale application for their developing test.
The MBTI Takes the World by Storm:
The 1960s and 1970s witnessed a surge in the popularity of the MBTI. The Educational Testing Service (ETS)—the same organization that runs the SAT—published the first official MBTI manual in 1962. Later, the test was moved to Consulting Psychologists Press (CPP), now The Myers-Briggs Company. The Myers & Briggs Foundation was established in 1972 to oversee the MBTI's development and administration. Today, the MBTI is used extensively in various fields, including corporate team building, leadership training, career counseling, personal development, and even online dating.
A Legacy of Exploration and Self-Discovery:
While the MBTI's scientific validity has been (and continues to be) debated within the academic community, its impact on popular psychology is undeniable. It has sparked countless conversations about personality, helping millions of individuals gain a new vocabulary for understanding themselves and others. It opened the door for other systems, like the Enneagram, to gain popular traction.
The MBTI's story is a testament to human curiosity and the desire to understand the complexities of human behavior. Whether used for self-reflection, career exploration, or team building, the MBTI serves as a springboard for ongoing exploration in the fascinating realm of personality. To learn more about the 16 types, check out our MBTI Guide book, and to leverage your own type, explore The MBTI Advantage book series.
